Chapter 353: 161 Arrogant (First Update)_3
Translator: 549690339
After saying that, she went off with Wang Xin and Xu Wei.
With a frustrated puff, Liu Muxue kept flipping through the same book page over and over, constantly looking towards the direction of the restroom.
“You,” Liu Muxue pointed at Xie Zhen, “come here.”
As if facing a formidable enemy, Xie Zhen headed over. On the day of registration, Xie Zhen saw Liu Muxue get off from a Rolls-Royce, two bodyguards carrying her luggage. In just twenty days of training, she brought four big boxes of cosmetics, clothes, and snacks. If it wasn’t against school rules, Xie Zhen figured that Liu Muxue would have brought two maids along.
Therefore, Xie Zhen knew perfectly well that Liu Muxue was someone she couldn’t afford to offend.
Xie Zhen nervously walked towards her.
Liu Muxue asked: “You are a local from Jiangzhou, what can you tell me about this Ming Jing?”
Xie Zhen felt like an ant on a hot pan, sandwiched between a rock and a hard place. She hesitated, prompting Liu Muxue to rebuke: “Are you deaf?”
“Please don’t get angry. Please.” Xie Zhen was afraid of Liu Muxue fainting from anger, a responsibility she couldn’t bear.
“I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you. Ming Jing and Song Yinzhang are from Shengde High School… actually, she is the young miss of Jiangzhou’s Zhu Group…”
Although she didn’t know what Liu Muxue’s family did, her wealth seemed comparable.
These rich kids fighting would only spell trouble for them.
“Zhu Group?” Liu Muxue thought for a moment, then dismissed it: “Never heard of it.”
“Why haven’t I seen her before at the City Championship?” Most math Olympiad participants started training from a young age, so they are familiar with each other. Yet, this was the first time Liu Muxue had heard of Ming Jing.
“Oh, you don’t know that. The story is too long…” Xie Zhen saw Ming Jing coming out of the restroom out of the corner of her eye and abruptly shut her mouth, “You should go to sleep early.”
Saying this, she turned and left.
Ming Jing changed into her pajamas, fixed her bed and sat cross-legged to meditate.
Everyone stared at her strangely. Xie Zhen had heard rumors that Ming Jing didn’t know how to laugh.
Liu Muxue couldn’t hold back her laughter: “Hey…Ming Jing, have you been overindulging in fantasy novels? Trying to ascend to immortality?”
Ming Jing ignored her, maintaining a calm expression as she practiced her breathing.
Liu Muxue, having had her fun spoiled, huffed and turned over to sleep.
Everyone, having studied all day, fell asleep early.
Ming Jing opened her eyes. The dormitory lights were off and the sounds of breathing filled the space. One particular snoring sound stood out.
Ming Jing looked across, seeing Liu Muxue’s peculiar sleeping position. Her quilt had fallen to the ground, and with the air conditioner on all night, she could catch a cold. Especially Liu Muxue, who was congenitally deficient.
Ming Jing got off her bed, picked up the quilt, and covered her. The moonlight illuminated the young girl’s face, exceptionally delicate and lovely, like a blooming flower.
Dreaming of something, the young girl frowned, her hands frantically clawing in the air.
“Don’t…”
Ming Jing held her panicky hands still, and lightly recited: “Om Mani Padme Hum…”
The chant, echoing into the silent night, sounded like the divine water from Guanyin’s vase, capable of cleansing all the filth and illness in the world and returning peace to one’s spirit.
Gradually, Liu Muxue’s scrunched eyebrows relaxed, her hands fell limp, and she descended into a deep sleep.
Liu Muxue slowly opened her eyes, squinted from the beam of sunlight that pierced through the curtain gap, instinctively raised her hand to shield her eyes.
After a while, she sat up. The dormitory was empty, with the bed across neat and tidy, the quilt folded without a single wrinkle.At this time, everyone had gone for the morning exercise.
Due to her health condition, Liu Muxue was excused from the daily morning run.
Liu Muxue lifted her hand to rub her head, sleep never came easy for her, often disrupted by nightmares.
However, unexpectedly, as she had the nightmare of falling into a deep abyss again last night, a distant chant echoed from the abyss, soothing her agitation and fear with its rhythm.
She saw a figure emerge from the abyss, glowing so goldenly bright that she couldn’t open her eyes, replaced the coldness with a sensation of being wrapped in hot spring water—warm, gentle, and comfortable.
Liu Muxue looked down at her tender palm, seemingly still feeling the covetable touch of the fingers brushing the spring water.
Liu Muxue sat on the bed, bewildered, until her alarm clock went off. She scrambled to silence it and headed to the bathroom for her morning routine.
While brushing her teeth, a ray of sunlight flashed by, again igniting that voice in her mind.
Liu Muxue shook her head, finding the voice from her dream oddly familiar, but no matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t recollect where she heard it before.
Walking into the cafeteria, Liu Muxue immediately spotted Ming Jing, who was sitting harmoniously with Song Yinzhang.
She quickly picked up her breakfast and sauntered over to Ming Jing, slamming her plate onto the table with a conspicuous “bang”.
In an instant, everyone’s gaze fell on her, while Song Yinzhang frowned reflexively at her action.
Nevertheless, Ming Jing continued to eat peacefully without granting her even a single glance.
Song Yinzhang alternated looks between Liu Muxue and Ming Jing, his gaze filled with worry.
Though everyone was usually absorbed in their studies and did not communicate much, he knew that Liu Muxue was not an amicable person.
“What are you trying to play here?” Song Yinzhang asked gravely.
“The cafeteria is big enough; is there a rule stating I cannot sit here?” With a casual smirk, Liu Muxue took a seat beside Ming Jing.
Ming Jing finished her meal and stood up to leave. Song Yinzhang followed, inquiring, “What’s up with her?”
Ming Jing responded with a faint smile, “Just a spoiled little girl, no need to worry.”
Song nodded, “Liu Muxue is the youngest ever Gold Medal winner at the China Cup Tournament. No one has broken her record yet. She’s regarded as a prodigy. I’ve known her since The Math Cup. She hasn’t participated in any competition ever since. Seeing her here at the training camp was a surprise. Her performances are always steady, she should be able to get into the CMO.”
For students who have always been on the path of mathematics, getting into CMO was just the beginning.
The top students from CMO would be selected for the national team, representing the country to compete in IMO. Those students would be guaranteed acceptance into the top universities within the country.
After a decade of hard study, that was all they sought.
But there were only six spots in CMO in the entire province. At the moment, everyone was a competitor.
Liu Muxue had always been petty and vindictive, Song Yinzhang feared she might give Ming Jing a hard time.
“She might be extraordinarily talented, but I’m not far behind either.” With that, Ming Jing sauntered off.
Song Yinzhang stood there shocked, then broke into laughter.
He just realized that he was worrying over nothing. Ming Jing had always been the soft but tenacious type. Her confidence ran deep and was visible in every gesture.
What she said just now, however, was uncharacteristic of her.
Yet, this kind of girlish pride made her seem more real.
He turned to look at Liu Muxue again, who was mumbling something, furrowing her delicate brows intensely. She seemed on the verge of blowing up at any moment, and no girl dared sit with her.
It was impressive how Liu Muxue managed to ignite Ming Jing’s competitive spirit.