Awakening Elementary School System in University
Chapter 21 - 20: The Vindicated Liang Xiaodong

Chapter 21: Chapter 20: The Vindicated Liang Xiaodong

A top-tier high school in Shuixiang City, Jiangsu Province.

When the final bell rang, Liang Xiaodong walked out of the classroom, head held high and chest puffed out.

Today, he’d finally had a chance to feel proud of himself.

First, thanks to that seller from the online marketplace, he’d turned in his pop quiz for math before anyone else, right after the first afternoon period, earning stunned looks from his classmates.

Then, during the last period, the literature teacher had praised him effusively for scoring a 57 out of 60 on his monthly exam essay and spent nearly half the class analyzing just what made his piece, "My Academician Grandpa," so well-written.

While a few of the usually top-performing students were still hesitating, too scared to hand their papers to the math teacher standing at the classroom door, Liang Xiaodong shot his classmates a gloating look before leaving and bolting for the unlicensed internet cafe two streets away from school.

He had originally planned to play a couple rounds of Valorant, but since he felt like he was on a divine hot streak today, he figured he should reward himself with a few games of CS:GO instead.

An hour later, Liang Xiaodong quietly quit the game.

"How did I lose all the ’mama’ I saved up over a month of Valorant in just one hour of GO?"

He grumbled as he shut down the computer, then pulled out his phone to check the time—six-thirty.

’I hope Mom doesn’t get off work on time today, or I’m going to get an earful.’

...

In a villa complex within Shuixiang City’s industrial park.

Liang Xiaodong opened the door as quietly as possible, planning to sneak straight upstairs to his room.

"Liang Xiaodong!"

A roar like that of a lioness from the east stopped him in his tracks.

He turned his head to see his mother, Wang Huiru, sitting on the sofa with her arms crossed, a dark look on her face.

"Mom..." Liang Xiaodong instinctively felt a surge of panic.

But then he thought about it. ’I haven’t done anything wrong today.’

’The unlicensed internet cafe didn’t require an ID, and no one was smoking when I was there, so I don’t smell of cigarettes.’

’I even got praised by the teacher at school, and I was the first to turn in the math quiz.’

At that thought, his confidence returned.

"Where have you been? Why are you back so late?" Wang Huiru asked, her eyes narrowed.

"I was playing basketball with my friends at school," Liang Xiaodong lied without batting an eye. "I was in a good mood, so I played a little longer."

"In a good mood?" Wang Huiru sneered. "Because you were the first one to hand in your math quiz?"

Liang Xiaodong’s heart skipped a beat, but he quickly calmed himself.

’I already uninstalled the marketplace app. With my mom’s tech skills, there’s no way she could find out.’

"Yeah!" he said, feigning pride. "I was the first person in the whole class to finish!"

"And do you know what you scored?" Wang Huiru stood up and advanced on him step by step.

Liang Xiaodong subconsciously took a step back. "Wh-what was it?"

"You only got one fill-in-the-blank wrong and the last part of the final long-answer question," Wang Huiru said, her voice laced with danger. "You scored less than 100 on your last monthly math exam. How did you suddenly get so good?"

"It’s because I’ve been studying hard lately!" Liang Xiaodong argued, forcing himself to sound confident.

"Studying hard?" Wang Huiru scoffed. "Studying so hard you play video games every day? Studying so hard you copy all your homework?"

She suddenly raised her voice. "Tell me! Did you use an AI?"

This was exactly what Liang Xiaodong had prepared for.

"I didn’t use an AI!" Liang Xiaodong declared confidently. "Mom, if you don’t believe me, ask the teacher to send you a picture of my quiz. You can have an AI solve the problems. I guarantee the solutions for the long-answer questions will be completely different from what I wrote!"

Having said that, Liang Xiaodong breathed a silent sigh of relief.

’Good thing that seller I found this afternoon was a real math god. Not only was he lightning-fast, but his solutions for the long-answer questions were different from the so-called orthodox, ’royal road’ methods the teacher taught. They were much more concise and elegant.’

’Just to be safe, I even checked two of the long-answer questions with an AI, and the solutions it gave were indeed different from the seller’s.’

Hearing her son’s words, Wang Huiru wavered, unsure of what to believe.

But then she remembered how much of a slacker Liang Xiaodong usually was. Math was his worst subject; how could he suddenly have a breakthrough?

"Enough nonsense!" She postured as if she was about to strike him. "I’ll beat you first and we’ll talk later!"

Seeing things were about to get ugly, Liang Xiaodong turned and ran for it.

Just in the nick of time, the front door opened again.

An elderly man, leaning on a cane but with an upright posture and a vigorous spirit, walked in.

"Grandpa, save me!"

Liang Xiaodong was overjoyed, as if he’d just seen his savior. He darted behind his grandfather in a single bound.

"What’s all this?" Liang Tianshi set down his cane, looking at his fuming daughter-in-law and then at his precious grandson hiding behind him.

"Dad, stay out of this!" Wang Huiru was still furious. "This kid is definitely up to his old tricks again!"

Liang Tianshi was an academician of the National Academy of Sciences. He was known for his rigorous scholarship and was a formidable figure in the academic world, and he commanded great authority at home as well.

But when it came to his precious grandson, he doted on him completely—the type to fear he might drop if held in his hands, or melt if held in his mouth.

"The boy is still young, don’t be too harsh," Liang Tianshi said simply. His tone was calm, yet it carried an undeniable authority.

Wang Huiru opened her mouth, but in the end, didn’t dare say anything more.

"Where’s Liang Qing? Why isn’t he back yet?" Liang Tianshi asked.

"Working overtime," Wang Huiru said irritably.

"Hmph. A father who doesn’t even care about his own child." Liang Tianshi shook his head, then turned to Liang Xiaodong. "Come on, Grandpa will take you out to eat."

"Long live Grandpa!" Liang Xiaodong cheered.

Wang Huiru wanted to say something more, but seeing the non-negotiable expression on her father-in-law’s face, she could only sigh in resignation.

...

Liang Tianshi’s car was a low-profile black Audi A6.

Although his status and position could more than afford a better car, the old man had never liked to be ostentatious.

Inside the car, the grandfather and grandson sat together in the back seat. Liang Tianshi asked with a pleasant expression, "Xiaodong, what did you do to make your mother angry this time?"

Liang Xiaodong was especially close to his grandfather and held nothing back around him.

"Grandpa, let me tell you, I was amazing today!" he began, boasting. "The essay I wrote, ’My Academician Grandpa,’ got a 57! Out of 60!"

"Oh?" Liang Tianshi was amused. "What did you write? Tell me about it."

"I just wrote about you!" Liang Xiaodong said proudly. "I wrote about how you conduct your research, how you bring glory to the nation, how your students are all over the world... Even the literature teacher said it was deeply moving!"

"You little rascal!" Liang Tianshi roared with laughter. "I guess I haven’t spoiled you for nothing!"

After they finished laughing, Liang Xiaodong recounted the whole story about the math quiz from start to finish.

He included how he’d found the seller on the marketplace app, how the person had instantly solved the fill-in-the-blank questions, and how the solutions to the long-answer questions were different from what the teacher had taught.

After listening, Liang Tianshi didn’t scold him. Instead, he fell into deep thought.

After a long moment, he finally spoke. "Xiaodong, can you show Grandpa the solutions the seller gave you for the long-answer questions?"

"Sure!" Liang Xiaodong quickly pulled out his phone and searched through the "Recently Deleted" album. "I already deleted them, but I can still recover them."

Soon, he found the photos and handed the phone to his grandfather.

Liang Tianshi took a pair of reading glasses from his breast pocket, put them on carefully, and then took the phone.

The car fell silent, with only the faint hum of the engine.

Liang Xiaodong could vaguely sense it.

The highly respected old academician beside him, though his expression remained as calm as ever, had a breath that had become slightly uneven.

"Interesting..." Liang Tianshi muttered to himself. "This is genuinely interesting..."

He repeatedly examined the solutions to the problems, his finger zooming in and out on the screen, as if afraid to miss a single detail.

A full five minutes passed before he returned the phone to Liang Xiaodong.

"Grandpa, what is it?" Liang Xiaodong asked curiously.

Liang Tianshi didn’t answer directly, but first revealed an enigmatic smile.

"Let’s put it this way," Liang Tianshi said, choosing his words carefully. "The solutions for a few of these problems... it’s not that no one else could have thought of them. But the method he used for the second-to-last problem..."

"If he is, as you say, a sophomore in college, then his mathematical talent..."

Liang Tianshi thought for a moment, then asked, "Xiaodong, can you still contact this person?"

"I think so," Liang Xiaodong said, a little sheepishly. "I just have to reinstall the marketplace app."

"I see..." Liang Tianshi said, lost in thought.

The car stopped in front of a restaurant.

The grandfather and grandson got out of the car. Liang Xiaodong suddenly remembered something and asked, "Grandpa, don’t tell me you want to meet this seller?"

Liang Tianshi considered it for a moment, then just patted his grandson’s shoulder.

"Come on, let’s eat first. Grandpa will order your favorite sweet and sour pork ribs today."

"Grandpa’s the best!"

Watching his grandson jump for joy, a complex look flickered in Liang Tianshi’s eyes.

’A truly good seedling must endure wind and rain to grow into a towering tree.’

’However, if the opportunity arises, it might be interesting to keep an eye on him from the shadows. Witnessing the growth of a genius from start to finish... that would be quite a fascinating affair.’