184: Chapter 184 Going to Class, the Classroom Was in an Uproar

He stood up, changed into a black leisure windbreaker, took his keys, and walked out of the apartment.

The weather outside was nice, and the early spring sunshine brought a hint of warmth to his body.

Zhao Yang walked aimlessly along the tree-lined path of Beijing Forestry University with his hands in his pockets.

There were still many students in the campus attending classes or going to the Library. Along the way, many students carrying books brushed past him, only to suddenly stop, turn around, and stare wide-eyed at his back before excitedly whispering to their companions.

"Is that Zhao Yang? The one from the Annals of Mathematics?"

"Holy crap, it's him! The real person is actually at school!"

Zhao Yang ignored these gazes and discussions; he had gradually become accustomed to being watched like this.

As he strolled along, he reached the intersection near the Second Teaching Building.

Three familiar figures came walking toward him.

Li Tianqi held two textbooks in one hand and was munching on a jianbing guozi with the other. Wang Mian and Sun Xu were walking beside him, and the three of them were chatting and laughing.

"Brother Yang?"

Li Tianqi was sharp-eyed and spotted Zhao Yang approaching at a glance. He stuffed the rest of the pancake into his mouth in a few bites and ran over quickly.

"Brother Yang, how do you have time to stroll around today? Not busy?"

Li Tianqi greeted him in surprise.

"The data finished running, so I came out for some fresh air."

Zhao Yang looked at his three roommates, his tone relaxing a bit.

"Brother Yang, you're really something. Now the whole school—no, the whole internet—is buzzing about you publishing that NIPS paper, yet you can still take a walk here so calmly."

Wang Mian stepped forward, his tone still carrying that admiration as if he were looking at a god.

"What are you guys doing?" Zhao Yang didn't take the bait regarding the paper and changed the subject.

"Going to the Second Teaching Building for class. There are two English classes this morning. Attendance is strictly taken in this class; if you don't go, your participation points will be docked completely."

Sun Xu pointed to the gray teaching building ahead and said somewhat helplessly.

English class.

Zhao Yang recalled for a moment. Ever since he started grinding papers and trading stocks like crazy, he hadn't attended these public basic courses anymore.

On a whim, since he was free anyway.

"I'll go and listen with you guys," Zhao Yang said casually.

Hearing this, the three of them—Li Tianqi and the others—were all stunned, looking at Zhao Yang as if he were an alien.

"Brother Yang, you're going to English class? Are you serious?"

Li Tianqi asked in disbelief.

"Just to sit in. It's been a long time since I've been to class, so I want to feel the classroom atmosphere."

Zhao Yang smiled and took the lead, walking toward the Second Teaching Building.

The three of them quickly followed.

Room 401 of the Second Teaching Building was a medium-sized lecture hall that could accommodate over a hundred people.

There were still five minutes before the bell rang, and more than half of the students were already seated. This was a public course shared by several freshman classes from the School of Life Sciences.

The moment Zhao Yang followed Li Tianqi and the others through the back door into the classroom.

The originally noisy classroom was suddenly as if someone had pressed the mute button.

A few boys sitting in the back row had just turned their heads when their eyes instantly widened, and the soy milk they hadn't swallowed yet almost sprayed out.

"Holy crap... Zhao Yang?"

A boy subconsciously blurted out a curse.

This low-voiced exclamation was like a drop of water falling into a boiling pot of oil, instantly igniting the entire classroom.

Everyone's gaze turned in unison.

"It really is God Zhao! Why did he come to class?"

"My god, I'm actually in the same English class as a big shot who solved a century-old math problem. I can brag about this for four years!"

"Wasn't he taken by Peking University to be a joint-training PhD student? I thought he had already moved there."

"That top computer science conference paper that was all over the internet yesterday, was it really written by him?"

Various suppressed, excited whispers echoed in every corner of the classroom. A few girls in the front row even took out their phones and secretly pressed the shutter toward the back door.

Zhao Yang didn't care about these reactions. He followed Li Tianqi to an empty seat in the second-to-last row and sat down.

"Brother Yang, look at this scene. As soon as you arrived, our English class turned directly into a fan meeting."

Li Tianqi sat beside him and teased Zhao Yang in a low voice.

Zhao Yang smiled and shook his head.

"In the end, there's no way to hide and enjoy peace like before!"

Thinking of this, Zhao Yang sighed in his heart.

In life, one can't have it both ways. You can't want fame and fortune while also wanting to maintain peace and quiet as before. There's no such thing in this world as having the best of both worlds!

"Haha, Brother Yang, you're a celebrity now. In school, where can you go without being recognized? Unless you hide in the apartment building."

Wang Mian, beside him, said with a smile.

"Yeah."

Zhao Yang nodded.

While the three were talking, the bell rang.

The teacher for College English was a woman in her thirties surnamed Wang. She walked up to the podium carrying her lesson plan.

"Class, let's begin. First, we'll take attendance."

Teacher Wang opened the roll book and habitually began calling names.

"Li Tianqi."

"Here."

"Wang Mian."

"Here."

Halfway through, Teacher Wang's eyes swept over a name on the list and paused slightly. Usually, she would skip this name directly because the school had long since notified her that this student enjoyed the highest level of attendance exemption.

But today, due to the clearly unusual atmosphere in the back of the classroom, she subconsciously raised her head and looked toward the back row, following the gaze of most of the students.

When she saw the young man sitting in the second-to-last row with his head down flipping through a book, Teacher Wang's hand holding the pen trembled.

Although she was just an ordinary English teacher, as a teacher at Beijing Forestry University, she recognized Zhao Yang at a glance.

Teacher Wang swallowed hard, her expression somewhat uneasy, even feeling a hint of inexplicable pressure.

It couldn't be helped; nowadays, even academicians had to treat Zhao Yang with care. His academic influence was immense, definitely not something an English teacher like her could compare to.

"Um... Student Zhao Yang, you've come to class today too. Welcome."

Teacher Wang greeted Zhao Yang with a smile.

"Yes, thank you, Teacher Wang."

Zhao Yang nodded politely.

"Good, good. Let's continue the roll call."

Teacher Wang quickly withdrew her gaze, steadied her mind, and continued the procedure.

The atmosphere of this English class was very strange.

Those students in the back row who usually didn't pay much attention didn't sleep much this class; their eyes swept over Zhao Yang from time to time, filled with curiosity.

Even the students in the front row who were usually very serious in class couldn't focus; they occasionally turned their heads to steal glances at Zhao Yang.

Even Teacher Wang seemed much more constrained than usual while teaching grammar, for fear of saying something wrong and having the big shot in the back row find fault with it.

Because of this, she also glanced at Zhao Yang from time to time.

Zhao Yang noticed all these gazes and sighed inwardly.

It seemed better not to come to class in the future!

His presence only made everyone feel awkward.

Settling his mind, Zhao Yang casually flipped through a book in front of him.

A long English class ended in this strange atmosphere.