Chapter 32: Terrifying Results

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Inside the classroom, the chemistry teacher was speaking with great passion at the podium.

"Dry ice is not ice, soda ash is not an alkali. Who else knows similar examples?"

"Teacher, hot dogs are not dogs!"

"Wu Yue, go outside and stand! Don't ask why!"

Meanwhile, Zhai Da sat at his desk, holding that exquisite, vintage fountain pen in both hands.

On the system interface, the status indicators "Owned (Temporary)" and "Activated (Temporary)" were exceptionally conspicuous.

He had simply wanted to test if "borrowing" could activate equipment, and to his surprise, it actually worked.

Suddenly remembering the [Equipment Synthesis] feature that had never succeeded before, Zhai Da closed his eyes, opened the system, and tentatively dragged the [Artistic Girl's Pen] from his list into the synthesis interface.

"Operation failed. Items for which you do not possess permanent, full ownership cannot be synthesized."

Hmm... not unexpected... there aren't that many loopholes to exploit.

Let's get to the point, then.

He wanted to test the effectiveness of this [Literary Girl's Pen]!

After a brief thought, he opened his English textbook.

If there was any subject that purely tested memory, it was English.

If one could memorize the designated 3,500 words, they would basically never score below 90 (out of 120). If one could memorize an additional 500 phrases and grasp the grammar, they could even aim for higher tiers.

Zhai Da flipped to a random lesson containing about 30 required vocabulary words. Ignoring the teacher's lecture, he took out the "blue-black ink" Lu Siwen had given him—a type of ink that was hard to find these days—and began to copy the words down earnestly.

"Equipment Effect: 1. If the written content is original to the user, it will be infused with emotion. 2. If the written content is not original to the user, it will deepen memory."

Thirty words weren't many. Zhai Da finished copying them quickly. To avoid the foolish mistake of remembering the English but forgetting the Chinese translation, he copied the Chinese definitions as well.

After a moment of reflection and recollection...

He had actually remembered seven or eight of them...

In normal circumstances, this would have been impossible.

Before copying, he had only recognized one of them, and that was just a fleeting familiarity; spelling them while closing his eyes was a pipe dream.

But now, he could spell seven or eight words he had just encountered for the first time.

This... this is overpowered!

He had just copied them once without even using his brain!

Zhai Da pressed on, immediately copying them again.

By the second time, half of them were already committed to memory.

By the fourth time, he had memorized 28 out of the 30 words, with only two particularly long ones still causing spelling errors.

Zhai Da stared at his notebook, lost in deep thought.

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Holy crap! It's this strong?!

Is this long-term memory or short-term memory?

No, even if it's short-term memory, repeated reinforcement can turn it into long-term memory. A few more rounds of copying should do it.

He didn't know any geniuses, and surely there were people in this world with memories superior to his, even better than if they were cheating.

But he still felt that the effect provided by this [Literary Girl's Pen] could benefit him for a lifetime...

Provided he could keep it, of course.

With the three pillars of Chinese, Mathematics, and English—and possessing the accumulation from his past life, the "Old Man's TV," and now the Literary Girl's Pen—the dawn of victory in Chinese and English seemed to be in sight!

As for Mathematics... the progress was a bit slow...

But he had outside help! He would find an opportunity later to talk to Lu Wei about tutoring. He could add an egg to her meal!

Two eggs, even!

Zhai Da didn't hesitate and immediately started his grand project of copying.

The inefficient study method of mindlessly copying English words became incredibly effective under the buff of the [Equipment]. Knowledge flowed into his brain like a stream, being stored efficiently.

It felt as if his brain were moving in sync with the nib of the pen, and even his level of focus had increased.

For three consecutive major classes, he couldn't stop. He even had Wu Yue bring him a piece of bread for lunch so he could just keep going.

His behavior naturally caught the attention of his desk mate, Yang Fan, as he seemed like a man possessed.

However, Yang Fan scoffed internally, thinking he was just putting on a show... copying words was useless.

It wasn't until the afternoon Chinese class that Ding Rong, clutching yesterday's test papers, interrupted Zhai Da's frantic pace.

She had practically burst through the door, the wooden panel slamming against the wall with a "bang."

The head teacher walked in with a natural air of authority, her face stern and serious.

It is hard to imagine a woman possessing both a "face that complains about everything" and a "husband worth tens of millions," but if she is also a senior year head teacher, it all makes perfect sense.

Ding Rong walked to the podium and said in a low voice: "Yesterday's quiz—the overall performance was very unsatisfactory!"

"I see that many students still haven't grasped the situation! Look at the numbers behind you! How many days are left until the College Entrance Exam?"

"Wu Yue, get out! Don't ask me why!"

After sacrificing a "monkey" to appease the heavens, Ding Rong's mood softened slightly as she said:

"The usual rules: I won't mention who got the lowest score, as they are already standing outside. I want to commend a few students who have shown good progress since the first quiz after the second mock exam."

"Lin Shuyao, Chu Siqi, Shen You, Chu Xiang—especially Chu Xiang, who has made great progress."

Chu Xiang, the study committee member, beamed with joy, looking as if he were about to stand up and give a speech.

Every teacher has their own management style, and every class is different.

In some schools, they don't do this in the senior year; teachers never publicly reveal who is doing well or poorly, or who has progressed or regressed.

But at Maofang Middle School, you can't do that, because if you don't stimulate them, these guys really won't study at all.

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And in reality, everyone knows it deep down; those who don't want to study will never be stimulated.

Like the one standing outside.

At this point, Ding Rong scrutinized Zhai Da's expression, hoping to see a hint of nervousness.

To this day, she still harbored doubts about whether that essay was actually written by Zhai Da.

However, Zhai Da remained calm.

Ding Rong continued: "Additionally, the highest score in this quiz was 130. I won't emphasize again how important Chinese is. If you could all reach this level, wouldn't you feel more at ease about the College Entrance Exam?"

Many students perked up their ears.

130... that's common in the key classes, but in Class 8 of the senior year, where they do everything except study...

That’s like a god among mortals!

Then they heard Ding Rong say: "Zhai Da, you have made great progress this time."

Zhai Da didn't act humble either; he nodded in satisfaction. 130... his recent efforts had paid off.

That was all.

But the class erupted.

"Did I hear that right?"

"What the hell? Zhai Da?"

"Is this for real? Did Teacher Ding get blurry-eyed while grading?"

Even Wu Yue, who was being punished outside, couldn't help but open the door and shout: "Holy crap! Is this for real?!"

"Wu Yue! Who gave you permission to come in!"

Zhai Da endured the stares, thinking to himself: It’s not that I’m amazing, it’s just that you guys are too pathetic!

It’s only 130 points, everyone. It’s a basic operation! Your expressions are as exaggerated as if you’d just seen a nine-dragon coffin pulling a carriage.

Perhaps what they were shocked by wasn't the score of 130, but that this score belonged to Zhai Da.

Seeing the commotion continue, Ding Rong shouted, "Quiet! Let me see who’s still talking!"

After the crowd settled down, Ding Rong said:

"Zhai Da’s essay was written exceptionally well. Several other teachers and I reached a consensus and gave it 68 points. Some teachers even felt it could have been given full marks. This is a great model for everyone to learn from."

"Zhai Da, when we go over the essay later, come up and tell everyone about your writing thought process and the central theme."

Zhai Da: ...

What the hell?