Giving the students a problem to solve in the very first class... it seems Teacher Gao is trying to establish his authority from the start, Yu Shulin thought, lowering his gaze. High school students of seventeen or eighteen are at that rebellious age, much harder to manage than junior high students. As the homeroom teacher, if Teacher Gao couldn't assert control over this group of top students from the beginning, managing the class later would likely be quite a struggle.
The monthly exam papers at City No. 2 High School were notoriously difficult. Most of the students had been playing around during the break, and only a minority had actually previewed the textbook. This problem...
Seeing Teacher Gao's stern face watching them, the students felt a bit anxious and mostly looked down. Even the few who knew how to solve it hesitated to be the first to step up, influenced by their classmates' reactions.
Yu Shulin glanced over the problem on the blackboard, thought for a moment, and a general solution formed in his mind.
—As expected, previewing the textbook was definitely worthwhile.
"No one wants to come up? No one can do it?" Teacher Gao's expression darkened. Was the problem really that hard? Not a single one dared to raise their head!
The classroom grew even quieter.
"I'll do it." Li Tao suddenly raised his hand.
Teacher Gao's expression softened a bit. "Come up, solve the first problem."
Yu Shulin narrowed his eyes slightly, also raised his hand, and looked at Teacher Gao with a smile. "Teacher, I'd like to try too."
Seeing it was him who raised his hand, Teacher Gao's expression grew even more gentle. He beckoned him. "Come on, you solve the second one."
Yang Sese whispered as he stood up, "Good luck."
He nodded, thanked her, walked to the podium, ran through the steps in his mind once more, and then began writing unhurriedly. Li Tao, standing next to him, saw him actually start writing and a trace of disdain flashed in his eyes. He snorted coldly and turned back to write even faster.
With someone breaking the ice, the classmates, like snakes waking from hibernation, became lively again. Then, realizing the ones standing at the podium were the class's top student and the bottom-ranked student, their gossipy instincts burned even brighter.
Ooh, a good show! But that last-place student sure has guts!
Wang Zhi was also nervous, his palms sweating as he gripped his pen.
Really not used to being stared at like this, Yu Shulin shifted uncomfortably, wrote down the answer he had calculated, then turned, nodded to Teacher Gao, and returned to his seat.
"You're really amazing, you wrote even faster than Li Tao!" Wang Zhi gave him a thumbs-up in praise.
"Thanks, I just happened to have previewed the textbook," he said with a smile, looking up to watch Li Tao solve his problem.
Two minutes later, Li Tao also finished writing and came down, his expression darker than before he went up. Wang Zhi, seeing him deflated, chuckled happily to himself.
The classmates who had been waiting to see Yu Shulin make a fool of himself were shocked. That last-place student had actually solved the problem, and faster than the top student! Some didn't believe it, thinking Yu Shulin had just made up an answer. But Teacher Gao's next sentence shattered their assumptions.
"It seems both students have seriously previewed the textbook. Both problems are solved correctly." Teacher Gao put checkmarks under both problems, picked up the textbook, opened it, and began the lesson. "Now open your books to page four. Let's start by learning the new theorem used in the first problem."
The first class passed peacefully. The classmates no longer looked at Yu Shulin with scornful eyes, but with curiosity instead. Yu Shulin was quite satisfied with this change. It seemed taking the initiative to go up and solve a problem was the right move. Although he didn't care about his bottom-ranking grades, to integrate into the group quickly, it was better to shed those scornful looks sooner rather than later.
After another autumn rain, the temperature in City B finally dropped below 20°C as desired. Yu Shulin finished his first monthly exam, waved goodbye to Wang Zhi at the school gate, and rode his bike home.
There was a day and a half off after the monthly exam. After lunch, he went out, planning to convert his passbook into a bank card and also buy a gift for Liang Zhou.
...Come to think of it, it had been almost half a month since they last saw each other.
Being an actor was really tough, working day and night without a fixed location, utterly exhausting.
Since learning about Liang Zhou's profession, he had paid a bit more attention to entertainment news and gained some understanding of his brother's popularity.
In these times, the internet wasn't well-developed yet, and paparazzi weren't as rampant as they would be in later years. The public's main channels for learning about actors were still limited to TV and movies. Although newspapers had entertainment sections, that tiny space was hardly enough to even scratch the surface of the vast entertainment industry.
Liang Zhou rarely participated in variety shows, didn't like publicity stunts, and because his family ran an entertainment company, he even had fewer gossip news items than other celebrities. Coupled with his low-key personality, every time he appeared on TV, it was either to promote a new movie or attend some award ceremony—his exposure was pitifully low.
But even so, his popularity was considered quite high—for no other reason than his numerous works, wide audience appeal, and good rapport with viewers.
Leaving aside other highbrow, profound films, just take the series "The Extraordinary Swordsman of the Duan Clan"—that was a hit show from a couple of years ago! When it aired, it swept across three generations, young, middle-aged, and old, capturing the attention of countless girls and aunties.
The handsome lead, the beautiful fight scenes, the melodramatic plot, the infuriating ending that made people want to climb through the TV and strangle the writer... In short, with this series, Liang Zhou, then a newcomer, became an overnight sensation, known throughout the country. After his rise to fame, Liang Zhou laid low for a while. Just as people worried he might be a flash in the pan, he quietly joined renowned director Zhao Zhen's new film, playing a relatively important supporting role.
A well-played supporting role can also attract lots of fans!
Director Zhao Zhen truly lived up to his reputation as a famous director; his films were both critically acclaimed and commercially successful. With this film, the crew won awards until their arms were sore at that year's film festival, and Liang Zhou, as expected, brought home the Best Supporting Actor award.
Now with popularity and reputation, Liang Zhou's career path seemed smooth sailing. But just as people speculated he would focus on the big screen, he quietly accepted a role in a historical drama, playing an emperor for fun.
It was this historical drama that shattered his nearly typecast image, let everyone see his acting prowess, and gradually silenced those voices claiming he rose so fast only because of his family's company and his father's fame.
After that, film offers kept pouring in. Over the next two or three years, Liang Zhou amassed a large group of loyal fans, solidifying his position as a top-tier star.
Yu Shulin stood at the entrance of a music and video store, looking at the movie poster prominently displayed inside. He paused, went in, and bought three or four copies, carefully tucking them into his bag. Although Aunt Liu collected all of his brother's TV and movie works, she didn't seem to have many posters.
He wandered inside a bit more but couldn't find any other Liang Zhou merchandise, feeling somewhat disappointed.
"Are you looking for Liang Zhou merchandise?"
Yu Shulin turned around and saw it was a staff member from the music store. He nodded and asked, "I noticed other celebrities have things like stickers and desk calendars for sale. Why aren't there any for Liang Zhou? Are they sold out?"
"Not sold out—they simply don't exist." The staff member, clearly not answering this question for the first time, spoke rapidly. "As a newly-crowned film emperor, Liang Zhou is incredibly low-key. He doesn't release photo books, rarely participates in events. Merchants would love to capitalize on his popularity, but there's no source material to work with. Plus, his team is particularly strict about copyright... Tsk, he's like the moon in the sky—you can see it, but you can never touch it."
"..."
