Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Lu Zhou could not sleep.
He pulled out his phone and went on Weibo.
He had not logged in for a long time and when he saw that he gained another 10,000 followers, he felt pretty happy.
He had not expected to be so popular online.
Ah, this is awkward.
I’m just a kid, I don’t want to be famous!
Hmm…
What should I say to my dear fans?
He thought for a while before tapping on the screen and started typing.
[Today I went to Yan University and won the Higher Education Society Cup. It feels okay.]
[Photo (screenshot of official website award certification)]
It was the first time he sent a blog post and he felt like a primary school student writing an essay.
Screw it, who cares!
Lu Zhou clicked Send.
He went on trending and saw that they were all about boring celebrity gossip. Once he was bored, he went back to his own page.
He had not expected to have dozens of comments already.
Don’t these people have better things to do?
Lu Zhou was interested in the comments and so, he clicked them open to see what his fans said.
[What is the Higher Education Society Cup?]
[Master, are you going to the US Competition next year?]
[God! If you act like this, you won’t have any friends!]
[I’m studying the graduate entrance exam right now. I’m unfollowing.]
[Once again, I’m looking at someone else’s university life.]
[I clicked the unfollow button and pretended like I didn’t see anything. I’m scrolling past. (dog)]
[Excuse me for bothering.]
Lu Zhou: ? ? ?
F*ck, why are my fans turning on me?
Lu Zhou refreshed and saw that he lost 10 followers. He was speechless.
…
Early in the morning, Lu Zhou washed his face before he left the room with his backpack.
When he walked into the lobby, he saw Lin Yuxiang.
“You… Okay?” asked Lin Yuxiang when she saw Lu Zhou’s dark circles. She was surprised and asked, “I have an eye bag cream… Do you need it?”
Lu Zhou yawned, “No need.”
He did not care about his dark circles. All he wanted to do was to get on the train and sleep.
The three people called a taxi and bought the train tickets at the train station. Lu Zhou fell asleep twice while waiting for the train. The first time he woke up was because of a kid while the second time was because of Wang Xiaodong.
“We’re about to board.”
“… Already?”
Lu Zhou rubbed his eyes and looked at the screen above the ticket gate. It was less than 10 minutes until their boarding time.
“Didn’t sleep well?”
“Yeah… I’m going to the bathroom.”
Lu Zhou actually wanted to say.
It’s not that I didn’t sleep well, I didn’t sleep at all…
Wang Xiaodong looked at Lu Zhou yawning and nodded his head.
It was the first time he had ever won a national championship and he was very excited last night. He talked to his family over the phone for more than an hour and took two hours to fall asleep in bed.
Lu Zhou went to the bathroom to wash his face before he went to line up for the ticket check.
He passed the ticket check and went on the train where he continued to doze off. When he was woken up by Lin Yuxiang, he was already at Jinling station.
The three days trip in Beijing ended like this.
…
Lu Zhou rode the subway back to school. When he entered the dorm, he was surrounded by his roommates.
“Where’s the trophy?”
“Zhou, I mean, Brother Zhou! Can I touch your trophy?”
Huang Guangming said with a smile as he reached out to take Lu Zhou’s backpack.
“Go away, go away,” said Lu Zhou. He moved aside and said, “The trophy isn’t here. It was sent directly to the school. Don’t ask me. If you want to touch it, go and ask the instructor.
“Who cares about the trophy… What about dinner?”
“I’m buying. Wait till I get the prize money!”
Normally speaking, the mathematical modeling competition only had a certificate as the award. Only the national champion would receive the trophy. The school had to pay for the trophy and so, it was customary for the trophy to be kept in the school.
The school would keep the trophy and put a photo of the three winners to record their honor.
On the way back, Lu Zhou received a call from Professor Liu. He was told to go to the Academic Affairs Office to take photos there.
Wang Xiaodong and Lin Yuxiang probably already went. Lu Zhou did not want to hold them up, so he returned to his dorm to throw his backpack down before he left.
When Shi Shang saw Lu Zhou leaving, he said, “I think Zhou is leaving us. He’s going too far.”
“Yeah, winning the Higher Education Society Cup as a first-year student. I feel more and more useless,” said Huang Guangming while he played games on his phone.
“But Zhou is still a loner. What do they say? That even if you’re not a genius, you can still receive love and youth?” said Shi Shang with a tone full of emotion.
When Huang Guangming heard him, he nearly dropped his phone.
“F*ck me, Brother Fei, let’s talk about it properly. I’m a little afraid for you… How about I bring you to a doctor?”
“What’s the point of a doctor? The guy probably ate the wrong medication,” said Liu Rui while he was doing his physics homework. He did not even bother to lift his head.
“Stop calling me Brother Fei. Call me Brother Shang,” said Shi Shang. He was unhappy to hear his new nickname. In a serious tone, he said, “You wouldn’t understand that feeling.”
Liu Rui: “…”
Huang Guangming: “…”
Shi Shang said slowly, “So, what I’m trying to say that it’s impossible to excel in academics. That guy is a wizard. But in terms of feelings or emotional intelligence, we may not be worse off than him, so don’t belittle yourself too much…”
Liu Rui suddenly said with a cold tone, “That may not be true.”
Shi Shang asked, “What?”
Liu Rui said, “During the summer, I went to the library and saw him studying with a girl.”
When he heard that, Shi Shang’s expression was awkward and he coughed before saying, “He’s just studying. I’ve studied with girls before…”
Liu Rui continued, “Then, I saw them eating together in the cafeteria. I think the girl paid for him.”
The atmosphere in the dorm was quiet.
Shi Shang and Huang Guangming looked at each other before turning to stare at Liu Rui silently.
Huang Guangming, “… Is that girl ugly? I heard those female geniuses are ugly.”
Liu Rui shook his head, “Nope, the opposite actually. She was pretty…”
Huang Guangming: “…”
Shi Shang: “…”
They were completely defeated.
Not only were they defeated in IQ, but they were also ruthlessly crushed in EQ.
“Guangming, I feel like my life is full of darkness,” said Shi Shang. He sighed, “Why is my college life so different than others.”
“It’s okay, I feel the same,” said Huang Guangming as he threw his phone aside.
“Tomorrow… Let’s study?”
“Don’t talk about tomorrow, I’m going right now,” said Huang Guangming as he climbed down the ladder.