boyutpedia Chapter 10 The First Flutter of the Heart
Chapter 10 The First Flutter of the Heart
The next day arrived quickly.
The third mock exam will be held in the next two days.
When Zeng Cheng entered the classroom, he could clearly feel that the atmosphere in the class was different from usual.
Most of the students in the class were nervous, while a small number were excited.
The former is afraid of failing the exam.
The latter hopes to get good grades and show off their abilities in front of others.
Even for a national key high school like Dezhou No. 1 High School, family background and special talents can be used to show off, but academic performance is always the hardest currency.
After the morning self-study bell rang, the homeroom teacher, Ye Qiong, entered the classroom with a stern face and began her routine lecture.
The content will definitely revolve around the third mock exam.
Besides emphasizing exam room discipline, I also reminded everyone to be careful, to check their answers after writing their exam number, and to fill in the answer sheet as soon as possible...
You can't blame Ye Qiong for being long-winded.
After all, every year during the college entrance examination, quite a few students write down the wrong exam number, and many idiots forget to fill in the answer sheet.
After the morning self-study session ended, the students in the class got up one after another, grabbed their pencil cases, and headed to their respective exam rooms.
We'll definitely go downstairs together.
As Zeng Cheng walked, he suddenly felt a fragrant breeze.
Looking to the side, he saw Xia Ning standing shoulder to shoulder with him.
From Zeng Cheng's perspective, you can see her delicate profile.
Her eyelashes were thick and long, her nose was straight and elegant, her phoenix eyes were like pools of autumn water, and her lips were luscious and luscious...
Xia Ning is indeed very beautiful; even in the entertainment industry, she wouldn't lose out to those popular young actresses.
She may not be as good as Yu Baiwei, but it's not shameful to lose to this supermodel monster.
Therefore, it is logical that Zeng Cheng in his previous life was so infatuated with Xia Ning that he was "blinded by a ghost".
As Teacher Ye said, it's only natural for young people to be attracted to someone.
"Zeng Cheng, please stop, okay? I was wrong, alright?"
Xia Ning spoke first.
He was apologizing to Zeng Cheng very sincerely.
Zeng Cheng was very surprised.
How could he not know how arrogant this woman is?
In their past life, they were together for almost two years. When did she ever apologize to him? No matter how unreasonable she was, she would always make a scene.
He shrugged: "No, how could you, Miss Xia, be wrong? You are always great, glorious, and correct."
"Zeng Cheng, please don't do this. I really know I was wrong. Please talk to me, or I'll go crazy!"
Xia Ning tugged at Zeng Cheng's sleeve, her eyes even pleading.
Considering this young lady's proud and arrogant personality, this is definitely the limit she can go on.
If it were the old Zeng Cheng, he would have surrendered on the spot.
But for Mr. Zeng now—haha, is that all?
"Xia Ning, don't you know men and women shouldn't touch each other? Please let go, what kind of behavior is this, pulling and tugging like that?"
"Zeng Cheng...you never used to yell at me!"
"Because I used to like you."
"You don't like it anymore now?"
"Nonsense—didn't I make that very clear to you that day?"
"you--"
"What do you mean, 'you'? I can spoil you, or I can replace you. It's that simple."
Xia Ning was brought to tears by Zeng Cheng's sharp rebuke.
From her perspective—she took the initiative to talk to Zeng Cheng and even sincerely apologized to him, showing that she had already been very humble!
As a result, Zeng Cheng not only didn't appreciate it, but also said such hurtful things to her!
Xia Ning grew angrier the more she thought about it, and finally couldn't hold back anymore. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she was covered in tears.
"Zeng Cheng, are you out of your mind? The exam is coming up soon, and you actually made Ningning cry?"
Qi Jiahao suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Actually, this guy had been eavesdropping the whole time.
Seeing Xia Ning cry, he immediately jumped out to "save the beauty," which perfectly fits his "warm man" persona.
"She's the one who wants to cry, what does it have to do with me? Qi Jiahao, aren't you just making a fuss over nothing?"
Zeng Cheng retorted with a single sentence.
The other day he kept calling me "Brother Jiahao" and "Wolong," that's because he paid for it.
This guy didn't pay again today, Zeng Cheng definitely won't let it go.
Qi Jiahao suddenly felt a sense of frustration from the loss of emotional value—Zeng Cheng was definitely a dog, he could turn on you in an instant!
He said angrily, "Zeng Cheng, stop making excuses. I heard everything. If you hadn't been being sarcastic, Ningning wouldn't have cried. Apologize to Ningning right now, or else—"
Zeng Cheng asked with a smile, "Otherwise what?"
Qi Jiahao spat out six words through gritted teeth: "Don't say you weren't warned!"
Zeng Cheng was amused by this.
Well, the 18-year-old version of Director Qi is indeed still in the stage of awkwardly pretending to be cool, and he enjoys it immensely.
Qi Jiahao was somewhat taken aback: "Zhao, are you allowed to laugh now?"
Before Zeng Cheng could say anything, Xia Ning, who was standing next to him, started to lash out.
She glared at the awkward guy: "So you're allowed to be mean to Zeng Cheng?"
Qi Jiahao: "I—"
Zeng Cheng tried hard to hold back his laughter.
This is all completely nonsensical! The entire northwestern Shanxi region is in complete chaos!
After scolding Qi Jiahao, Xia Ning quickly wiped away her tears, raised her swan-like neck, and walked towards the examination hall—arrogance was ultimately her true nature.
Zeng Cheng also left quickly—fearing that Director Qi would continue to make things awkward and send him away on the spot.
Only Qi Jiahao remained, stunned in place.
He was thinking about a problem.
When exactly will the Trisolaran fleet arrive?
This world is terrible.
Destroy it, quickly!
The third mock exam is completely aligned with the college entrance examination.
The first day's exam was in Chinese on the morning.
There's not much to say about this subject; it's purely about mastering the fundamentals, allowing no shortcuts or tricks, and there's virtually no chance of exceeding expectations.
After the exam, Zeng Cheng estimated that he could only get a maximum of 90 out of 150 points, or even less.
This score was about ten points lower than his usual score.
As for the reason—he felt that his writing was a bit off-key.
It's not that I'm going off-topic, it's just that my writing is too vague.
To put it simply, it's too much to ask a man who's almost forty in his mental age to express himself as emotionally as a young person.
However, Zeng Cheng did very well on the math exam in the afternoon.
I sprinted through the exam like a pro, as if blessed by a celestial being. After finishing the last big question, I glanced at my two-yuan digital watch and realized that there were still a full twenty minutes left before the exam ended.
I went back and checked it again, and found a small flaw in the solid geometry problem, so I corrected it.
The rest should be fine.
[Does that mean I'm likely to get a perfect score in math on this exam?]
Zeng Cheng knew that he was now terrifyingly strong compared to before, but he was still taken aback.
A perfect score in math! That's not just terrifying, it's absolutely terrifying!
However, this is also related to the fact that the third mock exam was relatively easy overall.
Although we have a relatively complete advanced mathematics system, there is no problem in high school mathematics that is theoretically unsolvable.
However, theory is just theory. There are too many prerequisites for getting a perfect score in math, and even for Zeng Cheng, who has the advantage of having two cheat codes, it is a low-probability event.
Zeng Cheng also did well on the science and English tests on the second day.
Thanks to my improved math skills, and the fact that I've been shamelessly asking questions and relentlessly patting down the saintess of a certain sect these past few days, I can probably score 220+ out of 300 on the combined science exam, which is at least 20 points higher than before.
As for English, when I was preparing for the postgraduate entrance exam in my previous life, I memorized an entire CET-6 vocabulary dictionary by force, and I could definitely score 130+. But it's impossible to score more than that because my test-taking skills are too poor.
When it comes to English, test scores and language proficiency are definitely not linearly correlated.
So even now, he still doesn't understand why he had to spend more than ten years learning English when he was in school.
It's not that we shouldn't learn it at all, but the weight given to it shouldn't be so great.
To put it simply, there are professionals in each field, and for everyday reading and communication, using translation software is sufficient.
After the exam, Zeng Cheng returned home. His mother quickly helped him put down his schoolbag and then casually asked him how he had done on the exam.
This is the case for families with high school seniors; whenever there is a major exam, the parents are often more nervous than the child.
"Well, I think I performed alright, barely making it into the first-tier university cutoff score?"
Zeng Cheng did not tell the truth, but chose to play it safe.
With the double boost, he's guaranteed to perform exceptionally well in this exam, likely scoring 70-80 points higher than in the second mock exam.
He jumped directly from a Foundation Establishment cultivator to a Golden Core expert.
As for why he didn't tell his parents right away—Zeng Cheng planned to create a little surprise for the couple.
He could already imagine how excited Sun Feng and Zeng Liqing would be when they saw his real results in a couple of days.
Simple yet practical life hacks: Lower your expectations and delay gratification to increase your happiness.
Around 7 p.m., the mother and son were halfway through their dinner when Old Zeng went home.
Zeng Cheng greeted his elderly father with a smile: "Oh, boss, what brings you home for a visit today?"
Zeng Liqing glared at his eldest son, unusually refraining from a father-son banter, and quickly grabbed a bowl to refill his rice.
He was so busy today. He started visiting people in the morning and hasn't finished until now. He just ate a quick bite of bread for lunch and is starving.
Half an hour later, after finishing his meal, Old Zeng finally recovered somewhat. So, while reading the newspaper, he inquired about his eldest son's recent mock exam, asking him in an official tone about the specifics of the situation.
Zeng Cheng gave the same answer—his performance was alright, and he should be able to get a first-class journal entry without any problems.
Zeng Liqing put down his newspaper: "Really? If your kid really gets into a top-tier university, I'll fry fish for you on my own palm, no problem!"
Zeng Cheng rolled his eyes at his father: "Sir, let's not even talk about whether you can fry fish with your bare hands. Let's assume you can—can you fry the fish you caught yourself, instead of always buying from the market and pretending you caught it yourself? My mom and I always see through your act but don't say anything. It's really tiring..."
Zeng Liqing: "..."
He doesn't smoke or gamble, and he doesn't drink alcohol except for necessary social engagements. His only hobby is fishing.
They've tinkered with a lot of equipment, and are incredibly professional, but their skills are lackluster. They often fail to deliver results – a perfect illustration of what it means to be a poor student with a lot of stationery.
Of course, we can't blame him for this.
Grassroots work is just too busy; there's hardly any time to hone fishing skills.
The problem is that Zeng Liqing is too concerned about his image. He often goes to the market to buy fish after failing to catch any fish himself, then pretends that he caught them. When he gets home, he insists that Sun Feng flatter him to Zeng Cheng.
Definitely enraged, Zeng Liqing tapped the table: "Zeng Cheng, how much is your daily allowance now?"
Zeng Cheng immediately sensed something was wrong: "Ten yuan a day... what's wrong?"
Zeng Liqing turned to Sun Feng and asked, "Wife, don't you think we gave you too much?"
Zeng Cheng: "..."
In his previous life, President Zeng didn't have a very good reputation in the business world.
His competitors all say he's vengeful; while others might wait ten years to take revenge, he'll seize any opportunity to do so from morning till night.
However, Zeng Cheng also had something to say.
[Can you blame me for being vengeful? It's genetic!]
After a major exam, most people choose to slack off for two days to recover their SAN value.
Zeng Cheng did not.
Back in my room, I quickly started practicing coding problems.
It's not that he doesn't need to restore the SAN value, but that he has another way.
Having spent a few years working at a major company in my past life, I've long since learned how to self-manipulate.
These exercise books and reference books are clearly my memorials to the throne, my empire, and my people. I am still young, and I will be a wise and benevolent ruler!
I scrolled through it until past 11 p.m.
Before going to bed, Zeng Cheng habitually glanced at his phone and opened the Java version of QQ.
The phone he's currently using is a Nokia 5300, running the Symbian S60 system, and costs over three thousand yuan; it's considered a semi-smartphone.
True smartphones won't be available until next year, and the mobile phone industry will gradually enter a new era of Android and iOS dominating the market starting next year.
As for Nokia, the absolute king of this era, it unfortunately bet on the wrong horse, choosing to fight Symbian to the death, and then in just a few years it became a nobody.
A friend request has been received.
Zeng Cheng clicked on it and found it was Xia Ning.
Xia Ning is a bit of an artsy person; her QQ nickname is "Summer Green".
As for Zeng Cheng, this dog is worse than someone who can't even pass a Chinese language exam. He has absolutely no artistic talent. His current nickname is "Honest Zeng".
A name should have a courtesy name. His name is Zeng Cheng, so it makes perfect sense for him to choose the courtesy name "Laoshi" (meaning "honest").
My nickname before my rebirth wasn't this; it was 【倔强こ侽骇う】.
No laughing here! In 2009, Martian language was all the rage. Which trend-chasing youth didn't use a few lines?
The accompanying QQ signature is: 【Love you is my business, but you're irrelevant.】
Therefore, it is unreasonable for someone to mock Jiahao now.
He's also quite skilled at playing the "awkward" game.
Without hesitation, Zeng Cheng decisively clicked "no".
I really don't understand this woman's thought process.
When you lick her, she acts all high and mighty. But if you stop licking her, she comes back shamelessly, and you can't get rid of her no matter what you do. Isn't that just a problem?
A masochist, an absolute masochist!
I was just about to log out of QQ, wash up, and go to bed when a new message came in.
[From Up on Poppy Hill: Zeng Cheng, I have a question for you.]
[Zeng Laoshi: Still awake so late? Why are you asking?]
From Up on Poppy Hill: Is life always painful, or does it get better once you truly grow up?
Zeng Cheng was stunned—was this emo?
Any question, when given the qualifier of "life," often becomes difficult to answer.
For example, when it came to Yu Baiwei's question—even someone as emotionally intelligent as Zeng Cheng didn't know how to respond for a moment.
After a moment's thought, Zeng Cheng countered with, "Yu, you seem a little unhappy... Did something happen?"
In fact, Yu Baiwei didn't expect anyone to give her a real answer when she asked this question. She just suddenly felt the urge to confide in someone after arguing with her mother.
Zeng Cheng's rhetorical question perfectly met her needs.
A few seconds later, she replied to Zeng Cheng: "I'm a little unhappy. I had a fight with my mother."
Zeng Cheng didn't reply immediately. Instead, he waited about thirty seconds and only started typing after not receiving a second message from Yu Baiwei.
"Arguing is normal. I often argue with my dad too. For example, just now at dinner, we were arguing about how Einstein's equations should be used to avoid singularities when simulating black hole collisions, and we almost came to blows!"
Why didn't Zeng Cheng ask Yu Baiwei why she was arguing with her mother, but instead chose to make jokes?
The reason is simple—Yu Baiwei will definitely continue if she's willing to talk, and if she doesn't, it means she doesn't want to.
If you want to keep the conversation going without asking further questions, the best way is to crack a joke.
Pay attention, these are all important points!
As Zeng Cheng had expected, Yu Baiwei's mood improved significantly, and she sent him three smiling emojis in a row.
Then Zeng Cheng started to give Yu Baiwei pep talks.
"Yu, life is such a broad concept, but since you've brought it up, I'll just ramble on a bit—"
"Our generation was always threatened by teachers and parents, as if making a wrong choice when we were young would ruin our lives..."
"That's not actually the case."
"Life is not that fragile; the margin for error is unimaginably large."
"A utilitarian way of thinking makes us overlook the essence of life—to live life the way we like."
"Love what you love, hate what you hate, strive to experience it, keep trying and making mistakes, and reject all forms of internal conflict..."
"We can be a suffering Plato, or we can be a happy pig, but never live like a suffering pig."
About ten seconds later, Yu Baiwei sent a message.
"Zeng Cheng, thank you, you're really good with words!"
She was happy to drink this bowl of chicken soup.
After ending her chat with her only friend, Yu Baiwei put down her phone.
She walked to the window and gently pushed it open.
A gentle summer breeze blew into the room. She looked up at the even gentler full moon in the sky, and the subtle expressions on her oval face were particularly lively.
My heart, frozen for so long, seems to have developed a crack—a crack through which moonlight can shine in.
The moon is beautiful tonight, but the most beautiful sight in the world is clearly not the moon, but a young girl's first stirrings of love, innocent, naive, and unknown to others.