Simon then realized that his life hadn't really changed.
Anyway, he was already first in his grade, so a slightly higher score didn't matter.
Is this the world of a genius? It's so boring.
He remembered that he had an expectation task: for one week, he couldn't express any opinions or suggestions in public.
That meant he couldn't say anything with a subjective evaluation. Simon decided to take on the challenge.
Two minutes after morning self-study ended, his challenge failed.
He said to his deskmate, Mei Shenglin, "Matcha cake is delicious."
Then the progress bar for the expectation task reset to zero.
Wow, what is this? Matcha cake *is* delicious! It's not subjective at all! I didn't say anything like sweet tofu pudding is better than savory tofu pudding, so why did I fail?!
Su Xiangli came over to find Simon, "You scoundrel, have you finished memorizing?"
"Of course," Simon said, carefully observing the task's progress bar, which was still counting down. Good.
"Some of Li Qingzhao's poems are really hard to remember."
"They're quite simple."
Ding, task failed. Do you want to restart?
Simon covered his forehead, "Continue."
Su Xiangli tilted her head, "Hm? What continue?"
"Where were we? Oh, the difficult characters. I'll help you, bring your book."
The chair was only so big, barely fitting two pairs of buttocks uncomfortably. Simon felt the edge of the seat digging into his bottom, so he picked up Su Xiangli and placed her on his right leg.
Mei Shenglin, who was beside them, looked astonished.
Simon frowned, "You're heavy."
Ding, task failed. Do you want to restart?
Su Xiangli was furious. She twisted her hand and pinched Simon's ribs with all her might.
Simon's body trembled, "Ow, ow, ow! I was wrong!"
...
During Chinese Language class, Simon was called upon to answer a question.
"Tell me about the character images of young Runtu and middle-aged Runtu, just briefly." The Chinese Language teacher was a middle-aged man with a kind face. He always thought highly of Simon, finding him intelligent and promising.
Simon was silent for a moment. If he spoke, the task would surely fail again. If he didn't, it would be too awkward. If he lied, he wouldn't do it well anyway.
Alright, Simon, it's time to test your linguistic artistry!
"Uh, Runtu, a character from Mr. Lu Xun's writings, a young man who grew up by the sea..." Good, no failure prompt yet. "Young Runtu was simple, healthy, lively, clever, brave, and had relatively rich experiences." Simon slowly relaxed. All of this was fine, so the rest surely wouldn't go wrong either.
The Chinese Language teacher listened and nodded in agreement, but his expression showed no surprise.
Simon: "...Middle-aged Runtu became a numb person, his temper smoothed out by life." The Chinese Language teacher commented: Very true,'smoothed out his temper' is well said. "Runtu was a typical peasant of the old society at that time. From him, we can see the living conditions and emotional journey of the vast working masses..."
Simon secretly wiped a bead of sweat. Just finish it up. "Runtu was bound by feudal ideology, with a strong sense of hierarchy. Mr. Lu Xun sympathized with him, but also criticized him. From a small perspective, he attacked the entire feudal society and its ethical codes by criticizing a small character. Uh! I'm done."
Ding, task failed. Do you want to restart?
Simon slowly sat down, head bowed, amidst the applause led by the Chinese Language teacher.
His deskmate looked amazed, "You're so impressive!"
"It's alright," Simon smiled.
...
During math class, there was no problem. Simon knew that his answers would only be objective statements of facts.
The math teacher, as expected, called Simon to the blackboard to answer a question.
It was a simple quadratic equation. Simon squinted and glanced at it, immediately getting the answer.
However, the math teacher told Simon to rewrite it because his steps were incomplete.
"Steps are very important, they count for points! Can you be so careless during an exam?"
Simon's eyes widened, "Why do you need steps for such a simple problem?!"
Ding, task failed. Do you want to restart?
"That's still not allowed."
"I can't think of the steps," Simon said, a little dejected. He felt like this task would drag on until winter break, but the deadline was January 10th, so wouldn't that mean he failed?
"Think about it little by little."
Eventually, Simon wrote out the solution steps little by little, all the x's and y's, the additions and subtractions...
By the end of the day, Simon felt somewhat physically and mentally exhausted. He was experiencing adult life ahead of time: not being able to express any subjective opinions in public. What kind of self-discipline was this—a very tiring kind of self-discipline.
So, Mr. Rousseau was right after all, primitive society was the best: Simon pondered for a moment, realizing he was just overthinking things. Primitive society was not good at all; he was just dissatisfied with his current living situation, and he had only himself to blame.
He wasn't an adult yet, Simon secretly comforted himself. It's fine, people at every level have their own rules for survival. He would get used to it when he grew up, everything would be natural, and modern society wouldn't force people to their deaths all at once.
...
These past two days, the competition team members often went to the experimental building and discovered some mysterious places.
For example, the specimen room.
That place was locked year-round. They could only stand on tiptoes and peer through the tinted glass. Inside, there was a suspicious faint light, rows of tall storage cabinets, jars and bottles, faint murky water, and floating shadows.
Su Xiangli clasped her hands together in a prayer-like gesture, "The Lord tells me that when faced with a challenge, one must venture forth."
Simon:??? Aren't you just trying to sneak into the specimen room? Why make it sound so grand?
Zhang Yingxuan looked cautious, "No, let's not. There might be bodies in there."
Yu Fei's eyes gleamed with a strange light, "Bodies?! Coooooool!"
Meng Qijun tugged at Simon's sleeve, hesitating to speak.
Simon looked up at the window sill. The glass was self-sensing, tightly locked, and would alarm if forcibly broken. So, the only way to get in was to get the key and enter through the main door.
"Alright, kids, scatter, scatter." Simon shushed and shooed the mischievous children away, like herding geese.
Simon thought this was just a small, inconsequential encounter, but two days later, he got the key to the specimen room.
Shao Zhanqing pushed up his glasses, "There's an interview the day after tomorrow. Your original submission for the competition received a great response, so you'll say a few words then."
Simon was very reluctant. His progress bar had just managed to reach forty-seven hours, and an interview might ruin it.
"The media will have a script for you then, just read it."
Simon's eyes lit up. That would work. "However, I have one condition."
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