A week after the midterm exams, the first-year class held an awards ceremony.
Su Yunluo sat among the crowd, looking toward the stage from a distance. The top ten students went up for a group photo, and her former rival was among them.
It was even more blinding than the autumn sun overhead.
Out of the ten figures, only two were girls.
Sun Teacher’s theory about the difference between boys and girls seemed to be quietly proven once again by what was right in front of them.
From the buzzing crowd below, titles like “Ning God” and “Xie God” floated around from time to time, wrapped in open admiration.
Yuan Weining let out a regretful sigh. “What a pity. My crush only got twelfth this time. Otherwise, he could’ve gone up there too. If he stood on that stage, I swear I’d secretly take dozens of photos of him!”
Chu Han pressed her lips together and smiled. “Honestly, if you just want to take pictures of handsome guys, those two ‘gods’ up there aren’t a bad choice either.”
Yuan Weining glanced toward the stage.
She had to admit Chu Han was right. Especially Xie Chen—that face of his really was worth photographing. Phoenix-shaped eyes, thin lips, a small face, a high nose bridge… for a guy, his skin looked almost porcelain-white under the sunlight.
But just as she reached for her phone in her pocket, she caught sight of Su Yunluo sitting quietly beside her, head lowered. The thought died instantly.
Back at the school gate that day, because Zhou Xubai was there, she had forced herself to say, “We weren’t arguing, just joking.” But she hadn’t been joking with Xie Chen at all. He was Su Yunluo’s rival. Deep down, she truly hoped Yunluo would beat him at least once—make that guy, who looked polite on the surface but was actually arrogant, taste defeat. Maybe then he’d stop saying nonsense like “girls aren’t as good as boys.”
But… things didn’t turn out that way.
Fate had its own plans.
After the group photo, the top students took turns sharing their study tips. It was all the same old lines people had heard too many times. The audience below grew drowsy, until the final two speakers came on stage—and suddenly, the entire atmosphere tightened.
There was no set order. Qi Ning had been sitting closer to the aisle, so he stood up and went first. The top-ranked student was always elusive—he didn’t socialize, didn’t join activities. Aside from class, seeing him at school was harder than seeing the principal.
His face carried no expression, his tone distant and cold. What he said about studying wasn’t particularly new, but because he was number one, everyone listened in complete silence—like ordinary people staring up at a lone snow-covered peak.
Then Xie Chen stepped onto the stage.
This “god,” just judging by his face, also seemed cold—if anything, even colder than Qi Ning.
But unexpectedly, when he started speaking, his tone was gentle, even humble. There was a faint smile at the corner of his lips, and that sharp coldness in his looks softened a little. He didn’t seem so unreachable anymore. It even made people feel like maybe, just maybe, he’d put down that “top student” air and actually say something real.
Because of that, the moment he finished speaking, someone in the audience actually had the courage to stand up and ask a question.
“Xie God, someone as strong as you—how do you see people who are even better than you? Like in these last two exams, Ning God ranked first, and you’re second…”
The room erupted in whispers.
Su Yunluo also lifted her head and looked at the boy on stage.
Yeah… how would he answer that?
Even you have someone above you. I may not be able to beat you, but you’re not the highest mountain either.
Xie Chen looked at the person who asked the question.
The way he spoke was slow, but the question itself was sharp.
This kind of “why is there you if there’s also him” question—he’d heard it countless times growing up. Even Zhou Xubai in the audience let out a quiet scoff, throwing him a look that clearly said, I don’t even feel like sympathizing with you.
Xie Chen smiled faintly. “I see it normally. If someone is first, then naturally someone has to be second.”
His calm tone encouraged another girl to stand up, a little shy.
“Then… Xie God… would you ever feel inferior because of that? Even just a little…?”
Her voice was soft, hesitant, almost probing—as if confirming that even Xie Chen might feel insecure about rankings would somehow give her a sense of validation.
Xie Chen let out a light laugh, like he had just heard a joke.
“Absolutely not.”
Su Yunluo heard how clean and firm his answer was.
He didn’t say “I wouldn’t.”
He said “absolutely not.”
The boy on stage raised his brows slightly. In those refined, calm eyes, a sharp glint flashed for just a moment.
“Really?”
“Why?”
“Because no matter how high Mount Everest is,” Xie Chen said clearly, each word steady through the microphone, “it wouldn’t make K2 think it’s just a small hill.”
Silence fell over the crowd.
A faint smile curved at Xie Chen’s lips.
He had always been clear about who he was.
Except for Qi Ning—that one “exception”—he had never once doubted his own height when facing anyone else.
His gaze shifted steadily toward the “Everest” sitting among the top students.
This one—this was the only person he truly saw as his rival.
From childhood until now, the only rival he had ever acknowledged.
At the highest peaks, he wasn’t alone.
When you reach the very top, you still meet someone just as high.
That quiet sense of unwillingness, that refusal to yield—it had followed him through his entire youth.
But now, he could just smile it off, calm and unbothered, as he looked out at the crowd and added, unhurriedly—
“I see ‘Ning God’ as a rival and a goal, not an enemy or a source of pressure.”
His eyes were bright, and there was a trace of ease in his tone—the kind of confidence only someone at the very top could carry.
“High school has just started. Just wait. Maybe one day, you’ll see me standing just a little higher than him.”
Yes… they were only a little apart.
Always just that little bit.
On Qi Ning’s face—usually as cold and distant as a snow-covered mountain—there was, for once, the faintest hint of a smile.
The two boys—one sharp and cutting, the other steady and composed—met each other’s gaze across a distance that wasn’t too close, but not far either. In that single glance, there was still the lingering fire of youth, but also something deeper—years of rivalry, quiet understanding, and the openness that comes from finally meeting someone worthy.
Applause broke out again from the audience.
“Xie God’s answer was insanely cool!”
“I respect both of them!”
On the stage, the dean nodded repeatedly, seizing the moment to lecture everyone.
“Did you all see that? That’s the attitude top students should have toward competition! Learning should be like this—improving yourself while appreciating your opponent. Don’t just learn their methods, learn their mindset too!”
Amid the wave of applause, Su Yunluo slowly pulled her gaze back.
She let out a quiet sigh.
Lowering her head, she looked at her open palm. There was nothing in it.
Only a few deep, crescent-shaped marks—pressed in little by little by her nails, almost breaking the skin.
She stared at those red marks for a while.
How long had she had this habit?
When the ceremony ended, Su Yunluo returned to the academic building and went to the restroom.
She had just closed the stall door when a few girls came in, chatting noisily outside.
“Looks like for the next three years, the top two spots are basically locked by those two.”
“Obviously. They’re so far ahead of everyone else. No one’s catching up anytime soon!”
“Hey, do you remember that girl who challenged Xie God before?”
That competition between Class Five and Class Six had originally only been known to a small group. But ever since Xie Chen made a name for himself in that one battle, the story had spread across the entire school.
“Don’t even mention it. She really had the nerve. Didn’t even measure herself before stepping up to represent the girls. And what happened? Not only did she fail to win any pride for them, she just embarrassed everyone.”
“I heard that after she lost, she went to Class Five and performed a Yue opera piece. And she was really good—left the whole class stunned.”
“Well… I guess that counts as losing the match but not losing spirit?”
“How is that not losing?”
A voice Su Yunluo recognized cut in—
“In high school, grades are what really matter. No matter how well you sing, can it turn into points? No. So it’s useless.”
“Yeah, that makes sense. Honestly, what the Class Five homeroom teacher said wasn’t wrong…”
“Once you’re in high school, girls really do tend to lose momentum.”
Su Yunluo pushed the stall door open and walked out, turning on the tap to wash her hands.
Shi Ranran froze for a moment. “…Su Yunluo?”
The girls exchanged looks, clearly not expecting the person they’d been talking about to be right there.
Shi Ranran had been caught talking behind her back, but there was no way she was going to show any weakness in front of Su Yunluo. She lifted her chin slightly, still wearing a smile.
“Su Yunluo, I was actually about to ask you—this time, did you finally accept your loss? I heard you ranked seventy-ninth.”
Su Yunluo turned off the tap, her tone calm.
“Yeah. Just a little higher than your ninety-fourth.”