Chapter 9: Wait, You Can Actually Solve This Problem?

The next morning.

Song Mo slept well.

He stepped out of his room, refreshed and invigorated.

After washing up, he sat at the dining table to eat breakfast.

Soon.

The door creaked open.

Song Wanrou emerged from her room; she rarely stayed up late, but after one sleepless night, she appeared before Song Mo with dark circles under her eyes.

Song Mo was taken aback.

But upon further thought.

【Could it be that last night my piano playing disturbed her sleep? That's why she couldn't sleep at all and looks so drained.】

Song Mo felt a sense of satisfaction. He considered himself no man of great tolerance; though not vengeful to the point of petty grudges, he was certainly one who repaid every slight.

【Good job—best if you're disturbed. From now on, I'll play piano every night. Better yet, make you unable to sleep every day until you move out of the Song Family Villa on your own.】

Song Mo thus assigned himself a nightly "learning task": playing piano at midnight. After all, Song Wanrou's room was closest to the piano room, while the servants' rooms were much farther away.

Song Mo's parents were busy with work and did not live in the Song Family Villa in the school district.

Affecting only Song Wanrou was perfect.

Hearing Song Mo's inner thoughts, Song Wanrou's eyes showed a rare look of fondness.

My brother is so adorable.

Even when teasing others, he's this adorable.

If I could hear Song Mo play piano every night, it would be a pleasure.

She had always loved music.

Last night, Song Wanrou didn't sleep at all.

She finally understood.

No matter what she might do in the future, at least those things hadn't happened yet—she still had a chance to make amends.

If she could change her brother's view of her, make him realize that she still cared for him most, could she repair their relationship?

After coming to this realization, Song Wanrou, though mentally exhausted, no longer felt as tormented as yesterday. Rather than wallowing in sorrow and self-pity, she would take action to change everything!

Song Wanrou, believe in yourself!

"Brother, be careful on your way~"

Facing Song Wanrou's concern, Song Mo responded with cold indifference, not even uttering an "mm," and walked straight out of the Song Family Villa.

Drive to school.

After Song Mo left, Song Wanrou rubbed her eyes and called her advisor to request a three-day leave.

She would rest properly first.

Then, she would begin investigating who exactly this "Chen Xi" was, mentioned in her brother's inner thoughts.

…

She walked into the classroom.

Song Mo felt two pairs of eyes constantly watching him.

He raised his head, sensing it.

One was Xia Rou—the girl who had run errands for him to retrieve surveillance footage.

Song Mo smiled in response, a greeting.

The other was An Yinuo.

Her expression was complex; she bit her lip slightly as she looked at him, as if wanting to speak but too shy to do so.

In university classrooms, seating was unassigned.

Class hadn't officially started yet.

The professor hadn't arrived.

Song Mo casually sat down at a nearby empty seat.

He pulled out a calculus textbook from his bag and began grinding his 【Learning Introduction】 proficiency; Song Mo had tested this—he found that reading math books boosted skill proficiency the most.

Song Mo was deeply absorbed in his reading.

Suddenly, someone tapped his shoulder.

"Uh, Song Mo."

He furrowed his brow slightly, annoyed at the interruption.

After all, the more focused he was, the faster his proficiency increased.

He turned his head and saw it was An Yinuo.

【This suck-up girl wants to pull another stunt again?】

An Yinuo had originally intended to apologize; after all, yesterday she had made a bet with Song Mo—if he hadn't locked Chen Xi in the bathroom, she would apologize to him.

Although An Yinuo was the eldest daughter of the Modu An Family.

She was still a fairly upright person.

Usually, she kept her word.

But after hearing Song Mo's inner thoughts, An Yinuo grew angry again!

What suck-up girl!

Song Mo was still so hateful!

He pretended to be refined and cultured on the outside, but inside he constantly insulted people—he was nothing but a hypocrite!

"Song Mo, I misunderstood you yesterday."

An Yinuo held back her anger and said these words.

Once the apology was done, she left—Song Mo, go love whoever you want!

I really don't want to see you for even a single moment longer!

Song Mo gave a light, airy "Oh."

His heart was restless.

【This woman finished talking, so why hasn't she left yet?】

【Doesn't she know that disturbing other people's studying is a really annoying thing?】

【Honestly, does she really need me to open my mouth and chase her away? I really don't want to have anything to do with this number-one simp girl. Can't she have a little sense…】

An Yinuo's face went white in an instant.

Then blood rushed up, and her little face flushed red.

Her fists clenched tight.

Song Mo! You've really gone far enough!

You're sick of me disturbing your studying, aren't you?

And you even want to open your mouth and chase me away, don't you?

Fine, fine, fine! I, your lady, am going to make you uncomfortable on purpose!

Let's see what you can do to me!

An Yinuo said stiffly: "Earlier I said that if I had misunderstood you, I would apologize to you, so…"

"I'm sorry!"

Her "I'm sorry" really was just a literal "I'm sorry."

Her voice carried anger within it.

Not the slightest hint of an apologetic attitude.

Song Mo didn't mind either.

"Heh, no problem."

Song Mo gave a slight nod and casually replied.

Then he lowered his head again, his gaze gathering on the advanced mathematics textbook.

【So she came to apologize. I was wondering if Chen Xi had egged her on again to come cause me trouble… Once the apology's done, she should scram, right?】

【Scram, scram, don't delay your daddy from reading】

【Knowledge is power】

Song Mo quickly became fully focused.

Cutting himself off from outside disturbances.

An Yinuo was dumbfounded.

No way, you guy actually like reading this much?!

My being here is in your way, isn't it?

You can't wait for me to leave right away, can you?

An Yinuo was, after all, a prominent figure among the freshmen—a well-deserved campus beauty of Modu University's School of Economics and Management! When had she ever been so slighted and looked down upon?

Song Mo actually found her distasteful!

He truly found her distasteful, even acting as if her being beside him was hindering his studying!

An Yinuo's little stubborn temper really flared up.

She plopped down on the seat beside Song Mo.

She took out her textbook.

With a sour face, she also opened her book and, putting on an act, began to read.

It's just reading a book, what's there to be smug about!

I'll read too!

But the characters on the advanced mathematics textbook—she recognized every single one of them, but once they were put together, they became something she couldn't understand.

The earlier parts were fine, more or less the same as derivatives.

But once it got to the later sections, it really became an incomprehensible mess.

An Yinuo's eyes were dazzled. She looked at Song Mo again—his gaze was clear and focused, and he had actually finished a page very quickly, completing the first two chapters in such a short time!

"Hmph! What are you pretending? I've never seen anyone read a book like you!"

An Yinuo was convinced that Song Mo was definitely putting on an act!

Hearing An Yinuo's voice beside him, Song Mo only then came back from the world of mathematics. He looked at An Yinuo beside him in surprise.

【No way, why is this woman still hanging around here?】

Hardened! My fists have hardened!

An Yinuo was very angry. What do you mean by "why is this woman still hanging around here"?

So you never paid any attention to my existence at all!

Then my earlier act of pretending to read—wasn't that a performance for the air?

And I even wasted so many brain cells for nothing!

Song Mo frowned. He really wanted to curse someone out, but considering her identity as the eldest miss of the Modu An Family, he still held his patience and said:

"Classmate An Yinuo, I know you're the eldest miss of the Modu An Family, and I also know that whether you study or not doesn't really matter."

"But could you let the people who want to study have a good environment to study in?"

"Besides, class has already started. Please pay attention in class."

Song Mo's inner voice chimed in at the same time.

【If she weren't the eldest miss of the Modu An Family, I would have started cursing long ago. Can't you learn on your own and let others learn too?】

【Also, what bad luck. Why is she sitting next to me? Don't tell me she's going to be pathetic again, and that simp is going to oppose me for his master Chen Xi.】

An Yinuo was so angry her chest heaved!

Song Mo!

Your petty little schemes can't be hidden at all!

This lady knows you like the back of my hand!

Keep acting so arrogant and I'll really mobilize the family to take care of you, you little Monkey King—believe it or not!

"You're criticizing me? Have you been paying attention in class yourself?"

An Yinuo's face darkened as she sneered:

"You've been flipping through the book nonstop over here—do you really understand it after one read?"

"If you've got the guts, try writing out the problem the teacher put on the blackboard?"

Song Mo shrugged indifferently.

"Oh, I actually didn't understand it. Just flipping through casually."

"Don't take it to heart."

With that, Song Mo stopped paying An Yinuo any attention.

He quietly went back to reading.

Inwardly, though, he was annoyed.

【Annoying. I'll switch seats after class.】

An Yinuo was about to explode!

Coincidentally, the advanced math teacher was asking:

"Does anyone know how to solve this problem?"

"It's fine even if you can't write it out completely—just share your thought process…"

An Yinuo's hand shot up in a flash.

The advanced math teacher said in surprise: "An Yinuo, you know how?"

"I don't!"

She answered with full conviction!

"But!"

"Song Mo does!"

It was at this very moment.

After Song Mo had spent so long on advanced math, the 【Learning Introduction】 skill, which had accumulated to the brink of breakthrough back in high school, had its proficiency raised to 【Learning Mastery】.

【Learning Mastery: 1/1000】

"Song Mo knows how?"

The advanced math teacher breathed a sigh of relief—he had just thought An Yinuo was about to come up and answer!

Don't let it be that she hadn't understood a thing but was confidently about to try the problem!

She'd be embarrassed then!

And it would be awkward for him too!

These second-generation rich kids—he really didn't want to provoke them.

The advanced math teacher never called on the second-generation kids to answer questions, and at finals he did his utmost to pull them through.

It wasn't easy… He graded papers with two pens!

One red pen! One black pen!

"Then please, Song Mo, come up and answer."

Song Mo could also be considered a minor second-generation rich kid, but the impression he gave was quite good—he had always been studying earnestly, and his level wasn't low.

Even if he didn't know, as long as he gave a little nudge…

At the end, throw in a compliment or two.

A happy, harmonious ending would be perfectly achieved.

Song Mo set down his textbook and glanced at An Yinuo.

【I knew this simp girl had no good intentions. Just as I thought.】

An Yinuo swallowed her anger.

Go ahead and curse me in your heart all you want!

I'll just wait and see what you do when you embarrass yourself later!

Aren't you great at pretending?

Here's your chance to show off now—go ahead, show me what you've got!

Song Mo stood up and walked to the podium with unhurried steps.

He picked up a piece of chalk.

In a few quick strokes, he finished writing it.

The advanced math teacher stared at Song Mo in surprise.

Completely correct!

This kid really had some skill?

"Not bad, Song Mo's writing is fast and accurate…"

The advanced mathematics teacher had not yet finished speaking.

He saw Song Mo, with a flurry of strokes, begin writing again in the empty space on the blackboard.

The advanced mathematics teacher paused, carefully watching Song Mo's writing. After only reading the opening, he already knew what Song Mo was doing.

Good lad, didn't embarrass me!

He actually used a full three methods of solution!

The advanced mathematics teacher himself knew five methods of solution.

And three of them weren't even in the textbook!

Song Mo finished writing quickly. His slender fingers gave a light flick, and the remaining piece of chalk cleanly traced a parabola through the air, dropping neatly into the chalk box.

Three methods of solution, and one of them was one that had never appeared in the textbook!

All correct!

The advanced mathematics teacher, who had originally planned to praise Song Mo, now genuinely developed a fondness for talent. Instead of praising him lavishly, he gave a slight nod and said:

"Not bad, all three methods are correct. Song Mo's fundamentals are very solid."

Song Mo didn't show off either.

Amid the classmates' gazes of reverent worship, he walked down the podium very low-key.

When he reached his seat.

The corner of his eye glanced at An Yinuo.

His gaze was calm, but An Yinuo felt it carried a hint of contempt!

"Song Mo, you really are a bastard!"

An Yinuo felt very unconvinced in her heart!

Song Mo was just lucky to be good at math, that's all!

She refused to believe Song Mo had no weakness!

The advanced mathematics teacher began explaining Song Mo's three methods of solution in detail for the students, but at this moment, someone pushed open the back door and walked in.

Chen Xi had a bandage wrapped around his head, his complexion pale and weak. He scanned the classroom once, searching for An Yinuo's figure.

Campus beauty An's presence was very strong.

Therefore, she was quickly found.

Chen Xi was delighted, but—!

Suddenly! Chen Xi's deliberately pitiful gaze turned sinister and venomous!

Just like a venomous snake flicking its forked tongue.

Sending out the signal to strike!

"Song Mo, heh, hehehe…"

(End of this chapter)