PCJ – Chapter 495 Going Back to Panjiayuan

“How is that possible?” Su Zhenming couldn’t believe it and leaned over to take a look.

Teacher Luo, whose full name is Luo Songlin, is a veteran Chinese teacher at Changqing Middle School. He is very meticulous in his work. Even now, he often makes exam papers, claiming it helps maintain his level. So when he glanced at the exam paper, he could roughly guess most of the answers. Teacher Luo ignored Su Zhenming. It would be unreasonable for a teacher to be so harsh towards a student, no matter the reason.

“Did this student offend you in some way?” Luo Songlin looked up at Su Zhenming after reviewing the answers on the paper.

“No, he just transferred here. How could he have offended me? Besides, I’m not a petty person,” Su Zhenming said, feeling a bit uncomfortable under Luo Songlin’s gaze.

“I see you being so harsh with him. I thought he might have offended you. I’ve lived for decades and been a Chinese teacher for many years. I know very well that ‘a person’s handwriting reflects their character.’ This student’s handwriting is neat and proper, and he doesn’t seem like a bad kid. It’s normal for children to say a few arrogant things. But as a teacher, do you really think it’s appropriate to treat a student this way?” Luo Songlin was genuinely upset.

“Uh!” Su Zhenming was taken aback. After reflecting on his actions, he realized he might have been too harsh.

Fortunately, Luo Songlin didn’t continue the discussion. But Su Zhenming couldn’t shake his feelings of discomfort and was still curious: Could this kid really be that good at Chinese?

In the following few exams, Zhang Jiaohua finished his papers early, as he had in the previous exams. Su Zhenming wasn’t confident about the other subjects, but he understood the physics exam clearly. Zhang Jiaohua finished after just over half an hour, but Su Zhenming only needed a quick glance to know Zhang Jiaohua’s score would be high.

“Half a month, and this kid is pretending to be a fool? This is really infuriating!” Su Zhenming thought, feeling humiliated. He decided that Zhang Jiaohua’s behavior had made him a victim, and thus he felt justified in hating him.

As for Zhang Jiaohua, people like Su Zhenming, and the others at Changqing Middle School who looked at him with disdain, were just passersby on his short journey through the school. In life, you encounter many things, and there’s no need to care about the opinions of others.

When the mock exam results were released, the second-year class at Changqing Middle School was in an uproar. Zhang Jiaohua, who had been underestimated by everyone before the exam, achieved an impressive result. Though he didn’t manage to overtake the top students, he had already proved his point. He didn’t wait for the final mock exam and had already made it into the top ranks: 6th in class and 15th in the year. To those who had been waiting to see him fail, this result was already dazzling.

No one doubted the authenticity of Zhang Jiaohua’s results because the questions were created by the teachers of the school, and there was no chance of a leak. During the exam, the supervision was strict, so Zhang Jiaohua couldn’t have cheated. Moreover, no one had finished their exam near him.

Even the only person who had supported Zhang Jiaohua, Jiang Yuyang, was shocked.

“You, you really enjoy pretending to be a fool, and here I was, worrying about you. Turns out you were completely confident,” Jiang Yuyang said, giving Zhang Jiaohua a heavy slap on the shoulder.

Zhang Jiaohua didn’t explain but just smiled. “Now I have time to read this book.”

Zhang Jiaohua took out a book—The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci—and flipped through it casually, quickly getting absorbed in it. He didn’t even notice when the teacher entered the classroom.

“Zhang Jiaohua, hmm? Zhang Jiaohua?” Teacher Dong Peijun called his name, but Zhang Jiaohua didn’t respond, lost in his book.

Jiang Yuyang quickly nudged Zhang Jiaohua. Zhang Jiaohua looked at Jiang Yuyang, asking, “What’s up?”

Dong Peijun walked over and took the book from Zhang Jiaohua’s hand.

Jiang Yuyang, holding his forehead, was speechless.

“At this point, you still have time to read extracurricular books?” Dong Peijun asked.

Zhang Jiaohua finally realized why Jiang Yuyang had called him earlier— the teacher had come in—but still replied nonchalantly, “Sharpening the ax doesn’t delay the cutting of wood. This is a good book. The methods in it helped me improve quickly.”

“Oh?” Dong Peijun had never read the book and didn’t know its content.

“Teacher Dong, I lent this book to Zhang Jiaohua. It’s a book about improving memory. But most people can’t understand it. Zhang Jiaohua only read it once, and his memory improved drastically. He reached his goals ahead of schedule,” Jiang Yuyang explained. However, he knew Zhang Jiaohua was lying, as he had only flipped through a few pages of the book.

Zhang Jiaohua quickly added, “This book has a unique memory method. Once you master it, improving your academic performance becomes much easier. But this method is not for everyone, and while it helped me, it may not work for others in the class.”

Dong Peijun had initially planned for Zhang Jiaohua to share his experience with the rest of the class but had to give up upon hearing his last comment. He reluctantly handed the book back to Zhang Jiaohua, “It’s getting late, and it’s no longer worth risking trying something new for the other students. Your improvement is impressive, but don’t get cocky. Keep pushing for better results in the upcoming exams.”

Dong Peijun regretted his decision to have the principal exclude Zhang Jiaohua’s results from the class average. Zhang Jiaohua’s performance would have boosted the class’s average score by one or two points.

Zhou Qimu still came second in the class, but he kept a low profile and didn’t bring up anything about the exam before.

Xu Xiaoting was very open-minded. After class, she walked up to Zhang Jiaohua’s desk, “Zhang Jiaohua, I’m really sorry. I underestimated you, and I didn’t expect you to do so well in the exam. I have a question. Did you really take a long break from school?”

Zhang Jiaohua nodded, “I stopped attending school after more than half a year of the first year of middle school. I didn’t stay long at the next school and then came here.”

“You’re amazing. So, was it really this book that helped you improve so much?” Xu Xiaoting asked.

“It’s a lie. If I don’t say that, Teacher Dong will definitely confiscate my book,” Zhang Jiaohua replied honestly.

Xu Xiaoting smiled, “Do you still read this book? If you’re done with it, could you lend it to me?”

“Ah, you still dare to read extracurricular books?” Zhang Jiaohua was surprised.

“What’s wrong with reading them? How she performs, she’s one of the top students at Changqing Middle School, and high schools are fighting to recruit her,” Jiang Yuyang said with a smile.

“I see. This book belongs to Jiang Yuyang. If he agrees, I’ll lend it to you after I’m done reading it,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

“I already gave you the book. You can lend it to whoever you want. It has nothing to do with me. Jiaohua, before the exam, someone in our class was very arrogant. Now that the results are out, are you going to teach them a lesson?” Jiang Yuyang asked.

Xu Xiaoting quickly spoke up, “No, no, we’re all classmates. I believe Zhou Qimu didn’t mean anything bad. He was just trying to help the class’s reputation.”

“Sigh, forget it. Anyway, we poor students are just the ones ruining the class’s honor,” Jiang Yuyang said gloomily.

When Su Zhenming came to class, he seemed distracted the whole time, avoiding looking at Zhang Jiaohua. Zhang Jiaohua didn’t care, still reading his book, now particularly interested in it. Su Zhenming not bothering him was just what Zhang Jiaohua wanted.

It was said that Zhang Jiaohua had become the sixth in the class, and Fu Cha Hao Yue was happier than anyone else.

“Jiaohua, don’t get complacent. Keep working hard and aim for the first place in the school. No, the first place in the entire district. Then, we can choose whichever school we want to go to,” Fu Cha Hao Yue immediately prepared a lavish dinner to reward Zhang Jiaohua.

Zeng Lei, envious, said, “It’s just sixth place. It’s not like you won first place.”

“It’s still better than some people who always rank last in the class,” Fu Cha Hao Yue glared at Zeng Lei.

Fatty was amazed by Zhang Jiaohua’s performance, “Jiaohua, how do you study? I see you just casually flipping through books, yet you got sixth place? When I was your age, I was always studying hard, and I barely passed.”

Zeng Lei immediately tapped Fatty on the head, “You were really just nibbling the books!”

On the weekend, Fu Cha Hao Yue gave Zhang Jiaohua a day off. Zhang Jiaohua planned to visit Panjiayuan again. The last time, he thought he had seen something there, but it didn’t seem important at the time. However, after seeing The Memory Palace, he felt that item might be linked to the memory palace somehow.

Without needing Wu Yuan’s guidance, Zhang Jiaohua made his way to Panjiayuan effortlessly.

Panjiayuan was busier than usual that weekend. People were coming and going, bargaining, creating a lively scene.

Panjiayuan is a place full of stories—some people get rich overnight, while others lose everything. Everyone trying to make a living here seemed to be walking a tightrope.

Because Zhang Jiaohua was so young, no one paid him much attention. The vendors weren’t too fond of doing business with a minor. Even if they managed to trick a small child out of money, they didn’t want to deal with potential trouble if the child’s parents came to complain. After all, dealing in antiques was a noble profession, and no one wanted to get their hands dirty. Without an adult accompanying him, Zhang Jiaohua was looked down upon by many vendors.