A Win-Win

Suye quickly flipped through the magic book, a look of delight on his face. It was six in the morning.

Suye happily washed up, then basked in the sunlight in the courtyard to promote serotonin secretion. Taking advantage of his abundant energy, he meditated deeply for ten minutes, then rapidly reviewed yesterday's notes before finally leaving the house.

He looked left and right as he walked, but unfortunately didn't see breakfast or Uncle Figo.

Suye found a breakfast stall, ate a little something, and hurried toward school.

When he arrived at Plato Academy, some classmates were already walking in.

Suye breathed a sigh of relief.

On the third day of enrollment, Suye finally walked into the classroom like a real student, striding properly along the main marble path.

No more mud or the fragrance of grass on his feet.

There were only a dozen or so people in the classroom. Suye took a closer look and thought to himself, Are my deskmates really this hardworking?

Behind the Fifth Table sat four people.

Pallas, Hote, Lake, and Rolon were all reading seriously.

Jimmy and Albert weren't there.

Looking at these four, a faint smile appeared on Suye's face.

Walking to the table, Suye said with a smile, "Morning."

The four turned their heads in unison, staring at Suye with incredulous looks.

"How are you here?" Hote couldn't help blurting out.

Lake asked, "Suye, are you okay? We all guessed you'd be late today for sure."

Suye smiled. "How could a student who loves learning as much as I do be late? Starting today, I'm definitely coming early and leaving late, studying hard."

"Only a fool would believe that." Lake laughed, then lowered his head to continue reading.

Hote, with an excited expression, lowered his voice and said, "I really can't thank you enough. That Map Memory Method you taught me yesterday—it really works! I'd heard about the internal visualization forms of mages from the four different nations before, but I always found them a mess. After you taught me, whenever I think about it now, that map pops into my head, and I remember the four internal visualization forms and the four magic artifacts clearly. I won't get it wrong on the exam for sure."

Suye smiled. "Glad it helped."

Suye thought to himself, In that one map, all the images and colors involve image memory, the giant hourglass and magic tower are exaggeration memory, the dynamic images involve dynamic memory, and putting them all together fits the human principle of memory chunking. It's like combining four methods into one. It took me a long time to master, so of course it's effective.

Lake and Rolon seemed completely oblivious to their conversation, but Pallas listened carefully.

Pallas thought, I heard their conversation yesterday too. I didn't expect even Hote to say it's useful. I'll make a note of this first, and if they keep using this method and their grades improve, I'll use it later.

Pallas earnestly recorded it in her magic book.

Suye sat down, quickly reviewed yesterday's notes again, then said to Hote, "I found a few particularly important knowledge points yesterday. Want to hear them?"

Hote quickly replied, "Yes, I want to! You're really too kind!"

Suye picked a few pieces of magical knowledge he considered most important and began to explain.

Hote listened with great interest, occasionally asking questions that inevitably stumped Suye.

Suye had to think based on Hote's questions, answering if he could, and noting them down if he couldn't, to think about later or ask the teacher.

Not being able to answer a question meant his understanding of the related knowledge was insufficient.

The others in the class were doing their own things. A few students who were decent but not at the top pointed at Suye and Hote, secretly mocking the two fools for studying foolishly.

Only Pallas silently noted parts of their conversation and continued studying.

More and more people arrived, and the classroom grew noisy. Suye and Hote simply moved to the window at the back of the classroom, one teaching to learn, the other just listening.

After explaining for a while, Suye realized that this behavior of his went against his own principles.

As long as he hadn't confirmed someone as an enemy, as long as there was a possibility of cooperation, he should guide his actions with win-win thinking.

Besides, Hote was a good classmate who had helped him.

Suye wasn't ready to reveal the Feynman Technique directly yet, so he repeatedly suggested that Hote explain something too, but Hote absolutely refused, insisting he couldn't articulate it.

Suye tried a few times, but Hote wouldn't budge, so he gave up, thinking that once his own grades gradually improved, he could reveal the Feynman Technique and might be able to convince him.

However, guided by win-win thinking, Suye didn't let Hote lose out. He not only answered Hote's questions but also proactively taught small methods and tricks, like the various memory techniques from before. Suye deliberately used them several times, and once Hote trusted the method, he would distill it at the right moment for Hote to practice specifically.

In reality, the Feynman Technique is mainly for individual learning—teaching knowledge to an imagined person works fine—but teaching a real person is even more effective.

Soon, the bell for the first class rang, and both Suye and Hote felt a bit reluctant.

Hote said excitedly, "Suye, how about you teach me like this from now on? I feel like I've learned so much—it's amazing!"

Suye thought for a moment and said honestly, "This is a learning method I'm still figuring out. Teaching you like this improves my own learning efficiency. I don't really want to keep it up forever—I'm afraid that over time, you'll think I'm using you."

Hote heard this and grew even happier. "I was actually feeling a bit awkward and even guilty earlier, thinking I was wasting your time! Since you say it's for your own learning, and I feel it's for mine, then let's keep studying like this—it's perfect! It's settled. If anyone calls you a fool again, I'll throw a punch for you! If I can't win, I'll get my classmates! If they can't win, I'll find a teacher—I've got two classmates who are already academy teachers!"

Hote spoke with great enthusiasm, looking like a big brother looking out for his little brother.

Suye didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Sure enough, on the Fifth Table, only Lake and I are normal.

The first class of the morning was still Teacher Niedern's. His lessons were usually important, with longer class hours.

A little while into the lesson, Niedern suddenly stopped and looked toward the Fourth Table.

"Does anyone know why Horton isn't here?"

Many classmates shook their heads.

Only then did Suye notice that one person was missing from the desks ahead.

Suye shook his head too.

"Alright, let's continue the lecture." Niedern's tone was noticeably different from before.

Many classmates turned to look at Suye, carrying inexplicable smiles.

Today Suye had shown up, but Horton hadn't.

Three days in a row since the semester started, someone had been late—no wonder Niedern was angry.

As class neared its end, heavy footsteps suddenly came from outside the door.

Everyone put down their Magic Books and looked toward the entrance.

There stood a youth covered in bloodstains at the doorway. Though his face looked freshly washed, his nose was crooked, his upper lip split, four or five teeth missing, leaving a dark gap in his mouth. His face was mottled blue and red, swollen like a pig's head, tears glistening in his eyes, and streaks of tears still smeared across his cheeks.

All the classmates stared blankly—who was this, and why had he come to their classroom door? A few seconds later, many realized.

Wasn't that Horton!