The Little Brat's Sweet And Sassy Chapter 1245 - Side Story 24: Sweet
Previously on The Little Brat's Sweet And Sassy...
1245 Side Story 24: Sweetness
Room 306, Comprehensive Building, Xijing University.
The scheduled subject for today was an undergraduate lecture on thermodynamics and statistical physics.
Usually, this course barely saw sixty percent attendance, yet today, every single seat in the hall was occupied.
Small clusters of students whispered among themselves, their faces alight with poorly concealed excitement.
Their regular professor had fallen ill and required surgery, leading to Shen Zhijin filling in for the past two weeks.
Following his debut in the previous session, news of his presence had swept through Xijing University like a wildfire.
Consequently, despite it being only their second session, the lecture hall was packed as soon as word spread.
As the bell rang, Shen Zhijin made his entrance.
Though clearly young, he possessed a distinct, commanding composure. The mere sight of him standing there was enough to make the entire room fall into an instinctive silence.
His handsome, elegant features made him inherently captivating.
Many of the young women present made little effort to mask their admiration.
Shen Zhijin stood motionless at the podium, his gaze sweeping across the rows of students.
He carried no textbooks, holding only an attendance sheet.
However... it seemed there was little need to call out names.
He dived straight into his lecture.
At that moment, a figure slipped in through the rear entrance.
Recognizing the familiar small backpack, Shen Zhijin’s lesson momentarily faltered.
The rest of the room remained oblivious to the cause of his sudden pause, though many were on the verge of tears.
They wondered if this academic prodigy was finally taking pity on them, offering a breather to digest his complex lesson.
Gu Tingyin eventually found a spot, though it was wedged between two other students.
She gently tapped the shoulder of the person in front, whispering, “Excuse me? Classmate?”
The young man had been intently focused on the blackboard, and the interruption left him visibly irritated.
Yet, the moment he turned, he was met with a beautiful, delicate face.
His expression froze, his annoyance vanishing as he stared at her briefly in a daze.
Gu Tingyin offered an apologetic grin.
“Would you mind letting me squeeze in?”
The boy scrambled to regain his composure, his face flushing crimson.
Eager to be helpful, he slid over a seat to give her the spot by the aisle.
A moment later, Shen Zhijin watched as she stowed her bag and beamed at the young man beside her, seemingly offering her thanks.
With a flicker of restraint, Shen Zhijin rapped his fingers against the podium.
The sharp sound cut through the quiet room, drawing every pair of eyes back to him.
“Are you finished copying the blackboard?” he prompted. “We shall move on to the thermodynamics of magnetic fields now.”
The room erupted in silent shock.
That... that fast?
A voice piped up, trembling slightly: “Senior Shen, aren’t we supposed to be covering the full differential of the Gibbs function today?”
“That specific section typically spans more than a single lecture.”
Shen Zhijin glanced at the clock displayed at the back of the auditorium.
“I will provide five more minutes.”
Without further debate, everyone fell back into a frantic rhythm of jotting down notes.
The students enrolled in the Physics Department at Xijing University were the crème de la crème, naturally.
Even so, the yawning gap between a top-tier student and a true academic god was undeniable.
Shen Zhijin’s instructional speed was as efficient as it was ruthless.
Most students struggled to grasp his line of reasoning in real-time, forced to transcribe everything and attempt to decipher it later.
Today was particularly intense.
He was the only one capable of such an outrageous feat: condensing two weeks of standard curriculum into a single session.
Gu Tingyin instinctively leaned away as she watched the boy next to her writing with such ferocity that his pen seemed destined to snap.
How... absolutely brutal.
Fortunately, she was only there to audit the class.
Still, feeling the need to mirror the seriousness of her peers, she retrieved her notebook and began to copy notes as well.
Shen Zhijin lingered his gaze on her for a moment.
It was likely her first time attending this lecture, yet she was so absorbed in her writing that she hadn’t glanced toward the podium once.
The five minutes flew by in an instant.
Shen Zhijin pulled his focus back, pressing ahead with the lesson.
By the conclusion, most of the students looked dazed.
Struggling through Shen Zhijin’s class was a bittersweet blend of agony and enlightenment.
As Gu Tingyin prepared to stand up, she noticed a tall girl approaching the podium.
“Senior Shen, I didn’t quite follow your explanation earlier. Could you clarify it for me?”
She held out a book, her eyes fixed entirely on Shen Zhijin.
Gu Tingyin’s mood dampened instantly.
Shen Zhijin lowered his gaze.
“Which part?”
The girl beamed, eagerly pointing to a spot on the page.
Gu Tingyin clutched her notebook tightly.
The distance made it impossible to catch their conversation, though she suspected it would have been just as unintelligible to her regardless.
Shen Zhijin spoke in low, measured tones, prompting the girl to nod repeatedly.
Gu Tingyin hung her head, staring at her own notes, and slumped against the table.
She had once believed simply attending his class to catch a glimpse of him was enough to make her happy.
Yet, seeing others engage him on topics she struggled to comprehend, she felt a profound wall emerging between them.
She was deflated once more.
This distance couldn't be bridged merely by watching from afar.
She didn't even possess the knowledge to pose a question.
Once finished, Shen Zhijin looked up, surprised to see she hadn't approached him. Instead, she remained slumped in her seat, fiddling with the white pony charm on her bag, her demeanor entirely dejected.
He stepped toward her, intent on closing the gap.
Seeing him head away, the girl hesitated, blurting out, “Senior Shen, can you repeat the section on entropy confirmation? I…”
Shen Zhijin turned his head, his voice remaining cool and detached.
“I have already reviewed that material twice. If it remains unclear, perhaps Physics is not your strength. You might consider switching majors.”
The girl hadn't anticipated such a blunt dismissal, and her face went scarlet.
Other students who had been queuing up to ask their own questions quickly retreated.
It was clear that attempting to flirt by asking questions was not only futile but effectively branded them as hopeless slackers in the eyes of the master.
The hall slowly cleared as the students dispersed.
Gu Tingyin heard footsteps nearing.
“Why are you still here?”
Shen Zhijin asked as he pulled up a seat beside her.
Gu Tingyin straightened and looked up.
That was when he caught the unmistakable expression of grievance on her face.
He hesitated, a trace of softness coloring his voice that he wasn't even aware of.
“What is the matter?”
“I don’t understand any of this either…” she whispered.
Shen Zhijin’s eyes drifted to the notebook spread out before her.
It was tidy and beautiful.
Aside from a few inaccurately copied formulas, it was quite well-done.
“Which part is confusing?”
Gu Tingyin hesitated, uncertain. Seeing he was genuinely willing to help, she pointed to a passage.
Shen Zhijin squinted at it.
“That is the full differential form of internal energy. During an exam, simple rote memorization and direct insertion of the value will suffice.”
“...”
Her hand fell away, discouraged.
“And here, that is the basic thermodynamic equation used when disregarding volume fluctuations in a magnetic medium.”
“...”
She briefly regretted the effort she’d put into copying the blackboard.
“Do you still find it unclear?”
Shen Zhijin probed.
She blushed deeply.
While the other girl had managed to stumble through a question, Gu Tingyin found herself utterly unable to articulate her confusion.
Checking the clock once more, Shen Zhijin took a seat right at her desk.
“I have no further classes, though I must reach the laboratory by six for experiment preparations.”
He looked at her. “What else is unclear?”
Gu Tingyin’s eyes widened.
Did this mean his remaining time today was reserved for her?
Silence met his question, so he gently reached over and took her pen.
“Have you covered the first law of thermodynamics yet?”
She flashed him a hesitant, light cough.
“I have heard of it.”
Shen Zhijin paused, setting the pen back down.
“Commonly known as the law of conservation of energy. It implies that total energy in a closed system remains constant.
“Energy is never created, nor is it destroyed. It simply transitions between forms or transfers between objects, while the sum total remains unchanging. This stands as a universal law of nature.