Under the street lamp, the night breeze was cool, and the silver number keys were worn out.
Lin Zhaoxi was wearing loose sportswear, stood in front of the public phone, inserted the phone card into the socket, and hesitated for a while with her fingers on the keyboard before dialing the number.
"Hello?"
Unlike last time, after a long wait, the phone was picked up almost immediately after dialing out, with a deep but clear male voice.
"Master..." She sniffed and shouted softly.
"What's the matter?" Lao Lin asked in surprise.
"Are you concerned about me?"
"no."
"Duplicity." Lin Zhaoxi smiled, "Are you a little worried because I didn't call yesterday?"
"Why stand outside and make a phone call?" Lao Lin asked.
She subconsciously looked around, the grass and bushes were shaken by the wind, and there was no one around.
Only then did she realize that Lao Lin should have sensed the sound of the surrounding wind on the phone, just as she had sensed the sound of Lao Lin immediately putting down the pen in his hand after answering the phone.
"You asked me last time, why do I need mathematics..." Lin Zhaoxi used this sentence as the official opening.
In fact, she had thought about it for a long time, and she had a clear conclusion in her heart.
Because in the previous life, you gave up mathematics for me, and you always guided me to learn mathematics. I didn't take the chance and come back now, I want to make up for this regret.
She thought silently.
"Why?" Lao Lin asked.
"There's no reason. I thought it was interesting before, but now I don't think it's interesting." She said this deliberately.
"Congratulations." Lao Lin paused, "Go back when you lost your way."
In terms of choking people, Lao Lin is an expert. Lin Zhaoxi didn't pay much attention and said to herself.
"Did you know Master, we need ten days now to master all the knowledge of elementary school Mathematical Olympiad, and we also need to learn some in junior high school. There are exams every day, and the average score of the group will be calculated. After ten days, the average score of the group will be 100% Fifty groups will be eliminated, very tiring."
"So Spartan?" Lao Lin was also a little surprised.
"Yes. My classmates are Lu Zhihao and Hanamaki, you met that day, and I can't hold on any longer. What should I do?"
On the other end of the phone, Lao Lin fell silent, and Lin Zhaoxi didn't know what he was thinking.
"Then give up." Lao Lin said.
Lin Zhaoxi shook the hand holding the phone, "Let it go... give up?"
"Yes, since you don't like it and feel tired, why don't you give up?"
"But..." She wanted to say something, if it was Lao Lin in that world, he would have stewed chicken soup for her, and would follow the temptation, but now this one said to give up. She didn't know which one was the real Lao Lin.
"But what?"
"But shouldn't you say, hold on, the light is in front of you; or that mathematics is actually very interesting and wonderful, and it is worth continuing to learn?" Like any normal parent would encourage their children.
She was a little excited.
"Is what other people say useful?" Lao Lin sneered, "If other people's bullshit is useful, then I tell you to give up, why don't you give up? In the same way, if I tell you to persist, you will persist?"
The logic is really perfect.
"And many times, meaningless persistence is of no value at all." Lao Lin said on the other end of the phone.
Lin Zhaoxi's heart trembled, as if she had returned to a moment of extreme confusion and clarity, the moment when she saw the unfathomable gap between geniuses and mortals.
She held the phone in her hand, feeling an unprecedented heaviness: "Master, do you also think that mathematics is a field only open to geniuses?"
She heard herself say these words in a clear but slightly lowered girl's voice, and the night wind blew by, she felt a strange sense of detachment.
At that time, she thought that Lao Lin would sneer again, but she heard him say—
"of course not."
His father's voice was still so deep, but he no longer had the same casual feeling as before. Lao Lin answered his question very seriously.
Lin Zhaoxi woke up, her heart was slightly hot, and finally she was a little happy: "Then why did you say, Master, pointless persistence is worthless!"
"It's still the same sentence, does it matter what I say? You are so easily influenced, is it the arithmetic mean?"
Lin Zhaoxi was stunned for a while before realizing that this was a cold joke. Among many concentrated quantities, the arithmetic mean has the most sensitive response and is most easily affected by extreme values.
"And when I say persistence, I obviously mean learning mathematics in a way that you cannot accept."
"Master, do you also think this method is wrong?"
"Define 'true' and 'wrong'."
"If it doesn't fit, it's wrong."
"What if he wasn't meant to suit most of you in the first place?"
"In the final analysis, do you also think, Master, that Mathematics Olympiad is only suitable for some smart children?" Lin Zhaoxi asked Lao Lin, "That day you only taught Pei Zhi, but not me. You must think he is smarter?"
"Why are you so narrow-minded, kid?" Lao Lin asked back.
"You answer me directly, don't avoid it, I finally asked."
"Yes, he is smarter than you, but not as lucky as you."
Lin Zhaoxi was a little speechless, if you knew that I am an orphan now, would you still consider me lucky
"Why do you think so?"
"Having enthusiasm is the luckiest thing."
She thought that what Lao Lin was talking about should be his love for mathematics.
But obviously, that's not the case.
After a moment of silence, she asked: "So, while we are still enthusiastic, can you help us?"
"Define 'help'."
"Just come to the oasis base and secretly... teach us."
Lao Lin was also silent for a while on the other end.
"Student Lin Zhaoxi... Your master and I are hardworking park workers."
"I know."
"So I don't want to go to work?"
—
In the end, she didn't get a positive reply from Lao Lin. After yelling, Lao Lin hung up the phone, so that she hadn't had time to say that she saw the oasis base cafeteria and was recruiting part-time jobs with high salaries.
that's too regretful.
The night wind is soothing, bringing the humid breath of lake water and civil engineering.
Lin Zhaoxi pulled out her calling card, smiled, and walked back to the brightly lit small dormitory building.
—
third day. The classroom of the competition class for the upper grades of elementary school.
Lin Zhaoxi and Pei Zhi got up early in the morning, finished their work in the cafeteria, and rushed to the classroom. The first class was about to start.
In the small class, the children did not immerse themselves in reading as they did yesterday. Instead, they whispered and whispered, like a small piece of slightly boiling spring water.
After taking her seat, she found that the seat next to her was empty: "What about Lu Zhihao...?"
Seeing them coming, Huajuan grabbed Pei Zhi's arm. Although she seemed relieved, her expression was even more distressed: "I... I don't know too well. When I came with Lao Lu in the morning, he said that last night My aunt caught me reading with a flashlight."
"Then?" Lin Zhaoxi's heart skipped a beat, and she raised her voice slightly.
"Then Vice President Zhang just came and called him away."
Hanamaki licked his lips anxiously, then he pushed Pei Zhi, "Brother Pei, have you been to the office of the Great Demon King, and where is it, should we... want to go and see?"
Pei Zhi took off his peaked cap, frowned and thought deeply.
Lin Zhaoxi pursed her lips, there were many things she feared would happen. Pei Zhi nodded quickly, but was stunned when he looked out of the window.
In the corridor outside the window, two figures, one big and one small, were walking slowly.
The fat man walked in front, and behind him, the little boy lowered his head, his forehead covered his face, as if born in a shadow.
—
Zhang Shuping led Lu Zhihao into the classroom, looked at her, Lin Zhaoxi withdrew his hand, and slowly sat upright.
"Go back and sit down." Zhang Shuping bowed his head and said to Lu Zhihao.
Lu Zhi walked slowly towards them.
Lin Zhaoxi wanted to say something, but Lu Zhihao just put down the paper in his hand, and then lay down on the table with his head buried in his arms. The little boy who had always been full of air was now like a completely deflated balloon.
Lin Zhaoxi became even more worried.
"Everyone should know about what happened last night."
Zhang Shuping was speaking in front of the podium, she took the opportunity to turn her head and carefully poked Lu Zhihao. The little boy didn't respond, his shoulders didn't shake, and he wasn't crying.
"During the opening speech, I repeatedly reiterated that I hope you can read the manual, pay special attention to what you can do and what you can't do, and ask you to strictly abide by it. But why are there so many regulations, have you thought about it?"
His gaze moved to a corner of the table. The paper that Lu Zhihao took down just now should be yesterday's test paper, and marks of red pen markings could be faintly seen.
Zhang Shuping continued authentically: "Study consumes energy and physical strength, and the things that are not allowed to do are stipulated. I hope you can maintain sufficient energy to cope with the study during the day. If you drive late at night and become exhausted during the day, can you really learn well?"
The students were all deep in thought, some secretly yawned, and some were looking at Lu Zhihao. Looking at the test paper on the table, Lin Zhaoxi faintly knew why Lu Zhihao was so depressed now.
Just like what Lao Lin said, some insistence is meaningless, I'm afraid Zhang Shuping also said similar things to Lu Zhihao. ,
As if to confirm her conjecture, Zhang Shuping said in front of the podium: "I hope you put your efforts in the right place, and the work in the wrong place is useless!"
"Today is the first time, and only a warning is given. Next time a similar situation happens, I will definitely punish him severely according to the regulations in the camp manual."
The serious vice principal finally said.
Lin Zhaoxi reached out at the same time and took Lu Zhihao's test paper.