Can following the rules be called rebirth?

Chapter 299, Section 297: A Math Problem of Borrowing Flowers to Offer to Buddha
In early winter in Wuhan, the chill felt like cotton wool soaked in water, clinging heavily to the air.

On the campus of Nanhu University, the plane trees have long since shed their leaves, their bare branches stretching towards the gray sky.

Students hurried along the road, their breath dissipating instantly in the cold wind, becoming the most common scene on the winter campus.

Final exams are approaching.

Zhong Yujun stood downstairs at the girls' dormitory, shuffling her feet to ward off the cold.

Today she wore a creamy white long down jacket with a brim of fluffy, soft fur trim, which made her already delicate face even more exquisite.

The hem of the down jacket is the drawstring of a fleece-lined sweatshirt and the edge of jeans, and on her feet are a pair of thick UGG snow boots, like two warm and sturdy little bear paws.

She carried a backpack filled with thick textbooks and notebooks, and at first glance, she exuded youthful energy.

The tall girl kept glancing towards the law school dormitory until a familiar figure came into view, at which point the corners of her mouth involuntarily turned up.

Zhou Mingyuan has arrived.

The man wore a duffle coat over his clothes; its crisp cut made him look even more composed than usual.

Underneath the coat was a light blue striped shirt, neatly buttoned at the collar.

What's most eye-catching is the chunky wool scarf around his neck. The stitches aren't particularly even, but they exude a kind of clumsy warmth.

It was Christmas time, and Zhong Yujun stayed up several nights, her fingers red from being pricked by knitting needles, to knit the gift herself.

"Sorry for the wait~"

Upon seeing Zhong Yujun, Zhou Ming waved from a distance and quickened his pace, his nose and ears turning slightly red from the cold.

"No no."

Zhong Yujun shook her head, her gaze falling on the scarf around his neck, a smile spreading across her eyes.

"Look at you, why are you running? Your scarf is all crooked."

She instinctively reached out to help him straighten the scarf, but her fingertips stopped abruptly just before touching the frayed fabric.

like
The scarf looks quite nice even when it's askew.

That damn man is even more handsome in winter than in summer.

Upon realizing this, Zhong Yujun blushed and awkwardly withdrew her hands, instead smoothing her wind-blown bangs.

Zhou Mingyuan noticed her little gesture and couldn't help but laugh.

He rewrap the scarf around himself, the soft touch enveloping his chin, and walked side by side with Bai Yueguang toward the South Academy.

The fallen leaves underfoot had already been swept away, leaving only the damp cement pavement.

Occasionally, sparrows, unafraid of the cold, hop around in the bare bushes, chirping merrily, adding a touch of vitality to the winter morning along with the hurried young college students.

For freshmen entering university, the atmosphere during their first final exam week is completely different.

Unlike the do-or-die atmosphere before the college entrance examination, it carries more of anxieties about the unknown and a test of self-management.

Freed from the meticulous planning and supervision of high school teachers, students have to take full control of their own review progress and strategies. This freedom, ironically, puts pressure on many freshmen.

Failing a course is like a Damocles' sword hanging over the minds of most freshmen.

It doesn't just mean that you might have to retake the exam or even repeat the course; it's also about face, scholarships, and an expectation for the start of your college life.

No one wants their first report card to be too bad.

Therefore, as the exam date approached, the usually somewhat lax campus atmosphere quietly changed.

In general education elective courses, there are noticeably more students engrossed in their textbooks for major courses.

The library and study rooms are always packed, with long queues forming before they even open.

The topics of late-night conversations in the dormitory have shifted from gossip and games to more focus on key points, difficult points, and the style of questions set by teachers.

An invisible string permeated the air, gently tugged by the words "exam week".

As a business administration student in the School of Management, Zhong Yujun finds mathematics courses to be a challenging and required course.

Especially advanced mathematics and linear algebra.

The abstract concepts and complex calculations in calculus gave her a headache.

Girls are always meticulous. This course has high credits, and failing it would have serious consequences, so Zhong Yuyun made a detailed study plan early on.

As for dragging Zhou Mingyuan to study together, it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing to do.

On the one hand, it's because their relationship is in a period of absolute growth; on the other hand...
She was a little worried about Zhou Mingyuan.

This guy hasn't been going to class at all for the past few months!

Exam week is just around the corner, and if I don't start studying now, I'm afraid I'll fail.

Of course, Zhou Mingyuan was happy to keep him company.

In his view, the most important thing about dating is the person, not the setting.

Although I was already very familiar with the legal theories, spending time with Zhong Yujun and secretly watching her wrinkle her nose, bite her pen, and struggle with math problems might have a unique kind of cuteness to me.

The South Academy is located in a quiet corner of the South Lake University campus. It is a six-story building that is quite old.

Compared to the modern design of the Twin Towers Library not far away, it is unassuming yet profound in its heritage.

Pushing open the door, a unique aroma of the study room wafts out.

The indoor heating was on full blast, instantly dispelling all the chill brought in from outside, and my glasses fogged up.

The lobby on the first floor is spacious and bright, furnished with sofas and coffee tables for people to take a short break.

The higher you go, the quieter the environment becomes.

Each floor has reading rooms and study areas of varying sizes.

Some areas are open spaces with long wooden desks and chairs neatly arranged, where students sit side by side, engrossed in their studies.

Some use tall bookshelves to divide the space into relatively independent small areas, forming semi-enclosed booths.

The most popular spot is the window seat, where natural light streams in, and you can look up and enjoy the view when you get tired of studying.

A distant view of a corner of the shimmering South Lake.

Even though it was morning, the South Academy was already about 70-80% full of students.

The air was filled with focus.

The rustling of pages turning, the soft scratching of pens on paper, the occasional suppressed cough, and the gentle hum of a laptop fan—the background music of final exams—entered my ears.

Everyone had a mountain of books and documents in front of them, and water bottles, power banks, and snacks were standard equipment.

A few minutes later, Zhong Yujun and Zhou Mingyuan found two adjacent spots in a corner by the window on the third floor.

This spot is backed by bookshelves, relatively quiet, and offers a good view.

The two quietly began their review.

Zhong Yujun first opened the advanced mathematics book, which made her feel like she was facing a formidable enemy. When she turned to the calculus chapter, her brows immediately furrowed.

She took out a draft paper, and the pen tip moved quickly across the paper, making a swishing sound.

The girl began working on the exercises, her expression shifting between confusion, sudden realization, and a new sense of bewilderment.

Occasionally, she would stop, stare at the complex formulas, and unconsciously bite the pen cap with her pearly teeth.

Zhou Mingyuan, sitting next to her, seemed much more relaxed.

He only had a copy of the Civil Code in his bag, the pages of which were brand new and looked like they hadn't been opened.

That's right.

Compared to the newly released Civil Code, Zhou Mingyuan still needs to revert to his memories and habits and recall what he said in 2014.

He read quickly and calmly, his nonchalant demeanor a stark contrast to Zhong Yujun beside him, who seemed to be wrestling with knowledge.

Time slipped away silently between the pen tip and the pages of the book. The sky outside the window seemed a little darker than before, and the heating hummed softly.

The textbook in front of Zhong Yujun was open on a certain page, on which a problem about calculus was circled in red pen.

She stared blankly at the fluorescent light tube on the ceiling, having been sitting there for over ten minutes pondering this problem.

The draft paper was densely covered with tentative calculations, with various partial derivative symbols and systems of equations intertwined, much like a tangled mess of yarn.

will not.

I just don't know!
The geometric concepts involved are somewhat abstract, and spatial imagination is required, which is precisely her weakness.

She could especially sense Zhou Mingyuan sitting next to her.
It seems like you don't need to use your brain at all.

The unhurried, calm aura he exuded only made people more agitated.

Why do humans need to learn mathematics?

Zhou Mingyuan was indeed reading the book slowly.

He picked up the thermos on the table, intending to have a drink of water and take a break.

Just as he tilted his head back to drink water, he caught a glimpse of Bai Yueguang's unusual behavior out of the corner of his eye.

She had been in that bitter, resentful pose staring at the problem for a long time, her fingers twisting a strand of hair hanging over her shoulder until it was almost braided.

Confused and pitiful.

Zhou Mingyuan chuckled inwardly, subtly adjusting his posture and pretending to read a book, but his gaze quickly swept over the calculation marks on Zhong Yujun's draft paper.

Partial derivatives.
Tangent equation
Normal plane.
Several keywords caught my eye.

Holy crap?
Science students, what is all this stuff? I don't understand it at all!
Even if he couldn't stand by and watch and wanted to help Zhong Yujun, he was powerless to do so.

However, there are always more solutions than problems.

A thought flashed through Zhou Mingyuan's mind like lightning.

Zhou Mingyuan picked up his phone and opened his WeChat chat with Gu Caiwei.

【save!】

【? 】

Gu Caiwei replied almost instantly.

[This question]

Throughout the process, he tilted the phone to his side, acting like an underground operative exchanging intelligence.

Fortunately, Gu Caiwei was very helpful.

Less than three minutes later, his phone vibrated.

Upon opening the message, the first thing I saw was a "That's it?" emoji from Gu Caiwei, filled with undisguised contempt.

Next came several more pictures sent in succession.

The first image is a clean photo of a draft paper, covered with clear solution steps written in neat yet strong handwriting.

From establishing the coordinate system to finding partial derivatives, substituting point coordinates, and listing the equations of the tangent and normal plane, each step is clearly organized, with key points marked in red to explain their geometric meaning.

The second one is the final answer, written very clearly.

The third one even included a short audio message.

Zhou Mingyuan tiptoed out of the earphones, put them in his ears, and the little princess's soft, teasing Wu dialect voice came through.

"How stupid of you! You can't even do this!"

"Do you not teach math in your law school?"

"I've highlighted the key points for you, so take a look yourself. Ask if you don't understand. Little Lychee and I are out shopping now~"

"."

It must be said that everyone has their own area of ​​expertise.

Gu Caiwei was, after all, a top student majoring in finance. She was not only smart but also had a good foundation, so solving this introductory advanced mathematics problem was a piece of cake for her.

EZ!
Despite being mocked, Zhou Mingyuan could only send a crying emoji back after seeing the incredibly detailed explanation on his phone.

Next, the man tore a blank sheet of paper from his notebook.

Pick up a pen, quickly copy the photo on your phone, and push it to the side of Zhong Yujun's open math book with your fingertips.

Zhong Yujun blinked, looked up, and took it.

The above is Zhou Mingyuan's clear and powerful handwriting.

"The key to this problem is understanding what the required tangent and normal plane actually correspond to in spatial geometry. Don't be intimidated by those symbols; we'll take it step by step."

On the draft paper, I drew a simple diagram of a three-dimensional coordinate system.

"Look, here's the equation of the surface and the coordinates of this point."

Eh?
What's going on? Zhou Mingyuan actually knows advanced mathematics?
Zhong Yujun immediately leaned closer and looked intently at his draft paper.

"Here, we're taking the partial derivative, which means finding the rate of change along the x-axis and y-axis at this point."

"Then we substitute the coordinates of this point to obtain these two tangent vectors."

"With the tangent vector, according to the knowledge of spatial geometry, the direction vector of the tangent is a linearly independent combination of them, and the normal vector of the normal plane can be obtained directly through the cross product."

He explained things clearly and simply, as if the question was something he could easily come up with from his own knowledge system.

Zhong Yujun followed his train of thought, her eyes growing brighter and brighter.

The previously obscure concepts and steps became clear under Zhou Mingyuan's explanation.

He pointed out the spot where she had been stuck, and everything became clear to her.

"Wow, I get it! So that's how it is!"

When Zhou Mingyuan wrote down the final answer, Zhong Yujun couldn't help but let out a soft gasp, a radiant smile of relief spreading across her face.

The gloom swept away.

"How come you even know advanced mathematics?"

"Don't you guys not study advanced mathematics?"

"Wait a minute, I remember your high school math grades."

Despite the quietness of the study room, Zhong Yujun couldn't hold back any longer.

She went out to get a cup of hot water first, then squatted down next to Zhou Mingyuan and asked him a series of questions in a low voice.

"."

However, the man didn't explain anything; he just smiled, his lips curving slightly and his eyes crinkling.

A meaningful smile.

snort!
Don’t tell me if you don’t want to!
Zhong Yujun pouted slightly, and without needing to say anything more, she immediately understood what he meant.

If even he can figure it out, it shouldn't be too difficult, right?
Could it be because I wasn't focused enough?

No, no, no!

She bit her pen, calmed herself down, and continued to immerse herself in the sea of ​​revision.

However, there seemed to be something subtle in the air, and I found myself glancing around more often in my spare time.

The companionship in a quiet space, the unspoken understanding, nourishes the quiet growth of feelings more than any straightforward words.

(End of this chapter)