Font Size:
Hong Yi looked at Hou Shijie as if he were an idiot. “Fool.”
Seeing Hong Yi unable to resist the urge to ridicule, Xiao Zhi chuckled softly. Even Hong Yi said such things, Hou Shijie must be quite remarkable.
The teacher looked at Xiao Bao and said, “Xiao Bao, do you want to have a serious contest with him and let him know all the differences between you two?”
“Okay.” Previously, Xiao Bao always refused such contests, but this time he agreed.
Xiao Zhi looked at Xiao Bao, who unexpectedly agreed to the contest, and understood. It seemed that Xiao Bao was really provoked this time.
As Xiao Zhi pondered, Xiao Bao spoke up, “Hou Shijie, since you’re so eager for a challenge, I’ll give you a chance to compete. Just say what you want to compare.”
“Piano, chess, calligraphy, painting, horse riding, archery, or even martial arts, anything is fine.” Xiao Bao spoke directly and decisively.
Hou Shijie’s face turned pale, feeling embarrassed under Xiao Bao’s gaze.
“Su Zhiqin, you…”
“Stop the nonsense. Haven’t you always wanted to compete with me? Now I agree to compete in anything you want, so why are you hesitating?” Xiao Bao interrupted Hou Shijie, speaking coldly.
A single sentence made Hou Shijie feel immensely embarrassed.
He knew he couldn’t compare to Su Zhiqin, he had always known.
He just couldn’t accept being ignored by Su Zhiqin every time, couldn’t accept that the people praised by the master were always those around Su Zhiqin.
Each provocation made him realize what reality was, but it also made him increasingly jealous of Su Zhiqin, wanting to cause trouble for him.
Because he knew in his heart that someone like Su Zhiqin wouldn’t bother too much about such matters.
He thought today would be the same, that Su Zhiqin wouldn’t care too much.
But when he heard Su Zhiqin’s proposal for the competition, he was dumbfounded.
“Hou Shijie, when Xiao Bao didn’t want to compete with you, you boasted about being superior to everything. Now that Xiao Bao is willing to compete with you, why are you acting like a coward?” Looking at Hou Shijie, Xiao Zhi spoke coldly.
Hou Shijie felt irritated by Xiao Zhi’s words, “What does it have to do with you, Su Zhixiao? It’s between me and Su Zhiqin. Is it your place to interfere?”
Xiao Zhi couldn’t help but laugh softly at Hou Shijie’s embarrassed and angry tone. He looked at Hou Shijie with a hint of sarcasm. How did such a person manage to stand out in the family?
“So, are you going to compete or not?” Xiao Zhi asked, still smiling as he looked at Hou Shijie.
All eyes were on Hou Shijie, and everyone was curious whether he would agree to the competition or not.
Hou Shijie’s expression was somewhat grim. “I will.”
He knew he was in a difficult position today. Losing the competition would be embarrassing, but not competing would be even more shameful.
“What are we competing in?”
“Everything,” Hou Shijie replied stubbornly, his neck stiff.
Xiao Bao didn’t really care either way. He just nodded casually and said, “Sure, Master, please prepare.”
The master called over the other instructors and gave them the task of setting questions for the two to answer.
In the end, Hou Shijie lost to Xiao Bao, and he lost badly.
With a pale face, he looked at Xiao Bao, astonished by the answers he gave, ones he had never even considered.
In the subsequent contests of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, Hou Shijie lost to Xiao Bao without exception.
Xiao Bao calmly continued to compete with Hou Shijie in horseback riding and archery.
Even in Hou Shijie’s proudest skill of archery, he still lost to Xiao Bao in the end.
Hou Shijie stood there, watching Xiao Bao with an expressionless face, as if he himself hadn’t won.
This state of affairs made Hou Shijie jealous and somewhat unwilling.
But there was nothing he could do. Su Zhiqin was indeed very formidable.
The master looked at Xiao Bao with a smile and asked, “Xiao Bao, do you want to take the exam? To break dad’s record?”
Xiao Bao nodded. “Okay.”
Hearing Xiao Bao’s words, the master smiled even more happily.
“That’s the spirit.”
Hou Shijie looked at Xiao Bao’s indifferent demeanor, knowing full well that Xiao Bao really didn’t care about this.
The one who truly cared all along was himself.
“Su Zhiqin, you’re really impressive.”
Xiao Bao glanced at Hou Shijie without saying a word. Did he really need to say whether he was impressive or not?
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll leave first. And don’t come to me again saying you want to compete with me or anything like that. I don’t want to hear it anymore, and I don’t want to waste any more time on these useless competitions with you.” Xiao Bao looked at Hou Shijie and spoke in a cold tone.
In just a few days, Hou Shijie had already wasted quite a bit of his time. He couldn’t afford to indulge in such foolishness any longer.
Hou Shijie looked at Xiao Bao’s expression and felt his face darken.
This person was truly a peculiar one, capable of doing such things.
Xiao Bao was unaware that he had become a peculiar figure in Hou Shijie’s eyes. He walked over to Xiao Zhi and calmly said, “Brother, let’s go. I don’t want to stay here any longer.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
Hong Yi glanced at Hou Shijie and spoke indifferently, “Overestimating oneself.”
Hou Shijie stared at Hong Yi with bloodshot eyes. “You…”
“Do you have any objections to my brother?” Xiao Bao looked at Hou Shijie coldly, not giving him any face.
Seeing Xiao Bao’s protective demeanor towards his brother, Hou Shijie felt annoyed. He was very unhappy that Xiao Bao the one he was trying to protect, wasn’t himself.
Hong Yi ran to Xiao Bao’s side with a smile, reaching out to hold Xiao Bao’s hand. Sensing Hou Shijie’s intense gaze, he turned and made a big grimace at him.
Xiao Bao noticed Hong Yi’s gesture but didn’t say anything, allowing him to act as he pleased.
Hou Shijie had always known that Xiao Bao was very kind to those around him, but he had never seen him indulge someone to this extent before.
Gripping his hands instinctively, he watched as Xiao Bao led Hong Yi away.
A person who was on good terms with Hou Shijie patted his shoulder. “I’ve been telling you not to mess with Su Zhiqin casually. You believe it now, don’t you?”
Su Zhiqin is not someone you can just casually provoke; he’s really formidable.
Hou Shijie remained silent. After competing with so many times, how could he not know how formidable he was?
It was precisely because he knew that he felt so unwilling and jealous.
They were peers, so why was Su Zhiqin so much more formidable?
“You’re not still thinking of competing with him despite everything, are you?” Hou Shijie’s friend looked at him with concern.
Hou Shijie glanced at him. “No.”
This time, with Su Zhiqin’s blow, what else could he say? How could he even compare himself to him anymore?
It was at this moment that he truly realized the vast gap between himself and Su Zhiqin.
This insurmountable chasm was something he hadn’t even dared to imagine.
With his face buried in his hands, there was a self-deprecating look in his eyes. “I never thought there would come a day when I’d lose so badly.”
The two people beside him looked at each other, unsure of how to comfort him.