Rejecting Tsinghua and Peking Universities: I Will Lead Harbin Institute of Technology to World Lead

On Monday morning, the bulletin board of the School of Mechanical Engineering at Harbin Institute of Technology was crowded with people.

"Look, the class schedule has been updated!"

"Class 3(1)... Lin Feng? That Lin Feng is back?"

"Which Lin Feng? Wait, could it be the top scorer in the college entrance exam three years ago?"

The news spread like wildfire. Three years ago, Harbin Institute of Technology welcomed its youngest perfect scorer in its history, but he mysteriously disappeared after the opening ceremony, becoming a campus legend. Now, the legend has suddenly returned, naturally causing a sensation.

Eight o'clock in the morning, classroom 308 of the third teaching building.

When Lin Feng pushed open the back door and walked in, the previously noisy classroom instantly fell silent. More than thirty pairs of eyes turned to him, some with curiosity, some with surprise, and some with scrutiny.

He calmly walked to the empty seat in the back row, sat down, and took out his textbook from his backpack.

A hushed discussion came from the front row:

"It really is him..."

"He disappeared for three years, and now he's back?"

"What's the point of coming back now? You've already fallen so far behind in your studies..."

Zhao Xiao, the boy with black-rimmed glasses sitting in the middle of the classroom, had a livid face. He recalled the conversation at the small restaurant three days ago, and his own mockery of Lin Feng. His hand gripping the pen tightened unconsciously.

"So what if he's the top scorer in the college entrance exam?" he sneered inwardly. "He disappeared for three years and has long fallen behind in his studies. Now that he's back, he's nothing but a joke."

The school bell rang.

The teacher of "Principles of Mechanical Design" walked into the classroom. He was an elderly professor with gray hair. He pushed up his glasses, flipped through the class roster, and his gaze swept over the whole class before finally settling on Lin Feng.

"We have a new student today," the old professor said calmly. "Lin Feng, now that you're back, make sure you catch up."

He paused, then suddenly said, "Chapter 3, Section 2, Efficiency Calculation of Mechanical Transmission Systems. Lin Feng, could you explain the formula derivation?"

A low gasp filled the classroom. This was material that had just been taught last week, but for a student who had missed three years, it was like reading gibberish.

Zhao Xiao's lips curled into a smug smile, waiting to see Lin Feng make a fool of himself.

Zhang Haohan and Qin Feng turned their heads at the same time, looking at the back row with concern.

Lin Feng stood up, without flipping through the book or hesitating: "Mechanical transmission efficiency η = (P_out / P_in) × 100%. Where P_out is the output power and P_in is the input power. For gear transmissions, meshing losses, bearing friction losses, and churning losses also need to be considered..."

His voice was clear and steady, and he spoke fluently and smoothly, from basic formulas to complex derivations, and then to correction coefficients in practical applications.

Finally, he added, "However, the formula in the textbook is a simplified version based on an ideal model. In actual engineering, if we consider the effect of temperature on the viscosity of lubricating oil, we also need to introduce the temperature correction coefficient η_temp = 1 - α(T - T_0), where α is the coefficient of thermal expansion of the material."

The classroom was completely silent.

The old professor's hand, which was adjusting his glasses, froze in mid-air, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes. This correction factor was something that only came up at the graduate level.

"Sit down," the old professor finally said. "You answered very well."

Lin Feng sat down, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over Zhao Xiao. Their eyes met briefly in mid-air, and Zhao Xiao hurriedly looked away, her face extremely pale.

This is just the beginning.

For the next three days, Lin Feng was called on by teachers in almost every class. Some were well-intentioned curiosity, while others were deliberate tests.

In the course "Mechanics of Materials," the teacher asked, "What are the distribution rules of the bending normal stress in a beam?"

Lin Feng answered, while also pointing out the limitations of a certain simplified assumption in the textbook.

In the course "Fundamentals of Control Engineering," the teacher asked, "What are the functions of each parameter in a PID controller?"

Lin Feng not only answered the question, but also gave parameter tuning suggestions for three different working conditions.

In the course "Electrical Engineering and Electronics," the teacher asked, "What are the starting methods for a three-phase asynchronous motor?"

Lin Feng listed five methods and compared their respective advantages, disadvantages, and application scenarios.

Every answer was perfect and impeccable.

With each answer, Zhao Xiao's expression grew increasingly grim.

By Thursday afternoon, Zhao Xiao finally couldn't sit still any longer.

As soon as the bell rang, he abruptly stood up and strode over to Lin Feng. The students who hadn't left yet all stopped in their tracks, and the air suddenly became tense.

"Lin Feng." Zhao Xiao's voice trembled slightly, whether from anger or nervousness, it was hard to tell. "Do you dare to have a match?"

Lin Feng was tidying up his books when he heard this. He looked up, his gaze calm: "What are we competing in?"

"Academics," Zhao Xiao gritted her teeth, "It's a competition of all the major courses this semester. The loser... the loser will walk with their head down in class from now on!"

A low gasp rippled through the classroom.

Zhang Haohan and Qin Feng stood up simultaneously: "Zhao Xiao, what do you mean?"

Lin Feng raised his hand to stop them. He looked at Zhao Xiao for a long time, until fine beads of sweat appeared on Zhao Xiao's forehead.

"I have only one condition," Lin Feng finally spoke, his voice not loud, but clear enough for the entire classroom to hear, "I won. Don't come looking for trouble with me again. Otherwise..."

He didn't continue.

But a sharp glint in those calm eyes sent a chill down Zhao Xiao's spine.

"Okay!" Zhao Xiao agreed reluctantly. "You decide the time and place!"

"Right now." Lin Feng closed his backpack. "Third floor of the library, the innermost table in the study area. Professor Li, please be the referee."

The professor of "Principles of Mechanical Design," who had just been called out, stopped at the door upon hearing this, adjusted his glasses, and said, "Alright, I'll be the referee."

The news spread like wildfire.

When Lin Feng and Zhao Xiao arrived at the library, a large number of students who had come after hearing the news had already gathered in the study area on the third floor. Professor Li sat in the middle, with two sets of test papers in front of him—professional test questions that he had temporarily drawn from the question bank.

"Two hours." Professor Li glanced at his watch. "Let's begin."

The sound of the pen tip slicing across the paper filled the air.

Zhao Xiao wrote very quickly, sweat beading on her forehead, which she frequently wiped with her sleeve. This set of questions was far more difficult than her usual homework, and many questions required the integrated application of knowledge from multiple courses.

Lin Feng wrote with great ease.

He even had time to draw diagrams on draft paper and mark key steps. Occasionally, he would pause to think, but only for a few seconds.

After one hour and forty minutes, Lin Feng put down his pen.

Two hours later, Zhao Xiao also stopped writing, her face pale.

Professor Li reviewed it on the spot.

Zhao Xiao's test paper: 78 points.

Lin Feng's test paper: 97 points.

Moreover, the 3 points were deducted because the standard answer to a question itself was flawed. Although Lin Feng's solution was more reasonable, it did not meet the "textbook requirements".

"The outcome is decided." Professor Li took off his glasses, looked at Zhao Xiao, and asked, "Anything else to say?"

Zhao Xiao's lips trembled as she tried to say something, but in the end she just lowered her head deeply and squeezed out, "I lost."

He grabbed his bag and rushed out of the library without looking back.

The students watching whispered among themselves, their gazes towards Lin Feng now filled with awe.

Lin Feng simply packed his things calmly, as if everything that had just happened had nothing to do with him.

"You knew you would win all along?" Qin Feng couldn't help but ask as they left the library.

Lin Feng smiled but did not answer.

Some gaps cannot be bridged by hard work alone. His experiences over the past three years have already broadened his horizons and expanded his thinking to another level. The content of university courses is indeed too simple for him.

But I can't say that.

He simply patted Qin Feng on the shoulder: "Let's go, there's a basketball game tomorrow."