Chapter 428-429

Chapter 428: The Favored Are Fearless ... After getting in the car, Yun Xi glanced at the gloomy man sitting beside her. After disciplining Si Wenxuan, his mood hadn’t changed yet. He appeared more sullen than usual, but also more like a mature man. It was the first time she’d ever seen someone dare to rebuke anyone of the stature of the patriarch of the Si family. Mu Feichi was truly brazen and cocky. As the saying goes, the favored are fearless. Since he didn’t say anything, Yun Xi poked him and asked curiously, “Young Marshal Mu, why do you hate Si Wenxuan so much? She is the heiress of the Si family, and anyone with a discerning eye can see that she likes you.” Mu Feichi turned his head and glanced at her with disdain on his handsome face. “Anyone with a discerning eye can also see that I don’t like her.” 　 　 “Don’t get riled up. I didn’t mean anything by it.” Yun Xi was just being nosy. She had to admit that Si Wenxuan was really unlikable. However, because of her status, a lot of men kissed up to her and treated her like she was a princess. Mu Feichi, however, didn’t give her the time of day. He didn’t have to kiss up to her and flatter her, since his status was nobler than hers anyway. But even though this remark of his might have been just an offhand comment, it piqued her interest. Mu Feichi turned his head in amusement and eyed her nonchalantly. There was a faint gleam in his eyes. “Babe, are you interrogating me because you’re curious, or are you simply being jealous?” Yun Xi was taken aback. She quickly realized what he was insinuating and her ears reddened. “I meant nothing by it. Don’t let your imagination run wild.” “Really?” He leaned over her. “How come I smell vinegar?” “...” She felt a heavy weight on her shoulders as he rested his chin there. Then his scorching breath hit her neck, and she trembled. “Vinegar is good for you, so please, babe, eat it often.” 　 　 His deep voice lingered in her ears. It sounded both coaxing and coquettish. “...” With a helpless expression on her face, Yun Xi raised her hand and pushed his face away. Would he ever become more mature? ... The biology competition was on Friday, so Yun Xi went over the procedures and the plan of the surgery while reviewing her biology lessons. Since Zhou Chengzhe had decided to challenge her, she was going to let him find out the consequences of his mistake. Jing High School had selected ten students to participate in the competition. Zhao Yumo wasn’t interested in it, but with her grades, she couldn’t refuse to participate. This preliminary contest had a wide range of examinations, including cellular biology, biochemistry, plant and animal anatomy, organ structure, animal behavior, genetics, and evolution, all of which were subjects very familiar to Yun Xi. Although she had graduated from school many years ago in her last life, she hadn’t forgotten any basic knowledge, but she still had to go back to review everything just in case. On the day of the preliminary competition, Yun Xi arrived at the venue early in the morning. This year’s competition had more than one process for answering questions. After the computer test, the top 50 contestants would all enter the competition, and ten winners would be selected from those 50, who would then compete in groups of five. 　 　 In the quick-answer session, most of the questions would come from things they’d learned in class, though there would also be some esoteric biology knowledge. It was exceedingly difficult for people who didn’t have an especially high interest in biology to pass this level. Yun Xi felt a little apprehensive about this test. After all, the knowledge she had studied recently wasn’t very comprehensive, so she realized she would have to rely on her memory. As she entered the examination room, Yun Xi glanced at Zhou Chengzhe, who’d been assigned to the same examination room. She couldn’t help but size him up. He seemed so self-assured and smug, and it appeared that he was confident of his victory. In school, she only knew that he was very unapproachable and didn’t talk to his classmates that much. Perhaps in his eyes, they were all mentally retarded and therefore not qualified to talk to a genius like him. She couldn’t help but sneer. “Classmate Zhou, I look forward to learning from you. I look forward to your performance.” Zhou Chengzhe glanced at her with disdain and sat down with a cold snort. “You yourself seem to have started talking big too early, so don’t be a sore loser.” “The winner and loser haven’t been determined yet, so all this is still speculation. We’ll wait and see.” *** Chapter 429: Hide Their True Strength ... With the written examination in the morning and the quick-answer process in the afternoon, the schedule was fully packed. Yun Xi and Zhao Yumo were discussing the group situation that was coming up in the afternoon as they ate their lunch, when, from a distance, they saw Li Sinuo and Zhou Chengzhe walking side by side. Although they all came from the same school, ever since Li Sinuo had admitted that she’d framed Yun Xi, other students had been reluctant to approach her for fear of gossip. 　 　 Zhou Chengzhe didn’t seem to mind. Instead, he seemed to regard her as an ally fighting against their two mutual enemies, Yun Xi and Zhao Yumo. Seeing that the two of them seemed to be in unanimous agreement, Yun Xi felt the urge to laugh. If Zhou Chengzhe ever found out that the rumors in school about him had been spread by Li Sinuo, would he feign ignorance to protect his pride or would he slap her? Hee, hee... She was starting to look forward to the competition. She hoped that Zhou Chengzhe would stay in the competition until the end. How could they compete if he didn’t have real skills? After a two-hour break, the subregional competition began, and within an hour, ten spots emerged. During the final contest, Yun Xi glanced at the noisy crowd around her. After finding Zhao Yumo, she also saw Zhou Chengzhe and Li Sinuo, as expected. She didn’t see any other Jing High School students. Yun Xi knew the ulterior motive behind Li Sinuo’s desperation to win the Biology and English competition. She wanted the unconditional admission to study abroad. She was a smart person, and she knew that the man she’d been seeing wouldn’t just let her go. Her only choice was to run. Only when she escaped abroad would she be able to be rid of the trauma of those photos. 　 　 But what she didn’t know was that this man she’d been with wasn’t an ordinary person. Whether the man would let her go or not, as long as Yun Xi was there, she wouldn’t have a chance to study abroad. The list of groups appeared on the big screen. Yun Xi glanced at the list and narrowed her eyes. Very well. She was playing against Zhou Chengzhe, and even though she and Li Sinuo were in the same group, she was confident that she would be the one who would stay until the end. This contest was very unconventional. It started with a score of 50 to 10. When there were 50 people, everyone’s scores were the same, and the ten who remained were the ten with the best scores. The judges wrote the scores of the ten contestants on the big screen. Yun Xi and Zhao Yumo had already decided beforehand that they would hide their true strength during the first round. Therefore, when the 50 contestants were cut down to ten contestants, she and Zhao Yumo had answered the questions with the idea of keeping a low profile in mind. When Yun Xi and Zhao Yumo scored the ninth and tenth places respectively, their biology teachers and homeroom teachers grew anxious. Upon seeing their scores, everyone thought they were underperforming because they were nervous. Yun Xi and Zhao Yumo glanced at each other and smiled mischievously without explaining anything. They decided they might as well let everyone misunderstand them. 　 　 But Zhou Chengzhe was very happy, because he had scored first place, which made his homeroom teacher feel proud. When the groups began, the first place was grouped with the tenth place, the second was grouped with the ninth place, and so on, in a grouping method based on balancing strength. Yun Xi had ranked ninth place and Li Sinuo had ranked sixth place, so both of them were placed in the group that played against Zhou Chengzhe. The groups were then designated the red and blue groups. At the start of the competition, the red and blue groups would start competing. Questions would appear on the big screen, and both sides would press their buttons on the stage to answer. Ten points were given for correct answers, and ten points were taken off the score for incorrect answers. If someone on the team didn’t want to take the risk and refused to answer the question, then they would lose ten points and their question would be given to the whole team to answer. Therefore, whether one answered or not, the score determined the win or loss of the entire team, so nobody could shirk responsibility. At the beginning of the contest, Yun Xi was very calm, and since she was ranked behind, she wasn’t in a hurry to answer. However, Li Sinuo was full of confidence and rushed to answer several questions in a row. Although she answered three questions correctly, the more impatient she became, the more she underestimated the enemy. She has repeatedly deducted points, soon numbering 50, and only 30 points were left of her original 80 points. Zhou Chengzhe was confident in his victory, and he answered very quickly. Every time he answered correctly, he would look at Yun Xi smugly. He had already answered six questions, and a 90-point base score plus 60 points equaled 150 points. Yet Yun Xi was still in place with an untouched score of 60 points.