Awakening Elementary School System in University
Chapter 15 - 14: You Look a Bit Familiar

Chapter 15: Chapter 14: You Look a Bit Familiar

In a small hotel near Yannan University, Chen Lin took off the headphones connected to his laptop and let out a long sigh.

He had only exchanged a few words with the client nicknamed "Phoenix Institute Xiong Zhen" when he got the feeling this job was almost certainly a done deal.

He wanted to avoid getting locked out by the dorm’s 11:30 PM curfew and also needed a completely quiet place where his roommates wouldn’t disturb him. So, he had decisively grabbed his laptop and headed straight for this small hotel next to campus.

He closed his eyes, carefully assessing the state of his mind.

There was a hint of fatigue, like he’d pulled an all-nighter studying. But it was nowhere near the intense, completely drained feeling he’d had last time when explaining the competition’s model algorithm to Shen Yan.

’Looks like my guess was right.’

The last time, when he was explaining things to Shen Yan, it had taken over three and a half hours of talking and calculating before he felt severely drained of energy.

This time, however, the entire problem-solving process was concentrated into an hour and a half, which his body could handle perfectly fine.

’Setting a three-hour limit for a single consultation seems about right.’

It now seemed that as long as the math problem didn’t involve cutting-edge theoretical research, using the "Little Mathematician" title wouldn’t completely drain his energy, provided he kept the sessions from running too long.

Feeling more confident now, Chen Lin quietly celebrated the successful launch of his new business’s first job. Then, a wave of drowsiness washed over him.

’Might as well. Early to bed, early to rise. Your health is the capital you need to make money.’

He took a hot shower, lay down on the hotel’s overly stiff single bed, scrolled through his phone for a bit, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

...

「The next day, a Tuesday.」

Chen Lin woke up early at eight in the morning.

When he returned to dorm room 406, Fatty Zhao was still in bed, letting out thunderous snores. Li the Monkey and Wang Tao’s beds were already empty; it seemed they had class this morning.

Chen Lin didn’t have class in the morning. After a quick wash-up, he headed straight for the library, planning to find a private study room to teach himself some programming.

His first consultation had been a wake-up call. In this day and age, if you wanted to apply mathematical ability in the real world, you needed programming to maximize its effectiveness.

He originally thought that if he sat in front of his computer, opened a Python Jupyter Notebook, and wrote "hello world," the system would pop up a message and grant him a "Little Programmer" title.

But after waiting a few minutes, nothing happened.

The silence in the study room was a little awkward.

"..."

The corner of Chen Lin’s mouth twitched.

’Looks like the system’s idea of a six-year-old is stuck ten years in the past. It isn’t up-to-date with the rat race at all. Nowadays, programming classes for toddlers are a huge industry.’

’A miscalculation.’

Chen Lin shook his head helplessly. His original programming skill was limited to just "print("hello world")".

’No way around it. Looks like I’ll have to learn from scratch the old-fashioned way.’

He closed his laptop, left the private study room, and headed for the bookshelves in the computer science section to find a basic introductory textbook.

On the third floor of the library, the computer science and art books were in the same general area.

Chen Lin walked up to the relevant shelf and looked up, searching for a book like *Python: From Beginner to Giving Up*... oh, no, wait, *From Beginner to Master*.

Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a girl with a graceful figure in a beige dress. She was standing on her tiptoes not far away, looking vexedly at the top shelf of the bookcase.

She was trying to get a thick, hardcover art book, but her fingertips were always just shy of the spine.

Right above the art book, a chubby orange-and-white cat was sprawled out, fast asleep. Its round body rose and fell slightly with each breath, the tip of its tail twitching lazily now and then.

The girl was clearly afraid of startling the Yannan University campus cat, so her movements were very gentle. Afraid of making too much noise, she tried and failed repeatedly.

Chen Lin walked over.

The girl heard his footsteps and turned to see him. Thinking he also wanted a book from this shelf, she reflexively turned back, about to mouth the words "Cat, be careful," but saw that Chen Lin had already stopped beside her.

He didn’t rush to grab a book. Instead, he reached out and gently scratched the campus cat’s chin with his index and middle fingers.

"PURRRR..."

The campus cat seemed to be enjoying it, letting out a series of contented purrs from its throat. It even tilted its head, offering the best spot to Chen Lin’s fingers.

Finally, it contentedly rolled over onto two books next to the art book, turning belly-up with all four paws in the air, exposing its soft stomach.

Immediately after, Chen Lin crouched slightly, then pushed off lightly with his feet, his head instantly clearing the top edge of the bookshelf.

Boosted by the incredible jumping power and coordination granted by the "Little Champion" title, his hang time looked exceptionally effortless and graceful.

He didn’t even need to use his full strength. While still in the air, he steadily hooked the thick art book with his fingertips and, using the momentum of his descent, smoothly retrieved it, landing it securely in his hands.

He handed the art book to the girl beside him, who was staring, a little stunned.

She wasn’t the cold and introverted type like Shen Yan. Instead, she was like the midsummer sun—generous and bright.

She took the art book, her face breaking into a highly infectious smile, her eyes curving into beautiful crescents.

"Hey, not bad moves. Thanks a lot."

Chen Lin recognized her.

She was a top beauty from the College of Arts, the lead singer of the school band—Yunqing. He’d heard her piano playing was also incredible.

He had caught a fleeting glimpse of her practicing her singing in the band’s rehearsal room once while running a milk tea delivery for some students from the College of Arts. Even back then, he thought she was dazzling.

"You’re welcome." Chen Lin nodded, preparing to turn and leave.

"Hey, wait a second," Yunqing called out to him. "You look kind of familiar. Have we met somewhere before?"

As she said this with a smile, she had already naturally pulled out her phone and opened her WeChat QR code screen. "Let’s add each other on WeChat. That way, if there’s something I can’t reach again, I can ask you for help."

Chen Lin was a little surprised.

’Even if that little maneuver of mine was pretty cool, and petting the cat was an endearing touch, isn’t this moving a little too fast? Are girls these days all this outgoing?’

’Oh, wait.’

’I remember now.’

’I still have the "Little Love Saint" passive ability active.’

’Never mind then.’

He calmly took out his phone and added Yunqing as a friend.

Just as they were about to say their goodbyes and Chen Lin was planning to go back to studying Python, Yunqing suddenly exclaimed, "Ah!" as if she’d remembered something.

"I know! I know why you look so familiar!"

Chen Lin: "?"

The corners of Yunqing’s mouth curled into a sly, playful smile. She leaned in a little closer and lowered her voice.

"Last weekend, a post on the campus forum blew up. It said that the great ice queen beauty from our Yan University Math Department, Shen Yan, was supposedly no longer single. She was seen strolling and chatting with a mysterious guy downstairs from the department building in the evening."

She blinked, her gaze sweeping over Chen Lin’s face and figure.

"You look an awful lot like the silhouette of the guy in that blurry photo."