Chapter 38: Chapter 36: Don’t Squander Ambition on Trifles
On Wednesday morning, a lingering chill hung in the early spring air of Jiangcheng, but Jiangcheng Seventh Middle School was buzzing with excitement.
The monthly exam papers for every subject had been reviewed yesterday, and early this morning, the grade’s ranking board was already crowded with students eager to see the results.
As expected, first place still belonged to Chen Yue from Science Class 1.
[Math: 130, Physics: 94, Chemistry: 92, Biology: 90, Chinese: 115, English: 123. Total Score: 644.]
At Seventh Middle School, a score of 644 was god-tier. Even though it was just the school’s own monthly exam and a bit easier, this score was still high enough to make a run for a top-tier university.
But everyone was used to this. After all, Chen Yue had dominated the top spot for years. If he ever dropped from first place, *that* would be big news.
Today, however, the real topic of discussion was the person who had shot up to fifth place like a rocket.
[Fifth Place: Li Dong. Math: 150, Physics: 100, Chemistry: 88, Biology: 87, English: 112, Chinese: 98. Total Score: 635.]
"Li Dong?! Is that the Li Dong from Class 2?" a boy asked, his face a mask of disbelief.
"Wasn’t he always hovering around 50th place in the grade? How did he suddenly jump to fifth?!"
"Hey, you guys are totally missing the point."
A boy with glasses next to them swallowed hard.
"Look at his Math and Physics scores! They’re both perfect!"
"Chen Yue only got a 130 in Math and a 94 in Physics. Do the math—look at that gap!"
As he spoke, the surrounding students all gasped.
Chen Yue and Li Dong were only nine points apart in total score, but that was because Li Dong’s Chinese, Biology, and Chemistry scores had dragged him down a bit.
In a head-to-head showdown of top science subjects, Li Dong was basically wiping the floor with the grade’s number one student!
...
RING RING RING
The class bell rang, and the students in the hallway quickly returned to their classrooms.
The first period for Grade 12, Class 2 was Math.
Old Yang, with his usual stern and unsmiling expression, began writing the day’s topic on the blackboard: Comprehensive Applications of Analytic Geometry.
The students below were all diligently taking notes. After all, Old Yang only taught the important stuff. Plus, with Li Dong’s perfect score as a shining example, the learning atmosphere in Class 2 was at an all-time high.
However, halfway through the lecture, Old Yang happened to glance at Li Dong in the back row, and his expression darkened.
"Li Dong, stand up."
Li Dong froze for a moment, looking up with a somewhat bewildered expression.
"Bring that extracurricular book of yours up here to me."
Old Yang pointed at the teacher’s desk.
Every student in the class turned their heads in unison.
However, their strange looks weren’t directed at Li Dong, but fell entirely on Old Yang at the front of the class.
’Seriously, Teacher Yang? He got a perfect 150 on the math exam!’
’Just a couple of days ago, he was up there explaining the test to us with four different solutions. What’s wrong with him reading a non-school book now?’
’Does a study god really need to listen to a basic lecture like the rest of us?’
Of course, Old Yang could read the looks in the eyes of these little rascals, but he couldn’t care less.
’So what if you got a perfect score?’
’So what if you’re good at math?’
’As long as you’re in my, Yang Shengguo’s, math class, you are not allowed to read extracurricular books!’
’Even if you think what I’m teaching is too simple, you could be reviewing Chinese reading comprehension or memorizing English vocabulary to raise your total score! What’s this about reading a random book?’
Li Dong knew he was in the wrong, so he walked toward the teacher’s desk with his head down, holding the book.
He felt a little embarrassed himself.
’Sigh, have my stats increased recently, making me a bit complacent? I used to at least hide my book behind an exam paper. Today, I just left it out on the desk. That really was too arrogant...’
Reaching the desk, Li Dong handed the book over with both hands and quietly admitted his mistake.
"I’m sorry, Teacher Yang."
Old Yang reached out, took the book, and was about to lower his voice to admonish him.
"Your current bottleneck is Chinese and English. Don’t think you can coast into a good university just because you got perfect scores in Math and Physics. Reading these distracting, ambition-killing books..."
He trailed off, stunned.
*Python Crash Course: A Hands-On, Project-Based Introduction to Programming.*
The words "ambition-killing" died on his lips.
He was completely dumbfounded.
’What is with this kid? Do you already find all the required high school subjects unchallenging? You’re starting to teach yourself programming?’
’Reading a programming book... I guess you can’t exactly call that "ambition-killing," can you?’
For a moment, Old Yang stood frozen, holding the Python textbook, unsure of how he should criticize Li Dong.
He held it in for a good ten seconds before finally forcing out a few words through gritted teeth.
"C is the real deal."
Li Dong: "..."
The entire class: "..."
Actually, Li Dong had originally wanted to start with C. After all, there was a certain romance to a low-level language.
But he wanted to build the inventory management system for his uncle’s hardware factory as quickly as possible.
So, Python was the best choice. Its syntax is relatively simple, without complex pointers and memory management, making it perfect for writing a lightweight database management system with a user interface.
He planned to chew through the basics in this Python book, then learn how to use SQLite databases, and then he could start the actual implementation.
He had spent over an hour on it last night, plus another ten-plus minutes during morning self-study and the first period today.
He had already chewed through all the core syntax of Python, only skipping the Chapters on web scraping and data analysis, which he didn’t need for now.
RING RING RING.
The bell signaling the end of class was a relief for Old Yang.
"Li Dong, come with me to the office."
On the way to the office, he asked in a heartfelt, serious tone.
"Why the sudden interest in programming?"
Li Dong scratched his head.
"I just wanted to make a little piece of software for my family to improve their efficiency."
"You need to remember," Old Yang said after a slight hesitation.
"The Gaokao is an all-around battle. You can’t rely on perfect scores in one or two subjects to carry your total score."
"If you want to aim for a top-tier university on the level of Qingbei, you have to bring up your Chinese and English scores! That includes your Chemistry and Biology, which also need improvement."
Li Dong nodded seriously.
Of course, he knew all this.
For Biology, he was already planning to use his Memory stat to brute-force memorize all the high school material.
And for Chemistry, not to mention, with his [Chemical Intuition], mastering the high school curriculum was just a matter of time.
Getting perfect scores in these two subjects on the Gaokao was no longer a major technical hurdle for him.
As for Chinese and English, those were indeed his current weaknesses.
English was manageable. The vocabulary required for high school English wasn’t huge. As long as he wasn’t asked to hold complex daily conversations, it wouldn’t be a problem to master the words and grammar with his powerful memory.
The real headache was Chinese.
He had even had the wild idea of looking through the "Cyan Dragon Study Group" to see if there were any literary giants.
He even found the names of literary masters like Tagore, but on second thought, could you imagine asking Tagore to do a reading comprehension section from the Huaxia Gaokao’s Chinese exam?
The old master himself would probably be stumped.
The two of them walked into the faculty office as they talked.
Just then, the head of the physics department, Zheng Hua, was also in the office, hanging up the phone with a speechless expression.
Seeing this, Old Yang chuckled and teased him.
"The principal call you again?"
Zheng Hua nodded helplessly.
"Sigh, I already told him the semi-final results won’t be out until three this afternoon, but he’s already called several times this morning to ask."
Old Yang just smiled and didn’t say anything more.
In reality, all the teachers in the office knew what was going on.
Principal Wang had been at Seventh Middle School for years, and every time he went to the city’s education seminars, he was openly or secretly mocked by the principals from prestigious schools like First High and Sixth Middle School.
Seventh Middle School’s college admission rates and acceptance rates for top-tier universities were nothing to be proud of in front of a group of elite high schools.
Now that a "true dragon" like Li Dong had finally emerged—someone who might actually break through in the competitions—how could Principal Wang not be nervous?
After a wry chuckle, Zheng Hua turned, saw Li Dong following Old Yang in, and asked curiously.
"Old Yang, why’d you call this kid to the office? Doesn’t he have Physics next period..."
Halfway through his sentence, Zheng Hua suddenly remembered something. He turned to look at Jiang Yang, who was organizing his lesson plans nearby, and immediately rephrased his question.
"Old Yang, what did you bring him to the office for?"
Jiang Yang, who was organizing his lesson plans, froze: ???
Old Yang gave Jiang Yang a slightly apologetic smile.
"Uh, Teacher Jiang, my apologies, but I’m borrowing Li Dong for the next period."
Jiang Yang took a deep breath, nodded without a word, and quickly left the office with his lesson plans.
’He didn’t want to stay there a second longer. This was just too humiliating!’
Li Dong was also quite confused.
’What on earth is Old Yang up to?’
Old Yang walked to his desk, sat down, and beckoned for Li Dong to come sit as well.
"Li Dong," Old Yang began, his eyes filled with unconcealed admiration.
"I’m probably the one in the entire school who best understands your talent for math and physics."
"To be honest, at this point, Director Zheng can’t really teach you much more when it comes to professional knowledge."
"As long as you keep up this momentum, you’re guaranteed to soar once you get to university."
Li Dong nodded in silence, able to hear the care and expectation in Old Yang’s words.
Then, Old Yang gave a wry smile.
"I don’t know why, but I have a feeling that a kid like you is going to make some big waves in the future."
"So, I think there are some things you might be needing very soon."
"Needing what?" Li Dong asked, puzzled.
"The formatting and standards for academic papers."
As he spoke, Old Yang turned on the computer on his desk.
You have to understand, for a newcomer to the academic world, figuring out paper formatting, citation standards, and the logic of writing an abstract all by yourself requires painstakingly obsessing over countless layout details and making endless revisions.
Sometimes, a paper might even be rejected by an editor during the initial review simply because its formatting doesn’t meet the journal’s requirements.
Old Yang was planning to impart all of his years of accumulated academic experience to him ahead of time.
