Academic Phantom Thief

Inside the milk tea shop.

Zhao Tongyu sat to one side, watching every move Jiang Linyuan and Yu Songsong made with a gloomy, damp gaze, feeling rather uncomfortable.

He could only console himself that love was about restraint and endurance.

He had to work hard in secret and then stun Yu Songsong; love was a long-distance run, not a firework.

Someone like Jiang Linyuan—Yu Songsong would probably forget him the moment she turned her head.

Thinking this way, the look he cast at Jiang Linyuan carried a hint of disdain, and he began to feel smug.

Jiang Linyuan watched his arrogant, high-and-mighty expression and was genuinely bewildered.

I've seen many clowns, but they usually call me the clown.

Student Zhao, are you talking about yourself?

"Senior, have you ever participated in any competitions?"

Yu Songsong leaned close to Jiang Linyuan, blinking her eyes as she asked.

"Ha, I've actually participated in very few of those."

Jiang Linyuan chose to tell the truth.

Back when he was a freshman, he had been full of ambition, determined to strive for greatness.

Then, five 8:00 AM classes a week crushed his academic spirit.

His dao heart shattered right then and there, and he gave up!

But in truth, persisting in being undisciplined is also a form of discipline.

Just as persisting in watching ntr is, in its own way, a form of pure love for ntr.

Hearing Jiang Linyuan say he had participated in very few, Zhao Tongyu's eyes lit up, and he cleared his throat a few times:

"I've been preparing for the College Student Innovation Competition with a senior recently."

Yu Songsong glanced at him strangely, then continued talking to Jiang Linyuan as if she hadn't heard him at all:

"Senior, I've rested enough, let's head back. We can talk while we walk."

The expression on Zhao Tongyu's face stiffened.

"Sure, junior, let's go together."

"Mm-hmm, thanks for the milk tea today, Senior. I'll treat you next time."

As she said this, Yu Songsong turned her head to look at Zhao Tongyu again.

Zhao Tongyu was stunned, his heart warming; see, she still cares about me.

"After all, it's not like I can't afford the price of a cup of milk tea."

Yu Songsong sneered, not even sparing him a glance, and pulled Jiang Linyuan away.

Zhao Tongyu was instantly mortified, his heart filled with shame; he wished he could dig a hole and bury himself.

He couldn't hold it together anymore.

Jiang Linyuan didn't even need to look back to guess Zhao Tongyu's awkward state.

This Depressed Saint of Thieves really had a personality that demanded an eye for an eye.

The two walked along together.

Yu Songsong looked at Jiang Linyuan, feeling a bit embarrassed as she said:

"Senior, I only said that just now to annoy him, I didn't mean anything else by it."

"Haha, actually, I've been wanting to say what you said for a long time. That junior Zhao speaks in such an unpleasant way."

Jiang Linyuan said nonchalantly:

"I was just worried that you'd have trouble getting along with him in the future, so I didn't scold him."

Seeing him act this way, Yu Songsong relaxed and joined in the venting:

"Exactly! His emotional intelligence is so low. Even when we were working on the draft, he was so dull and pedantic—it was incredibly annoying."

"Just thinking about working with him makes me feel miserable."

Having said that, she added with a touch of frustration:

"My roommates are the same, none of them know how to be considerate of others."

Jiang Linyuan was a bit curious about this.

What about the depression? Are you going to save yourself?

Go up to the rooftop at night to catch some wind and have a heart-to-heart with your counselor. Forget about roommate conflicts; as long as you don't perform a flying act, the counselor will solve anything for you.

"Are you not getting along well with your roommates?"

Jiang Linyuan asked.

Yu Songsong let out a long sigh, as if she had finally found an outlet for her emotions:

"Exactly, they all say I'm too pretentious. They're polite to me in person, but they spend every day badmouthing me in a private group chat behind my back."

"Then how did you find out, junior?"

"Oh, there are two people in my dorm who can't stand each other, so they both privately sent me the chat logs of the other person talking trash about me in that group."

Incredible.

If your dorm isn't featured in Empresses in the Palace, I'm not watching it.

"Junior, if you need anything, just tell me."

If you can't find the book title, try searching for the author; maybe they just changed their name!

Jiang Linyuan said calmly.

Seeing that he didn't say anything like "you should try to get along with them, you're all living under the same roof," Yu Songsong felt a bit better and joked:

"If I really needed something, would you actually barge into the girls' dorm, senior?"

As she spoke, she let out a giggle:

"Don't worry, senior. If I have something, I'll definitely contact you. Don't go ghosting me when the time comes, okay?"

"I'm not afraid of you contacting me; I'm actually afraid you won't."

Jiang Linyuan replied with a smile.

Wait, what exactly is going on with this Depressed Saint of Thieves?

When you interact with her, isn't she just a normal girl?

"Oh, right."

Yu Songsong seemed to remember something, looked at Jiang Linyuan, and asked:

"Senior, you're in the External Relations Department, so you must know a lot of people, right?"

"Yes, what's the matter?"

Jiang Linyuan nodded in response.

Yu Songsong looked at him and probed:

"Do you know any high-achieving students from the medical department? I've noticed that everyone who comes to the Academic Department for competition sharing sessions is from Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or Telecommunications. I haven't really seen anyone from medicine."

Jiang Linyuan paused:

"You're a medical student, junior?"

"Mm-hmm, Clinical Medicine."

Yu Songsong nodded.

Then why are you obsessing over so many competitions? That's not even your lane!

Jiang Linyuan said hesitantly:

"Junior, medicine is very difficult and grueling, so very few people have the energy to spare for these competitions."

"But it's not impossible."

Yu Songsong said with great confidence:

"I think I can do it."

No wonder your roommates say you're pretentious. Since you haven't achieved any results and your strength isn't visible, they definitely think you're an Academic Daji.

So, does Yu Songsong have the ability?

Jiang Linyuan thought of her posts on Xiaohongshu, and his expression became difficult to maintain.

It's really hard to say.

Although Yu Songsong's hard skills might not be up to par, her soft skills make up for it quite well.

Following the Academic Daji, a new species has emerged: the Academic Phantom Thief.

I can't do it myself, but as long as the people competing on the same stage as me can, that's enough, right?

After all, the proctoring for some second-tier competitions is indeed quite lax; it's really not even as strict as high school exams.

"Are you planning to find a senior in medicine to ask for advice, junior?"

Jiang Linyuan asked, keeping his expression neutral.

"Exactly."

Yu Songsong said quite naturally:

"We have a lot of courses, so I want to ask them how they manage it."

"Besides competitions, GPA is also very important for postgraduate recommendations."

Jiang Linyuan's gaze sharpened.

Damn it.

No wonder they call you a B-tier bad woman; it's not a wrongful accusation at all.

If some competition proctoring could be described as a pathetic joke, then university final exams were a full-blown disaster.

Of course, for those who rarely cheated, it made no difference.

But for this battle-hardened Depressed Saint of Thieves junior, it was a completely different story.

Damn it all.

It would be one thing if people cheated just to avoid failing a course.

But if you're cheating to snatch up those few remaining spots for postgraduate recommendation, then that's just going too far.

Find someone to see if you're planning to return to your old ways or if you're actually intending to study!

"Sure, I know a pretty impressive classmate. She's also studying medicine, so I'll give you her contact information later."

Jiang Linyuan replied with a smile.

"Really? Thank you so much."

Yu Songsong beamed with joy.

"Don't mention it."

Jiang Linyuan smiled, took out his phone, and intended to forward the contact info to her, but he unexpectedly saw a message from Lin Yilin.

"Senior, Senior, there's a girl named Qiao Shan who says she wants to give you money. Do you have any idea what that's about?"

What kind of insane sugar-daddy talk is this?

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