Study Monster Cultivation System-Chapter 335 - 334 Come on, work hard and be strong

People always do stupid things.

If only you know about it, then it’s just stupid.

If someone else sees it, it’s no longer just a stupid mistake.

It becomes an embarrassingly unforgettable moment for a lifetime.

No matter how many years pass or when, this moment will surface like a demon, making you suddenly want to die.

And the time when these embarrassing moments are most likely to come back to you,

is when you’re going to bed.

For example, on this night, as Lin Yujing snuggled into her bed, she suddenly remembered how she failed to do the math problem and sulked on Li Zheng’s shoulder.

"Hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm----"

She trembled with shame deep under the covers.

On the other side of the covers, Lin Xiangye, who was almost asleep, perked up from all this commotion, "Ah... what’s wrong, come out and talk, Sister Jingjing..."

"It’s about what happened today... now that I think about it..." Lin Yujing shook as she thought about it, "It’s just so embarrassing, hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm----"

Lin Xiangye rubbed her eyes and said, "Stop humming and come out and talk..."

Almost simultaneously, Lin Yujing’s nose twitched sharply under the covers, and then she got worked up.

She threw off the covers, jumped out of bed, and after panting heavily for a long time, she clung to the side of the bed and cursed, "You farted secretly!!"

"..." Lin Xiangye scratched her face, "I ate too much fish..."

"But this is our shared bedspread."

"You don’t have to crawl back in it..."

"Your skin can absorb it too."

"Then I’ll stick my butt out next time I do it..."

"But you’d still smell it."

"I don’t want to either..." Lin Xiangye said red-faced, fanning the covers, "Hey, don’t you ever fart?"

"I don’t!"

"Then you... must burp a lot, right?"

"Get lost, get lost!" Lin Yujing climbed back into bed and grudgingly got under the covers again, "No more farting allowed."

"Then I’ll try to hold it in..." Lin Xiangye quickly changed the subject, "What was that embarrassing thing you were talking about?"

"I couldn’t solve the math problem and I acted spoiled..."

"That’s it?" Lin Xiangye sneered, "Occasionally showing weakness and pretending to be less capable than boys is cute. You think I’m not sharp, but I’ve been outstanding since middle and elementary school. If I’m always strong, boys will only feel I’m unapproachable, and sometimes there will even be ones who weirdly see me as their arch-rival... Competing in academics and stuff, like a couple of blockheads. Which girl would be dumb enough to compete in academics with you?"

"......" Lin Yujing shrank back under the covers, "Is... isn’t that how it’s supposed to be?"

"How could it be? Boys like cute girls. Being stronger than them will only make them hate you." Lin Xiangye rolled over, also getting under the covers, and grabbed Lin Yujing’s hand, "So you acting sulky today was actually perfect, didn’t you see how happy Li Zheng was tonight?"

"Pfft..." Lin Yujing clenched her teeth, "He definitely wasn’t happy because of that, he was just purely happy to see me lose in math."

"That can’t be true..."

"Mmm..." Lin Yujing’s brows tightened, her expression turning solemn, "Anyway... I’m running out of strong subjects, and there are more and more people getting ahead of me outside of Scum Chap, I can’t go on like this... I need to surpass Gu Jianfeng... No... this guy is really too good at math... What should I do if he’s even smarter than me..."

"Ha... Don’t be so sure..." Lin Xiangye spoke soothingly, "I’ve been classmates with Jian Feng in an early training class for a while. He’s definitely smart, but he doesn’t put in less effort than anyone in math. I heard that he finished all the university level problems in middle school. Despite his lighthearted appearance, his life actually revolves only around math. Don’t compare yourself with him... Compare with me instead. Look at how long I prepared, and then I didn’t solve a single problem! Not a single one... not a... uh..."

Lin Xiangye, who had been comforting someone else, began to cry as she laughed.

"Uh..." Sensing her distress, Lin Yujing reached out to comfort her, "It’s ok, this is a good thing. At least you can give up on studying math now..."

"Is that a good thing?"

"Yeah, my grandpa told me many people in his math department live quite oppressed lives, only able to become normal people after graduating."

"Why?"

"Because during school, they feel like complete idiots." Lin Yujing, patting Lin Xiangye’s head, said, "Just like you right now."

"I... I feel like crying even more now, what do I do..." Lin Xiangye wiped away her tears.

"Think about your strengths, have you won any awards in other competitions?"

"Biology... I got a silver medal."

"There you go, your brain still meets the needs of a fringe subject."

"Stop... Please stop talking, Sister Jingjing..." Lin Xiangye rolled back over, "I’m not pursuing a recommendation anymore... I don’t want to go to Ji University anymore... I’m never competing again..."

"Okay, okay, I actually hate competitions too," Lin Yujing soothed, patting Lin Xiangye.

"Then why did you come? Why bother with math?"

"I just don’t want to fall too far behind Scum Chap..." Lin Yujing lay back on the bed and sighed softly, "I was thinking, maybe it’s better to lie down like you and let him be on top, would that be more comfortable..."

"It’s comfortable." Lin Xiangye immediately got excited again and rolled back over.

For her, making herself smarter was impossible.

But making others dumber was possible.

If everyone laid down, then the world wouldn’t seem so scary.

However, at that moment, a ruthless look crossed Lin Yujing’s face, "It’s not!"

"Huh? Are you feeling uncomfortable now?"

"I feel unwell, really uncomfortable..." Lin Yujing muttered to herself, "Normally, I can win even when lying flat, but now it’s getting harder and harder. If I keep this up, I’ll only fall further behind..."

"Hey, don’t compare yourself to God Zheng, you’re his girlfriend, not his nemesis."

"What I hate hearing the most is ’God Zheng’s girlfriend’; they should be saying ’Quiet God’s boyfriend’..." Lin Yujing gritted her teeth, "It’s so annoying... I shouldn’t have liked him in the first place..."

"Wow!" Lin Xiangye covered her face, "Suddenly feeling so bittersweet... I can’t sleep, I can’t sleep, tell me more about you two~"

"There’s nothing much to tell..." Lin Yujing turned away, "Sleep, sleep, I already know what to do now, thank you."

"??? What did I do?"

"Huh..."

"Hey, that fake snoring is really bad, let’s talk more."

"Huh..."

"Geez, I really can’t sleep now, and I even want to fart."

"Um... Huh..."

...

The next day, the second exam.

Everyone’s mindset had improved a lot. The classroom no longer echoed with phrases like "shatter my spirit," and Porridge God and others even discussed local delicacies in a friendly manner, with no one interested in talking about math.

Only Lin Xiangye, with visibly puffy eyes and a blank expression, seemed to have forgotten what she was here for.

Li Zheng shook his hand and asked, "Not going to shatter reality today?"

"Don’t mention it... it’s all your fault..." Lin Xiangye said bitterly, "You made me stay awake all night... even my farts... forget it, I am a fairy, I shouldn’t talk about this..."

"Huh?" Li Zheng was taken aback, "I warn you not to have designs on me, I don’t even regard you as a sister."

"Aaaaah... why are you both like this!!" Lin Xiangye cried out, clutching her head, "You cozy up to me when you need me, and kick me away when you’re done, I’ve had enough!!"

"So..." Li Zheng leaned in, "Shatter reality?"

"Shatter my spirit!!" Lin Xiangye instantly joined in, "Disappear, this world!"

"Okay, now we’re talking." Li Zheng nodded firmly, "Can’t lose heart today either."

"Not losing heart, I am the best, you thankless jerks just wait to be punished."

"See, that’s the spirit," Li Zheng, shaking his head, grabbed his pen, his brain heating up along with his hands, "I just love taking exams with you."

With that momentum, Li Zheng began the second trial’s answers.

Because of that momentum, Lin Xiangye’s spirits were ultimately shattered as well.

Maybe if she hadn’t met Li Zheng and Lin Yujing, she could’ve scored a few dozen points and contended for the silver medal.

But now, it was too late for anything.

The victim also included Zhou Zhouzhou in the back.

He, a general known as Porridge God, had trained hard for years, hoping to defeat Li Zheng and make a name for himself.

But who could have predicted... this jerk came with his girlfriend...

With the potential of a famous general, he met such an opponent.

Being in the same batch as Li Zheng, one could only say he was ill-timed.

The second exam questions.

Were not harder than the first one.

Based on past experiences, the second trial’s questions often leaned toward the International Mathematical Olympiad Finals style, seemingly tougher.

But in reality, those finals were usually simpler than the domestic ones.

So, with a bit of effort in the second trial, one could still manage the answers.

When the bell rang, Li Zheng had barely finished answering, and, to everyone’s surprise, Lin Xiangye somehow managed to write down more than half, ending up tying with Porridge God.

After the test, when they met up with Gu Jianfeng outside the school gates, there was no sight of Lin Yujing’s little red car, instead, they were cornered by Konoplev, Kuznetsov, and Smirnov, who wanted to go eat fish.

But Li Zheng had no obligation to entertain them, so after a discussion...

They decided to exchange Konoplev’s ICHO medal for fish.

Of course, Konoplev himself didn’t agree, but compared to his two compatriots, he was just too frail.

And Gu Jianfeng and Lin Xiangye were really sick of eating fish, so they didn’t join this excursion and took the bus back to the hotel with the main group.

In the evening, when they returned to the hotel, the contestants were swarming the multimedia hall.

"Good, I love this efficiency..." Konoplev rubbed his hands and licked his lips, "I lost in chemistry to Shi Yang, lost in physics to Du Zicheng, I always have such bad luck running into your strongest ones... This time, Li Zheng, if you didn’t lie to me about the test, it should be my win, I refuse to believe you guys can also produce a monster in math."

"Sigh..." Li Zheng just sighed and patted Konoplev, "Well, you’ve run into it again, haven’t you?"

With that, he squeezed through the crowd with the Maozi brothers.

Pushing their way through, they ran into the trio of Lin Xiangye, Lin Yujing, and Gu Jianfeng.

"How’s it going, who’s first?" Li Zheng asked upon meeting them.

"Can’t see, absolutely can’t see..." Lin Xiangye said with a downcast face, "We three are too weak... Just when we were about to push to the front, we got pushed back again."

Gu Jianfeng, struggling to turn around, said, "Oh right, Lin Yujing did the second trial in the afternoon as well, scoring 51 out of 63 points. How about you?"

"I can’t say for sure, a lot of it was just brute-forced." Li Zheng looked at Lin Yujing, who struggled to stay on her feet, and smiled, "Not bad at all. Didn’t you find these questions painful to do?"

"Tch..." Lin Yujing ground her teeth and pouted, "I’ve thought about it, and I shouldn’t cop out. The deal still stands, but let’s combine the scores from both trials."

"Don’t push yourself too hard," Li Zheng patted her and smiled, "Lying flat is pretty good. Call me Brother Zheng and we’ll call it even."

"Ugh, ugh, ugh... I’m going to throw up!" Lin Yujing turned and cursed, "Are you squeezing through or not? If you’re not, then move aside!"

"Why bother." Li Zheng sighed, waved his hand and said, "Step aside, I’ll pave the way in front."

He moved forward and changed his position; the three Mao brothers beside him also gathered up close.

The pushing power of the team suddenly grew stronger.

But it was still crawling at a snail’s pace.

After all, this kind of jostling isn’t just about sheer strength; it’s about a sense of purpose.

Most of the people here were aiming for conditional university admission via the rankings; the numbers on that announcement board almost signified their entire lives. In the face of this motivation, even the most fragile of people could erupt with a formidable pushing force.

Relatively speaking, although Li Zheng’s team was strong, those meant to secure offers would do so, and those destined to return home would go back, so they lacked that intense drive.

"Hey, hey, hey, can you even push?" Lin Xiangye jumped up and down behind them, "Russian bros? Is this all you’ve got?"

Konoplev seemed to understand a bit, turned his head to lift his glasses, stroked his long hair and said, "For a gentleman, this situation does not warrant us to act dishonorably."

"Alright then..."

"Hmm..." Lin Yujing thought for a moment, her eyes suddenly brightened. She took out her phone and frantically tapped it a few times, turning the volume up to the max.

Crack!!

Following a sharp snap, a deep and majestic symphony suddenly filled the air.

Although Li Zheng and the others had no idea what it was, Konoplev, Kuznetsov, and Smirnov all shuddered in unison.

Then came the eye contact.

In that moment, they transformed from gentlemen into warriors.

Raising their heads, like three T-34 heavy tanks advancing in line, they bulldozed their way through effortlessly.

The kids who were pushed aside were just about to turn around and curse, but they were so intimidated by their aura that they dared not say a word.

"What kind of magic is this??" Lin Xiangye grabbed Lin Yujing’s phone in surprise, "The Unbreakable Union—The... the Anthem of the Soviet Socialist Republics..."

The entire auditorium’s atmosphere surged with Soviet spirit.

This chapter is updated by freēwēbnovel.com.

"This..." Gu Jianfeng whispered, "I remember... they disbanded before they were even born, right?"

"I was just giving it a try," Lin Yujing whispered back, "I didn’t expect it to be so effective... Now I know how to get the Maozi to work..."

Before the anthem was even over, the team had arrived in front of the results display board.

Almost in that instant.

Konoplev completely broke down.

Covering his face, he emitted a piercing shriek.

"Seventh?!!?!!?!"

Then came Kuznetsov: "29??"

Smirnov: "I’d rather not say..."

Lin Yujing promptly paused the anthem, to avoid any further damage.

At the same time, Li Zheng pushed aside Konoplev and stood side by side with Gu Jianfeng in front of the display board.

If the west isn’t bright, the east will shine; the two didn’t hesitate for a moment, directly aiming for the top of the leaderboard.

[1st Place]

[Gu Jianfeng, Renmin University Affiliated Middle School]

[First Exam: 63.]

[Second Exam: 63.]

[Total Score: 126.]

[Notes: Student Gu Jianfeng’s unique solutions to questions 1, 3, and 6 have been unanimously recognized by the grading teachers and the Competition Committee. He will receive a special award for this math competition and will present his methods publicly afterward.]

[2nd Place]

[Li Zheng, Lake Ying Middle School]

[First Exam: 53.]

[Second Exam: 56.]

[Total Score: 109.]

[3rd Place]

[Xu Bingyi, Nanjing Normal University High School]

[First Exam: 54]

[Second Exam: 53]

[Total Score: 107]

...

[7th Place]

[Aleksei Konoplev, Russia]

[First Exam: 47.]

[Second Exam: 52.]

[Total Score: 99]

...

[19th place]

[Zhou Zhouzhou, Hunan University Affiliate High School]

[First Try: 39.]

[Second Try: 36.]

[Total Score: 75]

...

[211th place]

[Lin Xiangye, Renmin University Affiliated Middle School]

[First Try: 3]

[Second Try: 33]

[Total Score: 36]

The total number of competitors in this year’s contest was 463. Based on previous years’ experience, the top 200 would get gold medals, the next 160 would receive silver, and the rest would be awarded bronze.

It seemed Lin Xiangye had mixed in for a silver medal again?

No, at least a silver medal.

Judging from these results, the questions this year were indeed exceptionally difficult.

With a total score of 126, the silver medal threshold was likely around 20 points.

The gold medal cut-off was probably around 40 points.

If you surpassed 60 points, you were probably in the selection for the training camp.

In contrast to these thresholds, the unprecedented perfect score of the first-place winner was even more provocative.

Not just a perfect score, but also a special prize.

This award was established two years ago in the finals. It offered no tangible rewards, but was purely an honor to commend creators of god-level problem-solving approaches.

Typically, such ideas were a matter of chance; the creators of these approaches were not necessarily absolute powerhouses in math, but more like they had been touched by a passing deity at just the right moment, resulting in an inspiration that was nothing short of divine.

The awkward part was, for the past two years, this prize remained unclaimed.

However... this year, Gu Jianfeng directly won it three times?

Upon seeing his ranking, Gu Jianfeng slowly breathed a sigh of relief, "I’ve improved, huh. When I first came here in middle school, I was only in the teens..."

Li Zheng suddenly turned his head and grabbed Gu Jianfeng’s shoulders.

"Ten times my intelligence, plus ten times my training..." Li Zheng howled, "Damn it, be human for once!!"

At that moment, the devil realized he had encountered an existence that even he found terrifying, an indescribable presence.

This must be Cthulhu.

The exclamations of those around were incessant.

"Crazy, crazy... The Wind God isn’t human..."

"God Zheng has finally been taken down, I’m happy..."

"These three Maozi aren’t up to par either."

"I wonder what would happen if Quiet God competed..."

"Ah, it’s a pity, Quiet God is no more, she’s now a vassal of God Zheng."

Lin Yujing covered her face in silence nearby.

She had actually competed from outside...

51+47 in two tries... 98 points...

One point lower than the biggest Maozi...

This was the first time that Scum Chap had pulled her into a whole different realm within the same exam.

"Hmm…" Lin Yujing clenched her fist and bowed her head, silently disappearing into the crowd.

On the other side, it was Lin Xiangye’s frenzy of ecstasy.

They were different; each person had their own circumstances.

Even though Lin Xiangye’s 36 points were just a third of Li Zheng’s.

But so what!

If a person lies flat, naturally, they’ll lower their perspectives!

"Hahaha, silver medal, silver medal!!" Lin Xiangye jumped excitedly, grabbing Li Zheng and Gu Jianfeng by the shoulders, "I got another silver! So many silvers, come on, praise me for being clever."

"Clever, clever," Li Zheng turned and asked, "Where’s Lin Yujing?"

"She seems to have 98 points..." Gu Jianfeng sighed. "Must be feeling the sting."

"That’s still eighth place, right?" Li Zheng looked at the scoreboard. "She didn’t prepare at all..."

"She’s the type who only aims for first place," Gu Jianfeng nudged Li Zheng, "Stop analyzing and go comfort her."

"Yeah... then I…" Li Zheng turned to look at the three distressed Maozi brothers, nodding gravely, "Come on, work hard and be strong."

In this moment, all the "husbands" became "little lovable husbands."