Chapter 13: Aggressively Dominating the Shilan Middle School Gossip Hot List

"Alright, let's look at this problem. Although it's a final fill-in-the-blank question, the difficulty isn't actually very high..."

On the podium, the math teacher picked up a piece of chalk and began to write.

Outside the window, the sky gradually brightened, and the sun finally broke free from the shackles of the clouds, shining brilliantly.

Patches of golden light spilled down, and the frost and ice crystals reflected a dazzling, crystalline glow as they began to melt.

Such a striking change in brightness caught the corner of Lu Mingfei's eye while he was listening to the lecture, and he subconsciously turned his head to look.

【Warning, electric shock countdown, three, two...】

At the very last second, Lu Mingfei moved his head back, and the warning countdown disappeared. While he felt a sense of relief, he also felt quite a thrill.

Since he had already lost focus anyway and one countdown opportunity had been used up, turning back immediately versus looking for two more seconds before turning—that was a full two seconds of time difference!

Even in the most high-pressure environment, Lu Mingfei would still think about finding an opportunity to slack off.

Earlier, when he was eating breakfast, he wanted to engage in Learning after finishing because he needed to upgrade his math. After all, it was just the final push; who wouldn't want to hurry up?

But now... the level was already upgraded, and reaching the next level would require a full two hundred points of Proficiency!

The goal suddenly became somewhat unreachable again, and if it weren't for the pressure of the Schedule, Lu Mingfei estimated he would have given up again.

Just as his gaze turned back and he was about to enter the state of listening and Learning, he froze, because he locked eyes with the math teacher's sharp gaze...

Friends who have been to school all know that when a teacher is lecturing, locking eyes with them is a rather terrifying thing.

And under this premise, with the added buff of "currently explaining a problem," congratulations, this problem is yours and yours alone.

Lu Mingfei felt guilty and wanted to look away, but he reacted in time and forced himself to stop. If he dodged now, it would be more than just a three-second issue—what if he got shocked?

Of two evils, choose the lesser!

"Lu Mingfei," the math teacher tapped the blackboard, "you're listening very attentively today. Why don't you take a look at this problem?"

In the classroom, which had been somewhat dull because the first period of the morning was math, a few low laughs suddenly rang out, as if they had heard something interesting.

Lu Mingfei, the bottom-ranked student in the class, listening attentively? The sun must be rising in the west!

"Uh..." Lu Mingfei couldn't care about much else.

Answering the teacher's question naturally fell within the normal scope of Learning in class; if he dragged his feet any longer, the countdown warning would start ringing!

So he had no choice but to stand up and look at the problem.

"Hmm..." Lu Mingfei finished reading the problem and blinked.

He really did know how to solve this problem—just as the math teacher said, it wasn't very hard.

Lu Mingfei had just "reviewed" the algebra portion of high school math, the kind he had finished "reviewing" not long ago; for this type of equation problem, he only needed one glance to have the solution path in his mind!

In the subject of math, massive calculation is what consumes the most time and energy. As for finding the solution method and formulas... that belongs to knowledge accumulation; either you see through it at a glance and write it down immediately, or you are blinded by a single leaf and fail to see the mountain.

Once he had the solution path, all that remained was the calculation.

Logically speaking, given the complexity of this problem, if one didn't take a shortcut, the standard calculation process would at least fill one-sixth of a page of scratch paper.

But for Lu Mingfei, there was naturally no need for such trouble.

【Super Speed Calculation】, activate!

Having already experienced its power during Self-study after obtaining this entry earlier, Lu Mingfei felt its strength even more fully this time.

Calculation, scratch paper?

Every process could be written in his mind... no, calling it writing would be too slow. Lu Mingfei's brain was like a computer at this moment; for this level of calculation, the answer was obtained as soon as the equation was laid out!

This was Lu Mingfei's calculation speed after "greatly increasing calculation efficiency."

If he weren't in class with no time, and didn't know how to compare, Lu Mingfei would have really wanted to find a computer to compete with!

"Do I... need to go up and write it?"

Lu Mingfei asked with some hesitation.

As someone sitting in the blind spot in the corner of the front row, he was basically a transparent person. He had never listened seriously in class, so he wasn't very clear on the procedure.

"Hmm?"

The math teacher, who had only intended to "kill the chicken to warn the monkey" and liven up the dull atmosphere of the first period of the morning by calling on the distracted Lu Mingfei, was stunned by the question.

He had never considered the possibility that Lu Mingfei could solve this problem—he had been teaching for two and a half years; how could he not know how much capability each student in the class had?

Lu Mingfei, the perennial bottom-dweller since enrollment, was useless at everything except for slightly better English, and in the recent final exams, he had even ascended to the throne of last place...

"Tell me, what is the answer?" the math teacher asked. Class time was limited, and he couldn't afford to waste it.

"98." Lu Mingfei scratched his hair and answered.

"..." The math teacher opened his mouth, but couldn't help asking, "Have you done this before?"

"No," Lu Mingfei shook his head and answered honestly, "This problem... really isn't hard."

The others in the class, especially those who didn't know how to do it, all leaned back slightly, gasping in unison—what an unfamiliar aura!

In reality, this aura wasn't unfamiliar; it was nothing more than showing off.

As an aristocratic school, Shilan Middle School produced fewer than a handful of students for Qinghua University and Peking University each year, and there were always a few top-tier academic geniuses who displayed a domineering aura when facing difficult problems.

But when had such an aura ever come from Lu Mingfei?

Was this something Lu Mingfei could say?

Oh no, the sun really was rising in the west!

Lu Mingfei naturally noticed this, and while his face flushed slightly, he undoubtedly felt a secret thrill inside.

In the past, when he was called upon to stand up, he could usually only stammer and answer nothing.

In the end, the teacher would let him sit down, or if they wanted to make an example of him, he would be sent to the back to stand and listen to the lecture.

He never expected that there would actually be a day when he could answer!

But the words that followed immediately made him freeze.

"Hmm... then what is your solution path? Guessing the data and substituting it into the calculation?"

The math teacher guessed, and then, without waiting for Lu Mingfei to answer, he affirmed it... he was just trying to convince himself.

"For questions like this, you can indeed rely on guessing. I've told you many times, whether it's fill-in-the-blank or multiple-choice, many answers and substituted data will use values like 0, 1/2, 1/3, or something like the square root of 2 or 3.

If you really can't solve it and have plenty of time, you can use this method of substituting and guessing data to verify. Like this question, the three roots of the equation are 1, 2, and 3; it's very easy to guess and not hard to verify..."

The others suddenly realized.

Lu Mingfei remained silent; of course, he didn't rely on guessing—he really knew how to solve this!

But what was the point of defending himself at a time like this? No one would believe that a bottom-feeder could solve a final, difficult problem using a proper method. After all, if you don't know math, you don't know it; using a shortcut is the only logical explanation...

If it weren't for the Schedule, Lu Mingfei wouldn't believe it himself.

Lu Mingfei's head, which had been slightly raised due to a secret sense of satisfaction, slowly drooped down.

He wanted to sit down, but the math teacher was still speaking with great enthusiasm and was preparing to explain the proper way to solve the problem, forgetting him as he stood there.

"I just said it was impossible..."

"Exactly..."

Low whispers from somewhere unknown broke into his ears.

A string suddenly snapped; it was an invisible thread that had already become somewhat fragile. Lu Mingfei's drooping head stopped abruptly and lifted.

In those deep black pupils, a trace of remaining, extremely faint, almost invisible golden light ignited.

That was an emotion rarely, or perhaps never, seen in Lu Mingfei—

Rage!

Consequently, the math teacher's lecturing voice stopped abruptly, and the classroom, where there had been some whispering, also fell silent.

Because Lu Mingfei moved. He stepped out from his seat, and a strange aura suddenly rose from his still somewhat thin body, as if... a monarch had descended!

Without a word, he walked to the podium, nimbly took the chalk from the stunned math teacher's hand, and set it to the blackboard.

The blackboard was the battlefield; every stroke of Lu Mingfei's was as heavy as swinging a sword, and the enemy general, the equation, was dismembered into pieces in an instant!

【Easily obtained: Sum of roots α+β+γ=6; sum of product of roots αβ+βγ+αγ=11, product of roots αβγ=6

Calculate the sum of low-order powers S1=α+β+γ=6;

After finishing, Lu Mingfei placed the now-shorter piece of chalk back into the math teacher's hand and turned around.

His gaze swept over everyone; that look was as sharp as a blade, and just meeting his eyes felt like being pricked by needles... Everyone couldn't help but hold their breath, and only by looking away could they find relief.

Then footsteps sounded again, and Lu Mingfei returned to his seat, moving no more.

The entire classroom fell into a deathly silence.

"..." The math teacher finally came to his senses and licked his somewhat dry lips.

He didn't know what had just happened, but he was unable to move or speak, as if he were not facing the class bottom-feeder Lu Mingfei, but some kind of... existence that could dictate his life and death?

But how could this be!

He opened his mouth, wanting to smile, but only managed to produce a slightly hoarse voice from his tight throat, "A very, very correct and standard problem-solving process... Everyone, take notes!"

His heart relaxed, and that sense of urgency that had come from nowhere and tightly coiled around his heart finally vanished.

He glanced secretly at Lu Mingfei in his seat, only to see him with his head down, writing out problems... He immediately breathed a sigh of relief, not daring to provoke him again.

Lu Mingfei shuddered slightly and woke up.

Immediately followed by a wail in his heart.

"What the hell, what the hell, what the hell... what just happened!"

"How did I suddenly go up there to solve the problem?"

"Does this count as part of the Learning during class determined by the Schedule? If the teacher doesn't believe me, do I have to go up and write out the process to prove myself? That's too much of a slap in the face! Won't I be retaliated against later?"

"What will the others think of me? What will the teacher think, Chen Wenwen..."

【Warning, electric shock countdown...】

Lu Mingfei immediately composed his mind and focused on Learning.

Being shocked is impossible; it is absolutely impossible to accept!

Other things can wait; if he doesn't focus on class, the electric shock will arrive in an instant!

In a state of concentration, Lu Mingfei naturally wouldn't notice the gazes others cast at him, nor could he hear those barely audible whispers... As for the math teacher? He never looked his way again.

【Through diligent Learning, your 【Math】 level has increased, gaining 3 points of Proficiency】

【Through diligent Learning, your 【Chinese】 level has increased, gaining...】

【Through diligent Learning, your 【English】...】

Another eight hours of extremely focused Learning from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM, with no breaks between classes, no lunch break, and almost no opportunity for relaxation other than necessary lunch and bathroom trips—

【Warning, it is time for the 【Practice Basketball】 plan...】

Lu Mingfei glanced at the panel.

【Chinese LV0—Proficiency 75/100

Math LV1—Proficiency 22/200

English LV0—Proficiency 91/100

Physics LV0—Proficiency 56/100

Chemistry LV0—Proficiency 63/100

Biology LV0—Proficiency 72/100】

"At this rate, at least one or two subjects will level up starting tomorrow!"

Lu Mingfei took a deep breath to soothe his slightly exhausted mind and quickly packed his things.

He had to hurry to the Qingning Basketball Hall; although Senior Chu had called to say he might be late due to something, the Schedule would not be delayed!

Throughout the process, no one came to disturb him. After the incident in the morning, everyone in the class probably realized that Lu Mingfei, this loser, seemed to be different in some ways.

If nothing else, just after the first math class in the morning, whenever others looked at Lu Mingfei, no matter the time, Lu Mingfei was Learning!

What kind of spirit was this? Even if it were just for show, it could be called outrageous.

What's more, it didn't seem like he was just putting on a show; at the very least... didn't Lu Mingfei solve that final fill-in-the-blank question? It wasn't high difficulty, but it was still something!

Could it be that after slacking off for a full two and a half years, this loser was finally stung by the reality of being dead last and was preparing to start striving upward and working hard?

What a joke!

Relevant content soon spread among the numerous gossip groups.

Some people said this was impossible and they bet he would last three days at most! Some said it was definitely just a coincidence and he was just putting on a big act. Others said, have you forgotten? He even stopped paying attention to Chen Wenwen...

Gossip always spreads quite rapidly; if one were to create a gossip popularity ranking, the incident yesterday where the loyal sycophant Lu Mingfei rejected Chen Wenwen with a lousy excuse in public would already have surged to first or second place.

But today, classmate Lu Mingfei seemed unwilling to remain obscure and had stirred up another big scene.

One plus one doesn't always equal two, especially when they come back-to-back!

Just like that, completely unbeknownst to Lu Mingfei, he... blew up at Shilan Middle School.

Lu Mingfei was, of course, unable to pay attention to any of this; he had no friends, no mobile phone, and now even less time to browse forums, so he just packed his things and ran toward Qingning Basketball Hall.

In the classroom, Chen Wenwen watched Lu Mingfei's departure with a calm gaze.

For the entire day, Chen Wenwen looked toward Lu Mingfei many times, only to discover that Lu Mingfei hadn't looked her way even once.

Not even a passing glance while looking around to relax, nor a slight pause while laughing and talking.

She hadn't received a reply to the message she sent last night either.

In the past, such a thing would never happen; almost every time she sent a message, Lu Mingfei would reply immediately, and even if a few minutes passed, he would find a perfectly acceptable reason.

Added to what happened in math class this morning...

She finally confirmed that Lu Mingfei had become different.

After an easy two and a half kilometers, Lu Mingfei arrived at Qingning Basketball Hall and pushed open the door to the private basketball court, familiar with the way.

There was no thumping sound of a Basketball in the court, and Lu Mingfei thought Senior Brother Chu hadn't arrived yet, until he saw Chu Zihang sitting on the sidelines, wearing thick clothing and reading a book, which made him pause slightly.

"Huh, Senior Brother, why is your face so pale?"

(End of chapter)