Study Monster Cultivation System
Chapter 205 - 204 Damn my charm...

It’s not that this major is particularly popular, but rather, the key reason is that physics is a lighthouse in the hearts of countless students.

It’s an idolized major, a major of faith.

Now, even though Jinghua already ranks at the top in fields such as condensed matter and particle physics,

in the latest departmental assessment results from the Ministry of Education, Jinghua Physics Department still stands at an A level.

Above them are two A+ universities: first is Jijing University, second is China University of Science and Technology.

There’s no need to say much about the University of Science and Technology of China. As a direct affiliate of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in fields like physics that involve a lot of hardcore experiments, their hardware capabilities and reserve of academicians speak for themselves.

And Ji University, despite its investments in physics in recent years being no more significant than Jinghua’s, still comfortably holds the top spot. This is inseparably linked to Ji’s traditional advantage in the sciences, especially in attracting top physics talent, where Jinghua still falls short.

To achieve a leap forward, efforts must be made in all aspects.

Take this training, for instance: eight thousand yuan per person may seem expensive, but in fact, Jinghua is operating at a loss.

After all, nearly every instructor has at least reached the level of associate professor.

And there’s also the cost and consumption of top-notch teaching laboratories.

Clearly, this isn’t about making money, but purely about gaining reputation.

On the other hand, if the Experimental Physics Teaching Center spots an exceptionally good student, Zhang Tao even has the authority to sign them up ahead of time.

However, as of now, there’s still no one who seems worth the offer of the paper that every student across the country dreams of receiving from Zhang Tao.

At this moment, Zhang Tao was sitting with two other teachers, Fu Xuefeng and Ding Ying, discussing this very matter.

"The physics competition is really hot this year..." Associate Professor Fu Xuefeng looked back at the room full of people and raised his glasses with a smile, "Looks like we’ll have our hands full at the summer camp."

"But in the end, there are only so many titles to be won," Ding Ying stroked her long hair and asked Zhang Tao, "Director Zhang, if you’re too busy you can go ahead, Teacher Fu and I can keep an eye on things here."

"No, I’d rather stay and watch," Zhang Tao turned and looked towards a few students, "A couple of them did well on the entrance exam. I’m quite interested in them, and if I’m here, they won’t dare to whisper to each other."

"Director, such an exam isn’t worth cheating on, is it?" asked Fu Xuefeng with a laugh.

"That’s hard to say," Ding Ying turned back toward a few unusually styled students, "Many are here for our labs, and to get into the experimental class, they might cheat."

"I don’t get it..." Fu Xuefeng shook his head as he looked around the room, "If you can’t even rank in the top 40 in theory at a training camp like this, how can you hope to be among the top in the retest to proceed to the experimental exams? Shouldn’t you be solidifying your theoretical foundation first as opposed to experimenting?"

"Hey, after all, chances to train for experiments are too rare. They probably think they can make up for theory at other training camps over the next four months," Ding Ying stretched lazily and picked up the list, "By the way, do we have a student named Gu Jianfeng in our program this term?"

"Gu Jianfeng?" Fu Xuefeng laughed, "Might as well be Feng Qingyang."

Zhang Tao, however, showed keen interest and asked, "What about him? Is there something special?"

"A classmate of mine coaches the physics competition at Ren Da Fu; he mentioned him to me," Ding Ying skimmed the list, "He said this student could get into the national team just by going to the contests. I didn’t quite believe such a person existed... so I wanted to see if he came to our class."

"Who knows if it’s just by attending the contests," Fu Xuefeng waved dismissively, "We’ve seen all sorts of geniuses, and no matter how exaggerated, it’s not to that extent."

"Right..." Ding Ying didn’t find the name after searching for some time and, somewhat disappointed, put down the list, "I remember my classmate said that this kid made it into the national team for math competition in his third year of middle school... but then dropped out later because of age or something."

"Third year of middle school? And for math?" Fu Xuefeng exclaimed, "Now that’s kind of eerie..."

"Gu Jianfeng, Gu Jianfeng..." Zhang Tao murmured repeatedly, "Little Ding, make sure to mention this to the other teachers too— if this person signs up for any of our other camps, we must pay close attention."

Ding Ying laughed, "Well, don’t even think about signing him. He’s from the Ren Da Fu Early Training Class, and got signed by Ji University just as he started high school at 13."

Zhang Tao gritted his teeth upon hearing this.

Then what the hell are we even talking about?

If Ji University signed him so early, what the hell is the admissions office at Jinghua doing?

For Zhang Tao, who is obsessed with securing talent, every story of missing out on an excellent student is as frustrating as the last.

Seeing Zhang Tao’s displeased face, Fu Xuefeng hurriedly kicked the grinningly oblivious Ding Ying under the table.

"What are you doing?" Ding Ying was unhappy.

"..."

Zhang Tao got up with a stern face, "Enough, we have to strictly invigilate this time to ensure the fairness of the exams, and we must not miss any top students."

Fu Xuefeng quickly stood up, "Yes... Director."

"Huh?" Ding Ying asked confused, "Didn’t you just say invigilation wasn’t necessary?"

Fu Xuefeng kicked her again.

"Why are you stepping on me again?"

Zhang Tao just glared at them and turned to walk away down the corridor.

All Fu Xuefeng could do was cover his face in regret.

Ding Ying, you’re a difficult case.

Well, forget about rushing your academic title...

...

For Li Zheng, time always flew by when solving problems.

One could say the difficulty of this set of problems was just right; every question required some effort,

yet they were all solvable.

It was like playing a competitive game against a tough opponent who was just a little bit weaker than you, allowing for a satisfying fray and a close-call victory every time.

That’s the most enjoyable way to solve problems!

Thus, Li Zheng went through each problem one by one, not skipping or stumbling, advancing steadily forward.

Before he knew it, two hours had passed.

And he had completed them all.

"Whew..." He exhaled a sigh of relief, put down his pen, and rubbed his temples, taking the opportunity to glance at his exam-specific little table clock.

With over forty minutes to spare, he decided to check his work.

He exhaled again and returned to the first page of the test paper.

Just as he was about to verify his calculations, a deep middle-aged female voice suddenly came from behind him.

"No need."

Li Zheng jolted with surprise, turning his head around.

It wasn’t just Zhang Tao; the other two teachers, a man and a woman, were also standing behind him.

The expressions on all three faces were priceless, akin to Shi Yang’s reaction upon seeing Zhang Xiaoke.

Li Zheng swallowed hard, feeling a bit panicked, "You said... we don’t need to...?"

"No need to check, we’ve all looked it over," Zhang Tao said nonchalantly, gently tapping Li Zheng’s shoulder, "Take your stationery and calculator, and come out with me for a moment."

"Huh?"

"If he calls you, you go," Fu Xuefeng urged, pushing Li Zheng in a fluster.

"Oh... but the test..." Li Zheng said, reluctantly looking back at the exam paper he hadn’t had time to check.

"I’ll collect it, I’ll collect it," Ding Ying quickly snatched up the test paper.

"But I haven’t checked it yet."

Unable to help himself, Fu Xuefeng raised his hand and slapped the dazed kid’s head, "The director already said it’s unnecessary... don’t you get it?"

"Oh," Li Zheng’s eyes widened as if he finally understood.

Having no good argument to keep on struggling, he followed Zhang Tao out of the classroom.

This scene naturally caught the attention of others as well.

Called out by a big shot?

What’s going on?

Isn’t there still forty minutes left?

Those who had heard of Li Zheng’s reputation had mostly figured out what was happening.

Their hearts sank.

And they cursed, "Li Zheng, that bastard."

The clueless ones all had their speculations.

Among them, Duan Peipei’s guess was the most confident.

Although she appeared to be writing, her mind was already scolding her underperforming middle school classmate.

Really, if you can’t do it, you can’t do it; they won’t kick you out, so why cheat?

Got caught, huh?

I remember you were pretty honest in middle school, how have you fallen so low now?

If theory isn’t your thing, just go learn it properly; why insist on squeezing into the experimental class...

At this thought, Duan Peipei’s pen suddenly stopped.

Could it be...

Well...

If it’s to be in the same class as me.

Then this risk would make sense.

Sigh...

Unwittingly, I’ve troubled a young male student I’ve just reunited with from middle school.

My deadly charm...

After a soft sigh, Duan Peipei continued solving problems.

If it was baseless cheating, then the best thing to do would be to disregard him altogether.

But if it’s because of me...

I’ll educate him during lunchtime.

...

Meanwhile, Li Zheng was following Zhang Tao into an empty classroom.

Zhang Tao sat down, still fiddling with his phone, and patted the long bench beside him with quick, expressionless motions, "Sit down."

Li Zheng sat down blankly, although his body was here, his mind was still in the previous classroom, thinking about that test paper; unable to restrain himself, he asked, "Teacher Zhang... about the test just now..."

Still busy with the phone, Zhang Tao replied, "There were two calculation errors, probably around 90 points."

"Ah..." Li Zheng’s mouth drooped, and he felt a surge of anger.

So you called me out not to let me check it?

Are you a devil?

Although he was indignant, Li Zheng ultimately didn’t dare to burst out.

"Don’t take it to heart," said Zhang Tao after sending a few more messages, finally putting down the phone and turning slightly to say, "With that score, you’re definitely the top of the class, and you’ll definitely enter the experimental class. After all, it’s not an official exam, so the score won’t be recorded."

"Hmm," Li Zheng still felt somewhat dissatisfied.

When Li Zheng does a test in his entire life,

why should I care whether you record the score or not?

Zhang Tao, looking at the sullen Li Zheng, was genuinely puzzled.

"What? If you have an opinion, just say it."

"It’s nothing..." Li Zheng was well aware that, even at 50, Zhang Tao was a woman first and foremost and one must never be too straightforward.

"Oh, is it because I was on my phone?" Zhang Tao thought Li Zheng felt neglected and quickly explained, "I was getting in touch with the admissions office, asking for your resume from your school to understand the situation better."

"What?" Now it was Li Zheng who was confused.

"Don’t be nervous," Zhang Tao said with a smile, "the test problems were our Department of Physics’ own creation, not shared externally, and we three personally watched you do it. Scoring 90 points on it would be above national silver level any year."

"National silver..." Li Zheng’s brow tightened.

That’s too tragic...

Why don’t you make the problems harder?

Zhang Tao was once again perplexed, "Of course... if the experimental skills are up to standard, national gold, or even a spot on the training team is possible."

Only then did Li Zheng feel a bit relieved, "You flatter me, my experimental skills are just at the beginning stages..."