Chapter Twenty-Eight: You Truly Dare

Loading
"Another test? Isn't this a bit much?" Qin Anyi, dragged out of the classroom by Wang Yiran, walked along the path to the administration building, looking helpless as he asked Ruoxiao.
"A brief demonstration is necessary. Although I recommended you, your academic performance has never stood out, so they still harbor doubts," Wang Yiran explained simply, recounting the discussion moments earlier.
"I actually can't quite understand why you care so much about a fairly ordinary knowledge competition. I can't guess your family background, but I'm sure it's quite remarkable," she continued.
"Failure accumulates step by step, and so does victory. As long as it involves me, I don't want to lose, not in any matter. And I've lost the knowledge competition two years in a row," Wang Yiran suddenly turned to Qin Anyi, her gaze sharp. "The competition itself isn't important; what's important is that I must win! Especially after failing twice, and with this being the last chance. One day you'll understand why I'm so obsessed with something that seems trivial to you."
"It's the heart of the strong," came a sudden voice in Qin Anyi's mind—Kirin speaking.
"The heart of the strong? What is that?"
"Data bank damaged; unable to answer…"
"Damn! Are you kidding me?" Qin Anyi nearly shouted, realizing that Kirin truly possessed an infuriating knack for leaving him hanging.

Zhao Guoping's office was on the third floor of the administration building, part of the senior third-year language teaching department. Although noon was considered a break time by most teachers, news that Wang Yiran had recommended an unknown student for the knowledge competition sparked a surge of interest. Whether or not they were involved with the competition, every teacher crowded around Zhao Guoping's desk, curious about the newcomer.

When Qin Anyi entered Zhao Guoping's office with Wang Yiran, he instantly drew the attention of everyone present.
It was, in fact, the first time in over two years of high school that Qin Anyi had ever stepped into his homeroom teacher's office. Throughout those years, his grades had been consistently steady, neither exceptional nor poor—good enough for a decent university, and he kept so low-profile at school that he was almost invisible. He had never been called in for a talk by Zhao Guoping.

"Ah, Anyi, come in, come in. I suppose Yiran has already told you why I asked you to come over this noon?" Zhao Guoping greeted him with a cheerful wave.
"Yes," Qin Anyi nodded. "Yiran recommended me to represent the school in the knowledge competition, but before that, it seems I need to pass a test to see if I meet the requirements."
Wang Yiran stood quietly behind Qin Anyi, her expression unreadable. The other teachers watched him with curiosity, wondering what made this student special.
"It's just a simple test," Zhao Guoping assured him with a smile. "After all, you would be representing the school's honor—we can't be too careless. Don't be nervous."
"Mr. Zhao, perhaps I should compete with him—"
"That might not be appropriate," Zhao Guoping frowned. "The difficulty would be too great; let's stick to a simple test." Besides Wang Yiran and Shi Le, no student in the school could match Guo Qingyuan in this area.
"Let's begin, then, so we don't delay the afternoon classes," Qin Anyi replied with a relaxed smile, seemingly unfazed.
"Very well! Mr. Zhao, please give us the questions," Guo Qingyuan said, waving his hand enthusiastically.