Even Top Students Have Things They're Not Good At

Day after day passed. Lu Zhou basically kept to a routine of going back and forth between the library and his dorm. Aside from going to the cafeteria for meals and occasionally visiting Professor Tang when he encountered a problem he could not figure out, his daily routine had barely changed.

Since setting foot on this campus, this was the first time his life had been so regular—and it had lasted for a full half month.

None of this was something he had ever imagined.

Finally, on the day before June 15, Lu Zhou finished editing his paper and translated it into English.

It was worth mentioning that a few days ago, while discussing problems with Professor Tang, Lu Zhou had mentioned that he was researching the problem of "recovering a function and its derivative given partial Fourier coefficients" and had written his findings into a paper. Professor Tang had shown considerable interest in his research and said that, if Lu Zhou did not mind, he could help revise the paper.

Lu Zhou trusted Professor Tang quite a bit on that point.

Setting aside his good character and reputation, the man had been a professor for so many years and had probably published more papers than Lu Zhou had read books. There was no way he would covet a paper written by an undergraduate. Not to mention that this research topic itself was not particularly outstanding—even if Lu Zhou had solved a problem that had plagued the mathematical world for years, Tang Zhiwei would at most be proud to have taught such a student.

Only advisors from third-rate universities, or those so inexperienced they could not even earn the title of professor, would spend all day threatening students with graduation while coveting their research findings.

Lu Zhou did not know whether such academic scum existed at a prestigious institution like Jin University, but there was one thing he could be absolutely certain of: Professor Tang was definitely not that kind of person.

With an experienced mentor serving as an adviser, his paper's chances of being accepted would surely improve greatly. And when it came to choosing an academic journal, Professor Tang could probably offer plenty of valuable advice as well.

So, Lu Zhou planned to bring his paper to Professor Tang for a look after he finished his Advanced Mathematics exam.

As for now, naturally, it was time for some last-minute cramming.

After all, besides Advanced Mathematics, he also had an exam on the Outline of Modern History.

The most infuriating part was that this year's exam was fucking closed-book!

Lu Zhou had never been able to understand what use learning this stuff was to him.

Would mastering it make him a worthy successor or something?

But even if he had ten thousand complaints in his heart, he still had to study what needed studying and memorize what needed memorizing.

After all, it was worth two credits, and it would have a major impact on his GPA.

And so, Lu Zhou patiently sat alone in the empty dorm room, clutching his textbook and cramming furiously.

The result was easy to imagine.

He could not take any of it in at all!

After spending the entire morning in the dorm memorizing from the book, Lu Zhou felt dizzy and light-headed. He tossed the textbook onto the desk and gave up.

Whenever he had free time, he felt like slacking off. After staring blankly at the dorm ceiling for two minutes, Lu Zhou pulled out his phone.

As it happened, someone had sent him a message, so he opened WeChat.

Chen Yushan: [Junior, why didn't you come to the library today? There's a problem I can't solve. Can you teach me?]

Chen Yushan: [Image]

Lu Zhou thought for a moment, casually typed out a reply, and sent it over.

[Memorizing modern history in the dorm. Give me a moment...]

He enlarged the image of the exercise, gave it a couple of looks, then set his phone aside and rose from his chair with a grunt.

He casually grabbed a sheet of scratch paper, picked up a pen, and began writing and drawing on it. In less than two minutes, he had solved the problem.

He took out his phone, snapped a picture, and sent it over. Looking at the modern history textbook lying beside him, Lu Zhou let out a heartfelt sigh.

Math really was more interesting!

Lost in his slacking and unwilling to memorize anything, Lu Zhou picked up his phone and continued scrolling through Moments.

As he scrolled, he happened to see a post from his roommate.

[Liu Rui: Aaaaah... I haven't reviewed at all. Advanced Mathematics is so hard! I'm going to fail again T.T]

"..."

Lu Zhou felt that perhaps he should mute this guy's Moments, but after silently reciting "be kind to others, promote social harmony" dozens of times, he ultimately gave the drama queen a like and quickly scrolled past.

He went through Moments post by post, feeling rather like he was reviewing memorials to the throne.

Time slipped away without him noticing.

Just then, the dorm door suddenly opened, and Shi Shang walked in, drenched in sweat and holding a basketball.

"Fall into a ditch?" Lu Zhou glanced at him.

"What ditch? I was playing ball! At the end of this month, after the English exam, we're having an interclass match. The class monitor dragged us out for special training." Shi Shang dropped into a chair, twisted open a bottle of mineral water, tipped his head back, and took a huge gulp. Letting out a long breath, he said, "Damn it, that center from Class Two is fucking tall. He could be a utility pole."

"You're not reviewing?"

"Review what? I've already looked at it all during the semester. Reviewing again won't change much. Ninety is unrealistic, eighty is barely possible, seventy is no problem at all. If I want a high score, I'll have to pray Old Tang goes easy on us!" Shi Shang fanned himself with a textbook. "Besides, how could math possibly be more important than basketball?"

"PE is only worth a few GPA points..." Lu Zhou did not even have the energy to mock him.

"Lu Zhou." Shi Shang looked at Lu Zhou solemnly.

Whenever this guy looked at him seriously, Lu Zhou felt uncomfortable all over.

"What...?"

"Is your life nothing but GPA points?" Shi Shang asked earnestly.

"...What else is there?"

"Let me put it another way. Do you crave girls?" Shi Shang asked seriously.

"Sort of..."

Lu Zhou did not think he was desperate to that extent. And from a rational standpoint, given his financial circumstances, he did not think he could afford the costs of being in a relationship.

He was someone who feared trouble, and even more so, someone who did not like causing trouble for others. Though he believed he would definitely become very rich someday—richer than anyone else—he did not want to hold someone else's youth back because of it.

Of course, perhaps he only thought that way because he had not yet met someone he wanted to love no matter the cost.

Who could say what the future held?

"What do you mean, sort of? Lu Zhou, as the dorm leader, I must impart some life experience to you." Shi Shang hugged the back of his chair and sat on it backward. "Imagine this: you dribble past the free-throw line and find yourself facing the siege of two burly men. Then, suddenly, you take three steps, leap up, and slam it home... What happens next?"

"I... can't dunk."

With Lu Zhou's height, he had no problem jumping high enough to touch the rim, but dunking was still far beyond him. If he really tried to force the ball upward, he would probably get blocked badly.

"Shoot, then. You can shoot, right? A three-pointer straight through the hoop." Shi Shang said, disappointed at his lack of ambition. "Think about it again!"

Lu Zhou could shoot, at least.

He thought for a moment and said, "The ball goes in?"

"That's all? You're too naive! So simple!" Shi Shang slapped his thigh, his tone growing more excited. "It's the cheers! Think about those colorful balls flying through the air, think about the cheerleaders rooting for you, then think about those long legs under their tiny skirts! They'll scream your name like crazy, their faces flushed with a maiden's blush..."

"Stop, just stop!" Lu Zhou pinched the bridge of his nose and interrupted Shi Shang's fantasy. "Does our class... have any girls?"

Forget Class One.

There were not any in Class Two across the hall either.

"..."

The dorm fell into a deathly silence.

In a sense, being able to kill a conversation with a single sentence was a rare talent too.

Shi Shang let out a long sigh, looked toward the ceiling, and said, "I... have nothing in common with you."

Lu Zhou sighed inwardly. Likewise.