“That’s right, did you hear about it too?” Xu Lina said with a look of contempt, lowering her voice. “I’ve never seen anyone so shameless.”

Zhu Yun felt a sudden urgency and asked directly, “Is it Fang Zhijing’s group?”

Li Xun glanced at her sideways. Xu Lina replied, “You know about him too? Fang Zhijing is their team leader.”

“What did they do?” Zhu Yun asked.

Xu Lina let out a couple of disdainful snorts. “The lengths they went to for a competition — truly an eye-opener.”

The lengths they went to?

Gao Jianhong said to Zhu Yun, “Word is they had advance contact with the competition’s sponsor.”

“Contact is putting it mildly!” Xu Lina cut in. “Their supervising instructor literally went straight to the sponsor’s door to get the problem set.”

“Where would they even get the problem set?” Zhu Yun asked. “Aren’t competition entries supposed to be original submissions?”

“That’s what the rules say, but…” Xu Lina stabbed her fork into the half-eaten fruit salad. “Forget it, no point dwelling on this aggravating stuff. Either way, it won’t affect any of you — they won’t be competing in the upcoming rounds.”

The more Zhu Yun heard, the more confused she became. “What do you mean? They’re not competing?”

Gao Jianhong explained, “There’s a clause in the competition rules: ‘products in collaboration with a company for imminent commercial release are ineligible to compete.’ Apparently their encrypted relay interface is about to have its patent sold.”

Zhu Yun stood there, stunned.

Li Xun toyed with his cup again.

Xu Lina continued, “Their supervisor had a prior working relationship with the sponsoring company. He found out they’d recently set up a new studio with research in that exact area, and months in advance he got his hands on the problem set. He worked it through himself, then handed part of it off to his students to enter the competition. You can’t help but be impressed, in a way.”

A student nearby added, “They could’ve kept competing originally — sell the patent after the competition — but they were in a rush, afraid of missing their window.”

Another chimed in, “Who knows how many bugs are in it, if they’re that anxious to get rid of it.”

Zhu Yun was quiet for a moment, then said softly, “So they’re really not competing anymore?”

“What’s there left to compete for?” Xu Lina said with a cold laugh. “Once the patent actually sells, the company will give them a special award. Fame and fortune both — who cares what anyone says about them.”

“No need to be so bitter about it.”

A sharp female voice rang out. Everyone turned to see a man and a woman seated at a nearby table not far away.

Zhu Yun vaguely recognized them — they were from the same school as Fang Zhijing. The girl was Liang Yuxin, Fang Zhijing’s girlfriend, who had come along as company but wasn’t participating in the competition. The man was one of Fang Zhijing’s group members.

She hadn’t expected them to be dining here as well.

Liang Yuxin said with a sneer, “If you can sell it, that’s ability. Some people would do better going back to improve their own skills rather than gossiping about others behind their backs.”

Xu Lina refused to back down. “Improve what skills — the skill of going through the back door?”

Caught in the act of talking behind someone’s back, Xu Lina showed not the slightest embarrassment. She was plainly disgusted with Fang Zhijing’s conduct from the bottom of her heart.

Liang Yuxin glared at her. “What do you mean back door? If you’ve got what it takes, then you—”

“Let it go, Yuxin.” The other male student cut her off, smirking. “What’s the point of all this? That’s just how the world works these days. Some people sell patents, some people peddle their opinions. Everyone has different pursuits — don’t hold others to too high a standard.”

“You know, you’re right.” Liang Yuxin gave a languid roll of her eyes and stopped looking at Xu Lina.

Xu Lina was so furious she looked ready to grind her teeth to dust.

Zhu Yun had no desire to listen any further. She got up and left.

It was cool by the lakeside. Not far off, a few small boats were moored along the bank — not for sailing the lake, but repurposed into elegantly decorated lakeside cafés.

Willow branches swayed along the water’s edge. The surroundings were beautiful along this bar street. On a leisure summer night, the paths were crowded with people coming and going — fashionable men and women wove through streets lit by colorful neon lights. Laughter, crying, the murmur of conversation — all of it swallowed by the night breeze.

The moon at the edge of the sky cast a shattered reflection on the lake’s surface.

Zhu Yun stared at the water and suddenly felt that everything she had been doing was utterly pointless.

She had naively believed she could outdo Fang Zhijing through sheer effort. But reality had given her a masterclass — teaching her that there were countless paths to victory in this world. Block one, and a person could always find another to slip through.

You could curse the heavens for being blind, for letting a scoundrel succeed — but the truth was, had the heavens ever once looked your way?

And stepping back even further — even if Fang Zhijing had continued competing and their results had crushed his, what would that have changed?

After all these years, did he even still remember Liu Xiaoyan?

To him, Liu Xiaoyan had perhaps been nothing more than a stepping stone — a way to curry favor with the school’s leadership. Something to step on and never look back at.

It was only she herself who kept revisiting the past, who kept searching at the edges of memory for those faint, elusive regrets, then found roundabout ways to try and make amends.

What was the point…

If you truly despised Fang Zhijing, you should have stood up that day all those years ago. What was the point of trying to beat him now?

And what’s more — you can’t even beat him.

A surge of intense self-loathing rose up inside Zhu Yun. She pressed her forehead against the stone bridge pillar carved with lotus flowers and slowly crouched down, her stomach churning.

Before long, a hand settled gently on her abdomen. It was a large hand — light and gentle — slowly lifting her upright, as though salvaging a sinking ship.

“What’s the matter with you? Getting drunk without even drinking?”

His voice was as unhurried and clear as ever, carrying a trace of teasing, and rendered slightly deeper by the cover of night.

Zhu Yun kept her head lowered and gave a small shake.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing…”

Li Xun leaned against her side. “Upset?”

“No…”

She had sweated so much throughout the day that her hair clung to the sides of her face, unmoved even by the breeze.

Li Xun lowered his gaze and said evenly, “I didn’t carve out all this time to watch you make a face like that.”

Zhu Yun’s heart gave a pang. “I’m sorry.”

She really shouldn’t be presenting herself like this in front of Li Xun. The matter of Fang Zhijing had nothing to do with him. He had put in every effort to help her, and he didn’t deserve to be met with this.

Zhu Yun tried to steer the conversation toward something lighter, but her mind felt like a rusted bearing — it simply wouldn’t turn.

Li Xun lit a cigarette. “He really gets under your skin — that Fang Zhijing?”

“Mm.”

The reply came out reflexively. She immediately felt it was wrong and was about to explain herself, when Li Xun gave a knowing smile. “Understood.”

A moment of silence passed. Zhu Yun said, “You’re not going to ask me why?”

“No.”

“What if the reason isn’t convincing enough?”

“Even without a reason, it doesn’t matter.” Li Xun straightened up. “Everyone makes decisions based on feeling sometimes.”

Li Xun’s voice was always unhurried, and Zhu Yun found herself absorbing that calm. She felt like perhaps she wasn’t suffering quite so much anymore. She told him, “I’m going back to rest. Take your time finishing dinner.”

“Sure.”

He watched Zhu Yun leave, then returned to the table. Gao Jianhong asked him, “Where’d she go?”

“The princess has returned to court.”

Gao Jianhong smiled. Xu Lina leaned over from beside him and asked Li Xun, “What? What princess?”

Li Xun didn’t sit down. He lazily took out a cigarette. Xu Lina pressed him, “Well, what is it?”

“Just a princess, that’s all.”

“Are there still princesses nowadays? What kind of girl counts as a princess?”

Li Xun leaned against the edge of the table.

“A princess…” he murmured, gazing into the hazy night toward the long street down which she had walked away. With a half-joking air, he said, “First, you need a pair of proud, lofty eyes. Then, a heart that is both innocent and fragile.”

Xu Lina looked completely baffled. Li Xun raised an eyebrow and added, “Of course, if you throw in a reckless, all-or-nothing sense of adventure, that makes it even better.”

Xu Lina was thoroughly lost and gave him a nudge.

“What does that even mean? You’re being so cryptic.”

Li Xun finished his cigarette, stood up, and Xu Lina grabbed at him. “Where are you going? Let’s walk around a bit more later.”

“No, I’ve got something to take care of.”

“What is it? The competition entry’s already done, aren’t you just going back to practice your defense presentation?”

Li Xun smiled. “I need to think of a way to salvage things.”

“Salvage what?”

Li Xun pinched out the cigarette and said coolly, “Otherwise, the way things are going, this whole venture of mine is going to lose everything right down to the foundations.”

Xu Lina said with disappointment, “So you really have to leave now?”

Li Xun was about to nod when something seemed to occur to him, and his gaze drifted toward Xu Lina.

Caught in those clear eyes of his, a warmth crept across Xu Lina’s face and her voice softened involuntarily.

“What is it?”

Li Xun said, “You seem to be quite well acquainted with a lot of the competing teams and their supervisors.”

Xu Lina made a sound of agreement. “…Most of them are people I know.”

Li Xun regarded her with a thoughtful expression and began to move toward her at an unhurried pace.

He was tall, and he blocked out the moonlight. Xu Lina’s heart began to thud. She suddenly felt a weight settle on her shoulder, and then caught the scent of something clean and fresh.

A tempting voice sounded close to her ear —

“So… do you think you could get me Fang Zhijing’s hardware sample and source code?”

The wind picked up, rustling the overgrown weeds along the roadside.

Zhu Yun returned to the hotel, and at the entrance she ran into the very last person she wanted to see.

Fang Zhijing had just finished his meeting with the sponsor and was striding back, flushed with success. Clearly the discussion had gone exceptionally well — he practically floated as he walked.

Zhu Yun thought about ducking behind a flowerpot to hide. It didn’t work. Fang Zhijing spotted her in an instant.

“Hey! Zhu Yun!” He took a few wide strides over to her. “I just finished the meeting. Honestly, these people are so slow to get things done — that’s how companies are, you’ve got to be patient negotiating with them.”

“…”

“Oh right, our group probably won’t be entering the official competition.” Fang Zhijing said in a half-joking tone. “We’ll just leave the first-place prize for your team. That way Teacher Liu will be happy too — ha!”

If only I had some kind of invisibility skill…

“I heard.” Zhu Yun had said things she didn’t mean countless times in her life, but this time it cost her the most. “Congratulations to you all.”

Fang Zhijing: “You heard? Who from?”

Zhu Yun didn’t answer. Fang Zhijing let out a short, dismissive laugh. “Was it those same few people? Always whispering about others behind their backs.”

Zhu Yun still said nothing. Fang Zhijing spread his hands and said, “I don’t care. That’s just how people are — success draws envy. They say I played dirty tricks. What dirty tricks? Having resources and not using them — what, just let them sit there and gather dust? Is there any real fairness in this world? Spending all day locked up in a lab studying takes time — does reaching out to people not take time too? Either way, I’ve already gotten the result I wanted. I don’t care what anyone says.”

Zhu Yun remained silent. Fang Zhijing asked, “Use your head, would you? A person should put their time into things that yield the highest returns. And Zhu Yun, do you know what the fundamental difference is between me and those people?”

Zhu Yun shook her head. Fang Zhijing looked at her steadily.

“They can choose whether or not to say anything, and I can choose whether or not to listen. But regardless of what they say, my results won’t change. If I choose to listen, at worst I’ll feel annoyed for a while — but once I choose not to listen, that’s a complete victory!”

His eyes gleamed with the hard confidence that belongs to those who have succeeded. It pressed down on Zhu Yun, demanding her agreement —

“You wouldn’t be like them, would you? You’re smart enough to understand who’s on top and who’s on the bottom.”

A chill spread through Zhu Yun’s chest. Her fingers trembled at her side, beyond her control. She struggled with all her effort to keep her expression and her voice steady —

“Mm. I understand.”