Han Cheng looked at Ye Chen, his eyes a little complicated.
He had given this set of questions to many students before.
The highest score had been only eighty.
No one had ever gotten a perfect score—half an hour was just too short.
But today, Ye Chen had set a record.
"Ye Chen, one hundred points, eight minutes." Han Cheng announced.
"..."
The Classroom was dead silent.
You could have heard a pin drop.
How is this possible?
Did I hear that wrong?
Seeing the stunned looks on the students' faces, Han Cheng repeated, "Student Ye Chen is excellent—not only did he get a perfect score, he finished the whole set in just eight minutes."
The words sent the room into an uproar, like boiling water.
"Impossible, a perfect score!"
"Eight minutes? I spent eight minutes on the first problem alone!"
"A half-hour paper done in eight minutes and still a hundred—too awesome!"
"Who says girls outshine boys? Our class's science god is still one of us guys!"
…Almost everyone turned to stare at Ye Chen.
Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo gazed at him in pure admiration.
Our man is amazing.
At that moment Su Xiaonuan flicked her fingers; a paper ball landed on Ye Chen's desk.
Ye Chen unfolded it—Su Xiaonuan's neat handwriting read,
"Great god, awesome!"
Just then Li Sitong leaned over. "Oho, some girl's passing you notes."
Ye Chen chuckled. "What can I do when your Boyfriend's so outstanding?"
"Get lost—stop taking advantage of me." Li Sitong punched him hard.
"A-hem."
Han Cheng had meant to praise Ye Chen further, only to see the boy flirting with a girl down there.
Fine—he's a Top Student; my old eyes must be failing me, I saw nothing, nothing.
Right now the whole class was in shock.
If the others felt envy, awe, disbelief—
Wu Bin felt jealousy and resentment.
Why?
The guy's already so handsome—how can his grades be this good?
Fake, it has to be fake.
Besides Wu Bin, there was someone else whose face looked awful.
That was Zhao Kai.
Both of them realized at that moment: the goddess they liked was drifting further and further away.
Ye Chen wasn't just better-looking; his grades were a dimension-shattering crush.
How could they compete?
Wait—we still have Su Xiaonuan.
The two of them turned their eyes toward her.
The next second, their hearts shattered.
Because Su Xiaonuan was gazing at Ye Chen with tender affection.
Why?
Why is this guy so perfect?
Why does he alone monopolize the hearts of all three school flowers?
Heavens, can't you give us single dogs a way to survive?
Han Cheng said, "Student Ye Chen's math is superb and his reasoning crystal-clear. If there's anything you don't understand, ask him—or me."
Then he went over the paper.
By the time he finished, the bell had rung.
"Class dismissed."
"Goodbye, teacher."
The students stood and watched Han Cheng leave.
After three periods with different teachers, everyone returned to their own class.
Ye Chen sat at his desk, feeling a gaze fixed on him.
And it was the kind of look that carried deep resentment.
He even felt a chill down his back.
But when he turned around, he couldn't spot who was watching him… At that moment, in a corner—
"Gao Qian, why do you keep staring at Ye Chen? Still not over him?"
Her best friend Wang Hongjing nudged Gao Qian and whispered.
Gao Qian sighed and slumped onto her desk in distress.
"I'm facing a really hard choice; I don't know what to do."
"What choice—whether to keep liking Ye Chen?"
Gao Qian shook her head.
"Pride versus delicious food—which should I pick?"
Wang Hongjing was utterly bewildered.
What did that even mean?
Gao Qian began to explain in a low voice.
It turned out that over the weekend, while shopping, she had come across a Hot Pot place that looked classy and romantic.
Right on the Commercial Street.
Curiosity got the better of her and she went in to eat.
Wang Hongjing suddenly remembered. "The one with individual pots, right? I've heard of it."
Chen-Si-Luo Hot Pot had become quite famous, though rumor said it was a bit pricey.
Wang Hongjing had only heard about it; she'd never been.
"Yes, that one. After a single meal I was hooked on their Hot Pot."
Chin in hand, Gao Qian still savored the perfect flavor.
A mysterious smile even appeared on her face.
"At that moment I swore I'd eat only their Hot Pot for the rest of my life."
Wang Hongjing blinked. "Is it really that good? Then what?"
Gao Qian looked defeated. "But I realized I'll never be able to eat that amazing Hot Pot again."
Wang Hongjing was lost. "Can't eat it? Don't tell me it closed right after opening?"
"No!"
Gao Qian shook her head, then shot Ye Chen a resentful glance.
"It hasn't closed."
Wang Hongjing instantly guessed, "Did your mom and dad cut your pocket money?"
Gao Qian shook her head again.
Now Wang Hongjing was really confused.
The Gao family was well-off; surely she could still afford Hot Pot.
"Do you know who owns that Hot Pot place?" Gao Qian asked.
"Who?"
Gao Qian sighed. "It's called Chen-Si-Luo."
"Chen-Si-Luo?"
Wang Hongjing repeated it under her breath.
Suddenly her eyes lit up. "No way."
"Don't tell me it's run by Ye Chen, Li Sitong, and Xia Yingluo?"
Everyone knew the three were close, and the name was clearly an acronym of theirs, so Wang Hongling figured it out at once.
"Right, it's theirs." At this point Gao Qian's heart cracked.
After all, one big reason she'd once looked down on Ye Chen was his supposedly poor family background.
But could a High School student open such a large Hot Pot place if his family were poor?
"That day when I ate there, I saw Ye Chen, Xia Yingluo, and Li Sitong; the staff all called them boss."
Wang Hongjing stared at the trio in admiration.
High-schoolers opening a Bubble Tea Shop would be impressive enough, let alone a Hot Pot Restaurant.
At this stage everyone still asked their parents for money.
Yet they were already running a business and making money—amazing!
"So what should I do?" Gao Qian sighed.
"What do you mean, what should you do?" Wang Hongjing was puzzled.
"With the way Ye Chen and I used to be… how could I ever go eat at his Hot Pot place again?"
Wang Hongjing was even more lost. "Why can't you? Because you don't want to run into your love-rivals Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo?"
"No…"
She had long since given up on Ye Chen.
At first she hadn't wanted to, but Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo were simply too outstanding; she couldn't compare. What else could she do?
She had even tried confessing to Ye Chen—and still failed.
"It's just… going to Ye Chen's Hot Pot place would feel so awkward, so uncomfortable. You know what I mean."