Chapter 10: Tingting 8

In the first-floor living room, after answering Cao Xia’s question once more, Tan You narrowed her eyes. "It’s about time; we should head upstairs to sleep."

Cao Xia felt a bit embarrassed. "Did I ask too much and hold you back from your studies?"

"Of course not," Tan You replied without hesitation. "We’re studying together. Remember yesterday when I didn't understand a physics problem and you taught me?"

Zhou Wen laughed. "But then you turned around and explained a really difficult physics problem to her. Who is actually teaching whom?"

"We’re learning from each other, anyway," Tan You smiled. "By the way, I heard chemistry is quite difficult. Could you two bring your chemistry books back tomorrow night? Could I borrow them to take a look? And please lend me your chemistry notes to copy as well."

She knew her chemistry wasn't up to par, but since she was lacking, she had to be the "slow bird that starts early."

Cao Xia: "No problem. Our notes are very thorough. I’ll remember to bring them tomorrow."

Zhou Wen: "I’m not great at chemistry either. Tingting, you’ll have to explain it to me when the time comes."

Tan You felt a little shy. "I haven't even started studying chemistry yet. You’ll definitely be the ones teaching me."

Cao Xia and Zhou Wen draped their arms over her shoulders. "That’s not necessarily true. Look at you—you’re only in eighth grade, yet your grasp of the material is firmer than ours. Studying with you these past few days, I feel like I’ve improved quite a bit."

Tan You scratched her cheek. "Really? My grades are actually quite average."

Cao Xia laughed. "I heard you got second place in the grade for this week’s practice test."

Tan You: "I thought it was pretty simple. It’s just that my math is really not great; I’m only pulling my score up with Chinese and English. The math teacher specifically prepared a few exercise books and test papers for me, and I’ve been working on those lately."

Zhou Wen: "With so many regular classes, can you even manage to do all that extra work?"

Tan You shrugged. "If you squeeze the time, you’ll find it. I actually have two more problems I don't understand, and I’m going to go ask Teacher Shi about them tomorrow."

Cao Xia: "Then tell me about them when you get back tomorrow. I want to know how to solve those two problems, too."

The three girls spoke in hushed tones, and only after packing their schoolbags did they head upstairs together to rest. Of course, they didn't forget to turn off all the lights on the first floor on their way up, so as not to invite any gossip from others.

After meeting on the first floor the next morning, Tan You, Zhou Wen, and Cao Xia parted ways at the intersection to head to their respective grade levels. This middle school was quite interesting; the seventh and eighth grades held classes in the old building at the front.

The ninth grade and the high school grades held classes in a five-story building across the road. Though separated by only a street, the treatment of the two sides was vastly different.

Tan You was the epitome of diligence. When she arrived at her classroom, there were only a few people there. She didn't rest, instead pulling out the test papers and exercise books Teacher Shi had given her, continuing to rack her brain.

It happened to be the Chinese morning reading period, and Wang Lanfeng arrived relatively early as well. As she passed by the window, she saw Tan You hunched over her desk, working on a test paper.

Her eyes flickered at the sight, but she ultimately didn't push the door open. Instead, she watched Han Tingting for a few seconds before heading to the office.

Everyone in the grade knew that Wang Lanfeng favored students with good grades, frequently pulling top-ranked students aside for heart-to-hearts, but Han Tingting was the only one who never received this treatment.

Students would gossip among themselves, wondering, "So what if Han Tingting is good at studying? She still isn't liked by the head teacher, is she?"

Tan You had no thoughts on this. Honestly, she didn't care much about whether a teacher liked her or not. She was here to study, to help Han Tingting fulfill her wishes, and to earn energy and intelligence points. Why would she care about anyone else?

During the Chinese morning study session, Wang Lanfeng walked around the classroom. Tan You put away her math test and took out her textbook to start reading the lesson.

After making a round, Wang Lanfeng noticed something off. She picked up the textbook in front of Tan You and took a look—well, it was a ninth-grade book.

She gave Tan You a look, and Tan You, not understanding why, followed her outside.

Standing by the back door, Wang Lanfeng asked bluntly, "Who did you borrow that book from?"

Tan You thought for a moment. "A ninth-grade girl in my dorm brought it for me. Her cousin started high school, so he doesn't need these books anymore."

This was naturally borrowed from Zhou Wen. It was said that Zhou Wen’s cousin didn't have great grades; he had barely scraped into high school. When Zhou Wen went home last time, she brought back her cousin’s Chinese, math, and English textbooks. When she opened them, it was like looking at Han Tingting’s old books—they were almost completely blank.

Wang Lanfeng wanted to say, "You’re only in eighth grade, what’s the point of reading ninth-grade books now?" But thinking of Tan You’s top-ranked Chinese grade, she couldn't bring herself to say it. In the end, she could only wave her hand at Tan You. "Go back."

"Yes," Tan You replied, slowly sitting back down at Han Tingting’s desk.

For the rest of the morning reading period, Wang Lanfeng stayed in the office. A girl sitting in front of Tan You turned around and looked at her. "Tingting, what did the head teacher want with you? Did she have a heart-to-heart with you, too?"

Tan You narrowed her eyes. "No, she just asked where this book came from."

"A ninth-grade one?" The girl’s eyes widened, and she nearly shouted the words. She shrank her neck. "I’m going back to memorizing."

Is this the difference between a good student and a struggling one? Everyone used to be about the same, but suddenly, one day, the other person takes flight, and you can’t even catch up.

While she was still memorizing eighth-grade texts, the other person was already reading ninth-grade books. How could they even compare?

Tan You didn't know that she had caused such a negative feeling in the girl sitting in front of her; she was just honestly memorizing her text. In truth, Chinese really wasn't difficult for Tan You because she had an excellent memory. While many people struggled to read a passage over and over, she could memorize the entire thing after reading it just two or three times.

Perhaps a good memory was Tan You’s greatest source of confidence.

When the morning reading period ended, Tan You saw Teacher Shi walking toward the office through the window, but she bit her lip and didn't follow. She would wait for the fifteen-minute break during the long recess to go find her.

The long recess was for morning exercises. After returning from the drills, Tan You took her paper, pen, and exercises to the office. As soon as Teacher Shi saw Tan You, she smiled. "You're here? What do you want to ask about today?"

She pulled a small stool from under her desk—one she had specifically prepared for Tan You. Tan You sat down beside her and took out the two problems that had troubled her for so long yesterday.

"Although I eventually solved them, I feel like this method is very clumsy and took a long time. I wanted to ask if there’s a simpler way."

Teacher Shi looked over Tan You’s solution process. "If you solve this problem purely using eighth-grade math knowledge, this method is clearly correct, just a bit tedious."

"Try using ninth-grade concepts and see if you can solve it."