“Just average,” Ye Shaohua said with a light smile.
But to everyone else, her words sounded like an excuse.
Xu Mengjie glanced at the reactions of their classmates and couldn’t be bothered to argue with Ye Shaohua anymore. She simply called the waiter to settle the bill.
The group walked ahead, chatting and laughing in clusters.
Most of them were busy cozying up to Nie Xi and Yan Sheng.
It wasn’t just their looks—they were genuinely talented.
Nie Xi, still in college, was already a rising starlet. Being friends with a future A-lister would surely boost their social standing.
Just then, another group appeared around the corner.
At the forefront was a young man wearing gold-rimmed glasses. Unlike Nie Xi and the others, this man, though exceptional, carried an air of erudition that made him seem unapproachable.
“Senior Su! What a coincidence running into you here in B City!” Yan Sheng’s eyes lit up when he saw the young man.
Su Qin paused at the voice before turning to look at Yan Sheng. “Oh, it’s you.”
Nie Xi also recognized the man and covered her mouth in disbelief.
Seeing their reactions, Xu Mengjie realized this Senior Su was no ordinary person.
“Miss Nie, who is he?” someone whispered.
It took Nie Xi a moment to snap out of her daze. “That’s Yan Sheng’s senior, Su Qin. The only student ever taken under Professor Leng’s wing at our university. He’s currently a first-year grad student. In just over four years, he’s solved three major mathematical problems. He’s a nationally recognized top-tier researcher—someone even the U.S. has been desperate to poach.”
This was the kind of intellectual who operated on a completely different level.
B University was full of talent, but while Nie Xi might be famous, she was just another face in the crowd there. Someone like Su Qin—a true national-level genius—was the real legend of B University.
Nie Xi and Yan Sheng usually only got to see him from a distance during his lectures.
In terms of real comparison? Nie Xi and Yan Sheng knew they weren’t even worth one of his fingers.
Yan Sheng only recognized Su Qin because the latter had once substituted for their professor in a lecture.
Meanwhile, Ye Shaohua was at the back of the group, texting Yun Yi.
Su Qin only had a passing familiarity with Yan Sheng, but his photographic memory allowed him to place the face.
Still, he didn’t engage much beyond a polite nod before preparing to leave, his smile distant.
Yan Sheng felt a pang of regret but understood that someone like him could never truly connect with Su Qin.
“Wait, Mr. Su,” the middle-aged man beside him suddenly pointed toward the back of the crowd. “Isn’t that your junior sister?”
Su Qin halted and followed the man’s gaze.
Ye Shaohua had just put her phone away when she blinked in surprise. “Senior?”
“It really is Miss Ye!” The middle-aged man’s face brightened. “Your senior and I were just talking about you earlier…”
Su Qin adjusted his glasses and glanced at Yan Sheng and the others. “Class reunion?”
Ye Shaohua stepped out from the crowd and walked over to Su Qin. “Yeah.”
Su Qin didn’t ask why she was just now taking the college entrance exam when her peers were already in university. He simply smiled helplessly. “Alright, let’s go. Professor Leng’s already at the airport. You’re coming with me.”
Then, turning back to Yan Sheng, his expression softened noticeably now that he knew they were Ye Shaohua’s classmates. “So you’re my junior sister’s classmates? If you ever need anything on campus, feel free to reach out.”
Ye Shaohua also nodded, seeing no reason to prolong the reunion. “See you around.”
The rest of the group stood frozen, not daring to utter a word.
“Sir, why did Ye Shaohua call that Senior Su ‘senior’?” Xu Mengjie voiced the question on everyone’s mind.
The middle-aged man saw no reason to hide it. “Miss Ye was the national top scorer in the college entrance exams. But Professor Leng didn’t take her on just because of that. From what Mr. Su said, she was the only one to score a perfect mark in math—even higher than that IMO gold medalist from before…”
“The International Mathematical Olympiad,” Yan Sheng supplied.
“Right, that one! Professor Leng had to ask her multiple times before she agreed to be his student. I mean, we’re all human, but how can the gap be this huge? While other students are still worrying about whether they’ll get into college, top universities are begging her to enroll. Even the legendary Professor Leng had to persuade her…”
Xu Mengjie and the others had already been looking uneasy, but now their faces twisted in shock.
So all this time, Ye Shaohua hadn’t been avoiding them out of embarrassment—she just couldn’t be bothered to engage?
Especially Xu Mengjie, who had spent the whole time bragging about her college acceptance. Now, it felt like a slap in the face.
Their expressions cycled through shades of green and white, a sight to behold.
But none of this mattered to Ye Shaohua anymore.
For some reason, she lived longer in this world than in any of the others.
And with time, she inevitably learned about the others’ fates.
One day in the lab, she overheard someone mention that Yan Sheng and Nie Xi had broken up—and that he never married, dedicating his life to research instead.
In life, you should never meet someone too extraordinary. Because that one encounter can define the rest of your existence.
[Ding! Main quest completed: Protect Ye Guofu. System reward: 700 points. Congratulations, host, for completing the hidden quest: Eliminating a world bug. System reward: 5000 points!]
[Ding! System 008 at your service. 5700 points have been credited. Initiating world detachment!]
“Is Shaohua really okay?” The first thing Ye Shaohua heard as her mind cleared was a voice thick with worry. “What’s with this damn weather? How can it be so hot?”
“Uncle, trust me, she’s fine. Look, she’s waking up already.” This voice was younger—but beneath it lurked something dark. Hatred?
Ye Shaohua opened her eyes to see the speaker staring at her, his gaze simmering with an unspoken malice.
Ye Xiangxiang had forgotten how long it had been since she last saw such a blue sky.
Or since she’d seen her aunt and uncle.
In her past life, she never should’ve entrusted them to a scumbag like Ye Shaohua. But this time was different—she had been reborn.
Suppressing the urge to kill Ye Shaohua on the spot, Ye Xiangxiang held back. There was no need to rush. The apocalypse was coming in two days.
She would awaken a lightning-based ability, and this time, she would only protect her aunt and uncle.
As for Ye Shaohua? She’d better behave. Otherwise…
