131: Chapter 131 Exploded!

Song Xi frowned and looked at Zhao Yang and Li Jun beside her, but she didn't say anything.

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Zhao Yang couldn't even be bothered to lift his eyelids. Facing someone like Li Jun, Zhao Yang really couldn't summon any interest in acknowledging him.

"I've already said it: I'm not drinking."

Zhao Yang's tone was very calm, yet it carried an undeniable sense of confidence.

Upon hearing Zhao Yang's words, the smile on Li Jun's face instantly stiffened.

He had originally wanted to take advantage of the drunken atmosphere to properly humiliate Zhao Yang, to let Song Xi see his own dashing demeanor, and at the same time see Zhao Yang's weak appearance, hoping that perhaps his goddess would look at him with higher regard. He hadn't expected Zhao Yang to be so tough.

It left him unable to back down gracefully.

"Zhao Yang, you're being no fun now."

Li Jun snorted coldly. "We're all classmates. Who knows who will be begging whom in the future? In this society, just having book knowledge is useless; you have to understand social nuances!"

"Take me, for example. Although my school isn't as good as yours, my family's business is doing quite well. And it's right here in the county. Later, if you graduate and can't find a job, you can come to my family's company. I'll arrange a clerk position for you, and I'll pay you two thousand a month. How about that?"

"Hahaha!" The few lackeys around him let out harsh, grating laughter.

This was already naked provocation and humiliation.

Zhao Yang looked at Li Jun's smug face. He wasn't really angry; he just found it somewhat amusing.

He shook his head, too lazy to bicker with someone of this level.

"Bam!"

A loud noise rang out.

On the other side, Old Huang at the main table finally heard the dispute here.

He slammed the table violently and stood up.

His gaze glared toward Li Jun on the side.

"Li Jun! Shut your mouth!"

Although Old Huang was drunk, his mind wasn't muddled. He pointed at Li Jun's nose and scolded, "This is a class reunion, not a place for you to show off your wealth! Student Zhao Yang got into Beijing Forestry University on his own merit!"

"If it weren't for the special circumstances during the College Entrance Examination, getting into a 985 university would have been a breeze for him. What right do you have to be so sarcastic here?"

"And offering to arrange a job for him? With your limited prospects, what else can you do besides sponge off your parents? If you had half of Zhao Yang's ability, your dad would wake up from his dreams laughing!"

Old Huang's scolding was merciless. The lingering authority of his former homeroom teacher was still there, and Li Jun instantly cowered. He shrank his neck and sat back down sheepishly, muttering, "I was just joking, Old Huang. Is it necessary to be so serious..."

The atmosphere was, for a moment, somewhat awkward.

Old Huang let out a soft breath, carried his wine glass over to Zhao Yang's side, and patted his shoulder.

"Zhao Yang, don't mind him. This kid just has a foul mouth."

Old Huang looked at Zhao Yang, his eyes filled with gratification and concern.

"How are things at Beijing Forestry University? Are you adapting well? I heard that the universities in Yanjing are full of top-tier talent. Is the pressure high?"

Zhao Yang stood up and poured a cup of tea for Old Huang.

"Thank you for your concern, Teacher. It's quite good, and I'm adapting reasonably well."

"That's good, that's good."

Old Huang took a sip of tea, then suddenly seemed to remember something, and asked in a lowered voice.

"By the way, some time ago I saw in the news that a freshman named Zhao Yang at Beijing Forestry University published a top-tier international paper... That student, it wouldn't happen to be you, would it?"

Although Old Huang was a middle school Physics teacher, he usually followed educational news. There had been quite a lot of reporting in the news a while ago, although it hadn't made it to CCTV.

But Yanjing Daily, Yanjing Television Station, and places like that had all reported on it.

Although there were no photos, the name and school matched up. He had been very curious, which was why he specifically attended this high school class reunion.

First, it was because the class monitor organized and invited him, and second, it was because he wanted to see Zhao Yang and ask about this matter.

Although he could have asked over the phone, asking about such matters face-to-face was better, which was why he had personally called Zhao Yang.

Zhao Yang looked at Old Huang's expectant gaze and knew he couldn't hide it, nor was there any need to.

He nodded and said frankly, "It's me."

"It really is you?!"

Old Huang's hand trembled with excitement, and half a cup of tea spilled out.

"That Zhao Yang who published in TIP and was specifically commended by the Ministry of Education, it's really you?!"

"Yes, I was lucky and published one," Zhao Yang said modestly.

"This isn't luck! This is ability! This is the glory of our Changcheng No. 1 High School!"

Old Huang's face turned bright red as he looked at the students in front of him and said excitedly.

"Did you hear that? I told you this kid Zhao Yang was a talent! What is TIP? It's a top-tier journal in the field of computer image processing! Not many people in the whole world can publish in it! Our class has produced a great scientist!"

Although most classmates didn't understand what TIP was, looking at Old Huang's excited appearance and combining it with keywords like "commended by the Ministry of Education," "top-tier journal," and "great scientist,"

they could also feel the significance behind it.

Li Jun sat there, his face turning shades of green and white, as if he had been slapped hard across the face.

A moment ago, he was still mocking the other person for not being able to find a job in the future and offering to arrange a clerk position for him. As it turned out, the other person was already a scientist?

This face-slapping really hurt.

"Zhao Yang... the Zhao Yang from the Yanjing Daily a few days ago, is it really you?"

Song Xi couldn't help but walk over, looking at Zhao Yang with complex eyes.

Song Xi had gone to Peking University for the College Entrance Examination, so she had, of course, heard the news reports from that time.

But she had never believed that that Zhao Yang was the Zhao Yang in front of her.

Because in her heart, she always felt: How could that be possible!

The Zhao Yang she knew, where would he have such ability?

Unexpectedly, it really was him!

Song Xi knew very well how exaggerated the content in the news reports was and how exaggerated Zhao Yang's achievement this time was!

A true peerless genius! Even Tsinghua and Peking University didn't have a genius of this level!

Song Xi looked at Zhao Yang with complex eyes, her gaze filled with an unnamable expression.

"Yes." Zhao Yang nodded at Song Xi, his attitude polite yet distant.

"Congratulations." Song Xi smiled forcedly, though a huge sense of loss welled up in her heart.

She suddenly remembered the scene after the College Entrance Examination ended when she saw Zhao Yang in the Library; at that time, Zhao Yang was already holding some books she couldn't understand.

At that time, she was in the Library, allowing Li Jun to attack Zhao Yang, and she hadn't really stopped anything.

Because at that time, Song Xi felt that Zhao Yang had failed the College Entrance Examination and would probably have to repeat a year, so he was simply not from the same world as her.

Therefore, from that moment on, Song Xi hadn't really valued Zhao Yang much.

So, even though Zhao Yang's attitude toward her was quite cold at that time, in reality, Song Xi hadn't really cared.

The little bit of affection they had accumulated during their senior year had already been exhausted. In Song Xi's view, if one didn't get into a good university, one wouldn't have a good future.

Even when Zhao Yang later got into Beijing Forestry University, Song Xi still didn't care much. If only she had treated Zhao Yang better back then.

If she had stopped Li Jun back then and drawn a clear line with him, would she still have a chance with Zhao Yang now?

Unaccountably, Song Xi suddenly recalled the scenes when she used to discuss difficult problems with Zhao Yang; they originally had feelings... What if she had gotten together with him back then?

Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs" in life.