12:10 PM.
The bell rang.
In that instant, a collective sigh of relief washed over the examination hall.
It wasn’t the relief of finally being finished, but the deliverance of no longer having to endure the torture.
The proctors collected the papers quickly.
They gave no one any time to delay.
The girl who had been crying earlier was slumped over her desk, her head buried in the crook of her arm, her shoulders trembling.
No one went to comfort her.
Because they were all clay Bodhisattvas crossing the river—barely able to save themselves.
They walked out of the examination hall.
The sun outside was vicious.
It was already noon, and the brilliant white sunlight was blinding.
The concrete ground was baked white, its glare making one’s eyes ache.
Chen Zhuo squinted, letting his eyes adjust to the light.
The plaza in front of the academic building was filled with test-takers wandering about like lost souls.
Old Zhao and Old Zhou had been waiting there for a while.
Seeing the looks on the students’ faces, Old Zhao’s heart sank.
As a veteran teacher who had coached competition teams for over a decade, he was all too familiar with this expression.
They had bombed the test.
Wang Yang stood beneath a large willow tree, leaning against the trunk as if his bones had been removed.
His face was ghastly pale, his lips deathly dry.
When he saw Chen Zhuo approach, he moved his lips, trying to smile, but the expression was worse than crying.
"Team Leader..."
His voice was hoarse.
"Question two... that diagram... I drew it wrong."
Wang Yang lowered his head, staring at the tips of his shoes.
"I drew five auxiliary lines, but none of them were right. In the end, I tried to set up a coordinate system to solve it, but I ran out of time..."
A bit of dust stirred on the ground.
Zhao Chen was silent, clutching an unfinished bottle of water in his hand so tightly that the plastic was crushed.
The two girls, Nan Xiaoyun and Lin Xiao, stood to one side, their eyes red-rimmed.
"It’s over."
Liu Kai mumbled.
"This time, forget about a provincial first prize; even a third prize is a long shot. Old Zhao is going to skin me alive when we get back."
"Shut up."
Chen Zhuo cut him off.
His voice was cold and hard.
"The test is over. It’s in the past. No one is to discuss the answers."
He glanced at Li Hao and Zhang Wei, who were standing not far away.
The two guys from the physics team were looking over with anxious expressions.
Like family members awaiting a verdict.
"Li Hao, Zhang Wei."
The two of them hurried over.
"How was it? Was it hard?"
Li Hao asked cautiously.
"Not hard."
Chen Zhuo lied without batting an eye.
"It was all standard stuff, just with a lot of calculations."
"There were a few problems of a type I’d gone over with them before, so it shouldn’t be a big deal."
Wang Yang’s head snapped up to look at Chen Zhuo, his eyes filled with disbelief.
’This isn’t hard?’
’This is standard stuff?’
Chen Zhuo shot him a glare, and Wang Yang swallowed the words that had risen to his lips.
"Alright, let’s not stand here baking in the sun."
Chen Zhuo waved his hand.
"Let’s go eat. After that, we’ll head back to the guest house for a nap. There’s still physics this afternoon. Wang Yang and the others are done, so they can go back and get some proper sleep. The three of us have to be back here this afternoon."
"Now that the test is over, pull yourselves together."
The group walked silently toward the school gate.
Their retreating figures looked desolate.
Only Chen Zhuo walked at the very front, his steps still steady.
But only he knew that the back of his shirt was already soaked through with sweat.
A dull ache was starting in his head—a precursor to low blood sugar.
He was hungry, too.
So hungry he could eat a horse.
They didn’t go out for lunch, nor did they brave the noisy cafeteria.
Old Zhao had the foresight to order boxed lunches in advance and brought them directly back to the guest house.
The dining area had air conditioning and sofas. It was much cooler than outside.
A few of them sat down around the coffee table.
Wang Yang held his chopsticks, poking at the braised pork in his lunch box, unable to eat a single bite.
Zhao Chen stared blankly at his rice, sighing from time to time.
Only Chen Zhuo was eating.
He ate quickly.
It wasn’t the ravenous gulping of someone enjoying a delicious meal.
It was more like refueling a machine that had just run for tens of millions of kilometers.
The physics exam was at 2:30 PM.
He had to get his blood sugar back up within half an hour, and then leave enough time for blood to return to his brain.
He shoveled down huge mouthfuls of rice, not picking at his food, stuffing a mix of fatty pork, lean meat, greens, and radishes into his mouth.
His cheeks were bulging, and his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.
Li Hao and Zhang Wei sat across from him, feeling a bit unnerved as they watched Chen Zhuo wolf down his food.
"Team Leader... about the physics exam this afternoon..." Li Hao asked in a low voice.
"Don’t talk."
Chen Zhuo swallowed his last mouthful of food and placed his chopsticks on the empty lunch box.
"Let me recover."
12:40 PM.
After eating, Chen Zhuo didn’t go back to his room.
The trip back and forth was too much trouble, and the bed in his room was too soft. If he fell into a deep sleep, his mind would be groggy when he woke up.
So he lay down on the long sofa in the lobby.
He propped a throw pillow under his head, stretched out his legs, and closed his eyes.
"I’m going to rest for a bit. Wake me up at two."
Less than ten seconds after he said this, Chen Zhuo’s breathing became deep and even.
He was truly exhausted.
After two back-to-back sessions of high-intensity mathematical calculations, even a brain made of iron would need a break.
And he still had a physics exam that afternoon.
The lobby was quiet.
The receptionist had probably gone for a lunch break; the only sound was the low hum of the air conditioner vent.
Wang Yang and the others didn’t dare to speak, each finding a corner to lean in and stare into space.
Old Zhao sat in the armchair next to the sofa.
He watched the sleeping Chen Zhuo.
The boy’s brow was slightly furrowed. Even in sleep, the tension hadn’t left him.
This was City No. 1 Middle School’s only hope this time, and the pillar for the afternoon’s physics exam.
It looked like the math team kids had folded. Now, all bets were on this ten-year-old genius.
Old Zhao sighed.
He glanced around, then pulled out a copy of the Yangzi Evening News from under the coffee table, left behind by who-knows-who.
He folded it twice, creating a thick, long strip.
Then, he began to wave it gently.
The guest house lobby actually had the air conditioning on, so the temperature wasn’t high.
But that didn’t stop Old Zhao.
He fanned Chen Zhuo, again and again.
His movements were light and rhythmic.
The breeze was faint, carrying the smell of newspaper ink as it gently brushed across Chen Zhuo’s sweaty forehead and temples.
It was like an old farmer tending to the only promising seedling in his field.
Or like a grandmother in the countryside, shooing mosquitoes away from her napping grandson.
Old Zhou stood to one side, holding a teacup.
He watched the scene without a word.
Then he turned to look at the nervous Li Hao and Zhang Wei, who were picking at their fingers.
He walked over, gently patted the two physics students on the shoulder, and pointed at Chen Zhuo, then at Old Zhao.
’See that?’
’If you’ve got the skills, the teachers will put you on a pedestal.’
’They’ll even fan you in an air-conditioned lobby.’
’That’s status.’
’Real, tangible status, earned with your brain and your scores.’
Li Hao swallowed, looking at Chen Zhuo on the sofa, enjoying the special treatment of a personal fan.
He clenched his fists.
This afternoon.
’I’ll give it my all.’

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