Chapter 7: Teacher Zhang's Shock

Very quickly, Su Xin finished the mathematics, English, and comprehensive science exam papers one after another.

The teachers graded them on the spot.

Subsequently, everyone was shocked.

Four exam papers, all perfect scores, and completed within a mere hour.

This efficiency, this accuracy, left everyone so shocked that their scalps went numb.

Some teachers suddenly recalled the sentence Su Xin had said earlier: "The world of a genius is something ordinary people find hard to imagine."

Before, they felt Su Xin's words contained an element of boasting, but now, a thought suddenly emerged in their minds—

Perhaps Su Xin really is that kind of world-class genius, and measuring Su Xin with their own limited perspective might truly restrict his growth.

Teacher Wang thought the same.

He sighed, then looked at Su Xin and said earnestly: "I approve your application for independent study off-campus; at the same time, I will personally vouch for you and explain the situation to the principal."

"Remember, you must return once a week to take a test; I will call you in advance to notify you."

Su Xin smiled: "Alright."

In fact, the reason he displayed himself so ostentatiously was not just to show off; more importantly, he knew that only by being sufficiently shocking could he make the teachers stop treating him like an ordinary student and make it possible for them to agree to his unreasonable request.

Just as he said.

A genius should have a genius's path of growth; it is better for ordinary people not to interfere.

At this moment, Teacher Wang suddenly asked:

"What field of knowledge do you intend to study? Although I cannot be considered a genius, I do have some experience, and perhaps I can provide you with some useful advice."

"I intend to study software programming. In fact, I have taken the time to read many books in the library, and my theoretical knowledge is already very rich."

"Software programming? The prospects are quite good. When you are studying on your own, if you encounter anything you don't understand, you can ask Teacher Zhang. I see him reading books in this area from time to time; he should know a bit."

The Teacher Zhang that Teacher Wang referred to was the mathematics teacher in Su Xin's class. He was not very old and usually got along harmoniously with the students, especially appreciating Su Xin, who had top-tier grades, which is why Teacher Wang said these words.

Not far away, Teacher Zhang walked over, patted Su Xin on the shoulder, and laughed:

"I worked as a coder for two years when I first graduated from university, so I am quite familiar with this industry. I didn't expect you to be interested in software programming too. Would you like me to teach you?"

Su Xin was just about to politely decline.

But he suddenly thought that since Teacher Zhang had been a coder, he must have a computer he could use for practice.

Thus, he smiled and nodded: "Alright, then many thanks, Teacher Zhang."

"Then let's go to my dormitory; it just so happens I have no more classes today."

Su Xin was just preparing to leave when he suddenly remembered something and turned to say to Teacher Wang:

"Regarding my independent study off-campus, please do not tell my parents for the time being, so as not to worry them."

Teacher Wang hesitated: "But, what if something happens to you outside..."

"It won't, Teacher Wang. How about this: I will return to school every day to report to you, or report to Teacher Zhang, is that okay?"

Teacher Zhang said with a smile: "Just let him be. He is eighteen years old anyway, and he has always been mature and sensible, so there won't be any problems. Since I am going to teach him programming, let him report to me every day."

Teacher Wang hesitated for a moment, finally nodded, and earnestly exhorted:

"Then remember, you must appear in person before Teacher Zhang every day before seven o'clock in the evening. As long as there is any day you do not report on time, I will notify your family."

"Alright."

Teacher Zhang nodded.

Subsequently, the two turned and left together.

In the office, the teachers discussed animatedly for a long time before they slowly moved past the topic of the exam papers.

……

"Just heard you say that you have read many books on software programming and your theoretical knowledge is already very rich, so what kind of programming languages have you mainly studied?"

After the two sat down at the desk, Teacher Zhang opened his laptop and asked.

"I have studied various programming languages, mainly PHP Language, C Language, JAVA Language, Go Language, Python Language, and also C++..."

Listening to Su Xin rattle off the names as if they were family treasures, Teacher Zhang slowly opened his mouth wide and muttered:

"So many? Are you sure you have studied them all? And not just flipped through the books?"

Su Xin smiled: "I have indeed studied them all. How about this, I will develop a simple little program now, and you can evaluate it for me?"

Teacher Zhang blankly moved to the side.

Su Xin moved the stool to the center, sat in front of the computer, turned on double speed, and his fingers turned into afterimages, typing away on the keyboard.

Because it was his first time with practical programming, and Su Xin was not very familiar with the keyboard, it took him a full five minutes to design a simple alarm clock program.

Finally, after finding a suitable alarm clock icon online, Su Xin clicked to run the program.

"This little clock can be set to 'always on top' and can also set the digits to be translucent, allowing you to see the time at any moment while watching movies in full screen without blocking the movie content."

"It can also be embedded in any position of any program and start automatically with the program. For example, embedded in the top right corner of video software; when you open the video software, this clock will also start automatically and display the time in the top right corner, and when you close the video player, the clock will also close along with it."

"Of course, it is essentially still an alarm clock software, and it has all the functions an alarm clock should have..."

Teacher Zhang watched all this, dumbfounded.

To him, such a small alarm clock program was not difficult, but to develop it in such a short time was something he could not possibly do no matter what.

Yet, Su Xin had easily developed it. From this point of view, Su Xin was definitely not at a simple beginner level, but at the level of a senior software engineer, and should be much stronger than him.

"Teacher Zhang, could you help me look at this program and see how it is, and if there are any areas that need improvement?"

"Oh, oh, alright."

Teacher Zhang blankly sat back in front of the computer, tried out the various functions of the software for a while, and his heart was even more shocked.

"On my old computer, it can actually run this smoothly?"

"This doesn't look like a crudely made little software at all; instead, it looks like software that has been carefully designed and developed, ready to be released to the market."

"The only pity is that, after all, it is just an alarm clock, the functionality is not very strong, and it doesn't have much use. Otherwise, based on this software alone, perhaps one could earn quite a bit of money."

"As expected, his technical skills are very strong."

Soon, he opened the underlying code of the alarm clock program and began to read it line by line, unable to help but feel admiration for Su Xin's technical skills.

The more a small program appears simple, the more it requires the code to be as streamlined as possible to ensure the program is compact enough while still achieving the desired functionality.

This often best demonstrates one's technical foundation.

It is just like carving; the smaller the statue, the higher the demand on the knife-work technique, as even the slightest flaw will ruin the overall aesthetic.

"Just from this small alarm clock program, I can see that Su Xin's technical foundation is far stronger than mine. To think I had the audacity to say I would teach him?"

Teacher Zhang gave a bitter smile inwardly, fearing that if Su Xin really asked him for guidance later, he would be embarrassed.

To his relief, Su Xin seemed to have forgotten about that, instead pointing to a line of code and saying:

"It seems this part could be further optimized."

"Also, by adding just a few more lines of code here, we can enable multiple instances of the program."

Teacher Zhang hurriedly stepped aside from the center position and said, "Su Xin, you do it yourself."