“Phase one, the basics. Previewing is essential, and my definition of previewing is essentially teaching yourself the material from scratch. Whether it’s online courses or grinding through the textbook on your own, that step is non-negotiable.”
This advice was useless for Yun Buran, who was already in review, but Su Nian’s goal was never just to boost her test scores.
“High school goes a lot deeper than you think, so after previewing, you still need to follow the teacher’s pace solidly. Otherwise, by senior year, you’ll end up with shallow understanding and miss cold, basic questions.”
Yun Buran let out an embarrassed murmur. ‘That’s exactly my problem.’
“Phase two, proficiency. That means a lot of mid-level problems and a few tough ones to reinforce what you’ve learned. Don’t try to cut corners. For example, with conic sections, do all the heavy calculation the hard way—no secondary conclusions. A lot of people chase quick wins at this stage, learning all kinds of fancy tricks, and end up putting the cart before the horse.”
Yun Buran knew plenty of guys in class who, when discussing problems, spouted obscure methods they’d picked up outside class. Some of them were really good, but she wasn’t in their league. As for herself, she’d only jotted down a few secondary conclusions from the teacher and rarely used them, so she wasn’t at risk of “going down the wrong path.”
“Phase three, advanced. You need to make sure you can consistently score 130+ on every paper using the simplest, most straightforward methods—even if they’re just ‘dumb’ brute force. Only then do you qualify to aim higher.”
“After that, you should strive to use secondary conclusions as naturally as breathing. You need deeper understanding, multiple solution methods, and the principles behind lightning-fast solves. You’ll have to summarize a ton of stuff, maybe even learn some competition math or college content. But I’ll prepare that for you.”
“What about biology and chemistry?”
“Those two subjects are separated from math and physics because their exam requirements emphasize breadth over depth. If you’ve thoroughly mastered the textbooks, that’s enough.”
Even though Su Nian hadn’t taken the Biology Olympiad among the Five Major Olympiads, as a Chemistry Olympiad student who consistently scored 90+ on biology in the Gaokao, he still had a say.
“Now it’s your turn, smart Miss Yun Buran. What are you going to do?”
Su Nian dropped his serious tone and gave Yun Buran a bright smile.
Yun Buran blushed even deeper, but she started thinking hard.
“I think my math foundation is pretty solid. It’s mostly that I can’t solve the hard problems, which wastes time and affects my mindset, leading to deductions on the medium-difficulty parts.”
“For physics, I can’t do the final tough problems, and I have a lot of issues with basic concepts.”
“For biology and chemistry, I’m pretty confident.”
Yun Buran’s voice carried more conviction here, because her notebooks for those two subjects were thick, and she had them memorized cold.
“Can you consistently get 98+ on those two subjects after the weighted scoring?”
Su Nian chuckled, making Yun Buran choke on her words.
“So, reflection-prone Miss Yun Buran, what do you plan to do?”
“You’re so full of psychological hints. Are you sure you’re not a demon?”
The kitten on her shoulder muttered, but no one paid her any attention.
“I plan to reorganize a math notebook—write down my insights and categorize more efficient problem-solving methods. For physics, I’ll reread the textbook and buy a problem set to grind tough questions and improve my speed.”
After thinking, Yun Buran spoke in a rushed tone, then looked at Su Nian expectantly.
“Great! Starting tomorrow, you can shift focus to your plan. Use class time too—only listen when the teacher covers your weak points. For homework, only do the question types where you lose the most points.”
“As a reward for thinking, I’ll give you my notebook tomorrow. There are too many secondary conclusions—too messy—so you can organize and understand them by comparing with mine.”
“Don’t bother with the physics textbook either. I’ll bring you a set of intro competition materials tomorrow. And no need to buy a problem set—I’ll print out the tough questions from the last twenty years of Gaokao exams and give them to you.”
Su Nian spoke with a warm, gentle smile.
“He basically shot down all her plans.”
Xiali couldn’t help but complain. Even though she was on their side, she often felt like siding with Yun Buran.
Yun Buran’s eyes sparkled. Su Nian’s encouragement and care touched her deeply.
And she also realized something important: tomorrow was the weekend. Su Nian would come to her house and stay with her all day!
“What about the other two subjects?”
“I’ve decided…”
Yun Buran couldn’t wait to speak, but Su Nian cut her off.
“Silly girl, remember to make trade-offs. Since you think those two are fine, leave them for now—just maintain basic schoolwork. But that willingness to work hard is commendable.”
Su Nian nodded in satisfaction as he said this.
“Then… what time will you come tomorrow?”
Yun Buran was already lost in fantasy about tomorrow, barely able to focus on the academic talk.
“After lunch.”
The boy’s answer shattered her expectations.
“Huh? So you’re leaving before dinner?”
Yun Buran asked quickly, panicking. She knew that at times like this, he would push her away again.
“Pfft.”
Su Nian laughed heartily, his eyes softening as he stared at the screen. He spoke softly.
“If tomorrow goes really well, I’ll make you a delicious dinner.”
“Mm.”
Su Nian didn’t say he’d eat dinner with her. The first time he’d been to Yun Buran’s house, he confirmed from looking at the kitchen that she definitely couldn’t cook.
“You’re home now. Good night.”
Su Nian hung up directly. He wasn’t the type to politely wait for the other person to end the call—no opposite-sex person had ever dared to hang up on him first. Besides, the girl on the screen was gazing at him longingly.
Yun Buran clutched her phone, feeling a sense of loss. The earlier emptiness surged back, but it no longer hurt as much—she was now full of anticipation for life.
She threw herself onto the bed and eagerly opened her photo album. She had secretly taken many screenshots just now. Did that count as a picture of them together?
These little maidenly thoughts kept her awake all night.
“Bad man. You’re deliberately seducing her.”
Xiali sneered coldly.
Su Nian wordlessly gave her a light tap.
“You’re the one who pushed me to win her over. Now you’re not happy?”
“Ha! Didn’t you say you wanted to keep it innocent and not take responsibility?”
Xiali jumped down from his lap, hissing as she headed straight for Su Nian’s bedding.
“I do things to be clear with my conscience. As long as I can help her build her own personality, what does it matter if I’m her motivation for a while? Besides, I’m not obligated to take responsibility for girls who fall for me just because of my looks.”
Su Nian spoke as he changed clothes and stepped onto the yoga mat.
“So you think she’s only after your body right now?”
Haki Xiali had already lazily torn open a bag of snacks and was lying on the bed, watching Su Nian prepare for crunches.
“Fifty-fifty. If someone else did exactly the same things, she’d definitely have feelings too, but she wouldn’t fall this fast.”
Su Nian got up again and tossed the cat off the bed. He really hated when people ate on his bed—even if it was a cat.
Xiali flailed in the air as he was grabbed by the scruff, then dropped to the floor. He hissed in annoyance but had no choice but to lie on the ground and eat. Even the floor was spotless—this man kept everything clean.
“And I’ve already decided. It’s hard to help fill her void without getting into her heart, so let me be the last scar before she transforms.”
After saying that, Su Nian frowned. He realized that ever since Xiali showed up, the frequency of his cleaning had skyrocketed.
But he calmly started doing crunches.
“Heh, classic player.”
Xiali taunted, tossing aside the empty chips bag and opening a new one.
“Damn cat, I’ve been putting up with you long enough!”
“Huh? This cucumber flavor is disgusting!”