Chapter 18: No Male Lead!?
Xu Tinghuan, the math class representative, turned the page and looked at the problem. She had also solved this problem yesterday, spending a full half-class and writing half a page of solution steps!
This problem not only tested basic derivative formulas and logarithmic rules, but also required attention to the misleading domain trap in the problem.
If it weren't for the fact that she had done enough problems, her thinking was flexible enough, and she had studied and consolidated the knowledge of the derivative unit much earlier, she wouldn't know how long it would have taken her to solve yesterday's problem!
Hearing Teacher Jia ask Zhang Chen to solve this problem, Tan Jian and Huang Yuyuan, who also had good math grades, looked at Xu Tinghuan.
The three of them were considered the best in math in Class 8 at the moment. They would always discuss after finishing their math homework and offer their own insights and ideas on difficult problems after class.
As for the problem Jia Wei asked Zhang Chen to solve, they only knew that Xu Tinghuan had solved it.
As for the two of them, it was only after seeing Xu Tinghuan's solution process that they suddenly understood.
Now, hearing that Jia Wei actually asked Zhang Chen to solve such a problem, and also learned that Zhang Chen had solved it correctly, they couldn't help but feel surprised and amused.
This problem, which even they couldn't solve after two evening self-study sessions last night, how could Zhang Chen, someone who scores in the 30s in math, possibly solve it!?
Unless he cheated!
Otherwise, he could only have copied the answer! Oh, no, the answer wouldn't work either, the answer was omitted.
He could only have copied someone else's!
Everyone looked at Zhang Chen on the podium. They saw him pick up Teacher Jia Wei's blank textbook from the lectern, turn around, and slowly write the character for 'Solution' on the blackboard first.
Then he glanced at the problem and put a colon after the 'Solution' character...
Standardization! Pay attention to writing standardization!
Tan Jian and Huang Yuyuan saw that he couldn't come up with an opening for a long time and couldn't help but exchange glances. Before Zhang Chen could continue writing, the two of them began to whisper: "It's over, he doesn't know how to write it."
"GG, what does what I wrote last night have to do with me today?"
"Solution, and then nothing, hahahaha—"
Xu Tinghuan, hearing this, didn't react much. She just glanced at Zhang Chen's back on the podium and then lowered her head to continue writing her own problem.
Su Yu was a bit surprised, but seeing Zhang Chen standing on stage now, seemingly at a loss for how to start writing, she suddenly found it a bit amusing.
She turned her head and glanced at Bai Xiruo, who was currently watching Zhang Chen.
She thought with a cold snort: If it's really not working, why not go up and help? After all, Bai Xiruo's grades are so good, she must know how to do it.
Tap, tap, tap...
Just as most of the classmates in the class were just watching for fun, Zhang Chen began to write.
The sound of chalk on the blackboard flowed smoothly and continuously.
He hadn't stopped since he started writing!
Tan Jian and the other classmates who had been laughing below the stage looked at the blackboard, wanting to see what Zhang Chen could write.
Half a minute later, the previous laughter subsided. Zhang Chen on the stage finished writing on one blackboard and began to write on the second.
He wrote faster than they could read from below!
A minute later, the smiles on Tan Jian and the others' faces had frozen, and some were even scratching their heads, unable to understand.
Two minutes later, there were no longer any smiles on the faces of Tan Jian and the others. Instead, there was only a look of confusion, waiting for Teacher Jia Wei to explain.
The entire classroom was left with only the crisp sound of Zhang Chen's chalk on the blackboard at the front...
As Zhang Chen finished the last few strokes, he had perfectly answered the entire question!
Zhang Chen turned around and placed the chalk and book steadily on the lectern.
This time, he used a brand new method, completely different from what Nan Xingwan had taught him yesterday. The process steps weren't necessarily more convenient, but they were relatively easier to understand.
The few seconds he paused after writing 'Solution' were spent mentally conceiving a new, workable approach, and then he chose the easiest one to understand.
This, he thought, should be enough to prove that he had diligently done his homework himself, right?
As Zhang Chen turned around, the classmates in the class also turned to look at Teacher Jia Wei, who was still standing next to Zhang Chen's seat.
At this moment, Jia Wei was comparing Zhang Chen's book with what Zhang Chen had written on the blackboard.
"This isn't the method you wrote yesterday," Jia Wei said with some surprise, smiling at Zhang Chen.
Only now did he truly have a change of heart about Zhang Chen.
"Oh... I just thought of it," Zhang Chen replied casually, "This one is easier to understand."
Classmates in the class: !!??
Xu Tinghuan looked at the solution process: ????
Can you be any more pretentious?
The whole class was once again choked by Zhang Chen's words.
First, he said it was too simple, and now he said this method was just thought of.
You, a person who scores in the 30s in math, can you stop talking as if you could score 300 points!
Xu Tinghuan didn't understand Zhang Chen's 'easier to understand'. On the contrary, she felt that there were many parts of what Zhang Chen wrote that she couldn't understand!
If even she found it so difficult to comprehend, there was no need to mention the other classmates.
If it weren't for the fact that the final answer was correct, she would have suspected that Zhang Chen was just writing nonsense and forcibly explaining the logic...
And at this moment, Huang Yuyuan happened to voice the question in Xu Tinghuan's mind: "Then, Teacher Jia, did Zhang Chen write this correctly?"
Zhang Chen saw Jia Wei walk over and was about to go down the stage to his seat, but as soon as he stepped down, he was stopped by a smiling Jia Wei, who, while answering Huang Yuyuan's question, said: "Of course it's correct, this step is completely correct, very clever."
At the same time, he asked Zhang Chen to also write the method he used in his homework yesterday on the blackboard.
He, in turn, would use these last few minutes to explain all of Zhang Chen's steps to the students on the spot.
So, Zhang Chen began to write the solution method Nan Xingwan had taught him yesterday on the other two blackboards, while Teacher Jia explained all the solution steps that had just been written on the blackboard to the classmates!
Finally, the class bell rang, Zhang Chen sat back in his seat, and Teacher Jia Wei had just finished explaining both of Zhang Chen's solution methods.
"It seems that some students are still very capable if they study diligently. Look, such a difficult problem, and he can even come up with two solutions? If this were the college entrance examination, wouldn't he have scored 12 points? Everyone, applaud!"
Jia Wei led the encouragement!
Whoosh—
"Chen Ge is awesome!"
Xu Tinghuan was enlightened after listening to Jia Wei explain Zhang Chen's ideas. She couldn't even imagine such clever thoughts, and she sincerely admired and applauded him.
Su Yu's eyes, meanwhile, were wide like brass bells!
"Alright, copy these two solution methods. If you don't understand, ask Zhang Chen. Class dismissed."
Teacher Jia Wei never extended class, immediately announced dismissal, and walked out of the classroom.
And as soon as Jia Wei walked out of the classroom, some classmates who got along pretty well with Zhang Chen started calling out affectionate "Chen Ge"s and looking at him...
"Chen Ge, did you cheat!?"
"Are you starting to study seriously!?"
"I'll imitate Chen Ge's tone just now, 'I just thought of it, this one is easier to understand~'"
"Get out of here!" Zhang Chen pushed the few of them away impatiently.
...
During the break.
Zhang Chen's sleepiness had been completely woken up by the math class just now, and he was now getting some fresh air in the corridor.
Suddenly noticing that Li Junhao had disappeared after class, he turned to Duan Chenxu and asked, "Where's Hao Zi?"
"He's in the restroom with Wang Xu and the others," Duan Chenxu said, eating spicy strips he had just bought from the small shop.
"Didn't I ask him to help me find someone?"
Duan Chenxu shrugged: "How would I know?"
Zhang Chen clicked his tongue, nudged Duan Chenxu: "Take me to find him."
Yesterday at lunchtime, when the four of them were eating, Zhang Chen had asked Li Junhao to help him find a boy named Ye Fan at school.
That's right, the male lead.
They arrived at a floor upstairs where all the classrooms were empty. There were no students in class here, so there would be no teachers patrolling.
Duan Chenxu waited outside the restroom, and Zhang Chen walked in alone.
As soon as he entered the restroom, several boys inside simultaneously looked at Zhang Chen, hiding their cigarettes behind their backs...
But the air still carried the thick smell of smoke.
Seeing that it was Zhang Chen, the boys breathed a sigh of relief, greeted Zhang Chen with a smile, and then Wang Xu, who was the spiky-haired boy from the first day, came forward and offered Zhang Chen a cigarette...
"I don't smoke. So you guys ran off to smoke after all this time." Zhang Chen frowned, refusing the cigarette Wang Xu offered.
"Hehe, just one after class." Wang Xu took a drag from the cigarette he held between his fingers, skillfully exhaling a puff of smoke.
"Cough, cough, cough..." Zhang Chen fanned the air, smelling the pungent smoke, and asked Li Junhao, "Did you find the person I asked you to find?"
Li Junhao quickly put down his cigarette and replied, "Uh, Chen Ge, I didn't find him. There's no such person."
"No such person? How is that possible?"
"I asked other classes, there's no one named Ye Fan. If you don't believe me, you can ask them," Li Junhao pouted, looking at the others present.
They were all the 'big shots' of their respective classes and had good relationships with Zhang Chen.
However, in the original novel, it was written that they were all Zhang Chen's subordinates.
Zhang Chen then looked at Wang Xu and the others.
"There really isn't such a person, I asked people I know from other grades, Chen Ge, there really isn't such a person in our school."
"I even asked the junior high division for you, Chen Ge, never heard of him."
"I didn't find anything either."
"I even went to Seven Middle School to ask, nothing."
The answers from everyone were the same, which left Zhang Chen bewildered.
Impossible, then there would be no male lead!?
"Are you sure? What if I find him?" Zhang Chen scrutinized the few of them, suspecting that they were just talking nonsense and hadn't actually searched seriously.
"Really didn't find him, Chen Ge, we've already asked everyone we could," Li Junhao said seriously, taking a drag from his cigarette.
Wang Xu and the others also nodded in agreement, looking genuinely innocent.
"If it really doesn't work, we'll keep looking. Did he upset you, Chen Ge?"
"No, not at all." Zhang Chen shook his head, feeling puzzled, but still chose to believe them. "Alright, then you guys keep looking. If you find him, don't start a conflict, tell me immediately. Cough, cough, cough."
"Why is this smoke so choking? What are you smoking?"
"Liqun. Isn't this your favorite, Chen Ge?"
"Smoking anything else tastes bland."
"Want one?"
"......"
Zhang Chen rolled his eyes at them, said no more, and walked out of the restroom.
Wang Xu and the others were still confused. In the past, Zhang Chen would definitely be the one smoking the most, but this time he didn't smoke a single one.
"Chen Ge... what's wrong?" Wang Xu sidled up to Li Junhao and asked.
Li Junhao immediately assumed a thoughtful pose, exhaled a puff of stale air from his mouth, and put on a profound expression:
"Ah, that... Chen Ge, it's a long story..."
"What? Did he... get dumped?"
"Did Sister-in-law... play with other boys again?"
"Could it be this guy named Ye Fan?"
"Shh! That word, 'Sister-in-law,' don't say it carelessly from now on!" Li Junhao warned the others. "Chen Ge, his changes these past two days have indeed been a bit big..."
"Elaborate."
Wang Xu and the others immediately gathered around Li Junhao...
"Chen Ge, he..."
Just as Li Junhao opened his mouth, Zhang Chen suddenly returned to the restroom door: "Hey, Li Junhao, you come out here."
"Eh?? Chen Ge? What's up?" The few scattered like birds, and Li Junhao was exposed in Zhang Chen's sight.
"Hurry up!"
"......"
Under the slightly sympathetic gazes of Wang Xu and the others, Li Junhao took his last drag of the cigarette and walked out of the restroom...
Little did he know, this drag would be his freest one...
"Don't you dare smoke anymore, it smells like smoke."
"Huh?"
"And your hair, you're going to cut it tonight just like mine. It's practically covering your eyes, are you trying to cosplay Sasuke?"
"No, Chen Ge? I can agree to the first part, but this hair is my dignity!" Li Junhao protected his hair.
"Do I look like dignity to you?" Zhang Chen stared at him with cold eyes...
"......"
"Didn't I cut mine too?" Zhang Chen touched his own hair again.
"......No, Chen Ge, you can't play like this..."
...
...