At this moment, Sean Sherman pressed her lips together, no longer reciting rapidly as she had just now. Zoe Young didn’t know how to comfort her, so she simply reached out her left hand and covered Sean Sherman’s right hand. Although her fingers were cold, her palm was still warm. The warm palm pressed against Sean Sherman’s icy hand, successfully calling her back from her confused expression.

Sean Sherman looked at her, as if waiting for Zoe Young to say something, but she didn’t say anything.

No one knew how much time passed before Sean Sherman suddenly spoke, but what she said was completely unrelated.

“Do you want to apply to Brightstar High School?”

Zoe Young was stunned for a moment, then nodded very firmly.

Without any hesitation.

It wasn’t the first time she’d been asked this kind of question. When exam results came out, classmates’ compliments always revolved around topics like “a promising candidate for Brightstar High School.” Zoe Young would always smile modestly, then pretend not to care and say, “I haven’t thought about applying to Brightstar High School at all. Not even a little. I’d be happy just to get into the high school division of University High School…”

After all, in the history of No. 13 Middle School, only when their ancestors’ graves were on fire would one or two students get into Brightstar High School.

Only with Sean Sherman, Zoe Young believed they were equals, people who could run side by side, who wouldn’t mock each other for having a goal that seemed too far away.

“I want to apply to Brightstar High School. Just like you.”

Sean Sherman turned her hand over and gripped hers, nodding solemnly, but her gaze drifted off to some distant point.

“I have to get into Brightstar High School.” she said.

Zoe Young was moved. What on earth had the person she argued with said to make her use such a strong word as “have to”?

There was no time to guess. The teacher was directing everyone to stand up row by row and move backstage to line up and prepare to go on stage.

Zoe Young could only squeeze Sean Sherman’s hand tightly, then silently stand up.

A murderous aura.

Zoe Young exchanged a glance with her temporary deskmate Mia Waters, both of them a little worried. The Sean Sherman at the front of the stage was exuding a murderous aura ten times colder than usual. Others just thought it was a bit strange, mistaking it for nerves, but only the two of them could clearly sense Sean Sherman’s real emotions.

A slight tremor in her voice, and a speed that was too fast.

The experiment ended, and the assigned “audience member” Zoe Young raised her hand to ask a question: “May I ask why a laser pointer was used as the light source in this experiment instead of a flashlight?”

“Because…” Sean Sherman’s partner was a chubby boy, but before he could finish, Sean Sherman had already spoken over his mosquito-like voice.

“The laser pointer emits a more focused beam. When it hits the glass tank, there’s only a single red dot, which makes it easier to record data. At the same time, compared to a flashlight, the red light has stronger penetration. So when we use liquids with poor transparency, like salad oil, we can still clearly see the recording point.”

Like a machine gun, fluent and so fast it was scary.

“Th-thank you. I understand.” Zoe Young gave a couple of awkward laughs and sat down. Sean Sherman had already called on another student who had raised their hand.

“Did she eat gunpowder?” Mia Waters asked in a low voice.

Zoe Young thought for a moment, then gave a wry smile: “I’m afraid there’s a certain fuse sitting in the audience right now!”

Mia Waters didn’t quite understand, so he just smiled: “Don’t you get tired, being like this with each other?”

Us? Zoe Young was surprised. Was she and Sean Sherman really that similar?

The second experiment was Zoe Young and Mia Waters’s turn. When they went on stage, Sean Sherman was packing up the experiment equipment. Zoe Young heard a very soft “good luck,” so faint it almost seemed like she imagined it.

Mia Waters couldn’t smile anymore. Standing on stage and looking down at the sea of people below felt completely different from sitting at a desk.

“Let’s start.” He took a deep breath. He’d never experienced anything like this before, never had the chance to stand on stage, so Mia Waters was really a bit shaky.

“What’s the rush,” Zoe Young laughed, “we still have one more thing to say.”

“Say what? Everyone’s waiting for us!” Mia Waters was so scared his face changed color.

“Pig.” Zoe Young said calmly, “Anyway, the opening line is mine. If you don’t say it, I won’t start.”

Mia Waters was furious, stared blankly for two seconds, then had no choice but to stiffly face the vast crowd below and say in a low voice: “Everyone in the audience…

is a pig.”

“Everyone in the audience is a pig.”

“Everyone in the audience is a pig.”

Suddenly, laughter burst out without warning, and his face was no longer stiff. The important thing wasn’t really to look down on the audience, but that doing something like this under everyone’s gaze was both terrifying and exhilarating. To be precise, it was like getting the fear out of the way early, so the rest of the experiment became a piece of cake.

Turning his head, his partner Zoe Young was smiling radiantly, her eyes full of encouragement and praise.

Mia Waters felt a warm current flow through his heart, but at the same time, a deep sense of loss.

This person beside him could so easily warm up the atmosphere, speaking on stage as naturally and smoothly as in daily life, friendly and poised, with a touch of humor that won knowing laughter from the audience. Mia Waters suddenly felt that Zoe Young was so dazzling, as if she didn’t belong to the same world as anyone in Class Six or No. 13 Middle School.

As if, sooner or later, she would fly away.

“Isn’t the earth round? Why did you use a square box for the horizon?”

Zoe Young was stunned. This question wasn’t in the plan at all, and she didn’t really understand it either. She nudged the dazed Mia Waters with her elbow, but he didn’t react. She gave an awkward smile and said, “That’s an interesting question, but it’s not hard to explain. I’ll let my assistant answer it for you!”

Only then did Mia Waters snap out of it and blurt out, “What? When did I become your assistant?”

Laughter erupted from the audience. This kind of joke was definitely not in the plan. The physics teacher and the whole class could only stare blankly, while the student who asked the tough question sat down in embarrassment, ready for the teacher’s criticism.

Mia Waters’s face turned bright red. Amid the laughter, he looked helplessly at Zoe Young.

Zoe Young just burst out laughing.

She knocked on the table and said loudly, “Stop laughing, quiet down!”

The laughter gradually died down, and everyone stared wide-eyed, wanting to see what she would do next.

“As researchers, there are two things we must always keep in mind.”

Mia Waters groaned inwardly. Zoe Young was about to start making things up again.

“First, we shouldn’t be concerned with personal gain. Who’s the leader, who’s the assistant—this shouldn’t be the focus. The spirit of science is what matters most. Always remember, there’s only one truth! Whether you’re the leader or the assistant, you’re responsible for it.”

After she finished, she even gave Mia Waters a provocative smile.

Pfft. Mia Waters mentally gave Zoe Young a hard kick.

“Second, not every experiment is perfect from the start. When we encounter problems or shortcomings, we need to stop and listen to feedback to avoid going in the wrong direction. So, inclusiveness is very important. As for your question, neither of us is very sure, but after the experiment we’ll definitely think it through and find the answer. Of course, if anyone here knows, you can explain it to everyone now…”

“I know! It’s simple.”

As soon as she finished, a voice responded from the audience, the timing so perfect it was as if they’d rehearsed. Mia Waters looked over and saw that the boy standing at the edge of the first row was none other than Romeo.

“It’s true the earth is approximately a sphere, but we’re not looking from a satellite’s perspective. The earth’s surface is so vast, and people are so tiny in comparison, plus our field of vision is only straight ahead. So we can only see a very small area, which means we can’t see the whole curve of the sphere—how could we possibly perceive the arc? If we treat a circle as a regular N-sided polygon and take a small enough segment, that segment will look like a straight line. Similarly, if it’s the earth, and you take a small enough plane, that plane won’t have any curvature at all. So using a square box to represent the horizon is perfectly fine.”

After he finished, the boy put away his smile and stared seriously at Zoe Young.

Zoe Young just replied softly, “That was a wonderful answer, thank you so much.”

Romeo still stubbornly stared at her, and finally said softly, “I’m sorry.”

No one noticed this completely out-of-place apology, but Mia Waters felt Zoe Young tremble slightly.