Don't Let Playthings Distract You

On Wednesday morning, Jiangcheng was caught between winter and spring, but Jiangcheng No. 7 High School was buzzing with excitement.

The monthly exam papers for every subject had all been reviewed yesterday. Early this morning, the grade rankings board was already packed with students checking their standings.

First place came as no surprise. It was still Chen Yue from Science Class 1.

[Math: 130 points, Physics: 94 points, Chemistry: 92 points, Biology: 90 points, Chinese: 115 points, English: 123 points, Total: 644 points.]

At No. 7 High School, a score of 644 was practically godlike. Although the school's own monthly exams were somewhat easier, that score was more than enough to make a run at a top university.

But everyone had long since gotten used to it. Chen Yue had dominated the rankings year-round. If he ever fell from first place, that would be real news.

Today, however, the one stirring up discussion was the fifth-place student who had shot upward like a rocket.

[Fifth Place: Li Dong. Math: 150 points, Physics: 100 points, Chemistry: 88 points, Biology: 87 points, English: 112 points, Chinese: 98 points. Total: 635 points.]

"Li Dong?! The Li Dong from Class 2?" A boy stared in disbelief.

"Wasn't he always hovering around fiftieth in the grade? How did he suddenly jump to fifth?!"

"Hey, aren't you guys missing the point?"

A bespectacled boy beside them swallowed.

"Look at his math and physics scores! Both perfect!"

"Chen Yue only got 130 in math and 94 in physics. Do the math—how big is that gap?"

As soon as he said that, the students around him all sucked in a breath of Jiang Yizhou.

Chen Yue was only nine points ahead of Li Dong overall, but that was because Li Dong had been dragged down a little by Chinese, biology, and chemistry.

In a showdown between the top science subjects, Li Dong had practically pinned the grade's number one to the ground and rubbed his face in it!

Ring, ring, ring.

The class bell rang, and the students in the hallway quickly returned to their classrooms.

The first class for Senior Three Class 2 was math.

Old Yang still wore that stern, unsmiling expression as he began writing the day's topic on the blackboard—comprehensive applications of analytic geometry.

The students below took notes with great focus. Everything Old Yang taught was useful, and with Li Dong's perfect score setting the example, Class 2's study atmosphere had reached unprecedented heights.

However, halfway through the lesson, Old Yang casually glanced at Li Dong in the back row, and his face immediately darkened.

"Li Dong, stand up."

Li Dong froze for a moment. When he raised his head, his eyes were still somewhat unfocused.

"Bring your extracurricular book up here."

Old Yang pointed at the podium.

The entire class turned their heads in unison.

Yet their strange looks were not directed at Li Dong. Every single one of them was staring at Old Yang on the podium.

No, Teacher Yang, he got a perfect 150 in math!

Just two days ago, he stood at the podium and explained the test paper to us using four different methods. What was wrong with him reading an extracurricular book now?

Did a study god really need to sit through basic lessons like the rest of us?

Of course Old Yang could read the looks in the eyes of those little brats below, but he did not care in the slightest.

So what if you got full marks?

So what if you were good at math?

As long as you were in my, Yang Shengguo's, math class, you were not allowed to read extracurricular books!

Even if you thought what I was teaching was too easy, you could read Chinese comprehension passages or memorize English vocabulary to raise your overall score! What kind of nonsense was reading extracurricular books?

Knowing he was in the wrong, Li Dong lowered his head and walked toward the podium with the book in his hands.

He felt a little embarrassed too.

Has my recent stat increase made me a little too full of myself? Before, I at least knew to hide the book behind a test paper. Today, I actually laid it out on the desk and read it openly. That really was too arrogant...

When he reached the podium, Li Dong handed over the book with both hands and quietly admitted his mistake.

"Sorry, Teacher Yang."

Old Yang reached out and took the book, just about to lower his voice and lecture him.

"Your current score bottlenecks are Chinese and English. Don't think getting perfect scores in math and physics means you're guaranteed a good university. Reading these extracurricular books that distract you from your proper—"

Before he could finish, Old Yang froze.

Python Programming: From Beginner to Practice.

The words "distract you from your proper pursuits" lodged in his throat.

He was completely dumbfounded.

What was going on with this kid? Were the compulsory high school subjects already not challenging enough for him? Had he started teaching himself programming?

Reading programming books... did not seem like it could entirely count as being distracted from one's proper pursuits, did it?

Old Yang stood there for a moment, holding that Python textbook, unsure how he was supposed to criticize Li Dong.

After holding it in for more than ten seconds, he finally squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth.

"C Language is the most badass."

Li Dong: "..."

The whole class: "..."

Li Dong had actually intended to start with C Language at first. After all, it had the romance of a low-level language.

But he wanted to finish the inventory management system for his uncle's hardware factory as soon as possible.

So Python was the best choice. Its syntax was relatively simple, without complicated pointers or memory management, making it perfect for writing a lightweight database management system with an interface.

He planned to finish this Python primer first, then learn how to use SQLite databases so he could begin putting it into practice.

He had read for over an hour last night, plus the morning self-study period and more than ten minutes of first period today.

He had already worked through all of Python's core basic syntax, only skipping the web crawling and data analysis chapters that he did not need for now.

Ring, ring, ring.

The dismissal bell made Old Yang breathe a sigh of relief.

"Li Dong, come with me to the office."

On the way to the office, Old Yang asked him earnestly.

"Why are you thinking about learning programming again?"

Li Dong scratched his head.

"I just wanted to make a small program for my family and improve efficiency a bit."

"You need to remember this." Old Yang hesitated slightly before speaking.

"The Gaokao is a comprehensive battle. You can't raise your overall score just by getting full marks in one or two subjects."

"If you want to aim for a top institution at Tsinghua–Peking's level, you have to raise your Chinese and English scores too! Your chemistry and biology also need improvement."

Li Dong nodded seriously.

Of course he knew all that.

For biology, he had already decided to rely on his Memory stat to force himself to memorize every piece of high school knowledge.

Chemistry was even less of a concern. With [Chemical Intuition], mastering high school chemistry was only a matter of time.

For him, pushing those two subjects toward perfect scores in the Gaokao no longer presented much of a technical barrier.

Chinese and English, on the other hand, really were his current weak points.

English was manageable. High school English did not require an enormous vocabulary, and as long as he was not expected to conduct complicated everyday conversations, his powerful memory would be enough to grind through the words and grammar.

What gave him the biggest headache was Chinese.

He had even foolishly looked through the Azure Dragon Study Group, hoping to find some heavyweight from the literary world.

He had even found names like Tagore and other literary giants, but then he thought again: if Tagore were asked to do Huaxia's Gaokao Chinese reading comprehension questions...

The old man would probably be at a loss too.

As they talked, the two of them entered the teachers' office.

At that moment, Zheng Hua, the head of the physics group, was also in the office. He had just hung up the phone with a speechless expression.

Seeing this, Old Yang smiled and teased him.

"Was the principal calling you again?"

Zheng Hua nodded helplessly.

"Yeah. I already told him the second-round results won't be released until three this afternoon, but he's called several times all morning to ask."

Old Yang smiled at that and said nothing more.

In truth, all the teachers in the office understood perfectly well.

Since Principal Wang had been transferred to No. 7 High School, every time he attended an education seminar in the city, he had always been mocked openly and subtly by the principals of prestigious schools like No. 1 High School and No. 6 High School.

No. 7 High School's university admission rate and elite university admission rate really could not hold their heads up among a group of high-quality high schools.

Now that they had finally produced a "true dragon" like Li Dong, someone who might fight his way through the competition, how could Principal Wang not be nervous?

After laughing, Zheng Hua turned and noticed Li Dong following Old Yang into the office. He asked Old Yang in confusion.

"Old Yang, why did you bring this kid to the office? Doesn't he still have physics next period..."

Halfway through, Zheng Hua suddenly remembered something. He turned toward Jiang Yang, who was organizing lesson plans nearby, and immediately rephrased his words.

"Old Yang, what did you bring him to the office for?"

Jiang Yang, who had been organizing lesson plans, stiffened: ???

Old Yang gave Jiang Yang a somewhat apologetic smile.

"Uh, Teacher Jiang, sorry, but I'm borrowing Li Dong for one period next class."

Jiang Yang took a deep breath, nodded without saying anything, picked up his lesson plans, and quickly left the office.

He did not want to stay here for even one more second. This was just too cruel!

Li Dong was actually quite confused too.

What exactly was Old Yang trying to do?

Old Yang walked to his desk and sat down, then gestured for Li Dong to sit beside him as well.

"Li Dong." Old Yang's eyes held undisguised admiration.

"Your talent in math and physics is something that perhaps only I in the entire school truly understand."

"To be honest, Director Zheng can no longer teach you much in terms of professional knowledge."

"As long as you keep up this momentum, you'll definitely soar into the sky once you get to university."

Li Dong nodded silently. He could hear the concern and expectations in Old Yang's words.

Then Old Yang gave a bitter smile.

"I don't know why, but I have this feeling that you'll definitely cause a huge stir someday."

"So I think there are some things you may need very soon."

"Need what?" Li Dong asked, puzzled.

"The format and conventions of academic papers."

As he spoke, Old Yang turned on the computer on his desk.

For a newcomer just entering academia, things like paper formatting, citation conventions, and the logic behind writing an abstract could take endless trial and error to figure out alone. They would have to painstakingly fuss over countless formatting details and revise their work again and again.

Sometimes, if the format did not meet a journal's requirements, the editor would reject it outright during the initial review.

Old Yang wanted to pass on all the academic experience he had accumulated over the years, holding nothing back, before Li Dong even needed it.