Chapter 190: Work Harder

He Xiaochen swore that if Ning Li was on the phone in the future, she would never utter a single word before the call ended.

Ning Li coughed lightly and said comfortingly, “Second Brother said that you’re quite interesting.”

He Xiaochen’s eyes teared up. “I think that clowns are quite interesting as well…”

Ning Li was speechless.

He Xiaochen was devastated.

How could the Goddess Ning Li ever understand the pain of mere mortals?

Ning Li looked towards the field.

“Didn’t you say that Pei Song and the others are playing basketball? Want to go see?”

He Xiaochen had suffered a huge blow and had little interest in this now.

“There’s no point now… I’d better go back and do my homework…”

‘I must uphold my image of being a diligent student! As Ning Li’s deskmate, how can I behave so playfully?’

Ning Li did not have much interest in watching the game either, so when she heard this, she did not insist on it.

“Then, I’ll join you.”

He Xiaochen finally felt some warmth from her tablemate.

“Oh, Ning Li… You’re too nice!”

…

The two of them walked towards the school building.

Physical education class had not ended yet, but several students from the first class had already returned to the classroom.

Some of the more diligent and hardworking students would spend all their time reading and doing homework, especially since their PE teacher was not very strict. They would go back to the classroom on their own.

When Ning Li entered the classroom, she found that besides the few who usually stayed back in the classroom, Ye Ci was also sitting at her desk.

She had a physics book open on her table and seemed to be studying very hard.

He Xiaochen saw this and could not help but whisper.

“That’s a rare sight! Ye Ci actually came back early from PE class?”

PE class in Second High was held at the same time for the entire grade, so the students from the twelve classes could mingle around. The girls and boys were separated and allowed to enroll in different classes according to their interests.

There were boys and girls basketball, soccer, taekwondo, table tennis, badminton and so on.

Ye Ci was in the girls’ badminton class.

She was pretty and had a good figure, so when she played badminton, she often attracted the attention of many people.

Ye Ci obviously enjoyed the attention.

This was the first time she had left early.

It was no wonder that He Xiaochen was so surprised.

Ning Li’s gaze fell on Ye Ci’s book.

It was the classic collection of questions from the national physics competition.

He Xiaochen also saw it.

“Wow, the fifth in the province is truly a different breed. Only now does she review these questions.”

After the news of Ye Ci’s results had spread, there had been all kinds of skeptical voices going around in school.

Although there were only a handful of students in the competitive physics class, they were all the brightest from each class, so most of them were a little arrogant.

There was nothing they could say when Ning Li and Pei Song won first and second place, but what was going on with Ye Ci?

In the past two months of studying together, they were all clear on her standard.

How could she possibly have gotten fifth place in the whole province at her level?

Thus, everyone had their doubts.

Soon, this doubt spread across the school.

Their school was most sensitive about results, especially in this physics competition because those who won also got extra credits in the college entrance examination.

It was no wonder that everyone was so concerned about this.

Ning Li smiled faintly.

“The national finals will be held soon, so of course it’s necessary to prepare well.”

…

The next day, the results of the physics competition were officially announced.

Ning Li, Pei Song, and Ye Ci’s portraits were also posted on the school’s bulletin board.

Quite a few people had gathered around the board.

“First in the province… I gotta hand it to her, man. I hope Ning Li can bless me so I can pass in physics!”

“Is this their school ID photo? Has it been photoshopped? Ning Li’s just too pretty!”

“I saw her once before in gym class. She was 10 meters away from me, but she was so good-looking. This photo doesn’t even do her justice.”

“Really? These three people together are like the best-looking group in our school, don’t you think?”

“I agree about Ning Li and Pei Song, but Ye Ci’s still a little out of their league.”

Ye Ci was also very beautiful. Otherwise, she could not have been one of the most popular girls in school for so long.

However, there was always something to compare to.

Ye Ci’s photo alone was indeed innocent and beautiful, but next to Ning Li, she seemed a little lackluster.

Beauty was always subjective.

“I don’t care who looks good. I just wanna know how exactly Ye Ci got fifth place?”

“What do you care? The provincial competition is so strictly regulated, so of course, it was through her ability.”

“Well, we’ll know her real abilities after the national competition…”

….

Self-study class.

A girl who sat behind Ye Ci gently tapped her on the shoulder.

This seat had been empty since Sun Huihui had transferred to another school.

“Ye Ci, how do you solve this question? Will you teach me?”

The girl asked in a whisper as she handed over a piece of paper and pointed to a question on it.

Ye Ci turned back and looked at it. “Sure.”

She took the paper and began to read the question, only to find that it was a physics energy conservation problem.

After reading it, Ye Ci looked a little glum because she did not know how to solve it.

“Let me do the math first.”

She turned around with the paper and started to do the calculations on a piece of draft paper.

Five minutes later, she still could not figure it out.

The girl behind her could not help but ask, “Ye Ci?”

Ye Ci got a little anxious. “Almost done.”

The girl then waited for another five minutes.

Seeing that Ye Ci had been writing, but delayed in writing the answer, the girl finally understood and asked tentatively, “Ye Ci, if you don’t know how to solve it, I can ask the class monitor…”

“Which question is it that is so difficult?”

A boy next to them came over and took that piece of paper away.

He took a look at it, thought about it for about ten seconds, then quickly took a pen to calculate it.

Ye Ci did not have a good feeling about this.

That boy quickly solved the problem and handed the piece of paper over.

“Is this the answer?”

The girl nodded in surprise.

“How did you solve it?”

“It’s simple, just use these three formulas…”

The boy explained quickly and concisely.

“Ah, so that’s how it’s done…”

The girl thanked him, then looked at Ye Ci again. “It doesn’t seem that hard.”

The boy had also been involved in the physics competition and had won a provincial award before. He casually said, “Some of the questions in the competitive physics class are much more difficult than this.”

Ye Ci felt unsettled and gripped the pen until her knuckles turned white.

Of course, Ye Ci was aware of the rumors in school.

After a few days, she had inadvertently heard so many of these rumors.

However, no one had accused her of cheating to her face, so she could not exactly defend herself.

That would only make her look guilty and overly sensitive.

Thus, Ye Ci chose to turn a blind eye, but only she knew how suffocating it felt.

At this moment, she knew what her classmates thought of her in their hearts, but she could not say anything.

The girl behind her left.

Ye Ci hesitated for a while before taking her phone.