PCJ – Chapter 492 The Transferred Student Who Holds Back Progress

Originally, Fu Cha Hao Yue had planned for Zhang Jiaohua to start at the first year of junior high, but Zhang Jiaohua insisted on entering the third year. So, he had no choice but to complete nearly the entire junior high curriculum in just fifty days.

“If you can’t get into high school, you’ll have to repeat a year. I can’t get you into high school. Technical school is out of the question,” Fu Cha Hao Yue was helpless. This kid was so headstrong—once he made a decision, even a hundred oxen couldn’t change his mind.

“Don’t worry, it’s just getting into high school. Anyway, people from Beijing are not that great at studying. The cutoff score is over a hundred points lower than where I’m from,” Zhang Jiaohua said indifferently.

Fu Cha Hao Yue was furious. Wasn’t this seriously looking down on people from Beijing? She quickly grabbed Zhang Jiaohua’s ear. “Even though the cutoff score is lower, there are still plenty of people with high scores. I scored much higher than the cutoff line back in my day.”

Zhang Jiaohua rubbed his ear. “My mom said that a man’s ears shouldn’t be pinched by women, or he’ll have bad luck.”

“Ugh, you’re so superstitious,” Fu Cha Hao Yue rolled her eyes at him.

“Brother Zeng Lei would probably love to pinch your ears,” Zhang Jiaohua laughed.

Fu Cha Hao Yue immediately raised her fist. “You little rascal, let’s see if you dare say that again!”

“Sis, in fifty days, we’ll be taking the high school entrance exam. Don’t distract me, or if I don’t pass, I’ll really blame you,” Zhang Jiaohua said while reading, clearly unfazed. Cultivators had many perks. At least the ability to multitask wasn’t something ordinary people could easily achieve.

Fu Cha Hao Yue immediately replied, “Isn’t it your own fault? You keep distracting yourself. Hurry up and finish these problems. Spend the first month solidifying your foundation, then tackle the comprehensive problems. I’ll come here after work every day to tutor you. If you don’t understand anything, ask me.”

“Sis, you’re so tired from work, don’t worry about me. This stuff won’t be hard. You’ll see, I’ll finish it all in no time,” Zhang Jiaohua said confidently.

“You’re full of it. If you can’t keep up after a month, I’ll teach you a lesson,” Fu Cha Hao Yue, being the only child, was very serious about treating Zhang Jiaohua as her brother. She took her role as an older sister very seriously, especially since her efforts had helped him change his ways. She felt a great sense of accomplishment, even more than finishing a major project.

Zhang Jiaohua’s foundation wasn’t bad. Although he had neglected his studies for over a year, his core knowledge was still intact, and it wasn’t too difficult to pick up again. The real challenge was catching up on more than two years of content he had missed. It was a huge task to complete it all in just one month.

On Zhang Jiaohua’s desk were all the textbooks from the three years of junior high, neatly arranged. He flipped through them one by one, the pages rustling loudly.

“Pay more attention, don’t skim through so quickly. That’s not helpful,” Fu Cha Hao Yue frowned as she watched him.

“I understand,” Zhang Jiaohua said dismissively.

“Don’t try to fool me. I just want to see if you’re really paying attention.” Fu Cha Hao Yue snatched the textbook from Zhang Jiaohua and flipped to the part he had just read. Pointing to the homework, she said, “Solve this problem. If you get it right, then I’ll know you’re really paying attention.”

Zhang Jiaohua didn’t even look at the problem and said, “I’ve done this before. The answer is 254.”

“Write out the steps, otherwise, I’ll only give you one point for a ten-point problem,” Fu Cha Hao Yue was worried Zhang Jiaohua was guessing.

“This is a waste of time,” Zhang Jiaohua quickly wrote out all the steps, neatly and clearly. Fu Cha Hao Yue was stunned.

“You really understood?” Fu Cha Hao Yue asked, doubtful.

“Of course I did,” Zhang Jiaohua nodded.

Fu Cha Hao Yue ruffled Zhang Jiaohua’s head. “I didn’t expect my little brother to be a genius.” Zhang Jiaohua felt a little embarrassed.

Early in the morning, Wu Yuan was dragged out of bed by Zeng Lei. The two stood side by side on the plum blossom stake. They were exhausted from running around all day, but couldn’t resist Zeng Lei’s demands. With a mournful face, Wu Yuan stood on the stake, still pretending to be asleep with his eyes closed.

“Fatty, if you don’t hurry up and lose weight, you’ll never get a wife,” Zeng Lei said, laughing at Wu Yuan’s appearance.

“Zeng, you’re not fat, so why haven’t you married Hao Yue yet? You don’t even dare confess. I bet once Jiaohua grows up, you’re done for,” Wu Yuan said, hitting a sore spot for Zeng Lei.

“Damn fatty, you dare say that? Be careful or I’ll hit you!” Zeng Lei glared at Wu Yuan.

Wu Yuan shrank his head. “I’m just telling the truth. Do you like Hao Yue or not? Does Hao Yue like you? You both know each other’s feelings but refuse to acknowledge them. You’re both over thirty now, and I’m getting anxious for you. Watch, once I lose my two hundred-plus pounds, I’ll definitely get a girlfriend before you.”

“Lose weight first,” Zeng Lei said irritably.

Zhang Jiaohua came out of the house with his backpack. He glanced at the two of them and walked toward the door.

“Jiaohua’s carrying a backpack, but he doesn’t look like a student,” Wu Yuan said, looking at Zhang Jiaohua’s back.

“What does he look like?” Zeng Lei asked, also finding it strange that Zhang Jiaohua was carrying a backpack.

“Like a fortune teller,” Wu Yuan laughed.

Just then, a mud ball the size of a ping-pong ball fell from the sky and hit Wu Yuan on the forehead before bouncing off and landing on the ground.

“Ouch,” Wu Yuan rubbed his head, relieved it was just mud and not a stone, or his head would have been split open.

“Serves you right! Ouch! I didn’t say anything!” Zeng Lei said gleefully, only for a mud ball to hit him on the head too.

“You two deserve it. I’ve warned you. I only just convinced Jiaohua to go to school. If you make him lose interest in studying, I’ll deal with both of you,” Fu Cha Hao Yue said, picking up a bamboo stick and lightly tapping Wu Yuan and Zeng Lei, though she didn’t use much force.

Zhang Jiaohua entered his new class. Because he came late, he was placed at the back of the classroom.

He didn’t pay much attention to his classmates. These people were just temporary classmates, and they didn’t pay attention to the newcomer, Zhang Jiaohua. Even the most mischievous students would try their best at the last moment.

Zhang Jiaohua’s backpack contained textbooks from the first and second years of junior high. He still needed to make up for the previous content.

Sitting next to Zhang Jiaohua, Jiang Yuyang stared in shock when he saw him reading first and second-year books. “Bro, are you serious? We’re at the final stage and you’re just starting with first-year books? I’m at least looking at third-year materials.”

“My foundation is weak, so I’ll start with the basics,” Zhang Jiaohua smiled at Jiang Yuyang.

“You’re doomed, don’t you see? Only fifty days left until the high school entrance exam. You’ll never catch up,” Jiang Yuyang pointed to the countdown at the back of the class.

The countdown was like a whip hanging over the students’ heads, pushing them to cram for the final stretch.

Zhang Jiaohua glanced at it, then calmly continued flipping through his book. Though he was talking to Jiang Yuyang, his hands never stopped turning the pages.

Jiang Yuyang thought Zhang Jiaohua was just pretending to study, assuming he had already given up, so he didn’t bother him further and focused on his own study materials.

In the last month before the exams, various mock tests and quizzes were held regularly. Teachers from all subjects took turns drilling the students’ minds.

The physics teacher, Su Zhenming, entered the room with a stack of test papers. “Today we have a mock exam.”

Without waiting for anyone to respond, he handed out the papers.

Physics was a subject that started in the second year of junior high, and Zhang Jiaohua hadn’t studied it yet. When he got the test paper, he found there were very few questions he could answer. After filling in those, he set the paper aside and continued studying at his own pace.

Su Zhenming came over, saw Zhang Jiaohua reading a second-year math book, and his expression changed.

“What are you doing? Did you finish all the questions?” Su Zhenming grabbed Zhang Jiaohua’s test paper, immediately fuming. “I thought every student would be doing their best to review at the final stage, but I didn’t expect to see a student like you who doesn’t take their future seriously. This is irresponsible to yourself and to the class. Tell me, if this were the entrance exam, how many points would you score on this paper? You’ll drag our class’s average score down by two points!”

“Teacher, don’t worry. I haven’t reviewed physics yet. Once I do, these questions won’t be hard for me,” Zhang Jiaohua said calmly.

Some students in the class couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Who do you think you are? A genius? You think you can learn a subject in just a few days? If you’re a genius, why are you handing in a blank paper at this point? I don’t know what Teacher Dong was thinking, letting in a transfer student like you,” Su Zhenming said angrily, certain that Zhang Jiaohua would lower the class’s average score during the entrance exam.

“Teacher, don’t worry. If I don’t make it to the top few in the next mock exam, I won’t take the test,” Zhang Jiaohua said calmly, still not looking up from his book.

“You better remember what you said today!” Su Zhenming said angrily. He didn’t believe Zhang Jiaohua could raise his scores enough to place among the top in the class in such a short time.

Jiang Yuyang whispered to Zhang Jiaohua, “Bro, you’re amazing. You’ve made Su Teacher so mad. But I think you’re blowing smoke. He definitely won’t let you off the hook that easily.”