Study Monster Cultivation System
Chapter 250 - 249 Creative Reasons for Winning the Championship

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Three days passed by as quietly as a stream.

Li Zheng couldn’t even recall a single moment worth remembering.

He had spoken just a dozen or so words.

He only remembered the food being delicious and everything going smoothly.

It had been a long time since he had studied in such peace.

Xu Mengxi seemed intent on freezing this time, meticulously crafting each detail into a work of art, from defrosting the fridge to cleaning under the sofa that hadn’t been touched in years.

When the alarm for their departure sounded, she had just placed the last dish on the table.

June 12th, 5:30 p.m.

Time, once frozen, began to flow again.

She walked to the door of Li Zheng’s room, intending to call him for dinner and to say goodbye in passing.

But Li Zheng didn’t notice her, still engrossed in the papers on his desk.

Xu Mengxi was about to speak up but stopped herself, silenced by resignation.

No need for farewells after all...

She was afraid.

Afraid that when the time came, just like before, she would embarrassingly make selfish demands, putting Li Zheng in an awkward position.

If this were a drama, people like her would surely be the disliked antagonist, right?

Even though the story was already complete, there was still someone presumptuous, harboring ulterior motives.

Xu Mengxi watched Li Zheng, bent over his calculations, and unconsciously began to step back.

Although tears slid uncontrollably down her cheeks, her face wore a look of happiness.

Someone like her... indeed… didn’t even qualify to be a villain.

As she watched Li Zheng grow distant, she raised her hand in a farewell only she could hear.

"So, I... graduated..."

"Thank you for giving me an extraordinary time."

"Well, you... eat while it’s hot..."

"I’m off."

"Goodbye."

...

When Li Zheng looked up, it was already six o’clock.

He could finally smell the fragrance of the food, and he quickly tidied up the desk and went to the living room.

A table full of exquisite small dishes was laid out, though he had no idea how long they had been there.

"Teacher Mengxi?" he called out, looking around.

There was no response.

He glanced towards the shoe cabinet where the family’s shoes were neatly arranged, the only exception being the pair of pink sneakers that were gone.

As if they had never been there.

Li Zheng didn’t say much or think too deep, just sat down at the dining table, picked up the bowl and chopsticks, and began to wolf down the cooled-off meal, eating and laughing to himself.

"Making it seem like we’ll never see each other again..."

...

On the same day as the high school graduation ceremony, Li Zheng and Lin Yujing boarded the high-speed train.

As the train left Jijing, Lin Yujing showed her phone to Li Zheng: "Mengxi and Sister Xia have graduated."

```

This is a class photo of senior year, Class 1, and the people in it, Li Zheng can say he’s quite familiar with.

Xu Mengxi is squatting in the front row, while Qiao Bixia is right in the middle of the back row; both of them have brilliant smiles.

"There are two people missing from the scene though," Li Zheng sighed.

"Missing my foot, we just had a gathering last night." Lin Yu Jing zoomed in on the photo, focusing on the grinning Xu Mengxi, "Mengxi’s mock exam scores could almost reach the level of Ji Hang. She could get into Ji Hang, and there’s even a chance we could meet as postgraduates..."

"Isn’t that good?"

"Yeah, I even specifically asked my mom about Ji Hang’s independent recruitment and had Mengxi sign up in March. It was just a try, but maybe because there are so few girls in this field, she actually passed the qualification review." Lin Yu Jing turned her head and started gesticulating wildly, "You know how the independent recruitment process works, right? The people who pass the review will take the test immediately after the college entrance exam. The outstanding ones can get bonus points to facilitate their college application."

Li Zheng of course knew all about it, but the more he listened, the more something seemed off.

"So you mean... after her college entrance exams, she still has to prepare for the Ji Hang test..."

"Yep, the written exam is on the 11th and 12th." Lin Yu Jing pouted, "Last night at the gathering, I thought she finally finished all exams and could relax a bit... But then she told me, she didn’t go, and still plans on applying to First Medical to become a dentist. We could have been together in the future... It infuriates me! I pounded on her for half the night."

"..." Li Zheng’s scalp tingled, and after a long dumbstruck moment, he asked tremblingly, "So you’re saying, for the past few days, she could have taken the Ji Hang exam and pursued a career in aerospace, but she didn’t?"

"Yep, infuriating, isn’t it?" Lin Yu Jing immediately entered self-questioning mode, "Infuriating! So infuriating!"

It was only then that Li Zheng realized what had happened.

He seemed to see a lonely celestial body, making every effort to reach the closest orbit to a planet.

Under that immense gravity, it inevitably accelerated to its maximum.

Yet they didn’t collide, just brushed past each other for a moment, crossing a distance that was untouchable.

Afterward, like a slingshot, it was thrown at the fastest speed into the endless depths of space forever.

"She’s so foolish..." Li Zheng lamented, pounding the desk.

"Yeah, truly foolish!" Lin Yu Jing lamented, pounding Li Zheng.

Finally, in their irritation, both of them made a video call to Xu Mengxi.

She had just left the school gate, smiling foolishly, getting ready to hit the KTV with her classmates.

"Alright, alright, even if I’d gone, I wouldn’t have passed, and when you think about it, being a dentist is much more comfortable than being an aerospace engineer." Xu Mengxi leaned against a bike shed, reassuring the two with a laugh and a cry, "If you ever get a toothache, feel free to come to me."

"You’re cursing me!" Lin Yu Jing hit the screen and cursed, "I’ll never need a dentist in my life, you’ll be out of work, out of work!"

"We all pay close attention to oral health," Li Zheng shook his head, "The most likely to visit you would be Liu Xin, so be prepared and wear several masks."

"Hahaha." Xu Mengxi laughed, "Anyway, stop thinking about this. Good luck with the Chem Competitions, and Jingjing, don’t lose again."

Lin Yu Jing immediately got upset, "Me? Lose? Ever?"

"Ah? Wasn’t your theory score lower than Li Zheng’s before, or did I remember wrong?"

"Your memory is very good," Li Zheng nodded gravely, "It’s just that someone tends to deliberately forget their unpleasant moments."

"Crap! Remembering that tiny incident for a lifetime," Lin Yu Jing laughed furiously in anger, then casually waved her hand, "Fine. If someone has never won, let them remember it for a lifetime."

"A good memory is no match for a bad pen," Li Zheng brought out his phone’s memo app to show Lin Yu Jing—

[2019.4 Chem Competition theoretical exam, Li Zheng 302 points, a big win against Lin Yu Jing, who was inconsolable, bowing her head in submission.]

Lin Yu Jing went from ecstatic to distraught "One point counts as a big win? Inconsolable? Bowed her head in submission?"

"Sorry, history is written by the victors," Li Zheng said with a smile as he put away his phone.

"Hmph, I’m mad now," Lin Yu Jing got up, bristling, "Switch seats!"

"Come on, come on, that’s not necessary," Li Zheng said quickly, trying to calm her down, "There’s so much more ahead, I haven’t even started on the fact that I beat you in English the first time."

"Too crappy, remembering even that, switch seats!"

"Oh?" Someone with a crew cut raised their hand high in the front, "I’ll switch."

Amid laughter and joy, Qi Yingnan sat beside Li Zheng, cocking an eyebrow as he gently stroked Li Zheng’s arm.

"Big brother, missed me?"

"..."

On the other side, Xu Mengxi on the screen was still laughing brightly.

"Change just like that?"

Lin Yujing glanced back and then knocked on her head, "Who... who knew there actually would be a simpleton wanting to change... It would be quite embarrassing if I didn’t change..."

"Hahahahaha..."

Xu Mengxi was already close to tears from laughing.

...

At five o’clock in the afternoon, the Jijing representative team arrived at the Hangzhou Xixi Hotel designated by the organizing committee to check in.

Unlike the Chem Competitions winter camp, which interspersed meetings and lectures, the Physics Competition finals were purely a final competition without any other academic activities. Therefore, the scale and the noise were much smaller, and there were only two leading teachers.

Because of Lake Ying Middle School’s outstanding performance and Gu Jianfeng dropping out, Tao Feifei had the fortune of becoming the first competition team leader in the history of Lake Ying Middle School.

The other was Yang Changle, the Physics Competition teacher from Ren Da Fu, a very young person with very little hair, whose style and personality were incredibly relatable to the science students.

While waiting in line to check in, Li Zheng happened to stand next to Yang Changle. Seeing the rare opportunity, Yang Changle quietly started to make friends, "Li Zheng, do you know why it’s taking so long to check in?"

Seeing Yang Changle’s sparse hair and thick glasses, and knowing he was a top Physics Competition teacher from the powerful Ren Da Fu, Li Zheng was naturally eager to learn. He immediately prepared himself for extensive multiplex calculations and listened attentively, "Please enlighten me, Teacher Yang."

"Haha, because there are many people," Yang Changle nodded excitedly, "If there were fewer people, it would be fast, right?"

"..."

Then Yang Changle pointed at the large chandelier above and said, "So Li Zheng, do you know why hotels like to have these kinds of lamps in their lobbies?"

"Does Teacher Yang have a special insight?"

"Of course it’s for grandeur."

"..."

Yang Changle then pointed to the hotel reception, "Finally, do you know why the man in the suit at the hotel front desk has a gold key badge pinned on his collar?"

"For grandeur?"

"No, it’s for professionalism, for PRO, you know. The gold key comes from an ancient service network in Paris, and there are many stories about this... Back in 1929..."

Well, listening to Teacher Yang’s stories was actually quite fun, and as they listened the line moved along quickly.

After a pleasant chat, Yang Changle patted Li Zheng on the back, "Alright, I just wanted to help you relax. Besides physics, there are so many other things in life that are worth our curiosity. Try to take it easy these next couple of days and save your energy for the exam."

"Thank you, Teacher Yang, it was quite fun," Li Zheng couldn’t help asking, "I’ve never had the chance to ask, what happened with Gu Jianfeng?"

"Ah... let’s not talk about that," Yang Changle waved his hand and smiled, "Isn’t it all because of you and Lin Yujing, huh."

Li Zheng felt a shiver of goosebumps with that ’huh’.

"Just kidding," Yang Changle always seemed perpetually happy, chuckling as he said, "You never know until you compete, but this year you and Lin Yujing were too much, our school only had Gu Jianfeng to rely on. The school really hoped he would compete, but he withdrew for personal reasons, which is a shame for us all. I’m the most regretful. This year, our school only got five people on the provincial team; if we don’t bring home a few gold medals, the principal might dock my pay, hahaha."

"Teacher Yang, you have such a great attitude."

"The more repetitive and mundane the work, the more you have to learn to adjust," Yang Changle patted Li Zheng, motioning for him to go ahead and check in, "I know you and Lin Yujing are strong, but don’t get complacent. If you’re not having fun, find your joy. Good luck."

"I am, it’s very fun being around you."

"Then how about considering transferring to Ren Da Fu?"

"..."

"Haha, just teasing you, go ahead."

...

Having completed the check-in process, Li Zheng and Yang Changle encountered a crowd at the entrance. It seemed as if they were surrounding a celebrity, with others around taking photos.

"Eh?", Yang Changle raised his eyebrows, "Is some big star just checking in?"

"Seems so, I’m going to find my classmates," Li Zheng said as he was about to leave.

"Wait, do you have paper and pen in your bag?" Yang Changle quickly grabbed Li Zheng.

"Huh?"

"Joining the fun for an autograph, huh?"

"Teacher Yang, come on, we don’t have to..."

"Ah, do you know the average expectation for a regular person to meet a big star in their lifetime? 0.87! This one time in a whole life and you don’t want to join in the fun?"

"Alright then..." Li Zheng took out paper and a pen from his backpack and handed them to Yang Changle, "No need to give them back to me."

"You’re not going?"

"To be honest, Teacher Yang, I don’t recognize any of them. I even came up with 10 questions to ask my dad, and he didn’t recognize them either," Li Zheng sighed. "If it were an academic star, I’d be there."

As they were talking, a staffer hurried to the side of the Golden Key manager, anxiously saying, "Peter, it really is that guy... that guy... I can’t believe he’s actually a Physics Competitions contestant..."

The manager was also startled, "Reservations reported it, but I thought it was a namesake; is it really him?"

"I only found out after hearing the reporters next to me talk about it. He seems to be aiming to win the physics championship as a birthday gift for his grandfather. You should hurry and welcome him."

"I’m on it..." The manager hurriedly straightened his tie, especially the golden key at his collarbone.

Off to the side, Li Zheng’s eyes widened.

My goodness.

A birthday celebration for Grandpa!

How come I never thought of such a creative reason for winning a championship?

I, Mr. Li, have navigated the academic seas for many years.

This is the first time I’m seeing someone so completely unaware of their own limits!

"Let’s go check it out," Li Zheng immediately followed Yang Changle.

"Haha, that’s the spirit. Gossip brings joy."

At the same time, Li Zheng took out his phone, opened the list of ten celebrity names he’d asked Old Li about back then, planning to compare them later; who knows, he might actually find a match.

At this moment, the crowd at the door was divided into three layers.

The outermost layer was the onlookers, including Li Zheng, Yang Changle, and Qi Yingnan.

The middle layer was reporters.

The innermost layer consisted of two assistants, one male and one female.

At the center was this blissfully ignorant young man.

From a distance, catching just a glimpse, Yang Changle couldn’t help but exclaim, "This boy is extraordinary!"

"Teacher Yang, have some restraint," grumbled Li Zheng, trying to peer through the gaps in the crowd from the outside.

Barely managing to see, he could tell it was a guy.

Despite his young age, he was dressed in a suit.

With fair skin, and a visage akin to a mixed-race appearance.

Plus, his hair was neatly parted, definitely giving off a star vibe.

Calling the boy extraordinary didn’t seem too far-fetched.

"Can he study well with a look like that??" complained Li Zheng disdainfully.

"And you’re one to talk?" Qi Yingnan, who appeared from nowhere, smacked Li Zheng’s butt, "You don’t look at yourself in the mirror? You’re also handsome, and your butt sticks out just as much."

"Damn it! Don’t touch me!" Li Zheng, covering his butt, thought for a moment, "You know, you have a point... I’m just like this myself, I shouldn’t be talking about others... Double standards, double standards."

Right then, the extraordinary youth suddenly raised his hand, a look of surprised delight on his face as he bounced and called out, "Are you... Teacher Yang Changle?"

Yang Changle’s face flushed, she hurriedly arranged her hair, trying her best to spread what little hair she had forward.

Then with a grave face, she assumed an extremely modest demeanor, revealing a hint of an adult’s dignified smile.

"As a big-name UP host, I guess I still have some level of fame," she said.