The ninth day of January, the weather was bright and sunny—a rare and beautiful day.
It was the first day of school for the Young Talent Class at the experimental campus of Jingzhou De Ren Middle School.
The predecessor of De Ren Middle School was De Ren Hall, established by the Gu family over a century ago. Renowned for its exceptional faculty, the school boasts teachers who are all master’s and doctoral graduates from prestigious universities, making it indisputably the top-ranked high school in Jingzhou.
The Gu family has been dedicated to the field of educational research, nurturing countless outstanding individuals over decades. In its commitment to fostering future talents in scientific research, De Ren Middle School introduced the "Young Talent Program," aimed at selecting promising youths nationwide to form the Young Talent Class and nurture excellence.
The selection pathway for this program is through the prestigious CMO competition. This year, upon receiving notice from the organizing committee, the difficulty level of the competition was deliberately raised, making the gold medalists of this year’s CMO the entry benchmark for the Young Talent Class—limited to a total of twenty students.
Quality over quantity in talent.
The list of twenty students for the Young Talent Class had already been finalized, and notification letters were sent to their respective schools in the form of confidential missives.
As an experimental class, the Young Talent Class was situated in the newly built experimental campus of De Ren Middle School. Freshmen and sophomores would move there after the New Year, while seniors remained at the old campus until the next term.
Unlike ordinary high school students, those in the Young Talent Class enjoyed substantial resources thanks to De Ren Middle School’s deep pockets. A separate experimental teaching building was dedicated to them, spanning five floors. The second and third floors housed various specialized laboratories, including geography classrooms, second language faculty rooms equipped with state-of-the-art smart electronic whiteboards and projection systems, chemistry labs, biology labs, history classrooms, and a physics olympiad lab outfitted with the most advanced experimental instruments.
While academic professionalism was emphasized, the arts were equally prioritized. The fourth and fifth floors included calligraphy classrooms, traditional Chinese painting rooms, a mixed-media art room, and a dance studio.
Furthermore, the school paid special attention to students’ mental health education, providing a counselor’s office staffed by professional psychological teachers. The office was located next to the dance studio on the fifth floor.
The first floor comprised multimedia classrooms for daily lessons, equipped with high-definition laser projectors and sound consoles.
Students could choose between dormitory living or commuting. Dormitories were available in two-person or four-person arrangements, allowing students to decide based on their preferences.
At seven in the morning, students began arriving to register.
Yuan Tingfang stepped out of a private car and entered the school gate.
From the moment she entered the gate, signposts directed the incoming students for registration. She followed the signs and eventually arrived at the sports field.
At the center of the field, a simple canopy had been erected, with two tables beneath it. Sitting behind the tables were two individuals who looked like teachers.
A few students stood nearby. Yuan Tingfang thought their faces seemed familiar—they were fellow gold medalists from the CMO competition.
These people truly lived up to their reputation as academic elites. Their habit of reading seemed ingrained, as even now, they were squeezing in time to read books.
"Teacher, I’m here to register."
Yuan Tingfang handed over her student ID, identity card, and registration card.
After verifying her identity, the teacher returned the documents to her and pointed to the side: "Wait there for now."
Yuan Tingfang was a bit puzzled. What was going on?
Though the sun was out today, the weather in January hadn’t yet transitioned to spring, and the sports field was windy. Her carefully styled hair, attended to meticulously that morning, soon became disheveled.
Feeling frustrated, Yuan Tingfang walked to the side, where a boy with a baby face greeted her cheerfully.
"We meet again. Do you still remember me?"
Yuan Tingfang forced a smile. "Your last name’s Cheng, right? I remember you."
Cheng Xuyuan’s eyes lit up. "Hello, hello! I’m Cheng Xuyuan. We’ll be classmates from now on—please take care of me!"
Yuan Tingfang politely nodded. "Please take care of me too."
She scanned the crowd but failed to spot Gu Bichen, feeling a bit disappointed.
She had arrived early.
Not long after, Leng Yunyang and Gu Bichen walked over one after another.
A ripple of excitement ran through the crowd.
Nearly all those who had made it here were extraordinarily gifted yet donned thick glasses on their noses. Few had the confidence to admit they were in puberty without a pimple or two on their face. Bookworm tendencies ran deep, with many oblivious to anything beyond their scholarly pursuits, exuding an almost unpretentious, rustic charm—or, to put it bluntly, an air of nerdiness.
Leng Yunyang and Gu Bichen were practically "outliers" among this group of young scholars.
Clean-cut, refreshingly handsome, and devoid of even a trace of nerdiness, their expressions brimmed with lively, intelligent energy.
Yuan Tingfang felt her irritation, accumulated from braving the cold wind all morning, instantly dissipate upon seeing these two strikingly handsome young men.