"Brother Hao, come this way." A classmate came to support Hao Yun.
He pushed the person away and said in a low voice, "I don’t need your help, I can walk on my own."
The classmate was taken aback for a moment, then heard the person who had mocked Hao Yun earlier say, "Earlier at the noodle shop, he wouldn’t sit with us and insisted on drinking alone. Do you really think he’ll let you help him? Brother Zhang, I think you should save your energy. Instead of wasting time on him, why not go back to your room and read some more books? Otherwise, your kindness might be wasted. Don’t forget, he’s aiming to get his name on the golden list. Can we compare to him?"
Seeing Hao Yun’s stubbornness, the classmate didn’t insist further and followed the group to the third floor.
Song Wei and his group were staying on the second floor.
As soon as the group left, only Song Wei, his wife, and Hao Yun remained at the staircase.
The sudden silence made the atmosphere somewhat awkward.
Hao Yun had drunk quite a bit and, not seeing clearly, assumed Song Wei was one of the people from before.
He leaned crookedly against the wall, and with a bit of drunkenness, all the pent-up frustration from being ridiculed and the deep-seated inferiority converged in his eyes, turning them crimson like a burning flame.
He pointed at Song Wei, "Are you here to laugh at me too?"
He thought the tall peer before him would either mock him or quickly explain and distance himself, but unexpectedly, the person casually replied, "If you don’t mind, I could try to play along."
He wiped his face and rubbed his eyes before finally seeing Song Wei’s features clearly, confirming he wasn’t part of that group. He belatedly realized he’d said the wrong thing and his face flushed a bit.
"Uh, brother, I... I drank too much just now and mistook you for someone else. I truly apologize."
Song Wei asked him, "So afraid of being laughed at?"
Hao Yun shivered intensely, sobering up halfway.
For some reason, although the man before him didn’t verbally insult him or display a condescending arrogance, there was a calm stability in his demeanor that made Hao Yun feel a deep-seated shame.
The feeling was so intense that even Hao Yun himself was taken aback.
This was the first person who could stand in front of him and make him feel inferior without doing anything.
Not because of noble birth or power, but because of a calm confidence that made Hao Yun feel inadequate.
His previous inferiority resulted from the vast difference in family background. He faced immense pressure every time he went to the exams, only to underperform and fail. Each failure brought disdain not just upon himself but on his entire family.
He was desperate for success, but after failing for so many years, he increasingly saw himself as a useless failure, wasting his family’s resources without achieving anything.
But now, this was actual inferiority.
Seeing Song Wei, he suddenly felt that he had wasted all these years merely living for the sake of survival.
"You’ve had too much to drink. If you don’t mind, come in for a cup of tea to sober up." Song Wei extended the invitation.
To make the acquaintance of such a person was naturally something Hao Yun could not ask for more, feeling delighted at heart, "Then I shall intrude upon you, brother."
Upon entering the room, Wen Wan personally poured tea for the two of them.
With two cups of tea down, Hao Yun finally sobered completely and looked at Song Wei with admiration, "Brother, you’re also here for the exams, aren’t you?"
Song Wei responded with a light "Mm."
"Seeing your calm demeanor, I imagine you’re well-prepared."
Song Wei said, "It’s not that I’m well-prepared, but rather that you misunderstand yourself too deeply."