Who says I can't become a Grand Master?

Chapter 31: The older brother is keeping a "bastard sister" outside the marriage.

The intensive training camp, which lasted for several days, has finally come to an end.

As expected, another group of students fell behind and were ruthlessly eliminated.

But perhaps because of the energy Zhang Qingzhe brought, the atmosphere in Xia Qiwei's class was completely different.

Everyone was chasing each other, and somehow they all stayed.

Xia Qiwei was naturally overjoyed.

But this caused Zhang Qingzhe a lot of trouble.

He had originally planned that as long as someone in his class was eliminated, he could naturally "fall behind" and escape this sea of ​​suffering.

But unexpectedly, all five students in the class are now standing together.

If he suddenly acts out, Xia Qiwei will definitely keep an eye on him and never let go of his little tricks.

"Everyone has made great progress in this intensive training. In particular, Zhang Qingzhe deserves special mention; his progress has amazed all the professors."

Xia Qiwei gave her summary and comments on the podium, a subtle smile playing on her lips.

It seems she has regained face within the "school of thought".

Wang Dong was genuinely happy for his brother and led the applause in a warm ovation.

Zhou Keming's face, however, looked as if he had been punched in the face.

He tried his best to maintain a calm demeanor, but his eyes were blazing with jealousy that was almost overflowing.

Zhang Qingzhe remained as calm as ever, gazing absentmindedly out the window, his mind wandering elsewhere.

Xia Qiwei gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and continued:

"Next, we will have a mid-term exam. The five of you will enter the [Dream Card] simulation battlefield, where you will not only compete against students from other classes..."

She paused for a moment, her gaze sweeping across the audience.

"The performance throughout the process will be presented to the professors in real time. Those who perform exceptionally well may be directly noticed by the professors and recruited as apprentices ahead of time."

Her voice was clear and alluring. "According to the school's rules, if someone demonstrates exceptional talent, they might even be recommended to professors from other schools of thought."

Zhang Qingzhe, who had been gazing out the window, suddenly turned his head upon hearing these words.

Xia Qiwei seemed to have anticipated Zhang Qingzhe's reaction.

Just then, he met her gaze, a mischievous smile playing on his lips.

She muttered to herself:

Want to switch jobs using this rule?

Kid, just give up.

How could I possibly let you be lured away by another school of thought?

The class meeting had just ended when Zhang Qingzhe's phone vibrated.

It was Gu Xintong again, that "troublemaker," who asked him to meet at the same milk tea shop as last time, saying she wanted to discuss the [Dream Card] test.

After spending more time together, Zhang Qingzhe discovered that the girl had two faces.

When she is facing strangers, she always puts on a cold and aloof attitude.

It seems she treats this as a form of social armor, making people she dislikes automatically stay away from her.

But when she's with someone she knows, she completely loses all sense of distance, like a clingy Labrador, always looking for an opportunity to be with you.

Zhang Qingzhe packed his schoolbag and was about to get up and leave when Wang Dong stopped him.

Wang Dong was just fiddling with his phone, probably trying to share the news of his selection with someone important.

However, the other party's response seemed rather cold, which made his expression somewhat gloomy.

"Brother, I heard that the simulated battles in the [Dream Cards] are quite dangerous, especially since this time we're competing against other classes. Shouldn't we discuss teaming up to deal with this?" Wang Dong suggested.

The other two selected students also chimed in with their agreement.

"Yeah, yeah, we're all in the same class, we should look out for each other."

"Yeah, how about we have a get-together later? We can discuss tactics while we're at it?"

Zhou Keming sat alone in a seat some distance away, and simply gave a cold snort in their direction.

He was undoubtedly the top student in the class, but now, due to Zhang Qingzhe's sudden rise to prominence, many people secretly believe that he has "run out of talent."

The feeling of having his pride taken away made him feel like he had fallen from his peak.

If Zhang Qingzhe had remained consistently strong, Zhou Keming might have been able to accept it.

But the other person was clearly just a pretty face with no substance; it was fine if he was only better looking than him.

Now even their strength surpasses his, which is something he finds hard to accept no matter what.

Zhou Keming glanced at Zhang Qingzhe, his sharp eyes concealing a hint of malice.

He made a silent resolution in his heart:

[Dream Card] In the trial, I will definitely strive for first place. If you dare to stand in my way, don't blame me for disregarding our classmate relationship.

So, despite his disdain, he did not refuse the invitation to the party.

He planned to take this opportunity to find out their tactics.

However, Zhang Qingzhe was thinking about something else entirely at that moment:

He was eager to eliminate as many people as possible in the simulation battle, so that he could take the opportunity to "reasonably" fall behind and get rid of Xia Qiwei, this big trouble.

So he refused outright:

"We can just improvise on the spot, no need to discuss tactics. I have an appointment with someone, so I'm leaving now."

Wang Dong frowned: "So soon? Who invited you?"

"Uh, well..."

Zhang Qingzhe was speechless for a moment.

You can't exactly say, "Your goddess is begging me to go out for bubble tea, can you?"

"Sigh! I just tried to make an appointment with Gu Xintong, but she said she already had someone else planned to meet."

Wang Dong looked even more frustrated. "Why is everyone around me on dates, and I'm the only one all alone?"

"Yes! Why?... I don't know either."

Zhang Qingzhe gave an awkward reply, then lowered his head and slipped out of the classroom.

Seeing that Zhang Qingzhe was not participating, Zhou Keming snorted and left with his schoolbag.

The remaining student let out a long sigh:

"The Dream Trial is about to begin, how come they have absolutely no team spirit?"

Another person chimed in:

"Forget it, I guess they're just good at card games. When it comes to a real-world testing environment, they probably have no confidence at all and are afraid of showing their weakness in front of us."

Upon hearing this, Wang Dong felt as if he had found his brother's "weak point," and his heart suddenly felt much more at ease.

"That's right."

Wang Dong subconsciously puffed out his chest. "In the past, Zhang Qingzhe was a quiet type, and Zhou Keming was a bookworm. I doubt they were really good in actual combat."

"Hmm! Hmm! When it comes to actual combat, I think Dong-ge, you're the strongest."

"Hehe! You have good taste. Come on, let's get together, the three of us, and discuss our tactics!"

"good!"

"We'll all listen to Brother Dong!"

And so, with the top two students in the class absent, these three "mediocre" individuals formed an alliance.

***

Gu Xintong arrived at the milk tea shop early and waited alone in a seat under the setting sun, idly scrolling through her phone.

Even the waitresses felt a pang of sympathy upon seeing this.

"This boyfriend is so inconsiderate! How could he leave his lovely girlfriend waiting alone?"

Then her heart clenched again, because several dark-skinned sports students came up to chat with her with smirks.

"I don't want to see Cuckolds, I just want to see pure love!" the waitress cried out in her heart.

Fortunately, Gu Xintong maintained a cool and aloof demeanor, leaving the men who tried to pick her up with nowhere to start.

At this moment, Zhang Qingzhe finally arrived and sat down across the table.

The dark-skinned PE student could only frown and reluctantly turn and leave.

The waitress breathed a sigh of relief, glad that her judgment had been correct.

The two of them ordered ice cream today.

For some reason, the waitress was exceptionally attentive.

As usual, Gu Xintong first asked a few questions about card making.

Although she belongs to the "constructivist school," many of her fundamental principles are the same.

While flipping through her textbook, Zhang Qingzhe easily provided the answer based on his own understanding.

Gu Xintong was like a primary school student listening to a lecture, quickly taking notes in her notebook.

Zhang Qingzhe glanced at her occasionally and found the scene somewhat strange.

It's as if I'm secretly raising a "bastard sister" outside.