Chapter 14: 014 Handing in Assignments, Scoring Points

Ren Wanxuan’s face was cold, and she didn't continue.

But inside, she felt incredibly irritable.

Beside her, Chen Zhu had already caught on. He hadn't recognized Bai Lian earlier, but now that Ren Wanxuan mentioned it, he remembered—this was the person he had seen on the road that night.

Some distant relative of the Ren family, he didn't know which branch.

If Bai Lian had gotten into this training class because of the Ren family, it wasn't very surprising.

He nodded and went back to focusing on his practice problems.

The others looked at each other.

Everyone in the training class knew what this class was for.

It was for the reserve spots for the Jiangjing University app.

Everyone who could get in here was truly talented. The initial math exam had been extremely difficult, while the science comprehensive section was practically a giveaway; there were several people sitting here who had scored full marks on the science comprehensive.

An 85, let alone here, was unheard of in the entire school.

"85?" Shi Yutong’s voice rose. "Then how did she get in here?"

She had good grades, and due to her family background, she had learned to build connections from a young age. She formed cliques at school and always looked down on other ordinary students.

For Bai Lian to get in with that kind of score, it was clearly a case of "pulling strings."

However, Shi Yutong didn't take it to heart. Even if she got in through connections, how could she be more significant than the Chen or Ren families?

Those who had wanted to add Bai Lian on WeChat all abruptly stopped themselves.

"Why is it so quiet today?" The substitute teacher was the head teacher of Class 8, Grade 12, and also the head of the Grade 12 physics group. He wore glasses, turned on the projector to show the course, and looked at this group of top students with a smile. "Today is the same as usual. Everyone watch the lecture for an hour and a half, do problems for half an hour, and go back at eight."

The lecture being shown was a recording of a competition class from the Jiangjing Affiliated High School.

Math and physics were shown alternately.

Today was physics.

After the Class 8 head teacher started the video, he took a pen and paper and sat in the back to watch with the students.

Today’s physics lecture covered electromagnetism and relativity. The video explained it very clearly. Bai Lian put down her pen and listened very carefully. From special relativity to electromagnetism, it was Bai Lian’s first time encountering time dilation.

She found the concept terrifying because everyone’s flow of time was different.

The video finished promptly at 7:30. The Class 8 head teacher handed out the printed exercises. "This is today’s problem. There is only one. Write it as you see fit, and I will collect it tomorrow night. This counts toward your regular grade."

The lecture hall was suddenly left with only the sound of flipping paper.

After handing out the problems, the Class 8 head teacher walked slowly behind Bai Lian with his hands behind his back and looked down at her.

Like Lu Lingxi, he had received a call from the principal two days ago, but he knew more than Lu Lingxi. The principal valued this transfer student named "Bai Lian" very highly and had even instructed him and the math teacher to take good care of her.

So, as soon as he arrived today, he couldn't help but turn his attention to Bai Lian.

The training class problems were synchronized with the videos and came from Jiangjing; they were very difficult. The first two times, he had focused on Chen Zhu and Ning Xiao, but today he made an exception to look at Bai Lian.

He was very curious if she could solve it.

Bai Lian didn't know what the Class 8 head teacher was thinking. She glanced at the problem and casually set the paper aside.

She took out a book and flipped through it slowly.

The Class 8 head teacher, who was waiting to see her solve the problem: "…?"

Write! Why aren't you writing?

Student, do you have a problem with me?

He waited ten minutes, unwilling to give up.

Feeling that this student had no intention of writing, he stood up straight with an expressionless face, preparing to go home. It was clear that this student was very rebellious.

Usually, the last half hour was voluntary for students, and the substitute teacher would leave early.

He suddenly remembered something.

Wait, the book Bai Lian just took out was—

*Physics of Jiangjing University*?

*Physics of Jiangjing University* was not sold to the public; only students in the physics department of Jiangjing University had it. But getting into Jiangjing University was not easy, let alone the physics department, which had the highest cutoff scores.

The Class 8 head teacher didn't actually know anyone in the physics department at Jiangjing University.

He walked out, pondering to himself.

He had to find an opportunity to trick this student into—

No, to borrow the book to take a look.

**

Bai Lian read the book while taking notes.

She flipped the pages gently.

"So annoying!" In front of Ren Wanxuan, Shi Yutong looked coldly at Bai Lian’s side. Seeing Bai Lian put the assigned exercises aside and just flip through a book, she couldn't help but lose her temper. "If you don't want to study properly, can you at least not disturb others? Are you not annoyed by flipping back and forth like that?!"

With the surname Bai, Shi Yutong had searched all of Xiangcheng and hadn't found any family with that name.

Her father worked in the Education Bureau and knew student files.

The others in school didn't know, but she knew clearly.

Chen Zhu and Chen Wei’s family were the richest in Xiangcheng, and Ren Wanxuan’s family was even more incredible.

Bai Lian still kept her head slightly lowered. The lecture hall lights were quite bright. She leaned back in her chair nonchalantly, flipping through the book with one hand and holding a pen in the other, occasionally taking notes in the book.

She ignored Shi Yutong completely.

Although Shi Yutong couldn't compare to Chen Wei or Ren Wanxuan, she wasn't a nobody at school. Her grades were good, and her family background was decent.

Being ignored like this, she couldn't save face. "Bai Lian, are you deaf?"

"Huh?" Bai Lian finally looked up. She glanced at Shi Yutong, as if she had just realized, a strand of black hair falling against her cheek. "Are you barking at me?"

Her use of the word "barking" made it sound as if the person opposite her was a dog.

Shi Yutong’s face turned dark. "Don't you dare flip—"

"I will flip."

Bai Lian interrupted Shi Yutong. Even though she was just an ordinary student, her sitting posture was upright, yet her arm resting on the table looked lazy. When she turned to the side, the disdain in her eyes was overwhelming.

She lazily flipped another page and smiled at Shi Yutong. "Why don't you call the police?"

Shi Yutong could swear she heard a few suppressed chuckles.

Ren Wanxuan had long since experienced Bai Lian’s sharp tongue. She didn't know how this person, who had relied on the Ren family's connections to get into the training class, could be so confident.

It was just that Ren Wanxuan didn't want more people in school to know about her relationship with Bai Lian, so she didn't clarify.

She hoped Bai Lian would have the self-awareness not to cling to her.

Ren Wanxuan looked at Shi Yutong. "Sit down."

Shi Yutong sat down.

She glanced at Bai Lian with a gloomy look. She had never lost face in front of people before!

Let alone being humiliated by a transfer student who was nobody!

Half an hour passed quickly.

People in the lecture hall who couldn't solve the problem stopped trying one after another and packed their things to go home.

Ren Wanxuan looked at Chen Zhu beside her. "Did you solve it?"

Chen Zhu shook his head and looked at Ning Xiao’s seat.

Ning Xiao was preparing to leave; he didn't know if he had solved it or not.

"Going back?" Ren Wanxuan hadn't written the correct answer either. "There’s news about the invitation."

Chen Zhu was also putting away his pen. Hearing this, he turned his head. "Where did the news come from?"

"My grandf—" Ren Wanxuan just wanted to say it, but seeing Bai Lian still there on the right, she stopped the topic and gave Chen Zhu and the others a look. "Let's talk outside."

She didn't want to mention her grandfather and her family background in front of Bai Lian.

The group packed their things and left together.

When walking out the front door, Ren Wanxuan saw that the exercise paper on Bai Lian’s desk was still clean.

She hadn't even done the first question.

Ren Wanxuan’s lips curled in a cold sneer.

"Your grandfather has news about the White Tiger Auction House invitation?" There was no one in the stairwell, so Chen Zhu spoke first. "My dad doesn't have any news."

"That's normal," Ren Wanxuan wasn't surprised. "Not just anyone can enter the White Tiger Auction House."

The White Tiger Auction House was benchmarked against international figures.

Xiangcheng was nothing in their eyes. If they wanted to get an invitation, they could only go through the black market.

The two talked to themselves, while Shi Yutong and the others on the side were confused.

Their family backgrounds were ordinary, and they knew a little about domestic affairs, but they hadn't even heard of the White Tiger Auction House. It wasn't until they parted ways at the entrance and watched the two cars drive away that they started whispering.

Shi Yutong lowered her voice. "I think I heard my dad mention it once, somewhere near our border."

She didn't even dare to say "Black Water Street."

People generally didn't dare to enter that place casually.

They said that even a dog passing through would lose three layers of skin.

Past eight o'clock.

Jiang He was waiting for her at the school gate. Ming Dongheng looked at Bai Lian apologetically; he thought Bai Lian had a really good temper.

Jiang Fuli left early and returned late every day. Jiang He basically played alone and waited for Jiang Fuli to return. He had a strange personality and no other friends his age.

Bai Lian was Jiang He’s first friend, and she was willing to play with him, so Jiang He was very attached to Bai Lian.

Bai Lian had already received a message from Jiang He. She told Ji Heng she wouldn't be going back for dinner and took Jiang He to the milk tea shop next door. "What time is your brother coming back? The milk tea shop closes at nine."

Her deskmate had already finished work and gone home.

"It won't close," Jiang He said slowly. "My brother bought the milk tea shop."

His tone was as if he had bought a head of cabbage.

The Bai family, who had been honest and upright for generations: "..."

Ah.

**

Jiang Fuli came back early today.

He also had someone deliver dinner to the school.

When he got out of the car, the milk tea shop was no longer open to the public; only an incandescent light by the window was on.

Bai Lian was looking down, doing her homework. It was a bit cold at night, so she put on her school uniform. The zipper wasn't pulled up, revealing the white embroidered collar inside. She lazily propped her chin with one hand and held a pen with the other, her eyelashes half-lowered.

Occasionally, passersby would look back repeatedly.

Jiang He sat beside her, looking down at a Rubik's cube.

The wind chime at the door rang. Bai Lian and Jiang He looked up in unison at the person who entered.

Jiang Fuli’s features were always cold and sharp, noble and reserved. He was holding a coat wrapped in the chill of the night, his posture tall and slender. He lowered his head slightly as he entered.

Seeing the two of them looking at him, his footsteps paused strangely for a second.

Why did he take Jiang He in?

Perhaps it was because he saw three-year-old Jiang He waiting at home alone for parents who would never return; he could empathize.

Jiang He was withdrawn and spoke little, but he rarely made a fuss. These past few days were when he was most energetic.

Jiang Fuli looked at this scene and had the illusion that Bai Lian and Jiang He were waiting for him.

The assistant set the food out neatly and also prepared a portion for Bai Lian.

Bai Lian didn't stand on ceremony. She picked up her chopsticks and showed the problems assigned today to Jiang Fuli. "The teacher asked me to attend the training class. I can understand the lecture, but the problems are just..."

She paused. "I want to have a fight with them."

Jiang Fuli felt a little like laughing.

"Don't be in a hurry to fight yet," his voice was clear and cool. He reached out and took the paper. It had the Jiangjing University logo on it, and he knew what it was after a glance. "It's not your problem. The person who wrote these problems is just like this. It's simple. I'll tell you after you finish eating."

Problems that no one in the entire Xiangcheng High School could solve were dismissed by him with two light words: "It's simple."

In the middle of the meal, Jiang Fuli sincerely sent a suggestion to Academician Ma—

【The PhD student you're mentoring can't write problems. I can teach him.】

Bai Lian had listened to many lectures over the past two days, including the recording of the famous teacher tonight.

Only by listening to others could she have a comparison.

Jiang Fuli’s explanations were much clearer than theirs—simple, easy to understand, detailed, and his voice was a bit slower.

Bai Lian looked at him unblinkingly, her dark eyes filled with a high desire for knowledge. "So, is the constancy of the speed of light derived or proven?"

"Maxwell's equations..." Jiang Fuli reached out for a pen. His fingers were smooth, clean, and slender. He wrote a set of beautiful formulas on the back.

Jiang He was drinking milk on the side, looking at Jiang Fuli expressionlessly.

Last month, he had asked Jiang Fuli a similar question.

The other party pointed to a folder and said coldly—

"There is a relevant paper I published in *Nature* two years ago in here. Find it yourself."

"..."

Was that something a person would say?

**

Jiang Fuli explained it very clearly, and since Bai Lian’s main study recently happened to be electromagnetism, she could understand most of the problem.

The next day at school, she finished the problem according to her own understanding.

Tonight’s training class was math.

The Class 8 head teacher collected yesterday’s homework, handed out the newly printed answers to everyone, and then turned on today’s video.

The students watched the video.

After the Class 8 head teacher returned, he took out his grade book and two pens to grade the submitted exercises. Most people hadn't finished them. Every time the head teacher finished looking at someone’s work, he would make a note in the grade book.

These were the criteria for evaluation a month later.

The problems were perversely difficult. The Class 8 head teacher had almost stayed up all night last night to fully understand them. Seeing Ning Xiao’s answer, he wrote a big "8" after his name.

The regular grade was out of ten.

Most others were four or five points.

Ren Wanxuan’s answer was a bit higher, six points.

Chen Zhu’s answer this time wasn't as comprehensive as Ning Xiao’s, seven points.

A group of science students, their handwriting was a mess; he spent his time looking for twisted answers in various cracks.

Until he flipped to the last sheet. The handwriting was regular, stroke by stroke, even neater and more beautiful than the printed problems. The Class 8 head teacher’s eyes lit up.

He focused his gaze on the content. He straightened his expression at the first question, and when he saw the second question—

His pupils shrank.

Guess how many points?

Guess wrong and please send me your hair!

Sleep early, good night.

(End of chapter)