Genius Fundamentals

Pei Zhi looked ahead and immediately answered, “Just then, Vice Principal Zhang handed me a new exam paper and gave me 20 minutes to finish it.”

“What happened then?”

“I didn’t answer a single question.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t know how to solve them.” Pei Zhi naturally answered.

Lin Zhao Xi’s heart skipped a beat. On the other side, Zhang Liang’s group was already laughing loudly, with a strong implication of ridicule.

Hua Juan was also shocked. He looked at Pei Zhi dumbfoundedly. Out of everyone in the class, only Pei Zhi remained composed.

“Why can’t you solve it?” Zhang Shu Ping continued to ask.

“Because I haven’t learned it yet.” Pei Zhi replied back.

Lin Zhao Xi was at a loss for words. This vice principal obviously used Pei Zhi as an example to teach students to study with reverence in mind. It’s like the common Buddhist saying, “Kill the chicken to scare the monkey*.”

[*Kill the chicken to scare the monkey => Making an example of someone to threaten others.]

She wanted to stand up and defend Pei Zhi, yet somebody suddenly yelled before she got the opportunity to do so.

“Lin Zhao Xi!”

“Here!” She answered and immediately stood up.

The classroom became silent once more.

One front and one back, Lin Zhao Xi and Pei Zhi stood there, receiving the attention of all students.

“I heard from Teacher Xue that you questioned my decision to carry luggage to the exam room?”

Lin Zhao Xi looked at Xie Ran. She pouted and curled her lips at him. ‘You snitch!’

Xie Ran was standing behind the principal. He secretly pointed at the vice principal’s back, implying back, ‘He’s too scary. I’m too afraid not to talk about it.’

Many students were laughing secretly.

“Yes.” Lin Zhao Xi answered.

“Why?” the vice principal asked.

“In my opinion, if a person is worked to the point of exhaustion, they will be incapable of bringing out their full potential,” she said, frankly.

Vice Principal Zhang looked at the girl before him and said, “It is a bit extreme to have an exam while exhausted. However, can you guarantee to be in perfect condition before an exam? Can you guarantee that before an exam, you will not have a fever, headaches, or even insomnia?”

Lin Zhao Xi remembered that in her past timeline, Lin Zhao Xi had a fever and diarrhea the day before the Summer Camp Selection Test; therefore, she didn’t make it in time for the test. However, after thinking about it, she couldn’t guarantee that she won’t get sick before the exam, so she shook her head honestly.

“Today’s test scenario was just a situation you will probably face in the future. Imagine a traffic jam on the day of your exam, and you had to run a few kilometers to reach the test center. When you reach the classroom, you have to begin your tests immediately. Due to today’s training, you will be calmer in those situations, and probably because of this calmness, you may gain the opportunity to attend a prestigious school.”

The middle-aged man said with an impassioned tone. Lin Zhao Xi then asked in a low voice, “The purpose of studying… isn’t it all about exams? So isn’t it meaningless to set up an extreme situation with a slim chance of occurring?” Lin Zhao Xi was puzzled.

“But unfortunately, in this society, most people’s education goal is to pass their exams. So the purpose of this Summer Camp was also about exams.”

Zhang Shu Ping responded. He seemed to be talking to all the children in this classroom.

“If you don’t pass, you will be eliminated. There are only so many learning resources. Society will utilize exams since it’s a fair way to pick out people with talents. Layer by layer, each level has its specific learning resources. This is a ruthless fact.”

Lin Zhao Xi was silent for a long time.

She knew what Zhang Shu Ping said were cruel facts that not many would tell their children.

But this contradicts the “Like” and “Interest” policy that Old Lin repeatedly taught her throughout her life.

Old Lin doesn’t want to force Lin Zhao Xi into doing anything. He was pissed when he found out Lin Zhao Xi forced herself to study Liberal Arts and Science.

But now, when she was suddenly reminded of the cruel nature of exams, she was confused.

She wanted to know. If Old Lin was the one at the front, what would he say to them?

When she thought about it, Lin Zhao Xi shook her head. How could Old Lin, who was dozens of kilometers away and also a park manager, be able to teach a class?

At the front, Vice Principal Zhang’s voice disrupted her daydreaming.

“You guys are smart, I will admit,” he continued, “I understand that you were looking after your fellow classmates. But your behavior broke the rules of this exam, so I still have to punish you two.”

Lin Zhao Xi raised her head.

“For the next week, the two of you will need to be at the cafeteria at 6:00 am to prepare breakfast. That is your punishment.”

When he finished, the vice principal said a word of dismissal and left.

Lin Zhao Xi was still standing, doubtful of what entered her ears.

This might seem like severe punishment for ordinary people, but for me, not really.

Lin Zhao Xi thought as she glanced at Pei Zhi.

***
When Vice Principal Zhang left, Teacher Xie Ran walked up to the front.

He stretched and said, “Okay, children, we will now go to the dormitory.”

Lin Zhao Xi looked out the window, and sure enough, there were a few tour buses parked under the shade. The driver was already bored from waiting for them.

Since she and Pei Zhi were still standing up, they didn’t sit back down; instead, they started walking out of the classroom. Hua Juan and Lu Zhi Zhao hurriedly chased after them.

“F*ck me, why did Vice Principal Zhang do such things?”

As soon as Vice Principle Zhang had left the room, Hua Juan started to rant with righteous indignation. Meanwhile, Lu Zhi Zhao tightly shut his mouth and didn’t say anything.

“Don’t be sad. I’m telling you, who hasn’t dealt with garbage teachers before….”

While Hua Juan was still muttering, Pei Zhi turned around, picked up Hua Juan’s suitcase by the straps, and asked, “Going?”

“Go go go!” said the flattered Hua Juan. He quickly ran up to them and took back his bags.

Pei Zhi leisurely strolled with a black backpack on his back. The path was covered by the shades of trees. It was very relaxing and comfortable.

Lin Zhao Xi threw away the crispy noodles packet and lightly slapped her hands to remove the powder. She then asked Pei Zhi, “Do you think Vice Principal Zhang handed you a high school student test paper?”

“It’s possible.” Pei Zhi answered, “I really don’t know how to solve it.”

“Isn’t this intentional harassment?” Hua Juan suddenly raised his voice again.

“It’s normal not to know how to solve the problems. So don’t worry about it.” Pei Zhi said with a clear and peaceful tone.

“Eh?!” Hua Juan exclaimed.

Lin Zhao Xi rolled her eyes and smiled. Looking at Pei Zhi’s clear eyes, she remembered her urge to act out when she discovered that Pei Zhi didn’t know how to solve the math questions and felt stupid.

This was Pei Zhi, and he didn’t feel ashamed or angry about the principal publicly disciplining him. He’s too ignorant to feel down or sad.

Perhaps it’s the desire to study the unknown, and that’s probably something that makes him happy, right?

Lin Zhao Xi thought.

“How come the both of you aren’t mad?”

“What’s there to be mad about?”

She and Pei Zhi asked at the same time.

Hearing this, Hua Juan got annoyed. He spared no effort carrying the suitcase onto the tour bus and stopped talking.

Behind them, other students are leaving the classroom one after the other.

Although Xie Ran had an evil personality, he was much more approachable than the cold vice principal. Children were gathering around him, asking questions such as:

“How would the dormitory be arranged?”

“What are we doing in the afternoon?”

“Are we going to have an exam every day?”

Xie Ran said with a smile, “You will know when the time comes.”

“Teacher Xue, are we really staying here for a month?”

“Relax, not many of you will last a month here.”

“Huh…” The children sighed, clearly dissatisfied with his remark.

“Then how can we stay longer?” They asked.

Xie Ran replied, “Why are you asking this? I thought you all wanted to leave?”

His eyes drifted towards the group. Lin Zhao Xi was sitting on the opposite side of Pei Zhi with luggage. Pei Zhi had one hand supporting his cheek and his eyelashes drooping. Xie Ran didn’t know what he was thinking.

Lin Zhao Xi shrugged, only a few questions, and Xie Ran already wanted them to leave.

What a joke.

“I can’t go back. If I go back now, my mom will hit me.”

“Getting eliminated this early is too embarrassing.”

Some daring children even asked, “Can you tell us some secrets on how to pass?”

“The secret is to find a good teammate and overcome the obstacles together.”

“What does that mean!” The children screamed in unison, alerting the forest birds and causing them to fly away.

Xie Ran laughed and said, “Okay, hurry up and get seated on the bus.”