Rebirth 08: A Happy Life Begins in Elementary School

Sure enough, a flurry of gossip began to circulate around Li Zhao.

It was fleeting, like a passing breeze carrying rumors.

Li Zhao recalled the diary entry where he was furious at not being able to answer the question, and now his chance to get revenge had arrived.

"It sounds like Shuyao is challenging you to a fight," Chen Nian said with a sly smile.

"Hmm." Li Zhao rummaged through his schoolbag and symbolically placed his Chinese homework and textbook on the table.

The first lesson was Chinese.

Chen Nian swung his legs, remained silent for a while, and his expression became very constipated.

"What's wrong? Need to use the restroom?"

"No!" Chen Nian lowered his voice and leaned closer, "You're acting strange today too!"

"What's wrong with me?"

"Can't you hear everyone talking about you and He Shuyao?"

"I heard you."

"?"

Chen Nian stared blankly at Li Zhao's calm face, momentarily lost in thought.

"No, don't you usually jump up and tell them to stop talking nonsense when you hear these kinds of things?"

"If I tell them, won't they start spreading rumors?"

"...still will."

"Then why bother saying it?"

In sixth grade, it's perfectly normal for kids to gossip and chat, and some of the more precocious ones even start making jokes that aren't suitable for children.

Compared to rumors circulating in junior and senior high schools, those from elementary school are far less damaging.

Chen Nian frowned. "That seems to make sense... Then why did you say that before?"

Li Zhao thought about it carefully, then shook his head. "I don't know either."

Chen Nian rolled his eyes.

The Chinese teacher was He Lin, the class teacher, so the whole class immediately quieted down as soon as she entered the classroom.

Elementary school students are still very afraid of their teachers.

Even the worst of the little bastards.

He Lin is in her thirties, wears oversized black-rimmed glasses, and has a gentle demeanor, but when she gets angry, even the head of the teaching department has to tremble.

In Li Zhao's memory, she had always admired Li Zhao's critical thinking when writing essays, but she was ruthless in deducting points when necessary.

He was a good teacher and provided considerable help in Li Zhao's later development of good thinking habits.

If you had to pick one of the three subjects in elementary school that gives Li Zhao a headache, it would be Chinese.

Reading comprehension in elementary school Chinese is still very rigid. You have to answer questions according to a template. Writing too deeply or too aggressively will actually result in a deduction of points.

The same principle applies to writing essays. There are only four or five hundred words, but you can easily write too much without realizing it.

In addition, there are some things that need to be memorized, so Li Zhao really needs to spend some time on it.

I'm okay with classical Chinese poems; I remember most of them.

Memorizing texts is really tough...

"The swallows have gone, but they will return; the willows have withered, but they will turn green again..."

The text "In a Hurry" unexpectedly touched Li Zhao's heart during class.

As a primary school student, he already felt the melancholy of this text. But just like when he studied "The Story of Xiangji Pavilion" in high school, the line "There is a loquat tree in the courtyard, which my wife planted in the year she died. Now it is tall and spreading like a canopy" was something he could understand in high school, but he was truly struck by it after experiencing the separation of life and death of relatives and friends.

"You're so clever, tell me, why are our days gone and can never be returned?"

These words are a wake-up call for Li Zhao today.

Chen Nian sensed a melancholy aura emanating from Li Zhao and frequently glanced at him.

When the Chinese class ended, he looked at Li Zhao, who was letting out a long sigh of relief, and took out a Seven-Eleven toy from his schoolbag. "Here, this is for you."

"Huh? Why?"

"Are your parents arguing a lot? I feel like you've become quite depressed."

"It's nothing, I just..."

"You don't call me 'Old Wine' anymore, and you say it's nothing?"

Is it such a big deal for elementary school students not to have nicknames?

[A friend's concern. Happiness +1, Total 13]

Li Zhao was taken aback.

"Hey, take it, I have several of these plush toys." Chen Nian stuffed them into Li Zhao's hand without saying a word.

Li Zhao laughed out loud, "Alright, then I'll accept it."

As soon as she finished speaking, He Shuyao walked to his desk.

Chen Nian immediately pretended to tidy up his desk.

"Li Zhao, are you free?"

"Didn't you tell me not to leave?"

"I'm just asking." He Shuyao bent down, opened her workbook, and said, "This question."

买3支钢笔和2本笔记本共花24元，买2支钢笔和3本笔记本共花21元。求一支钢笔和一本笔记本各多少钱？

He Shuyao has already written down her own approach on the draft paper.

「两次共买5支钢笔+5本笔记本合计45元，那幺1支钢笔加1本笔记本合计9元。3本加3支合计27元，减去题目第一组价钱，等到1本笔记是3元，则1支笔是6元。」

Li Zhao glanced at He Shuyao, "No problem, you solved it, didn't you?"

"I want to know how you calculated it."

Li Zhao frowned. "Just set it to xy."

He Shuyao's eyes lit up. "Sure enough, you used a linear equation with two variables. Can you explain it to me?"

Li Zhao was a little confused, but he quickly grabbed the draft paper and started writing down the equations.

Let each pen cost x yuan, and each notebook cost y yuan...

Chen Nian also leaned over.

When Li Zhao wrote x=9-y, and then substituted it to get a linear equation in one variable belonging to y, He Shuyao and Chen Nian both exclaimed "Oh!" in sudden realization.

[Successfully answered He Shuyao's question. Happiness +1, total 14]

It really makes up for the regret in the diary, doesn't it?

Li Zhao was both amused and exasperated.

"Regarding that problem, if you look closely, my algorithm and your solution seem to be based on the same principle. Why did you use xy? I don't think it would be faster?"

"If the second condition of the problem is to buy 4 pens and 1 notebook, then your method cannot be used to calculate it."

"It seems so..."

Chen Nian had already started writing furiously, but when he got to the part about "the price difference between one more pen and one less notebook is...", he knew something was wrong.

"Setting up equations is actually a universal tool, a universal way of thinking. For example, for more complex problems," Li Zhao directly gave an area calculation problem, "A rectangle's length is 4 meters longer than its width, and its area is 45 square meters. What are its length and width?"

"It's 9 meters long and 5 meters wide," Chen Nian answered instantly, very proudly.

"Why?" Li Zhao asked.

"...5945."

"Just guessing?" Li Zhao laughed. "Then what if we switch to something other than multiplication tables? Wouldn't we be doomed?"

Chen Nian scratched his head sheepishly.

"So," He Shuyao pulled a chair over from her seat and sat next to Li Zhao, "here, the width is set to x, the length is x+4, and the product of the two... what is this x multiplied by x?"

"This is called a quadratic equation, x squared. You can solve it now using multiplication tables. Later you will learn the quadratic formula, which will be able to solve everything."

"The quadratic formula?" He Shuyao asked.

At this moment, Jiang Qi, the class's academic representative who consistently ranks among the top three in the class, also came over, while Liu Mingyu, who ranks among the top five in the class, peeked out to observe.

Apart from class monitor Ma Yingying, who didn't even glance in their direction, the top five students in the class were all gathered together—including He Shuyao.

"The standard form of a quadratic equation is: a multiplied by the square of x plus b multiplied by x plus c equals 0. This is the standard form of a quadratic equation. x equals negative b. The square root of b squared minus 4ac is the result of dividing the whole by 2a."

"Positive and negative? Square root? abc?" Chen Nianren was dumbfounded.

He Shuyao's eyes gleamed with curiosity. "Are there any more complicated situations?"

"Of course there is," Li Zhao continued writing the problem, "A car accelerates from a standstill. The distance traveled is related to the time as s = t squared plus 2t. Find the instantaneous velocity in the second second."

The top five students in the class, plus the ninth-ranked student, all gave off a "what the heck?" look.

"That's where we need to use differentiation, which is essentially finding the rate of change. Speed ​​is the rate of change of distance relative to time. Speaking of this, we have to talk about 'limits'..." Li Zhao said casually, only to realize that the people around him all had expressions of disbelief.

Realizing that he had somehow veered from a linear equation in two variables to calculus in just a few sentences, he coughed and said, "That's all for later. Anyway, developing an equation-based mindset is very important."

"Ah Zhao, this is all junior and senior high school material. How did you suddenly learn it?" Chen Nian couldn't help but ask.

I learned it during winter break.

Li Zhao thus received four shocked faces.

"No wonder you finished your math test so quickly." He Shuyao smiled with satisfaction.

How did you know?

"..." He Shuyao pursed her lips. "Ah, I have an English exam coming up soon."

So everyone, itching to get back to their seats, went back to their seats.

Chen Nian stared at Li Zhao as if petrified.

"What's wrong? You have an English exam coming up."

"Ah Zhao, your answer just now was really showing off."

"Showing off?"

It seems so.

"But you've already learned junior and senior high school material, that's a bit much. Showing off is fine, but after all, it was He Shuyao who asked you that question..." Chen Nian sighed.

"Well, no, that's not it..."

[Successfully answered He Shuyao's question and showed off a bit. Happiness +3, Total 17]

How much more?!