Chapter 386

Chapter 386

◎Game Over◎

The competition was a university-sponsored event, meaning the team composition could still be adjusted right up until entering the venue.

Li Rong knew this well, which is why he felt so confident about the whole situation.

He was already in his senior year, just skating by in school with barely passing grades—though it wouldn’t affect his graduation. And after that, he had no plans to work for any big company, so the competition meant nothing to him. His only stake in it was Xiao Ye.

He couldn't stand Xiao Ye. From the very first time he saw him, he disliked him.

When Xiao Ye first joined the club, he was generous—treating everyone to food and drinks, quickly becoming familiar with most members.

Li Rong was officially part of the club but rarely showed up, only dropping by occasionally. As a senior with few classes, many of his peers were either striving for graduate school recommendations or hunting for internships. He, however, had no plans for further studies or worries about internships, leaving him with plenty of free time. So he wandered into the club to check out their so-called "ugly robots"—and that's when he saw Xiao Ye, holding court with everyone.

Xiao Ye was undeniably handsome—anyone with eyes could see that. But Li Rong took an instant dislike to him because a girl who had once shot him down was practically making eyes at Xiao Ye.

She wasn't head-turningly pretty, but back when Li Rong was a freshman joining the club, they'd been in the same cohort and initially grown close. She was lively, outgoing, and cute—hard not to have a crush on.

He had dropped hints about his interest, but she quickly and tactfully turned him down, even deliberately distancing herself to avoid any misunderstandings.

Back then, Li Rong was still green. Though a little hurt, he accepted that she wasn't interested and let it go.

But the current Li Rong was nothing like his younger self. Seeing the girl he once liked fawning over another guy—even though he no longer had any feelings for her—only fueled his resentment toward Xiao Ye.

So he casually pulled aside a club member who wasn't hovering around Xiao Ye and asked, "Who's the new guy? A freshman?"

The person glanced at Xiao Ye and whispered to Li Rong, "A freshman. The boyfriend of Young Master Ji. You know, the young master from Jimin Pharmaceuticals?"

Li Rong let out an "Oh." "I've heard of him. So what's this guy's deal?"

The classmate curled his lip. "Who knows? As soon as he joined, he treated everyone to a meal at Yu Huo—acting all big."

Yu Huo was a seafood buffet priced at 699 per person. For students whose monthly budget hovered around 2,000, dining there even once was a stretch, let alone springing for the entire club. Though the club wasn't huge, it still had over twenty members.

Li Rong scoffed. "His boyfriend is Young Master Ji, and he treats you all to such a cheap buffet? How 'generous' of him."

That one glance cemented Li Rong's belief that Xiao Ye was a status-chaser who relied on his looks and liked to flaunt fake generosity. The Ji family's wealth was on another level—spending millions was pocket change. Yet his boyfriend only treated them to a meal worth a little over ten grand? That wasn't generosity—that was just a cheap act.

Such a stingy display wasn't befitting of a wealthy family. Even someone like Li Rong, who had some money to spare, wouldn't stoop to that level.

Already disliking Xiao Ye, Li Rong grew even more irritated when he saw the freshman forming his own team for the competition. Determined to take him down a notch, he seized the opportunity to undermine Xiao Ye—and show the girl he once liked that some people were all flash, no substance.

Sometimes jealousy and conflict arise from the most inexplicable reasons, turning strangers into enemies without any real interaction.

Xiao Ye had no idea why Li Rong disliked him—and even if he had known, he wouldn't have cared. He remained firm about the competition, despite the club captain's repeated attempts to persuade him. After all, aside from the technical contributions from his teammates, Xiao Ye had invested the most in the robot's equipment.

They had even agreed early on that after the competition, Xiao Ye would take the robot with him. This was his first from-scratch project, and regardless of the final ranking, he wanted to keep it as a keepsake.

Every single part of the robot had been purchased with his own money. Apart from the club's name attached to it, the robot was essentially his personal property. That was also why the club captain couldn't outright force him to step aside—only negotiate.

As the competition date drew near and Xiao Ye still refused to budge, the person coming to "talk" shifted from the club captain to the counselor.

The counselor's approach was different. He laid it out plainly: "We both know who you're dating, so I'll be blunt. Either have your boyfriend step in and talk to the director—then everything stays yours. If he's unwilling to do that for you, just take the money and walk away. It's nothing, really—a small competition. There'll be plenty more like this in university. I don't recommend being so stubborn. Once you enter society, you'll face this kind of thing all the time. Learn to play the game. Favors and mianzi—give where you must. It won't hurt you."

Xiao Ye laughed outright. "Director? Which director would that be?"

In university, aside from subject teachers, after four years, one might not even recognize the faces or names of various directors or the president. He’d just started school and already got on the director’s radar—quite a feat indeed.

Counselor: "It's Director Duan from our department, Xiao Ye..."

Xiao Ye cut him off directly: "Director Duan, right? Got it. You done?"

The counselor was just a low-level staffer. He could exert some authority over ordinary students, but with someone clearly not ordinary—or backed by someone not ordinary—he knew his limits. He couldn’t be bothered to butt heads with this troublemaker, telling him to sleep on it before leaving.

After the counselor left, Xiao Ye snorted and spoke into his earpiece: "See? Took the bait. Director Duan—let me check who this guy is and what his connection is to that Li guy."

Ji Nanxing was in the dorm. They had afternoon classes, so after lunch, he had returned to rest. As class time approached, Xiao Ye’s drink order arrived, so he kept the call with Ji Nanxing going while fetching the delivery.

On his way back, he ran into the counselor looking for him. Probably assuming Xiao Ye was listening to music with his earbuds in, Xiao Ye didn’t remove them, so Ji Nanxing heard the whole exchange.

Only Han Qiu was in the dorm, watching a show, so speaking wouldn’t disturb him. Ji Nanxing asked directly: "How do you plan to handle this?"

Xiao Ye strolled upstairs with the milk tea: "First, I’ll go ask that director what exactly he wants."

Xiao Ye acted fast. While Ji Nanxing was in class that afternoon, Xiao Ye went straight to Director Duan. The director clearly didn’t recognize Xiao Ye—likely hadn’t paid much attention to the message relayed through the counselor—and asked what he needed.

Xiao Ye confirmed: "Director Duan?"

Duan Wenteng snapped his pen cap shut, his tone still polite: "What can I do for you, student?"

Xiao Ye entered the office, closed the door, and sat across from him: "I should be asking what *you* want, Director. Didn’t you have our counselor talk to me? About the robotics competition—I’m not giving it up. I paid for the robot myself, and I was the one who signed us up. No one cared about this small competition at first, but now that it’s tied to P.T. Corp., with comprehensive evaluation credits and job offers, suddenly it’s a golden ticket and I’m supposed to step aside? That’s bullshit. Shouldn’t schools be the fairest places? What do you think, Director?"

Duan Wenteng smiled slightly: "About this matter, I hope you can understand too. Several seniors in your club are facing a tough job market. This competition is a rare opportunity for them."

Xiao Ye: "I don’t understand. The competition had no barriers to entry—anyone could sign up. They didn’t bother before, but now that the stakes got higher, they want to take someone else’s spot? Just because they’re struggling to find jobs as seniors, I, a freshman, should yield? Sorry, no."

Duan Wenteng leaned back in his chair: "You’ll have plenty of opportunities in the future. No need to lose more over stubbornness. I’ve seen your team’s videos—you’ve just started in AI but collaborate well with juniors and seniors. You clearly have talent. Professor Zhuang is a leader in the AI field. Would you be interested in his projects?"

A project under Professor Zhuang carried far more clout than a small corporate-sponsored competition. If not for owing the Li family a favor, Duan Wenteng wouldn’t bother cleaning up this dumpster fire.

Li Rong was just fighting for pride. Duan Wenteng knew he was all talk—he couldn’t even be squeezed into higher-value projects. Meanwhile, Xiao Ye’s boyfriend was Ji Nanxing. The medical department’s annual internships at Ji Group relied on local connections—another person not to offend.

So, keeping both sides content was the best outcome.

Xiao Ye cut straight to it: "Trying to trade favors? Still not interested."

It was only because he was dating Ji Nanxing that the school hesitated. If he were just an ordinary student with no backing, they wouldn’t bother negotiating—just issue a notice and crush any dissent unless they wanted to risk their diploma. Students could complain, but it wouldn’t matter.

He’d seen too much unfairness to ever grow numb to it.

Facing this bureaucratic, utterly unscholarly director, Xiao Ye said bluntly: "Director Duan, you were once a student too. Trampling on others’ interests—does it not hurt because it’s not happening to you?"

Duan Wenteng’s expression darkened: "Xiao, you should watch your words."

Xiao Ye: "If I stay quiet, you’ll keep pulling shady stunts. This robotics competition—whether it’s big or small—I won’t back down once I’ve committed. So, Director, I’m afraid I must decline your proposal."

Duan Wenteng: "I get that you’re young and fiery, but kid—"

Xiao Ye laughed: "Director Duan, have you even looked at my file? I suggest you review it carefully before speaking. Also, as our department head, I’ll be watching you like a hawk these four years. University isn’t the corporate world—fairness should still matter."

That was practically a naked threat. Xiao Ye didn’t wait for a response, leaving immediately after.

Duan Wenteng wasn’t a fool. He quickly pulled Xiao Ye’s records, but nothing stood out. His parents were listed as civil servants, with no specifics. However, the file listed an older brother serving in... the paramilitary police.

Duan Wenteng shut the file and pinched the bridge of his nose. This Li Rong really knew how to stir the pot!

Li Rong, still unaware that his source of protection was about to crumble, spotted Xiao Ye exiting the department head’s office and approached with a smug grin. "You wouldn’t listen when I tried to reason with you. Had to challenge me, huh? Haven’t you heard the saying—rely on a mountain and it’ll collapse, rely on a person and they’ll abandon you?"

He looked past Xiao Ye with a show of pity. "Just you alone, huh? Looks like your boyfriend isn’t planning to stand up for you either."

Xiao Ye looked down at the shorter man, whose chin was tilted up smugly, and chuckled. "Then I’ll return that saying to you—rely on a mountain and it’ll collapse, rely on a person and they’ll abandon you. If you’re so useless yourself, stop eyeing what’s in someone else’s bowl."

Li Rong had never taken Xiao Ye seriously, writing off his words as empty bluster. He even reached out to pat his shoulder. "Hope you can keep up that tough talk forever."

Xiao Ye immediately swatted his hand away. "Same to you."

The beads on Xiao Ye’s wrist struck Li Rong’s hand, hitting the red-stringed copper coin he wore and producing a sharp clink against his wrist bone. It wasn’t a hard hit, just enough to sting slightly. But Li Rong quickly shifted his attention back to Xiao Ye, who was walking away with an air of defiance.

Watching him go, Li Rong snorted coldly. He’d see how long Xiao Ye could keep up this act. If he got Ji Nanxing to step in, even better—he’d make sure to brand him a "kept man" and make it known across campus.

Unfortunately for Li Rong, not only did he fail to witness the downfall he’d anticipated for Xiao Ye, he didn’t even live to see the next day’s sunrise.