Chapter 256

She lowered her eyes. In Xie Shiqing’s lifeless gaze, no emotion was reflected at all, yet her lips quietly pressed into a thin line, revealing that their owner was not entirely indifferent.

“I guess, maybe… I’ve been toyed with by emotions?”

Chapter 86

“Fair trade, equal exchange.” Zhong Ning spoke slowly, “I’ve talked about my own matters, so you should talk about yours too.”

Xie Shiqing did not respond. She did not urge her either. For some reason, an inexplicable patience allowed her to wait quietly like this.

Heh, how novel.

Every emotion she had experienced throughout the day—taken individually—had been something she had never experienced before, all of them strange and new.

The sunlight outside the window was just right, perfect weather for going out for a walk, neither too hot nor too cold.

As autumn set in, the golden osmanthus in the garden had begun to bloom, releasing an intensely rich, sweet fragrance that lingered excessively long.

According to her usual habits, she should have gone out strolling with Pine Mushroom, or called up friends for a picnic gathering, instead of lying in bed, waiting for a woman to talk about her feelings.

Strangely, she did not feel like she was wasting time.

As if every second held meaning.

Long straight hair slipped through Zhong Ning’s fingertips, curling and loosening, loosening and curling again. After an unknown amount of time, Xie Shiqing finally spoke, “I am not the best.”

Zhong Ning almost felt grateful. Getting this person to say even a single sentence was more troublesome than getting an emperor to open his mouth.

She softened her voice, letting her words fall as gently as the fluff of a dandelion, “In what aspect are you not the best?”

Once there was a beginning, the words that followed became easier to say.

Xie Shiqing’s vacant gaze had no focus, like frosted glass, dim and murky.

“I’m not a genius.”

The moment those words came out, Zhong Ning laughed, because it was too absurd.

It was like someone who weighed seventy or eighty jin insisting they were skinny.

“You’re not a genius? Then who is? Ever since I was young, I’ve heard stories about you. Among people of my generation, who didn’t grow up under your shadow? The neighbor’s child—whatever you do, you’re extraordinarily talented, handling everything perfectly.”

“You.”

“Huh?”

Xie Shiqing propped herself up against her chest and sat up. In her lightless eyes, there seemed to be a fleeting burst of intense brilliance. “You are a genius.”

“You don’t need to spend much effort to easily solve any difficult problem. Do you even put your mind into learning new knowledge every day? Maybe only once a week.”

“…I will never be able to do that. I will never be able to be the best.”

As if the strength she had barely gathered drained away again, Xie Shiqing collapsed limply back onto the bed and let out a miserable laugh, “My life has no meaning.”

“Is being the best more important to you than being alive?” Zhong Ning asked in utter confusion.

She was so bored every day she was practically about to start eating dirt, yet she had never once thought about ending her life outright—being alive was always better than being dead, right?

Xie Shiqing said nothing.

Zhong Ning thought seriously for a moment, then suggested, “I don’t think I’m, well… the best genius. If you want it, you can totally take that title. It would be well-deserved anyway. Just ask anyone in the circle—no one would find it strange for that title to be on you.”

“You want to give it to me?” As if she had heard something extremely amusing, Xie Shiqing laughed uncontrollably. “Hahahahaha, what did you say? Let me take it?”

“Is that something that can be taken? What do you understand! You don’t understand anything!”

Xie Shiqing rolled around on the bed twice, laughing so hard she could barely catch her breath. She seemed about to say something sharply mocking, but suddenly, the laughter stopped, and that brief flicker of liveliness slipped away from her again.

She lay there like a puddle of mud, motionless once more.

Zhong Ning: “…You.”

Her expression was complicated, and her tone was ten times more complicated than her expression.

No—could someone explain what exactly was going on again? She couldn’t understand it at all!

Besides, Zhong Ning genuinely didn’t think she was that impressive. In her understanding, a genius was someone who finished a doctorate in their teens, someone who could lead an era or lay down a crucial foundation in a field—like Hedy Lamarr, the mother of WiFi. That was a real genius.

What did she count as? Yes, Zhong Ning admitted she had a fairly smart brain, but that was all. She didn’t have the perseverance to conduct research day after day, nor did she possess the astonishing talent to break through the constraints of existing knowledge, to boldly innovate and discover new things.

How could that be considered a genius?

Although, if someone praised her as a gaming genius, she would accept that.

So she completely couldn’t understand why Xie Shiqing was reacting so strongly.

There were many capable people in this world. Wasn’t it simple to admit that others were better than oneself?

Why was it, for her, as if the sky had collapsed?

She just couldn’t figure it out.

Seeing that Xie Shiqing had just become a bit lively, only to wilt again—

Zhong Ning rubbed her face hard a few times and decided to seek outside help.

【Quick quick quick!! Dog-headed strategist, hurry and help me analyze this. You were the one who told me to find a little lover, so you have to take responsibility!】

【Strategist! Dog-headed strategist!】

Dog-headed strategist Fu Nanshuang: 【…Did I owe you something in my past life?!】

【I’m in a meeting!】

Zhong Ning: 【Then hurry up and finish it—when will it end? I’m in a rush, hurry hurry hurry hurry!】

Fu Nanshuang: 【Wait. One hour.】

Zhong Ning felt like a monkey forced to guard the Peach Garden, scratching her ears and cheeks in agitation.

During this time, Xie Shiqing still didn’t move at all, as if she had run out of power and crashed. No matter whether Zhong Ning poked her face, pinched her wrist, rubbed her stomach, or tugged her hair, there was no response.

Zhong Ning: Never had time felt so unbearably long.

Finally, her phone dinged.

She grabbed it at a speed she had never achieved before.

Fu Nanshuang: 【Go on, what is it this time】

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