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Chapter 6: The Inscrutable Wang Hao

As Lan Wei reminisced, Zhang’s father and the other three could almost see that tenacious teenager right before their eyes—the one who would rack his brain for an entire week to come up with problems, only for them to be solved by Wang Hao in less than five minutes, time and time again. “Later, I started going into the mountains only once every half a month, because the problems were getting harder and harder to find…” Lan Wei’s gaze drifted away, as if recalling his younger self. “But even the problems I collected over half a month still posed no challenge to the teacher. Eventually, I just stopped collecting them altogether… I went straight to university exam papers—the tough ones—and used the ready-made ones.” “And then?” This time it wasn’t Zhang Nan who spoke, but Zhang’s father. In his mind’s eye, he could picture Wang Hao completely disregarding the problems—no matter how many were presented, he solved them all. “As you’ve probably guessed, university-level problems were no challenge at all—not even graduate-level ones. Even some of the doctoral exam questions I found were too easy. You can imagine—I already knew the answers to all of them. But my teacher’s solutions weren’t exactly the same as the standard answers; in fact, some of his steps were even more streamlined. In the end, I had to admit that there really are geniuses in this world, and my teacher is one of them.” As Lan Wei spoke slowly, the four of them reflected on what he’d just said. None of them had imagined that Wang Hao had reached such a level—that he’d actually solved doctoral-level problems, and had done so a year ago. “All the problems in five minutes?” Zhang Xin asked, her face full of admiration. “None took more than five minutes, but there were some problems I didn’t understand… so the teacher’s explanations for those took a bit longer.” Lan Wei’s face flushed slightly, as if she were recalling the problems she’d found—problems where, even though she knew the answers and the solution process, she still couldn’t follow the teacher’s explanation. “Lan Wei, when did you get back?” Wang Hao’s voice suddenly rang out, immediately drawing the attention of all five of them. Only then did they realize they’d been so engrossed in the story that Wang Hao had already dismissed class. “Teacher, college summer break starts early… I came back as soon as it began,” Lan Wei said, stopping abruptly as she watched Wang Hao approach. Lan Wei looked at Wang Hao—who was even younger than he was—with a sense of gratitude. Wang Hao had taught him more than just academics; he had taught him how to be a good person. That was why, after returning home, he hadn’t gone anywhere else—he’d been helping out with the farm work every day. “Don’t call me ‘teacher’—I’m younger than you…” Wang Hao said with a sigh. He hadn’t failed to notice the initial provocation; at the time, his temper had flared, but no matter what questions the other person threw at him, he never turned them down and answered them all earnestly. In the end, he never would have imagined that Wang Hao would actually call him “teacher” outright. This person, who had been at odds with him for nearly a year, had actually made a special trip to the mountain village just as the college entrance exams were approaching to address him as “teacher.” He never could have imagined this… And no matter how he tried to stop it, it was no use; every time they met, the other person would call him “teacher”… “teacher.” “Teacher, once a teacher, always a teacher,” Lan Wei said earnestly. He had always been a stubborn person—otherwise, he wouldn’t have been at odds with Wang Hao for nearly a year. Over the course of that year, he had learned so much from Wang Hao… and drawn so much inspiration from him. In fact, he had long since come to regard Wang Hao as his teacher, much like the traditional master-disciple relationship of ancient times. At first, Lan Wei naturally had the words on the tip of his tongue but couldn’t bring himself to say them. It took three months of mental preparation before he finally called him “Teacher” as the college entrance exams approached. Once he’d spoken those first words, he realized it wasn’t as difficult as he’d imagined. The hardest part was taking that first step; afterward, the more he got to know Wang Hao, the more he was awed by his bottomless well of knowledge. After nearly a year of intellectual sparring, Lan Wei became the top student at Ganzhou City No. 1 High School—a distinction that still adorns the school’s Hall of Fame—and went on to become the top scorer in the college entrance exam for Xijiang Province. “Whatever you say…” Wang Hao smiled helplessly and turned to his parents, saying, “This is Lan Wei…” Before he could finish, Lan Wei interrupted him. “Teacher, I’ve already met my uncle and aunt. Come with me… My parents have probably got dinner ready by now. Let’s hurry back home.” With that, Lan Wei took Wang Hao by the arm and led him away. “I never would have thought there’d be such a beautiful mountain just a short distance from Ganzhou City.” “That’s true. If it weren’t for the class monitor, we never would have found it.” At that moment, on a hill not far from Wang Hao’s village, a crowd had gathered, marveling at the beauty of nature—the perfect blend of meadows and forests. “Fang Bing, how did you find such a beautiful spot here? This is practically a camper’s paradise.” Ma Ling stamped her foot on the soft grass and walked over to Fang Bing, who was gazing intently in one direction, asking curiously. “I stumbled upon it by accident…” Fang Bing smiled softly. He and Wang Hao had discovered this spot when they first ventured into the mountains. While the other hills were covered in towering trees, this one was unique—its entire summit was blanketed in soft, green grass. He had once camped here with Wang Hao; they’d set up camp on the grass and slept very comfortably that night. It was indeed, as Ma Ling had said, a camper’s paradise. “You’ve got to make sure everyone is careful. The college entrance exams are just a few days away—no one can take responsibility if something goes wrong.” Fang Bing thought for a moment. After all, this was camping in the wild, so he had to keep his classmates in check. Otherwise, if an accident occurred and they missed the exams, none of them could bear the responsibility. “Don’t worry… Our teacher was concerned about us, so she came along too.” Ma Ling nodded, understanding what Fang Bing meant. Like Wang Hao, he struck her as mature—though the mere thought of Wang Hao made her feel a bit annoyed. “What’s wrong?” Fang Bing noticed that Ma Ling seemed a little off and asked in confusion. “It’s that Wang Hao again. He’s driving me crazy…” Ma Ling said, her cheeks puffed out in frustration. “Maybe Wang Hao isn’t being antisocial; maybe he really does have something else going on…” Fang Bing tried to explain on Wang Hao’s behalf, but Ma Ling cut him off. “Don’t even mention it. I’ve seen right through Wang Hao ever since high school. He always has something come up whenever there’s a class activity. I really don’t understand why you get along with him.” After saying that, Ma Ling ignored Fang Bing and walked over to a patch of grass, where she began setting up the barbecue grill. It was nearly noon. According to their original plan, they were going to have barbecue for both lunch and dinner, wake up early tomorrow morning to watch the sunrise, then head down the mountain for a group meal at a restaurant at the foot of the mountain. Fang Bing, however, watched Ma Ling’s back, shook his head with a wry smile, and joined in to help. Wang Hao simply couldn’t resist Lan Wei’s invitation, so he went to her home. Everyone gathered around a round table, where Lan Wei’s father, Uncle Zhen, was talking nonstop about Wang Hao’s past. The four members of the Zhang family grew increasingly stunned as they listened, occasionally glancing at Wang Hao—their eyes all revealing a hint of admiration, while Zhang Xin and Zhang Nan’s gazes even betrayed a touch of adoration and pride. This young man, calmly eating his meal, had left them all deeply impressed—even Mr. and Mrs. Zhang were taken aback.