Li Zheng, back at his seat, was not indulging in pride.
After exchanging a few words with Liu Xin, he opened his English workbook.
He began doing homework.
Victory was already in the past; the road ahead was still long. Remain humble and avoid complacency.
Sailing through the sea of academics—wherever one can reach, one shall reach.
At this moment, his Vitality Points were already more than half depleted.
The value showed as 【21/26】（28x multiplier）.
In other words, those 40-plus minutes just now were equivalent to 21 hours of study.
He wasn’t sick—this system truly existed.
Not only could it enable 28x speed learning, it could also break the 24-hour-per-day time limit.
That was just amazing!
Li Zheng was extremely excited.
More excited than players who had drawn a card at a 28x drop rate in gacha games.
After all, no matter how fun games were, people eventually quit them.
But studying was beneficial for life.
No need to say more—for now, let’s blast through today’s homework joyfully.
Five minutes later, he had finished.
Still not satisfied.
【Vitality Points: 23.7/26】
Happy.
Next, he began cramming the subject he was worst at—Chemistry.
Pulling out his chemistry textbook, Li Zheng’s face was full of steely resolve.
Because it required memorizing vast amounts of content—dry, dull, and difficult to find logical patterns—chemistry had always been Li Zheng’s weakest subject.
This hole was indeed deep. He had only been reviewing for less than five minutes before his brain began to ache.
A system prompt popped up accordingly.
【Vitality Points: 26/26】
【Today's Vitality Points have been fully used. Entering study fatigue state.】
【First time experiencing fatigue—system grants 10 Game Coins for relaxation.】
【Please engage in relaxing activities and spend Game Coins to enhance the relaxation experience and increase relaxation efficiency.】
Following this, the system interface added a display: 【Game Coins: 10】.
But Li Zheng wasn’t buying it.
It had taken so much effort to study this efficiently.
Why should I go play?
Are you a devil?
I just want to study.
He gritted his teeth and stared hard at the chemistry textbook.
CaCO3＋CO2＋H2O＝Ca2＋……＋……3￥%……#￥……
Pain—so painful!
Li Zheng clutched his scalp grimly, his thoughts in chaos.
He couldn’t absorb anything.
He squinted open one eye and forced himself to look at the latter half of the formula.
Ah…
Pain.
No good.
Even worse, he couldn’t recall the first half of the formula he’d just seen.
After struggling for a while, he had no choice but to close the chemistry book.
Only then did the headache gradually fade.
【Brain overload poses a risk of damage. Please maintain a balance of work and rest.】
【Please follow system guidance and engage in relaxing activities as soon as possible.】
Only then did Li Zheng understand—the system wasn’t a devil. It was just that his brain couldn’t handle such intense study yet.
Just like muscles, the brain also needed training.
And it needed to alternate between tension and relaxation—a balance of effort and rest.
No choice then—he’d resume chemistry tomorrow.
When Li Zheng packed his bag and got up, the other students were still working on problems.
But Li Zheng had already finished his homework.
He could feel it—this was the gap in realms.
Presumably, when Lin Yujing packed her bag in the past, she also felt this way.
But Li Zheng was not the same as Lin Yujing.
He wasn’t smug. He clearly knew he was just fortunate.
Faced with such favor from fate, he had to work doubly hard, so as not to fail Heaven’s blessing.
After greeting Hu Chunmei, Li Zheng slung his bag over his shoulder and left the classroom.
……
The corridor was empty—even the class duty students from other classes had left.
Occasionally, some clubs were still active. The basketball court, in particular, was packed.
But Li Zheng… was troubled over how to relax.
When it came to relaxation, he really had no experience. In the past, aside from studying, he pretty much only ate and slept.
Oh right—occasionally he watched cat videos.
Other than that, he really couldn’t think of anything fun.
Games? He didn’t want to touch them. To have a good experience and win required intense focus, which would undoubtedly interfere with studying.
Exercise? Same deal.
Everything else? Same deal.
After all, time was limited, while study was infinite.
Whatever he did would interrupt studying.
He might as well just sit somewhere and let his brain relax quickly.
Then… where should he sit?
Li Zheng quickly thought of the pavilion in the school garden.
That was the most suitable spot nearby for relaxation.
Mm, he would go meditate in the pavilion now.
Thinking about being able to restore Vitality Points and get back to studying sooner made him a little excited, and his steps quickened.
He jogged into the garden, stepped over the gravel, brushed aside the green leaves, and from afar, spotted the traditional-style wooden pavilion.
This place used to be sacred ground.
A hotspot for couples.
Whether it was the afternoon, after school, or during class breaks, there were always at least three couples meeting here.
Hugging and clinging, wasting study time—utterly indecent.
Later, the Dean of Students launched a crackdown.
Breaking up lovebirds, ten times a day.
After that, few people came anymore.
Now the garden was secluded and tranquil—perfect for relaxing.
But as Li Zheng reached the pavilion entrance, his face darkened.
Someone was already there.
A girl sat curled up on the bench, hugging her knees. Her ponytail was only half-tied, and the braid drooped sideways.
It was Lin Yujing.
Though her face wasn’t visible, Li Zheng recognized her black schoolbag.
The space shuttle pendant hanging from the zipper still bore the NASA logo.
Li Zheng was confused.
It was after school—shouldn’t she be hurrying home to do homework, then eat, then drill practice problems?
‘I’m here to relax. What’s she doing here?’
At that thought, Li Zheng’s eyes suddenly widened.
！
Lin Yujing must be relaxing too.
She always left so early—so it turned out she was rushing to claim this spot.
First relax thoroughly, then return home energized to study.
No wonder Lin Yujing’s study efficiency was higher than his.
How cunning.
Although Li Zheng didn’t compete for first place, with such good conditions for relaxing, there was no need for him to back off.
So he stepped leisurely onto the stone stairs.
Lin Yujing trembled slightly, as if she smelled something, then raised her head alertly.
When she saw it was Li Zheng, her already slightly red eyes became even redder.
She really did look unwell.
Before Li Zheng could ask, she lowered her head again and twisted her body slightly away from him, ignoring him.
Heh heh.
Li Zheng chuckled inwardly.
So it wasn’t that she felt unwell—she was mad.
‘I understand you. You have every reason to be upset.’
‘A precious relaxation spot, discovered by a classmate—very upsetting indeed.’
‘No worries, I won’t disturb you.’
He sat down on the bench farthest from Lin Yujing.
Leaning against a pillar, legs stretched out.
Eyes closed, relaxed, deep breathing.
Mm, felt pretty good.
【Detected relaxation activity: resting with eyes closed】
【Vitality recovery rate: 1.】
【Each minute of relaxation restores 1 minute of Vitality Points, up to 30 minutes per day.】
【Recovered Vitality Points will carry over to the next day.】
【Detection complete: resting with eyes closed cannot have its recovery rate boosted with Game Coins.】
【Please continue to seek other activities.】
Li Zheng frowned.
This recovery was way too slow, and only 30 minutes could be restored daily—what a waste of time. Might as well sleep.