12: Chapter 12 is as good as saying nothing.

The gains were about 1.5 times that of yesterday.

After stretching, Chen Zhen walked back to the bench.

The old man handed over another bottle of water. "Drink."

Chen Zhen took it and took a gulp.

"How do you feel?" the old man asked.

"I feel much better. My calves aren't as sore as before."

"Hmm, you must keep at it. This is just the beginning." The old man stood up. "Come back tomorrow, still before six."

"Are you here every day?"

"In the summer, yes," the old man said. "But not in winter. It's too freezing. These old bones of mine can't handle it."

"How many years have you been practicing this? You seem very impressive."

The old man glanced at him without answering directly:

"Some things, if you practice for a day, you get the benefits of a day. If you don't practice, it all goes back. There's no end to it."

Hearing this non-answer, Chen Zhen didn't say anything.

These words seemed to be about the standing posture, but they also seemed to point to something else.

"Go on back." The old man waved his hand. "See you tomorrow."

Chen Zhen walked back slowly.

Consequently, he arrived home nearly ten minutes later than usual. His mother was already up and frying dumplings in the kitchen.

They were chive filling. Once fried in hot oil, the aroma filled the whole house.

"You're back?" his mother poked her head out of the kitchen.

"Yeah, it smells so good."

"Yes, I'm frying dumplings. We can eat in a moment." After saying that, she asked casually, "Why are you a few minutes late today?"

"I was chatting with someone for a bit, so I'm a little late." Chen Zhen changed his shoes.

"Who?"

"An old man at the Riverside. He's teaching me how to run more effectively."

"I see. Alright, go wash your hands and eat."

Breakfast was fried dumplings and millet porridge.

Chen Zhen ate seven or eight dumplings and drank two bowls of porridge.

His mother watched him eat and suddenly said, "Zhou Shu is leaving this afternoon."

"Mm."

"You go see her off this afternoon."

"Okay."

His mother got up again to fry a few more dumplings, packing them all into an insulated container.

"Let her have these on the road. This child, she only had a bowl of porridge this morning; she definitely isn't full."

After the meal, his mother cleared the dishes, and Chen Zhen went back to his room to start studying.

Today's study tasks were physics and chemistry.

Physics was comprehensive problems on electromagnetic induction; chemistry was reaction rates and equilibrium.

Balancing equations, calculating reaction rates, determining which way the equilibrium shifts...

These problems had patterns; once you grasped the methods, they weren't difficult.

He finished chemistry in one hour, and the system panel displayed his efficiency as "Excellent."

After a five-minute break, he did a round of eye exercises.

Then he tackled physics.

Comprehensive electromagnetic induction problems were truly troublesome.

A conductor rod cutting magnetic field lines generates electromotive force; the induced current in the magnetic field experiences Ampere's force, and the Ampere's force in turn affects the rod's motion... It kept circling back and forth, requiring Systems of equations to solve.

When he reached the third problem, Chen Zhen got stuck.

The problem conditions were given in a roundabout way; he had to dig out a hidden relationship himself.

He tried three methods, but none were correct.

The system panel prompted: [Thinking block detected]

[Suggestion: Try a different approach]

A different approach?

Is there any difference between saying that and saying nothing at all... Chen Zhen muttered to himself.

But complaining aside, he still had to keep trying.

Chen Zhen put down his pen and stared at the problem for half a minute.

Then he grabbed his scratch paper and worked backward from the result—

If the conductor rod was moving at a constant speed in the end, then the Ampere's force and the external force must cancel each other out. This way, he could deduce the relationship between velocity and time...

It clicked.

He quickly set up the equation, calculated it, checked the answer, and it was correct.

[Completed high-difficulty physics problem; Learning Dimension experience + 1.5]

[Broke through fixed mindset; additional reward: Cultivation + 0.1]

Chen Zhen sighed in relief and leaned back in his chair.

Birdsong drifted in from outside the window, chirping away.

He glanced at the time: 10:20.

He had been studying for over two hours.

Time for a break.

He got up and left the room.

His cousin Zhou Shu was curled up on the living room sofa with a book spread out in front of her, but her eyes were gazing out the window, lost in thought.

"What are you spacing out about?" Chen Zhen walked over.

Zhou Shu snapped back to reality: "Nothing... just spacing out for a bit."

Chen Zhen sat down beside her: "Is everything packed?"

"Yeah," Zhou Shu nodded. "There wasn't much to begin with."

"Brother," Zhou Shu said softly, "do you think... what if I don't get into a key high school?"

Chen Zhen turned to look at her.

The young girl kept her head down, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes.

"You're only in the second year of middle school, what's the rush?" he said.

"My parents are anxious." Zhou Shu's voice grew even quieter. "They say if I don't get into a key high school, I won't get into a good university, and I won't be able to find a good job later..."

"What they say isn't necessarily true."

"But everyone says so." Zhou Shu looked up, her eyes a little red. "My classmates are all studying like their lives depend on it. In this final exam, I was ranked 80th in the grade. With these grades, getting into a key school is doubtful."

Chen Zhen looked at her and suddenly remembered himself a year ago.

Back then, he was the same—mediocre grades, panicking about the future.

Even though his parents didn't say it explicitly, he could sense that mix of hope and worry.

And now he had the System.

"I'll teach you a method." Chen Zhen said.

Zhou Shu looked at him.

"Get up half an hour earlier every day and memorize vocabulary or classical texts."

Chen Zhen said, "Study everything else as usual. Before going to sleep at night, run through everything you learned that day in your mind."

"On weekends, organize your wrong answers. Don't just copy the questions; write down clearly where you went wrong."

These were all things the System taught him—not through tasks, but the most effective methods selected through data analysis.

"Does it work?" Zhou Shu asked.

"Try it." Chen Zhen said. "Stick with it for a month. If it doesn't work, we'll think of other tricks."

"Don't let the simplicity fool you; many people can't keep it up. They might not even look at their wrong answers a single time afterward."

He was talking about himself.

Zhou Shu thought for a moment and nodded: "Okay, I'll try."

The system panel popped up a prompt:

[Shared effective method; Social Dimension experience + 3]

[Current Social Dimension progress: 76/100]

A tiny bit closer to unlocking it.

Lunch was sumptuous.

His mother made four dishes and one soup: braised pork ribs, steamed sea bass, broccoli with minced garlic, stir-fried tomato and eggs, and seaweed and egg drop soup.

So fragrant!

So delicious!

"Eat more." His mother put a piece of ribs in Zhou Shu's bowl. "You won't be able to eat this when you go back."

"Thank you, Auntie." Zhou Shu said softly.

"What's there to thank? We're family." His mother put a piece of fish in Chen Zhen's bowl. "You eat more too; you've lost weight recently."

"I've gained two pounds."

"Nonsense, you've clearly lost weight."

Alright... perhaps children always have a "too thin" filter in their parents' eyes.

So Chen Zhen didn't argue and kept his head down to eat.

The ribs were stewed until tender, melting in the mouth.

The sea bass meat was tender, with the fragrance of ginger and scallions.

Halfway through the meal, his father came back.

He had specifically taken time off to see Zhou Shu off.

He hadn't had time to change out of his work uniform, which carried a faint scent of machine oil.

"Have you eaten?" His mother stood up to get him a bowl and chopsticks.

"I ate at the company canteen." His father waved his hand and sat down, looking at Zhou Shu. "Is everything packed up properly?"

"It's all packed," Zhou Shu said.

"Mm." His father nodded without saying anything else.

That's how he was—not many words, but solid in his actions.

After the meal, Zhou Shu went to take one last look at her luggage.

His father sat on the sofa drinking tea, and his mother was washing dishes in the kitchen.

Chen Zhen helped take the dishes in.

The faucet was running loudly.

"You've been..." his mother suddenly spoke up, "is there something on your mind?"