"Congratulations," Minghao said, moving to step around them. "I'm sure you'll do well."
"Wait," Chen Lihua said, not quite blocking their path but making it awkward to leave. "We heard you might be considering registering as well. We wanted to... talk to you about that."
"Talk to me about whether I should participate in an academic competition?" Minghao's voice was perfectly polite, but there was an edge to it. "How considerate."
"It's just that the competition only allows one team per school," Wang Meiling explained, her tone suggesting she was being perfectly reasonable. "And we've already done all the groundwork. It would be... awkward if you registered separately and we had to compete against each other for the school's spot."
"Awkward for whom?" Minghao asked. "The selection process is merit-based. The best team represents the school. That's how it should work."
