Study Monster Cultivation System

Chapter 142: I want to form a Cheng Huan with you.

Li Zheng and Ou Xingzhuo walked all the way to the banner welcoming them to the training camp, merely watching from a distance as Zhou Yi playfully trotted into the teaching building, still unaware of what had happened.

"Dean Zhou looks so festive when he runs," Li Zheng said with a sigh of relief. "He doesn’t seem like the petty type who would make things difficult for students."

"Festive?" Ou Xingzhuo sneered. "You’re wrong, my friend. Zhou Yi has a nickname—Zhou Chenghuan."

"What does that mean?"

"You know what a cyclization reaction is, right? It’s when chemical bonds form a ring and close into a cycle."

"Yeah, in organic chemistry, turning a chain into a ring is a very interesting process."

"Hah, that’s because you haven’t done Zhou Chenghuan’s problems yet," Ou Xingzhuo pursed his lips. "Remember, he’s a cyclization fanatic. He has catchphrases like—’Everything can cyclize,’ ’The ring is the most beautiful,’ ’Cyclize! Form a big cycle!’ and ’That’s good, very cyclizing.’ And so on."

Li Zheng clapped his hands together and exclaimed, "That’s brilliant, the very concept of cyclizing is clever."

"Hehe, you’re still too young," Ou Xingzhuo waved his hand with a smile but remained silent. "Stay naive, you’ll be ’cycling’ soon enough anyway."

Li Zheng chuckled, "What’s the rush, let’s ’cycle’ together."

Ou Xingzhuo shivered upon hearing this and stammered, "Don’t talk nonsense... As a Chem Competitions student, don’t casually say you want to ’cycle’ with someone..."

"?"

"You should think about that kind of question by yourself," Ou Xingzhuo warned. "Anyway, it’s a very strong hint, especially when said by a man to another man."

After giving it a bit of thought, Li Zheng seemed to understand and cursed immediately, "Go to hell, I wouldn’t ’cycle’ with you even if I was going to cycle."

"Hah, I haven’t even said anything, and you’re already cursing me?"

Just as Li Zheng was about to retort, he heard a cool female voice.

"You’re early."

Looking up, Wu Shu was walking toward them, pulling a black suitcase.

Ou Xingzhuo instantly turned his head away, trying to appear as cold as possible, "Eh? There’s a very tasteful car in the parking lot, no idea whose it is."

But as if Wu Shu hadn’t heard, she naturally moved next to Li Zheng, using him to block Ou Xingzhuo just like during a preliminary competition exam, "Morning, Li Zheng."

"Morning," Li Zheng smiled. "All Hail the Queen of Physics."

Wu Shu laughed behind her hand, "You’re the first one who’s dared to say that offline."

Meanwhile, Ou Xingzhuo quickly took out his phone, while putting himself on mute he said, "That pronunciation was too perfect, have you been practicing at home?"

"Only you would do something that boring," Li Zheng looked around, not seeing Shi Yang, and picked up his phone too, "You guys chat, I’ll ask Brother Shi where he’s at."

However, the two people next to him didn’t chat. One started memorizing flashcards, and the other put on headphones to listen to a lecture.

Li Zheng felt quite ashamed.

But soon, he saw something even more embarrassing.

He was about to send Shi Yang a text message but first came across Shi Yang’s latest WeChat Moments.

The post was from last night at 11 PM, showing the night view of Panlong Road Proctology Hospital, with the caption below:

"Not sure if it’s a microbial imbalance or an elemental rampage, but either way, I have a bad feeling."

Li Zheng only found out after asking that this awesome dude had felt off since eating at a buffet hotpot on Thursday evening, but his appetite had not waned at all; in fact, it had been ferocious. The next day, he even took his parents for another round at the buffet, opting for the spiciest broth, which ultimately led to acute enteritis.

He vomited and got diarrhea so severely that he ended up being hospitalized overnight.

Now, let alone conducting experiments, he hardly had the strength to hold chopsticks.

All he could do was focus on treatment, hoping to at least make it to the experimental examination in the end.

Upon hearing about Shi Yang’s exploits, Wu Shu laughed as he took off his headphones, "No worries, Shi Yang is so outstanding that he’ll have his spot even if he can’t make it."

"Ha, Zhou Chenghuan hasn’t even seen Shi Yang do an experiment," Ou Xingzhuo closed his vocabulary book with a sneer, "and from what I’ve observed, many parents just live nearby to keep an eye on the training and signing situations at all times. If someone gets a national finals spot without attending the training, these parents would surely cause an uproar."

With that, Ou Xingzhuo adjusted his glasses and flashed a wicked smile, "Your thinking is still too naive."

"Makes sense," Wu Shu nodded, chin in hand, "Too bad I don’t have a Porsche to drive over."

Ou Xingzhuo shivered, "Who are you targeting? I can’t understand at all."

"Li Zheng, don’t follow his lead," Wu Shu said, patting Li Zheng’s shoulder with a sigh of resignation, "Fine, wearing your belt so high, but to flaunt your car keys so visibly, this ’demolition upstart punk’ aesthetic, you know how to say that in English?"

"Demolition upstart punk?" Li Zheng enunciated clearly.

Wu Shu smiled and turned to Ou Xingzhuo, "See, Li Zheng’s English is the real deal. Only you would practice such pointless things at home."

"Sudd... suddenly... I feel like going for a walk." Ou Xingzhuo quickly untucked his shirt, covering the high-waisted belt, and walked away abruptly.

"About his belt, I’ve always held back from saying anything, you’re harsh," Li Zheng sighed.

"Alright, at least he’s gone," Wu Shu’s face instantly turned stern, "Quick, give me some information about Shi Yang."

"Huh?"

"Didn’t you train with him?" Wu Shu patted his suitcase, a slight smirk on his face, "I’ve been preparing seriously lately, I don’t want to lose to anyone."

"Oh?" Li Zheng pursed his lips, sizing up Wu Shu, "I admit you and Xing Zhuo have great talent, but to think you can challenge the chemical realm of the Brother Li and Shi duo in such a short time is quite ambitious."

"Ha, suddenly so confident?" Wu Shu snorted with amusement, "I’m not asking for anything that important, just tell me roughly about Shi Yang’s level, I’ll give you crucial information as well, even lend you a calculator."

Li Zheng’s eyes widened, "I... I really forgot to buy a calculator..."

"Come on, spill it."

"Well, about Shi Yang’s level..." Li Zheng sighed, "Chemistry-wise, I believe he’s already at the level of a graduate school graduate, especially in terms of experimental skills and thought processes, so strong I’m lost for words."

"It’s not just talk then," Wu Shu said with a grave face, "I really need to cram for the experiments."

"Let’s cram together, together."

"Fine, I’ll share the information with you," Wu Shu leaned in close to Li Zheng, whispering importantly, "In Dean Zhou’s camp, Cheng Huan is crucial, making more rings can score you higher points."

"This... seems like no secret at all," Li Zheng couldn’t help but comment, "Your intel is too ’Mars’."

"Ha! Isn’t the word ’Mars’ itself ’Mars’?"

"Forget it," Li Zheng waved his hand dismissively, "Everything’s a passing cloud."

"You... you win..." Wu Shu shivered, eyes closed, and spoke tremblingly, "I can’t out-joke you with old jokes."

Li Zheng scoffed, "Much obliged, I’ve also unleashed the primordial powers within me."

"Enough, spare me! Ha ha ha..." Wu Shu laughed wildly, arms crossed, begging for mercy, "I can’t stand this... "