Silent Thunder
Gu Nanxiao was like a drop of thick, silent ink, dripping into the cup of boiled water in Class 3 (6), which was originally quite stable and even a little boiling.
He did not spread immediately, but slowly and stubbornly, continuously and unignorably spreading his color, changing the original chemical balance of the class.
It has been two weeks since he transferred to the new school, and he is still the most unique "silent" person in the class.
This silence was not completely silent - he would give precise but brief answers when the teacher called on him, and would use pen and paper to solve difficult problems when he had to communicate - but more of an aura, an invisible isolation.
He is like a planet with a fixed orbit, running at high speed but cold and silent, moving according to its own inherent laws and frequencies, without gravitational interaction with any surrounding stars or asteroids, refusing to be assimilated or approached.
Apart from the brief answers he had to give when asked questions in class, and the necessary "communication" with pen and paper to solve classmates' questions like last time, he hardly participated in any idle chat between classes.
The boys' heated discussions about basketball games or the latest game guides, or the girls' occasional glances that were a mixture of curiosity, shyness, and a little timidity.
Whenever the school bell rang like a pardon, he was always the first one to pack up his schoolbag and leave. His movements were smooth and quick, and his back showed a determination that was almost escaping, as if the classroom was a suffocating cage, and staying there for even a second longer would be torture. That door was his only exit to a brief freedom.
However, this almost solitary and impregnable silence was broken in a dramatic way by a sudden physics test.
When a huge rock is thrown into a calm lake, ripples inevitably spread.
It was physics class on Wednesday afternoon.
Ten minutes before the end of get out of class, the physics teacher with gray hair, thick beer-bottle glasses, and a serious face walked into the classroom holding a stack of snow-white test papers, which immediately caused a low, conditioned wail.
"Ah? Another test?"
"No way, I just finished my chemistry exam yesterday!"
"Teacher, please forgive us..."
"Teacher, I don't really want to take the exam!"
…
Tests in the third year of high school are like commonplace meals, so frequent that they can make people numb, but each one is enough to touch the students' sensitive and fragile nerves. They are related to rankings, face, and even doubts and affirmations of their own abilities.
"Stop howling," the physics teacher pushed his glasses up his nose, his eyes sweeping over the audience through the lenses, his tone calm and composed, as if he was used to it, "It's only forty minutes, and the number of questions isn't huge.
Check your recent review progress and fill in any gaps."
His words always carry an unquestionable authority.
The test papers were distributed like snowflakes, and the classroom suddenly fell into a tense silence. The only sound left was the rustling of pen tips across paper, like spring silkworms eating mulberry leaves, rapid and intensive.
The air was filled with the smell of ink and an invisible pressure.
Jiang Yile took a deep breath and examined the questions attentively.
She has always had good grades in science and has consistently been at the top of the class, but the questions this time were obviously more flexible and tricky than usual exercises, especially the last comprehensive question that combined electromagnetism and conservation of energy.
The graphics are complex, the conditions are hidden, and there are many traps.
She was fully focused, her thoughts rapidly shuttling between formulas and theorems. The calculation paper was soon filled with densely packed derivations, but she was stuck on the last key problem. Her brows unconsciously furrowed slightly, and the tip of her pen unconsciously tapped on the paper, trying to find a breakthrough.
She subconsciously glanced at Gu Nanxiao beside her out of the corner of her eye.
He still sat upright, like a tall pine tree, his fingers holding the pen steady and strong, writing on the test paper at a moderate speed, with a strange calmness.
He looked focused but without the slightest bit of nervousness or anxiety, as if he was not facing a small test that might determine his ranking or affect his mood, but just an ordinary classroom exercise that did not require any attention.
This transcendent calmness seems particularly abrupt in the atmosphere where everyone around is scratching their heads or writing furiously.
Forty minutes passed quickly as the pen danced and the brain worked at high speed.
When the papers were collected, the classroom was in an uproar, with discussions, comparisons of answers and sighs ringing out one after another.
"How do I do that last question? I have no idea! I feel like I know every word, but I don't understand how to put them together!"
"It's over, it's over. I'm definitely failing this time. I think I misjudged the direction of the magnetic field!"
…
"Class monitor, Jiang Yile, have you finished the last question?"
Zhang Hao in the front seat turned around with a look of deep resentment and bitterness on his face, as if he had just been through torture.
Jiang Yile shook his head helplessly and sighed softly.
"I haven't figured out the last question yet. I'm running out of time and I feel like my train of thought is stuck."
She looked at the last few steps on her draft paper that she had not completed, feeling a little frustrated.
"Even you couldn't figure it out?" Zhang Hao wailed, his voice rising a few notches. "Then I guess few people can do it. The old physics guy has been ruthless this time!"
He then seemed to remember something, lowered his voice, moved closer mysteriously, and glanced at Gu Nanxiao who was quietly organizing stationery next to him.
"Hey, what do you think about that new guy... can he do it? I think he wrote it quite calmly, and his expression didn't change from beginning to end."
Zhou Xiaowei also came over and joined the discussion.
"Looking at him, he doesn't look like he's just joking around and guessing the answers. He's quite calm. But such a difficult question... He's just transferred here, so it's unclear whether he can keep up."
There was doubt in her tone, but also a hint of imperceptible expectation.
The doubts and speculations reached their peak before the physics class the next day.
During the break, discussions about the difficulty of the quiz and concerns about the results filled the air.
The physics teacher walked into the classroom with an unreadable expression on his face, holding the corrected test paper.
The expression was not as serious as usual, and seemed to be mixed with a hint of surprise and... a subtle approval?
He did not hand out the test papers as usual. Instead, he placed the stack of test papers that carried the joys, sorrows, and anger of countless people on the podium. His eyes swept around the audience like a searchlight, and finally, they landed precisely on a position in the fourth row by the window.
The classroom fell silent in an instant, and everyone held their breath, waiting for the verdict to be announced.
"This quiz," the physics teacher said in a steady voice, breaking the silence in the classroom, "the overall results are not very ideal."
He paused, noticing the "as expected" expressions on the faces of many students in the audience, before continuing, "The last question was indeed difficult. It tested a wide range of knowledge points and required a high level of thinking. Not many people in the entire grade got it right."
He changed the subject, picked up the top test paper, tapped it lightly with his fingers, and looked at the corner again.
"but……"
This turning point made everyone's heart rise.
"There was a student in our class who not only got the answer right, but also had clear ideas and complete and rigorous steps without any redundancy, and he got full marks."
"Wow--!!!"
The classroom was instantly filled with suppressed exclamations and whispers, as if a huge rock had been thrown into a calm lake.
"Full marks? Really?"
"He actually solved the last question? And got full marks?"
"Didn't he just transfer here? Is he keeping up? I wonder if this school is so awesome?"
"Who is it? Is it Li Qiang? Or Wang Jing?"
…
All eyes subconsciously turned to the few students in the class who had outstanding physics grades.
The physics teacher didn't keep anyone in suspense and announced it directly, his voice clearly spreading to every corner of the classroom.
"Student Gu Nanxiao, full marks."
In an instant, as if drawn by an invisible thread, all eyes were focused on the silent figure by the window with shock, disbelief, inquiry, and even a hint of admiration.
Gu Nanxiao stood up amid the sudden escalation of discussion.
There was no change in his expression. He showed no pride or joy for getting full marks, nor did he feel uncomfortable or embarrassed for being the center of attention. It was as if it was not him who got full marks, but just something that had nothing to do with him.
He walked steadily to the podium and took his test paper from the teacher. Without even glancing at the bright red "100", he turned back to his seat, placed the test paper neatly on the desk, and looked calmly at the blackboard, ready to listen to the class, his posture as usual.
"Fuck, he's a real boss! He's so hidden!"
Zhang Hao couldn't help but curse under his breath, and his eyes were full of undisguised admiration when he looked at Gu Nanxiao, and his previous doubts disappeared.
Zhou Xiaowei also nudged Jiang Yile with her arm, her eyes signaling as if to say, "See! I told you it wasn't simple! Now it's confirmed!"
Jiang Yile was also a little surprised, and even had a subtle sense of frustration, but it was more of a confirmation of "as expected".
Her physics grades have always been among the best in the class, but this time she was deducted points on the last question and failed to get full marks.
Gu Nanxiao's full score is of great value and undisputed.
She couldn't help but look at him again. He was looking down at his test paper. The lines of his profile appeared clear and cold in the morning light coming through the window, as if all the noise around him had nothing to do with him.
This transfer student seems to be shrouded in more and more mysteries.
His excellent grades formed a sharp contrast with his usual indifference and alienation, making him more like a difficult equation to solve.
This physics test was like a huge rock thrown into a calm lake. Rumors about Gu Nanxiao began to spread quietly in the class, becoming more specific and more legendary.
Some people said that he came from a very wealthy family and that he had transferred from a nationally renowned key middle school in City A, which was full of top students. He returned to his registered residence in Nancheng due to some unknown, perhaps family reasons.
Some people also say that he was born with this personality, aloof and arrogant. He had few friends in his original school because he was difficult to approach and fit in, and was a loner.
Some girls even privately commented that he was indeed good-looking.
Indeed, Gu Nanxiao's appearance is indeed beyond words, but his cold and aloof temperament has a special and dangerous attraction, like a dangerous peak covered with ice and snow, which is attractive but difficult to melt and climb.
During breaks, when the girls gathered together to chat, the topic would occasionally and cautiously turn to him.
"Do you think Gu Nanxiao has a girlfriend? He was such an outstanding student in his old school, so he must..."
"Surely not? Look at him, does he look like he'd ever fall in love? It seems like he's not interested in anything."
"Maybe he did. He's handsome and has good grades. There must have been a lot of girls in school who secretly liked him, but he just ignored them."
"Hey, Jiang Yile, you're sitting next to him, closest to him. Has he ever revealed anything to you? Or... has he ever treated you differently?"
One girl turned the topic to Jiang Yile, who had been listening quietly, with mischief and curiosity in her eyes.
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