Old Li's messages were as inappropriate as ever.
Even though Li Zheng did not know about the "stationary process" and the "Ergodic Theorem," he could faintly feel the power behind the quote.
He even started to look forward to learning about these two topics.
Li Zheng set the note down. He reached out with his arm and grabbed the three big notes on the shoe cabinet. He then whipped out a post-it note and wrote his father a reply.
When he was young, Li Zheng had practiced his handwriting by mirroring his father's handwriting.
The words of both Li Zheng and his father seemed to have been made from the same mold.
He wrote, "Old Li, I've received the money.
"I'll spend 200 on the basketball and 100 on stationery.
"I've been lacking study material lately. Please understand.
"Also, I've encountered some difficulties with chemistry. Do you have any suggestions?
"Li Zheng.
"10/11/2018, 7:10 am"
Satisfied, Li Zheng left the house only after sticking his reply to the door.
Leaving notes and replying with notes was a tradition in Li Zheng's family.
His father had to wake up at 5 every morning and head to the hospital to prepare for the operations he had to conduct. His mother was always on a business trip somewhere in China. It was normal for his family to not see each other more than once a week.
Fortunately, everyone in the family had individualistic personalities and had naturally accepted the situation.
Interestingly, his father had started to leave notes at the door.
Then Li Zheng's mother started to post follow-up notes and replies.
As time went on, the notes on the door became a form of communication unique to his family.
Even though they now had WeChat, his family still enjoyed this method of communication.
Perhaps they felt each other's warmth through notes like these.
However, this time, Li Zheng lied.
He spent over 130 yuan buying stationery on his way to school. Also, he did not buy a basketball.
He had no other choice. With the increase in his study efficiency, the rate at which he exhausted his study material had skyrocketed.
After all this, Li Zheng arrived at the school gate at 7:40 am, 40 minutes later than he usually did.
He secretly clenched his teeth as he parked his scooter.
He thought, "I've lost the time to study by myself and memorize vocabulary this morning.
"I have to make up for that with the time between classes."
Li Zheng, filled with determination, carried his gigantic bag. He lowered his head and walked quickly toward the school gate.
It was now the peak hour for students to enter the school. Four students on duty stood at both sides of the gate. The discipline mistress stood in the middle.
Li Zheng mixed into the swarm of students. He lowered his head even farther and walked faster.
He thought, "Not good.
"It's Sun Xiubin.
"I don't want to speak to her.
"I won't even look at her.
"It'll be all over if I meet her eyes and have to chat.
"If that happens, I might not even be able to preserve today's energy, much less work on the 'Passion for a Single Subject' mission.
"I'll just walk past like a regular pedestrian, as always."
On the other side, Sun Xiubun was nodding at the students who bowed and greeted her.
She also found bones to pick with them.
"You, you, you, it's time for you to cut your hair. Soon, I won't be able to tell if you are a boy or a girl.
"What do you have stuck on your uniform? Tear it off, tear it off.
"You parent, you can't enter even if you are wearing your child's uniform… Oh, oh, it's Liu Xin, you should also cut… Forget it, keep it."
Sun Xiubin bathed in the morning light. Even though she was a fierce person, she always had a smile on her face.
To her, her reminders were not criticisms, but love and concern.
The city-level screening to determine model high schools would happen soon. She could not afford to be careless about the culture and discipline of the school. She could let even the tiniest of issues slide.
At this moment, the figure of a boy amidst the crowd was exceptionally eye-catching.
He was like a racewalking athlete, walking at double speed. He disregarded his surroundings and was walking briskly with his head lowered.
However, judging from his bag, it looked as though he was going to scale a mountain.
Not to mention, the boy had a sneaky expression. He was deliberately avoiding her.
"You, you, you, you, you! Stop right there!" Sun Xiubin's voice broke, "Li Zheng! Get over here!"
Li Zheng froze.
He thought, "How… I got discovered…
"I should not have redirected the blame from Mrs. Hu the other day."
However, the entire school was under Sun Xiubin's sphere of influence. Li Zheng had nowhere to run.
All he could do was look up, puff out his chest, and walk toward Sun Xiubin.
The most important thing he had to do now was to stop the damage.
He had to deal with this as fast as possible and try his best to minimize the expenditure of his energy.
"Good morning, teacher." Li Zheng quickly bowed.
"Don't, don't, don't. I'm not good. You're good." Sun Xiubin pointed toward Li Zheng and said, "What have you come here for?"
Even for Sun Xiubin, she had never been this frustrated since the time she cracked down on romance in school.
The students entering the school could not help but stop in their tracks and watch.
Even the students on duty had a sparkle in their eyes.
The students who were not wearing school uniforms or had secretly painted their nails seized the opportunity to sneak into school.
Li Zheng was stumped by this question.
He thought, "I obviously came to attend school.
"But judging from the slight mocking accent of the discipline mistress...
"Did I come here to argue with her?"
"Should I reply with 'What do you think'?"
Sun Xiubin saw Li Zheng's innocent expression and was furious. She walked around Li Zheng and fiercely patted down his oversized bag as she questioned, "Are you going camping?"
"Oh, that." Li Zheng nodded. "That's all study-related material."
"Study-related? Come, come, come, let me expand my horizons." Sun Xiubin crossed her arms as she said, "Bag check!"
Li Zheng clenched his teeth in anger.
He thought, "My time for self-study in the morning has already been disrupted.
"Why am I being subjected to a bag check now?"
"Discipline mistress, I spent a long time stuffing the material into the bag," Li Zheng replied indignantly.
He had spent a great deal of effort stuffing that many resources into the bag.
"Quickly," Sun Xiubin rushed. "Other students would say that I am not respecting their privacy or whatnot. Your excuse is rather fresh."
At this moment, a girl on duty walked over quickly, "Let me… Discipline mistress…"
Li Zheng raised his head and noticed that it was the ordinary girl he had played basketball with yesterday.
The ordinary girl blinked pointedly at him before she walked to his side and unfastened the zipper of his bag.
She glanced into the bag before she told Sun Xiubin, "Discipline mistress, it really is all study material…"
"Was what you did call checking his bag? Even a cat digging for food puts in more effort than that," Sun Xiubin said angrily. "Don't waste time. Pour it all out."
Li Zheng understood that resisting a woman like this would only waste more time.
"I'll cooperate, finish this quickly, and forever shut her mouth," Li Zheng thought.
Li Zheng took off his bag. "Let me do it myself. This way, it will be easier for me to pack up."
He carefully placed his bag down onto the ground after he spoke and took out the bundles of study material one by one. He sorted them out and placed them neatly on the ground.
"Chemistry (1)"
"Chemistry (1): Teacher's Copy"
"Chemistry (1): Notes from Famous Teachers"
"Must-do Questions for High School (Chemistry)"
"High School Chemistry Olympiad"
"Five-year Series: Mock College Entrance Exams for Third-years (College Entrance Exams, Chemistry)"
Bundles after bundles of books were placed on the ground.
Even the air became silent.
The students had initially crowded around for a show. They became surprised, then fearful.
Then they were left speechless.
But this was just the start.
After that, Li Zheng took out a brand new slab of notebooks.
A large bundle of draft paper.
A box of Chenguang-brand pen nibs that symbolized nobility.
Time passed.
But Li Zheng did not stop.
"I stuffed all this in there with a great amount of effort." Li Zheng was covered in sweat.
The students felt a little apologetic when they saw Li Zheng's sweat fall to the ground.
They thought about how he would have to put all of the material back into his bag.
Some of the students even pitied Li Zheng.
Sun Xiubin froze.
She had never seen a person like this in her decades of teaching.