Chapter 16: You are Not in the World (Added for the 2nd Alliance @Lust Emperor's Father)

"Yan Yan said 'P' is the intersection point of a quadratic function and its axis of symmetry, which is the vertex of this function. To put it in terms of this plate of fermented tofu with spinach, it's the longest spinach stem in the dish," Qi Yi explained for Yan Yan.

"Who says so, I just like strong flavors," Yan Yan picked up that 'P,' waved it in front of Shen Xi and Bao Bao, and then continued to ask, "Are you two going to eat?"

Due to their poor choice of friends, both Bao Bao and Shen Xi felt somewhat disheartened.

Yet, Qi Yi found the Yan Yan in front of him lively and interesting. It was obviously the Yan Yan he knew, yet it seemed not.

The changes during the youthful four years of adolescence were, no matter how massive, actually quite normal.

In high school, everyone thought that the college entrance exam was the most crucial turning point in life. However, looking back, it was just an exam. Even those who performed well enough to be admitted to Peking University or Qinghua were annually expelled or dismissed.

The college entrance exam wasn't as significant as he had imagined.

During the four years of university, Qi Yi and Yan Yan were not only not in the same school or city, but they weren't even in the same country.

What did those four missed years truly mean? Qi Yi still hadn't found an answer to this question.

During dinner, apart from occasionally joining the conversation, Qi Yi spent most of the time pondering a question about love.

If he still loved Yan Yan, did she still love him too?

Compared to their high school days, did they now understand better what love is?

Now that he thought about it, Qi Yi realized that he and Yan Yan had never actually had a formal breakup.

Back then, after Yan Yan asked him to let her go, she never spoke to him again.

Qi Yi still couldn't figure it out. If he still loved Yan Yan, should he continue the romance they never finished, or should he start anew in pursuing someone he once loved?

Yan Yan's "Tombstone Inscription" unraveled the knot in Qi Yi's heart.

The past Qi Yi had once refused to remember was now flooding back like a tide.

Over the past few years, Qi Yi had always considered his love for Yan Yan as his biggest blunder in high school and the greatest failure before his college life.

That relationship had hurt Qi Yi so much that he became unwilling to contact any high school classmate.

Qi Yi didn't know whether it was the resolution of his misunderstanding that made him rush to Melbourne or if it was because his long-suppressed feelings could only be released by seeing Yan Yan.

"Qi Yi, where are you staying tonight?" Yan Yan's question interrupted the tangle of thoughts in Qi Yi's mind.

"I'm staying near the casino," Qi Yi answered.

"That's very close, within walking distance, no wonder you came to the Skydeck for sightseeing. It's getting dark now; we can go up there for a look. Do you two want to come along?" Yan Yan asked Bao Bao and Shen Xi.

"Rather not, every time either family or friends visit, we end up going up there with them. Bao Bao and I have been up there at least a dozen times now; just go, however late you return is fine," Shen Xi flatly declined Yan Yan's suggestion.

"Yeah, and besides, if we were going to go up, we wouldn't do it with you two. In the end, who knows who'd be the third wheel?" Bao Bao was always in sync with Shen Xi.

"I've been your third wheel for more than a day or two now. Keep on with these snide remarks, and I might just turn up the wattage permanently on myself," Yan Yan's words hinted at threats.

Qi Yi didn't want to admit that he had already visited the Skydeck that morning.

Because if he did, he truly couldn't think of a better excuse for why he was at the entrance of the Eureka Tower again in the evening.

Moreover, as Yan Yan said, the daytime and nighttime views from the observation deck are completely different; why not visit again?

If Yan Yan knew that Qi Yi had already been up there, she definitely wouldn't have taken him up again, considering Melbourne's observation decks weren't limited to just the Skydeck; there is another one named "Observation Deck."

The Eureka Building at night, with its eighty-eight-story Skydeck, exuded a romantic vibe, entirely different from the daytime atmosphere.

Even the "cliff box," which requires some courage during the day, became less intimidating at night due to the changes in lighting (note 1).

The nighttime Skydeck, like the daytime, offered views of many buildings.

But due to its great height, unless one is very familiar with Melbourne, it is hard to identify specific buildings.

Except for the huge Crown logo neon light of the Melbourne Crown Casino.

At that moment, the view in front of Qi Yi merged with the scenery in Yan Yan's photographs.

Without that huge neon light, Qi Yi wouldn't have known about Yan Yan's approximate location in Melbourne.

That's why, after arriving in Melbourne, Qi Yi chose to stay at the casino's hotel.

The person he was looking for was here, and so was the landmark guiding him.

"Did you come to Melbourne for a project this time? Weren't you always at Stanford?" Yan Yan asked Qi Yi.

"You knew I went to the United States?" Qi Yi felt a bit surprised, "I never mentioned it to our classmates."

"You might not be in the world, but the world always has legends of you. You went to Stanford in your sophomore year, right?" Yan Yan sought confirmation from Qi Yi.

"Um, who told you?" Qi Yi was still curious.

"Liu Siyan from class two is also at Peking University, isn't he? He saw you on the exchange student list and then told Jin Jin, who sits at my desk, and Jin Jin told me," Yan Yan summarily traced the path of the message.

"All these roundabout ways work?" Qi Yi had always felt that he had severed ties with his high school classmates completely.

Perhaps due to the mathematical tradition of Wenzhou High School or something else, the three students from Yan Yan's class who went to Qinghua or Peking University all coincidentally chose mathematics.

However, among the three, two went to Qinghua, while only Qi Yi chose Peking University.

Not having Peking University students in his own class didn't mean other classes didn't have any.

Given the fame of school hunk Qi Yi at Wenzhou High School, it was only natural for other classes' students who went to Peking University's Mathematics Department to know of him.

....................

Note 1:

The cliff box is a transparent glass room that can be slowly pushed out three meters beyond the building from nearly 300 meters above ground. The Eureka Skydeck is the first and only observation deck in the world to have a "cliff box."

The cliff box requires a separate ticket.

The Skydeck offers various ticket packages, and local Melbourne residents who especially enjoy visiting the observation deck can buy annual passes.

Of course, for tourists, just buying the "Sun, Moon and Stars" package is enough, like Qi Yi, visiting once during the day and once in the evening. This package is a bit cheaper than buying two separate tickets.