Chapter 19: The Sound of Turning Pages Is Deafening

"Why are you coming back to the dormitory with me?" Qian Hong stopped in his tracks, looking Xu Ming up and down with a suspicious expression. "The sun didn't rise from the west today, did it?"

Before Xu Ming could even open his mouth to respond, Qian Hong suddenly seemed to realize something, his expression shifting to one of sudden enlightenment.

"I get it now."

"You've been getting up early every single day lately, and now your body just can't take it anymore, right?"

"I always said, who could possibly play in an internet cafe for three days and three nights straight?"

Listening to Qian Hong's chatter, Xu Ming just smiled, offering no explanation.

Soon, the two arrived at the dormitory.

Everyone else in the room knew that, as a rule, Xu Ming never returned until just before lights out. Seeing him break his routine today, the others couldn't help but tease him.

"Why are you back so early today?"

"Did the teaching building lose power?"

"The second mock exam is coming up soon; you can't afford to slack off now."

...

Xu Ming didn't mind the banter. He joined them in washing up, trading lighthearted jabs back and forth.

Just as he lay down on his bed, Qian Hong walked over barefoot, holding his small MP3 player.

"Don't go to sleep yet. Come listen to some of Xiao Qi's songs."

Hearing this, Xu Ming felt a brief sense of daze. He couldn't even remember the last time he had listened to music. Back when he was building his business in his previous life, the music scene had long been in decline, and it was nearly impossible to find a song worth listening to. In contrast, those old classics were truly timeless.

With that thought, he felt a sudden surge of interest, took the earphones, and put them in.

"You are always too soft-hearted, too soft-hearted, crying all alone until dawn."

...

By the time the classic track finished, it was time for lights out, and Xu Ming closed his eyes to sleep.

Four in the morning.

His internal clock woke him up right on time.

He sat up, glanced at his roommates fast asleep in their beds, put on his clothes, and quietly opened the door to leave.

However, just as he reached the main entrance of the dormitory building and prepared to undo the lock, a deep voice drifted over from the room where the dormitory manager stayed.

"It's you again, kid. You get up to study at this hour every day—how can your body handle it?"

"It’s been so long since I’ve had to get up to unlock this door for someone."

Xu Ming turned toward the voice and saw the elderly manager standing at the doorway, wearing a coat and looking concerned. Having run into him occasionally on his early morning departures, they were no longer strangers.

Xu Ming smiled and greeted him, "Good morning, Uncle Zhang."

"You should go back and get some more sleep. At your age, it’s not good to be sleep-deprived," Uncle Zhang urged patiently. Perhaps reminded of his own grandson, he looked at Xu Ming with a flicker of sympathy in his eyes.

Thanks to his long periods of deep sleep, Xu Ming felt physically and mentally stronger than anyone else, even on only five hours of rest; he didn't have to worry about a lack of sleep. Besides, he was eager to get to the classroom to review for his Chinese exam—now that he was up, there was no reason to go back to bed.

With this in mind, he replied, "The second mock exam is almost here, so I want to squeeze in as much time as I can to review. Plus, I'm in great shape."

Without waiting for a response, Xu Ming unlocked the door and headed out.

Watching Xu Ming’s retreating figure until he vanished from sight, Uncle Zhang shook his head with a sigh and latched the dormitory door again.

"Such a diligent boy. He’s bound to get into Qinghua or Yanda University," he muttered to himself before turning back inside.

...

"Thank goodness the power is still on in the teaching building, otherwise I'd have to find somewhere else to study."

Xu Ming pulled the key from his pocket to open the classroom door. He flipped the light switch, and the vast, quiet room instantly brightened. Returning to his seat, he pulled out his Chinese textbook and immediately entered his familiar review mode.

"Let’s see what this 'Deep Learning' is really capable of."

Chinese was different from other subjects. Avoiding points deduction on exams meant memorizing a vast amount of content, as no one knew exactly what the college entrance exam would cover. After years of struggling in his previous life, he had long forgotten the content—even the essay prompts. Now, he could only rely on reviewing to rebuild his knowledge base.

Unlike his usual morning self-study sessions, as time passed, Xu Ming became completely immersed in the textbook.

He was intensely focused.

It was as if he had blocked out all external information, shielding himself from all distractions. At the same time, the content of the books seemed to flow directly into his brain through his eyes.

He only needed a few glances to commit the material to memory. As he went on, he flipped through the pages faster and faster, and his subject proficiency points increased significantly.

[Through diligent study, your [Chinese] level has improved. You have gained 7 experience points.]

By 5:30 AM, as students began to file into the classroom, Xu Ming remained unmoved, eyes fixed downward.

Chen Lu was the second to arrive, as usual. As she entered the door, her gaze was immediately drawn to Xu Ming. A look of confusion crossed her face.

"Is he... reading?"

In her view, Xu Ming looked exceptionally focused, his eyes locked on the textbook. However, he was flipping the pages so quickly that there was no way he could be memorizing the text—he didn't even have time to read it through once.

It looked for all the world like he was just playing with the book.

The rustling sound of pages filled the empty classroom; though not loud, it was deafening.

"Xu Ming?"

She tried calling his name, but when she received no response, she decided to keep her questions to herself for now.

As the rest of the class arrived, the peculiar sound of Xu Ming’s page-turning eventually forced the entire class to switch from their usual loud morning recitation to reading in silence.

High school students in a small county town had limited exposure to the outside world; naturally, they didn't know what a "flow state" was. Otherwise, someone would have surely shouted, "That's incredible!"

It was only after a long while that Xu Ming reconnected with the world, exiting his deep learning state.

Reflecting on the experience and the points he had gained, he developed a better understanding of deep learning. It would automatically deactivate once it hit a certain threshold, and it was three times as efficient as normal study. Moreover, the content he memorized was essentially locked in.

"Only lasted two hours, but that's enough."

He looked up at the clock above the blackboard. Just as he muttered this, a large face suddenly appeared in his line of sight.

Qian Hong let out a sigh of relief. "You're finally back to earth."

"I called your name earlier and you didn't react at all. I thought you’d gone crazy from reading."

"I'm fine, I was just really focused," Xu Ming explained with a wry smile.

Qian Hong scrutinized him carefully, and only after confirming he was truly alright did he finally relax.