northernbook Chapter 85 The loneliness of being at the top
Chapter 85 The loneliness of being at the top
On the forum, a pinned post in red, with over a thousand replies, stood out prominently:
[Duck God's Problem-Solving Collection: Chemistry Edition V.2.1]
[Editor's Note: Due to the overwhelming demand for subject-based learning, this is hereby published.]
The knowledge networks for each chapter have also been categorized and organized.
If you find any typos, please send an email to the address below to report them.
When I saw someone in the comments asking if the editor would still be taking exams, I could only say that you simply don't understand!
The process of formatting and organizing this stuff is itself a great form of automatic review!
As I type, I feel the wisdom of the Duck God flowing into my brain through my fingertips!
- [Furthermore, a stern warning: Unauthorized updates are strictly prohibited!]
If you insist on creating derivative works, please do not use the name "official version" and instead use your own name.
If the version becomes corrupted, subsequent maintenance will be extremely troublesome; this is blasphemy against the Duck God!
Scrolling down, the comments section has completely transformed into a massive, fanatical religious scene:
- If it weren't for the editor's selfless dedication, how would we ants survive? May the editor get full marks in all his exams!
- The automatic review really works. Duck God's logic is so strong! I copied it several times, and I feel like my meridians have been opened up. It's like divine assistance!
Holy crap! Is even the chemistry section now bathed in the blessings of the Duck God? ㅠㅠ Praise the Duck God!
I'm begging for version 2.2! Will it include math and physics updates? My child is practically drooling with envy!
- Just wondering, are there no "duck god" notes for Chinese and English? Please help humanities students!
- How dare you! How dare you be so rude! You know nothing! The Duck God only manifests in the realm of absolute reason, where numbers and deductive symbols intertwine! How can mortal language bear the glory of a deity!
Looking at the screen full of comments from people with severe chuunibyou (middle school syndrome), Su Hao painfully rubbed his temples.
He knew very well why these people had gone so crazy.
The textbooks used in the gifted youth program are mostly copied directly and unscrupulously from the professional textbooks of top universities.
It is difficult to buy supplementary teaching materials and exercises that match these requirements on the market.
Students usually have to stare intently at past exam papers and the study notes left by senior students, like scavenging for scraps in a garbage dump.
The sudden emergence of "The Duck God's Problem Solving Collection" was like a life-giving rain in the arid Sahara Desert for them!
"Looks like I need to break my bad habit of skipping steps."
Seeing the screen filled with irrational worship, Su Hao secretly made up his mind.
Since everyone treats this thing like the Bible, in order not to mislead young people...
In the future, when answering questions, we must provide the most rigorous and easily understandable logical deductions that even a paramecium can comprehend, lest these believers conjure up some terrible ideas.
......
clack.
clack.
Two drops of bright red blood fell without warning onto the pristine white pages of the book.
Lin Shuwan stared coldly at the bright red bloodstains spreading on the paper, her face showing no panic whatsoever, not even a flicker of her eyebrows.
She simply grabbed a tissue as if it were a mosquito, crumpled it up roughly, and casually plugged her bleeding nostril.
Her hair, which had just been washed and wasn't completely dry, was haphazardly tied back with a black hair tie.
On the desk in front of her, the battle was extremely fierce.
The heavy lecture notes, the densely filled notebooks, the cold scientific calculator, the rows of ballpoint pens, and the high stack of empty coffee cans and energy drink bottles exude a strong "battle" atmosphere.
"These days... we'll almost get through them," she murmured to herself in a hoarse voice.
Because I was so focused on preparing for the IMO, I was slightly distracted from my regular studies and ultimately failed to secure an exchange student spot last semester.
This has always been a thorn in her side.
Frustrated, she got up and went to the bathroom, ripped off the blood-soaked wad of paper, and let the water wash her hands.
When she looked up and her gaze met the mirror, she was momentarily stunned.
The face reflected in the mirror was unfamiliar.
He had dark circles under his eyes as if he had been beaten, and his lips were dry, cracked, and peeling due to dehydration and excessive caffeine intake, and were completely bloodless.
"He looks like a beggar."
She was already tired of hearing those flattering compliments like "You're so pretty" and "You're such a genius beauty" from those around her.
But the ghost-like appearance she saw in the mirror was nothing like herself.
Lin Shuwan gave a self-deprecating laugh, ripped off the hair tie, casually wet her hair with tap water, and tidied up her unruly stray hairs.
In this elite class of gifted children, where even a casually thrown brick could crush two provincial or municipal top scorers...
For her, suppressing all the prodigies and firmly holding the top spot in the grade is not as simple as having a meal.
That was something that required sacrificing sleep and freedom, and fighting for with one's life!
Extreme exhaustion, occasional self-doubt in the dead of night, a deep-seated pride, and an unyielding stubbornness that would rather die than bow down...
It was these complex, self-destructive, and almost distorted emotions that, under such high-pressure conditions that could drive a person mad, were forcibly pieced together to form the steel reinforcement supporting her spine.
"How's that monster doing lately?"
Without warning, Su Hao's face, which always had a somewhat indifferent smile, suddenly appeared in her mind, which was filled with formulas.
That young genius, whose extraordinary talent led to his being forcibly admitted to the gifted youth program with overwhelming force.
He must be feeling extremely lonely and in pain right now, repeating the blood-soaked path she walked back then, isn't he?
The competitive environment here is extremely brutal; the higher you climb, the thinner the air becomes.
Beneath the dazzling crown of "first place," there has never been any such nonsense as a "happy campus life"...
All that remains is endless jealousy and the loneliness of being at the top, along with the countless bones of those who have failed.
Lin Shuwan's eyes were slightly unfocused as she recalled her early days at university.
Those were truly dark times.
She had no friends to confide in, no teachers to shelter her from the storm, and was surrounded by hostile stares.
Those were inhuman days when all I could do was grit my teeth and swallow my blood, barely surviving.
Now, her nerves have been tempered to the point of being as tough as steel wire, and she is completely desensitized to this kind of high pressure. She even occasionally enjoys the pleasure of crushing everything.
But at the time, it was truly a soul-crushing torment worse than death.
"He must be suffering in the abyss of loneliness just like me, maybe he's hiding in some corner secretly wiping away tears."
A bittersweet feeling of shared misfortune welled up in my heart.
Once her thoughts wandered to this point, she could no longer sit quietly in front of those cold, hard draft papers.
Lin Shuwan decisively stuffed a fresh tissue into her nostrils.
In front of the mirror, with a hint of venting her anger, she forcefully pressed down her messy hair and smoothed out the wrinkles on her clothes, barely managing to maintain the dignity of being the top student in her grade.
This forced makeover finally brought out some of the brilliance in her originally stunning features, making her presentable enough to be seen in public.
"Alright, let's just pretend we bumped into each other on our way downstairs for some fresh air, and then mercifully invite that poor guy to have a meal together in the cafeteria."
A senior student should act like one, and perhaps also share some survival tips for navigating this chaotic situation.
As Lin Shuwan pushed open the door and walked down the stairs, she noticed that the rain outside had stopped sometime earlier.
The air was filled with the cool, fresh scent of rain and earth. Sunlight pierced through the clouds, breaking the oppressive atmosphere before the exams, creating a pleasant, almost dreamlike afternoon.
As we walked forward, a burst of unrestrained laughter and cheers suddenly came from the direction of the playground in the distance.
A group of boys, who seemed to be telling some ridiculous joke, were walking towards this place with their arms around each other and laughing like a bunch of monkeys just released from a mental hospital.
"Um?"
Lin Shuwan suddenly stopped and rubbed her eyes in disbelief.
Su Hao, whom she judged to be "struggling alone in the abyss," was now standing in the very middle of the group of monkeys, surrounded by them like a star!
Several boys were playfully pushing and shoving each other without any regard for propriety.
And Su Hao, this genius who should have exuded an aura of unapproachable superiority...
Instead of showing any sign of isolation or gloom, he grinned, revealing eight teeth, and was as happy as an idiot, completely immersed in the revelry of the mortals!
The sunlight was so intense, it was almost blinding!
"Holy crap? What's going on?!"
Lin Shuwan's heart was filled with a stormy sea!
This was completely contrary to the image of the "tragic genius boy" she had envisioned!
She was absolutely certain that the other person must be just like she was back then, tormented by endless loneliness and high pressure, physically and mentally exhausted, standing on the edge of a cliff with tears in their eyes, teetering on the verge of collapse!
Lin Shuwan's heart skipped a beat; she felt like her script had been eaten by a dog!
A strange, complex emotion, a feeling that "it turns out I'm the only one who's a clown," instantly welled up inside me.
Just then, Su Hao turned his head and his gaze passed over the crowd, where he saw Lin Shuwan, who was frozen in place.
Without the slightest hesitation or cowardice, he immediately flashed an incredibly sunny smile and waved vigorously at her.
"Sister Lin!"
In stark contrast to Su Hao's look of surprise was:
The group of boys who had been laughing like monkeys just moments before suddenly shuddered and stopped laughing the moment they saw Lin Shuwan clearly, as if they had encountered a ghost in broad daylight!