Chapter 184 - We Are Softies

“What’s more, the reason I was on stage the whole time was that we were trying to embarrass Tsinghua University, right? If we hadn’t been trying to do that, you guys would have taken my place after the first round ended. I don’t think you guys would have lost anyway,” Tan Mo said. “And even if some of us had lost, all we had to do was get the highest total points. If you are giving me all the reward, you are also saying that those who lost their rounds shouldn’t get theirs. If all of us went on the stage and some lost, there’s no way you would say that they wouldn’t get part of the reward, am I right?

Tan Mo was able to shut everyone up. What she said was right. It was impossible for them to give her all the reward.

“The concept is the same. Even if you guys didn’t go on stage, it doesn’t mean you guys don’t deserve the reward.” Tan Mo smiled. “Since I didn’t lose a round, you guys just didn’t get the chance to go on the stage. Also, I’m the one that benefited the most from the competition. None of you actually had the chance to show your talents on the stage. Do you still think it’s fair for me to take all the money when I’ve already stolen all the spotlight? I’m sure everyone wanted the chance to embarrass the Tsinghua University team, am I wrong?”

“But…”

Some people wanted to argue, but no words came to mind. Tan Mo was completely spot on with her explanation.

“Looks like we don’t have a choice but to take our share of the reward, huh? Or else we will all be called showoffs or something…” Ying Siyuan smiled broadly.

“Well, if you all really feel bad for accepting the reward, why don’t you guys treat me to a meal after this?” Tan Mo smiled slyly.

“Sure thing!” Ying Siyuan agreed immediately. “Oh, right! We planned to celebrate our victory in the competition later anyway. What do you guys say? Should we treat Tan Mo to a meal later?”

“Of course!” The rest of the team agreed unanimously.

It was only then that Professor Guo finally spoke up. “And here I am, thinking about how to educate you. It looks like you guys clearly understood that we only won because of Tan Mo. Since you guys know that already, I don’t have to say anything anymore.”

Not only did they know that, but they were also ready to give up their share of the reward to Tan Mo.

When the competition ended, Professor Guo thought about educating the rest of the team as soon as they got back.

But, since the whole team knew that they shouldn’t be given any credit for the win, Professor Guo decided not to go on with his plan or else it might affect their enthusiasm in the long run.

In the end, there weren’t many geniuses like Tan Mo alive anyway.

Other than Tan Mo, the rest of the team were actually the best in their own fields.

“You kids should focus on your own research after the celebration, okay? Unless you all are planning to rely on Tan Mo in the future,” Professor Guo said before leaving, not wanting to interrupt their celebration.

The students weren’t even mad about what Professor Guo had just said, as it was a fact that Tan Mo was far superior to any of them.

It was that one simple reason that they willingly let Tan Mo go on the stage to take over the whole competition.

However, their professor was right. They shouldn’t stop improving themselves just because they had a powerful addition to their research team.

“All right! Let’s take a short break, and continue with our research after,” Wang Yuemu said. “Just like Professor Guo said, we have to catch up to Tan Mo. You guys better not forget that she’s majoring in Finance, not Chinese.”

It was as if her words were a wake-up call for the rest of the team.

Sh*t! We totally forgot about that! Are we going to let a freshman from the Finance Department beat us? Of course not! We have to do better.

“Siyuan, do you have any recommendations for tonight’s celebration?” Wang Yuemu turned to Ying Siyuan and asked.

“I’m still looking,” Ying Siyuan replied as she waved her phone.

After a few minutes of searching on the internet, she finally decided where to hold the celebration. “All right. I’ve booked us a table at a hotpot place. They provide personalized hotpot, so that we can enjoy our favorites.”

The moment the team members heard that they were going to have their favorite hotpots, they became even more excited.

For the rest of the day, they continued with their research until it was time for dinner. Surprisingly, none of them were really focused on their work as they were still reminiscing about their victory over Tsinghua University.

Hours passed. After checking the time on his phone, Ying Siyuan stretched and announced, “It’s already 5:30. Let’s go.”

“Let’s go!” Wu Jiazhen exclaimed as she put a bookmark into the book she was reading and closed it.

She then swiftly tidied up her work space and urged the others to hurry.

Once everything was tidied up, they left for dinner.

Ying Siyuan had also invited Professor Guo and Mr. Lao to come to dinner with them, but Professor Guo had turned them down. “Count me out. You guys won’t be able to have a good time if I’m there.”

The professor wasn’t going to ruin the mood for the young kids, and Mr. Lao came to the same conclusion as well.

Ying Siyuan hailed three taxis, and all of them headed straight to the hotpot restaurant.

Despite being able to choose their own flavors, everyone went with the Mala Soup.

“Since we’re having Mala hotpot and are here to relax, why don’t we get some beer?” someone asked Ying Siyuan. “It’s the weekend tomorrow anyway.”

Since they were all in their early 20s, they were legal to drink alcohol.

“Sure thing. But don’t drink too much. I don’t want to carry someone home,” Ying Siyuan laughed.

Everyone ordered a beer for themselves and a glass of sour plum juice for Tan Mo. Even Wang Yuemu ordered alcohol.

When the drinks finally arrived, Tan Mo stared at her own sour plum juice before turning to look at the beers everyone else had.

“Stop staring. There’s no way we are letting a minor drink,” Wang Yuemu laughed.

She was worried that if Tan Mo’s family learned that they had actually let the underaged girl drink alcohol, the parents would ban Tan Mo from socializing with them in the future.

“I still have two years and four months to go before I can drink…” Tan Mo sighed.

Her birthday was in March, and it was only November.

When she said that, everyone stopped what they were doing.

They were literally being reminded that despite still having two years to go until she was 18, Tan Mo had already led them to defeat the Tsinghua University team in the Ancient Text Competition.

The rest of the team began to wonder what they had been doing for the past three to four years of their lives.

Even though Ying Siyuan warned them not to overdrink, their excitement about winning the competition made them drink more than they should have. The mood soon became very lively, to the point where everyone was talking in a loud voice.

Shen Hongshan even went and ordered a whole box of beers for the table in the end.

While everyone was getting intoxicated, Tan Mo quietly took Wang Yuemu’s bottle and poured some beer into her own glass of sour plum juice.