If it hadn’t been for Luo Qianqian herself participating in the finals, she would have never believed that a math competition would be held on a university campus, let alone one of the few prestigious universities.
"Big brother, do you think we could ever get into this school in our lifetime?" Luo Qianqian, dressed like a white polar bear, followed Luo Shufan closely.
"You’re that lacking in confidence? After all, we’re among the talented few in Huaxia privileged enough to stand in a place ." Luo Shufan ruffled his sister’s hair and encouraged, "Even if little sister lacks confidence, you should have faith in your big brother, since I’m so awesome."
Early in the morning, Luo Yanran had come to find the Luo siblings and said he had work arrangements, so he wouldn’t accompany them to the competition that day. He then left the car and driver for them to ride both ways, warning them not to wander off and that he would find them after he got done.
Once he left the hotel, he saw his elder brother Luo Yanhao waiting for him, wearing a bitter smile, "Brother, do you really think it’s necessary? I’m not going to run away."
"You can’t run away. Grandpa asked me to take you home, but first we have to buy some things." Luo Yanhao slightly tilted his head to look at the hotel’s building and asked, "Did they sleep well?"
"Pretty well, Qianqian was still sleeping when I went, but Shufan was already up," Luo Yanran said with a light chuckle, relieved he had brought breakfast, or else the two of them might skip it.
"Let’s go, we’ve got quite a few things to buy."
In the R University campus, Luo Qianqian was still bouncing and hopping around while holding onto her brother’s hand when she accidentally bumped into someone in front of her.
"I’m so sorry, it wasn’t on purpose." Luo Qianqian quickly helped the boy on the ground up and hurriedly apologized.
The boy looked at Luo Qianqian, who was a good two heads shorter than him, and reached out his chubby little hand. Following it up to the girl’s face, all wrapped in scarves and hats with only her big, shiny eyes looking at him. The boy put his hand in Luo Qianqian’s palm. Meanwhile, Luo Shufan hurriedly pulled the boy up, saying, "I’m sorry, are you okay?"
"It’s fine." Xu Tianyi looked at Luo Shufan and then Luo Qianqian, gave a gentle smile, and left. Seeing them young and together like that, they must be some second or third generation. He’s just a pawn; it’s better to stay away from such people. It must be nice to have someone accompany you to the exam.
"Brother, do you think he’s not cold?" Watching the boy leave, Luo Qianqian quickly stuffed her hands back into her pockets, then looked at the boy’s thin jacket and turtleneck sweater, feeling that he must live in the tropics since she could still feel the chill of the morning despite wearing so much.
Xu Tianyi stumbled on hearing the girl’s words, almost falling over—he hadn’t walked far, okay? But he quickly adjusted his pace and didn’t realize a slight smile had appeared on his face.
Luo Shufan saw the boy nearly fall and smacked his sister’s hat hard with his hand, saying only after the boy had walked away, "Can’t you be a little more discreet? People will think you have no manners if they hear you gossiping behind their backs!"
"Is it more mannerly to smack your sister on the head in public?" Luo Qianqian asked nonchalantly.
Luo Shufan’s eyes flashed with a hint of chagrin. This girl was truly spoiled rotten.
"You do know I’m your brother, right? Eldest brother as a father, have you heard of that?" Luo Shufan raised his eyebrows slightly and his tone darkened as he spoke.
Luo Qianqian’s eyes curved into a smile, "Does brother want my respect for his age, or does he want me to worship him?" After speaking, her gaze swept over the crowd that had been watching the excitement and which now quickly dispersed under her scrutiny. Truly, onlookers love to see a big scene.
Luo Shufan was torn between laughter and tears: "Just act normal. I mean you shouldn’t speak ill of others behind their backs in the future."
Luo Qianqian looked at her brother, her eyes filled with a hint of confusion. Did she speak ill of anyone? She said, "Did Qianqian say anything bad about someone?"
"You’ve been to school, after all. Speaking ill of others behind their back is ultimately not good, and you’ll be seen as a bad kid who likes to talk about others behind their backs." Luo Shufan spoke with good intentions, but after he finished, he realized his sister had only said the boy wasn’t cold, and nothing else. Was he misunderstanding her? Thinking this, he added, "Talking about others behind their back is the same as gossiping about them, right? Our Qianqian wouldn’t speak ill of others, would she?"
"So even if I talk to my brother about it, other people will think I’m a bad kid, which means brother would tell others I’ve been gossiping about someone behind their backs..." Luo Qianqian looked innocently at her brother, murmuring to herself as if speaking aloud.
Luo Shufan’s face flushed with embarrassment. How had his attempt to educate his sister turned into his mistake? Rushing, he looked up at the sky and said, "It doesn’t seem early anymore, let’s hurry and see in which exam room we are."
"Brother is gossiping about Qianqian being a bad kid behind her back..." Luo Qianqian repeated deliberately, her tone brimming with grievance.
Suddenly, both siblings shivered, exchanged glances, and simultaneously reached out to touch their arms.
They felt someone was scheming against them.
The siblings looked around warily. Could there be an acquaintance about to frame them for cheating?
"Let’s go quickly, it’s a bit cold." Luo Shufan pulled his sister along, following the signs to the bulletin board to check the exam rooms.
"Brother, we are not in the same exam room, there’s no me in your room." Luo Qianqian pointed to an exam room at the bottom of the list.
"It’s alright; I’ll wait for you in front of the building after the exam is over. And when you come out, you have to wait for me, understand?" Luo Shufan ruffled his sister’s hat and rapidly searched the large bulletin board for his sister’s name. Finding it was not easy with nearly a thousand names split between twenty exam rooms.
"Brother, I found it! Let’s go check out the location." Luo Qianqian, taking advantage of her small stature, weaved through the crowd effortlessly.
Hearing his sister’s call, Luo Shufan hurriedly made his way out of the crowd and grabbed her hand. With so many people around, losing her would be a real hassle to deal with.
"That’s great, we’re just in different classrooms in the same building; this way, we won’t lose each other." Luo Shufan checked repeatedly and then breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they were in the same building, even if they got lost, it would be easy to find each other; a couple of shouts should do the trick.
However, when the siblings stood in front of the building, Luo Shufan felt no sense of relief. Such a huge building, was it kidding him? A shout from one side of the first floor wouldn’t be heard on the other side, okay?
Xu Tianyi watched the siblings he had stumbled upon again and couldn’t help but find it amusing. Were the two of them trying to play statues in front of the building?
"Qianqian, you wait for me in the classroom after you finish. Don’t wander off. I’ll come to find you, and don’t go outside where it’s crowded. Did you hear me?" Luo Shufan repeated his instructions, placing the stationery in his sister’s hand: "Don’t run off, or you won’t get dinner tonight. Forget about roast duck and snacks." He warned her, not forgetting to use dinner as leverage.
"Got it, got it; just go already. I’ll stay right here in the classroom and won’t go anywhere." Luo Qianqian was exasperated as the entire classroom’s attention was drawn to them. They both seemed young, yet here they were at the final competition, making them hard not to notice.
Sitting in a corner, Xu Tianyi watched the siblings with amusement, his face showing a hint of surprise. He hadn’t expected both of them to be not only siblings but also competitors. The brother seemed to be about his age, too.
Luo Qianqian sat down, took out the stationery and a box of milk her brother had given her, tore open the milk, and started gulping it down, drinking while surveying the people around her. She felt someone in the corner was looking at her, but when she turned her head, she only saw someone slumped over the desk, the clothing somewhat familiar. Luo Qianqian turned back, thinking about where to go for fun in the following few days. With the large number of competitors from various cities, it was necessary to correct and prepare awards quickly, with the winners to be announced three days later, after which the competitors could go home.
Soon the bell rang, the proctor entered, distributed the papers, and everything proceeded as usual.