A Trip to the Principal's Office

The next morning, when Chen Zhao arrived in class, he could clearly feel that many of his classmates were looking at him differently.

After all, his lightning-fast calculation of that god-tier math problem yesterday had shocked quite a few people. Chen Zhao had previously been treated as little more than air in the classroom, but now he had suddenly become a hot topic. Everyone felt that Chen Zhao was unfathomable and mysterious!

He reached his seat in the back row, took off his backpack, and sat down.

His deskmate, Xu Lanlan, was eating breakfast... a chive bun.

"My dear sister, do you really have to eat a chive bun?" Chen Zhao felt a bit frantic. Everyone knew the power of a chive bun; if you ate one, the smell would linger for the entire morning. Yet, Xu Lanlan loved them. Sitting by the back door of the classroom, the scent drifted out, but since no one else could smell it, Chen Zhao was forced to endure the full brunt of it alone.

"Scared? You're going to die on the spot from my burps." Xu Lanlan continued to bite into her bun, unfazed, and kept up her sharp-tongued banter.

Chen Zhao had no way to deal with her, so he opened a biology textbook and began to review.

After reviewing a few pages, Chen Zhao sighed and closed the book. He slumped over his desk, lost in thought.

The reason he stopped reading was simple: he had already read it once yesterday and memorized the whole thing. There was no need to look at it again.

Xu Lanlan noticed Chen Zhao closing his book and began to click her tongue: "What? Getting cocky? Finished memorizing the whole biology book?"

In the past, whenever Chen Zhao didn't want to study and slumped over his desk, Xu Lanlan would offer similar sarcastic remarks. Chen Zhao would usually glare at her in annoyance and turn his head away to play deaf. The glare was to show his defiance, and turning away was because he couldn't win an argument against this sharp-tongued girl.

But today, Chen Zhao broke his usual pattern. He didn't glare or turn away; he just said softly, "Yep."

"What does 'yep' mean? If you were trying to bray like a donkey, it should be 'hee-haw,' not 'yep.'" Xu Lanlan grinned, showing her teeth. She seemed to take pleasure in her own sharp tongue.

"I said 'yep' to mean 'yes,' 'correct,' and 'I have memorized the entire biology textbook!'" Chen Zhao retorted irritably.

"Memorized the whole thing? Your ego is bigger than the Tiangou that eats the sun!" Xu Lanlan pouted. "Dare to let me quiz you? Shall I expose your bluff and see through your pretense?"

Chen Zhao shrugged, indicating he didn't care. "Ask away. If I can't recite it, I lose."

Xu Lanlan arched her pretty eyebrows, seemingly surprised by Chen Zhao's readiness.

Then, Xu Lanlan opened the biology textbook and asked, her words muffled as she bit into her chive bun:

"Definition of photosynthesis?"

Chen Zhao didn't hesitate and answered immediately: "Photosynthesis refers to the process by which green plants use chloroplasts to convert light energy into chemical energy stored in organic matter, while releasing oxygen."

Xu Lanlan looked slightly surprised. She hadn't expected him to actually answer it.

It was fluent and fast, word-for-word identical to the textbook! It was clear he had memorized it by heart.

Seeming to feel that this show-off wasn't quite enough, Chen Zhao suddenly added, "This passage is in the first three lines of page 101 of the compulsory biology textbook."

Xu Lanlan widened her eyes and looked down at the page number. It really was page 101!

"Holy crap!" Xu Lanlan cursed, genuinely shocked. "You can even remember the page numbers?"

"The entire textbook is stored in my brain like an e-book. Mere page numbers are a piece of cake," Chen Zhao smiled. "This is the basic quality of a study god."

"Don't get too carried away with your showing off!" Xu Lanlan refused to believe it. "Fine, I won't ask you questions anymore. I'll ask you for page numbers and line counts. Dare to play?"

"Who's afraid of who!"

"Good! That's the spirit!" Xu Lanlan flipped through a few pages. "Page 125, the relevant information in the bottom right corner."

After asking, Xu Lanlan wore a cunning smile. This section wasn't even part of the exam material, and the teacher hadn't even mentioned it in class. She didn't believe Chen Zhao could recite it!

The next second, Chen Zhao blurted it out!

"The word 'cancer' comes from Latin, originally meaning 'crab,' used to describe how cancer spreads by encroaching on surrounding healthy tissue like a crab moving sideways."

Xu Lanlan was stunned.

He recited it, word for word!

He even memorized the parts that weren't on the test?

The two of them had attracted the attention of the students in front. Wang Wei, who sat in front of Chen Zhao, turned around and asked directly:

"The last page of the textbook, the afterword, the last paragraph of the main text."

Several students looked at Chen Zhao with mischievous grins, thinking to themselves that he couldn't possibly have memorized the afterword, right?

Chen Zhao sneered and began to recite:

"We would also like to thank the teachers and students in the experimental areas who used this set of textbooks. We hope that while using this set of textbooks, you can provide us with your feedback and suggestions in a timely manner. For this, we express our deepest gratitude..."

The surrounding students looked at each other, completely dumbfounded. The situation before them had truly exceeded their expectations.

"You've got to be kidding me?"

"Chen Zhao, are you human or a ghost?"

"You even memorized the afterword? You're a monster! Why would you memorize the afterword? If the college entrance exam tests the afterword, I'll eat every toilet in this school with a spoon!"

"Holy crap, this is the first time I've felt afraid of a top student. Is this what a legendary study god is like?"

Chen Zhao waved his hand, pretending to be an enlightened master. "Don't butter me up; it'll make me proud."

All the students who had turned around to talk immediately snapped back to their seats and started reading.

Chen Zhao was stunned. I said don't butter me up, and you actually stopped? Why are you all so literal! If you go to someone's house as a guest with a gift and they say, "You shouldn't have brought anything," do you actually take the gift back?

A large hand suddenly slapped Chen Zhao on the shoulder, giving him a fright.

He turned around, his hair standing on end—the homeroom teacher was standing right behind him. He must have just walked in; no wonder everyone had turned back to study.

"Come out for a moment." After saying this, the homeroom teacher walked out through the back door.

Chen Zhao thought to himself that this was truly f*cked up; he had only been slumped over for two minutes, and he had been caught right in the act. Another round of a head-on scolding was unavoidable.

However, after stepping outside, the expected reprimand did not come; instead, the homeroom teacher wore a pleasant, smiling face.

Chen Zhao felt a bit creeped out. The homeroom teacher is smiling at me?

"After the second period ends, when everyone goes out for the morning run, don't run. Go to the principal's office instead," the homeroom teacher said.