Chapter 19: The Sound of Flipping Pages Was Deafening
"Why are you coming back to the Dormitory with me?" Qian Hong stopped, scrutinizing Xu Ming with a suspicious look. "The sun didn't rise from the west today, did it?"
Before Xu Ming could reply, Qian Hong suddenly thought of something and put on an expression of sudden realization.
"I know!"
"You've been getting up early every day recently, and now your body can't take it anymore, right?"
"I said, who could possibly play at an internet cafe for three days and three nights straight?"
Xu Ming listened to Qian Hong's words, a smile playing on his lips, but didn't offer any explanation.
Soon, the two arrived at the Dormitory.
For the other guys in the Dormitory, it was well-known that Xu Ming usually wouldn't return until just before lights out; it had become a routine. So, when they saw Xu Ming's unexpected early return today, they couldn't help but tease him.
"Why are you back so early today?" "Did the teaching building lose power?" "The Second Mock Exam is coming up soon, you can't slack off now!" ...
Xu Ming didn't mind. As he washed up with them, they playfully poked fun at each other's past.
No sooner had he laid down than Qian Hong padded over barefoot from the side, an old MP3 player in his hand.
"Don't sleep yet, come listen to some of Xiao Qi's songs."
Hearing Qian Hong's words, Xu Ming felt a momentary trance. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd listened to music.
After all, in his previous life, when he was starting his business, the music industry had long been in decline, and he could barely find a few songs that were pleasant to listen to.
Instead, it was the old songs that made people reminisce.
His thoughts lingered there, and he suddenly felt quite interested. He took the earphones and put them in his ears.
"You're always too soft-hearted, too soft-hearted, crying alone until dawn."
...
Only after a classic song finished and it was lights out in the Dormitory did Xu Ming close his eyes and go to sleep.
Four in the morning.
His biological clock woke him up right on time.
He sat up and glanced at his roommates, who were still sound asleep in their beds. He dressed quietly and tiptoed out the door.
However, when he reached the main entrance of the Dormitory building and was about to unlock it, a deep voice suddenly came from the window of the Dorm Manager's room next door.
"It's you again, kid. Getting up to study at this hour every day, how can your body take it?"
"How long has it been since I had to get up specifically to unlock the door?"
Hearing this, Xu Ming looked towards the voice and saw the Dorm Manager, draped in a jacket, standing at his doorway with a worried expression.
He had occasionally run into the Dorm Manager when getting up in the mornings before, so they were naturally not strangers.
A smile appeared on his face as he greeted him proactively: "Good morning, Grandpa Zhang."
"You should go back and get some more sleep. Kids your age really can't afford to lack sleep," Grandpa Zhang took the opportunity to patiently advise.
Perhaps he was reminded of his own grandson, as a hint of heartache appeared in his eyes.
Thanks to his extended Deep Sleep, even though Xu Ming only slept for a little over five hours a day, his mental state and physical condition were far stronger than others, so he didn't need to worry about insufficient sleep.
Besides, he was eager to get to class and review Chinese. Since he was already up, there was no reason to go back to sleep.
His thoughts stopped there, so he replied:
"The Second Mock Exam is coming up soon, so I wanted to squeeze in more time to review."
"Plus, my body is perfectly fine."
After saying these few words, Xu Ming didn't delay any further. Without waiting for Grandpa Zhang's reply, he unlocked the door and ran out.
Watching Xu Ming's retreating figure until it completely vanished from sight, Grandpa Zhang finally withdrew his gaze, shook his head slightly, and sighed, then re-locked the Dormitory main gate.
"This child works so hard; in the future, he'll definitely get into Qinghua University or Yanda University."
He mumbled to himself, then turned and walked back inside.
...
"Good thing the teaching building doesn't lose power, otherwise I'd really have to find another place to study."
Xu Ming took out his key from his pocket, opened the classroom's front door, and after pressing the light switch on the wall, the entire empty and silent classroom instantly brightened.
Then he returned to his seat, pulled out his Chinese textbook, and immediately began his familiar review mode.
"Let me see the effects of Deep Learning."
Chinese is different from other disciplines; to avoid losing points in exams, one often needs to memorize a vast amount of content.
After all, no one knows what knowledge will be covered in the National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao).
In his previous life, after struggling for so many years, not to mention the Gaokao content, he couldn't even remember the essay topics. Now, he could only rely on reviewing to re-accumulate enough knowledge to face the exam.
Unlike the usual feeling of memorizing during morning self-study, as time passed, Xu Ming completely immersed himself in the textbook.
He became incredibly focused.
It was as if he had cut off all external information, preventing himself from being affected.
At the same time, the content of the book seemed to transmit directly into his mind through his eyes.
With just a few glances, he could achieve clear memorization.
As a result, the further he went, the faster he flipped through the pages, and his Subject Experience increased significantly.
【After diligent study, your [Chinese] level has increased, gaining 7 Subject Experience Points.】
When it was around 5:30 AM, even though people started entering the classroom one after another, Xu Ming kept his eyes down, ignoring them.
Chen Lu, as usual, was the second person to arrive in the classroom. As soon as she entered the doorway, her gaze was drawn to Xu Ming.
A look of confusion immediately appeared on her face.
"Is he... reading?"
In her sight, Xu Ming's expression was exceptionally serious, his gaze fixed firmly on the Chinese textbook in front of him. However, the frequency at which he flipped pages was simply too high; let alone trying to memorize and recite, he probably didn't even have time to read through it once completely.
It gave people a complete sense of deja vu, as if he was just flipping pages for fun.
The rustling sound resonated continuously in the empty classroom; though not loud, it was deafening.
"Xu Ming."
She tried calling out, but receiving no response, she had to temporarily suppress her questions.
As more classmates gradually arrived, hindered by the peculiar sound of Xu Ming flipping pages, the morning self-study session, which should have involved loud recitation, was forcibly transformed into a silent reading session for the entire class.
High school students in ordinary small county towns had limited access to outside information.
They naturally wouldn't understand what a "flow state" was.
Otherwise, at this moment, someone would surely be exclaiming how awesome it was.
He didn't know how much time had passed before Xu Ming re-established contact with the outside world, emerging from his Deep Learning state.
Feeling his current condition and the experience gained on his panel, he also gained a more detailed understanding of Deep Learning.
Firstly, each time he entered Deep Learning, upon reaching a certain limit, he would automatically exit and return to normal. As for efficiency, it was three times his usual. And the content he memorized was essentially unforgettable.
"It only lasted for a little over two hours? But that's still quite sufficient."
He turned his head to look at the clock above the blackboard on the back wall. Just as he finished muttering, a large face suddenly appeared in his line of sight.
Qian Hong breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "You're finally awake."
"I called your name just now, and you didn't react at all. I thought you'd gone crazy from studying."
"What could be wrong with me? I was just a little too focused," Xu Ming explained, a wry smile on his face.
In response, Qian Hong scrutinized him for a few moments, only truly relaxing after repeatedly confirming that Xu Ming was alright.
(End of this chapter)