Chapter 11
Li Ming's smile froze as he stood rooted to the spot by that gaze, a chill creeping down his spine. The more sarcastic remarks he had prepared stuck in his throat, unable to escape. He recalled Jiang Ci's menacing stance at the library entrance last time, and a sense of dread crept in.
Zhang Qiang followed behind Li Ming, wanting to speak up, but when Jiang Ci glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, he awkwardly shut his mouth.
Jiang Ci stared at Li Ming for a few seconds until the other man's eyes began to flicker, then very slowly and almost contemptuously looked away and turned to Xie Qingyan, as if Li Ming were just a wisp of foul air that needed to be avoided.
He only said two words to Xie Qingyan, his voice calm and composed:
"Go."
After saying that, he ignored everyone and walked straight to the door of his examination room, his back straight and resolute.
Xie Qingyan didn't glance at Li Ming once throughout. Hearing Jiang Ci's "Go," he felt as if he had received the clearest instruction, shutting out all other noise. He ran his fingertips along the smooth surface of the black ballpoint pen, seemingly oblivious to Li Ming's provocation, and walked straight to his examination room.
Once again completely ignored, Li Ming stood there, his face turning pale. He felt like a clown jumping around, while the main character no longer bothered to give him even a glance. This pent-up frustration of having pent-up energy with nowhere to vent it was more unbearable than a direct argument.
The preparatory bell rang sharply, breaking the delicate standoff in the corridor.
Li Ming glared at Xie Qingyan, gritted his teeth, and cursed under his breath before sullenly walking towards the examination hall. He was seething with anger and secretly vowed to get his revenge by improving his grades.
Inside the examination room, the bell rang.
Xie Qingyan spread out the exam paper and picked up the black pen.
The pen tip touches the paper, and the ink flows smoothly and effortlessly.
The sunlight outside the window seemed to brighten a little.
The first exam was in Chinese.
When the Chinese exam papers were handed out, the basic questions at the beginning were a piece of cake for Xie Qingyan. However, when he turned to the last essay question, his hand holding the black ballpoint pen paused slightly.
Title: On the "Tools" and "Principles" in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
The topic, presented clearly and directly, touched upon deeper philosophical reflections. A murmur of gasps and whispers filled the exam hall; clearly, many students were stumped by this seemingly grand question.
Xie Qingyan's brows furrowed slowly. Artificial intelligence... He only had a very vague concept from the original owner's memories, knowing what it was but not why. Time passed second by second, the draft paper in front of him remained blank, his fingertips turning slightly white from the pressure. The dark clouds outside the window seemed to grow heavier, pressing down on his heart.
Must we fail here?
Just as anxiety began to creep in like threads, a deep voice seemed to ring in his ear. It was a casual remark Jiang Ci had made as he closed his laptop before the library closed yesterday:
"Things throughout history are nothing more than changes in form but not substance. The ancients debated the relationship between tools and principles; now, the tools have simply become more elaborate."
The tool and the way!
These three words struck Xie Qingyan like a thunderbolt, shattering the chaos in her mind! Yes, no matter how technology changes, its core remains the relationship between tools and people, ethics and laws!
His eyes suddenly lit up with a dazzling light, and without further hesitation, he picked up his pen and wrote on the composition paper in one stroke:
"As Zhuangzi said, 'Those who scheme will inevitably have scheming minds.' The 'artificial intelligence' that people admire today is the ultimate form of 'scheming' in ancient times. Therefore, the more sophisticated the tool, the more important it is not to lose one's fundamental nature. Why is that?..."
He begins by offering a philosophical allegory from Zhuangzi, then cites the Book of Changes ("That which is above form is called the Way; that which is below form is called the instrument") to clarify the concepts. He then uses historical examples from the Zizhi Tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government) to illustrate the successes and failures of technological innovation and social governance throughout history, progressing step by step to discuss where the "Way" that humanity needs to uphold and innovate in the face of AI, this ultimate "instrument".
His pen moved with effortless grace, seamlessly blending millennia of literary thought with contemporary issues. His writing not only remained focused on the topic but also revealed profound insights that transcended time. As he finished writing, checked the paper, and slowly put down his pen, a ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds outside the window, illuminating his calm and confident profile.
Sitting behind Xie Qingyan, Li Ming caught a glimpse of his meticulously written essay pages and was so surprised that he forgot to close his mouth.
Is this still the Xie Qingyan he knows, who consistently ranks last in academic performance?
---
The bell finally rang, signaling the end of the Chinese exam. The tense atmosphere that had been building up for so long burst forth from each exam room like a tidal wave, quickly turning into a chorus of low groans and complaints.
"Oh no, what am I supposed to write about in this essay? The Way and the Artifacts? I've almost forgotten everything about Zhuangzi!"
"That classical Chinese question was simply inhuman..."
"There's simply not enough time!"
Xie Qingyan walked out of the examination hall with the crowd, surrounded by the anxieties and frustrations of his classmates. His face showed no particular expression, but he unconsciously rubbed the cool body of the black ballpoint pen with his fingertips, his mind still echoing with the joy and confidence he had felt when he put pen to paper.
Just then, as if sensing something, he looked up and glanced to one side of the corridor.
Jiang Ci was walking out of the next examination room, also swept up in the crowd, but he seemed to have an aura that isolated him from the noise. At almost the same time, he looked up, his gaze piercing through the throng of people, and met Xie Qingyan's eyes in the air.
No words were spoken.
Amidst a chorus of "This is so hard!" and "I failed the exam!" in the background, the two stood a few steps apart, looking at each other.
In Xie Qingyan's eyes, there still lingered the sharp brilliance of when she was writing, as well as a sense of clarity and ease after solving a difficult problem.
Jiang Ci's face remained as indifferent as ever, but deep within his usually quiet eyes, a faint, almost imperceptible understanding, or even a hint of...appreciation, flickered.
Then, almost simultaneously, the corners of their lips curved upwards almost imperceptibly.
It wasn't a wide smile, or even a smile at all; it was just a very subtle, upward curve at the corner of the mouth. Like a ripple spread across a lake by a gentle breeze, it was fleeting, yet undeniably present.
Hsieh Ching-yen's smile is the joy of meeting a kindred spirit and solving problems together.
Jiang Ci's smile was one of certainty, a smile that reflected his expectation and his confidence in witnessing the initial polishing of a rough gem.
Amidst the gloomy post-exam clamor, their brief, almost illusory, exchange of smiles seemed to share a secret known only to the two of them.
Jiang Ci was the first to look away, lowered his head to straighten his cuffs which were not messy, and then slightly raised his chin toward the stairwell to indicate that he was leaving.
Xie Qingyan understood immediately, and naturally walked through the crowd to his side.
There was no need to ask how she did on the exam; that smile said it all.
---
I have a math exam this afternoon.
The atmosphere in the math exam room was completely different, filled with the coldness unique to numbers and symbols.
Seeing that Xie Qingyan answered the questions quickly and clearly, Li Ming's jealousy grew like a poisonous vine. Recalling the embarrassment of being completely ignored in the corridor that morning, a wicked thought arose.
Halfway through the exam, while most students were engrossed in complex calculations, Li Ming deliberately poked Xie Qingyan in the back with his pen, and then accidentally flicked his eraser to Xie Qingyan's feet.
The proctor gave Li Ming a warning look.
After a brief respite, just as Xie Qingyan was about to solve a crucial problem, Li Ming, in a fit of desperation, began tapping the table repeatedly with the tip of his pen, producing a rhythmic but disturbing "tap-tap" sound.
Many students were disturbed and glared at him angrily, causing a slight disturbance in the examination room.
Xie Qingyan paused for a moment.
He could feel the malicious gaze from behind and hear the provocative noise. If it were the original owner of this body, he might have already become agitated. But at this moment, what appeared in his mind were Jiang Ci's calm and composed eyes.
Ignore it. Stay calm.
He suddenly recalled his childhood studies, where even amidst the hustle and bustle of the city outside his window, he could remain focused and calm. How could the path he sought be swayed by the disturbances of mere ants?
He didn't turn around, nor did he change the rhythm of his breathing. He simply moved his chair forward half an inch with utmost ease, his straight back like a bamboo shoot, as if isolating all the noise behind him. Then, he lowered his head again, his gaze fixed on the problem in front of him, his eyes filled only with logic and numbers.
Not only was he not interrupted, but because of this extreme focus, he entered an unprecedented state of fluency, and his previously somewhat stagnant thoughts suddenly became clear.
Li Ming watched helplessly as Xie Qingyan remained completely unaffected, even seeming to answer questions faster. In contrast, Li Ming, constantly distracted and fidgeting, struggled with several questions, his mind becoming muddled, sweating profusely, and increasingly frustrated, falling into a vicious cycle.
The proctor walked over to him again, sternly tapped on his desk, and whispered, "This is the last warning!"
Li Ming's face turned bright red, and he finally dared not move again, but his mind was in complete chaos, and he almost failed in the second half of the exam.
The bell rang for the papers to be handed in.
Xie Qingyan calmly put down his pen and tidied up the exam paper. As he stood up, he didn't even glance at Li Ming, whose face had turned ashen, and walked out of the examination room with composed steps.
The sunlight finally dispelled the clouds and shone down on the long corridor. Jiang Ci was leaning against the railing waiting. When he saw him come out, his gaze lingered on his face for a moment, but he didn't ask anything and just nodded slightly.
"Let's go." Xie Qingyan walked to his side, her tone relaxed.
"Um."
The smoke from the two tough battles in Chinese and mathematics had barely cleared when the second day of exams began.
The English exam became Xie Qingyan's Waterloo.
Those distorted letter combinations and unfamiliar grammatical rules were far more stubborn than he had imagined. Even though he had memorized a large number of words and model essays with his extraordinary memory, the fast-paced listening comprehension and picture-based writing still stood like silent barriers, making it difficult for him to move forward.
He could only guess and organize his thoughts as best he could, leaving cautious and hesitant marks on the exam paper. This was a stark contrast to his confident and fluent manner in the Chinese language exam.
However, once they entered the science exam room, the situation changed abruptly.
Although the mechanics and electromagnetism of physics had entirely new frameworks, their inherent principles of causality and conservation subtly resonated with the Dao he had come to understand. The clear models and problem-solving steps that Jiang Ci had provided him now became his most reliable weapons. Those once cryptic symbols gradually took on a rigorous order under his pen.
The periodic table and reaction equations of chemistry gradually lost their mystery in his eyes. Once he understood the most basic atomic structure and bonding principles, many changes became predictable. He even occasionally smiled knowingly, recalling how he had once tried to apply the Five Elements theory to his understanding, only to now realize that it possessed its own sophisticated modern language.
The biological world evoked a simple sense of intimacy in him. The structure of cells and the laws of heredity embodied the wonder of creation, resonating with the philosophical views of harmony between humanity and nature and the endless cycle of life found in ancient texts. Memorizing those complex names and processes became a fascinating exploration for him.
During those two days of intense study and reflection, Xie Qingyan maximized his strengths and minimized his weaknesses. He no longer worried excessively about his English difficulties, but instead poured all his energy and solid humanities foundation into conquering the science subjects. Every formula he applied and every logical deduction he completed made his eyes shine even brighter.
Meanwhile, Jiang Ci, in another corner of the examination hall, remained the most stable and swift presence. Regardless of the subject, his speed in reviewing the questions and writing down his answers was astonishing, as if the answers were already imprinted in his mind and only needed to be copied down. Occasionally, he would pause, his gaze inadvertently sweeping across the window, lingering for a moment, before indifferently looking away and continuing to complete his answer sheet.
When the bell rings to signal the end of the last exam, regardless of the result, all the tension, anxiety, focus, or regret temporarily comes to a close.
The first mock exam for senior high school students has finally come to an end.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com