Chapter 27: Sensation

On Sunday, Jin Xin was diligently working at home on the worksheets Wu Tong had selected for him, consolidating his lecture notes. This weekend, Wu Tong had instructed him to reinforce and absorb the material, and next week they would move on to new lecture content.

Wu Tong never measured Jin Xin by her own standards; to her, as long as Jin Xin made progress and mastered what she and the teachers taught, that was enough.

This time, the math test went exceptionally smoothly for him. Especially the sections on sets and functions, which Tong Tong had explained to him—he barely stumbled at all. There was even a big problem that he’d encountered in the practice exercises Wu Tong had marked for him, so he breezed through it, so excited he could hardly contain himself.

Previously, his best math score was around 110; this time, he felt that while a perfect score might be out of reach, 130 or 140 seemed possible. This feeling made him wonder if he was getting a bit carried away!

Feeling uncertain, and with Wu Tong not teaching today nor coming over, after yesterday’s excitement, he got up early, ate breakfast, and sat at his desk, opening his math book and working through problems, reviewing the deduction notes Wu Tong had compiled for him. In the past, he’d always sleep in on weekends, rewarding himself with a few rounds of gaming after a week of hard work.

His newfound focus was to avoid games on study days and study earnestly, though he still allowed himself some relaxation on weekends.

He was pondering a problem when his phone began to ring incessantly with QQ group notifications. He hadn’t planned to check it, but the phone was behaving as if it were infected, distracting him until his thoughts stalled. He grabbed the phone to see what the commotion was about.

The last time QQ had been this frantic was during last year’s Capital Olympics.

Jin Xin opened QQ, which lagged before loading. Finally, the app opened, and he saw their No. 1 High School group had over 99 messages, with new ones still flashing.

What was going on? Did the sun rise in the west, or had Principal Cai and Teacher Luo been dismissed?

Jin Xin clicked on the group messages, seeing a flood of posts, and at the bottom, a chorus of “Can’t live like this anymore,” neatly lined up like a relay.

What did they mean, “can’t live like this anymore”? Several messages were sent directly to him. He opened them one by one.

“Is Wu Tong your sister?” Of course she was, his only sibling.

“Your sister isn’t human, right?” Who are you calling inhuman? Come to school and face me!

“You little dog, are you sneakily leveling up?” No, I’m just openly gathering strength for a comeback.

…

Annoyed, Jin Xin shot back replies, then opened the main group and scrolled through the messages from the start, finally understanding what had happened.

His sister had performed another miracle!

Downstairs, Xu Meifeng received a phone call.

“Oh, hello, Teacher Gao! How has Jin Xin been lately? He hasn’t been misbehaving, has he?” Raising a mischievous boy, Xu Meifeng always felt uneasy when teachers called; before Jin Xin matured, calls from school usually meant she needed to apologize.

“This semester, Jin Xin has been much more attentive in his studies, showing great improvement. In this exam, his math score was outstanding—141 points, breaking his previous records. Has Jin Xin adopted a new study method, or did you arrange extra tutoring?”

The teachers at No. 1 High School were quite responsible, and Xu Meifeng was an active parent representative, so when Jin Xin’s grades changed dramatically, Teacher Gao quickly arranged a phone visit.

“Tutoring? No, we haven’t hired a tutor. I’ll ask Jin Xin about it.” Xu Meifeng cared about her children’s education but didn’t force them. “He’s become much more self-motivated lately, often studying on his own. And Tong Tong, my niece, has been coming over at noon to study with her brother recently!”

“Tong Tong?” Teacher Gao wondered if he was overthinking. That extraordinary student whose legend had spread throughout the senior grade group—now, whenever he heard the syllable ‘Tong,’ he paid extra attention.

“Yes, Wu Tong, my sister-in-law’s daughter. She’s in her second year at our school. The family only has Jin Xin and her. She’s my own niece, a child who loves studying—much more obedient than Jin Xin!” Mentioning Wu Tong, Xu Meifeng’s face lit up. “I envy my sister-in-law for having such a good child!”

Teacher Gao thought to himself, there’s only one Wu Tong in the second-year group. To have such a top student in your family—how could I not be envious! With the future top scorer of the college entrance exam personally tutoring Jin Xin, it’s no wonder his progress has accelerated. With a sister like this, isn’t that what students call ‘winning without effort’?

“Let Jin Xin continue studying with Wu Tong. I look forward to seeing even greater progress from him!” Later, they would discuss whether Wu Tong could benefit more students. Such an outstanding student’s experience was something they must strive to share.

“Wu Tong participated in the senior monthly exam, achieved a high score of 140 in Chinese, and full marks in all other subjects, for a total of 740 points. When there’s time, we must discuss your family’s experience in educating such an exceptional child. Wu Tong is simply outstanding!”

Teacher Luo from the science department had released Wu Tong’s scores first. Such dazzling results had shaken the whole senior grade group at New Town No. 1 High School, and now the news was spreading throughout the campus.

…

“Jin Xin? Jin Xin!” After ending the call with the teacher’s envious replay, Xu Meifeng immediately shouted upstairs, stomping up as she called.

“What happened now? Did Jin Xin upset you again?” The old lady came in from outside, thinking her grandson had gotten into trouble.

“Mother, wait—I’m going to drag Jin Xin down and interrogate him!” Xu Meifeng met Jin Xin on the third floor as he responded to her calls. She reached out and twisted his ear; Jin Xin bowed his head and cooperated to spare his ear from pain.

Though only seventeen, Jin Xin already had a tall and sturdy frame, and Xu Meifeng found it tiring to keep twisting his ear. She switched to hands on hips, roaring like an eastern lion: “Jin Xin, you’ve really made something of yourself! Tell me, has your sister been tutoring you?”

“Hehe… It’s all my sister now! Starting with math, Tong Tong explains everything so well—I understand as soon as I hear her! Hehe… I did really well on this math test!”

“The math teacher said you scored 141! The teacher praised my progress—it’s all thanks to my sister!”

“You infuriating child, at least you know it’s your sister’s credit! Mother, maybe I should just throw him out!” Xu Meifeng was exasperated by her son’s cluelessness. Only Tong Tong, so sensible and quietly giving, could raise Jin Xin’s score by thirty or forty points in such a short time. How much effort must Tong Tong have invested?

“Mother, I’m calling Jin Yuan right now. Let’s take Jin Xin to my sister’s house to apologize and to see Tong Tong. That child, so silent and hardworking, makes my heart ache!” In a hurry, Xu Meifeng pulled out her phone and called her husband, hastily summoning Jin Yuan home and dragging Jin Xin out the door.