Before switching groups, Ji Mian specifically asked a few girls in the group chat if they could transfer together if they couldn’t stand Han Ju. Xie Heng had no objections.
However, because a large part of the course design system was done by Luo Jin, she didn’t want to quit directly. Although the other two girls were disgusted by Han Ju, they felt that there was only a week left and didn’t want to make a fuss.
So, Ji Mian left the group on his own.
He didn’t know how Xie Heng talked to the teacher, but Ji Mian smoothly switched groups.
Even though Xie Heng was willing to let him cling to him, Ji Mian still felt a bit embarrassed to do nothing, so he proposed that he could present the final report.
Seeing his resolute attitude, Xie Heng nodded in agreement.
That weekend, Ji Mian brought two cups of milk tea to Xie Heng’s house to thank him for taking him in and to get familiar with the course design content for the upcoming report.
Xie Heng opened the door for him and took the still-hot milk tea from Ji Mian’s hands.
Xie Heng didn’t usually drink these things, but in the cold winter, having a cup of hot drink was indeed warming.
The vacant guest room across from the master bedroom had been altered a lot by Xie Heng. He added bookshelves and tables, and some arrangements were also changed. Ignoring the immovable bed in the bedroom, it looked no different from a study.
There was only one chair, as Xie Heng hadn’t thought that one day his study would have another person.
When Ji Mian walked into the guest room, Xie Heng’s computer was on the desk, the screen lit up.
Seeing this, Ji Mian was a bit puzzled. “Isn’t it already finished?”
“I want to refine it a bit and add some features,” Xie Heng replied.
Ji Mian walked over to the computer screen and glanced at it. “Is there really a need to add features? This is already on par with what our group is doing.”
Xie Heng didn’t have a strong pursuit for high scores; Ji Mian knew this, which made it even more confusing. Based on the current system presentation, getting a ninety at the end was absolutely secure.
The highest score at their school was 4.0, and getting ninety was no different from getting a hundred. He didn’t understand why there was a need for further refinement.
Do big shots really like to pursue perfection?
“It’s just a few small features,” Xie Heng said, picking up the milk tea and frowning at the various toppings at the bottom, none of which he could name.
“The content in the PPT also needs to be modified according to the system. It’ll take a couple of days for the final version. The time you have to prepare for the report might be tight,” he said, then asked Ji Mian, “If you feel it’s too rushed, I’ll reduce the content.”
“It’s fine. Even if you finish ten minutes before I go on stage, I’ll have enough time,” Ji Mian replied.
“Okay.”
Ji Mian took the only chair in the room, and Xie Heng couldn’t find another stool, so he simply dragged out his aluminum suitcase and used it as a seat.
After sitting down, he opened the seal on the milk tea and took a sip. It was sweet.
Ji Mian’s gaze unintentionally glanced over at him.
Xie Heng’s suitcase was the largest size, and as he sat on it, his long legs firmly touched the ground. Since he was at home, he wore casual loungewear, holding the milk tea in one hand and slowly drinking it while using the other to press down on the suitcase to prevent the wheels from turning.
A guy who was almost 1.9 meters tall looked surprisingly a bit obedient at this moment.
Ji Mian remembered someone saying Xie Heng was aloof and felt puzzled.
He looked so approachable!
Turning his gaze back, he continued to look at the lines of code on the screen.
A few minutes later, Ji Mian stood up in defeat and offered his seat to Xie Heng. “You should do it instead.”
Xie Heng smiled and switched places with him.
Ji Mian sat beside him but watched intently.
The person going on stage to report was him, so he needed to understand the underlying logic clearly to justify Xie Heng’s efforts.
Ji Mian arrived at five o’clock and they went out for dinner at six, returning to continue working until almost ten o’clock, making his eyes feel blurry.
At that moment, he couldn’t help but admire Xie Heng’s focus. His brain ran at high speed for four to five hours without feeling tired.
“If you’re sleepy, you can go back first,” Xie Heng said, seeing that Ji Mian was about to cry from exhaustion.
“No! The curfew is at midnight; I can keep going!”
“... I’m tired too; let’s call it a day.” After saying this, Xie Heng closed the software and shut down the computer.
Seeing this, Ji Mian hesitated and nodded in agreement. “Then you should rest early; you’ve done enough already.”
“Mm.”
Ji Mian left.
After sending Ji Mian off, Xie Heng returned to the study, opened his computer, and continued writing from where he had left off a few minutes ago.
By the time it was one o'clock in the morning, the light from the screen was straining his eyes.
Xie Heng blinked a few times to relax his eyes.
He didn’t feel tired yet, but he had a competition to participate in tomorrow, so he needed to keep his mind clear.
He had stayed up all night working on the course project with Ji Mian the previous evening, and if he didn’t get any sleep tonight, it would mean two sleepless nights in a row, which wouldn’t bode well for his performance in the competition.
Xie Heng couldn’t quite articulate why he was pushing himself so hard. His assignment was more than enough to earn a good score, and continuing to work on it didn’t seem to hold much significance.
Yet he kept going, as if venting emotions, or perhaps driven by some inexplicable competitive spirit.
With half a cup of drink left on the table, Xie Heng finished it in a few large gulps, then got up to wash up and go to bed.
The milk tea had gone cold, but it was still sweet.
---
When classes resumed the following week, the presentations for the course project in the Business Management course were split across two sessions due to the large number of groups in the class.
Ji Mian and Xie Heng’s group was positioned fairly early, ranked ninth, and they were scheduled to present in the first session. Coincidentally, Han Ji was right behind them.
As the earlier groups presented one after another, it became apparent that most of the groups lacked strong programming skills, resulting in subpar outcomes.
The teacher listening to the presentations had a slightly displeased expression, but perhaps due to exhaustion from mentoring previous cohorts, he only asked a few simple questions and didn’t make things difficult for anyone.
By the time the eighth group finished, the students in the audience lost interest, looking down at their phones.
Ji Mian took a deep breath and stood up as the questions for the eighth group wrapped up.
Xie Heng had spent a lot of time over the weekend refining the system, so Ji Mian had adjusted the content and layout of the PPT during those days. Given his experience from the first world, Ji Mian’s presentation skills were impressively superior.
As he stood on stage, Ji Mian seemed like a different person, wearing a perfectly measured smile. He spoke without notes, making it seem less like a report and more like a high-level speech, with clear thoughts and smooth expression.
More importantly, the content he presented was substantial.
Ji Mian's posture was relaxed, casually holding the pen for flipping slides, exuding a calm and confident demeanor.
With his good looks adding to the effect, it was a feast for the eyes. Students in the back row quietly set their phones down…
“The system is quite impressive, and the logic in the presentation and report is very coherent. It’s clear that a lot of effort went into this class project,” the teacher nodded approvingly, generously praising, “Very well done.”
Ji Mian’s restrained smile suddenly blossomed into a radiant one, the light from his ear stud sparkling as he replied, “Thank you, teacher.”
He stepped off the stage.
Next up was the tenth group.
After Han Ji’s birthday, none of the girls in the group seemed willing to engage with him, so he presented by himself.
To be fair, Han Ji’s excessive confidence in situations like this was indeed an advantage. His stage presence was steadier than most, but in comparison to Ji Mian’s organized approach, he fell short.
Moreover, the results of the tenth group's project were clearly less polished than those of the ninth group. With Ji Mian’s performance fresh in memory, the teacher’s reaction seemed lukewarm.
As Han Ji stepped down, his expression was rather grim.
---
Once class ended, the students hurriedly left the classroom.
Han Ji, however, didn’t rush to leave and approached Ji Mian to make his presence felt.
He first glanced at Ji Mian, but his gaze quickly shifted to Xie Heng.
If it hadn’t been for Ji Mian being taken away by him on his birthday, Han Ji wouldn’t have remembered this guy's name at all.
— Xie Heng.
Last weekend, the school held a programming competition, which awarded two first prizes: one to a big shot from the Computer Science department and the other to someone from the Economics department named Xie Heng.
Han Ji had also signed up but didn’t win any award.
The thought of this filled him with a sense of humiliation at being outdone.
He looked at Ji Mian and sarcastically remarked, “You sure know how to cling to big shots.”
“It’s just a project I worked on; how is that clinging?” Xie Heng lightly laughed, his tone rather dismissive. “Maybe you’re just not good enough?”
He slowly lifted his eyelids. “You’re just stupid.”
“... You motherf—” Han Ju had a strong sense of pride and couldn’t stand being looked down upon.
He kicked Xie Heng’s desk hard, yelling, “Damn it, looking for trouble, huh?”
Xie Heng remained silent, but in the next moment, he acted even more aggressively, grabbing Han Ji by the collar and dragging him into the empty hallway.
“Damn!” Han Ji exclaimed.
The two of them looked like they were about to fight, leaving Ji Mian shocked by this sudden conflict.
It was just a few words exchanged; why did it escalate into a fight?
Getting into a fight at school could result in serious disciplinary actions.
Panic set in, and he shouted, “Hey! Just arguing is fine; don’t start hitting!”
Among the two, it was Xie Heng, who was usually calm, who ignored the warning and raised his other fist.
He looked down at Han Ji with cold eyes, resembling a feral beast that had lost its reason.
Han Ji defiantly gritted his teeth, raising his arm as if to strike.
Ji Mian couldn’t care less about anything else and rushed forward to intervene.
Initially, he intended to pull Xie Heng back, but then thought better of it: intervening would only result in Xie Heng getting hit.
Instead, he went around to Han Ji’s back, grasped his waist, and pulled him away.
Seeing this, Xie Heng caught sight of Ji Mian’s hands on Han Ji’s waist, and his fierce demeanor instantly softened, his movements halting.
He frowned at the person hiding behind Han Ji and asked, “Why are you hugging him?”
Ji Mian replied, “... Huh?”
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