Break Time in the Competition Class.
Zhou Xiu took out the practice test she had to work on in class and began solving it. After diligently working on her fundamentals for a while, Zhou Xiu was gradually keeping up with Old Wang’s pace.
But to put her learning to good use, Zhou Xiu, rarely bored, started experimenting with different approaches to solving the problems, applying the new concepts she had recently learned.
Zhang Qi leaned over to glance at the problem Zhou Xiu was working on and curiously asked, “Oh, are you trying a second method?”
Zhou Xiu, completely immersed in her work, ignored Zhang Qi, focused entirely on her calculations.
Zhang Qi didn’t interrupt her problem-solving and instead stood up, watching her step-by-step process.
Watching Zhou Xiu solve problems was genuinely satisfying. Her mental arithmetic was fast, and she rarely needed to jot down steps on scratch paper, making only a few quick notes as she went along.
However, Zhang Qi frowned and said, “I thought of this approach earlier too, but I gave up on it. The method seems off—”
“It’s too time-consuming. You’d be better off working on the new test Old Wang just handed out.”
As Zhou Xiu progressed in her solution, her approach diverged from Zhang Qi’s. When she finally reached the correct answer, which matched the one in the answer key, Zhou Xiu looked up and smiled, revealing her little tiger teeth.
Her face showed a faint sense of accomplishment.
[Ding—You’re encouraged to think critically and cultivate a creative mindset. Try multiple approaches to solving the problems. For each different method, you’ll be rewarded 10 RMB.]
Zhou Xiu had just put down her pen, intending to relax, but she immediately picked it up again after seeing this.
She noticed that the system had become slightly more generous. A simple Olympiad math test usually only rewarded 15 RMB for completion, but if she could solve all five major problems using multiple methods, she could potentially make the system go bankrupt.
System: […]
Zhou Xiu: [Wanna bet?]
She excitedly thought, “Let’s see if I can pull it off.”
Zhou Xiu spread out some scratch paper and began exploring different perspectives, like geometry and algebra, to tackle the problem. Time slipped away as she worked, eventually solving the problem five different ways.
After jotting down the last line, Zhou Xiu finally set her pen aside and exhaled, rubbing her temples.
Old Wang, passing by her desk, let out a stern grunt. With an impassive expression, he patted Zhou Xiu on the shoulder, warning her, “Remember, don’t get distracted in my class.”
Luckily, Zhou Xiu was working on the Olympiad test from the last session; if she had been doing work for another subject…
Zhou Xiu looked up, suddenly realizing that the other students had already packed their bags and were getting ready to leave. A glance at the clock told her that the class period had already ended.
She quickly stood up and apologized to Old Wang, “I’m sorry, Teacher Wang.”
Old Wang coldly snorted, picking up Zhou Xiu’s scratch paper to examine it.
[Ding—Multiple solutions to one problem, five methods rewarded: 50 RMB.]
Zhou Xiu was quickly hit with a pang of regret.
She had missed out on a 100 RMB math lesson for just 50 RMB?
Old Wang looked at the paper for a long time before confiscating it. His expression stern, he said, “It’s good to focus on your work, but from now on, don’t do anything else during my class!”
Then, softening his tone, he added, “Try applying other methods to the remaining problems when you get home. Hand them to me tomorrow.”
The sudden shift in his tone left Zhou Xiu puzzled. She couldn’t tell if Old Wang was angry or not.
Zhong Simiao from the liberal arts rocket class saw this and remarked in surprise, “Old Wang’s temper has really improved lately.”
Zhou Xiu had been zoning out in class, yet she didn’t get scolded.
Old Wang had passed by Zhou Xiu’s desk three times without scolding her for not paying attention in class.
The rocket class students couldn’t help but mentally gripe—when was Old Wang ever kind? Last time, he yelled at their class for half the period.
Everyone’s pride and dignity had been thoroughly trampled.
Zhang Qi packed his bag and said to Zhong Simiao, “Zhou Xiu just used five different methods to solve the problem Old Wang was going over. Of course, he wouldn’t be mad.”
“Just wait for next week. If it’s not posted on the board, Old Wang will spend ten minutes praising Zhou Xiu.”
This routine was all too familiar to the Winner Class students.
Qi Yaguang was shocked and turned to Zhang Qi, “Zhou Xiu used five different methods?”
“Which problem? Which one could have that many solutions?”
It sounded so exaggerated. And who would even do that?
Zhang Qi nodded solemnly.
One moment he had said it was a waste of time and wouldn’t work, and in the blink of an eye, Zhou Xiu was furiously scribbling away, not stopping at just one method, but writing out five. Zhang Qi suspected that Zhou Xiu was purposely doing it to prove him wrong.
His face still stung from the humiliation.
Xie Cheng, slinging his bag over his shoulder, casually remarked, “Of course, every problem has more than five solutions.”
After delivering this nonchalant comment, he quickly joined Xi Shaoyuan for a game of basketball.
Qi Yaguang frowned, doubting herself and feeling torn inside.
This was the kind of pressure every student who attended class with Xie Cheng felt. While others would be racking their brains for answers, you’d turn to see your neighbour not only finished but also having written out multiple methods.
So—
Qi Yaguang glanced at Zhou Xiu, packed up her bag angrily, and left.
Old Wang noticed the stares coming from all directions. Holding the scratch paper, he sternly lectured Zhou Xiu, “I confiscated your work as a warning.”
The other students: “…”
It was just a one-yuan scratch paper pad; confiscating it wasn’t a big deal. Was this how Old Wang was going to discipline students? It seemed a bit unfair.
Zhou Xiu was still somewhat heartbroken, but since she had carefully gone through the problem-solving process on the scratch paper, she was confident she could reproduce it.
After Old Wang left the classroom, Zhou Xiu opened a new scratch paper pad and earnestly started on the second problem.
Hearing Xie Cheng’s comment that each problem had more than five solutions somewhat alleviated her earlier regret.
The rocket class students were descending the stairs when they ran into Tan Ming, who was on his way up. He asked, “Are you done with class?”
Li Simiao noticed the small bag in his hand and assumed he was looking for Lu Lingshan. “Lingshan’s still in the classroom; she hasn’t left yet.”
Tan Ming headed for the math class.
Qi Yaguang was packing up her bag when she saw Tan Ming arrive and nudged Lu Lingshan with her elbow.
“Hold on, stop writing. Tan Ming’s here to see you.”
Lu Lingshan glanced up, her interest waning, and then looked away. “So what if he’s here? What does that have to do with me?”
Lu Lingshan didn’t like Tan Ming, but having a handsome suitor was a point of pride.
And since Tan Ming was generous, she didn’t dislike him.
Qi Yaguang, on the other hand, had a pretty good impression of Tan Ming. He was the most handsome boy in Class 24 and looked especially cool when he played basketball.
Xi Shaoyuan was too aloof, but Tan Ming was the kind of clean-cut, sunny boy who was incredibly popular.
They watched as Tan Ming entered the classroom through the back door, glanced in Lu Lingshan’s direction, and then quickly tapped on Zhou Xiu’s desk to say a few words.
He handed Zhou Xiu the small bag he was carrying, and when she opened it, she smiled happily, showing her little tiger teeth.
Qi Yaguang turned her head and noticed that Lu Lingshan’s face was a bit tense, her expression off.
She laughed awkwardly, “Maybe he was just bringing Zhou Xiu a gift? Like Xi Shaoyuan did.”
Even Qi Yaguang herself was shocked by how lame her excuse sounded.
They’d heard that Tan Ming had only contributed 30,000 yuan in cash, unlike Xi Shaoyuan and the others who gave actual physical prizes. With a bank transfer, there was no need for him to come to the classroom in person, was there?
She quickly changed the subject, urging Lu Lingshan, “Hurry up and finish your test; let’s go home. I’m starving!”
…
Qi Yaguang’s guess wasn’t entirely wrong—Tan Ming had indeed come to give Zhou Xiu some money.
Walking around with a wad of cash would have looked ridiculous, so he stuffed it into the Christmas gift bag that had been handed out to the class.
He only said two things to Zhou Xiu, “Here, the money’s inside.”
“Count it; I’m leaving.”
Zhou Xiu opened the gift bag, saw the thick stack of bills inside, and smiled. She didn’t even bother counting it, just tossed it into her backpack and sincerely thanked him:
“Thank you.”
Tan Ming, hearing Zhou Xiu’s thanks, looked like he’d seen a ghost before quickly leaving the classroom.
Before leaving, he glanced at Lu Lingshan, but seeing her cold and distant, he turned away, disappointed. After chasing the girl of his dreams for so long, he was starting to feel tired. For the first time, he didn’t approach her with the usual small talk, and she didn’t even bother to look at him.
Friday.
Zhou Xiu went online to book two train tickets for her parents.
It was a gruelling trip from their hometown to C City, requiring two transfers. Trains with K-prefixed numbers were more than half the price of high-speed trains, and Zhou Xiu knew from experience how exhausting it was to stand the whole way.
Normally frugal, Zhou Xiu went ahead and booked them high-speed train tickets so that her parents could travel comfortably.
She called Zhou Cheng, “I bought you tickets online. You can pick them up at the station with your ID.”
Zhou Cheng couldn’t stop praising her, “Our Xiu’er’s learned so much in the city—she even knows how to book tickets now.”
Zhou Xiu spent the weekend looking for a place for her parents to stay. She checked out several urban villages and finally found a bright and reasonably close location to Yude High School.
After some haggling with the landlord, they settled on a rent of 800 yuan, and she signed the lease.
On Sunday afternoon, Zhou Cheng and his wife, after a bumpy journey of asking for directions, finally arrived in C City.
Zhou Xiu had just left the library and immediately headed to the train station to pick them up. Among the sea of people, she quickly spotted her parents.
Zhou Cheng was carrying large bags, looking like they were moving house. Mother Zhou was carrying two large plastic woven bags, one in each hand, blending in with the crowd of migrant workers at the station.
When Zhou Cheng saw his daughter, he almost didn’t recognize her. He beamed with pride, “Xiu’er, you’ve gotten so pretty that your dad didn’t even recognize you.”
Zhou Xiu smiled softly.
Mother Zhou, Liu Mei, also glanced at her daughter and couldn’t help rubbing her eyes. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
Zhou Xiu’s hair had turned black and smooth, her skin had lightened, and her little face no longer looked like a pitiful vegetable in the field. She was wearing a school uniform and carrying a backpack, looking just like one of those students in the city.
Liu Mei laughed, “The rice in the city really nourishes people—it’s made our Xiu’er even prettier.”
Zhou Xiu suggested taking her parents to the house she had rented. Zhou Cheng, hearing this, immediately objected, “What house? Xiu’er, don’t waste money.”
Zhou Xiu took the bags from her father and said, “You’ve just arrived in the city, and you don’t know where to settle for the night, right?”
Zhou Cheng started to say, “Your Uncle Li found us some work. We’ll definitely have a place to stay.”
It took a lot of convincing from Zhou Xiu before her parents agreed to at least take a look at the house.
But when they finally arrived, Zhou Xiu was shocked to find that someone else had already moved into the place she had paid for. A family of three was busy cooking dinner in the kitchen.
Stunned, Zhou Xiu went to find the landlord.
The landlord gave her a dismissive look and said, “Sorry, someone needed the place urgently. I’ll refund your rent.”
He handed back the deposit and the first month’s rent.
“They’re paying 900 yuan!”
Zhou Cheng quickly tried to comfort his daughter, “It’s okay, it’s okay. We’ll stay at the construction site; they have places to sleep.”
So, Zhou Cheng led his daughter to the construction site where Uncle Li had arranged work for them.
The living conditions in the workers’ dormitory were appalling. It was a newly built, unfinished room, filled with makeshift beds laid out haphazardly.
Zhou Xiu looked at the workers huddled under blankets, shivering slightly from the cold, and then at Zhou Cheng.
Zhou Cheng grinned, “It’s a good thing your mom and I brought thick quilts. We’ll be fine.”
Proud of his foresight, Zhou Cheng chuckled.
After thinking for a while, Zhou Xiu pulled out the card Xu Qing had given her. “Come on, we’re not staying here tonight.”
Zhou Xiu led her parents to the “Jinyue Hotel.”
As night fell, the grand and luxurious Jinyue Hotel, located in a prime area, dazzled with its marble floors and grand European chandeliers. When Zhou Cheng and Liu Mei stepped inside, they felt as if they had walked into a TV show.
They had only seen places this beautiful on television.
Zhou Cheng anxiously grabbed his daughter’s hand and shook his head, “Xiu’er, we couldn’t afford to stay here even if we sold everything we have.”
Zhou Xiu reassured them, “It’s fine. I won this in a lottery. If we don’t stay, it’ll go to waste.”
Zhou Xiu handed over the card Xu Qing had given her. The front desk clerk, surprised to see such a card, gave Zhou Xiu and her parents a long look.
She ran the card through the machine, and it was indeed valid.
She respectfully returned the card, “The VVIP suite is ready for you. Room 88 on the 8th floor. The manager will soon escort you upstairs.”
Zhou Xiu shook her head, “No, I want the cheapest room you have.”
But… this was a VVIP suite card.
The front desk quickly adapted, “Of course, Miss Zhou, Mr. Zhou, Mrs. Zhou, please follow me.”
Zhou Cheng and Liu Mei were shown to the cheapest double room. They sat on the soft bed, which seemed to sink under their weight.
Zhou Xiu took out her homework and earnestly began working on her Olympiad math problems. The system tried to comfort her, [Don’t worry, Xiu’er. One day, you’ll be able to provide a good life for your parents through your own hard work.]
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