Chapter 132 Learning to Ask Why

Back in the classroom, Lu Yanhe kept thinking about this incident.

Could Su Su become their history teacher?

Soon, the quick-witted Chou Tzu-yu also brought the news to her class.

As soon as he finished speaking, most of the girls in the class went on a rampage.

A group of people were as excited as if they had won the lottery—and for them, this might really have been just as exciting as winning the lottery.

There's also a history class today, during the first period in the afternoon.

Many classmates were worried about having to face Yin Xiangyu again this afternoon, finding it annoying and not wanting to face her. Now that they find out there might be a replacement, they feel instantly relieved.

Only Zheng Meiqi expressed a relatively rational concern.

"He's so young, he probably doesn't have any experience teaching senior high school students, right? Now that he's taking over our class, can he help us improve our grades?"

Zhou Ziyu immediately said, "Don't worry, Su Su was recruited by our school with a lot of money. He has a bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree in history from Zhenhua University. He used to be a teacher at a high school in Jiangguang. He only taught one class of students, but the two classes he taught produced two students who ranked in the top 0.01% in history in the province. His achievements are outstanding. I heard that he came to our school just for a temporary period. He's incredibly talented."

When Chou Tzu-yu said it, everyone was stunned.

What does it mean to be in the top 0.01% of a single subject in the province? It means that even if your total score isn't high enough for a particular university, you can still get into that university's corresponding major by being in the top 0.01% of a single subject in the province.

When Lu Yanhe heard what Zhou Ziyu said, he realized that what Zhou Ziyu had told him that morning was neither overconfidence nor childishness; Zhou Ziyu simply had enough ability.

"..."

"If it really is Teacher Su who will teach our class history, wouldn't we be incredibly lucky?" Chen Yi's eyes lit up.

As the only academic star in the class who was neck and neck with Lin Yu in the rankings, Chen Yi's weakness was history, and to make matters worse, she had a history teacher like Yin Xiangyu, which she had long since had enough of.

Following them, Zheng Meiqi also looked delighted.

-

After class in the morning, everyone went to the cafeteria for lunch with anticipation, waiting for the afternoon history class to begin.

Lu Yanhe and Li Pengfei sat in their seats. They planned to wait until the cafeteria was less crowded and the peak hours were over before going.

My phone suddenly rang.

Lu Yanhe looked and saw that it was Jiang Yuqian replying to the message he had sent that morning.

Jiang Yuqian: Keep it up, work hard!

It's just six very simple words.

However, Jiang Yuqian had already replied, but Zhou Pingan had not.

Lu Yanhe wondered, was Zhou Ping'an going to pretend to be dead and not come back?

Based on his understanding of Zhou Ping'an, Zhou Ping'an definitely wouldn't want to sign him for this role. The problem now is that Director Luo Yuzhong chose him, but Zhou Ping'an doesn't want him to act in it. It remains to be seen how to resolve this situation.

Lu Yanhe wasn't going to just wait like this. If he did, Zhou Ping'an would most likely ruin the whole thing. But how could he get Luo Yuzhong to give him the role?

Lu Yanhe needed to make a good plan. Even though he didn't know much about the entertainment industry, he knew that a role in a famous director's new film could be a lifeline for him when he was penniless.

Jiang Yuqian had told him that the filming of this drama would definitely take place in the second half of next year, by which time he would have already finished his college entrance examination.

We need to find a way to let Luo Yuzhong know as soon as possible that he really wants to play this role and will do it no matter what. Otherwise, if Zhou Ping'an interferes and ruins the whole thing, he'll really have no one to complain to.

-

Generally speaking, at the start of the first class in the afternoon, most students have just woken up from their nap, still sleepy-eyed, with red marks on their faces from lying on their desks for a long time, and their heads are so groggy that they feel like they've been glued together.

But today is different.

Almost all the students were filled with curiosity, eager to see if the person walking into the classroom was the legendary new teacher.

So when the man in the suit appeared in the hallway outside the classroom, before he even entered the classroom, a cheer that almost lifted the ceiling erupted from inside.

He was brought to the classroom by Liu Qin.

As soon as he entered the classroom, the cheers that had just subsided rang out again.

A look of surprise appeared on Su Su's face.

Liu Qin smiled and gestured for everyone to be more reserved. Then she said, "For some well-known reasons, the school has assigned a new history teacher to our class, Su Su. Teacher Su has a bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree from Zhenhua University. He once taught two students in Jiangguang who ranked in the top 0.01% in history in the province. Everyone should cherish Teacher Su. If you have any questions or need any help, ask Teacher Su, this great teacher, for answers."

The whole class cheered for the third time.

Su Su didn't have a chance to speak his first words until this moment.

"Hi everyone, I'm Su Su. For the next 300 days or so, you can trust me and follow my lead. The college entrance exam won't be a big deal," Su Su said.

"Oh—" Li Cui's eyes widened, and she asked, "Teacher Su, is there any hope for someone like me who failed?"

Su Su raised the corners of his mouth, smiling brightly, and said, "Why ask if there's any hope at a time like this? We'll just try anything, even if it seems hopeless."

The whole class burst into laughter.

Su Su's style exceeded everyone's expectations.

Unexpectedly, this teacher, Ms. Su, started by teasing the students and joking with everyone.

-

In his first class with everyone, Su Su did not start lecturing immediately, but instead talked about how history should be tested in the college entrance examination.

"History is actually just a series of stories, but history exams are not," Su Su said bluntly. "Everyone memorizes historical facts and dates, which is the foundation, but the exam does not test the exact facts. Instead, it tests the position of each small historical event in the long river of history. Therefore, to do well in history, memorizing every knowledge point is not the key. The key is that we must understand why this historical event happened. The three words 'why' are the key to doing well in history."

"To give a simple example, why did the An Lushan Rebellion break out in the Tang Dynasty? Why did the Song Dynasty become a period of commercial prosperity? Why did the Qing Dynasty launch a large-scale literary inquisition?" Su Su said, "We can hardly predict the future, but we can summarize the past. Summarizing means deducing and exploring its patterns and development from various historical facts. This is also the most popular question-setting approach and key point in the college entrance examination."

As Su Su spoke, he exuded a radiant, confident, and composed aura, drawing each student in.

Lu Yanhe also had a sudden realization.

"So, many science students say that history is just about rote memorization, but those of you who have taken these exams know that if you could get a high score just by rote memorization, then perfect scores would be everywhere." Su Su laughed. "Learn to ask why a historical event happened, think about history, and summarize the patterns. Then you will understand history and no longer need to be afraid of exams."

Su Suzhen is a teacher with a very charismatic personality.

He was very confident in his profession, and could talk about anything as if it were second nature.

The class flew by, and before everyone could finish listening, the bell rang.

Su Su clapped his hands and said, "That's all for today. Starting tomorrow, I will lead everyone through high school history from the beginning. As I said before, trust me and follow my pace. Those with a good foundation will learn problem-solving strategies, and those with a weak foundation will focus on building a solid foundation. Three hundred days is more than enough time."

Everyone spontaneously started clapping.

Thunderous applause erupted.

Su Su is gone.

The group of people stared at each other blankly.

Li Cui stood up and said in shock, "This guy is pretty awesome."

"As expected of someone who can get into Zhenhua High School and mentor two students who rank in the top 10,000 in the province, this one lesson has helped me improve more than the past two years combined," Mei Ping said.

Su Su's actions were quite shocking, and almost everyone couldn't help but start discussing it.

Lu Yanhe himself gained a lot. He had always felt somewhat lost when it came to history. He listened to audio lessons, read books on his own, and even studied the *Zizhi Tongjian*, but his understanding remained fragmented and chaotic, unable to be pieced together. Su Su's simple question, "Why?" seemed to have struck him like a blow to the head, waking him up.

When faced with any historical event, ask yourself: Why did it happen?

These fragments, along with these "whys," are strung together.

They're really skilled.

-

However, the more popular Su Su was with the students in Class 3, the more unhappy Yin Xiangyu became.

The joint letter from Class 3 was an absolute disgrace to her.

She now regrets rushing into Class 3 last night and yelling at those students. She single-handedly made the whole school know about it, and now everyone is laughing at her.

But what's done is done, and there's no going back.

Yin Xiangyu could only secretly curse the students in Class 3 for failing the exam.

We must never allow the students in Class 3 to surpass those in Class 4 in history.

Otherwise, wouldn't that really prove there's something wrong with her teaching?

Just as Yin Xiangyu was thinking this, Su Su, who had finished class, pushed open the door and returned to his office.

"Oh, Xiao Su is back from class," another female teacher asked with a smile.

A young and handsome man came to the office, and they were naturally happy.

Apart from Yin Xiangyu.

"I'm back."

"Xiao Su met with those students from Class 3? How did it go?" someone asked.

Yin Xiangyu stared at her laptop screen, seemingly unconcerned about their conversation, but in reality, she was listening intently the whole time.

Su Su glanced at Yin Xiangyu sitting at the very back, smiled, and said, "This is our first meeting, so I can't really say I have any feelings for them. They're just a bunch of ordinary students, but they've been quite enthusiastic towards me."

"Of course we're enthusiastic." The person who answered paused after speaking, seemingly realizing that this might displease Yin Xiangyu, and then added, "After all, such a young and handsome teacher has come."

Su Su smiled, waved his hand, and said, "Please don't tease me."

"Xiao Su really needs to be careful. You're so young and handsome, there are bound to be female students who are attracted to you. Don't do anything that violates your principles," Yin Xiangyu said sarcastically.

"Haha." Su Su immediately said, "Teacher Yin, please don't joke with me like that. It wouldn't be good if someone took it seriously."

-

There is conflict everywhere.

However, after Xu Zijun and Hong Zhixing, and the change of teachers, the atmosphere among the students in Class 3 was even better than before, and they truly felt a sense of unity, as if they were all working together as one.

This wasn't the case before.

However, there are still a few people who affect unity.

One is Chu Saiying. In the matter between Chu Saiying and Xu Zijun, the vast majority of people still sided with Xu Zijun. There was no way around it; they were both students. Compared to other things, this recommendation spot was earned by Xu Zijun through her own hard work and good grades, while Chu Saiying's was obtained by default, bought with money. The same thing, but the respect she received was different. However, since returning, Chu Saiying has been very quiet, spending her days sitting in her seat reading, and no longer looking down on this or that person.

The other one was Luo Zicheng. This person who refused to sign the joint letter became the only one in Class Three who didn't sign, even though Chu Saiying had signed it. Everyone didn't say it, but in their hearts they pushed him away. They were already far away, but now they pushed him even further away. They didn't even want to say a word to him, feeling that they weren't on the same path as him.

Luo Zicheng felt unhappy and ostracized, but even someone as incapable of looking for the reasons within himself knew why he was being "ignored" by everyone.

If he had known earlier that Yin Xiangyu would really be replaced, he would have signed that joint letter.

Luo Zicheng didn't want to be ostracized by his classmates.

However, he couldn't think of any good way to resolve the current situation.

He had never been able to come up with a way to bridge the gap between himself and his classmates.

Luo Zicheng could never understand why he was unpopular and not respected by his classmates.

He's just a little more clear-headed and rational than everyone else. Does he have to be as stupid as everyone else to be welcomed by them?

-

Along with the new history teacher came the National Day holiday.

Even for high school seniors, the National Day holiday is still a holiday they can enjoy.

Every teacher is afraid that students will go too far during the holiday and stop studying.

Therefore, almost every subject assigned a lot of homework.

It's all exam papers; I need to practice all the questions.

Wailing cries filled the air.

Lu Yanhe didn't feel much, since he didn't plan to go anywhere else anyway.

Practicing questions and preparing for the exam is tough, but someone who has already gone through it once is used to it and knows that the finish line is not far away. This tedious and boring preparation period will eventually pass.

Li Pengfei asked Lu Yanhe if he wanted to come to school to study together during the National Day holiday.

Lu Yanhe said, "I'm too lazy to go back and forth, so I'll just stay at home."

Li Pengfei sighed and said, "I feel like I can't control myself if I stay at home alone. Sigh, why can't I just sit still?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Yanhe thought for a moment and said, "Then I can come to school to study, but I will definitely use my phone to live stream it."

"Let's do a live stream." Li Pengfei's eyes lit up as soon as Lu Yanhe agreed. "I'll have a driver pick you up and drop you off, and someone will even bring us lunch. Wow, you're such a good friend!"

Jiang Haitian was astonished when he heard Li Pengfei's words.

"Damn, Fei-ge, when did you become so studious? You even came here to study during the National Day holiday?"

“That’s called making a name for yourself,” Li Pengfei said proudly. “Let me tell you, I don’t have any other goals, just one small goal: to surpass that big idiot Luo Zicheng and show him that his lousy grades have nothing to be proud of in front of me.”

-

On Friday after school, the whole floor was filled with more joy than usual.

Although high school seniors are destined not to go out and play during the National Day holiday, it's still better than getting up early and going home late every day. They can sleep in late at home, eat the meals cooked by their parents, and don't have to squeeze into that smelly and unpalatable cafeteria.

Because school ends in the afternoon and then the holiday begins, not many people participate in evening self-study sessions.

When Lu Yanhe and Li Pengfei returned after dinner, only a third of the students remained in the classroom.

Li Pengfei said, "Anyway, we'll be studying here for the next seven days, so why don't we just rest tonight?"

“I suggest you stop making excuses for yourself. Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, how many tomorrows do you have to surpass Luo Zicheng? There are only 300 days left until the college entrance examination,” Lu Yanhe said.

Li Pengfei: "That's true, alright then, I'll reluctantly give it my all."

Lu Yanhe shook his head speechlessly.

Sure enough, by the time evening self-study started, only a dozen or so people remained in the classroom.

The others were picked up by their parents one after another after work.

Lu Yanhe did a math test that night, and then started reviewing what Su Su had taught in class over the past few days.

Su Su is truly an unconventional history teacher.

He turned his classes into lectures, the kind where you could ask questions at any time.

It's not about randomly checking whether students know the answers, but rather asking a question about a specific historical event.

"What are the possible reasons for this kind of thing happening?"

Su Su's core message was still about exams, including political, economic, and cultural factors, but he completely changed the approach. He turned the class into a process of deciphering the mystery with the students, which in turn boosted everyone's enthusiasm for participation.

By the time Lu Yanhe finished organizing his notes, the first evening self-study session had already ended.

Li Pengfei raised his hands, stretched, and yawned, as if he was exhausted to the extreme.

"I'm so awesome, Lao Lu, I actually memorized all the key points of this chapter on politics," Li Pengfei said.

Li Pengfei is currently focusing on politics and geography.

Because the political exam questions were the most conventional, it was the easiest for him to improve his score, while geography was a subject that Teacher Lin had specifically assigned him, requiring him to improve by ten points compared to the last exam.

For someone with Li Pengfei's foundation, there's no need to excel in all subjects simultaneously—after all, he's weak in every subject. But the college entrance exam is about the total score, so he should focus on the subject where he can get the most points first.

Lu Yanhe gave him a thumbs up and said, "Awesome."

Li Pengfei was amused and said, "This is worth celebrating. Come on, let's go to the convenience store and I'll buy you a drink."

-

Lin Yu and Chen Qin also put down their pens and started chatting.

"Li Pengfei actually changed his ways and started studying after following Lu Yanhe. Lu Yanhe is amazing." Chen Qin sighed as he watched the two of them leave through the back door of the classroom.

Lin Yu said, "If you want someone who doesn't want to study to start studying, you have to find them a goal other than studying that can only be achieved through studying."

"This target is hard to find."

“But for Li Pengfei, there’s one in our class.” Lin Yu laughed. “Sigh, the independent admission exams start in a month, and I haven’t decided which school to apply to yet. I’m so conflicted.”

Chen Qin: "Me too, it's a headache. Different schools have different requirements, but I really don't want to sign an agreement that I must be admitted to that school as long as I pass the first-tier university entrance exam. I've worked so hard for so long, what if I suddenly have a stroke of luck and get into Yuming or Zhenhua, but can't get in because of this agreement? I'll regret it for the rest of my life."

“Yes.” Lin Yu nodded. “I think so too. I’ve already made up my mind. I won’t apply to schools that require signing this kind of agreement.”

Chen Qin thought for a moment and said, "I don't think anyone in our class would choose this kind of school."

"Everyone has their own considerations, so let's not worry about what others choose." After Lin Yu finished speaking, she suddenly saw Xu Zijun pick up her water cup and get up to go to the back of the classroom to get water. Realizing that what she had just said might hurt Xu Zijun, who had already lost her eligibility, she gave Chen Qin a look, signaling him to stop talking.

Chen Qin nodded knowingly, lowered his voice, and said, "I really hope that Chu Saiying will not pass the independent enrollment in the end and will not get the qualification."

Lin Yu said, "Anyway, they have already received offers from Ivy League universities in the United States, so they have many choices, unlike us, who can only take the college entrance examination."

Chen Qin scratched his head and said, "Then I'll try my best to give our children more choices in the future."

Lin Yu never expected Chen Qin to suddenly say something like "our child".

She stared wide-eyed at Chen Qin in surprise.

Chen Qin immediately realized what was happening.

He looked at Lin Yu's suddenly flushed cheeks, coughed twice, and hurriedly grabbed a water glass.

"I'm going to get some water too."

-

Only eighteen years old, and already a child...

Chen Qin snapped out of his daze and cursed himself for being an idiot.

Which girl wants to hear something like that at this age?

At that moment, Zhou Ziyu, who was also still in the classroom for evening self-study, suddenly appeared silently beside him, also holding a cup in her hand.

"Wow, bro, we're both still single, and you're already thinking about your future kids."

Zhou Ziyu gave him a long, thoughtful look, whispered her thoughts, and then gave him a thumbs up.

Chen Qin took a deep breath and said, "Get out."

Chou Tzu-yu's brooding expression instantly became a kaleidoscope of colors as she burst into laughter and walked away.

Chen Qin: "..."

If Chou Tzu-yu, that big mouth, finds out about this, won't the whole class know that he said that to Lin-yu?

He really wanted to bang his head against the wall and knock himself unconscious.

-

Even though it was already a holiday, those who remained in the classroom still started their second evening self-study session when the bell rang.

As soon as the bell rang, the classroom fell silent, and no one spoke.

Lu Yanhe was engrossed in his work when he suddenly sensed a figure standing beside him. Startled, he looked up and discovered it was Liu Qin.

She was standing between him and Li Pengfei, watching what they were doing.

Liu Qin smiled at him and left.

That smile alone warmed Lu Yanhe's heart.

After going through so many things, while the results weren't always perfect, they were still the best possible outcome.

Most importantly, he met teachers like Liu Qin and Lao Chen, as well as classmates like Lin Yu and Li Pengfei.

September is drawing to a close, and Lu Yanhe is becoming more and more familiar with this world and with life here.

This is no longer someone else's world or someone else's life.

Lu Yanhe lowered his head again, picked up his pen, and felt an unprecedented sense of peace.

No matter what happens, keep going!

Keep going wherever you are.

No matter what the future holds, keep going!

(End of this chapter)