I Might Have Fallen in Love With My Childhood Sweetheart
Chapter 105 - 101: Preliminary Round 6

Chapter 105: Chapter 101: Preliminary Round 6

The author does not scrimp in portraying Li Qingran’s beauty, Lin Zhou possesses handsome features resembling a gentle jade-like young master.

When their eyes met, Lin Zhou was the first to shift his gaze away.

The young man looked up at Qingran’s answers without a hint of panic on his face.

The fat professor sitting beside Lin Zhou was the first to break the silence.

The fat professor, who loved to smile, bore a look of kindness whenever he did: "Hello to the student who is answering."

Qingran lowered her head in a bow: "Hello, professor."

With a nod and a smile, the fat professor asked Qingran, "Could you share with us your thought process for this problem? To my knowledge, such an unconventional approach isn’t something taught by your teachers in the second year of high school, is it?"

Whoosh!

The entire room gasped in astonishment, before returning to silence in a flash.

Old Wu felt as though he could never wipe the sweat off his forehead fast enough, as the three teachers were even more nervous than Qingran at this moment.

This was the first time after two rounds that the professors, serving as judges, posed a question to the students, and it was a complimentary one at that.

Many gazes in the audience landed on Qingran.

The handful of men from F University gaped as if their eyes were about to pop out.

"Holy shit, I just want to know if this pretty little sister will be our junior sister in the future?"

"Who was it that said the new junior sisters were immature, unable to dress up, and that we didn’t have many pretty ones?"

"It was Li Teng and those idiots from our dorm, haha, it’s a good thing they didn’t come. Now we get to feast our eyes and brag about it to them later."

"How is it that this junior sister’s beauty seems even greater than our department’s belle? I feel infatuated again, and really want to fall in love."

"You are utterly beastly, you know? She’s underage, alright? Besides, even if someone were to date her, do you think you’d be the one? With this young master here, so handsome and dashing, imposing and ..."

"Keep it down, you lot!" The nearby security guard couldn’t stand it any longer and scolded them as he approached.

Qingran looked down at her answer sheet, wondering how to explain that her unconventional approach came from God Ji’s teachings a while ago, and after trying it several times, finding the method time-efficient with a high accuracy rate, she continued to utilize it.

The venue fell into a hush, and Old Wu was burning with impatience inside, "Why isn’t the child answering the professor’s question?"

Teacher Sun soothed his emotions, "Don’t worry, Brother Wu, maybe Li Qingran is pondering how to respond."

As the words fell, they heard Qingran slowly and softly explain, "I don’t think my problem-solving approach is unconventional; I’ve been accustomed to solving problems this way recently, finding the steps simple and highly accurate. Perhaps everyone has a method that works best for them, and I’ve just chosen one that suits me."

Another wave of murmurs swept the room.

Obviously, Qingran’s frank response was unexpected, her explanation straightforward without any flowery officialese.

Old Wu sighed, "So young..."

The fat professor in the judges’ panel was also taken aback by Qingran’s response.

After a moment, he looked thoughtfully at Lin Zhou, then said to Qingran, "Thinking of and using this method is a testament to your own talent, as such problem-solving requires broad knowledge. And last time, it was with Professor Lin where I saw the same approach to problems."

Lin Zhou switched on his microphone, seemingly unwilling to waste more time and swiftly changed the topic: "Li Qingran."

He paused slightly upon mentioning Qingran’s name, as a somewhat familiar feeling surged within him.

Qingran looked at him, standing tall and straight.

The girl had grown considerably, and even in the slightly oversized uniform of F High School, her figure was graceful and upright.

Lin Zhou’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he averted his gaze, looking in an indistinct direction: "I noticed that after you finished your problem, you were writing something on the scratch paper. Was that for verification?"

Qingran nodded: "Yes, Professor Lin."

Saying so, she placed her scratch paper in front of the projector.

The scratch paper, unlike the neat answer sheet, had writing that was somewhat disorganized, but Qingran’s handwriting was tidy, showcasing graceful regular script that lacked the joint-handwriting style common among high school students today.

The content on the scratch paper was her conventional method of solving the problem; the fat professor and Lin Zhou locked eyes for a moment, then proceeded without delay.

They each wrote a score next to Li Qingran’s name and turned their attention to student number 20.

Xie Ying’an was up on the 22nd; when it was Xie Ying’an’s turn, the professor on the far left asked a question.

"Xie Ying’an, is it? I just noticed that you stopped writing in less than half the allotted time. Are you always this quick with solving problems?"

Xie Ying’an, who had been looking down and seemed lost in thought, only faintly lifted his gaze upon hearing his name. He looked toward where the professor sat, his voice carrying the clear and bright tone unique to youth: "It’s my normal speed for solving problems."

His attitude was indifferent and disengaged, to say the least.

Both students questioned by the professor were from Class 1, and Old Wu was worrying about them from below.

Before the professor could react, a burst of high-pitched screams erupted from below, loud enough to be clearly heard even on the stage, despite the security’s attempt to stop it.

"Ah ah ah! Little wild pup, little wild pup, ah, I adore you."

"Good heavens, how can there be such a handsome little brother in this world!!!"

"I’m gone, I’m gone, the heart that’s been silent for 20 years has suddenly revived at this moment."

"Ah ah ah ah!!! Why am I only discovering him now????"

...

Xie Ying’an successfully created a sensation with the good looks his authorial ’mom’ blessed him with.

Li Qingran casually glanced over and found that it wasn’t only the senior girls from F University, but also female students from other schools who came to compete were all turning into starry-eyed fans.

Tsk! That’s Xie Ying’an for you.

Song Shize, hiding at the very back of the crowd, stuck out his pinky finger to dig at his nearly-deafened ear from the high-decibel screams.

"Damn!" He cursed softly, "Haven’t these people ever seen a man before?"

Zheng Chunming gave him a look, then turned back to stare at the big screen, not daring to echo the sentiment.

Ruan Ruan teased him: "My Brother An’s extraordinary beauty can stir up a commotion wherever he goes, okay?"

Song Shize snorted dismissively: "Beauty my foot. Touch your conscience and tell me, is Xie Ying’an really handsomer than me?"

He always thought highly of himself.

"Pfft!" Ruan Ruan nearly spit out blood, she turned to look at Song Shize: "I just want to know who gave you the courage to say something like that?"

Song Shize had a look that said you have no taste.

"Who has dated more girls than Xie Ying’an? Isn’t that reason compelling enough?"

"Maybe Brother An doesn’t want to date?" Finally, Zheng Chunming couldn’t bear to listen anymore and chimed in weakly.

"Don’t pay attention to this idiot!" Ruan Ruan pulled Zheng Chunming around to turn back toward the stage.

"But," Ruan Ruan whispered to Zheng Chunming: "Brother An is handsome, but I keep feeling like our Daran seems even prettier today."

"Uh huh, uh huh." Zheng Chunming nodded furiously: "I thought I was the only one who had that impression."

"Tsk tsk," Ruan Ruan frowned: "Daran hasn’t been secretly dating without us knowing, right? Isn’t it said that being in love makes a person more attractive?"

"Dating?!" Song Shize, who had been eagerly eavesdropping, bulged his eyes wider than cymbals and raised his voice: "Who is she dating?"

Ruan Ruan covered his mouth through her mask: "Can you shut up! It’s just suspicion, suspicion, suspicion, do you understand?"

Song Shize pushed her hand away, looking disgusted: "Don’t talk nonsense without evidence. I can’t even court her, and I don’t believe anyone else could."

Ruan Ruan was already too lazy to insult him further.

"Besides," Song Shize, leaning on Wu Zixian, stretched and bragged: "Li Qingran promised me that she wouldn’t date anyone throughout high school."

"Promised you?" Ruan Ruan scoffed: "How full of yourself can you be? She just told you that because she was fed up with your pestering."

Song Shize had no shame: "Anyway, I’m aware of it."

Ruan Ruan was irritated: "Shut it! Don’t interrupt my professor-watching."

"Hey!" Song Shize glared: "Did you forget what you promised me before coming here?"

Ruan Ruan covered her ears, resolutely watching Professor Lin’s silhouette without deviation.