Rebirth 08: A Happy Life Begins in Elementary School

Chapter 136 Gap

The chance encounter with Wang Wenzhao at the internet cafe had many benefits for Li Zhao.

Most importantly, he could confidently act as an exceptional figure in front of Wang Wenzhao.

Wang Wenzhao listened to all the stock market analysis. His homeroom teacher had long regarded him as an exceptional prodigy, so he had no room or reason to pretend to be clumsy.

As for what Old Wang's guesses were about Li Zhao—

unimportant.

Wang Wenzhao is a PhD from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and is considered a genius by the public. He must have come into contact with many more true geniuses.

He was very accepting; Li Zhao's statement that "he has read a lot of books" was enough to explain it.

As for his precociousness and his adult-like speech and behavior, once you accept the concept that Li Zhao is a genius, it's all easy to understand.

"Too much pressure is certainly not a good thing," Wang Wenzhao said, "but for the students in this class, coping with pressure is just a daily occurrence."

Li Zhao nodded.

That makes sense. These are all top students. Who didn't have to struggle from a young age?

"Even if there are a few who are very proactive in their studies and don't need to be pressured, my words won't put any pressure on them."

7

Wang Wenzhao said, "For example, do you feel pressured?"

Li Zhao shook his head.

He didn't, but the reason might be rather peculiar—

"On the contrary, it's more important to remove everyone's sense of superiority over Experimental Class 1," Wang Wenzhao said. "Focusing solely on the members of Experimental Class 1 is short-sighted. For students at your level, the pressure may not be a big deal, but short-sightedness has a significant impact."

Wow, Teacher Wang is really something!

"Being complacent with the status quo, or even complacent about one's current position, will create an unhealthy dependency. This dependency on one's current abilities leads to the misconception that one can pass junior high school simply by relying on talent and the learning methods of elementary school. However, junior high school is very different from elementary school. If one doesn't take a long-term view, at the very least, it will be difficult to compete with the best students; at worst, it will completely lose its competitiveness."

Li Zhao nodded again.

"I believe that although life has many possibilities, since we already possess the weapon of talent, we shouldn't waste it."

.

"I have a feeling that Teacher Wang is reminding me as well."

Wang Wenzhao waved his hand with a smile, "No, you don't need any reminders. The energy you exude is particularly fierce."

Li Zhao was taken aback; he didn't think he had any obsessions.

However, he does see much further than the average junior high school student, and perhaps that's what manifests as a strong drive.

With long-term goals, even ordinary obstacles at our feet become insignificant.

As Li Zhao walked towards the classroom, he was still thinking about how Chen Nian, who usually waited in the classroom, was not there, and he felt a little lost. But when he entered the classroom, He Shuyao was sitting upright in her seat.

She's waiting for you. Happiness +3, Total 24

That's going too far.

What are you doing here?

"Is there any other reason besides waiting for you? How boring."

"—Are your family members coming to pick you up?"

"Our get out of class ends at an irregular time, and it's obvious you just take the bus home. Are you just making conversation for the sake of it? That's so rigid."

"—Let's go then."

"Cold-hearted." Li Zhao and He Shuyao said in unison.

Then He Shuyao rolled her eyes.

"I can predict when you're going to switch to a different combo."

"So what if you can predict things? You're just being arrogant."

"Here it comes, a new combo," Li Zhao laughed. "Alright, let's pack up and go home."

The two of them put on their backpacks and left.

The students in Experimental Class 1 talked a lot and left school later than other classes. They were practically the only students besides the boarding students. It was almost 11 o'clock, and some boarding students could be seen walking towards the cafeteria.

This includes Wen Yutong, the study committee member of Experimental Class 1.

She saw Li Zhao and He Shuyao walking back side by side, paused for a moment, and then immediately had an "I see" look on her face. She adjusted her glasses, quickly lowered her head, and walked away from them.

Then Li Zhao and his companion saw all of this.

"It seems the class representative has misunderstood something," Li Zhao said.

There are many misunderstandings in the class.

"Will this bother you?"

"—Boring."

"To be honest, Wu Weisong wanted to wait for you today, but Su Wan, for some reason, pulled him aside and chatted with him for a bit. Then they all left."

"It must mean you're waiting for me, and they don't want to wait with you."

"Hmm, that's why I said there are a lot of misunderstandings."

The school is quite large; it takes about six or seven minutes to walk from the teaching building to the school gate if you don't walk fast.

"Li Zhao, what do you think of your classmates?"

"Hmm—it's rather special."

"How so?"

"It may seem to fit some stereotypes, but in reality, the differences are quite significant."

"I feel the same way," He Shuyao smiled. "Junior high school life seems like it'll be really fun."

As the two reached the school gate, they suddenly heard a familiar voice: "Ah Zhao! Shu Yao!"

Chen Nian waited by the stone lion at the school gate.

"I thought you'd left," Li Zhao hugged him. "Why didn't you wait for me at the classroom door?"

"The pressure is immense! Class 1 of the Experimental Program is full of geniuses!"

He Shuyao waved her hands repeatedly to indicate that she was not.

The trio waited together at the bus stop, chatting about what they had seen and heard that day.

Chen Nian was mainly a listener today. He was just too curious about the experimental class. He heard Li Zhao raise his arms and shout when he became the class monitor, and he also raised his arms and shouted when He Shuyao became the vice class monitor. Then he realized that something seemed wrong.

Why did the homeroom teacher start kowtowing right away? That doesn't make sense, does it?

Hearing Wang Wenzhao's pressuring remarks later, his face turned pale.

"No way, is it that scary? Wouldn't you be under immense pressure?"

"It's alright," Li Zhao smiled, "A little pressure is a good thing."

On Friday after school in the third week of the semester, Li Zhao declined the invitation from several classmates, including He Shuyao, to "walk home together."

about.

I walked alone to sit under the big banyan tree next to the covered playground.

He needs some peace and quiet.

These little brats are so incredibly resourceful, their minds are so quick, and they learn so fast.

I underestimated the "little geniuses." I thought this group would fall into two categories: diligent and hardworking students and quick-thinking geniuses. But it turns out that the top group has both.

The teacher's pace was incredibly fast, hardly following the textbook at all, with a ton of extended content. If you weren't paying close attention, you'd find yourself talking about something completely different in the blink of an eye.

Fortunately, Li Zhao could understand most of the extended content.

However, they are not so comfortable in politics, history, geography, and biology.

Of course, whether he understands or not is not Li Zhao's main pressure; his biggest pressure comes from "thinking speed".

Li Zhao has never been known for his quick thinking. Even when he already knows something, he can't keep up with Wu Weisong, who sits next to him, or Liu Changgui, who sits behind him.

So far, Li Zhao's performance over the past three weeks has been outstanding.

The most memorable moment for the whole class was an impromptu English discussion—the topic was "What do you think is the correct way to learn English?"

Just look at this question, and you'll know how challenging it is.

You're in a regular class at New Taipei First Senior High School, so this question can only be answered in Chinese.

But this class can really have a lively discussion. Not to mention the students who are good at English, even students with low profiles can chime in.

Of course, Li Zhao's words instantly annihilated everyone else.

Ms. Xu, the English teacher, was so happy that she praised him profusely in English, and everyone applauded with a genuine yet somewhat bewildered enthusiasm.

Occasionally, the teacher will ask surprise questions on extended topics. So far, Li Zhao has been asked the most questions, and he also answers 100% correctly.

Therefore, his presence was so strong that sometimes when he didn't respond to the classroom content in time, Wu Weisong would interpret it as "Zhaoshen's disdain".

He didn't intend to maintain his avant-garde image; he just wanted to study deeply and thoroughly. However, because of his extensive knowledge, he was still elevated to a pedestal.

Yet, I am acutely aware of the fact that my thinking speed is slower than others.

He had already come to terms with it, not because he felt pressured by empty titles like "not being able to maintain first place," but because he realized the gap between himself and true geniuses.

Moreover, these are just a bunch of kids who have just started junior high school. What about high school? University? Industry leaders?

Can this gap be bridged indefinitely by information asymmetry?

Or rather, what is the point of such a filling?

Is there really no way at all?

I'm not entirely satisfied.

Simply relying on happiness levels to continuously fill in numerical values ​​might be a viable approach, but—it always feels like something's missing.

Li Zhao sat in the tree pit, lost in thought.

"Li Zhao?"

A crisp sound rang out. Li Zhao looked up and saw a beautiful young girl standing in front of him, her head slightly tilted.

It is He Shuyao.