Jiang Chan silently picked up her speed, but after riding dozens of meters, she realized no one was beside her. She turned back to see Qin Fen still standing there blankly, his expression shifting unpredictably.
“Let’s go. What are you standing there for?” she called out.
Only then did Qin Fen snap out of it and ride his scooter over, panting as he caught up.
The farther they rode, the more unsettled he felt. He had been reborn because he had regrets. He had died young through his own recklessness, but he had not committed any unforgivable crimes.
He came back to properly honor his parents. But why had Song Miao come back?
In her previous life, she had lived comfortably, luxury cars picking her up and dropping her off, spending money lavishly. She had already enjoyed everything. Why would heaven grant her rebirth as well?
Thinking of her warning him to stay away from Jiang Yuhui, Qin Fen suddenly shuddered. He leaned closer to Jiang Chan with a sly grin. “You don’t think she changed targets and set her sights on you, do you? Xiao Huihui, you’re in luck.”
Jiang Chan glanced at him. “If you didn’t sound so gleeful, I might believe you were congratulating me. Whatever she intends, she won’t succeed. One mistake is enough.”
As they neared home, Jiang Chan sped up, leaving Qin Fen behind. He shouted and chased after her, laughing.
“I’ll protect your virtue, Xiao Huihui!”
Her scooter swerved sharply. Qin Fen burst into laughter behind her. Jiang Chan muttered under her breath and ignored him. The more attention he got, the more energetic he became. Ignore him for a while and he quieted down.
He was not joking about protecting her. From that day on, he and Jiang Chan were practically inseparable. Song Miao, who had been searching for opportunities to approach Jiang Chan, grew increasingly resentful.
Although Jiang Chan could avoid Song Miao on her own, Qin Fen’s presence genuinely reduced trouble. He had, to a large extent, helped her block Song Miao.
Time passed quickly, and soon it was time for the preliminary rounds of the physics and biology competitions.
Jiang Chan had experienced this once before in her real life. Combined with her teachers’ training, the preliminaries were easy for her.
When the results were announced, she entered the semifinals as expected.
The semifinals were a month later. During that time, she needed to intensively practice experiments.
She did not hold excessive expectations. Beyond the semifinals, it was mostly territory dominated by second year students. As a first year student, she would need another year of accumulation to compete fully.
Her main goal in this task was to gain experience, not chase rankings. With that mindset, she was calm. Knowing she would likely stop at the semifinals stabilized her.
With a steady mindset, her experiments flowed smoothly.
The physics teacher often praised her in competition class. She had grown accustomed to such praise from previous worlds.
Excellence had become a habit. External compliments or envy rarely stirred her emotions.
As expected, she ultimately stopped before the finals. Not because she lacked ability, but because she lacked sufficient experience and practice.
She felt no regret. She had achieved what she sought. With more than a year left to prepare, next year would be different.
After physics and biology, she began preparing for math and chemistry competitions as well, though most of her energy went into the National Youth Robotics Competition.
It was a new field. Although she had learned much from the programmers, she still needed to master assembling robots herself.
By the finals stage, both software and hardware requirements would be even higher.
Fortunately, the Jiang family was well off. The original owner had savings, and once Jiang’s father learned of her needs, he generously funded her. Materials were no longer a concern.
Theory and practice differed. Her first robot was clumsy and awkward, resembling a lump of metal. Qin Fen laughed uncontrollably.
“It’s so ugly. How did you make something this ugly?”
Jiang Chan twitched slightly. It was her first attempt. The first step was always difficult.
Seeing his smug expression, she felt annoyed. And when she was annoyed, Qin Fen suffered.
A soft thud.
Something white splattered across Qin Fen’s face. He instinctively licked it. “Sweet?”
Jiang Chan curved her lips. “Fresh cream from this morning. You’re lucky.”
What followed was chaos in her workshop. The ugly robot locked onto Qin Fen and fired cream projectiles at him. By the end, his handsome face was completely covered.
Jiang’s mother pushed open the door and froze at the sight of Qin Fen shielding his face, his body covered in white cream.
“Second son, stop being naughty. Qin Fen, come wash your face with me.”
After scolding Jiang Chan lightly, she rescued Qin Fen from the robot’s assault.
Jiang Chan sighed softly. “The accuracy still isn’t precise enough. I need to adjust it.”
Less than ten minutes later, a freshly cleaned Qin Fen returned. Seeing the robot disassembled into parts, he finally felt safe enough to enter.
It had been a nightmare. No matter where he ran, the ugly robot had chased him. He was nearly traumatized.
Watching Jiang Chan absorbed in modifications, he did not disturb her. Instead, he resumed solving problems at a nearby desk.
As he worked, he thought that if his parents could see him studying diligently like this, they would cry tears of joy.
Motivated by that thought, he worked even harder.
From the corner of her eye, Jiang Chan noticed his renewed vigor and smiled faintly.
Studying could be fulfilling. Especially when you solved problems through your own effort, the sense of achievement was undeniable.
The workshop fell into quiet. Occasionally, the soft clink of assembled parts sounded, accompanied by the steady scratch of Qin Fen’s pen.
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Thanks for the chapter!