At six in the morning, the classroom of Class 3, Grade 10, at Ning City No. 1 High School was already lit.
The quiet of morning study was filled with the sound of pages turning and pen tips scratching across paper.
Most of the students were bent over their work, engaged in a final "struggle" with the homework the teacher had left after yesterday's classes.
Ling Yun walked into the classroom and sat down in his seat.
Looking at his classmates writing away around him, he suddenly remembered that he seemed to have forgotten to do yesterday's homework too.
Calmly, he took out his exercise books for each subject and casually opened them.
For Ling Yun now, these problems were as simple as one plus one equaling two.
He only needed to sweep his gaze lightly over a question, and his brain would instantly analyze the optimal solution and standard answer like the most precise computer.
The pen tip danced lightly across the paper, hardly needing to pause for thought.
In just ten minutes, he had neatly finished all his homework. He had written so quickly that even the classmate beside him, scribbling furiously while copying the answers, could not necessarily keep up.
"Whoa—Brother Yun!"
Zhou Da, sitting behind him, sucked in a sharp breath and stared wide-eyed at Ling Yun's pen, which spun as wildly as if it had been fitted with an electric motor.
"Y-you're pulling out some new high-tech trick again? Writing with your mind? Quantum sketching?"
He simply could not understand this inhuman performance.
Ling Yun stopped writing and turned around to give him an annoyed look. "I'm doing my homework! What other trick would I be pulling? I'm just making up yesterday's assignments."
"Making up your homework?!"
Zhou Da's voice rose an entire octave as he pointed at Ling Yun's exercise books, which had barely been turned open.
"Big brother! The path of your pen is practically taking flight! Even copying homework isn't this smooth! Are you sure you're not drawing talismans?"
His entire face said, "I don't believe you."
Ling Yun could not be bothered to waste words on him. He simply tossed the few books he had just finished over his shoulder, and they landed precisely on Zhou Da's desk. "Here. Check them and see if they're talismans."
Zhou Da's eyes lit up. His expression changed instantly, and he picked up the homework with a fawning grin. "Oh, Brother Yun, listen to you! We're brothers—why talk about checking or not checking? I was just joking! With your skills, who would doubt you? They're absolutely perfect full-mark examples!"
Ever since he had decided that Ling Yun possessed a "protagonist aura," Zhou Da's trust in him had already broken through the heavens.
"Since your homework books 'accidentally' ended up here, I'll 'happen to' use them for reference. I'll return them after I'm done copying, okay?" He swiftly pulled out his own blank exercise books.
"Tsk. The fact that you've managed to survive this long with that shameless look on your face really is a miracle."
Ling Yun laughed as he cursed him, but he did not stop him. What was the big deal about letting a brother copy some homework?
The bell signaling the end of morning study rang, and a tide of students instantly surged toward the cafeteria.
Ling Yun had already dealt with breakfast at a roadside stall, eating a jianbing guozi, so he remained calmly seated.
"Huh? Da Zi, why aren't you following the main force to fight for food today?"
Ling Yun was somewhat surprised to see Zhou Da sitting motionless beside him.
That fellow was usually one of the cafeteria's vanguard troops.
Zhou Da glanced around mysteriously. Only after confirming that most people had left did he lower his voice, a hint of smugness in it.
"Hehe, Brother Yun, you don't understand, do you? I made fully prepared plans for returning to school this time! I brought enough 'strategic rations'!"
As if performing a magic trick, he pulled a brightly packaged self-heating hot pot from his bulging schoolbag. "Here, it's a new flavor! I haven't tried it yet. It's the perfect chance to have a proper meal this morning!"
"Then what are you waiting for? Heat it up now," Ling Yun said, puzzled.
"Heat it up now?" Zhou Da gave him an expression that said, "You're still too young."
"If I heat it up now, when those starving wolf roommates finish chewing their buns and steamed bread and come back, won't there be even a mouthful of soup left for me after they smell it? One pair of chopsticks each, and they'll divide it up completely in minutes!"
His eyes shone with the light of "wisdom." "I'm planning to heat it up after class starts. When the teacher turns around to write on the board, I'll sneak a bite. No one will know anything! That's called a tactical insertion—the enemy is in the light, and I'm in the shadows!"
Watching his expression of "aren't I clever," Ling Yun nearly burst out laughing. "Tactical insertion? Are you sure? The next class is Old Classmate Liu's physics lesson! You're going to play hot-pot tactics right under his nose?"
"Relax, relax, Brother Yun. I know what I'm doing!" Zhou Da patted his chest, brimming with confidence. "Don't worry, once it's ready, I'll give you half! We'll share the good fortune!"
"Thanks, but I ate my fill this morning. Enjoy it yourself. Just don't let your little operation get out of hand."
Ling Yun reminded him again, feeling that the risk factor of this "tactic" was rather high.
Soon, the students who had eaten their fill gradually returned to the classroom.
As the crisp bell rang, homeroom teacher Liu Shiguo walked energetically to the podium with his physics textbook and lesson plan and began that day's class.
Just as Liu Shiguo turned around and passionately derived a mechanics formula on the blackboard, Zhou Da's "tactical insertion" quietly began in the front rows of the classroom.
He quickly tore open the packaging, followed the instructions, carefully poured cold water into the heating-pack compartment, and put on the lid. Then he swiftly stuffed the scalding box deep into his desk, leaving only a narrow gap for ventilation.
At first, there was only a faint hissing sound, like a little snake sticking out its tongue. Zhou Da secretly rejoiced. The tactic had succeeded!
However, the good times did not last. The hissing sound seemed to come alive as it rapidly grew louder and escalated!
In a mere few dozen seconds, it turned into a deep, continuous "whoo-whoo-whoo" roar!
The sound was especially jarring in the quiet classroom, as if a steam locomotive were charging full speed ahead inside Zhou Da's desk!
Liu Shiguo had just reached a crucial point in his explanation when the sudden noise interrupted him.
He stopped his chalk and frowned in confusion, cocking his ear to listen. "Hmm? Students, did you hear some strange sound? It sounds... like something boiling water?"
"We heard it, Teacher!" the entire class replied in unison, their gazes sweeping toward the source of the sound.
Quite a few people's eyes had already focused on the front row, in Zhou Da's direction.
Zhou Da's heart instantly jumped into his throat!
He had never imagined that the self-heating hot pot's "steampunk" sound effects would be so powerful! He tried to use his body to block the desk, but it was obviously futile.
Something even worse happened! Wisps of white steam carrying the rich aroma of spicy beef tallow stubbornly seeped through the gap in Zhou Da's desk. They rose in curling tendrils and gathered into a small, suspicious cloud in the air!
"Zhou Da!"
Liu Shiguo had sharp eyes and immediately locked onto the target. Pointing at the smoking desk, he looked both angry and amused.
"What are you up to this time, you brat? Why is your desk smoking? Don't tell me you stole an alcohol lamp from the laboratory?"
"Holy crap! Brother Da! You didn't actually bring explosives to school, did you?"
The students beside him stirred up trouble without a care for the consequences, and a wave of suppressed laughter immediately swept through the classroom.
Seeing that his "tactic" had been thoroughly exposed, Zhou Da put on a mournful face. Like someone holding a hot potato, he slowly lifted the still-roaring, steaming self-heating hot pot out of his desk and set it on the desktop.
The rich, spicy aroma instantly spread through the room.
"Teacher... I... I just didn't eat breakfast, so I wanted... wanted to heat up a self-heating hot pot..." Zhou Da's voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, and he kept his head lowered.
Looking at Zhou Da's pitiful yet comical appearance, then at the hot pot still "roaring" on its own, Liu Shiguo finally could not keep his serious expression together. The corners of his mouth twitched several times as he struggled to hold back his laughter.
"Zhou Da, Zhou Da, you..." He shook his head helplessly. "Forget it, forget it! Since this is your first offense, and this 'accident' was caused by you being 'hungry,' I won't punish you too harshly this time. Write a two-thousand-word self-criticism and hand it to me tomorrow! As for this..."
He pointed at the hot pot that was still "working." "Since it's already heated, don't waste food. Find somewhere without anyone around after class and eat it quickly! Don't smoke everyone out in the classroom!"
"Thank you, Teacher! Thank you, Teacher! You're the most reasonable, understanding, wise, and mighty teacher I've ever met!"
Zhou Da felt as if he had been pardoned. Tears of gratitude nearly filled his eyes, and flattery poured from his mouth as if it were free. He truly had not expected the consequences to be so light! He could even keep his hot pot!
"All right, all right, stop flattering me! Deal with that 'steam locomotive' quickly and keep it quiet! Let's continue the lesson!"
Liu Shiguo waved his hand and tried his best to put on a stern expression, but the smile in the corners of his eyes could not be concealed.
A burst of relaxed laughter rang through the classroom.
In that pleasant atmosphere, the class ended without anyone noticing.
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