24: Chapter 24 The Beautiful Time of the Clear Sun Shining Around the Mountain

"Why are you so surprised? She just has a sharp tongue, but her heart isn't bad."

Seeing Ning Xi with her little mouth slightly agape, looking like a totally adorable ditz, Shen Weiyue couldn't help but laugh.

"She's only this tolerant with you. She doesn't even pay attention to anyone else," Ning Xi muttered.

"That's a misunderstanding on your part. She actually craves friendship deep down, she just doesn't know how to actively maintain a friendship, so she appears very cold."

"Maybe so."

Ning Xi didn't want to argue with him about this topic. Anyway, the old Shen Weiyue was a Cultural Reference; he had no idea how others who tried to get close to Zhao Qingyan were treated.

The class monitor was like a rose blooming in the wind—shining brilliantly but covered in thorns, meant only to be admired from afar and not to be trifled with.

Of course, that was just a metaphor; after all, Shen Weiyue hadn't trifled with her either. Even if he wanted to, it probably wouldn't work.

Just as he was thinking this, he saw Zhao Qingyan walking back, holding a stack of practice papers. She stood in front of Shen Weiyue and gave his calf a light kick.

"What's up?" Shen Weiyue asked, puzzled.

"Move over." Zhao Qingyan pointed to his left side.

"Wait, you want to sit here?"

"If Ning Xi can sit here, why can't I?"

"You can, you can. Please, your eldership, have a seat."

Shen Weiyue also used a book to fan the floor, which made Ning Xi inexplicably satisfied. Sect Leader Yue was keeping things fair; at least he didn't use his hands to wipe away the dust.

Zhao Qingyan was also satisfied. Aside from being a bit slow with his studies, this Stupid Donkey was quite smart and perceptive in daily life.

She sat down gracefully, making the already narrow aisle feel crowded. Shen Weiyue was so absorbed in Records of the Three Kingdoms that he didn't feel anything unusual, but to outsiders, this scene was incredibly impressive.

This ordinarily dressed handsome guy had a shy, gentle little beauty on his right and a super beautiful big beauty on his left; the three of them sitting together looked like he was embracing them both. The little beauty would occasionally glance at him from the corner of her eye, like a cautious concubine. Yet, the handsome guy was completely oblivious.

"Shen Weiyue, is this what you meant by 'very difficult'?" A few minutes later, Zhao Qingyan pointed to a major math problem, asking in confusion.

"Yes, that's the one." Shen Weiyue took a look, "With that expression on your face, does it not have even a tiny bit of challenge?"

Zhao Qingyan shook her head, indicating it was super simple. Shen Weiyue felt struck, so he turned to look at Ning Xi and asked, "Ning Xi, what do you think?"

Ning Xi leaned her head over. Zhao Qingyan suddenly frowned and handed her the test paper. With Shen Weiyue in the middle, Ning Xi leaning over made it look like she was throwing herself into the Stupid Donkey's arms—so unseemly.

Ning Xi didn't think that much of it; she racked her brain over the problem for several dozen seconds before simply giving up.

"It's hard, extremely hard!"

"You can't do it either?"

"I can't. This problem is beyond the curriculum. I'm afraid no one in the class can do it except for Qingyan."

"Zhao the Fox, see? It's not just me saying it's hard."

Zhao Qingyan took the paper back and started calculating and explaining it with her pen, leaving Shen Weiyue and Ning Xi completely bewildered. The two of them had only one feeling: this was a genius!

She explained the problem two or three times, but Shen Weiyue only half-understood it. He simply shook his head and sighed, "Stop explaining. My brain can't take it anymore; it's going to explode. This kind of problem is destined not to be defiled by someone as weak, pitiful, and helpless as me."

Ning Xi agreed, "Exactly, I don't understand it either. If this shows up on the College Entrance Exam, I'm surrendering."

Zhao Qingyan looked at them speechlessly—two Stupid Donkeys.

"If you can't do it, why are you still reading other miscellaneous books? Hurry up and practice."

"Don't. It's been so hard to get a half-day break; don't make me look at these headache-inducing things. Why don't you read the Three Kingdoms with me and experience the charm of the struggle for hegemony in chaotic times!"

Without giving her a chance to argue, Shen Weiyue folded up Zhao Qingyan's practice papers and placed the Records of the Three Kingdoms in the middle. Zhao Qingyan took a look and shook her head, saying, "It's all Classical Chinese, it's exhausting."

"That's easy to fix. I'll go get a copy of Romance of the Three Kingdoms; it has a stronger narrative." Shen Weiyue scrambled up to go find the book.

Only the two girls, Zhao Qingyan and Ning Xi, were left on the floor. It felt awkward not to speak, so Ning Xi took the initiative, "Qingyan, you're planning to apply to Tsinghua or Peking University, right?"

Zhao Qingyan gave a hum; it was as easy as reaching into her pocket to take something.

"Then do you know which university Shen Weiyue wants to get into?"

"I know."

"Which one?"

"A certain 985 University in the east." Zhao Qingyan's expression was strange, "He didn't tell you?"

"No. Can you tell me?"

"Jianghai University."

"Oh."

Ning Xi nodded thoughtfully; she didn't seem surprised that Shen Weiyue had set his goal so high.

Zhao Qingyan didn't know what she was thinking and said indifferently, "If he has the ability to get into Jianghai University, I would advise him to apply to Renmin University of China."

"Why?"

"Because Renmin University of China is better."

"But I think Jianghai University is quite good. He has his own preferences, right?"

"It's useless to say these things now. We'll know when the results for Mock Exam 2 come out."

When Shen Weiyue returned, he saw Ning Xi with her brows tightly knit, so he asked, "What's wrong? Is reading a romance novel that sad? You're frowning so much from the sorrow."

"No. I was just talking to Qingyan about universities. Which do you think is better, Renmin University of China or Jianghai University?" Ning Xi couldn't help but ask.

Shen Weiyue smiled, "Both are good; there's no difference in quality."

"Then which one do you want to get into?"

"Jianghai University. It's a call of duty."

As soon as Shen Weiyue said this, Ning Xi stopped frowning, but Zhao Qingyan frowned instead. However, she didn't say much, just gave him a faint look and reminded him, "Wait until you can get the score for that first."

"Yes, yes, yes. Let's not talk about this. Let's read Romance of the Three Kingdoms."

Shen Weiyue sat down in the middle naturally, opened the first page, and gestured for Zhao Qingyan to read with him. The two of them read very quickly, but at certain exciting parts, Shen Weiyue would stop to describe the combat power of the fierce generals to her.

Zhao Qingyan's interested look made Ning Xi unable to hold back either. Her grandfather at home liked watching the TV series Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but she found it very boring. Right now, Shen Weiyue's storytelling was much more interesting than the TV series.

She also leaned over to listen. Seeing this, Shen Weiyue moved the book a bit to the right, placing it in the middle for him. Zhao Qingyan frowned imperceptibly again.

Just like that, in this not-so-large bookstore, Shen Weiyue transformed into a storyteller, talking about heroism to the two girls. And it actually drew them both in.

Director Shen found the feeling of pointing out the country and criticizing the past again; he spoke with such high spirits, interspersing it with his own insights, which made Ning Xi sigh that boys' romance was actually like this.

Zhao Qingyan felt that at this moment, there was light in Shen Weiyue's eyes; it was as if he were no longer a Stupid Donkey, but an eagle spreading its wings.

The eternal dream of scholars and knights. These big boys just loved these kinds of stories about fighting and killing; deep down, they all wanted to be heroes.

"Shen Weiyue, if you had to choose one character from the book, who would you want to be?"

"Cao Cao!" Shen Weiyue answered without hesitation.

"Why? Shouldn't heroism be on the side of Shu Han? Cao Cao is at most a treacherous hero."

"A treacherous hero lives for himself. I have always admired the legacy of the Martial Emperor of Wei, and have long yearned for it."

Shen Weiyue glanced sideways at Zhao the Fox, thinking, 'Do you think I would tell you the secret of the married women?'