Study Monster Cultivation System
Chapter 204 - 203 Few and far between

A sudden test would surely have been met with complaints among regular classes.

But the contestants in this classroom simply accepted it calmly, buzzing briefly before quieting down.

Zhang Tao silently scanned the crowd, reading a lot of confidence and anticipation in many people’s eyes.

But when her gaze landed on a burly man in a leather jacket at the back, she couldn’t quite read him.

It was no longer anticipation; it was fanaticism.

Zhang Tao couldn’t help but wonder if this student, here for an idol training session, had come to the wrong place?

Never mind, she would address it when handing out the papers according to the name list.

Zhang Tao glanced at her watch and then announced,

"Alright, everyone prepare for ten minutes, and space out the seats, sitting at least two empty seats apart from one another."

"The test is divided into classes for the consideration of everyone’s own scores, and communication devices will not be collected uniformly, trusting that everyone will act conscientiously."

"The exam will start promptly at nine-thirty, for a duration of three hours."

"Everybody, prepare freely."

No sooner had she finished speaking than many people stood up, grabbing their bags and moving to the back rows.

Different from regular school classes, each person who came to train was seizing every minute and second.

With only four months left until the competition, every little bit of improvement mattered.

Li Zheng and Duan Peipei, however, didn’t need to move at all; the people around them had already dispersed.

In the shifting and moving, many couldn’t help but glance over at Li Zheng, whispering to their neighbors from time to time.

Perhaps some were from City First School, having seen Li Zheng at the New Year’s performance.

Or perhaps it was simply the allure of his good looks.

In any case, Li Zheng paid it no mind.

But Duan Peipei cared a great deal, and she very much wanted to smile smugly.

No, at times when she was the center of attention, it was even more important to maintain decorum.

No choice, after all, she was one of the few girls in this training class.

No, not to think that way.

Even if there were many girls.

She would still be among the few noteworthy girls, undoubtedly drawing such attention.

Enduring those gazes full of longing and awe, Duan Peipei struggled to hold back a smile, her thoughts drifting to someone.

If Duan Peipei had once been Li Zheng’s lighthouse, then that person was now Duan Peipei’s lighthouse.

"Right, Li Zheng, do you know..." Duan Peipei focused as she pulled out her pen case, slamming it on the desk, "last year, a girl won an IPho gold medal."

"Wu Shu?" Li Zheng replied with a smile, "I know her, we tested together for the Chem Competitions."

"What Chem Competitions! She studies physics, you must have met someone with the same name," Duan Peipei retorted, "You even participated in Chem Competitions?"

Li Zheng waved his hand and laughed, "Oh, don’t mention it. My chemistry wasn’t good then, so I just went along with it."

Duan Peipei’s expression tightened at the remark, and she felt a surge of irritation.

Indeed, Li Zheng was taking the competition too lightly, purely treating it as a game.

To think, everyone here prepared for one or two years, pouring out their efforts just to get into this training class.

Every time she thought of such valuable educational resources being wasted by someone like Li Zheng, who was rich and nonchalant yet only of mediocre talent, Duan Peipei felt upset.

Forget it, they weren’t cut from the same cloth anyway.

He’s handsome, so let him be handsome.

In silence, Li Zheng also moved two seats away, crazily rubbing his hands together.

After all, it was winter, and physical warmth was necessary.

A few minutes later, three teachers began distributing the test papers, looking at the roster. Zhang Tao specifically chose Li Zheng’s row, wanting to ensure this person hadn’t come to the wrong venue.

Shortly after, she had approached Li Zheng’s desk with the papers and list in hand.

"Li Zheng." Li Zheng, imitating the classmates in front, immediately announced his name.

Zhang Tao naturally scanned the list from bottom to top. Those who had been squeezed in through connections were all at the back; the more urgent the insertion, the closer to the end of the list they were.

And Li Zheng’s name was at the very last position.

"Oh, I see..." Zhang Tao quickly ticked off his name and softly asked while handing him the paper, "Were you referred by Professor Zhou?"

"Yes, yes, thank you for your trouble."

"No problem, do your best," Zhang Tao nodded and comforted him, "These questions are compiled from the first-year papers of several majors in the Department of Physics; the difficulty might be a bit high for you. Don’t get discouraged, just do as much as you can; the theoretical courses later on will be slightly easier."

"Jinghua’s undergraduate physics paper?" Li Zheng’s eyes widened, somewhat excited, "This is good, this is good, I’ll do as much as I can."

"Okay... alright..." Zhang Tao looked at him, feeling like she was watching a simpleton, wasting his family’s money.

Professor Zhou too, stuffing all sorts of people into the class.

She then moved on to Duan Peipei’s desk without paying further attention to Li Zheng.

Duan Peipei immediately stood up and greeted, "Director Zhang, hello, I’m Duan Peipei."

"Oh, I remember, you did well in the entrance exam, either third or fourth." Zhang Tao smiled and nodded. This time, she quickly found Duan Peipei’s name in the list, ticked it, and handed over the paper.

Duan Peipei took it with both hands, "Thank you, Director Zhang, I aim to go even further this time."

Zhang Tao was quite pleased with this attitude.

This was the demeanor a competition student should have.

And clearly, Duan Peipei had long set her sights on the Department of Physics, even including the position in her greeting.

Facing such a pleasing and polite child, Zhang Tao didn’t mind staying a bit longer to chat.

"For you, this set of papers isn’t too difficult. Work steadily, and aim for the top three," said Zhang Tao, lowering her voice slightly, "If you rank well, the instructors will also take more care of you during experimental training."

"Thank you, Director," Duan Peipei was delighted.

These words weren’t very informative, but the fact that Director Zhang was willing to say them was the best news.

Aiming for the provincial team, entering the national finals, winning national gold, signing with Jinghua...

All these possibilities suddenly seemed brighter.

After all the papers had been distributed, Zhang Tao gave the signal, and the exam began.

Only then did Li Zheng glance over the test paper.

Eight major questions, with a total score of 100.

The difficulty wasn’t that harsh, essentially at the average level of semifinals.

For Li Zheng, who currently scored 258 in physics, these questions posed a slight challenge but weren’t too troublesome.

The biggest difficulty probably lay in the mathematical calculations.

Regardless, he just had to do them.

For a moment, the whole room was filled with the rustling sound of pens, no one else thinking about anyone’s issues.

As for the three teachers, given the nature of the exam, there wasn’t a need for strict proctoring, so they gathered in the front row and started chatting.

The topic of their conversation was none other than competitions and student sources.

And the only other university competing with Jinghua for students was Ji University.

The competition between Jinghua and Ji University was comprehensive, and in some research areas where Jinghua had once been slightly inferior, they were now rapidly catching up and even surpassing.

In this top domestic university competition, the Department of Physics was undoubtedly of paramount importance.