Chapter 016: An Unconventional Path

“Draw a map of China? Very well.” Lin Yu replied calmly, then walked slowly to the podium, picked up a piece of chalk, and began to sketch with a flourish.

Dappled rays of light filtered through the double-paned windows, climbing onto Lin Yu’s back and casting warmth onto his blue school uniform, a rare sensation in the classroom. In this moment, the rising sun perfectly mirrored Lin Yu’s mood; as if the world was whispering, “Clouds will part, and the sun will rise.”

The beautiful geography teacher, Tao Bo, rested her hand on the lectern, not once glancing back at Lin Yu. She habitually adjusted her pink-framed glasses, opened her textbook, and began her lesson. She truly doubted that this student—whose name she could barely recall—could possibly draw a complete map of China.

Most students in Class Seven, Grade Three, opened their geography books and listened attentively. Only a few stragglers, those prone to mischief and lagging grades, focused their attention on the blackboard.

Soon, these students, initially just watching for entertainment, realized that Lin Yu had already finished the outline of the map, including Taiwan, Hainan, Chongming, the Spratly Islands, and Diaoyu Island—all appeared on the blackboard.

“When did Lin Yu become so skilled!”

A girl who never studied and only read romance novels couldn’t help but exclaim.

More eyes shifted to the blackboard.

Before long, they were astonished to see Lin Yu had completed the three northeastern provinces and was sketching the borders of Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Xinjiang, and more.

As the entire north was nearly complete—with Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, and even Chrysanthemum Island—apart from the somewhat hurried strokes, the boundaries were almost identical to a standard map of China.

Gradually, more students turned their gaze to the blackboard, and murmurs of amazement grew.

Eventually, Tao Bo noticed that hardly anyone was listening to her lecture. Curious, she turned around—and was so stunned that her mouth fell open, her eyes filled with disbelief.

Lin Yu had finished most of the map; only a handful of provinces and cities like Jiangsu, Shanghai, and Anhui remained.

If this pace continued, the student she had deliberately challenged would soon complete the task flawlessly.

“How is this possible! How did he do it…” Tao Bo exclaimed inwardly. To draw such a map entirely from memory was difficult even for her.

Now, this underachiever, whose name she could barely recall, had effortlessly sketched the entire map onto the blackboard. What kind of memory did this require?

“A genius? Extraordinary memory? An IQ above 200? Or does this student spend his free time studying maps of China?” Tao Bo’s thoughts spun in confusion; she could not make sense of it.

At this moment, scattered applause began, then the whole class joined in naturally. Even Tao Bo, the geography teacher, was swept up and began to clap. Suddenly, Class Seven, Grade Three, was filled with thunderous applause. Lin Lie and a few bold students even whistled.

Moments later, Lin Yu had finished the entire map from memory.

Seeing the completed map on the blackboard, most students in Class Seven felt genuine admiration for Lin Yu. Deep down, they knew that duplicating such a feat was impossible for themselves.

Even Yang Zhilin, the school beauty whose deep gray eyes seemed to see through everything, was filled with surprise. She felt Lin Yu, at this moment, was taking an unconventional path, making him difficult to read. Clearly talented, yet he didn’t devote his energy to proper pursuits. Instead, he excelled in these “side skills” unrelated to grades.

To be able to draw a complete map from memory, and to have previously transcribed the translation of “Walking in Sally’s Garden,” proved his memory was outstanding. If such memory were applied to academic study, perhaps he could achieve excellent results.

Thinking of Lin Yu’s desire to go to college, Yang Zhilin sighed regretfully, “It’s a pity he realized too late. The two years he lost are hard to make up. Besides, the first half of senior year covers the entire curriculum, and it’s tough to keep up. Getting into a good university is almost impossible now.”

Noticing Yang Zhilin’s changing expression, Wang Keming’s face grew darker. His gaze towards Lin Yu was full of dislike, and he silently began to plot some underhanded tactics.

Only two people in the class remained quiet.

One was Lin Yu, walking back to his seat, hands in pockets, after finishing the map. The other was Qi Yue, still fast asleep, looking every bit the Sleeping Beauty.

As Lin Yu passed Qi Yue’s seat, seeing her sleeping so adorably with her head turned, he couldn’t resist gently pinching her smooth cheek with his left hand.

This act stirred up the classroom atmosphere even further, instantly shattering the fragile, fleeting rumors between Lin Yu and Yang Zhilin.

Qi Yue, whose cheek was now misshapen, merely smacked her lips in her sleep, unaware that Lin Yu had just publicly demonstrated their closeness.

Sitting next to Qi Yue, Yang Zhilin nodded calmly at Lin Yu as a greeting.

Lin Yu smiled in response and then leisurely returned to his seat.

After sitting down, even Wang Lippo—the chubby boy who had shared a desk with Lin Yu for over a year but never spoken to him, and who ranked in the top twenty of the class—praised him several times, which made Lin Yu feel a bit embarrassed. After all, it was only thanks to the search system in his mind that he was able to complete the map so smoothly.

The beautiful geography teacher, Tao Bo, then tapped the lectern to signal for everyone to quiet down. Once the classroom was still, she looked at Lin Yu and said, “You drew very well, and it deserves praise. But as the saying goes, merits and faults cancel each other out. Today’s impressive performance only offsets your disruption of the class. So, I won’t praise you here. Of course, I won’t criticize you either.”

With that, Tao Bo shifted her gaze to the front and addressed the whole class, “Alright, after this little interlude, let’s continue discussing the previous topic. What impact did joining the WTO have on our country…”

For this discussion topic, Lin Yu—being someone from the future—even without consulting his search system, could have much to say. But he felt it was better to stay low-key, so he didn’t raise his hand to answer. Instead, he watched as his classmates engaged in their paper debates.

Soon, the geography class, which was not at all dull, came to an end. After Tao Bo announced dismissal, some students, still eager to discuss, surrounded her, each voicing their opinions, continuing to talk about possibilities and impossibilities, sharing theories that might come true or were completely implausible.

Years later, few would remember what they said about this topic.

Yet the map of China on the blackboard remained etched in many minds, enduring, becoming eternal.