Study Monster Cultivation System

Chapter 183 - 182 I’m not going to pretend anymore

Late at night, both Li Zheng and Shi Yang had gone to bed when suddenly someone rang the doorbell.

"It’s me, Zhou Yi," the person outside said.

The two hurriedly got up to open the door and, just like before, sat together in a group.

Without a doubt, Zhou Yi had come to console Li Zheng.

It wasn’t convenient during the public meeting, but now that everything was taken care of, he could come over.

He also used the Emotion Transfer Method, though not as crass as Shi Yang’s.

After all, the road ahead was long, and Icho was just a minor milestone.

There were many "gods" in the past, like the legends of Cobalt God and Pleasure God.

To this day, not all of them are in the field of chemistry; some have even become obscure artists. Who knows what the future holds?

Li Zheng naturally expressed his thanks repeatedly. Zhou Yi had gone to such lengths, even worrying about his emotions; he truly didn’t know how to respond.

"Or..." Zhou Yi raised an eyebrow at the end, suddenly producing a piece of paper, "Why don’t you just sign with me, and it’s okay even if you break the contract~"

Li Zheng’s face turned sour in an instant.

Fuck, after all that talk, it’s still a pyramid scheme.

...

After sending Zhou Yi off, Li Zheng and Shi Yang each lay in their own beds, neither speaking, yet neither asleep.

After an undefined length of time, it was Shi Yang who broke the silence first.

"Asleep?"

"No."

"Mmm…" Shi Yang heaved a long sigh, "The matter is over, and the results are as they are, but I’m still pissed. You scored 9 points higher than the third place… 9 points, that’s two whole grades."

"Enough, let’s not talk about it," Li Zheng replied.

"I’m talking about it," Shi Yang said firmly with pursed lips, "You saw it, right? Zhou Chenghuan was also discontented... Frankly, if the two of us went to Prague, we would definitely secure the team championship... Instead, they swapped a 90-pointer for a 78-pointer... fuck..."

"Rules are rules; they were established long before we came," Li Zheng said flatly, propping his head with his hands, "Dean Zhou said they’d change soon, we just happened to fall at the point of improvement."

"Yes, I know that," Shi Yang said through clenched teeth, "I dream of it—You, me, Dongyang, sweeping the top three places, three red flags, the national anthem playing three times... fuck... fucking hell..."

"Take it easy, I’m going to sleep," Li Zheng turned over, "There’s a car at seven in the morning; we need to get up early."

"I... yeah…" Shi Yang also turned over, but at the same time grasped the blanket tightly, "Never mind."

"What?" Li Zheng asked.

"Nothing, just sleep."

"Right."

What Li Zheng didn’t know was that.

Shi Yang was already brewing something bigger.

After all.

He was the one who tossed a huge lump of sodium into the cesspit: Shi Bao’er.

...

December 24th, Monday.

Whether department stores or restaurants, merchants had already decorated for Christmas.

Really, it was nothing more than an old man and a tree.

However, Lake Ying Middle School had a different vibe altogether.

At the entrance hung a huge red banner—

[Warm Congratulations to Li Zheng for Winning the National Chemistry Olympiad Championship]

Within the school, on bulletin boards and announcement panels, there was no shortage of related news and student articles.

And news related to that news—

[Liu Xiaodong: We have the confidence to build a strong Chem Competitions school.]

[OMG, must buy it! Study materials recommended by Li Zheng till he almost spit blood.]

[Junior Grade One Chem Competitions group, looking forward to welcoming you if you love chemistry.]

[Our school and City First School to hold a joint New Year’s Eve party, all grades eagerly registering for programs!]

[Yu Hong: "How to Plan Your Path in Chem Competitions".]

[Tang Zhifei: My Special Interaction Techniques with Unique Students.]

This winter, the entire school was caught up in a fervent chemistry craze.

In such a season.

The most disheartened.

Were undoubtedly the physics teachers.

Science.

Consists simply of mathematics, physics, and chemistry.

For many years, my dear physics has been vying with mathematics as the ace subject.

She never imagined that, in this day and age, she would be trampled under the feet of puny chemistry.

For a long time to come, she feared she would only be able to lift her head before biology.

Teacher Tao Feifei of the senior two class four was undoubtedly the most dejected.

But her dejection wasn’t due to the strength of chemistry.

It was because of her 37th failed attempt at matchmaking.

As the school’s key young physics teacher, her mind was top-notch.

Her appearance wasn’t bad, and her figure was pretty good too.

So why, with such qualifications, had she not managed to get married by age 29?

The reason was nothing else but her mouth.

She had taught for so long, she always talked like she was giving a lecture.

Every time she went on a date, she would subconsciously scold the man for not paying attention whenever he got distracted.

No matter the topic of conversation, she always started from a purely rational, abstract perspective, overwhelming with information, making any normal person doubt their intelligence after only a few sentences.

Feigning ignorance and innocence, Tao Feifei had tried that too.

But she always came across as stiff.

For example, on a date with an IT guy, he went on and on bragging about big projects he’d done.

Tao Feifei tried hard to look admiring, saying things like "That’s really impressive," "You’re so bold," "I wish I could be as smart as you" and other such nonsense.

But it wasn’t long before the guy hung his head and left after paying the bill.

Only after inquiring did she learn that "he felt he was being mocked in a weird passive-aggressive way."

In short, it was tough.

Smart women struggle to win men’s favor by showing off their intelligence.

And she couldn’t act dumb.

Good men always prefer the naturally unintelligent.

The less than perfect ones, she couldn’t get past her own criteria.

It was tough, really tough, for smart, beautiful, and knowledgeable women.

With a heavy heart, Tao Feifei ate lunch alone, returned to the teaching building alone, and walked toward the office alone.

When she arrived at the office door, it was wide open.

Normally, she would have returned to her desk and started grading homework as usual.

But this time, she was rooted to the spot.

Because she saw a man.

More specifically, she saw a man’s back.

A man who was sitting in her chair and reading a book with his head down.

This man was wearing a body-fitting leather jacket and had a short haircut that stood up in a sexy way.

Tao Feifei couldn’t help clutching her chest, gasping for breath.

Could it be... the... the Overseas Returned PhD hunk Teacher Tang mentioned?

The thought made Tao Feifei instantly tense up.

No good, she hadn’t done her makeup properly.

Her clothes were chosen at random.

She instinctively shrank back, hiding outside the door frame.

Her heart started thumping wildly.

She had never experienced such intense heartbeats on all her blind dates.

For a moment, she felt like she was back in her college days, secretly observing an online friend at an agreed-upon location.

It was that kind of small thrill of observing secretly before meeting.

Tao Feifei quickly took a breath and peeked out with half her head to spy.

As a physics teacher, even from this angle, she could deduce the man’s height was around one hundred eighty centimeters, he had a strong build, and his buttocks were rather perky.

At the same time, she could roughly make out that the man was flipping through an English book.

It surely was the Overseas Returned PhD!

What excited Tao Feifei even more was that there was a large suitcase placed next to him.

Oh my goodness! Why is he in such a hurry to see me just after returning to the country?

Am I… that outstanding…?

Should I go home to touch up my makeup and change my clothes?

While she hesitated,

The man closed the book, sighed, and rose to his feet.

He seemed to be leaving?

No! That won’t do!

Tao Feifei’s eyes reddened in anxiety.

She hurriedly straightened her hair.

As she was getting ready, the man’s phone in the room suddenly rang.

He answered it quickly.

"Yes, I’m back."

"Sorry, I can’t make it to Prague."

"Yes, came straight to the school."

"There’s something very important."

"Right, it’s because of that."

"Urgent, very urgent, don’t want to delay even a second."

"I must get Teacher Tao’s response."

"Alright, see you tonight."

At the doorway, Tao Feifei was about to explode.

Is it that urgent?

He must get Teacher Tao’s response?

My beauty shot, so moving?

For me, he even pushed aside an important job opportunity in Prague?

The emotions were already so intense.

Tao Feifei could no longer bear it.

She flung aside the door frame and burst into the office.

"The answer is yes, I can do it anytime!"

This time, she faced her heart and chose to be unrestrained.

As soon as she spoke,

The man turned around.

Li Zheng, looking at the blushing Tao Feifei, widened his eyes. "You want to start coaching for the Physics Olympiad now? Teacher Tao is even more anxious than me, impressive!"

"..."

Tao Feifei also widened her eyes, nearly popping her glasses off.

She remained frozen for a long time before finally crying out.

"Li... Li Zheng?"

"It’s me..." Li Zheng said, slightly embarrassed as he adjusted his jacket collar, "I didn’t go home after getting off the train, came directly to the school, didn’t even enter my class, just came to look for you. I didn’t expect you to be so impatient as well, let’s start now."

"You... you you you..." Tao Feifei’s eyes grew even redder, a mix of sorrow and shame, as she gestured angrily toward the door. "Get out!"

"Ah?" Li Zheng paused for a moment, but soon realized, and humbly bowed his head to sigh, "I understand... Dressing like this must be a violation of the rules, right? I’ll go home, change into my uniform, and then come back..."

"...It’s not that... You didn’t go home or to class, but you rushed to find me for what?"

"There’s an important question I need to ask."

"Uh ah..." Tao Feifei clutched her hair a few times before reluctantly sitting down at her desk, forcefully grabbed the homework assignments, and began marking fiercely with her pen. "What is it? Spit it out."

Li Zheng stood beside her, took a deep breath, and then finally spoke with a heavy voice.

"Does the IPHO national team have a rule that only one person can be chosen from each province?"

"What the hell is that?"

"IPHO national team, is there a requirement that several team members must come from different provinces?"

"..." Tao Feifei’s hand stiffened, and she turned to look at Li Zheng.

Li Zheng too remained silent, simply watching her.

Tao Feifei paused for a long while before sighing, pulled over a chair for Li Zheng to sit, took off her glasses and asked.

"Did the national team results come out?"

"Yes."

"Your ranking?"

"Second."

"Is the first also from Jijing?"

"Yes."

"...How much are you ahead of the third?"

"9%."

"...Well... no wonder." Tao Feifei’s expression softened, she patted Li Zheng’s shoulder and said, "You’ve worked so hard for so long, this kind of result is indeed very agonizing, you’ve had a hard time."

Having said that, she put on her glasses again, brimming with energy, and nodded to Li Zheng. "Rest assured, the IPHO doesn’t have such a rule. As long as you are strong enough, all 5 members of the national team can be from the same school, even the same class."

Li Zheng’s expression finally relaxed, and he muttered to himself, "That’s good."

"You wouldn’t..." Tao Feifei looked up and down at Li Zheng with a smile and said, "Really plan to compete in the IPHO with Lin Yujing?"

"I’m just considering the possibility in advance." Li Zheng had just finished speaking when he shook his head and chuckled, "Forget it, no more pretending — yes, that’s exactly what I’m planning to do."

"Heh, you really underestimate the Physics Competition," Tao Feifei laughed with a crooked smile, "Li Zheng, although you have achieved very good results in Chemistry, I still have to strike you down. Let’s be honest, from my judgment, Lin Yujing is far, far stronger than you."

Li Zheng nodded firmly: "Yes, I admit that."

"It’s not that you are bad, you are already very good, and your physics would rank within the top five of all the students I have taught. The main thing is…" Tao Feifei stared blankly ahead, her eyes revealing an indelible sense of awe.

"Lin Yujing really doesn’t seem human..."

"You know, after so many years of development in physics, the sophisticated problems and solutions we have now are the result of generations of scholars optimizing and improving them over time."

"Without tutoring, it’s almost impossible to come up with the best solutions on your own."

"But Lin Yujing... she can."

"I completely can’t understand... but she just does it."

"Every problem she works on, it’s like planting a seed."

"Without doing anything, just by sleeping on it, it can sprout into countless branches."

"Aside from genius, I can’t find any other word for it."

"I originally planned 3 months of intensive advanced training, and she completed it in a week and a half."

"Now we’re already working on crash courses for the experiments."

"Through understanding her during this period, I must admit."

"She indeed has the potential to join the national training team."

In the end, Tao Feifei fixed her gaze on Li Zheng.

"As for you, it’s good to have lofty goals, but you must prepare for failure. In the later stages of math and physics, it really becomes a battle of geniuses, and 99.999% of brains simply don’t qualify to watch the battle. The gap is like that between a basic calculator and an 8-core Core processor."

Her intention was to urge Li Zheng to be more realistic, to lower his expectations in advance, so that even if he faced setbacks in the future, it wouldn’t be too hard to bear.

But unexpectedly, this only fueled his fire more.

"Teacher Tao." Li Zheng tapped his forehead hard, "Don’t worry, my brain is not normal either."

"…that’s not… what I meant…"

"Alright, let’s get started." Li Zheng rubbed his hands together, ready to unpack his luggage, "I’ve already prepared a lot of reference books."

"Now? No, no..." Tao Feifei waved her hands hastily, "I start with Lin Yujing and Jiang Qinghua at four in the afternoon. You come over at four as well, I still have other things to do now."

"Okay." Li Zheng then stood up and picked up his suitcase, and said, "I want to inform you in advance that my level is still very low; I’ve barely reached the qualifying score for the preliminary round."

"If you haven’t prepared before, that’s already quite good," Tao Feifei picked up the marking pen again, "Lin Yujing’s current level is probably enough to make it into the provincial team steadily."

"Cool." Li Zheng’s lips curled up as he walked out with his suitcase, "Starting today, I won’t go easy on her."

"By the way." Tao Feifei suddenly looked up, "When you have a chance, try to persuade Jiang Qinghua too, he’s having a tough time."

"…"

…

After leaving the Physics Research Group, Li Zheng’s next stop was still not back to class.

Instead, he lugged his suitcase upstairs.

All the way up to the fourth floor.

Along the way, the faces of the students in the hallway were panicked.

All were wondering, "Who is this handsome dude?"

Li Zheng walked to the door of Senior Year Class One, placed his suitcase down, and stepped in confidently.

The classroom was full of chatter and laughter, but as this figure burst in, the noise suddenly stopped, and everyone froze.

Amidst the stunned silence, Li Zheng walked straight to Xu Mengxi’s desk.

Xu Mengxi, as usual during her lunch break, was dozing off cuddling a Totoro pillow.

Li Zheng just smiled and then took out the shiny national finals gold medal, quietly slipping the ribbon over her neck from behind, placing the medal silently on the desk in front of her.

That way, when she woke up and looked up, she would naturally discover the medal had been crowned upon her.

Li Zheng was about to leave when Qiao Bixia in the back row finally pointed and opened her mouth wide, "Li Li Li Li…"

"Shh." Li Zheng raised his hand to gesture for silence and winked, "Let’s talk on the court."

"…are you… provoking me?" Qiao Bixia’s body shook, her fists balled, and with a vicious laugh, she said, "It’s been a while since I’ve taught you a lesson, kid, I’ve been quite frustrated."

"Then brace yourself because my stamina now can last half an hour without getting winded," Li Zheng boasted and as he walked away, he advised those around, "Don’t disturb her."

In a field of bewildered gazes, he had left the classroom.

It wasn’t until Li Zheng had walked away with his suitcase that the class reacted to what had happened.

"That was Li Zheng?"

"Why does he seem like the Terminator?"

"Could it be that he’s invented a time machine?"

"Damn, he’s really turned into a tough guy!"

"The gold medal… did he really give it to Mengxi?"

Amidst the uproar, Xu Mengxi shifted irritably and began to mutter in her sleep.

Ji University, Ji University, Ji University…