"Shen Yi, your girlfriend is amazing!"
From far away, one of Shen Yi’s classmates was hollering.
In front of the academic building was a designated area for posters, and the newest one displayed the results of the recent computer competition.
The competition had awards for Honorable Mention, as well as First, Second, and Third Place.
Shen Yi’s name, Qin Jiao’s name, and Xu Wei’s name were all emblazoned in the First Place section.
To be honest, Xu Wei was truly outstanding herself—not just a pretty face. After all, most people who get into North City University have their own strengths and talents; they’re definitely not mediocre.
Her winning first place was well-deserved.
As for Shen Yi, even though he was just a freshman and hadn’t been studying as long as the sophomores and juniors, the guy was a genius. So he’d won first place too.
But here was the kicker: how did Shen Yi’s girlfriend, Qin Jiao—a freshman from the law school—also win first place?
When Xu Wei saw the results, her face instantly darkened.
There was a simple reason for it. They had both won first place, but rumor had it that Qin Jiao had finished the exam half an hour early. On top of that, she wasn’t even from the School of Computer Science, and she was only a freshman...
The comparison made everything obvious at a glance.
Xu Wei had lost.
It was an utter and complete defeat.
Her eyes red and her jaw clenched, she walked right past Shen Yi and stopped in front of Qin Jiao. "You’re very impressive."
Qin Jiao was actually a little surprised. She hadn’t expected this senior to be a person of such character. At a moment like this, she hadn’t run off crying, nor was she consumed by resentment over her loss.
She was surprisingly magnanimous.
Qin Jiao smiled. "Thank you for the compliment, senior."
Xu Wei leaned closer to Qin Jiao and said in a low voice, "You’re very impressive. I won’t pursue Shen Yi anymore. Someone as good as you deserves him, and he deserves you."
Qin Jiao kept smiling. "You also deserve someone better, senior."
Xu Wei grumbled, "Someone better? We’ll see about that. It’s been so long, and I finally find someone I like, only to discover he’s already taken."
Qin Jiao’s smile didn’t waver. "That’s why you can’t touch someone who’s taken. You can’t even let yourself fall for them. Because the moment you do, you’ve already lost from the very beginning."
Xu Wei pursed her lips. "Are you making fun of me? So what? He’s so outstanding and devoted. Isn’t it perfectly normal for other people to fall for him?"
"But senior, have you ever considered this? If he were really someone who could be so easily swayed into leaving his partner for someone else, would he still be considered devoted? Would he still be considered outstanding?"
In a later era, a term for this would emerge: ’player.’ But Xu Wei, in this time, probably wouldn’t understand it.
But that was fine. As long as she understood the concept.
Sure enough, Xu Wei fell into deep thought after hearing Qin Jiao’s words. The two girls had kept their voices low during the entire exchange, so no one else heard them.
After she finished speaking, Qin Jiao gave Xu Wei another smile, then turned to leave for class with Shen Yi.
Shen Yi asked quietly, "What did you say to her? I saw her expression changing from pale to dark to green."
Qin Jiao replied, "She really should hear how you just described her. Any idealized image she has of you would shatter instantly. It was nothing, really. I just told her about a certain paradox of truth."
"A paradox of truth?"
Qin Jiao nodded.
’Yes.’
You fall for an outstanding man who is exceptionally devoted and gentle with his girlfriend. But if you actually succeed in stealing him away, taking his girlfriend’s place, and enjoying that same gentleness and devotion...
...then one day in the future, won’t another woman inevitably appear to take your place?