Study Monster Cultivation System-Chapter 330 - 329 That one is gone, the sticker is also gone, all gone.

Zhou Mingyang sat on the sofa, staring blankly for a long time before he managed to barely get up.

In his eyes, Li Zheng’s image was already completely unlike that of a student.

Not just a high school student, but even a university student was an inadequate comparison.

Although Li Zheng treated the teachers with enough respect, nodding when he ought to nod, bowing when he should bow, the confidence and presence he emanated could no longer be concealed.

He resembled...

A young leader’s secretary.

Although his age and rank were still young, what he had seen, experienced, and accomplished had already far surpassed the lifetime limits of many.

It was an unavoidable fact.

Recently, he had been collaborating with professor-level engineers, chief designers of core aerospace projects.

He had breezy chats with Zhao Zhenhua and was as close as brothers with Chen Hongbing.

As a veteran of aerospace, a senior engineer, a senior programmer.

He wanted to keep a low profile, but his capabilities didn’t allow it.

Moreover, with four out of the five major competitions already under his belt, no one understood competition better than he did.

Things like maintaining formal education and teacher authority were completely unnecessary to apply to such a person.

To sum it up in one sentence—so long as he was happy, that was good.

"You didn’t rest all night, did you?" Zhou Mingyang asked Li Zheng, lifting his glasses.

"Indeed, I caught the early morning flight."

"Then you should go back to your room and rest, the first trial is early tomorrow morning, and you need to be in high spirits," Zhou Mingyang said and motioned to the tall male student, "Gao Shan, help Li Zheng with the check-in please."

"Alright." The student nodded at Li Zheng, "Gui Jianfeng requested a single room before, so we split the two of you into one. This works out perfectly, you can help keep an eye on and take care of him."

"No problem," Li Zheng agreed and bid farewell to the teachers and students.

Simultaneously, the team members also slung their backpacks on, lining up to board the bus.

The female teacher from No. 4 Middle School leaned in and laughed beside Zhou Mingyang, "I thought you were going to lecture him."

"I was going to," Zhou Mingyang said with a helpless shake of his head, "but however I look at it... a person like him is not someone I can lecture. Let Ji University take care of him."

"Ji University might not necessarily be able to handle him either," a male teacher added with a laugh, "Students like him are the type that professors fight over; he’ll be targeted as soon as he’s a freshman. And look, in four subjects—physics, chemistry, biology, and informatics—three of them are national first place. How many colleges will be vying for him?"

"Looking at it that way..." Zhou Mingyang squinted toward Lin Yujing, who was dozing off on the front desk waiting to be checked in, "Is that girl a bit unworthy of him?"

"No, no, no, Lin Yujing’s style is a bit different," the male teacher scratched his head, "If I had to say, she and your school’s Gui Jianfeng are somewhat similar. Despite having exceptional talent, her mood is always unpredictable. When happy, she participates in competitions; when not, she just leaves."

"Yes, Yang Changle also mentioned this to me," Zhou Mingyang pursed his lips, "Lin Yujing’s situation is similar to Gui Jianfeng’s. If you use the methods for most students to teach them, it will only hold them back. It’s better to let them do their own thing. But Li Zheng is different, he’s someone who listens."

By this time, most of the students had already formed a line and were leaving the hotel. Zhou Mingyang simply slowed down his pace with the two teachers and then let out a sigh, speaking in a low voice, "Actually… the situation now… is not good. Our original plan was to have Gui Jianfeng go for the national championship, even to challenge for the IMO championship… but I suspect... sigh..."

"You can’t be serious!" exclaimed the female teacher, "We’ve come this far, and he’s considering dropping out?!?!"

"It’s not looking optimistic," Zhou Mingyang shook his head, "But we must be prepared for this. Looking at the scores from the semi-finals, Gui Jianfeng leads Li Zheng by a large margin, on top of the entire country, while Li Zheng leads slightly ahead of the other Jijing Team competitors. Nationally, he’s in the top tier next to Gui Jianfeng... but the problem is, Li Zheng hasn’t participated in any training or intensive camps; in terms of Mathematical Olympiad exam techniques, he’s at a disadvantage."

"You mean to say, just considering the scores, Li Zheng still has a lot of room for improvement?" asked the male teacher.

"There’s room, but no time left," Zhou Mingyang nodded, "So, let him rest well today, and tonight, the three of us shouldn’t hold back. We’ll help him guess the questions and pass on the most important techniques. Whether Ji University Team can get into the top three this year, whether we can maintain our quota, may well depend on him..."

This content is taken from fгeewebnovёl.com.

"Understood," the female teacher laughed, "No wonder you didn’t scold him, hahaha."

"Different matters, different matters," Zhou Mingyang pointed at Lin Yujing at the front desk, "With such a girl popping up suddenly, who could stay mad?"

"Hahaha."

Meanwhile, Gao Shan led Li Zheng to the front desk and naturally, the topic turned to Gui Jianfeng.

"God Zheng, taking care of Gui Jianfeng is tough…" Gao Shan shook his head with a sigh, "I don’t know if the guy is sick or just moody... but something feels off."

"I’m guessing he’s just too lazy to attend the opening ceremony. At most, it’s probably just a cold or a fever," Li Zheng said nonchalantly with a wave, "I’ll give him some of The Li family’s tried and true remedies, and he’ll be cured in no time."

"It’s not that simple," Gao Shan clenched his teeth, "This guy got into the national team in his junior year of high school, and still, he’d leave whenever he felt like it... At school too, sometimes he’d pack up and leave in the middle of a class."

"Little Gui Gui is that arrogant?" Li Zheng chuckled, "He doesn’t seem like it at all. Supposed to be a little goody two-shoes but turns out to be a troublemaker? Don’t worry brother, I have plenty of experience dealing with troublemakers."

"Alright then." Gao Shan nodded and glanced at the door, "I’ll head over there. If Gui Jianfeng’s in a bad mood, please try to persuade him."

"Leave it to me," Li Zheng patted Gao Shan, "Once he’s in my hands, he won’t even think about running away. I’ll carry him to the exam if I have to."

"Okay, I’ll help you carry him when the time comes," Gao Shan laughed and waved his hand, "See you this afternoon."

"See you in the afternoon."

After completing the formalities and getting the room card, Li Zheng realized that Lin Yujing had already been waiting behind him for quite a while.

Li Zheng cheerfully approached and asked, "What floor are you on?"

"12, you?"

"7."

"So annoying!"

"Do you want to switch?" Li Zheng turned back to look at the front desk, "I’m good at negotiating, I’ll talk to them."

"Never mind, never mind, there’s a benefit to being far apart." Lin Yujing shook her room card, "I’m going to go back to sleep now, don’t disturb me."

Li Zheng raised his eyebrows and said, "Do you want to team up and surprise Gu Jianfeng first?"

"In the afternoon," Lin Yujing yawned, pulling her luggage toward the elevator, "I’m too tired to death."

Li Zheng followed and asked, "Do you have a twin room or a double room?"

"I booked a double room," Lin Yujing nodded, "so I can roll around."

"Hmm... a double room..." Li Zheng’s eyebrows tightened, "That’s not convenient..."

"???" Lin Yujing was also taken aback, shrinking into the corner of the elevator. After going through several changes of expression, she muttered with her head down, "Actually, it might be okay..."

"Really?" Li Zheng exclaimed, "Sharing one bed?"

"Tch..." Lin Yujing gritted her teeth and turned her head.

Don’t ask so directly, Scum Chap…

"That would be great." Li Zheng cheerfully pulled out his phone, "Lin Xiangye wants to move in with you, she’s currently rooming with a teacher and it’s uncomfortable for her. I’ll ask if she’s okay with sharing the bed."

"!!!"

Ding, the elevator reached the 7th floor.

Li Zheng, along with his suitcase, was pushed out, not knowing where Lin Yujing got such strength.

"Wait..." Li Zheng looked back puzzled, "Shouldn’t there be a farewell kiss at this time..."

"There’s none." Lin Yujing furiously pressed the door close button, shaking her head coldly, "That’s gone, no cuddling either, all gone."

"Ah..."

The door closed.

His WeChat chimed.

[Lin Xiangye: Yes, yes, sleeping with Quiet God would be awesome ❤!]

Li Zheng shook his head helplessly.

[Li Zheng: We seem to have had a fight...]

[Lin Xiangye: (Crying) Why?]

[Li Zheng: I don’t know.]

[Lin Xiangye: Then I’ll find out tonight by whispering to her.]

[Li Zheng: Thanks for the hard work!]

[Li Zheng: From now on, you are my eyes and ears.]

[Lin Xiangye: Got it (serious face)!]

Li Zheng let out a long sigh of relief.

Lin Xiangye really is a good person, he’ll have to rely on her in the coming days.

Soon, he arrived in front of room 710, according to the number on the room card.

He didn’t immediately swipe the card, but rang the doorbell instead.

Immediately, a voice that was neither too light nor too heavy, neither painful nor itchy, neither happy nor sad came from inside.

"I’ve already said I’m not going, you guys go ahead, I don’t want to see anyone anymore."

Li Zheng stood on the other side of the door with his hands behind his back and sternly questioned.

"Even if I’m your dad it doesn’t matter?"

```

Suddenly, a rush of hurried footsteps came from inside.

Li Zheng chuckled.

It really is different after all, the door’s about to be opened, isn’t it.

However.

Click!

The physical lock was fastened from the inside!

"No, no, no!" Li Zheng quickly knocked, "I’m not kidding, let me in, we’re in the same room."

There was no response from inside.

"What do you mean by this…" Li Zheng knocked again, "I came over on a late flight, you gotta give me a place to sleep."

Silence.

"Lin Yujing has a double bed, it’s not convenient for me to go there…"

"Stop messing around, should I tell you about Yellow 2, would that make you feel better?"

"Why aren’t you opening the door, are you playing on your computer?"

"There’s nothing to be shy about, Shi Yang does it every night, I have to listen to his bed shaking before I can fall asleep."

"At least say something…"

"If you keep this up, I... I... I’m going to tell the teacher!"

Finally, under the ultimate threat of telling the teacher, Gu Jianfeng was forced to speak.

"Go book another room, I’ll pay you back later," he said.

You could tell he was right by the door.

So close, just a door was between them.

"...Ah." Li Zheng sighed, sat down on the floor, leaning against the door frame, "You haven’t... cut your hair into a buzz cut and become ashamed to see me, have you?"

As he spoke, rustling sounds came from under the door crack.

Li Zheng looked down.

It was money.

"Go book another room," Gu Jianfeng said.

"I’m really getting angry if you keep this up," Li Zheng cursed, "Wasn’t I supposed to tell you about stuff happening outside? Did you see Yellow 2 going up? We’re going to send spacecraft to Mars soon, did you know that? And there’s a Xiangnan Porridge God who’s after me, you have to help me regain my respect. Plus, the math competition, the Russians are competing too, I have some connections there, why not wrestle with some problems?"

"Leave," said Gu Jianfeng, "my dad will come to pick me up soon."

"But I’m right here!"

"Please, just go."

"Wait..." Li Zheng turned around fiercely, "you’re not gonna stand me up again, are you?!"

"I’m sorry, I’m not in the state to take exams anymore."

"...Depression?"

"Just go."

"Is it depression…"

No answer came.

Li Zheng’s mind swiftly filled with a series of images.

If that was the case, then all of the previously inexplicable behavior made sense.

Periodic emotional lows, a lack of interest in everything.

Maybe even no interest in living, much less competing.

Upon realizing this, Li Zheng frowned and bit his lip.

"Dad understands, just listen to a few last words from me."

"Looking at it this way, your decision to quit the math competition last time must have been for this reason as well..."

"You must really love mathematics to have the courage and perseverance to come back here."

"I can never fully understand your feelings, and if you truly don’t want to see anyone, then I’ll leave."

"But if it hasn’t reached that point yet, then let me in."

"Who else but your dad, right?"

"Pfft…"

Finally, a snicker came from inside.

"I thought you were going to say something... but it’s still that…"

Li Zheng laughed while knocking, "Dad doesn’t mind, open the door for dad."

Gu Jianfeng’s voice came weakly from behind the door.

"Thank you, but... it’s better not to."

"I’m very annoying like this, my old friends and relatives from my mom’s side, they all ignore me now."

"No one can stand someone like me."

"I don’t want you to see me like this."

"I don’t want to burden you with a lot of depressing talk."

"I don’t want you to ignore me too."

"So... when I’m feeling better, you can tell me those things then, I... I’ll treat you to ice cream as an apology."

"Cough." Li Zheng coughed and said,

"I need to explain something to you."

"I don’t know how annoying you are when you’re depressed."

"But not letting me in right now is truly annoying."

"If it’s because you’re not in the right mindset, and simply don’t want to see anyone, then it’s fine, dad will leave."

"But if you treat your dad like an outsider, afraid that your dad will see you shit outside the toilet, then dad is going to be angry."

"Dad has always considered you his own son."

"Open the door, son."

"Dad doesn’t mind."

Click—

Did the physical lock get removed?

Li Zheng got up and swiped his card immediately.

And the door actually opened.

At that moment, Gu Jianfeng was sitting at his desk, writing something with his pen, his hair even messier than usual, completely covering his side face.

The bed, the floor, the toilet, everywhere was littered with messy drafts.

Li Zheng closed the door behind him, not daring to say much or ask much, just quietly picked up the nearest piece of paper.

The top of the paper posed an incredibly simple question.

2²=4

It was followed by 4²=16

16²=256

256²=65,536

65,536²=4,294,967,296

4,294,967,296²=18,446,744...1616

...

This calculation continued until the end of the paper, taking up three lines without completing the number.

He then picked up another piece of paper.

This one had a slightly more complex theme.

1+1/1!+1/2!+1/3!+...+1/100!=

```

1+1+1/2+1/6+...1/2432902008176640000+...

This piece of paper wasn’t enough either.

Picking up another, it too was filled with seemingly meaningless, never-ending calculations.

At this moment, Gu Jianfeng pushed one piece of paper onto the floor, replaced it with a new one, and continued the relentless writing of a new number sequence.

Li Zheng swallowed and sat on the bed, "No wonder you solve problems faster than me, who could compete with this..."

"Many numbers are already memorized, no need to calculate," said Gu Jianfeng, writing meaninglessly on the paper, "Don’t mind me, you should rest."

"Exactly, exactly, that tone of yours," Li Zheng nodded vigorously, "is the most annoying."

"...Once I start, I can’t stop," Gu Jianfeng continued without pausing, "It turns into endless whining, fearing abandonment by friends, nothing but negative energy, eventually everyone can’t stand it anymore and leaves me, and they even suggest I should be hospitalized."

"Trust me, you whining couldn’t be more annoying than you are now…" Li Zheng scratched his head in irritation, "Either you complain to me and then lose me, or lose me right now."

"You have no idea how annoying I can be," Gu Jianfeng gritted his teeth, "Even my mom couldn’t stand it... she only sees me when I’m in a good state..."

"But you still have Dad, right!"

"Pff... here we go again..." Gu Jianfeng turned his head, "Don’t tell anyone, I don’t want to bother others."

"Uh… I can’t hide it from Lin Yujing..." Li Zheng fanned himself, "Hey, that’s your mom there."

"How come... there’s another one..."

"What’s wrong with having another mom," Li Zheng casually reached for the medicine bottle on the bedside table, "Is this the medicine you’re taking?"

"Yeah." Gu Jianfeng put down the pen, swiveled the chair around, "I should have taken it earlier, but I didn’t want to."

"Why not?"

"It makes me dumber," said Gu Jianfeng stiffly, "But this time, I probably have no choice."

Li Zheng didn’t ask further, just put the medicine down and waved his hand, "Alright, come over to Dad, let’s talk little by little."

"Are you... ready to be annoyed by me?" Gu Jianfeng hesitated.

"Keep talking nonsense and I’ll call your mom over."

"Alright, alright..." Gu Jianfeng scratched his head, got up, and after a long sigh, finally sat down next to Li Zheng.

Latent inhibition disorder.

Decreased Latent Inhibition.

This was the first time Li Zheng had heard of it.

It was indeed a form of depression, but it wasn’t simply the inability to feel positive emotions; its cause was more complex. If it had to be summed up, it would be because...

The person was too damn smart.

Most people can control what they think about, how deeply they think, and for how long.

But Gu Jianfeng often lost this ability to control his thoughts.

If he saw an apple, he would ponder why it was that shape, why that color, what composed the flesh, and whether it could be described with a function.

When the condition spiraled out of control, this information and thought process would flood his brain like a tsunami, compelling him to engage in relentless thinking and calculation. When it went beyond the depth of knowledge he possessed, it could lead to delusions and dissociation.

In fact, most people with this condition couldn’t handle the mental burden from a young age and eventually headed towards the devastating path of schizophrenia.

That was when his mother, unable to bear it any longer, left him.

But Gu Jianfeng made it through.

Although it was difficult, he learned to control it.

With mathematics.

Mental breakdowns often occur at the moment when the mind is overwhelmed with information. If one is in a complex environment at that time, new information and emotions will keep flooding in, like endless tsunami waves.

Gu Jianfeng had to place himself in a simple environment before this happened and work through a series of problems with definite answers.

Nothing could be more straightforward than mathematics.

For him, immersing himself in mathematical problems allowed him to disregard outside affairs and focus solely on the pursuit of answers.

Only when he was completely exhausted could the wave of illness recede, allowing him to once again face the complex world.

But he didn’t know how long each episode would last.

He only knew that the shortest one was 5 minutes, and the longest, 8 months.

```

After starting middle school, due to an enrichment in his knowledge structure and a strengthening of his self-control, his condition actually showed signs of improvement. If his thoughts were compared to a flood, he had found an outlet at that time—

Confession.

Spilling out all his thoughts and ideas.

But no one could bear this.

The teachers all kept their distance, and friends also left him.

When he realized he was an annoying guy, he also gave up on this path and returned to the world of mathematics.

Be a good child on the outside, have breakdowns at home.

Now, Gu Jianfeng in a familiar environment basically wouldn’t have breakdowns anymore, but once he arrives in an unfamiliar setting, or when something new appears in a familiar environment, the dam of his thoughts would face a flood again.

In fact, at the physical competition preliminaries, Gu Jianfeng had an episode, but it was very short and Li Zheng didn’t notice it, thinking he was just daydreaming or sleepy.

The first time he hurriedly left McDonald’s during a discussion meeting was also because he was about to lose his composure.

Even not using a mobile phone was because he feared being suddenly triggered by some text message or phone call.

By the end of his explanation, Gu Jianfeng reached down and hung his head.

"So... I didn’t stand you up on purpose... I’m scared of going to the training camp..."

"Luckily this time at the mathematics training, I met Teacher Jie... I was with him the whole time, he gave me many clear thought paths, allowing me to ignore unnecessary things..."

"But coming here, to a completely unfamiliar city... it started again..." Gu Jianfeng bit his lip and choked up, "I can’t even handle the finals... going abroad... IMO... Just thinking about it feels impossible..."

"What about this then?" Li Zheng picked up a bottle of medication that was all in English and asked.

"This can suppress my thoughts and emotional energy." Gu Jianfeng nodded silently, "But it also suppresses mathematical thinking, and the result is that for a period of time I become a steady fool, facing mathematics without ability or motivation."

"So, can I understand it like this..." Li Zheng asked, "When you are working on the finals paper, it’s an outlet for your energy and doesn’t trigger any symptoms, the challenge is before and after the test when you need to leave the room and face a series of unfamiliar environments."

"Pretty much..." Gu Jianfeng said with a forced smile as he scratched his face, "Sometimes I really want to be a robot... I can shut down normally, and boot up when it’s time for math."

"What if you kept doing a bunch of math problems all the way to the examination hall?"

"It wouldn’t work, the mathematics diversion method requires a stable environment. Even the slightest change in a dynamic environment would break the state."

"What if I put you in a box to do math problems, and I found six people to carry you over there?"

"..."

"Okay, that’s indeed too far-fetched," Li Zheng said as he patted Gu Jianfeng, "So now, what are you thinking about?"

"Do you really want me to say it..." Gu Jianfeng tried hard to cover his mouth, "I’ve already told you, once I spill my thoughts out it’ll be annoying..."

"Stop being formal with your old man, speak up!"

Gu Jianfeng took a deep breath and spoke up, clenching his fists: "I’m recalling the last few seconds of you in the news footage with Lin Yujing, you were probably taking a strong breath, which created an airflow... affecting the air pressure... If it continued for another 25 seconds... Also, both of your personalities... I always feel Lin Yujing wouldn’t accept a boy who is stronger than her... So, if she has to be with you, she must override you, which would be exhausting... You, on the other hand, would accept a girl who is stronger than yourself, but you can’t control becoming stronger... So I think the probability of you two getting married is no higher than 60%... After getting married, the probability of you divorcing is as high as 77%. I’m trying hard to be optimistic about you guys, but... Also, about your children, if it’s a boy, the probability of his inherited traits... Let me draw it for you, so you can see what your boy would most likely look like... This is for a girl..."

20 minutes went by just like that.

Li Zheng felt as though his whole life had been calculated.

He looked at the portrait of his "daughter" who bore a striking resemblance to himself.

Actually, it was quite cute.

Ah, with the genetics of the two of them laid out like this, how could they possibly turn out ugly!

At the right moment, Li Zheng raised his hand to interrupt Gu Jianfeng: "When I was at the institute, I developed a few algorithms, do you want to hear about them? Discussing purely mathematical problems, no confidential issues involved."

"Like what?"

So they started talking about algorithms.

Unlike his collaboration with Lin Yujing, Gu Jianfeng was truly engrossed and gave ideas and optimizations down to the finest detail.

Li Zheng even took out his computer to start recording them.

They chatted for who knows how long, and gradually the voices of people outside began to layer on top of one another.

Gu Jianfeng was still going on and on, while Li Zheng glanced at his watch.

"Let me interrupt for a second," Li Zheng said, "Do you know how long we’ve been talking?"

"How long?"

"Three hours."

"!!!"

```

"Did you show any signs of a mental breakdown or schizophrenia during these three hours?" Li Zheng asked.

"Not at all..." Gu Jianfeng clutched his head in alarm, "But it’s starting now... Don’t stop, I’ll begin guessing which province the sounds outside are coming from..."

"Won’t stop, won’t stop... come on..."

Gu Jianfeng quickly pointed at the screen: "Look, you can still tweak it a little..."

"Damn, still tweaking..."

When Gu Jianfeng snapped out of it again.

Sky, had already darkened.

The tide of thoughts, too, had receded layer by layer after dusk.

He was very tired now.

But he also felt good.

For instance, there are many people in this world who suffer from insomnia.

But in fact, they don’t have insomnia,

they just lack sex lives.

Now, Gu Jianfeng was like a chronic insomniac who had experienced an intense, long-lasting, and utterly satisfying life.

He tilted his head back, a sweet smile spread across his face as he lay on the bed, looking as though he could fall into a dead sleep at any moment.

"Alright... I can die fulfilled now..."

Thump.

Li Zheng lay back beside him.

"Me too..." Li Zheng stared at the ceiling, "Is your brain made of quantum... I feel like an idiot."

"Ah..." Gu Jianfeng quickly got up, clutching his head, "I told you I’m really annoying, huh... Sorry, sorry... for pestering you all day long..."

"Ha!" Li Zheng also sprang up, "What a coincidence, I just love this!"

"???"

"Look, look." Li Zheng revealed the algorithm document on the screen, "The results of chatting with you for one day are equivalent to working hundreds of hours by myself."

"Did I say that much..."

"Say more!" Li Zheng grabbed Gu Jianfeng’s shoulders, "Do you know how long I’ve been looking for someone with whom I can discuss studying day and night?! Why didn’t I meet you sooner!"

"Ah... Do you discuss studying all the time with Lin Yujing too?"

"She can’t, her stamina gives out after just ten minutes." Li Zheng said as he propped up the laptop, "Only the oxen get tired, the fields never spoil. Come on, let me introduce you to the latest Deep Residual Shrinkage Network, let’s see what variations and optimizations are there..."

"Wait... I’m about to pass out from hunger..."

"We’ll eat after this."

"Let me go... I need to eat..."

"Call me dad."

"......." Gu Jianfeng looked at Li Zheng, genuinely beginning to struggle.

"Haha." Li Zheng closed the laptop with a laugh, "Not thinking too much anymore?"

"Only thinking of eating..." Gu Jianfeng rubbed his scalp and suddenly exclaimed, "This spell of illness... seems to have passed?!?!"

"I felt it earlier." Li Zheng said gleefully as he hugged him, "This isn’t an illness, this is you, you aren’t sick, this is how you were born, and dad really likes it."

"...Mm." Unable to restrain himself, Gu Jianfeng’s eyes began to redden.

"And I am very much looking forward to, I like, I need your state just now," Li Zheng said, tapping the computer, "How can this be illness? This is clearly a ’moment of genius’! I wish you could always be like this, we could work on this forever, until we’re dizzy and exhausted, until the end of the world!"

Gu Jianfeng covered his face and burst into tears.

"Alright, alright." Li Zheng soothed him, "Eat your fill, come back for a good sleep; we have an exam tomorrow morning, I’ll go with you. If you’re scared on the way, I’ve prepared 10 tricky algorithms for you."

Gu Jianfeng dabbed his eyes, nodding again and again.

"Go wash your face quickly, Lin Yujing should be about to get up as well, let’s eat together."

"Yeah." Gu Jianfeng stood up and saw an envelope on the adjacent bed, "Hm?"

[To Jian Feng]

[Father]

Li Zheng was also stunned. When had this appeared?

It was only after they opened the envelope that they found out Gu Jianfeng’s real dad had already been there.

[Jian Feng:]

[When I got the call, I flew over immediately, but unfortunately, there was no answer when I knocked on the door, so in the end, I had to ask the hotel staff for help.]

[I thought your condition would be bad, but that wasn’t the case.]

[You’ve never been better.]

[I stood behind you and watched you and this classmate animatedly discussing those formulas, and I’ve truly never seen you so excited.]

[You were so engrossed that you didn’t even notice my arrival.]

[Dad is very happy, you’re no longer fighting alone.]

[Dad believes that, with the help of this classmate, you will be able to achieve your dreams and stand on the IMO podium.]

[Also, thank this classmate properly for me, thank him for understanding what you’re saying, thank him for being willing to listen.]

[Meeting him is your good fortune.]

[Dad is going back to Jijing.]

[Waiting for you to bring the championship home.]

[——Gui Pu]

The tears Gu Jianfeng had just held back spilled out again.

Meeting Li Zheng was indeed his second stroke of luck.

The first was meeting his dad.

And meeting Gu Jianfeng was also Li Zheng’s fortune.

"Now I’ve got to say something about your dad." Li Zheng scoffed and laughed, "’Bring the championship home,’ did he even ask for my opinion?"

Gu Jianfeng laughed through his tears, "Haha, you’re alright at physics, but don’t be stubborn about math."

"Hmph, I am just holding back." Li Zheng smirked, "The championship that belongs to me, I will surely bring home, except for biology."

"Alright, alright... stop teasing me... I’m too hungry to laugh anymore."

"Fine, then you go wash your face and freshen up. I’m off to find Lin Yujing. We’ll meet in the restaurant later."

"Okay."

Then Li Zheng got up and walked out the door with a normal stride.

As soon as he reached the corridor, as soon as the door closed.

Thump...

He collapsed onto the floor.

Fuck this...

I am the real deal here...

How can I be this exhausted...

He leaned against the wall, not wanting to think about anything, just wanting to blankly stare for a moment, to let his brain go empty for a while.

"God Zheng... God Zheng, are you alright?" Gao Shan rushed over as he passed by, "We heard you two having an intense conversation through the door and didn’t dare to interrupt."

"I’m fine..." Li Zheng caught Gao Shan’s arm and said, "This is the first time... I’m a bit scared of studying..."

Gao Shan glanced at the door and sat down next to Li Zheng, "I went to the same junior high as Gu Jianfeng, so I know some... anyway, our teachers couldn’t handle it... it got to the point where as soon as he walked into the math department with a notebook... all the teachers ran away, but you actually stood your ground... for a whole day... To be honest, the title ’God Zheng,’ I’m only really acknowledging it now."

"This time, I stood my ground." Li Zheng said gravely, "Next time, I don’t know if I can withstand it..."

"Anyway, back in junior high... once he found someone who could stand it, he would cling to them non-stop..." Gao Shan patted Li Zheng, "Hold out, God Zheng, hopefully all the way into IMO."

Li Zheng’s expression gradually became somber.

The Study Demon is decisive in everything he does.

This time.

His study nature was, somewhat shaken...