Time Travel: The Queen's Coronation

At the first class meeting of the new semester, class monitor Liang Yan announced two tempting competitions. The first was a computer programming competition held by Zero, a large multinational corporation. Teams of two were required to design a system and submit their work within a set timeframe. Zero's internal engineers would judge the competition. The first place winner would receive a prize of 50,000 RMB, the second place winner 30,000 RMB, and the third place winner 10,000 RMB. The top 20 participants would also receive internship opportunities at Zero.

The second piece of news is the National Undergraduate Mathematical Modeling Contest. While there's no prize money for this competition, it can earn you academic credits for current students. This is a great bonus for those seeking outstanding student recognition and applying for other scholarships. Each team in the Mathematical Modeling Contest consists of three members, and teams are free to form regardless of their major.

"Qing'er, which one do you want to participate in?" Hu Ning asked me in a low voice.

"I want both of them, because they are so tempting, I don't want to give up either one."

"Then let's form a team of three to participate in the modeling competition. Zheng Lan has to attend the college sports meeting and can't join," Liu Xiu added.

"What a pity! The sports meet conflicts with these two," Zheng Lan said aggrievedly.

"Don't feel wronged, we'll be together again next time," Hu Ning said, patting Zheng Lan on the shoulder.

"Wei Qing, do you want to join me in the Zero competition? I remember Rong Zixuan is also going to participate in the college sports meeting. He is a member of the men's basketball team of our school," Liang Yan came over and said to me.

"We haven't got a number yet, how can it be your turn? Go away," Zheng Lan pushed Liang Yan away.

Liang Yan said with a smile, "You all participated in the modeling competition together, but you won't let me and Wei Qing team up to participate in other competitions. This is too bullying."

"That's two different things. We can participate in modeling as well as programming."

"Zheng Lan, your table tennis competition and these two are scheduled to overlap, so how can you participate?"

"I can't, but these two can."

"Zero's competition requires two people to form a team. How can the three of them form a team?"

"Why do you care about us? We have our own way," Liu Xiu teased Liang Yan.

"Look, you and Hu Ning are in a group, Wei Qing and I are in a group, isn't that perfect?" Liang Yan said flatteringly.

"Liang Yan, our Qing'er is already taken. Can't you find someone else?"

"Zheng Lan, you're wrong. Am I that kind of person? I just want to play against the top scorer and get the prize money. What are you thinking?"

"True or false, there is not a single lie"

“It’s absolutely true!”

"That's good, then we will let him go," Zheng Lan said to Hu Ning and Liu Xiu with a smile.

"What's the point of releasing him? We need the consent of his family," said Zhang Bo with a smile at the back.

"How can it be so exaggerated? It's just a competition, you're thinking too much." I stopped them from discussing it further. "Liang Yan, no problem, I agree."

"You haven't asked Rong Zixuan, aren't you afraid that he will be jealous?" Zhang Bo asked with a malicious smile.

"He's not that petty!"

"Yo yo yo, protect your calf!"

Finally, Liang Yan and I signed up for the Zero programming competition, and Hu Ning and Liu Xiu participated in the modeling competition. When the class meeting ended, I found Rong Zixuan at the door. Their class meeting ended earlier than ours.

I trotted towards him.

"Let me tell you something"

"What's the matter?" He looked at me with a smile.

"Liang Yan and I participated in Zero's competition"

His smile slowly faded, "Why with him? Why didn't you look for me?" He was a little angry.

"Aren't you going to participate in the college sports meeting?"

"Then why don't you look for your roommate? Why do you have to look for him?"

"It takes two people to participate in the competition. Zheng Lan is also going to the sports meet, which is perfect."

"What do you mean by just right? Why didn't the other two go with Liang Yan, but you?"

"Are you angry or jealous?" I asked with a smile.

"Of course I'm angry. You're looking at the pot while eating from the bowl."

"No way, I've already taken you home, why would I still be thinking about the pot?"

"Then why is it Liang Yan?"

"He took the initiative to invite me, and I wanted to join. There are three of us in our dormitory, and with him, we can form two groups."

"An active invitation? He still has evil intentions!"

"Don't think too much about it. It's just a simple competition. Besides, he is very capable. If we win a place, we can get a prize. Then I will take you to a big dinner," I pinched his face and said with a smile.

"But, he is Liang Yan!"

I feigned anger and said, "After all, you still don't trust me," and then I turned and walked away. Sure enough, he took the bait and chased after me.

I said helplessly, "That's not what I meant. I'm just afraid of losing you. You're the only one left by my side."

"Why do you feel so insecure? I've already brought you home to meet my parents, and we've also..." I was too embarrassed to continue and blushed.

"What?" Rong Zixuan squatted down and stared at my face and asked.

"You're asking even though you already know the answer," I smiled, pushed Rong Zixuan away and walked forward.

He caught up with me, smiling, "Don't be angry, dear, I was wrong."

"What's wrong?" I asked seriously.

"I shouldn't doubt you, I shouldn't distrust you"

“It’s good to know you’re wrong.”

"You forgive me, then?"

"No," I smiled and turned away.

He still caught up with me with a smile, and we played and joked all the way to the dormitory door.

In the following days, I designed and modified the system with Liang Yan, while preparing for the modeling competition with Hu Ning and Liu Xiu. My life was packed with participation in two competitions. I also had to chat with Rong Zixuan in the evening. I could feel the sentence often quoted in high school essays: "Time is like water in a sponge, you can always get some if you squeeze it."

One day, Liang Yan and I were in an empty classroom discussing how to fix a system bug. I was at the computer, and he was standing behind me, pointing at the code and expressing his opinions. Everything was normal at first, until our eyes met. I felt the world go silent, and I turned my head away awkwardly, not knowing where to look, my eyes darting from side to side. Liang Yan, on the other hand, scratched his head awkwardly, looking around. We were silent for over a minute, and I was the first to break the silence, asking him what he thought next. He took the opportunity to continue discussing the previous issue. We continued the discussion as if nothing had happened, even though we were both feeling very embarrassed inside. We discussed until after six in the afternoon, fixing all the bugs and optimizing some functions.

"Is this okay?" I stopped typing on the keyboard and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, okay, I think this is much better than the previous one," he said, sitting next to me and looking at his own computer screen.

"Okay then. We've been busy all afternoon and are hungry now. Let's go have a meal first. We can discuss any questions tomorrow."

"Well, why don't we have a meal together? There's a fast food restaurant at the school gate. The food is good. I'll treat you."

"No, no, I want to take it back to the dormitory to watch TV."

"We've been partners for so long, it's not too much for me to treat you to a meal. If you're worried about gossip, you can call Rong Zixuan now to report it."

"There's no need to report. He's a very casual person and doesn't think too much about it."

"Really?" he said, smiling.

"Yeah, he's that kind of person, he's a big hearted person and doesn't think too much."

"So let's just have dinner and go," he said, shutting down my computer and putting it away for me before heading out. I had no choice but to follow him, sending a message to Rong Zixuan on the way, telling him that Liang Yan and I were having dinner and that I'd talk to him later.

Liang Yan ordered three dishes and a soup, all of which looked good.

"We two don't need three dishes and one soup, right?"

"This is my first time treating you to a meal, how can I be stingy?"

"It's not a matter of being stingy, but three dishes and one soup for two people is a lot."

"Not much. Their dishes are delicious, but the portions are small. You'll see later that you can finish this plate of meat in just a few bites." He opened the disposable chopsticks and handed them to me.

"Thank you!" I responded politely, then buried my head in eating, not knowing what to talk about.

"You know, I've always liked you."

Hearing this, I choked on my food and started coughing. He quickly poured me some water. After taking a few sips to smooth my throat, I said with difficulty, "Don't be ridiculous!"

"Really, the truth."

"But, I have a boyfriend," I said seriously.

"I know, but I feel like I have to express my feelings to you, otherwise I will be suffocated to death."

"Why didn't you say it before?"

“That was not prepared before.”

"There's no need to prepare for this kind of thing. Do you know how Rong Zixuan confessed his feelings?"

"do not know"

"I said I was afraid that others would misunderstand that there was something going on between him and me, and he immediately confessed his feelings, although I was surprised at the time."

"So casual!"

“It’s not casual, it’s involuntary.”

"All right"

"Liang Yan, you are not my type, so..."

"What kind do you like?"

"What I want is blatant preference, not cautious protection"

"I can also openly favor you"

"But you didn't do it, did you? I heard you drafted the love letter many times."

"I wrote it many times, but I was never satisfied with it, and then you became someone else's girlfriend," Liang Yan said with a wry smile.

"So, you can't do it, right? You even have to draft your confession, which shows that you are a person who pursues perfection. If I were with you, no matter what happened, you would first think about how to do it better. You are too cautious. Campus love requires courage to love, dare to take responsibility, dare to think and dare to act. You are so timid, you can't give me the love I want."

"Okay," Liang Yan's face was full of disappointment.

"But I'm still curious, why do you like me? When I think about it, there's nothing special about me."

"Why do I like you? I can't answer this question, because liking someone is a decision of the heart, not a thought of the brain."

"All right"

I quickly finished my meal and left the restaurant. The following days of seeing each other were still a bit awkward, but Liang Yan was surprisingly calm. Seeing that he didn't take it personally, I let it go and pretended nothing had happened. Later, our work won first place, securing a 50,000 yuan prize. We split the money in half, each receiving a little over 20,000 yuan. I grabbed my roommate and Rong Zixuan and invited Liang Yan back as our guest.