Chapter 82: The Seeded Contestant

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“You rarely show such an aggressive side,” Wang Yiran remarked casually, sitting atop Qin Anyi’s desk and nibbling on an apple as she spoke. The morning self-study session had just ended. Unlike the noisy atmosphere in other classrooms, Class Two of Grade Three was unusually quiet. In other classes, students were still abuzz with gossip—the central figures of their discussions were naturally Qin Anyi and Guo Qingyuan. Many students had witnessed the confrontation between the two and confidently claimed to have guessed the truth behind it. Consequently, all sorts of wild rumors began to circulate, spreading from class to class.

But in Class Two, where one of the involved parties was present, everyone was especially restrained, as if they knew nothing about the incident. They chatted about trivial matters, but every now and then, their attention would drift, intentionally or not, toward Qin Anyi and Wang Yiran.

“I’m not a saint,” Qin Anyi replied matter-of-factly. “If someone tries to mess with me, I’ll fight back. After knocking them down, throwing in a bit of verbal humiliation is actually quite satisfying.”

Wei Dong, who was sitting nearby, watched the two with keen interest. He found their exchanges especially entertaining—perhaps because, for the past two years, Wang Yiran had always kept her distance from others. Now, seeing her so genuine felt refreshingly new.

“You’re shameless,” Wang Yiran teased, glancing at her own fingers before breaking off another piece of apple and slipping it into Qin Anyi’s mouth.

The boys around them, who had been stealing glances their way, were stunned when they saw Qin Anyi brazenly extend his tongue and brush it against Wang Yiran’s fingers as he accepted the apple. For a moment, their hearts beat uncontrollably, and a deep sense of jealousy set in.

“The matter with Guo Qingyuan can be put to rest. The situation has shifted, and nothing unexpected should happen now. What I need to think about is the knowledge competition in two weeks. It’s my first time participating, so I should prepare. Do you have any materials? I’d like to use these two weeks to study,” Qin Anyi said, licking his lips. There seemed to be a sweet fragrance lingering on Wang Yiran’s fingers—or perhaps it was just his imagination.

“Are you sure? The knowledge competition covers everything you can imagine. Any obscure fact from anywhere in the world could show up as a question. In past years, even the most talented participants needed a bit of luck to do well—no one can truly know everything. All you can do is be as well-read as possible,” Wang Yiran replied, pursing her lips.

“Well, you never know until you try. Find me some encyclopedias or comprehensive reference materials—the more detailed the better. Every field, every aspect,” Qin Anyi said confidently.

Having awakened his physical potential, the Qilin had now recovered to about ten percent of its full capacity, granting Qin Anyi a new auxiliary enhancement: super memory. With such an extraordinary advantage, he was certain he could quickly amass the knowledge he needed.

“I’ll admit, your brain is indeed far—”

The ten-minute break between classes passed quickly. When the two-minute warning bell rang, Wang Yiran returned to her seat. Soon after, homeroom teacher Zhao Guoping entered, carrying a thick stack of papers. They were the test papers from the beginning of the term.

“This time, all the exam results and rankings have been posted on the school website. If you’re interested, you can check your standings there,” Zhao Guoping announced, tapping the desk with a blackboard eraser. “Besides the exam results, there’s another important announcement. In half a month, the provincial-level national key knowledge competition will be held. I’m sure you’ve all heard of it.”

Once again, the classroom fell silent. The students looked at Zhao Guoping, some puzzled as to what he was getting at. A few glanced toward Wang Yiran, since such matters usually only concerned her.

“For the competition, each school will send a team of five representatives. According to the school’s initial decision, three will be seeded players chosen directly for the team, while the remaining two will be selected based on exam results—the top two scorers. Apart from Yiran, our class has another student who has been named as a seed,” Zhao Guoping said with a broad smile, clearly proud. For homeroom teachers, having outstanding students or school representatives was a matter of great pride.

Another one? The students of Class Two exchanged bewildered looks. Aside from Wang Yiran, no one else seemed qualified to be a seed.

“Heh, I’m sure you’re all curious about the other seed from our class. I promise, it’s a name that will surprise you,” Zhao Guoping added, his tone mysterious. “Qin Anyi, come up and say a few words. Representing our school in the knowledge competition is a tremendous honor.”

Qin Anyi? How could it be him?

The entire class erupted in astonishment at the sound of his name.