Xia Fu gazed silently at Fang Jingcheng. His handsome face was illuminated by the screen, casting a reflection in her dark pupils, like the moon’s shadow finally mirrored in a lake hidden deep within the forest, making the still water ripple and disturbing her heart.

…She shouldn’t be shaken.

Even if Fang Jingcheng was also not welcomed by his family, no matter how you looked at it, his life was far better than hers. As a boy, he enjoyed his grandmother’s indulgence, and the vulnerability he now showed wasn’t much different from Xia Changqing’s melodramatic sulking. He waited for his family’s affection in a way that mirrored her own face, yet he did it with such innocence that it stirred jealousy in Xia Fu. If she showed sympathy for his loneliness, it would only make her seem overreaching.

If he were just like her little brother…

Then where did this urge to hold his hand, embrace him, or caress the corner of his lips come from?

But what did he mean by saying, “This time, I found you”?

If Fang Jingcheng truly understood all that made her feel inferior, would he still want to be with her?

His words made her emotions a tangled mess, caught between love and an irrepressible resentment.

“What do you really know?”

She wanted to question Fang Jingcheng like this, unable to resist pinching his chin, kissing him with a mix of frustration, as if to consume his saliva, tears, sighs, and groans all at once.

She shouldn’t have spoken. Understanding Fang Jingcheng’s thoughts was pointless; it would only fuel more uncontrollable imaginings.

Fortunately, the casual chatting had helped pass the time, and the computer’s “ding” sound announced the simulation’s completion, sparing Xia Fu from doing something rash.

She had promised Fang Jingcheng that once this computation ended, she would return to her room to rest, so it was time for them to part.

Swallowing her molten-hot emotions, she grasped his hand in return, offering a gentle smile while squeezing his hand with a touch of vengeance, disguising the action as a solemn promise.

“I’ll make sure you get first place.” For him and for herself.

He let out a muffled sound from his throat, like a little dog held tightly and hurt, filled with joy yet confusion.

It seemed he accepted her promise.

With that, Xia Fu lowered her head again and slowly withdrew her hand. Without even glancing at the data on the screen, she clicked “save,” closed the laptop, and stood up.

“Goodnight… Have a nice dream.”

…

After changing algorithms at the last minute, they had to continuously refine the model, and the paper was only finalized an hour before the competition.

Even though they stayed in a luxurious hotel suite with food, laundry, and other needs solved by money, after enduring a marathon of work, they were both exhausted.

The moment the screen showed “submission complete,” Fang Jingcheng collapsed onto the sofa, sighing deeply, “I’m so tired. I want to rest a bit more, let’s check out tomorrow at noon…” His voice grew softer, and by the time Xia Fu had sent the paper to Teacher Zhou Hongxia, he was already sound asleep.

All their hard work paid off. After reading the paper, Zhou Hongxia gave it high praise:

“I knew I didn’t misjudge you. From our first meeting until now, your progress has been astonishing. You’ve now even skillfully used resources within the group. This is an excellent paper; with further development, it could serve as your graduation thesis. You’ll receive an invitation to the finals.”

After a week of scoring by the judges, the shortlisted teams would defend their work in the college’s grand hall, competing for first place.

Facing her protégé Xia Fu, Zhou Hongxia didn’t hold back on encouragement, gently reminding her to balance work and rest:

“Keep calm; don’t pull any more all-nighters in the coming days. Just prepare as usual, and you should have no problem.”

Zhou Hongxia, known as a “smiling tiger” and a long-standing special judge for the math modeling competition, had abstained from on-site judging this year due to her role as Xia Fu’s mentor. However, her standards were as strict as ever, and earning her endorsement practically guaranteed an award.

Sure enough, Xia Fu and Fang Jingcheng’s names appeared prominently on the finalists’ list. Though the competition progressed smoothly, as the final drew near, Fang Jingcheng’s visible nervousness intensified.

On the day of the finals, in a private makeup room in S City, Fang Jingcheng was resting his chin in his hand, staring absentmindedly at Xia Fu. With his flawless looks and physique, the makeup artist only needed to add a little foundation, touch up his eyebrows, and sharpen his facial features.

Just by sitting there in a sharp suit, Fang Jingcheng drew attention, with people occasionally sneaking photos and asking if he was an actor heading to a set.

But he just lifted his eyes, coldly declining, saying he wasn’t in the mood.

Several days ago, Fang Jingcheng had managed to get an early look at the academy’s scores. All four campus reviewers had given nearly perfect marks. Even Secretary Zhang sent a message to praise him in advance, saying this would surely make President Fang proud, indicating that Fang Siyu hadn’t meddled with the scores.

That shadowy man wouldn’t let things slide easily. His tricks wouldn’t end here. For instance, they were scheduled as the very first presentation, giving the sharp-eyed judges fresh energy to scrutinize them, without any reference from other teams—a clear disadvantage.

Of course, it might also be his paranoia. Perhaps Fang Siyu had been moved by Xia Fu’s talent and intended to give her a fair chance to perform first. But then, how would he feel?

He hoped Xia Fu would shine on stage, presenting her polished work to everyone, yet at the same time, he dreaded this brilliance being stolen away by others.

Xia Fu had promised to secure first place for him. For that sentiment, he acted the perfect gentleman until the competition.

But his patience was wearing thin…

Once the contest was over, he’d carefully claim this butterfly for himself.

As he watched Xia Fu’s dark hair cascade over her shoulders like seaweed and her lips curve gently like a hibiscus bloom, he slowly tapped his fingers on the armrest, his unusual silence catching Xia Fu’s attention.

She was sensitive to this sound. She had noticed Fang Jingcheng drumming his fingers impatiently when she’d once observed Secretary Zhang facing off with Jiang Rong.

“What’s wrong? Are you dissatisfied? I’m sorry, I took a bit long with my styling.”

“No, it’s beautiful. Go on.”

He smiled, picking up a brooch from the dressing table and held it up playfully toward her.

“I was just thinking, should I go with a white camellia or this black one? Maybe something brighter?”

“Neither.” They were going to a competition, not a wedding. Why would he wear a flower on his chest?

“Fine, I’ll listen to you.”

Fang Jingcheng smiled sweetly, saying nothing more.

He seemed distracted in the makeup room, but once he took the stage, he transformed into the “orator” Xia Fu knew so well.

With his radiant smile, humor, and charismatic gestures, he swiftly engaged the audience’s attention, guiding them exactly where he wanted. His words alone seemed to have persuasive power beyond the data and charts he presented.

Then, when it came time to dive into the deeper principles, it was Xia Fu’s turn. While she wasn’t as enthralling as Fang Jingcheng, her thorough preparation and solid theoretical foundation showed. Her performance was remarkable for a freshman.

Even Professor Zhang, who had once teased her in his Probability Theory class for “hogging the limelight,” now watched with a pleased smile, nodding repeatedly at their exceptional performance, as did the other teachers, smiling warmly. The cheerful atmosphere contrasted sharply with the stiff expressions of the executives from Blue Star Group.

A young man sat behind the nameplate “Blue Star Group CFO: Fang Siyu,” his handsome face remaining impassive, lacking any hint of a smile.

The “Perfect Brother”

Even if Fang Jingcheng refused to admit it, there were small resemblances between him and his brother. As the competition’s opening speaker talked, Xia Fu vaguely sensed the man’s true identity. With tensions between the brothers, the questions from the company’s experts might pose the real challenge in this competition.

“In the field of volatile asset investment, there are many commonly used time series solutions—such as ARIMA and Grey Forecasting models. Why did you choose ‘machine learning’?”

The man beside Fang Siyu took the microphone, his hair cut short and wearing black-framed glasses, exuding an authoritative aura. His strict demeanor belied his question, which was within Xia Fu’s expectations.

Xia Fu quickly glanced at the “Technical Expert” nameplate on the man’s desk, her heart settling.

She knew it.

These days, any serious software company needed algorithms. Clearly, Blue Star Group had a keen interest in this field.

With the recent boom in computer technology, any paper mentioning AI or deep learning got published quickly, even in academic circles.

Xia Fu had a decent foundation in Python programming. Teacher Zhou had encouraged her to pursue this path, even offering a full scholarship and a “pass” to G University across the strait, where she could experience a top-tier academic environment.

It was also a subtle way of persuading her to pursue graduate studies at their institution.

G University required a “pass” to attend, and it might just shield her from her parents’ interference. Communication there was in the same language, and it was far easier than studying abroad. For a fleeting moment, Xia Fu was tempted.

But given her parents’ disruption of Teacher Li, Xia Fu felt hesitant. Her main goal was to graduate, earn money, and live independently as soon as possible. Even if she liked it, if she wanted to see how far she could go in this field, she couldn’t dream of pursuing further studies until she broke free from her family…

All she had was the present.

Since Fang Jingcheng had given her the stage, she would make the most of it.

Resolving herself, Xia Fu smiled brightly at the “glasses man.”

“I considered using the TOPSIS-Entropy Weight Method, but given the emphasis on high-frequency, low-value transactions, I thought incorporating frontier technology concepts aligned more closely with the company’s development strategy and could also better persuade consumers.”

Standing tall, she extended her hands gracefully, like a night-blooming jasmine blossoming in the dark. Though still a bit inexperienced, she was clearly trying to steer the rhythm of the conversation.

Without realizing it, Xia Fu had started to adopt Fang Jingcheng’s style of conversation.

Was this how he responded to corporate discussions?

Fang Siyu immediately noticed, shifting his gaze to observe his brother’s expression.

It was as if a weary traveler in the wilderness lifted his head to see a sky full of stars, with one especially bright star guiding him forward.

The way Fang Jingcheng looked at Xia Fu disgusted Fang Siyu.

This wasn’t right. He should be squandering everything he had, drifting aimlessly…

He unconsciously gripped his pen tightly, his pale fingers showing faint blue from the pressure.

Despite his order to evaluate Fang Jingcheng fairly, the man could not help but smile slightly at Xia Fu’s insight, even under Fang Siyu’s cold stare.

But regaining his composure, he continued questioning her with the high expectations of an employer, delving deeper into her technical expertise:

“But you have to understand it well, too. Technology isn’t about chasing trends—do you know the XGBoost source code? What’s the difference between XGBoost and GBDT?”

The strict questioning went beyond the scope of a regular defense, increasingly probing her professional knowledge.

Nonetheless, Xia Fu kept her smile:

“Yes, I’ve read it. XGBoost is an engineering implementation of the latter, using second-order gradients…”

Her seamless answers demonstrated her deep understanding of her choices.

After a long series of questions, the judge finally fell silent, and when Xia Fu asked, “Do you have any more questions?” he turned to his supervisor.

The young man slowly clapped his pale hands.

“Thank you for your answer. It was excellent.”

She was unquestionably first place.