Chapter 52: Inextricable

“It’s her?”

Initially calmed by the long hours of studying, a wave of disturbance now arose in Lin Yu’s heart. For an instant, Lin Yu was surprised but only greeted her with a slight nod before burying his head back into his books.

The Pomodoro Intervals had already started… Although no limits or punishment were set by the Academic Genius System, the outcome of breaking the predetermined rules would render useless all previous efforts.

There could only be one attempt or an infinite series of attempts when doing something. If he was used to being distracted by anything and everything when the timer was running, the initial effect of improving his studying concentration with Pomodoro Intervals would become useless. The bottom line was that it was only meant as a readjustment to his subconscious mind.

He had only met Zhao Xiaolu once and was not exactly close to her. Since it was inappropriate to speak in places like the library, a slight nod as greeting would be enough. He could always explain to her after the timer was over if it was not.

Study!

Be so addicted to studying to the point of inextricability.

…

“Hey hey, Xiaolu. That’s Xu Zhaoyang’s roommate, you know.”

Wang Miao, who was quite observant, noticed Lin Yu with a single glance. She responded with a smile after noticing his greeting and then hugged Zhao Xiaolu’s shoulder while teasing her.

The truth was that there was no need for her reminder as Lin Yu had noticed Zhao Xiaolu looking in his direction. After their eyes met, there was no way for him to not greet her. Moreover, Zhao Xiaolu was not blind so it was impossible for her to not see him.

“What is he doing here?”

Zhou Xiaolu felt odd after noticing Lin Yu and responded with a slight nod.

“I’m guessing that brat Liu Xin has leaked information, so it’s quite possible that he was only here to ‘run into’ you.”

Wang Miao seemed to have guessed what Zhao Xiaolu was thinking as she covered her mouth while gleefully giggling away. She playfully nudged Zhao Xiaolu with her elbow while whispering in her ear.

Women were marginally better than men at gossiping. This was especially apparent when they were having secret conversations with each other, as their behavior would become extremely aggressive. Naive and sweet, beautiful girls were essentially non-existent in this era.

“If you’re here to ‘coincidently run into’ someone, would you be too lazy to even greet that person?”

Zhao Xiaolu was annoyed as she glared at Wang Miao. She dragged her along to the bookshelves and picked a book she wanted. They did not intentionally sit beside Lin Yu and instead, they chose a seat a few rows behind him before silently reading away.

The instant they took their seats, they attracted the attention of a few studying students. Moreover, judging from their appearances, they were obviously nerdy freshmen. Subtle glances would cause flames of lust to ignite in their hearts as they buried their heads back into their books, completely flustered. They would take subtle glances at the girls from time to time, which made Wang Miao chuckle out loud while whispering to Zhao Xiaolu.

Their private talks could not be described with much detail, but Lin Yu’s livestream became livelier after Zhao Xiaolu’s appearance.

“Holy sh*t, a cute girl!”

“What are you looking at, dear streamer? Look at the cute girl and stop reading! We wanna see that cute girl!”

“What is happening? He’s actually addicted to reading? That Academic Genius System is that hardcore?”

“That streamer greeted them earlier, so maybe they know each other? If you don’t hurry and sit with them, you’re going to end up forever alone now!”

“This is why he is an academic genius. The path to an academic genius is fated to be forever alone.”

“Hurry up and let us see that cute girl, streamer. We’re begging you. I’ll even send you a streamer gift.”

“666, this is what a true academic genius is. Money and women is like a pile of sh*t in their eyes. We can never compete with you, dear uploader. Don’t be bothered by those retarded XX.”

The livestream was blowing up at this point. Some people were offended that he did not make a move, while some excitedly called him to look at the cute girl and even tried to bribe him.

However, their efforts had no effect on Lin Yu, who was completely addicted to studying. Their efforts were like a gentle breeze’s attempt to shake a mountain.

Unfortunately, the brat did not even take a glance at the comments, unaware he had missed out on making a quick buck.

Besides, even if he knew, he would not be bothered by it since it was not worth a few thousand yuan to pay the price of breaking the rules of the Academic Genius System. Even if he received the money, it would be completely useless to him as all his money was locked behind the Academic Genius System’s points exchange.

It was impossible to interrupt his prosperous education with money.

“He’s actually truly here to read? It’s been so long and his gaze has not even shifted from it.”

“Xiaolu, how long do you think he’ll last? Um, I mean the ‘reading’ kind of last, not the other one.”

Wang Miao whispered in a soft tone next to Zhao Xiaolu. She was only here to keep Zhao Xiaolu company so she had no interest in reading and only took a book for show.

On the other hand, Zhao Xiaolu was completely focused on reading. The pages were flipped at a quick pace while she casually chatted with Wang Miao and occasionally glanced over at Lin Yu.

Truth be told, she was actually quite surprised right now.

Lin Yu had left a pretty deep and unforgettable impression on her since their previous encounter. However, despite him being a tech nerd from their encounter back then, his grades were extremely poor and he seemed to be one of the many academic failures.

Now, she had actually run into him in the library? And he even seemed to be studying really hard?

Even if he seemed to be making an effort to turn over a new leaf and study hard from their previous conversation, this change in attitude was happening way too fast.

Could this be the result of both the Stimulus Value and Pomodoro Intervals?

Zhao Xiaolu was more aware of it herself. Her sudden ‘invasion of academic geniuses’ was actually a Superhuman ability that allowed her to gain a significant boost in brainpower. She was not aware of how the Related Department viewed Awakened Superhumans and was only terrified after exposing herself. Hence, she only made a somewhat acceptable excuse to brush people off and everything she told Lin Yu back then were lackluster one-off answers.

Both Stimulus Value and Pomodoro Intervals were not necessarily completely useless, but a solution was still a solution. The bottom line was still a test of a person’s own will and self-restraint. If one did not even have the will to carry out these methods, any results would be completely out of the question. Whenever a regular academic failure used this method, they would usually only reap the results at its early stages and were not be determined enough to carry out the full term, always ending up where they once were.

“Have I actually made a true academic genius with just a casual remark?

There was a curious look on Zhao Xiaolu’s face.

He was not the same academic genius as her, who strived with her own hard work. This man was the real deal and had transformed himself from a true academic failure… He had actually been so casually shaped by her.

“Hey, hey… Moving, he’s moving.”

While Zhao Xiaolu reflected on her surprise, Wang Miao suddenly grew excited while shaking her around and said, “He’s walking toward us. Hey, it seems he could no longer hold back.”

“Pardon me, I was busy studying earlier and had activated my Pomodoro Intervals so I couldn’t afford to be distracted.”

Lin Yu’s Pomodoro Interval had just ended at this moment. After some thought, he decided to explain to them while he was on break and properly greet them at the same time.

When he approached them, Wang Miao was not the only person that was excited. The entire livestream was too, and it was as if an entire iceberg had just melted as it exploded back to life in an instant.

[The uploader has finally been enlightened.]

[Hahahah, now we’re talking. Checking out a cute girl is the emperor’s way.]

[He waited until the timer ended to greet them. That earned my respect. That name ‘Liu Xiahui[1]’ truly belongs to you.]

[How cute. She’s a goddess!]

[Good lord, this is why I felt she was familiar. Goddammit, that is a true goddess. Changhai City’s own goddess Awakened Superhuman ++++ !]

[The Academic Genius System is truly terrifying! I truly believe this Pigeon Demon has been possessed by the Academic Genius System.]

The streaming platform on B site was different from the Hero Livestream, which divides different provinces and cities. Hence, people from everywhere were here and the current footage was focused on Zhao Xiaolu, where some people instantly recognize her. Besides, her reputation was extremely famous as she was now well-known in the entirety of Changhai City.

[1] Liu Xiahui was a historical figure in ancient china. He was known to be untempted by women even when a woman leapt into his arms while he was meditating. Thus, Liu Xiahui is now used to describe people with extremely high self-control.