Chapter 48: I Really Like You
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Ning Li shook her head at Pei Song who took his paper back. Surprisingly, he reacted calmly to the rejection.
The little interaction caught Ye Ci’s attention. Sitting two rows behind them, she looked at the boy beside her and asked softly, “Can we check the answers by ourselves after we finish answering them?”
The boy beside her wore a pair of thick glasses and was flipping through the pages while spinning his pen. He was slightly shocked when Ye Ci spoke to him. His fairly tanned face blushed as he nervously nodded at first but quickly shook his head.
“This paper was prepared by Mr. Zhou himself. It is used to test our level. Usually, he doesn’t allow us to check the answers among ourselves, but Brother Pei and Ning Li are different.”
The boy looked at the pair in front of him. “Mr. Zhou gave them special permission to opt out of the regular rests.”
Ye Ci was surprised. “Why?”
“What do you mean ‘why’? That’s the difference between a genius and a peasant!” The boy looked jealous as he looked at Pei Song.
“You might not know it, but the two of them scored perfectly in the first three regular tests. After that, Mr. Zhou allowed them to skip the tests altogether.”
He then waved the paper in his hand. “This kind of test is nothing to them.”
Ye Ci looked down at her paper. She had mixed feelings after hearing what the boy said because she had three more questions to answer.
Her general science results might not be the best, but she always scored well throughout the entire third year. Her name was a regular among the top 10 students.
Despite her achievements, the paper felt difficult to her. Some questions required a lot of calculations while some required different combinations of formulas. There were even two questions that she barely understood.
Competitive Physics had a larger scale and depth in terms of curriculum. It was different from the normal general science paper. Struggling with a difficult time while answering the paper, she even felt a rare sense of defeat.
‘Ning Li understood all this?’
“Ye Ci, tell us what you think about question No. 8,” Zhou Fei called her name.
Ye Ci looked at her paper. It was the question that she had left blank. Embarrassment rose in her heart as the other students turned around to her.
Forced to bite the bullet, she said softly, “Mr. Zhou, I…haven’t reached that question…”
Zhou Fei was rather surprised.
While she claimed that she had not reached that question, there was a high chance that she could not answer it. However, question No. 8 was a simple calculation question, so how could she not know how to answer it?
The boy beside Ye Ci noticed the nervousness on her face. He said, “Mr. Zhou, it’s Ye Ci’s first day here. Maybe she hasn’t gotten used to the questions here.”
After all, competitive classes progressed a lot faster than normal classes.
Zhou Fei grinned with his brows up. Although Ning Li had joined the class halfway as well, she did not have a problem adapting. The difference in standards was obvious.
“Okay then, Pei Song, you’re up.”
Pei Song got up and walked to the writing board. His figure looked slender in front of the writing board whereas his handwriting was beautiful and neat.
Ye Ci stared at the writing board carefully. She was able to get a general idea of the formula, but she could barely keep up.
Zhou Fei watched Pei Song write down the answer. He then said, “Your answer is okay, but a little tedious. Ning Li, would you mind showing us how you solve it?”
He was not worried about Ning Li using the same formula as Pei Song at all.
Ning Li nodded and walked to the writing board. She started to write from the left side. Her handwriting was neat and clear, and the calculations were smooth.
Compared to Pei Song’s answer, her version was much more simplified.
The other students started to compare their answers to Ning Li’s.
“Damn! She used that formula? Why didn’t I think of it?”
“It has fewer steps but a lot more things to calculate. This might take more time than usual…”
“Shut up! Didn’t you see? Ning Li’s draft paper is clean! She must have calculated this in her heart!”
“You make it sound like you can solve it! Compared to the geniuses, we are all idiots! There’s no glory in competing among ourselves!”
The students started to argue.
Ye Ci did not say a word as she just held her pen tightly in silence.
Ning Li did not stop there. She walked to the right as she continued writing.
Zhou Fei enjoyed watching her solutions on the board. “Ning Li, is this the third way to solve the question?”
The third way had even fewer steps, so she finished writing it faster. After the last stroke, Ning Li turned around and vaguely glanced over Ye Ci. “Yeah. I think this one is much more understandable.”
Ye Ci’s temples were twitching. She had a feeling that Ning Li was referring to her.
Pei Song carefully read through the two answers Ning Li provided. He nodded softly. Her answers were much more simplified compared to his own.
Zhou Fei turned around to the class. “Pei Song and Ning Li have written it clearly on the board. I think there’s no need for me to explain, is there?”
The class went silent.
It was then that the boy beside Ye Ci raised his hand nervously. He said softly, “Mr. Zhou, I…don’t understand.”
“Huh?” Zhou Fei looked at the boy in surprise. He suddenly realized something and tapped his forehead. “Oh, right, I almost forgot you guys haven’t learned L’Hospital’s rule!”
The class went speechless.
Zhou Fei had studied in a junior class when he was younger, so he had never been tortured by the so-called high-school life before, thus he had no idea how the high-schoolers were suffering.
He had never experienced misery until he became a teacher and went through the third-year Physics textbook.
“Okay, we’ll look at the first two answers then.” Zhou Fei reacted rather casually. He explained Ning Li’s formula and the reason behind her calculations.
He also told Ning Li to be careful, “Ning Li, try to write it simpler next time.”
“I understand,” she said.
…
At 9:00 p.m, the night self-learning class was over.
Ning Li packed her bag and left the classroom.
Ye Ci clenched her teeth in grievance for a moment before she decided to chase after Ning Li. “Sister Ning Li, I still can’t figure out some questions. Can you teach me after we get home?”
Ning Li paused. She looked at Ye Ci and said, “If it’s too hard for you, you can still drop out from the class.”
The look on Ye Ci’s face froze. Everyone knew that she had registered for the Physics competition. If she dropped out after one day in class, everyone would laugh at her.
She forced a smile on her face. “I think I can manage, but it’s so sudden and I’m still having a hard time adapting to the pace. If you don’t have the time…then I guess I won’t disturb you, Sister Ning Li .”
Ning Li did not actually deny Ye Ci’s request. “I’ll try my best.”
Ye Ci felt aggrieved. Ning Li was making it sound like Ye Ci was begging for her mercy.
She then looked at her phone and her eyes sparkled for a moment. “Uncle Zhou said the third avenue is having a terrible traffic jam and that he will be late. Why don’t we go wait for him on the other street? Let’s go there together.”
Ning Li softly grinned. “Sure.”
…
At Yunding Fenghua, Lu Huaiyu got up and walked to the French windows in his room.
Against the dark sky outside, countless sparkling neon lights were shining.
A blurry image flashed in his mind, followed by the clear and strong voice of the girl ringing in his ears. Maybe because it was a dream, her voice felt extra sweet and alluring, as if it was trying to hook him in.
He rubbed the center of his brows.
“This girl…does she know that there are things that she cannot simply say?”
His phone suddenly buzzed. He had a glance at the caller ID and then answered it.
No one said a word from the other side. Only the whirring of wind could be heard. He frowned.
Then, an unfamiliar and dissolute voice sounded from afar.
“Ning Li, I really like you. Can you be my girlfriend?”