Chapter 8: These are things you

After self-study class ended, Liu Ying walked out of the classroom.

During break, a tall figure entered.

Although called evening self-study, the lessons were already assigned to subject teachers; from Monday to Friday, each teacher had one evening self-study session.

Today was Thursday, so the evening session was physics; the teacher was Shen Yong, a Northeasterner, a bit fat, with a crew cut, and from afar looked like an underdeveloped pear.

“We’ll try to finish the 2011 mock exam paper in one class; the rest of the time, you solve problems on your own.”

Shen Yong’s voice was loud.

“Problems 1 and 2 are repeats we’ve done before, no need to explain; problem 3 was missed by only three students, ask those who got it; problem 4, raise your hand if you don’t understand.”

Shen Yong always taught this way: answers were already distributed; if few raised hands, he skipped it and let students ask later; if many raised hands, he focused on it.

Xu Qingzhou pulled out a scratch pad: “The work done by the electric field force on the ball remains the same, but here we need calculus to solve the potential difference between the two plates of capacitor C.”

Read! {

Xu Qingzhou picked a piece of chalk from the box and said with a smile: “This problem has three solutions.”

Every time Dad went out drinking, Mom’s anger spiked; he wisely dropped the topic and asked: “What did you have for dinner?”

“Looking up materials, self-studying.”

“That’s talent,” Xu Qingzhou rolled his eyes. “Besides, what’s ‘secret studying’? Except yesterday, when have I ever been off the internet?”

This sentence stunned the whole class.

Still, being able to write these problems within limited frameworks was somewhat interesting.

This kid didn’t pay attention the entire class—he just kept flipping through the physics textbook. If he hadn’t walked around to check, he’d have suspected the kid was reading a novel.

!.

“Done,” Xu Qingzhou closed the physics book.

“Therefore, the work W done by the electric field force on the ball is the integral of the electric field force along the ball’s path, that is.”

“Teacher Shen,” both called out.

For example, for a horizontal projectile trajectory, you insist on using Euler-Lagrange equations to solve it; for a ball attached to a string released horizontally, you use Fourier transforms to analyze whether the motion is smooth and differentiable, then derive the mathematical relationship between arc length and height—it’s pure nonsense.

Problems of this difficulty might be unsolvable during exams, but after seeing the answers, some genuinely don’t understand, some are too shy to go up, and others wait for the teacher to call on them to boost their presence.

“I’m back. Where’s Dad?”

“Right, for high school, the reference answers are basically the simplest and clearest; the other two methods are useful but unnecessarily complicated,” Xu Qingzhou nodded.

“Damn, you’ve been secretly studying behind my back!” Guo Ziyan glared.

Guo Ziyan already felt sorry for Xu Qingzhou, thinking: ruined—when the test papers came back for answer-checking, Zhouzi would be too busy confessing his feelings to study this problem carefully.

“Xu Qingzhou, the two methods you mentioned—I know the one using Maxwell’s equations; what’s the other?” Shen Yong asked curiously.

Zhang Yuquan felt delighted inside: forget asking Xu Qingzhou to go up, even when called on normally, he stammered and couldn’t explain clearly.

As the two were tussling, Shen Yong walked over.

Shen Yong’s gaze swept the room and landed on Xu Qingzhou.

“Problem 14: On a smooth horizontal surface, a point charge A with charge +2×10^6 C is placed. Directly above it at a height of 0.1 m is a small positively charged ball B with mass 0.01 kg.”

Xu Qingzhou tossed his backpack back into his bedroom and went to the kitchen to help with chores.

Ding ling ling—the bell rang, signaling the end of class.

To pursue research, he hadn’t taught for over two years.

Zhang Yuquan, who had come to watch the show, suddenly felt a bad premonition—the other’s gaze was calm, with an air of composed tranquility.

Watching the stunned expressions below, Xu Qingzhou realized that occasionally showing off felt incredibly satisfying.

Zhang Yuquan’s face was blank; his envy, jealousy, and resentment were beyond description—this moment of glory should have been his!

Xu Qingzhou entered and saw his mother boiling dumplings; on TV, CCTV-8 was airing “Liu Sanjie.”

Below, everyone first marveled at Xu Qingzhou’s transformation, then sank into the concepts he explained. After eating, seeing Wang Xiaping move to clear the bowls, Xu Qingzhou volunteered: “I’ll wash them.”

“Then come up and explain it,” Shen Yong pointed to the blackboard.

Standing at the podium, a long-forgotten sense of familiarity returned.

He occasionally liked calling students up to explain—it increased classroom engagement, helped the speaker think more broadly, and kept everyone alert. Sure enough, two drowsy students below instantly perked up.

Xu Qingzhou continued: “The first two methods require Maxwell’s equations and calculus—topics you’ll encounter in university; they’re complicated, so I won’t explain them.”

All eyes fixed on Xu Qingzhou.

“Xu Qingzhou, did you solve it?”

Song Yao’s expression froze; her beautiful eyes fixed on the calm boy on stage, curious.

Soon after, fragrant dumplings were served.

Here, Xu Qingzhou stopped writing and looked at Shen Yong—he was sure Shen Yong knew the next steps.

The third class ended quickly; after school, Xu Qingzhou and Guo Ziyan walked out of the school together and parted at the fork.

“This problem is a bit beyond level, especially the third sub-question—our whole class failed it.”

Shen Yong unscrewed his thermos, sipped goji tea, and asked: “Anyone solve this problem? Come up and explain.”

“I’ll focus on the third method. First, calculate the electric field strength; using the formula E = kQ/r, we get... Based on Coulomb’s law and the motion equation of ball B...” He spoke fluently, composed and calm.

Though incomprehensible, it was profoundly shocking.

Guo Ziyan wanted to remind Xu Qingzhou to bring the test paper, but Xu Qingzhou was already three meters away.

Using university-level methods in high school was like forcing a square peg into a round hole.

Zhang Yuquan’s expression stiffened: if you’re not going to explain, why even mention it?

“Went out to eat with those good-for-nothing friends,” Wang Xiaping said with heavy resentment.

What three methods? Guo Ziyan wondered if he’d been working too hard and was hallucinating—but then again, he’d already been celibate for a week.

Xu Qingzhou was truly gifted; in second year, he almost made the provincial physics team in the competition—if not for a feverish illness. With more effort, he might even have had a shot at the national team.

Then, classmates saw Xu Qingzhou write down a strange-looking formula.

“Zhouzi, when did you learn university physics?” Guo Ziyan held back for half the class, finally seizing the chance to speak.

“Fine,” Xu Qingzhou nodded and stood up, walking toward the podium.

Xu Qingzhou pulled out a physics textbook and flipped through it to pass the time.

Song Yao was one of those who understood; she watched the boy on stage intently, feeling Xu Qingzhou kept reshaping her impression of him.

“Too lazy to cook—I just ate an apple, perfect to share with you,” Wang Xiaping stirred the pot of dumplings.

“Good. Well explained, very thorough,” Shen Yong nodded approvingly.

No one answered; most lowered their heads, afraid of being called on.

Xu Qingzhou barely listened—he read through the entire problem once and found it simple.

Shen Yong nodded and smiled: “That method’s interesting, though the calculations are heavy.”

Shen Yong held his thermos, eyes filled with surprise—he had thought of only two.

“Good. After the college entrance exam, you can wash dishes every day,” Wang Xiaping swatted his hand away.

After watching TV with his mother in the living room, Xu Qingzhou was sent back to his room to review.

Sitting at his desk, he pulled out a notebook.

Having adapted to high school life, it was time to seriously consider his future.

(End of chapter)