The next day, when Zhou Xiu walked into the classroom with her backpack, she noticed that the students of Class 24 were already doing their morning reading.
She instinctively glanced at the clock, realizing it wasn’t time for the morning session yet.
Hua Xue was sitting in her seat, working on math problems, her brows furrowed in concentration.
She was so absorbed that she didn’t even notice Zhou Xiu’s arrival until Zhou Xiu gently tapped on the desk, startling her back to reality.
Hua Xue slowly shifted her chair, making space for Zhou Xiu to reach her own seat.
Zhou Xiu turned to look at Du Feiyang, who was busy memorizing chemistry formulas. After finishing, he looked up and winked at her.
“Do you think I’m particularly motivated today?”
Yesterday, Du Feiyang had witnessed first-hand how Zhou Xiu had silenced everyone with her exam results and then walked into the teacher’s office, her deeds unsung. That image had been deeply imprinted in his mind, and the satisfaction from it was almost overwhelming.
If studying hard could yield such results, then he was determined to work just as hard as Zhou Xiu!
Hua Xue, on the other hand, had seen Zhou Xiu’s journey from almost failing to outperforming everyone. Seeing Qi Yaguang’s face turn green with frustration yesterday made her realize that studying really was worth it!
If she could slap her exam results in front of her dad’s face with the same effect that Zhou Xiu had, Hua Xue would die content.
Zhou Xiu glanced at the problems Hua Xue was working on and said slowly, “Xue Xue, like me, you’re also struggling with the basics.”
She spent some time creating a study plan for Hua Xue, sharing her own notes as well. Hua Xue began her revision following Zhou Xiu’s plan.
Zhou Xiu’s notes were a mix of hand-written notebooks and digital documents she had meticulously recorded over time on her phone.
The surrounding underachievers looked on with envy.
They also wanted personalized study plans and revision notes.
Du Feiyang had been bursting with the desire to share his excitement about yesterday’s events. The satisfaction he felt from watching Zhou Xiu outshine the Rocket Class was something he had to share with others.
When his friends from the Winner Class recounted how Zhou Xiu had been praised for twenty minutes by the Rocket Class’s math teacher, he couldn’t help but feel proud, even if he hadn’t witnessed it himself. Just imagining it filled him with joy and pride.
Their class’s Zhou Xiu had outperformed the Rocket Class purely on merit, making them all proud.
Hua Xue noticed the longing look in Yu Qingyan’s eyes and instinctively glanced at Zhou Xiu.
Zhou Xiu also saw the envious glances from all around her. She took out her notes for various subjects from her backpack and handed them out to the students around her:
“I’ve already organized these. You can copy them; they’re quite useful.”
“With exams coming up, make the most of the time left and study well.”
The students around her were stunned for a moment, but after a while, they understood Zhou Xiu’s intention.
Was she offering them her notes to copy?
Du Feiyang received a chemistry notebook and opened it up. It was like discovering a new world—he was shocked.
Damn, is this Zhou Xiu’s secret weapon?
She’s so meticulous.
The notebook was filled with neatly written chemical equations, categorized by their frequency on exams: high-frequency formulas, must-know formulas, and occasionally tested ones.
It also included various common chemistry problem types, as well as techniques for quickly solving stoichiometry and chemical deduction problems…
Du Feiyang clung to this “chemical weapon,” wishing he could flip through it every day.
Tan Ming took a look at Zhou Xiu’s math notes, casually flipped through them, and then closed the notebook with indifference before passing it on to someone else.
Others might find it valuable, but he didn’t care.
Hua Xue, having obtained a treasure trove, believed that she shouldn’t solve her own problems and leave her classmates to struggle.
With the final exams approaching, they were all underachievers and had it tough. The issue of grades was directly related to whether they could have a good New Year.
So after school, Hua Xue generously went to make dozens of copies of Zhou Xiu’s notes and distributed them to the underachievers in the class.
Soon, the students of Class 24 each received a thoughtful gift from Hua Xue and Zhou Xiu: a personal copy of Zhou Xiu’s revision notes.
If the notes had come solely from Zhou Xiu, some students might not have been as eager to use them. But since Hua Xue had passed them out, even those who weren’t particularly fond of Zhou Xiu followed the notes and began their revision, addressing their weaknesses.
When Tan Ming received the notes, he let out a dismissive laugh, tossed the study material into a drawer, and didn’t bother with it again.
After school, Du Feiyang brewed a cup of coffee, drank it to refresh himself, and eagerly delved into the techniques Zhou Xiu had organized.
The more he studied, the more fascinating he found it. Wow, there’s a way to solve problems like this?
This method is so simple, and that one is too!
How did Zhou Xiu come up with so many interesting methods? Chemistry seemed so exciting through her eyes!
That afternoon, instead of immediately leaving the classroom, the students of Class 24 surprisingly chose to stay behind and study for a while.
If their subject teachers saw this, they would be so moved they’d be at a loss for words.
…
Wednesday, Biology Competition Class.
Zhou Xiu picked up a math test paper from Old Wang’s class, then casually left the math competition class and walked into the biology competition class.
The math competition students couldn’t help but marvel at Zhou Xiu’s audacity.
They had initially thought she found math too difficult and had given up on it to focus on biology.
But after the monthly test, the Rocket Class students gradually realized that Zhou Xiu’s original plan was to juggle both competitions.
No wonder Old Wang had been so angry, criticizing Zhou Xiu so harshly.
Isn’t she getting a bit too cocky? Just because she did well once, she thinks she can handle two competitions at once.
Old Wang handed Zhou Xiu her test paper with a stern expression and then turned to his students, his brows furrowed in warning:
“What, do you want to imitate her? If you score full marks on the monthly test, feel free to make that request.”
“Let me tell you, if anyone here dares to entertain thoughts of switching classes, I’ll give them a new test paper that I’ve just compiled. You can write until you’re satisfied.”
The top students in the class instantly fell silent.
Who has the time to write Old Wang’s test papers and have additional lessons? Isn’t this class challenging enough? Isn’t Old Wang good enough?
They already had more homework than they could handle!
Old Wang snorted coldly.
After the monthly test, there was a small shakeup in the math competition class. A few familiar faces disappeared, replaced by Lu Lingshan from the Rocket Class.
Lu Lingshan watched Zhou Xiu’s figure disappear and asked Qi Yaguang in surprise, “She just left like that?”
Qi Yaguang shrugged. “Zhou Xiu placed second in the monthly test. She can do whatever she wants, and Old Wang can’t be bothered to stop her.”
Lu Lingshan mused, “That’s quite bold. But if she’s not careful, she might end up with nothing.”
“There was a senior two years ago who did the same thing, but he only managed to get a provincial second prize and didn’t do well in the college entrance exams.”
Qi Yaguang didn’t respond.
“Was the first place Xi Shaoyuan?” Lu Lingshan looked up and glanced in Xi Shaoyuan’s direction.
“Yes.”
“Xi Shaoyuan is really outstanding,” Lu Lingshan said with a smile, cupping her face in admiration.
Lu Lingshan was very pretty, and when she smiled, it made the boys’ hearts flutter.
They quickly averted their gaze.
Even though Xi Shaoyuan had already denied being in a relationship with Lu Lingshan, many people were waiting to see when the school flower would finally win him over.
It was hard to imagine that Xi Shaoyuan could be so ruthless as to reject such a beautiful and intelligent girl.
…
Zhou Xiu walked into the biology class under the envious gazes of many.
It wasn’t until then that the biology students realized this girl who joined mid-way had transferred from the math competition class.
Moreover, she was juggling both biology and math competitions.
And she was a girl—how cool! Even the top student in the grade hadn’t tried that.
As the bell rang, the Rocket Class’s biology teacher, who was teaching this session, saw his student emerge from Old Wang’s classroom.
Suddenly, everything made sense.
He had wondered when he had ever snatched a student from Old Wang. It turned out that this student had come to their class of her own accord.
Zhou Xiu had been persuaded to join by the 24th Class’s biology teacher, but the lectures were given by the Rocket Class’s biology teacher.
During the break, the biology competition students discussed the pros and cons of math and biology:
“If I were Zhou Xiu, I’d cling tightly to Old Wang!”
Teacher He passed by, feeling a twinge in his chest.
A boy said enviously, “Old Wang is a special-grade teacher. He mentored God Xie. I heard God Xie has already received an offer from Tsinghua after returning from the winter camp.”
Teacher He clutched his chest. Am I not a special-grade teacher too?
Give me a student like Xie Cheng, and I’ll get him into the top twenty in the national competition—Tsinghua or Peking, no problem.
“In the end, math competition is still better than biology. I don’t even know why we’re memorizing all this stuff and doing these experiments. It’s not even on the college entrance exam, so it feels like a waste of time.”
“But if you pass the math competition, your college entrance exam math score won’t be bad.”
Teacher He: “…”
Teacher He didn’t want to listen anymore.
Xu Qing couldn’t help but chuckle when he heard the discussion.
He posed the question to Zhou Xiu, “So why did you come here?”
Zhou Xiu was busy catching up on biology knowledge. Hearing the question, she answered directly without thinking, “Because I’m interested.”
She heard the students in the class debating whether math or biology was better and couldn’t help but add:
“Math and biology are both fundamental sciences. In the scientific realm, they each contribute in their own way.”
Teacher He overheard Zhou Xiu’s response, and his shattered heart began to mend.
As the class bell rang, Teacher He made a sincere statement before starting the lesson:
“Students, I don’t know why you chose biology, but I want to tell you that biology is amazing.”
He continued, “It forms the foundation of medicine and agriculture. The future challenges of population, food, environment, and energy will all depend on biology for solutions.
“In the last century, we developed hybrid rice, solving the world’s food and population problems. In 2008, we discovered HIV and HPV, leading to the creation of the first cancer vaccine.”
“In 2010, we discovered in vitro fertilization, helping many families. In 2015, we discovered artemisinin, freeing humanity from the scourge of parasitic diseases… The list goes on.”
“Students, the twenty-first century belongs to biology! Today, you’ve chosen biology. If you dedicate yourself to it, one of you here might write the next chapter of history.”
“Isn’t a field like biology, which directly benefits humanity, fascinating?”
Zhou Xiu, deeply moved by Teacher He’s words, couldn’t help but feel a surge of admiration and began to applaud.
Author’s Note:
The System is horrified: [ … ] [The old man actually got it right!
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