By the time Jiang Wei finished sending the voice messages, Tang Zihe had already sketched out most of the solution for that problem and was ready to pull him over to explain it.
This time, Jiang Wei listened intently through the entire explanation. He spent a few more minutes digesting it himself before finally copying the complete process onto his already battered and pitiful-looking test paper.
By the time everything was finished, Tang Zihe’s phone hadn't buzzed again.
"So why hasn't he replied yet?" Jiang Wei asked, feeling a bit puzzled. Based on the time that had passed, the guy could have listened to his voice messages at least three times over.
"No idea, don't worry about him," Tang Zihe said, seemingly indifferent. Instead, he teased, "The difficulty of this paper is almost on par with the National Physics Competition from previous years. Is Old Shi trying to send our entire class to the Physics Winter Camp?"
"The competition?!" Jiang Wei was startled by the word.
He had overheard Xia Shan and the others chatting about subject competitions before. Aside from Biology and Chinese, which didn't have massive-scale competitions, the other four subjects they studied all had competition training at different times. These training courses and their management were handled directly by the Competition Committee, euphemistically referred to as "Winter Camps" or "Summer Camps."
The reality, of course, was far from pleasant. Every year, No. 4 High would encourage capable students to take the introductory assessment for these competitions. If they were lucky enough to pass, they would undergo about a month of intensive training during the Winter or Summer Camp. This period involved a brutal elimination system; only the thirty or forty people who survived to the end of each training program were qualified to participate in the actual National Competition.
Perhaps because Xia Shan’s tone when discussing these things was overly alarmist, Jiang Wei’s impression of them had always remained at: *Isn't that just looking for a way to suffer?*
However, there was a reason why so many people fought tooth and nail to participate in this training every year. Winning a national first-class prize in these competitions was equivalent to securing an early ticket to any top-tier university in the country. It was essentially the strongest lifeline for students who excelled in one subject but struggled in others—though the process was likely more grueling than they could imagine.
"The door to the Physics Competition has already slammed shut in my face," Jiang Wei said, giving a mock salute of resignation.
"You're not lopsided in your grades, so you don't need to take it," Tang Zihe said nonchalantly, leaning against the window and writing something without pause.
Jiang Wei asked, somewhat confused, "You're not planning to go?"
Even if the training sounded insane, for someone like Tang Zihe, it probably wouldn't feel much different from his usual homework. If his competition results were good enough, he might even get early admission and skip the National College Entrance Exam entirely.
No matter how you looked at it, it seemed like a win-win situation.
Tang Zihe fell silent for a moment. He looked at Jiang Wei with rare seriousness before slowly shaking his head.
"I thought about it before, but I realized something recently," he smiled, speaking with a touch of arrogance. "Receiving an admission letter is only a matter of time for me. It doesn't hold much meaning."
Even though he was telling the truth, Jiang Wei simply didn't want to talk to this guy anymore.
The result of putting that thought into action was that the two of them sat on the floor and worked on their homework in total silence for over two consecutive hours.
It only ended when Jiang Wei felt his brain starting to twitch, unable to hold out any longer.
Tang Zihe was still leaning against the window, focused on his paper. Jiang Wei shifted his posture and pulled the phone he’d been keeping in his pocket. He moved very slowly, trying his best not to make a sound; the only noise in the room remained the rustle of pen nibs against paper.
Perhaps because it was the weekend again, their small group chat had become lively after a long period of quiet.
*Soft Little Bunny:* [Has anyone started their homework tonight? Can someone tell me what is up with this weekend's workload?]
*Soft Little Bunny:* [Has Old Shi gone mad?]
*Xia Shan:* [I did Chinese first. Is the Physics paper hard?]
*Don't Ask Me for Fortunes:* [Very hard.]
*Don't Ask Me for Fortunes:* [I planned to skip whatever I didn't know, but I'm unsure about more than half the page... If any of you finish it later, remember to bless me.]
*It’s Getting Better:* [What’s the homework?]
*Soft Little Bunny:* [?]
*Don't Ask Me for Fortunes:* [?]
*Xia Shan:* [?]
*It’s Getting Better:* [?]
*Bubblegum is My Life:* [Two papers each for Physics, Math, and Chemistry. One each for Chinese, English, and Biology. No English essay or listening.]
*It’s Getting Better:* [Got it, thanks, beautiful.]
*Soft Little Bunny:* [So who did Physics? Help! SOS! @All Members.]
*Materialist:* [Me. One sec.]
*Materialist:* [Photo*6]
*Materialist:* [I took photos of the harder ones.]
*Soft Little Bunny:* [Thanks, Brother Jiang! My respect for you is like a torrential river, endless and overflowing. You are my second parent; I will never forget your great kindness tonight...]
*Xia Shan:* [Thanks, Brother Jiang! My respect for you is like a torrential river, endless and overflowing. You are my second parent; I will never forget your great kindness tonight...]
*Don't Ask Me for Fortunes:* [Thanks, Brother Jiang! My respect for you is like a torrential river, endless and overflowing. You are my second parent; I will never forget your great kindness tonight...]
...
*Materialist:* [?]
Where did these people learn such weird phrases?
*Xia Shan:* [Stop talking about studying, it's too depressing. Let me share something good with everyone.]
*Xia Shan:* [Video]
Jiang Wei didn't dare click it immediately. He checked the first three seconds of the video to confirm it wasn't anything inappropriate before finally venturing to play it.
A massive blast of BGM instantly filled the room. No matter how quickly Jiang Wei frantically mashed the volume button, the damage was done. He could only look at Tang Zihe piteously, signaling that he absolutely hadn't meant it.
Tang Zihe was also startled by the sudden noise. The lead of his mechanical pencil snapped, and all his movements froze for an instant.
If anyone else had caused this disturbance, Tang Zihe was certain he would have beaten them up and thrown them out without hesitation.
But now, just meeting that gaze, he couldn't find it in himself to get angry at all.
Taking a break wasn't a big deal anyway. He simply set aside his paper and pen, leaned over, and asked, "What are you watching?"
"A... a video Xia Shan sent to the group." Knowing he had messed up, Jiang Wei spoke with a lack of confidence. He didn't even dare ask if Tang Zihe wanted to watch; he just held the phone out toward him.
The beginning of the video was white text on a black background with simple effects.
*Try Not to Catch Feelings Challenge.*
Jiang Wei watched with a calm expression as a man appeared in the video.
The man simply performed a few basic moves to the BGM and ended by smiling at the camera, revealing two sharp canine teeth. The ten-second short video ended.
Jiang Wei was silent for a few seconds before muttering without any emotional fluctuation, "Just this?"
But by the next video, Jiang Wei couldn't help but swallow hard.
For no other reason than the man in the video was clearly a young Alpha in his early twenties. He had gentle features but performed a short street dance routine—the moves weren't difficult, but the range of motion was large.
The sound of Jiang Wei swallowing occurred when the man accidentally flashed his abs.
Tang Zihe cast a faint glance at the person beside him.
The emotion in Jiang Wei's eyes told him that he was a little envious.
But it was only a little.
"It's nothing special..." Jiang Wei shrugged without any psychological burden. "It's nowhere near the level of making my heart flutter."
"Seems your standards for catching feelings are quite high," Tang Zihe remarked dryly from the side.
"Not really," Jiang Wei thought about it. "I just recalled that I've always preferred the soft and squishy type."
Tang Zihe didn't respond.
The phone automatically skipped to the next video.
...
After watching five or six similar short videos in a row, Jiang Wei didn't have much of a reaction. Aside from his commentary becoming more frequent, it was hard to tell if he actually had any interest in this stuff.
But his excitement was indeed mounting.
"I used to like this 'bun' type. It didn't matter if they were an Omega, Beta, or Alpha," Jiang Wei said, pointing at a fair-skinned, slightly chubby-cheeked little Omega on the screen. He smacked his lips and added, "He's definitely good-looking, but still not enough."
Tang Zihe naturally understood what Jiang Wei meant by "not enough," but he didn't offer any comment.
Jiang Wei, of course, didn't have time to notice the excessive silence of the person beside him, because the content of the next video instantly grabbed both of their attention.
*A Guide to the Hotties of No. 4 High.*
Jiang Wei stiffly patted the person next to him, asking with a mix of excitement and disbelief, "This 'No. 4 High'... it couldn't be our school, could it?"
Tang Zihe’s arm stung from the patting, but his eyes were also glued to the phone screen. "I don't kno—"
Before he could finish, the first person to appear explained everything.
It was Ye Feiyang.
Jiang Wei let out a very obvious "tsk," muttering with dissatisfaction, "What is wrong with these people's eyes? How can this guy be in this video..."
But complaints aside, even if Ye Feiyang's personality wasn't that likable, his facial features were objectively top-tier. He was the type who looked fierce when not smiling, perfectly satisfying the inner fantasies of teenage girls.
A few seconds later, another very familiar face appeared in the video.
"The taste improved this time. Someone athletic like Ding Banfan is definitely a crowd-pleaser," Jiang Wei analyzed like a seasoned pro, sounding both fair and objective. "The handsome, athletic Alpha senior—that persona is indeed a good one."
The third person to appear didn't surprise either of them.
"Shen Yannan’s face is truly bewitching. If I didn't know his true nature, I reckon I might have lost my cool at first sight." Jiang Wei looked at the photos the creator had selected. Although it was clear the resolution wasn't that high, almost every shot was taken from a different angle. It was practically a 360-degree photoshoot with no dead zones.
Just as he finished speaking, the protagonist of the video changed again without them noticing.
This time, "shocked" wasn't enough to describe their expressions.
"Crap..." Jiang Wei was silent for several seconds before he finally managed to let out a single syllable.
***
