You Like The Smart Ones? You Should Have Said So Sooner! - Chapter 39

Chapter 39: One Must Look Forward

He couldn’t stand these two anymore.

Chen Miao drifted over like a lost soul and closed the door. He sat stiffly in his chair, staring blankly at the interaction between the two.

When their discussion grew intense, Song Ying would lean very, very close to Qin Mian. At these moments, Chen Miao would clench his fists in silent fury.

What are you doing?! Why are you leaning so close?!

Whenever their brain waves synced up, Song Ying would smile at Qin Mian until his eyes curved into crescents.

Chen Miao gritted his teeth. And what is THIS about?! Aren’t you discussing a problem? What’s with the handsome smile?!

When he noticed Qin Mian’s gaze wandering and his ears turning red, Chen Miao felt himself breaking apart. Mian, have some sense. This guy has bad intentions!! Resist the temptation!!!

By the time they finished one problem, Chen Miao had lost count of how many times he had sighed.

“You two done?”

“Yeah, finished.” Noticing his foul mood, Qin Mian asked, “What? Do you have something to say?”

Chen Miao’s gaze shifted from Qin Mian to Song Ying, and he cupped his hands cautiously. “Brother, may I be so bold as to ask… just how high is your level?”

“A bit better than mine,” Qin Mian answered for Song Ying.

Chen Miao snapped his head around: “Didn’t ask you.”

He turned his focus back to Song Ying. Based on how dizzy and confused his “precious son” was over this guy, Qin Mian’s words weren’t credible. Who knew what kind of filter he was looking through?

Qin Mian gritted his teeth. “Tsk.” Grown a backbone, haven’t you, Chen Sanshui?

But Chen Miao was currently possessed by a moment of “low skill, high courage.” He wasn’t afraid of Qin Mian at all. He was acting out of the goodness of his heart, yet his precious son didn’t appreciate it!

Song Ying felt the frustration coming from the person beside him and his heart softened. What to do? He’s so cute. He smiled and replied calmly, “I’m alright.”

The heart Chen Miao had held in suspense jumped again. He pressed further: “What does ‘alright’ mean specifically?”

“About the same as Qin Mian.”

Chen Miao relaxed slightly. If he was at the same level as Qin Mian, then Qin Mian shouldn’t have too much of a filter for him. At the same time, he grumbled internally: What do you mean ‘alright’? If you’re at my son’s level, that’s called ‘excellent.’

“Then what do you usually score? Six hundred and eighty or ninety?” Chen Miao’s defenses had fully dropped. He took a sip of water and asked casually.

Qin Mian stared at the water Chen Miao was drinking, predicting its fate in his mind.

Then, Song Ying replied airily: “Around seven hundred and ten or twenty. Depends on the difficulty of the paper.”

“Pfft—”

Just as Qin Mian expected, Chen Miao sprayed a mouthful of water everywhere. His pupils shook with shock, and his speech became stuttered: “How… how much!?”

“Seven-ten or seven-twenty,” Qin Mian repeated helpfully. There was a faint trace of pride in his tone.

“……” Chen Miao was speechless. His mind was in a total brainstorm.

His precious son had scored 691 in this year’s exam and was already in the Provincial Top 100. If this guy got 710 or 720, wasn’t he headed straight for the Top Scorer spot? He remembered Qin Mian’s social media post from two months ago saying this year’s Top Scorer was 718.

It was over. Given Qin Mian’s habit of idolizing anyone who performed better than him, wouldn’t Song Ying’s score turn his son into a complete idiot?

He silently glanced at the proud-looking Qin Mian. Tsk, he’s already been turned into an idiot.

“Hiss—what’s with that look!?” Qin Mian was provoked by Chen Miao’s gaze and rolled up his sleeves. “Chen Sanshui, have I not dealt with you in a while?”

Chen Miao chickened out and shrieked. “Ayyy, I’m sorry!! I was wrong!! Brother Qin! Brother Mian! Spare me this once! I still need this face to confess to girls!!”

Forget it! I’m not playing anymore! Let it all burn! Whatever happens, happens! Why am I even trying to defend anything? The cabbage is voluntarily riding the pig and running away!

For the entire day after that, Chen Miao didn’t look for Qin Mian. Perhaps he was processing the news, or perhaps he was self-hypnotizing. But after just one day, he returned to normal and went back to lounging at Qin Mian’s house all day.

Chen Miao’s stance: Regardless, I’ll guard him as long as I can.

In the room, there was only the “shasha” sound of Qin Mian solving problems and the sound of someone cracking melon seeds. Qin Mian squeezed his pen, reaching the end of his patience. He grabbed a pack of tissues from the desk and threw it.

“Go crack those on the balcony.”

Chen Miao caught the tissues and helplessly set the seeds down. He glanced at the mountain of exercise books on Qin Mian’s desk and sighed:

“Mian, I really admire you. I spent my whole senior year working day and night, nearly losing half my life just to survive it. You? You actually ran back to do it for another year. Impressive.” He gave Qin Mian a thumbs-up.

Qin Mian didn’t look up. “Don’t you know why I’m repeating?”

“I know.” Chen Miao slumped back into his chair, staring at the ceiling. “But can you really bear to let it go? That’s University A! The top institution that countless students break their heads trying to get into. It’s much better than University Z.”

The speed of Qin Mian’s pen didn’t slow down. “If I couldn’t bear it, I wouldn’t be repeating.”

Chen Miao was silent for a moment, then spoke cautiously: “Mian… have you ever thought about leaving Province Z?”

The fast-moving pen tip paused, leaving a messy blot of ink on the paper.

“No.”

“Province Z isn’t bad, but Province A has more opportunities, more talent, and more resources. If you go to Province A, you’ll definitely have better prospects.”

“Not going.”

“Even though my mom would miss you, she doesn’t want you trapped in one place either.” Chen Miao knew where Qin Mian’s “reverse scales” were, but he could only bite the bullet and continue: “Qin Mian… one cannot be trapped in the past forever. You have to look forward.”

The pen stopped completely. The black ink slowly spread across the exam paper. The room was so quiet that Chen Miao felt he could hear his own heartbeat. The wind blew outside, making the leaves rustle. He remembered the last time he was this nervous was when the exam results came out.

Gritting his teeth, Chen Miao continued his death-defying speech: “Besides, with Song Ying’s grades, he’s definitely going to University A, right? He won’t stay in Province Z. When that time comes…”

When that time comes, what will you do? You like Song Ying, don’t you? What happens to you and Song Ying? Long distance? Are you sure? For how many years?

Chen Miao stared seriously at Qin Mian’s profile, leaving the rest unsaid, but he believed Qin Mian understood it all.

A long time passed. Then, with a loud clack, Qin Mian dropped his pen. He ground his back teeth and turned to look at Chen Miao. His eyes held a clear coldness and scrutiny.

Chen Miao’s skin tightened, and he swallowed hard. As someone who grew up with him, he sensed very clearly that Qin Mian was furious. Qin Mian hadn’t looked at him with that kind of gaze in a very long time.

Just as Chen Miao was waiting for Qin Mian to explode or give him a smack… the other suddenly stared at him and asked: “Are you full?”

“…Huh?” Chen Miao didn’t react for a second.

“If you’re stuffed, then get out. Stop being an eyesore.” Qin Mian issued an expressionless order to leave.

Chen Miao was helpless. Fine, he’s still the same old self. He had thought Qin Mian’s personality had changed.