Chapter Ten: The First Display of Power

My Rebirth Legend

Professor Ren, of course, noticed the audacious student who dared to fall asleep during the very first class of the semester. From the attendance sheet, he knew I was a self-funded student, which only served to heighten his annoyance—he considered me a hopeless case, an incorrigible child. Never before had he encountered someone bold enough to sleep in his class, and his aged face gradually darkened, his furious gaze sweeping over to me again and again.

At first, Su Xin didn’t understand why Professor Ren kept looking in our direction, but soon she realized the culprit was none other than her desk-mate, who had unexpectedly drifted off into a deep sleep. Startled and anxious, she hurriedly nudged my arm under the desk, trying to wake me up. As for me, I had no idea who Professor Ren was, nor did I intend to sleep during class; it was simply that sleep had overtaken my mind, and I was helpless against it.

Half-awake, I felt someone pushing me repeatedly. Still under the impression I was lying in my own bed at home, I thought, “If I can’t provoke them, at least I can hide,” so I simply turned my body and continued sleeping, now leaning against the wall. At this, Professor Ren could no longer contain himself. His face a thundercloud, he slammed his textbook down on the desk with a resounding thud.

"Third row from the back, by the window—the male student, stand up!" he demanded, voice low with suppressed anger. Seeing I made no response, he lost all composure, scanned the roll sheet, and roared, "Student number 040, Xiao Qiang, stand up and answer the question!"

The outburst finally made Su Xin panic. In desperation, she pinched me hard at the waist, the pain waking me with a jolt. Still groggy, the first thing I saw was Su Xin’s anxious, embarrassed expression, her eyes signaling me toward the lectern. Instinctively, I glanced toward the front—only to find an elderly man on the verge of erupting, glaring at me with barely restrained fury.

"What are you standing there for? Answer the question!" Su Xin whispered urgently. I hurriedly stood, only to realize—I had no idea what question I was supposed to answer.

"Hmph, Xiao Qiang, you’re in a fine mood. While your classmates are diligently studying, you’re daydreaming on the very first day? Is it that your family has too much money to burn, or do you think your parents’ money isn’t money at all? As a self-funded student, you should be working even harder to make their sacrifices worthwhile!" Professor Ren scoffed, pointing to a trigonometry problem he’d written on the blackboard. "Since you’re apparently so gifted, come up and solve this."

"Professor Ren, you want him to solve a problem? Forget it. He’d be lucky to recognize a triangle, let alone handle trigonometry," scoffed Xia Jianren, adding fuel to the fire.

I felt a bit embarrassed—after all, dozing off in class is hardly respectful to the teacher. But seeing Professor Ren side with Xia Jianren, looking down on self-funded students, that was too much to bear. Swallowing my anger, I strolled lazily to the lectern and studied the problem. Really? This was ridiculously simple—almost an insult to my intelligence. I let the chalk fall from my raised hand and asked Professor Ren, with a wry smile, "Sir, may I skip answering?"

"No!" Professor Ren barked, his refusal drawing laughter from the whole class. Xia Jianren laughed even more loudly, glancing at Su Xin as if to show off. Professor Ren, worried the laughter would disrupt neighboring classes, snapped, "What’s so funny? If anyone else thinks they can solve this, come up and try."

The classroom fell silent. After all, high school math was a whole new world compared to middle school, and this was only the first day—trigonometry had just been introduced. Who would dare assert their confidence? Volunteering would be sheer folly.

Resigned, I shrugged. Since the teacher insisted, I could hardly refuse. Picking up the chalk, I began to write, filling the board with a cascade of formulas. In just a few minutes, I’d made it halfway through. At first, Professor Ren assumed I wouldn’t even know where to start, but as he watched the ease and fluency of my writing, surprise overtook his face. Then, I frowned and, without hesitation, erased everything I’d written so far. Professor Ren sneered inwardly, thinking, "Just as I thought—he’s out of his depth."

But to his utter astonishment, I immediately began writing again, this time with even greater speed. Now, as he scrutinized my work, he was nearly struck with a heart attack. Only then did he realize: what I’d written first were only standard high school formulas, but now I was using advanced geometric functions—something taught only at the university level! What did this mean? It meant I’d already mastered knowledge far beyond the curriculum.

I was oblivious to Professor Ren’s astonishment behind me. Before I knew it, I’d filled the entire blackboard, and finally, with a rueful smile, I turned and said, "Sir, if I keep going, this problem might have three distinct solutions—and I’m afraid there’s not enough space left on the blackboard..."

"Ah? Oh, yes, that’s quite enough—you don’t need to continue. I can see you know how to solve the problem. Go back to your seat," Professor Ren replied, doing his best to conceal his amazement, waving me off with a trembling hand. I nodded, dusted the chalk from my hands, and wandered back to my desk.

"Um... Xiao Qiang—cough, cough—Xiao Qiang," Professor Ren called to me just as I reached Su Xin’s side. I turned, puzzled, and heard him say, "In the future, you’re free to sleep during math class."

Xia Jianren could hardly believe his eyes. He stared wide-eyed, desperate to convince himself it wasn’t true, but Professor Ren’s next words crushed him further. Tapping the formulas I’d scrawled across the board, Professor Ren announced, "If any of you can solve this problem as he did, you may sleep in class as well."

The class erupted in astonishment. None of them had expected such an outcome. In fact, many of the boys had secretly resented me—after all, Su Xin, considered the school beauty, was my seatmate. Envy and jealousy simmered in their hearts, and they’d all hoped to see me humiliated. Who could have guessed that this self-funded student would leave even Professor Ren speechless? Even if they didn’t understand the formulas I’d written, they now realized that self-funded students were not to be underestimated.