I control the AI ​​empire thanks to the geniuses in my group.

Teacher Zhou was also taken aback.

He had been teaching for twenty years and had seen many arrogant students, but this was the first time he had ever seen a student who skipped a grade in the first year of junior high school and said he would be in the top ten of the class in the monthly exam.

Class 3 has 42 students, all of whom are top performers in the high school entrance exam.

What does being in the top ten mean?

This means that there can be no obvious weaknesses in any subject.

This means that Su Zhou's overall strength is greater than that of someone who has studied for three more years than him.

That kid's got some nerve.

But since that's the case, it's fine too. If Su Zhou doesn't make it into the top ten in the exam, then he can't be blamed.

People with a talent for mathematics are not guaranteed to win an IMO gold medal. Therefore, Mr. Zhou always advises math competition students to take care of their studies in other subjects as well.

Teacher Zhou began to make plans in her mind.

Since Su Zhou dared to make a pledge, let's push him a bit. If he pulls it out, his performance evaluation will be guaranteed. If he doesn't, the kid will at least realize his limitations and know that there are always higher levels to reach, so he won't be blinded by the words of an Olympiad math coach.

Being young and energetic is fine, but being too arrogant is not good for children.

After thinking it over in his mind, Teacher Zhou's expression relaxed a bit. He took out a stack of prepared books and pushed them over.

"Okay, I promise you." He paused for a moment. "Get to school before eight o'clock tomorrow morning, come directly to my office, and I'll take you to your class. Go through the textbook tonight, and read as much as you can."

Old Li helped carry the books and Su Zhou out of the office.

Once downstairs, Old Li couldn't help but say, "Su Zhou, you know, why are you even talking about the top ten? Wouldn't it be better to say the top thirty? What if you fail the exam?"

"Teacher Li," Su Zhou interrupted him, "Don't worry, I will definitely not let you down."

Looking at his calm face, which made one want to slap him awake, Old Li opened his mouth, but ultimately swallowed back all the words of advice.

Forget it, there's no point in saying anything more. It's better to let Su Zhou take the exam himself so he can accept reality.

When the two returned to the junior high school, the last class was only halfway through, and it was English class.

Old Li didn't go in; instead, he and Su Zhou waited under the window at the back door of the classroom.

Su Zhou peeked through the window and saw the English teacher giving a passionate lecture on cloze tests. The students looked listless, and a few in the back row were secretly picking at their erasers.

A very familiar scene.

But this is probably the last time he will see this scene.

Jingle Bell!

The bell rang, signaling the end of get out of class.

The English teacher closed her textbook: "That's all for today. Remember to do your homework."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Old Li pushed open the door and walked in.

"Students, please have a seat. I need to borrow your seats for two minutes."

A murmur rippled through the audience below the podium. Several boys who had been about to grab their backpacks and rush out sat back down sheepishly.

Old Li pulled a cloth bag from under the lectern and handed it to Su Zhou: "Su Zhou, come and pack your things."

The classroom erupted in chaos.

"???"

"Su Zhou? Pack your schoolbag?"

"Holy crap, Su Zhou, what did you do?"

"No way, no way? I was just called away this morning, and now I'm back this afternoon?"

"I'm going to be asked to quit!"

"What did Su Zhou do wrong? Was it because he questioned the teacher in math class that day?"

A group of seventh graders had never experienced anything like this before. Their imaginations were comparable to those of online novel authors, and in just a few seconds they had come up with eight reasons for Su Zhou to drop out of school.

Su Zhou's deskmate, Lin Xiaoxiao, was even more excited: "Su Zhou, are you dropping out of school?!"

Su Zhou was stuffing books into her bag one by one and didn't even look up when she heard this.

"No, I'm going to the high school."

"……what?"

Lin Xiaoxiao froze completely.

Go to...the high school?

Several classmates who overheard this were also stunned.

"High school?"

"Su Zhou, are you kidding me? We're only in the first year of junior high!"

"Why go to the high school section?"

"Old Li, Old Li, don't joke around with us!"

For these twelve- or thirteen-year-olds, the concept of skipping grades is completely foreign to them. The education they have received since childhood has been that they go from first grade to second grade, and from second grade to third grade, step by step, as a matter of course.

Old Li stood by the podium, smiling as he looked at the group of bristling youngsters below, and cleared his throat.

"Classmates, I have something to tell you."

"Su Zhou participated in the selection test for the provincial Olympiad coaching team this morning and got full marks on all six competition questions. Coach Zhang Hengyuan personally recommended him."

"After discussions between Principal Ma and the senior high school department, starting tomorrow, student Su Zhou will officially skip a grade and enter Class 3 of Grade 1."

The mouths of the girls in the front row instantly formed an "O" shape.

Even the English teacher standing by the podium was stunned, and blurted out instinctively, "Math Olympiad? Skipping a grade?! Really?!"

"Absolutely true."

At least twenty students in the class silently shouted the same word in their hearts.

Bull X.

"Wang, Su Zhou, are you even human?"

"Seriously, bro? You've only been in seventh grade for a short time!"

"Su Zhou, Brother Zhou, you actually know math olympiad! Take me as your apprentice!"

Lin Xiaoxiao chimed in, "Su Zhou, you...you're amazing!"

Su Zhou glanced at her sideways and smiled, "Let's keep in touch."

That one laugh completely drained Lin Xiaoxiao of her remaining consciousness.

How come she never noticed how handsome Su Zhou was before!

With her schoolbag on her back, Su Zhou walked out of the classroom of Class 3, Grade 7, amidst the envious, shocked, and incredulous gazes of everyone.

The footsteps disappeared at the end of the corridor.

Then some noises came from the classroom.

"Wow, our class has a top student!"

At the school gate, the elementary school students' dismissal time is exactly half an hour different from that of the junior high school students.

When Su Zhou arrived, his younger sister Su Xing was already waiting for him at the gatehouse of the school.

The little girl ran over to her brother as soon as she saw him.

"Brother, why did you bring so much stuff home today?"

Su Zhou glanced at the junior high school textbooks in the cloth bag in his hand and said, "I won't need some of them, so I'll take them back with me."

"Let's go home!"

The two siblings walked slowly home along the street, one in front of the other.

The streets were a bit noisy in the evening. As I passed the snack street near the school gate, a familiar aroma wafted over.

Wolf-tooth potatoes.

Su Xing's little nose twitched, and her eyes involuntarily glanced over.

She'd had her eye on that shop since first grade. It cost three yuan a serving, with potato chunks cut into gear shapes and fried until golden and crispy, topped with chili sauce and sprinkled with cilantro—it was her top-notch food.

But she only glanced at it before quickly turning her head back and tugging at her backpack strap.

Although three yuan wasn't much, Su Xing knew from a young age that every penny saved counted.

Su Zhou noticed it, of course.

He really wanted to buy one for his sister, but when he checked his school uniform pocket, he only had one yuan.

Seeing Su Xing's feigned strength, Su Zhou suddenly realized that he needed to find a way to earn some money.

When I got home, my mom was cooking in the kitchen, and the range hood was humming.

"Mom, we're back!"

"You're back? Wash your hands and eat!" Mom poked her head out, her apron stained with oil. "How was school today?"

"That's great!" Su Xing answered quickly.

While serving the food, Mom casually asked, "Why isn't Xingxing bragging about being class monitor today? She was talking about it all the way home yesterday."

Su Xing froze for a moment.

She glanced quickly at Su Zhou beside her, then muttered softly, "Um... I'm the class monitor now, but my brother isn't. If I say too much, it will put pressure on him, so I've decided not to say anything."

The little girl looked very serious, and her adult-like expression amused her parents.

"So you're even thinking about your brother's feelings now?" Dad chuckled as he placed the dishes on the table. "You're just a grown man, why are you worrying about your brother?"

Su Xing said seriously, "Dad, you don't understand, this is called deep sibling affection."

Su Zhou: "..."

He almost choked on his water.

He put down his schoolbag, pulled out a chair and sat down. After serving the family their meal, he reached out and picked up a piece of pork rib, putting it into Su Xing's bowl. He said, "Actually, you don't need to take my feelings into consideration."

"Hmm?" Mom looked up.

"I skipped a grade today." Su Zhou took a bite of rice. "Starting tomorrow, I'll be attending Class 3 of Grade 11."

"..."

"..."

The mouthful of food in Su Xing's mouth was not chewed and got stuck in her cheek.

The mother's hand, holding the soup bowl, froze in mid-air.

The sound from the TV in the living room suddenly became very clear.

"W-What did you say?" Dad thought he'd misheard. "What grade?"

"First year of high school."

"First year of high school?!"

"Um."

Snapped!

Su Xing dropped her chopsticks.

The little girl stared at her brother with her big, round eyes, her mouth opening and closing repeatedly before finally managing to utter, "Brother!"

"You have no sportsmanship! Why can you skip grades but I can't?! I want to skip grades too!!"

"I'm the class monitor, and I even got 100 on my Chinese test! Why can't I skip to junior high?!"

The mother held onto the table for several seconds to catch her breath before she came to her senses and grabbed Su Zhou's arm.

"Son, say it again? Skipping a grade? Skipping to the first year of high school? Did the school agree to it?"

"Yes, Principal Ma agrees."

The mother stared blankly at her eldest son, then suddenly realized what was happening, raised her hand to wipe herself on her apron, and then didn't know what to say.

"Okay...okay."

She muttered something to herself, then turned around, pretending to grab a tissue from the side, but actually she was secretly wiping away tears.

Su Xing, still puffing out his cheeks, protested, "Brother, tell the truth, did you catch the principal doing something wrong?!"

Su Zhou: ...

"Xingxing, why don't you look at my junior high school books for a while? If you can learn them, then you can consider skipping a grade," Su Zhou said, both amused and exasperated.

Su Xing instantly perked up and quickly started shoveling rice into her mouth.

While serving Su Zhou food, her mother kept nagging, "Eat more, eat more."

My dad chimed in, "Skipping a grade must take so much brainpower. I'll buy you a chicken tomorrow and make you chicken soup..."

The cozy dining table was bustling with noise, and the aroma of the food filled the room.

After finishing his meal, Su Zhou gave the cloth bag containing his junior high school textbooks to his younger sister, then went back to his room, threw his schoolbag on the table, and took out his phone.

The screen lights up, and a long string of messages appears in the top notification bar.

In the group chat [number 42].

The latest message came from Leibniz and was sent a minute ago.

There were many words, a long, dense passage, and he scrolled down several screens before finally reaching the bottom.

[Leibniz: @EagleWarrior, I did it!!!]