280: Chapter 280: Atlantis?

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a day had passed.

The netizens online were already clamoring for more, staring blankly at the black screen.

At this moment, in Class 8 of the second year at Gusu Key High School.

After the third period in the afternoon, Old Wang, having a close relationship with Principal Fu, had been promoted to homeroom teacher.

He walked into the classroom carrying a stack of report cards.

The originally noisy classroom instantly fell silent; everyone stared uniformly at the pile of final exam results, which were finally being announced today.

Old Wang had a scholarly appearance, like a stereotypical teacher from the 1980s, but his behavior and speech revealed a modern, trendy style.

He placed the report cards on the podium and spoke slowly, "What's the rush? Even if you're anxious, it won't make your scores any higher."

A burst of suppressed laughter came from below.

Old Wang picked up his thermos, took a sip of tea, and then picked up the topmost report card.

"First, let me say this: those who did well, don't get arrogant; those who did poorly, don't get discouraged. The winter break is only a month long anyway, and it will pass quickly."

All the students began to frown.

Old Wang cleared his throat, "Wang Hao, Chinese 118, Math 135, English 127... Total score, ranked 23rd in the grade."

A handsome boy wearing glasses breathed a sigh of relief.

"Li Ting, Chinese 129, Math 141, English 138, Physics 97, Chemistry 95, Biology 96... Total score, ranked 6th in the grade."

A girl with twin tails also breathed a sigh of relief, and her deskmate poked her with envy.

Next, Old Wang read seven or eight more names, all regulars in the top twenty of the class.

Then he glanced at the report card in his hand and looked up at a girl in the back row of the classroom. "Chen Yue."

A girl who had been lying on her desk suddenly looked up, her eyes wide, "What?"

The whole class held back laughter and turned to look. Chen Yue, Jiang Xiaoyu's best friend, was the class's notorious bottom-feeder; her results were always the grand finale.

Old Wang rolled his eyes at her. What did she mean, "what"? Obviously, he was announcing her grades.

However, he continued expressionlessly, "Chinese 82, Math 41, English 63, Physics 39, Chemistry 42, Biology 47, History 61, Politics 58, Geography 55, PE, barely passing."

"It's been so long, why haven't you put in any effort?"

Chen Yue looked indifferent, "Teacher Wang, I can't get into a university anyway, I'll only be able to go to a vocational college later, so why should I work so hard? By the way, my family is quite wealthy."

The corner of Old Wang's mouth twitched uncontrollably, but he also laughed, "You've left me, Old Wang, speechless. That said, the fact that you can get an 82 in Chinese proves your brain is fine, you're just lazy. During the winter break, watch fewer shows and read more books."

"I'll get married anyway, as long as my brother does well in his studies, that's enough. I don't have that much ambition."

"Alright, alright, go back to sleep."

"Thanks!"

The whole class burst into laughter.

Old Wang shook his head and continued reading. After announcing seven or eight average scores, he turned to the last page of the report card.

The classroom suddenly went quiet for a moment.

Because there was only one person on the last page.

Everyone's gaze turned uniformly to the girl in the corner, Jiang Xiaoyu.

She was resting her chin in her hand, lost in thought, wondering if there really were super-civilizations in ancient times; could Ancient Babylon and Ancient Greece really be called super-civilizations?

Suddenly, she realized so many people were looking at her and was startled. "What's wrong?"

Old Wang looked up, wearing an unsurprised smile, "Jiang Xiaoyu, full marks in everything."

The classroom was silent for 2.5 seconds, then it exploded.

"What?"

"Full marks in everything? How many points is that?"

"Full marks in Chinese too? What about the essay? How the hell do you get full marks on an essay?"

Looking at the students below, Old Wang raised his hand to quiet them, then announced word by word, "Jiang Xiaoyu, Chinese 150, Math 150, English 150, Physics 100, Chemistry 100, Biology 100, History 100, Politics 100, Geography 100, PE, Excellent."

He put down the report card, his eyes full of admiration as he looked at Jiang Xiaoyu.

"The only student in the entire grade with full marks in all subjects. No need to look, she's first in the grade, first in the district, first in Su City. If we were to rank further, she could be first in the country."

"It's just that the second-year exams aren't widely networked to determine value."

As he finished speaking, the classroom fell silent again.

Then, someone started clapping, and thunderous applause followed.

Chen Yue was the first to rush over and hug Jiang Xiaoyu, her eyes shining, "Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap! We agreed to go to vocational college together, what medicine have you been taking lately? Give me some too!"

Jiang Xiaoyu was shaken until she felt dizzy, but the corners of her mouth couldn't stop curling upward.

She knew in her heart that this was all thanks to her brother.

Those evening tutoring sessions, that knowledge which sounded like gibberish but was inexplicably understandable, those recordings being frantically forwarded across the internet...

Actually, it wasn't just that. Occasionally, when he had time, Jiang Zhe would also tutor her on some specialized subjects, though that knowledge was a bit boring, and she chose not to secretly broadcast it.

Now, her grades had soared from the middle-lower tier of the class to full marks in every subject; it was all thanks to her brother!

The applause gradually subsided.

Old Wang gestured for Jiang Xiaoyu to sit down, then said, "As a teacher, I must consider my students' futures. Jiang Xiaoyu, at your current level, you have completely mastered the second-year curriculum. I have a suggestion: would you like to take the college entrance exam directly this June?"

There was another collective gasp in the classroom.

Take the college entrance exam directly?

Take the college entrance exam in the second semester of the second year?

Jiang Xiaoyu was stunned, "Teacher Wang, what do you mean?"

Old Wang took off his glasses and said seriously, "I mean that for the next few months, you can study the third-year curriculum on your own."

"With your current learning ability, I believe you'll have no problem."

"Furthermore, having a postdoctoral brother tutoring you is definitely more efficient than attending classes at school."

"If you are willing, I and Principal Fu will personally handle the paperwork for you, and you can take the college entrance exam directly. Your brother is right in his livestream; wasting time is equivalent to erasing your own time."

"If you can leverage your brother's influence in the global academic community, you could go to Huaqing University, to Dabei University, to Jiaotong University, or study abroad tomorrow."

"But I know you don't want that, so!"

The whole class stared at Jiang Xiaoyu, their eyes filled with envy, surprise, and a sense of inferiority.

A top student whispered, "Is her brother's tutoring really that strong? It even made Old Wang proactively recommend the college entrance exam. If only I had a brother like that, I wouldn't need to attend high school."

Another girl whispered, "Haven't you been watching the livestream? Xiaoyu's brother explains things in a way that could baffle an academician, and they can't even refute it. Anyway, my scalp tingled after watching it."

Jiang Xiaoyu gasped. If her brother knew she was taking the college entrance exam directly and not wasting her life in the second year, he would probably be happy, right?

She looked up, her beautiful eyes brightening, "Teacher Wang, I'm willing."

Old Wang smiled, "Good, then it's settled."

"By the way, Jiang Xiaoyu's winter break homework—it's waived. It makes no difference whether you do it or not."

"For everyone else, the winter break homework is doubled!"

As he finished, the whole class wailed again.

"Why!"

"I want to be her brother's younger sister too!"

"Old Wang, I want my homework waived too!"

Chen Yue was the first to raise her hand, "Teacher Wang, can I go to her brother's house to audit his lessons?"

Old Wang glanced at her, "Do you want to expose the fact that her brother is being livestreamed? You'd better pass your math exam first."

Chen Yue collapsed back onto her desk, "Sigh!"

Jiang Xiaoyu pursed her lips and smiled.

...

Meanwhile, in Beijing, Qingfeng Temple.

The evening sunlight shone through the lattice windows into the living room, illuminating three young people.

Celestial Master Zhang sat cross-legged on a cushion on a chair, chatting with the young man invited by Zheng Ming.

Next to Zheng Ming was a man around thirty years old, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a dark gray jacket, with a calm demeanor, watching the recording of Jiang Zhe projected on the large screen in the living room.

This man was named Jin Xianmeng, thirty years old, an associate researcher at a national scientific research institution, specializing in astrophysics, with minors in mathematics, geology, and history. He was not a member of the think tank, but his level was higher than that of an average think tank member!

Zheng Ming had spent a great deal of effort to invite him—to be Wang Chongyang's one-on-one tutor.

"Brother Jin, how is it?" Zheng Ming leaned over, pointing at the past recording on the large screen, "Does what this guy is saying have any loopholes?"

Jin Xianmeng didn't speak, watching the recent recordings carefully.

Celestial Master Zhang was speechless, "Zheng Ming, you tricked your master the day before yesterday. After he gave Robert a lesson yesterday, you are now trying to trick your master again. Are you still not giving up?"

Zheng Ming snorted coldly, "I don't believe it. I checked with the scientific circle yesterday; as long as someone can tell a story and has some academic credentials, they can be like Xiaoyu's brother. If their academic credentials are higher and they are good at telling stories, many people can even concoct a series of perfect stories."

"Xiaoyu's brother must have loopholes, and Brother Jin is from the national team, he can tell at a glance."

Jin Xianmeng looked up, glanced at Zheng Ming, then lowered his head and continued watching.

After a long time, he picked up his teacup and took a sip.

Zheng Ming couldn't help but ask, "How is it? Where are the loopholes?"

Jin Xianmeng took a deep breath, then shook his head repeatedly, "I didn't find any loopholes."

"But there are a few places I think could be supplemented. For example, in the part where he talks about double tidal locking, he uses a simplified model and didn't consider the damping effect of the moon's internal molten layer, but that doesn't affect the conclusion; it's just a matter of calculation precision."

"And there's also..."

"Forget it, never mind."

Zheng Ming was anxious, "Brother Jin, tell me!"

Jin Xianmeng glanced at him, looking calm, "I said it, I'm afraid you won't understand."

Zheng Ming was speechless.

Celestial Master Zhang laughed out loud, "Brother Zheng, you invited someone to crash the party, but instead you were looked down upon for having shallow knowledge, haha!"

Jin Xianmeng shook his head, his tone becoming serious:

"It's not that he is shallow, but I have watched all his recent live recordings, as well as those papers signed with his name 'J'."

"tiamat hypothesis, circumbinary capture, the origin of the moon, the sun at 36°—these things, if they were at our institution, would take at least a team half a year to produce results."

He looked at Zheng Ming, his eyes very serious, "Zheng Ming, this person is really not a crank, nor is he a super-powered crank; he has a lot of substance!"

"However, from a truly scientific perspective, I will fulfill Brother Zheng's invitation next."

"I will not let any of Jiang's flaws slip by!"

Zheng Ming opened his mouth, not knowing what to say. Hearing that the person he invited was giving him such face, a satisfied smile appeared on his face..

...

Gusu suburbs, Jing'an Manor.

Night gradually fell, and the warm yellow lights were on in the villa's living room.

Jiang Xiaoyu pushed open the door and smelled the aroma of food.

She changed into her bear slippers and ran into the living room, seeing four dishes and one soup on the table, and her brother was walking out of the kitchen with the last dish.

"You're back?" Jiang Zhe put down the plate, "How were the results?"

Jiang Xiaoyu ran over with a grin, took the report card out of her bag, and handed it over with both hands.

Jiang Zhe took it and looked at it, then smiled with satisfaction, "Full marks in all subjects, PE is also excellent."

He put down the report card and ruffled Jiang Xiaoyu's hair, "Not bad."

Jiang Xiaoyu suddenly tilted her head up; from the side, she looked exactly like a Border Collie, "That's right, look who taught me."

Next, the two sat down to eat. Jiang Xiaoyu shoveled rice into her mouth while recounting what happened at school: the looks from the whole class when Old Wang announced the grades, Chen Yue hugging her and shouting "give me some too," Old Wang suggesting she take the college entrance exam directly, and the waiver of winter break homework.

Jiang Zhe listened, nodding occasionally, not surprised.

With the system's blessing, it would be strange if Jiang Xiaoyu still had to rely on hard, repetitive practice to do well.

"What do you think about the college entrance exam?"

"I want to try. Teacher Wang said there are still more than four months, so self-studying the third-year curriculum should be enough time; it means I won't need to go to class and can stay at home every day; the teacher also said you would keep me in check."

"Old Wang, you should go and send them some gifts later; it's clear they have been taking good care of you recently, and four-plus months is definitely enough."

"But the best gift is for you to become the top scorer in four-plus months, letting Old Wang, as well as Principal Fu and Teacher Xiao Wang whom you often mention, save face."

"Then you teach me?"

Jiang Zhe couldn't help but feel speechless, "Otherwise? Let someone else teach you?"

Jiang Xiaoyu smiled even more happily.

After finishing the meal, Jiang Xiaoyu voluntarily cleaned up the dishes, while Jiang Zhe went to the living room to brew a pot of tea, sat on the sofa, and turned on the LCD TV to watch for a while.

After washing the dishes and cleaning her hands, Jiang Xiaoyu secretly turned on the pinhole camera on her beige jacket, "Brother, I've finished washing the dishes. What are you talking about tonight?"

Jiang Zhe put down the remote control and muted the variety show on the TV.

"Ancient super-civilizations, isn't that what you've always wanted to hear about?"

"Ancient civilizations? Which ancient civilization? Ancient Egypt? Ancient Babylon?"

Jiang Zhe shook his head repeatedly, "Of course not those ancient civilizations. I'm talking about ancient, super, civilizations."

"Then what is it?"

"Atlantis!"

As he finished, the netizens flooding into the livestream were incredulous.

They had just entered and heard the word Atlantis. But, did Atlantis really exist?