Chapter 54

The midterm exams finally arrived. As the first formal exams since entering university, the top students quickly regained the sense of urgency and competition they had in high school, feeling excited and energized as if they had been injected with a dose of adrenaline.

Thursday and Friday were the exam days. On Thursday, the main subjects were Advanced Mathematics. At Bingcheng University of Technology, Advanced Mathematics was divided into two parts, both taught by Professor Kong Jidao: Engineering Mathematical Analysis and Algebra and Geometry, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

Mathematics was always Liu Meng's strong suit, and with systematic study and a thorough review of key points before the exam, he found no questions he couldn't answer. However, exams weren't just about knowing how to solve problems; getting a perfect score was still very challenging.

After this period of study, the top students had mastered the basic knowledge. Especially those like Old Ma, who had returned to university, and the other top students like Guo Yu, Dong Dong, Zheng Wen, and Gu Pan, the outcome was truly unpredictable.

Although Liu Meng had absolute confidence, confidence did not necessarily translate into high scores.

Right after the exam, the top students came out of the main building. Guo Yu was loudly debating a question with Ji Hai from Jiangdu, his voice booming. Guo Yu shouted, "This question definitely uses L'Hôpital's rule to find the unknown coefficient."

Ji Hai, not to be outdone, also raised his voice, "Your method is completely wrong. L'Hôpital's rule can't be used in that situation. You don't even understand the conditions for applying L'Hôpital's rule. Your foundation is weak."

The two of them were loudly arguing at the entrance of the main building. Old Da and Liu Meng were about to leave, but Yuan Chaohui, who was too fat to squeeze through, shouted, "What the hell are you arguing about? I hate it when people check answers after exams."

Yuan Chaohui was very upset. As a native of Beijing, the requirements for the math exam were relatively low, and he had performed terribly, barely passing. Hearing the two of them still arguing, he was even more frustrated.

"It's none of your business. If I did poorly, it doesn't mean you can't talk about it," Ji Hai retorted, unafraid of Yuan Chaohui. As students from the two largest cities in China, they had always been at odds, arguing whenever they met.

"You've been annoying me for a long time. Do you want a beating?" Yuan Chaohui, already furious, was further provoked by Ji Hai, and raised his fists to attack.

Ji Hai, following the tradition of students from Jiangdu, took a step back but didn't back down verbally, mocking, "Muscles over brains, I won't fight you. It would be beneath me, and you're too low-class."

As the class president, Guo Yu couldn't let this happen and quickly intervened. Yuan Chaohui, still fuming, saw Liu Meng approaching and asked, "Meng, how did you solve the last multiple-choice question? Tell these two."

Guo Yu and Ji Hai both looked at Liu Meng. Everyone had already recognized his mathematical talent and trusted him.

The group was noisy, and many people gathered around, all curious about the question. They looked at Liu Meng, who was annoyed by the post-exam discussion. As long as there were no regrets, they should just wait for the results.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Liu Meng reluctantly said, "This question does use L'Hôpital's rule, but the conditions for applying it are not met. You need to perform an equivalent infinitesimal transformation on the denominator, eliminate a variable from the numerator and denominator, and then you can use L'Hôpital's rule."

Everyone thought about it and realized he was right. No wonder their answers always seemed off. They looked at Liu Meng with even more admiration, recognizing him as a true top student.

Guo Yu and Ji Hai, both having been wrong, were very unhappy and had no more desire to argue.

Gu Pan and Zheng Wen also walked over, hand in hand. This was the first time Liu Meng had seen Gu Pan up close since the National Day holiday.

After the holiday, Liu Meng had been busy with his novel, tutoring, and remote-controlled airplane, and when he was at school, he was usually in the library. They had no chance to be close.

After some time apart, Gu Pan's pale face seemed even paler, and she looked thinner. Her beautiful eyes seemed even larger. When she saw Liu Meng, their eyes met, and her mouth opened slightly, but her face was cold and expressionless.

For some reason, in the brief moment their eyes met, Liu Meng's heart suddenly skipped a beat, and a warm current surged through him. He felt a sudden urge to comfort her, but seeing her distant expression, he opened his mouth and said nothing.

Sometimes, when Liu Meng thought about his relationship with Gu Pan, he felt very conflicted. He loved Zhao Linlin, but it was 2004, and Zhao Linlin was only in junior high school. They had never met, and even if they did, it was uncertain whether she would fall in love with him as before. Of course, Liu Meng would do his best to meet Zhao Linlin and relive their past.

The kiss he had given Gu Pan in a moment of forgetfulness and the subsequent ambiguity had created many obstacles between them.

There was also his first love, Jiang Xiaoyu, still on campus, making the situation even more complicated.

"If I had enough ability, I would want all the girls who like me! Men strive for two things in life: success in their careers and women."

Zheng Wen and Gu Pan walked ahead, their tight pants hugging their curves, swaying with each step, exuding a mesmerizing charm.

Old Da glanced at them, then glanced again, swallowed, and whispered to Liu Meng, "Doesn't Gu Pan seem to have a thing for you? She hasn't come to the study room since you stopped going."

Liu Meng looked at the two girls ahead, but Gu Pan only left a back view. He shook his head; Gu Pan had never shown any intimate gestures or any romantic response to him.

"True to her reputation as the Electrical Engineering beauty, she makes me drool. Should I try to pursue her?" Old Da continued, leering.

"Maybe not, Old Da. Gu Pan is very violent. Be careful she doesn't beat you up," Liu Meng quickly said, almost instinctively.

"Damn, you say there's nothing between you, but we'll see. Don't worry, a brother's wife is not to be pursued," Old Da laughed slyly, then leaned on Liu Meng's shoulder, pretending to be very sad, "Why don't I have a girlfriend?"

As they were talking, they suddenly heard a loud argument. Looking up, they saw Jiang Weixin and Li Yue from their dormitory. Li Yue was very agitated, grabbing Jiang Weixin's collar and shouting at him. Jiang Weixin was very embarrassed, struggling to break free.

Seeing more and more people gathering, Jiang Weixin felt extremely humiliated and said, "If you don't let go, I'll break up with you. This is not a place for such a scene."

Before he could finish, Li Yue slapped him hard, turning his face red. Jiang Weixin, enraged, struggled to break free, but Li Yue didn't let go. In a fit of anger, he tried to hit Li Yue.

Old Da and Liu Meng quickly pulled him back, while Gu Pan and Zheng Wen held Li Yue. They moved the two of them away from the crowd, but both were still very agitated.

Gu Pan comforted Li Yue, "What's so important that you have to make such a scene?"

Li Yue, very emotional, burst into tears, just staring angrily at Jiang Weixin without speaking. Old Da pretended to punch Jiang Weixin and shouted, "What did you do to make Li Yue so angry? You need to be gentler with girls."

Jiang Weixin was also very upset. He had never been hit by anyone, and being slapped in public was very embarrassing.

Seeing more and more students coming over, Zheng Wen said, "This isn't a place to talk. It's time for lunch. Let's find a place to eat."

They quickly found a Northeastern Chinese restaurant outside the West Gate, got a private room, and sat down. Zheng Wen started ordering food while the others tried to resolve the conflict between Jiang Weixin and Li Yue.

"Li Yue, what's going on? Speak up. Zheng Wen and I are here, and we won't let our sister be bullied," Gu Pan said coldly, looking at Jiang Weixin and the two men on either side, Old Da Deng Jinyao and Liu Chuang.

Li Yue just cried, sobbing on the table.

"Three of you, go out," Gu Pan said with a queen-like authority. Since Li Yue was so reluctant to speak, it must be a private matter, and the three men needed to leave.

The three men were asked to leave, and Jiang Weixin, still touching his swollen face, felt as if he were in a dream. Old Da punched him again, feeling his lip, and said, "You didn't do something and then try to run away, did you? Men can't be irresponsible."

"What's going on? Speak up. You're driving us crazy. Are you pregnant?" Liu Meng also asked, remembering that their argument seemed to be about this.

This made Jiang Weixin very embarrassed, and he looked uncomfortable.

Seeing this, Old Da, very upset, punched Jiang Weixin's chest and swore, "Damn you..."

"It's not like that," Jiang Weixin quickly said. How many readers are actually reading this book?

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