Ch 36: Those who wronged me are now begging me for mercy

How Many Points Less Than Me?

Rage Points: 5000

Isn’t this a direct taunt?

The group of top students at the door all glared at Rong Ziyin, feeling that he was subtly showing off. After all, he was the only one who scored full marks in this mock exam.

Especially the top student from the Humanities and Geography department, who couldn’t help but snap at Rong Ziyin, “Don’t get cocky! Winning for now doesn’t mean anything; only those who laugh last are the real winners. If you have the guts, choose our team for your ambush this time, and we’ll see who’s really better on the competition stage.”

This was a direct challenge to Rong Ziyin!

Everyone else held their breath, eager to see how Rong Ziyin would respond.

As everyone knew, the show’s pattern was that the subject of the mock exam would likely be the theme of the upcoming live broadcast.

So, it was clear that this live competition would mainly focus on Humanities and Geography.

Among Rong Ziyin’s three-person team from the agricultural university, none of their subjects were related. But the Humanities and Geography team’s members included a History major and a dual major in Archaeology.

Even if Rong Ziyin himself had no problem, his team would surely struggle against the others.

In this situation, if Rong Ziyin refused, it would look like he was afraid of being exposed. After all, his performance in the mock ranking already raised eyebrows.

The agricultural university’s forum thread for the show was already blowing up, full of angry rants against the show’s producers.

“Damn it, have they lost their minds? Whether or not Rong Ziyin is good at Humanities and Geography, he’s still our precious treasure. He’s done real research and produced results! These people have gone crazy for a gimmick!”

“They’re just messing with people, aren’t they? Everyone has their specialty. I’m from the Humanities department, and this test isn’t deep; it’s broad, with lots of obscure questions. If your knowledge base is wide enough, you can handle it, but going deeper would be tough.”

“I just want to be fair; the show really is targeting our university. I volunteered at the Beijing Library, and if you’re curious, you can check the borrowing records. Search for key terms and you’ll find Rong Ziyin. I roughly tallied it—Rong Ziyin has borrowed about 60% of the Humanities and Social Sciences books there. Based on the borrowing dates, it seems like he’s read them all!”

“Holy crap! Really?”

“So our scholar has real talent! Damn, this pisses me off!”

The students at the agricultural university were furious. Meanwhile, online, everyone was waiting for Rong Ziyin’s response.

Public opinion is like a game of telephone; when three people repeat something, it becomes reality.

Right now, 60% of online viewers were convinced that Rong Ziyin had either guessed or been given the answers in advance. They believed that if he refused or failed to lead his team to victory over the Humanities and Geography department in the upcoming live broadcast, it would be solid proof of their suspicions.

Suspicion and anger points were steadily rising, and through the system, these unfamiliar names kept flashing in Rong Ziyin’s mind.

The system was nearly in tears: These bastards are too much!

But Rong Ziyin didn’t seem angry at all. Instead, he leaned against the table and stared at the group at the door for a while.

When Rong Ziyin wasn’t smiling, his eyes looked distant.

The student from the Humanities and Geography department felt a bit intimidated but forced himself to stay strong, “Do you dare to accept the challenge?”

“Be straightforward! Give us a clear answer!”

Empty bravado points: 1000

“I don’t mind, but what are you afraid of?” Rong Ziyin suddenly seemed to realize something and turned to ask his PD, “Has the score already come out?”

It was his first time participating in the competition, so he didn’t know that the mock exam was graded instantly by machine.

Earlier, some classmates had placed orders for salted duck eggs, so after finishing his test and ending the livestream, Rong Ziyin had gone straight to packing the orders and hadn’t paid attention to this detail.

It was only now, seeing everyone’s reactions, that he belatedly noticed.

The PD, prompted by the director, quickly leaned in and said to Rong Ziyin, “Yes. You scored full marks and ranked first.”

“Oh! I see.” Rong Ziyin nodded, then asked the Humanities and Geography student, “So you didn’t score as high as I did?”

“???” Shame Points: 1000. Well, duh! You scored first, so I obviously scored lower. The Humanities and Geography student almost spat out blood in anger.

But Rong Ziyin’s next question was even more cutting: “So how many points less than me did you get?”

Damn! This was a face slap in real-time. The others who had come along were stunned, all looking at the Humanities and Geography student with sympathetic eyes.

Trying not to lose face, the Humanities and Geography student gritted his teeth and said, “Two points.”

“That’s not much.” Seeing that this guy was on the verge of an emotional breakdown, Rong Ziyin kindly offered some comfort, “This test was really hard. I couldn’t be sure about the last question either and spent an extra two seconds figuring it out.”

“Don’t worry about losing two points; after all, learning is endless.”

Is this even something a normal person would say? Why did they come here just to humiliate themselves?

This time, not only was the Humanities and Geography student speechless, but everyone who had come to confront Rong Ziyin was left without words.

For a moment, they all felt like fools who had willingly come to be mocked by Rong Ziyin. Any anger they had quickly dissipated in the face of this conversation.

“I’m going back to study,” one of the group members said, breaking the silence and preparing to leave.

After all, there’s no end to learning, and wasting time on this was less productive than going back to study more.

Soon, more people followed suit and left.

In the end, only the Humanities and Geography student remained standing in front of Rong Ziyin. He stared at Rong Ziyin for a long time, growing more and more frustrated until he started shaking with anger but still couldn’t find anything to say.

Seeing that he was really shaken, Rong Ziyin felt a bit of sympathy.

After all, as someone who had always excelled, it must have been tough for him to face such a setback for the first time.

So, Rong Ziyin walked over, patted him on the shoulder, and asked, “Brother, take it easy. Victory and defeat are common in battle. If you’re really feeling down, why not come feed the geese with me to relax?”

Humanities and Geography student: ???

Confusion Points: 1000

What’s with feeding geese? Aren’t they in a competition?

In the end, for reasons he couldn’t fully explain, the Humanities and Geography student ended up following Rong Ziyin to the courtyard to feed the geese.

At first, he thought Rong Ziyin had some secret plan and wanted to speak privately away from the cameras.

But to his surprise, Rong Ziyin meant it literally.

There, in the garden under his feet, was a flock of goslings!

They were tiny, no bigger than the size of a palm, with soft yellow down, waddling towards them with their little legs.

Goslings: Daddy, we’re here!

After not seeing Rong Ziyin for half a day, the young goslings were already missing him dearly. Even though there were two people, their eyes were only fixed on their very handsome daddy.

Rong Ziyin crouched down, placing a small bowl of food for the goslings while introducing their new friend, “This is someone I just met. Be friendly!”

The goslings looked up, and their bright little eyes finally noticed the Humanities and Geography student.

Fluffy animals are always good for the soul, and although he was feeling down, the sight of the adorable goslings melted away most of his worries, even making him want to reach out and pet them.

But as soon as he got close, the gosling cried out and ran away.

“Waaah! This ugly person touched me; I’m dirty now, I’m not clean anymore!” it exclaimed, running to Rong Ziyin’s side, flapping its wings and demanding to be held. “If Daddy doesn’t give me a kiss, I’m going to cry loudly and die of dehydration.”

“Let’s see if Daddy feels sorry for me, q.q.”

“Stop being so dramatic,” Rong Ziyin said with a sigh, picking up the gosling and gently shaking its little tuft of down. But he couldn’t resist giving its round, chubby belly a rub.

“Hehehe,” the gosling giggled, squinting its eyes happily in Rong Ziyin’s hand.

The Humanities and Geography student watched, feeling envious, and couldn’t help but ask Rong Ziyin, “Is it because they’re not familiar with me that they won’t let me touch them?”

“Not really. Geese are generally quite bold,” Rong Ziyin explained, trying to be gentle with his words. “Maybe they just like good-looking people.”

“…” Crushing Points: 1000. The Humanities and Geography student’s confidence was completely shattered. He left behind a parting shot, “I’m going to beat you in tomorrow’s show!” before running off with tears in his eyes.

Rong Ziyin stood there, bewildered, and asked the system, “Are young people today really this fragile?”

The system was exasperated, “Master, I don’t think it’s about being fragile.”

“Any normal person would want to die after being hit with so many blows from you. This student is already very strong.”

Rong Ziyin: Oh, okay then.

So, with the enemy defeated so quickly, Rong Ziyin could only shake his head and sigh.

Meanwhile, the other students who had left were logging into WeChat and discussing in the competition group chat.

The group leader suddenly chimed in, “I think we should bring Rong Ziyin’s team into the group chat now.”

“What do you mean?” The others didn’t catch on at first, but soon they understood.

Even though today was just a mock exam, it was enough to reveal Rong Ziyin’s true abilities.

As for the challenge from the Humanities and Geography student, whether Rong Ziyin won or lost, just by looking at him, it was clear he was extraordinary.

So, adding Rong Ziyin’s team to the competition group was already a done deal; there was no need to wait for another match.

“Let’s vote on it!” The group leader started an anonymous poll.

Five minutes later, the results were in, with nearly unanimous support. The group leader asked the leader of the Young Scholars group for Rong Ziyin’s WeChat ID, intending to add him as a friend and bring him into the group.

“Don’t worry, everyone was just a bit heated earlier because of the scores and wasn’t thinking straight. They’re all really good people, with no malice,” the group leader was already preparing a long message to reassure Rong Ziyin.

This show would ultimately select the strongest participants to form a team to compete against foreign teams. So, as long as someone was talented, they should be welcomed.

The group leader had overheard from a PD that the foreign teams this time were particularly strong, so unlike the others in the group, the group leader felt more pressure and genuinely didn’t want to miss out on anyone with real talent.

But to his surprise, Rong Ziyin accepted the invitation without any hesitation.

“…” The group leader didn’t get to use any of his prepared speech and, after a long silence, could only say, “Well, have fun in the group. If you find anyone interesting, feel free to add them as friends. Everyone here is really nice.”

“Mm, mm, thank you, group leader. I think so too!” Rong Ziyin was genuinely pleased after seeing the group leader’s message.

Without hesitation, he opened the member list, clicked on each member’s profile in order, and sent friend requests to everyone.

System: Rong, they all dislike you. Why are you adding them as friends?

Rong Ziyin, not even looking up, asked the system in return: You know, they’ve been in the show’s closed training for a month, eating the cafeteria food. They must be tired of it by now, right?

System: …You’re not planning to…

Rong Ziyin: Yep, I am.

And so, half a minute later, all the contestants received friend requests from Rong Ziyin.

The friend request message read: “The internet connects us all; cherish this bond. Brother, check out the perfect late-night snack. Honest business, good quality, and great prices—buy ten, get one free.”

🍉🫐🍇🍒🥝