Study Monster Cultivation System
Chapter 213 - 212 Such scenes, there are 5 more times

Li Zheng felt that he was becoming increasingly unable to understand today’s youth.

Originally, a rigid experimental explanation class was now supplemented with videos of handsome men and beautiful women performing perfectly, but why did it seem even harder to follow?

Some gritted their teeth while others felt wronged.

Only one or two truly listened and appreciated the essence of this experimental collaboration.

In the end, Li Zheng had no choice but to fast forward through the explanation, completing the whole session in just over an hour.

With that, the main course of this training session finally came to an end, entering free play time, waiting for the theoretical class students to finish the last lesson and hold a small graduation ceremony.

After announcing these arrangements, the three teachers hurried out to prepare.

Instantly, the spirit of the whole class dropped significantly.

Not only tormented by the video for over an hour, but also no contracts signed...

It’s all fake...all of it...

Aside from feeling bitter, nothing was left behind.

Of course, some people got over it quickly, after all, the purpose of coming here was to improve, not to think about signing contracts, which would be absurd.

"It’s still not enough skill," Qi Yingnan stretched lazily, "even our experiments were surpassed by the Lake Ying Partners... How do their brains function?"

"I didn’t even want to deal with them anymore..." Duan Peipei said, her head hanging down in misery, "but then they recorded the video... It was too much..."

"Haha, I’m okay, I’m used to it," Qi Yingnan laughed and gestured toward the window, "Let’s go, have another chat, we’re definitely going to see each other again in the semifinals."

"We... we have to meet again..." Duan Peipei said, her mouth drooping.

"If things go well, we might meet again for the provincial team training..." Qi Yingnan said with a laugh while pulling Duan Peipei towards the exit, "Then again for the finals, and if we’re even more fortunate, for the national team selection... If we’re lucky enough, there’ll be another training for IPhO and APhO... and then the main competition... How many times is that? Did you count?"

"Seems like 5 times..." Duan Peipei swallowed, "It’s the first time I don’t really want to advance..."

"Hey, look at the bright side," Qi Yingnan advised, "Without Lin Yujing, there’s a great chance you’d be the top female contestant from Jinghua’s science competition this year. You’re great, just not at the best timing."

Comforted by Qi Yingnan’s words, Duan Peipei quickly responded in kind.

"Without Li Zheng, you would probably be the top male contestant too."

"Haha!" Qi Yingnan grinned, "Then people might start calling us the No. 4 Middle School Partners, right?"

"Ah? No no no, you’re a good person..."

"..."

When the two reached the windowsill experiment table, Li Zheng and Lin Yujing were standing on opposite sides, keeping their distance.

Outsiders might find this difficult to understand, but for the involved parties, their sensations could only be described as shame.

Watching themselves play house in the video, it seemed like they weren’t even themselves.

Li Zheng and Lin Yujing hadn’t realized yet, but once they were immersed in a physics experiment, they quickly forgot the usual boundaries of their interactions, evolving into two pure players of house, with both their minds and actions completely merged as one.

In the moment, it felt simply thrilling.

But after being recorded and watching it later, it was incredibly shameful.

The thought that they had been doing this for many days made it even more shameful.

Although they both wanted to conduct more experiments with each other.

They just didn’t want to do it in front of so many people anymore.

During the standoff, Fu Xuefeng rushed back to the classroom and called out six people to leave, including the four people from Li Zheng’s group.

The ones left behind grew sad and angry again.

Twists and turns again? To sign or not to sign?

After the six had left, they were separately directed to two small classrooms.

First were Li Zheng and Lin Yujing, once again facing Li Zheng.

Seeing that both were tense and uncomfortable, Li Zheng also sighed, "Alright, it’s not about signing contracts."

The two of them finally began to feel cheerful.

"Huff…"

"Hmm…"

Zhang Tao, too exhausted to argue with these two anymore, helplessly said, "First off, your experimental video is really excellent, and we’d like to keep it for teaching purposes."

The huffs and hums abruptly stopped.

Both were taken aback.

"It won’t be circulated externally, it’s just for internal teaching purposes." Zhang Tao hadn’t expected such a big reaction from them and hurriedly explained, "It’s really an honor here. Think of it as if a surgeon’s procedure was recorded for many doctors to learn from, isn’t that honorable?"

That reminded Li Zheng of Old Li.

He indeed had mentioned that having surgery examples made into teaching materials was a supreme honor for surgeons.

If the video featured only Li Zheng, he would probably have agreed on the spot.

But the current situation was... complicated…

He didn’t really want others to see it again.

Unless…

"It’s not that it’s impossible…" Li Zheng said, conflicted, "Could you blur the faces?"

"???"

"Just blur the faces, no need to blur the hands and body." Li Zheng earnestly explained.

Zhang Tao was shocked.

Are we talking about the same video?

After organizing his thoughts for a while, Zhang Tao finally managed to say reluctantly, "Li Zheng… there’s nothing shameful about this, it’s honorable… and it helps future competitors."

"This…" Li Zheng hesitated and turned to look at Lin Yujing, "What do you think?"

"Hmm…" Lin Yujing shook her head.

"Then… I’m sorry, Teacher Zhang…" Li Zheng scratched his head, "Maybe another time, I can record a solo session for you."

"That’s not what we need; we need to see the teamwork between the two of you," Zhang Tao said, massaging his forehead, "I’m really puzzled. All these days, whatever I say, you won’t listen, but why do you listen to Lin Yujing so much?"

"Not at all, do I?" Li Zheng looked utterly bewildered.

Meanwhile, Lin Yujing covered her mouth and laughed.

"Sigh!" Zhang Tao, completely out of patience, slumped into a chair and muttered while glancing at his watch, "Alright, let’s not talk about that anymore. We still have some time. Do you have any questions about studies or research? Feel free to ask."

"Oh?" Li Zheng’s eyes widened.

Even Lin Yujing started paying attention.

After all, the academic circle is too small, and it’s hard for outsiders to obtain any meaningful information.

With Zhang Tao so generously sharing, neither of them intended to pass up the opportunity.

Li Zheng’s first question was already on the tip of his tongue—

[If Jinghua Physics Department’s rating is 100, what would Ji University’s be?]

A few years ago, he would probably have just blurted it out.

But now, as he had grown, he had become more mature and more deceptive.

So he silently hid his true intentions and instead asked, "Teacher Zhang, could you talk about the major specialties within the Physics Department?"

"Well… in undergraduate studies, there’s not much to discuss, it’s all about laying the foundation, mainly physics, astronomy, nuclear physics, and atmospheric sciences," Zhang Tao said, eyeing them with a smile, "I know, those who want to study physics aren’t interested in atmospheric sciences, so we can automatically exclude that, right?"

Both gave a silly nod and smiled.

Although Zhang Tao didn’t fully grasp their personalities, she understood physics prodigies all too well.

Even though she had given similar introductions countless times before, she didn’t mind doing it once more.

"As for the remaining three majors, I’ll briefly mention two things,"

"Physics essentially provides a comprehensive foundation, with graduate studies shifting towards specific fields, which of course include astronomy and nuclear physics."

"Astronomy focuses on astrophysics, conducting macro-level research similar to the kind that NASA frequently publishes."

"This research heavily relies on observational data. Although the astronomical telescopes set up in our country, along with their technical parameters, are not yet comparable to NASA’s, by the time you graduate, several of the most advanced telescopes should already be in orbit, which means there is considerable potential."

"Lastly, nuclear physics, which also relies heavily on hardware and experimentation, is currently a hotly debated field, not about whether to invest in its development but about whether to invest 10 billion, 100 billion, or 1 trillion."

"This is the field most likely to yield nothing, but also the one most likely to produce earth-shattering results."

"It depends too much on the nation’s investment plans, which are still uncertain at this point."

"That’s the situation, what do you two think?"

Li Zheng had already listened with eagerness and without hesitation replied, "I am definitely majoring in physics. I hate choosing; I want it all."

"Haha," Zhang Tao laughed loudly, "I advise you to be a bit more realistic. It’s not like Einstein’s era anymore. The only way to achieve results now is to deeply specialize in a particular niche. Of course, there are people who study two or three areas, but by the time they produce results, they’re likely close to retirement, unless you have 100 times more time and lifespan than others, otherwise don’t cast too wide a net."

Li Zheng nodded firmly.

Teacher Zhang, you are mistaken, it’s now 112 times.

Seeing how confident Li Zheng was, Zhang Tao didn’t bother to argue further.

Youthful brashness is quite normal, especially for a genius of this caliber.

Once you actually begin your research and experience the hardships and despair, you will probably recall what I said today.

Zhang Tao then asked, "And what about Yu Jing?"

"Astronomy," she said.

Unlike Li Zheng, Lin Yujing’s decision was not only based on her preference but also on careful deliberation, fully supported by Shen Tinglan.

After all, no one knew better than her about the future launch of several top-notch telescopes.

However, Zhang Tao was not very supportive of this idea, "You should know, astronomy is a field that requires the patience to observe, calculate, then observe and calculate again. This discipline actually... does not require exaggerated talent. With your capability, pursuing a more popular field with more opportunities would truly be making full use of your talents."

"Thank you, Teacher Zhang, I will consider it," Lin Yujing also nodded solidly.

Zhang Tao realized... these two had already made up their minds, they were merely asking for fun.

What was I thinking, trying to guide these two!

Hadn’t I been brushed off enough?

When Li Zheng and Lin Yujing left the classroom, Qi Yingnan and his group just happened to come out from the next classroom.

Quite cheerful, but not quite to the level of joy that signing a contract brings.

It turned out that they had just received their invitation to the "Jinghua Physics Spring Breeze Camp."

Similar to the "Ji University Golden Autumn Camp," this is also a holy land for signing contracts, happening during the May Day holiday.

Normally, only top provincial rank holders qualify to apply.

Getting this invitation early was indeed a nice encouragement.

Zhang Tao had intended to invite Li Zheng and Lin Yujing as well, but he was immediately discouraged by their expressions.

She really had a tough job.

...

On January 10, Li Zheng returned to school again.

Unlike the previous chemical training that had exhausted his spirit,

this time, he returned as if he had recharged his magical energies, looking spirited and lively.

Unexpectedly, there was someone even more lively.

Their hair even seemed a bit more lush.

Without Li Zheng and lin Yujing, Jiang Qinghua and Jiang Shuai were like living in the past.

The air, without the acidity, was sweet.

The classroom, without Li Zheng, was warm.

Of course, this also included every weekend’s half-day self-study with Du Shitong and the subsequent ensemble in the small park.

Life, it turned out, could be so perfectly fulfilling.

This is my Lake Ying!

However, the good times didn’t last long.

One day, when Jiang Qinghua walked into the classroom, he was startled to see Li Zheng sitting there reading a comic book.

"Ah…" Jiang Qinghua shivered instinctively, hurried to his desk and set down his backpack, "You’re back so soon?"

"I’m back," Li Zheng snapped the comic book shut and squinted, "How’s the problem-solving going?"

At those words, Jiang Qinghua shivered again.

The so-called problems were naturally those from the Study Demon’s question bank, which Li Zheng had stuffed into his hands the night before he left, weighing several pounds.

"I’ve done some…" Jiang Qinghua swallowed.

"Some, how much?"

"About seven or eight sets of papers…"

"That’s not even 5%."

"It’s not that... One set a day, and there’s already so much… Plus, I have to work on physics competitions with Teacher Tao, and there’s so much homework to do…" Jiang Qinghua said, becoming more and more distressed, as he had been staying up past midnight every day.

"It’s okay, just see how it goes," Li Zheng scrutinized Jiang Qinghua, noticing that he looked unusually well, almost abnormally so, and couldn’t help asking, "Lately, you’ve been seeing Du Shitong quite a bit, haven’t you…"

"Just twice, only twice." Jiang Qinghua was somewhat frightened, "It definitely hasn’t affected my studies, we either study together or cultivate our sentiments."

"Hmm… It would be good if you could speed up your progress a bit," Li Zheng gestured, "Look, there are only 10 days left until the final exams. It’s okay to cram a bit at a time like this."

"Yes, yes, yes…" Jiang Qinghua mumbled, dragging his words, "How about I meet with Shitong after the final exams?"

"Eh, that’s your business—don’t consider me. I was just saying, don’t feel pressured."

"…"

As they were talking, the classroom door suddenly echoed with a distinctive "wow" sound.

"Master is back." Zhang Xiaoke, excited with her huge backpack, bounced over, hastily unzipped it, and started pulling out stacks of papers, "Come on, I’ve done almost half, give me some feedback."

Li Zheng was quite satisfied.

Though he didn’t say anything, his eyes said it all.

Look at her!

"Geniuses are after all in the minority, most people have to rely on time investment…" Li Zheng examined Zhang Xiaoke’s papers, nodding repeatedly, "Very good, continue at this pace, and competing in Jingbei is feasible."

"Ha!" Zhang Xiaoke boasted, hands on hips, "Let’s set a small goal first, top five in the finals."

"Ambitious!" Li Zheng was even more pleased, eagerly instructing, "In that case, let’s adjust temporarily, focus on math, try to boost your scores."

"Boost the scores!"

Jiang Qinghua couldn’t bear to listen any longer, turning to head out, "I… you guys talk, I’m going to the restroom."

After he left, Zhang Xiaoke took a seat and sighed, "Ah, Qinghua really has been distracted. He shouldn’t have gotten into the physics competition."

"Hey, everyone has their own choices, he’ll weigh them out himself," Li Zheng muttered as he wiped the table, adding, "Speaking of this physics training, I thought it would be full of top talents, but it turned out to be so-so."

Zhang Xiaoke handed a wet wipe to Li Zheng, "That can’t be helped, who makes you keep getting trained by Jingjing all the time."

"Heh, I’ll surpass her sooner or later," Li Zheng smirked, "Actually, this time at the physics competition, compared to Lin Yujing, I was more focused on another person, but unfortunately I haven’t met them yet."

"From Ren Da Fu?" Zhang Xiaoke was more than willing to whip out her phone, "Need me to help you inquire?"

"Hmm… Never mind," Li Zheng sighed and looked out the window, "When it’s time to meet, we’ll naturally meet."