A genius student? Ha, they're nothing but ants at your feet!

Chapter 2 Going to School

Time passed silently, and seven-year-old Su Hao finally stepped into the gates of primary school.

"Haohao, did you have a good day at school?"

Su Hao has never wanted to go to kindergarten since he was a child and always locks himself in his room.

Because of his lack of experience in communicating with the outside world, Lin Wan was afraid that he would seem out of place in this group life.

But it turned out she was worrying for nothing. Every day when Su Hao came home from school, he had a calm smile on his face, like a max-level boss inspecting a newbie village.

"Yeah! I'm so happy, I even played soccer with my classmates on the playground today."

He answered casually, threw off his little yellow duck backpack, and ran into his bedroom.

There aren't many things in this world that can occupy his full attention, but his newborn sister is one of them.

After washing his hands, Su Hao approached the bedside and stared intently at his sleeping sister, Su Hui.

"You like your little sister that much?" Lin Wan asked with a smile.

Su Hao nodded his head like a chicken pecking at rice:

"Mmm! She's so cute! I'll definitely take good care of my little sister from now on!"

Perhaps disturbed by the surrounding noises, Su Hui, still in her swaddling clothes, slightly wrinkled her little face, as if she was about to cry out at any moment.

But when she saw her brother's figure by the bedside through her hazy eyes, her crying stopped abruptly, and she instead grinned with her toothless little mouth and giggled.

The sunlight from outside the window slanted across the wooden floor. Dust particles in the room danced slowly in the beams of light.

This scene is so heartwarming, it could be used to photograph a baby.

A warm feeling welled up in Lin Wan's tired eyes. She felt that giving birth to this second child was not easy, but it was worth it.

Su Hao has shown remarkable independence since childhood, rarely asking his parents for much care and never causing them any worry.

But the second child is a real pain in the neck.

Perhaps because of her delicate nature, this little girl could cry out a sense of desolation, as if the world were collapsing and the end of the world, as soon as she was separated from her mother's embrace.

The couple's constant exertion left them with dark circles under their eyes, a result of their daily "cultivation" routine.

But this little tyrant who tormented them to the point of death every day could instantly brighten up and smile like spring flowers when she saw Su Hao.

As a mother, I can't find a more heartwarming scene than this.

"Huihui, let me show you a magic trick."

Su Hao squatted down by the bed, gently took his sister's soft little hands, and shielded her eyes from view.

"Oh no, my brother is gone!"

The next second, his hands suddenly moved away, and Su Hao's bright smiling face rushed over.

"Ta-da! Big brother's here!"

Su Hui burst into laughter, jumping around on the bed excitedly, her gums showing as she laughed.

Seeing his sister like this, Su Hao revealed a rather proud expression.

The little girl stretched out her arms, babbling as if to say, "One more time!"

"Alright, this time I'm really going to go invisible."

Su Hao ducked down and skillfully hid under the bed.

Su Hui was stunned for a moment, then looked around blankly.

"Clang—Clang!"

Seeing her brother suddenly pop up like a groundhog, Su Hui was startled and shrank back at first, but then burst into carefree laughter.

"No wonder this girl is so attached to her brother, since she's so willing to go along with his antics."

Lin Wan leaned against the door and shook her head with amusement.

A couple whose energy has been drained by life would never be able to play with their child like this.

After playing around for a while, Su Hui, whose battery was completely depleted, gulped down a bottle of milk and fell asleep instantly.

Su Hao carefully tucked the blanket around his sister, then tiptoed out and returned to his own room.

Su Hao's room is now very different from what it used to be.

The lonely bookshelf in the corner has somehow spread like weeds, taking up an entire wall.

Since finishing that encyclopedia, Su Hao seemed to have awakened some strange attribute, shifting his interest to the purest and most unforgiving subject on this planet: mathematics.

Because the family's collection of books had been completely exhausted, he could only keep pestering his parents to buy him math books.

One book after another was hoarded until there was simply no room left to put them all, resulting in this exaggerated scene of books overflowing.

Su Hao stood in front of the bookshelf, his fingertips lightly gliding across the spines of the books, finally stopping on a thick book with a black hard cover and a silver title stamped on it.

《Linear Algebra and Its Applications》

Linear algebra and its applications.

It's not even a Chinese translation, but the original English version, so hardcore it's terrifying.

Su Hao skillfully turned the pages of the book, not even needing a bookmark, and immediately located the progress he had made yesterday, which was halfway through.

Afterward, he shut out all external distractions and happily immersed himself in his own mental world.

......

"Damn it... how come there are such idiot parents back home too!"

Class 2, Grade 1, Daji County Experimental Primary School.

Newly appointed homeroom teacher Gu Jin, looking utterly dejected, took off her glasses and pressed her throbbing temples hard with her thumb and middle finger.

"I came back here because I couldn't stand that smoky and chaotic atmosphere, but who would have thought..."

A sigh echoed in the empty classroom, and she swallowed back all her complaints.

Back then, she taught at a top-tier tutoring institution in Haidian District, Beijing, a place teeming with academic stunts. Now, she has only been back in her hometown for a full six months.

Speaking of Haidian District, the transitions from kindergarten to primary school, from primary school to junior high school, from junior high school to college entrance exams have become incredibly complicated.

Even in order to get into a bilingual kindergarten, there are sometimes two rounds of selection exams for both children and parents...

There, childhood is a luxury.

During those days of teaching and nurturing students, Gu Jin felt not even the slightest sense of accomplishment as a teacher.

Those children who were forced to grow too fast are like frightened birds, their eyes filled with heartbreaking exhaustion and numbness.

Ultimately, they will only be raised to be overgrown children who cannot even take care of themselves without their parents.

Because apart from doing practice problems, all other survival skills have been taken away by their parents.

However, it would be fine if it were just a giant baby.

The most frightening thing is that some of them will develop a pathological personality that despises their peers and lacks empathy due to the inexplicable sense of intellectual superiority that comes from learning too early.

Elementary school math teachers with high school Olympiad backgrounds and degrees from prestigious university math departments are extremely rare.

For this reason, Gu Jin was once the most sought-after prize in the eyes of those powerful and wealthy parents.

Driven by passion and a pure love for children, I plunged headlong into the field of education despite everyone's objections, never imagining that I would be met with such utter disillusionment.

That was clearly intellectual abuse disguised as education, stemming from the parents' morbid desires.

Watching the seven-year-old boy mechanically copying equations he didn't even understand the meaning of the symbols with his unsteady little hands, sobbing, Gu Jin felt nauseous.

Until one day, a child had a mental breakdown and cried loudly in class because he failed his exam.

Gu Jin's long-suppressed anger finally erupted. Like a madwoman, she pointed her finger at the powerful parent and berated him severely!

"Although the price was that I had to run back to my hometown..."

Under pressure, she accepted the principal's "well-intentioned" advice, which was not to make a big deal out of it, and sheepishly submitted her resignation.

I'm prepared to become an ordinary teacher at a primary school in my hometown, living a mundane life...

She thought that by returning to this remote hometown and hiding in this secluded corner, she could finally have peace and quiet and say goodbye to those absurd things.

But she was wrong, terribly wrong.

Su Hao.

This child is exquisitely beautiful, and her smile is radiant.

She even wondered how enlightened the child's parents must be to raise such a child.

In the end, was it all just a delusion caused by my own blindness?!

When Gu Jin discovered a copy of "High School Mathematics Compilation" in that whimsical little yellow duck backpack, she felt as if her "tiger parenting PTSD" post-traumatic stress disorder was about to flare up on the spot!

Without saying a word, she immediately issued a notice to the parents for a meeting.

Today is the day Su Hao's parents will "come to me with their heads".

With a creak.

In the empty classroom after school, the door was carefully pushed open a crack.

Through the crack in the door, the first sound to emerge was the babbling of a baby.

"Excuse me, teacher, could you please wait a moment?"

The woman who led the baby in was plain-faced.

His skin was slightly tanned from the hardships of city life, and his hair was unkempt, simply tied back with a rubber band.

But Gu Jin's sharp eyes caught a glimpse of a hidden intellectual in her hesitant yet dignified demeanor.

Watching her gently pat the child's back, Gu Jin's nameless anger inexplicably dissipated a little.

"Hello, Professor Gu. I'm so sorry, I've been so busy at home lately. I should have come to visit you sooner."

Seeing the mother bow overly politely made Gu Jin feel a little uncomfortable, so she quickly stood up to greet her.

"Ah... Hello, Su Hao's mother! It's alright, it's alright! Actually, the main reason I invited you here today is because..."

Before he could finish speaking, Gu Jin's gaze suddenly stopped.

She noticed a large, cream-colored stain on the woman's collar.

It was clearly milk the baby had vomited before leaving the house, and they only had time to wipe it off quickly.

A tired face, gentle and non-aggressive eyes, and an anxious expression as if the child had caused trouble at school.

This was completely different from the cold-blooded faces Gu Jin had become accustomed to in the capital, those who were bossy and used children as bargaining chips.

Gu Jin subconsciously bit her lower lip.

The image of the "vicious tiger mom who abuses her children for vanity" in my mind shattered instantly in front of the woman in front of me.

All those lines they had rehearsed so fervently beforehand, denouncing "torturous parents who push their children to excel," were now stuck in their throats.

Although most of my guard has been lowered, there are some things that I must get to the bottom of.

Gu Jin took a deep breath and went straight to the point:

"Um, Su Hao's mom, I accidentally found a book called 'High School Mathematics Compilation' in Su Hao's schoolbag yesterday."

"If I may ask, do you usually enroll him in any advanced tutoring classes?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Wan was clearly stunned for a second, like a primary school student who had been daydreaming in class and was called on by the teacher, instinctively shrinking back.

"Something's definitely up!" Gu Jin's heart skipped a beat, and she was about to start offering advice.

However, Lin Wan's subsequent stammering words stunned her like a blow to the head.

"That book...it must have been something the child's father bought online."

A while ago, Su Hao suddenly became curious about what high school students were learning and insisted on seeing it…

"What? You mean, it wasn't learned at a cram school?"

"Teacher Gu, you're joking! What kind of tutoring class would a child this young attend?"

Lin Wan waved her hands repeatedly, her tone revealing a sense of helplessness.

"To be honest, Teacher Gu, this child doesn't even want to go to kindergarten because he finds it boring, so we just let him stay home and play for a few years."

Gu Jin felt her head buzzing.

Wait a minute, aren't they talking about the same thing on the same wavelength?

She took a deep breath and decided to go through it all again from the beginning.

"Su Hao's mother, do you mean...?"

Did Su Hao bring that high school math book purely out of fun or curiosity?

We're not actually doing the questions above, right?

Yes, that must be it.

Some children are vain and carry around obscure and difficult books, putting on airs.

She had even seen elementary school students wandering around the school playground with Dante's original copy of "The Divine Comedy" in their hands.

"No, that's not it..." Lin Wan scratched her hair, looking somewhat conflicted.

"I've been really overwhelmed by my second child lately, and I really don't have the energy to deal with him."

But I saw him put that book into his bag several times. When I asked him why, he said he took it out to solve problems and pass the time when he was bored.

Gu Jin's lips twitched slightly.

First grade...when I was bored...I solved high school math problems...to pass the time?

Fuck your time-killing!

This first-grader probably hasn't even memorized the multiplication tables yet!

Gu Jin's voice rose uncontrollably by half an octave:

"So...you mean Su Hao is currently teaching himself high school math, and can even solve high school math problems?"

Hearing Gu Jin's incredulous question, Lin Wan nodded obediently, her tone devoid of any boastfulness, only revealing the utter helplessness of a mother:

"Teacher Gu, I know this sounds a bit far-fetched."

But Su Hao's brain circuits have been a bit different from others since he was a child.

We never deliberately taught him, but somehow he learned to read and could answer math problems at a glance.

So his dad and I discussed it and bought him a set of encyclopedias. Who knew he'd become so obsessed with it, spending all his time hugging and chewing on them...

It's gotten even more outrageous lately; he keeps wanting to buy all sorts of random math books. I guess his dad had to give up before he finally bought them.

"Wow--"

Su Hui, who was in his arms, seemed to sense the strange atmosphere around her and suddenly burst into tears.

Seeing Lin Wan frantically trying to soothe the child, Gu Jin was struck dumb and suddenly came to her senses.

Although she had a million thoughts racing through her mind and countless questions to ask, Gu Jin sadly realized that as the homeroom teacher, she knew absolutely nothing about this seven-year-old boy named Su Hao.

"Talk is cheap; let's test this kid directly."

Gu Jin gritted her teeth inwardly.

It's common for parents to have an exaggerated sense of their child's talent.

Whether it's a mule or a horse, we'll find out once we take it out for a spin.

……

That evening, when Gu Jin returned home from get off work, she dug out the textbooks and question banks she had used to prepare for the Olympiad from the deepest part of the storage box under her bed.

"It's been so long..."

Looking at these yellowed covers, Gu Jin felt as if she had lived through another world.

Plane Geometry, Selected Topics in Inequalities, Combinatorial Mathematics, Elementary Number Theory, Past Exam Problems of the Mathematical Olympiad...

Back then, these books were like tormenting little devils; just looking at the cover could make you want to vomit.

But now, with the passage of time, they have all become precious memories.

In a daze, she seemed to have returned to those youthful days when, after the dormitory lights were turned off, she would cover herself with a blanket and, by the dim light of a flashlight, struggle with a challenging problem until dawn.

So the question is, what level of difficulty should a test be given to a seven-year-old child?

No matter how gifted or exceptionally intelligent one is, there are limits to self-taught learning, as it lacks a systematic knowledge framework.

"To be on the safe side, let's start with the difficulty level of junior high school."

rustling...

The pen tip flew across the paper.

She didn't intend to blame a precocious and vain child.

Showing off, who hasn't done that when they were young?

It's just a minor experience in the long journey of life.

However, the words of Su Hao's mother, which were flustered yet extremely calm, kept replaying in her mind, like a thorn piercing her heart.

Gu Jin sadly discovered that she couldn't find a trace of pretense in that mother's eyes.

"Calm down, I'm just checking, yes, just casually checking his background."

Gu Jin muttered to herself as she posed a question.

Initially, she really only planned to stop at trigonometric functions.

But as her thoughts unfolded, the content she wrote gradually spiraled out of control.

Years of academic prowess combined with a few inexplicable emotions finally surfaced.

Calculus? Let's get on board.

Analytic geometry and spatial vectors? Add them.

These are not the kind of fancy, cheap tricks that can be solved by rote memorization and formulas; they are high-difficulty problems that require a thorough understanding of the core concepts and absolute logical thinking to solve!

Gu Jin stopped writing and stared intently at the slightly menacing equation on the paper.

Reason screamed at her, urging her to be utterly insane to put something like this in front of a seven-year-old!

Despite her frantic internal reassurances that this was just a routine diagnostic test, she remained silent.

But as she looked at the increasingly bizarre questions on the exam paper, her hand holding the pen couldn't help but tremble slightly.

Because she simply couldn't suppress that tiny, almost unbelievable, yet wildly exciting possibility deep within her heart!

She's gambling.

I bet something beyond common sense is happening to that kid named Su Hao!