You Like The Smart Ones? You Should Have Said So Sooner! - Chapter 38

Chapter 38: Total Domination

“First, connect points A and C to form a point of tangency; we can set it as point P…”

As usual, Qin Mian was tutoring Li Zhixun in math, but today his head felt heavy and groggy. His spirits had been high earlier, and despite Song Ying and Chen Miao trying to stop him, he had still indulged in some alcohol. It had been a long time since he’d had a drink, and now, even a small amount seemed to have made him a bit tipsy.

Li Zhixun noticed that Qin Mian wasn’t in the best state and was very considerate. “Brother Mian, if you’re sleepy, how about we stop here for today?”

Qin Mian shook his head. “It’s fine. Teaching you math is still no problem.”

Just as he was about to continue, a “knock-knock-knock” sounded at the door. Li Zhixun, being quick-witted, got up to open it.

Seeing it was Song Ying, Qin Mian asked, “Why are you back? Didn’t you go home with Chen Miao since it was ‘on the way’?”

“It wasn’t on the way. I just went out to catch some fresh air.”

Song Ying stared at the other’s flushed face, realizing he was likely a bit drunk. He glanced at Li Zhixun standing nearby and found the sight rather an eyesore.

“It’s getting late, and you’ve been drinking. Leave Li Zhixun to me today; you go to sleep.”

Qin Mian was skeptical. “You? Are you sure?”

He was afraid Song Ying would lead Li Zhixun astray just when he had finally managed to teach the boy a few things. Based on Song Ying’s previous teaching style, Li Zhixun’s brain might turn back into mush.

“……” Song Ying fell silent for a moment at Qin Mian’s blatant lack of trust.

He spoke up to save face: “Don’t worry, trust me. I’ve improved.”

Stared down by Song Ying’s sincere eyes, Qin Mian couldn’t bring himself to say anything discouraging. Plus, his head was aching slightly, so he agreed.

Seeing Qin Mian nod, Song Ying immediately dragged the bewildered Li Zhixun out. His movements had perfectly captured the essence of how Chen Miao had dragged him earlier—proving with physical action that his learning ability was indeed top-tier.

Thus, it wasn’t until Li Zhixun was standing outside the tightly closed door of Room 201 that he finally processed his fate. He looked piteously at Song Ying and said with a shudder, “S-Song, Brother Song… please have mercy.”

Song Ying turned slowly, his gaze landing on the cowering Li Zhixun.

This is the guy who kept butting in while Qin Mian was teaching me one-on-one.

Li Zhixun broke into a violent shiver. So scary! QAQ! Brother Mian, save me!

During the remaining days of the holiday, Chen Miao ran to Qin Mian’s house religiously. When Song Ying was there, he was there; when Song Ying wasn’t there, he was still there. It was as if he were subtly guarding against someone.

“Knock, knock, knock.” Song Ying knocked on Qin Mian’s door. With a creak, the door opened.

Unsurprisingly, it was Chen Miao again.

“You again. Cooking, delivering food—what is it this time?” Chen Miao stared at the person outside with a fake smile.

Song Ying returned a polite smile. “A question.”

“What question? Let me see.”

Even though Song Ying had passed his test that night, Chen Miao still felt extremely annoyed seeing this guy named Song running to Qin Mian’s house every day. He felt like his “cabbage” was being snatched away by a pig. He felt that Song Ying knocking on the door five times in two days was definitely a sign of ill intent.

Song Ying also knew the person in front of him was doing this on purpose. He actually had a key to Qin Mian’s place and could have walked in without knocking, but considering this was Qin Mian’s childhood friend, he restrained himself.

Looking at the man leaning in to solve the problem, Song Ying added calmly, “A math problem.”

“I am a student at a top-tier university, after all. I can handle a few math problems,” Chen Miao said with full confidence.

He had grown up in Dong’an and knew the academic level of the local schools inside out. Aside from Qin Mian, who was an anomaly, everyone else’s level was consistently… mediocre. Therefore, Chen Miao’s status as a student at an out-of-province elite university made him a “mini-scholar” back at No. 2 High. He was currently bursting with confidence about solving Song Ying’s problem.

And then… reality slapped him in the face.

Hiss—”

Chen Miao’s face shifted from confidence to confusion. His smile gradually vanished, replaced by gravity. His brows furrowed so deeply they could have crushed a fly.

Qin Mian came out of the bathroom to see Song Ying standing innocently at the door while Chen Miao clung to the doorframe, clutching a book as if he had encountered an unsolvable mystery of life.

“What are you two doing? Come in.”

Since Qin Mian said so, Song Ying didn’t hold back. He sidestepped Chen Miao’s blockage and stepped inside.

Chen Miao started shrieking: “Wait! Wait! Wait!”

He stared at Song Ying in disbelief, pointing at the problem. “Song Ying, did you specifically pick a insanely difficult problem just to come here and ask it? Are you sure you can even solve this?”

To ask a question, shouldn’t one ask something within their own level? The problem in his hand right now was practically at the level of a Mathematical Olympiad competition! Chen Miao had a score level of 600+, yet he had thought for a long time without finding a single lead. He simply didn’t believe Song Ying could do this kind of problem.

It wasn’t that he was targeting Song Ying personally; he just didn’t believe No. 2 High could produce another genius like Qin Mian.

As he spoke, he flipped the book over to look at the cover: 《Selected High School Mathematics Competition Problems》.

Chen Miao: “……” Crap. It really is a competition problem.

A soft “clack” sounded. Qin Mian placed a water cup on the table and asked familiarly, “Which problem is it?”

Both Qin Mian and Song Ying loved tackling difficult problems. When they found a particularly interesting one, they enjoyed discussing it together to find as many solutions as possible.

Song Ying pulled the book from the dazed Chen Miao’s hands and handed it to Qin Mian, along with the scratch paper he had been holding.

“This problem is quite clever. I thought of one solution, but it feels a bit complicated. Take a look.”

Chen Miao’s gaze shifted to the scratch paper. It was densely packed with math and English symbols. It vividly illustrated the saying: The end of mathematics is English. Chen Miao was stunned.

“What if we do it this way? We don’t solve for A first, instead, we set…” “Right, then we can use a parabola…” “Or, try trigonometric functions, use the substitution formula…”

The two of them leaned over the table, discussing intensely as if no one else were in the room, completely ignoring the living, breathing presence of Chen Miao.

Initially, Chen Miao tried to squeeze in and join their train of thought. However, after listening for three minutes, he couldn’t even tell which part of the problem they were on. The two of them kept tossing out technical terms that left him utterly dazed.

In the end, he completely gave up trying to fit in.

Chen Miao: Excuse me? Is this even high school content? Is it because I’m too weak, or because you two are monsters?