Wang Zhuo, on a rare occasion of good nature, flirted with Qin Siqing and then left without doing anything further.

It wasn't that he feared the power of the Qin family; rather, he didn't want Qin Siqing to think he merely saw her as an object of excitement to challenge authority.

To put it plainly, he genuinely liked the girl, and that affection wouldn't change even if she were just the daughter of a commoner family; the Qin family status was merely a bonus point for her.

A young girl's sentiment is always poetic. Wang Zhuo simply dusted off his hands and walked away, leaving Qin Siqing feeling uncertain and anxious for quite some time until she finally drifted off to sleep late in the night.

In the blink of an eye, the year was drawing to a close, and the first half of Wang Zhuo's senior year was nearing its end.

Correspondingly, his high school classmates, including Gan Lin, were also nearing the conclusion of their university careers. After this semester's coursework, the next semester would primarily involve skill assessments, thesis defenses, and so on, with hardly any formal classes remaining.

One day, Wang Zhuo was reading in his dorm when he suddenly received a call from his advisor, summoning him to the small auditorium for a meeting.

"A meeting? What kind of meeting?" Wang Zhuo asked, curious.

The advisor replied with a chuckle, "You'll know when you get there. It's good news for you!"

Hanging up, Wang Zhuo sat up, smiled faintly, shook his head, and headed towards the wardrobe in the living room.

There were others who lay on the sofa reading, but someone who could place a book on the coffee table without even touching it was unique; he was the one and only. He had even placed a multi-faceted glass art sphere beside the book; with the aid of this device, his X-ray vision could save considerable effort.

As soon as he stepped out, he ran into two other classmates also headed to the meeting. They walked toward the small auditorium in a large group, speculating amongst themselves about the nature of the meeting, while calling out to gather more people.

To everyone's surprise, the person convening the meeting was a Vice Principal in charge of teaching affairs, not Department Head Wang Taiping. However, once a bombshell announcement was dropped, the crowd immediately erupted.

"What? Is this the legendary reform of the education system?"

"Good heavens! Does that mean those with outstanding grades could graduate a year or two early?"

"This is messing with me! If I had known, I would have taken more courses this semester; what a waste of my prime years."

"I'm overwhelmed with emotion; I finally won't have to endure the 'Eight-Year War' anymore!"

"I must work hard next semester so I won't be seen as an old uncle when I enter the workforce; I'm going for it!"

The most surprised of all was actually Wang Zhuo. The school had eliminated the time lock on the eight-year integrated system and relaxed the graduation standards. To have such major news delivered without prior notification was somewhat astonishing to him.

Thankfully, Wang Taiping secretly gave him a meaningful look, suggesting there was more to the story.

After the meeting, the students didn't rush off; the small auditorium was filled with a lively buzz.

This was huge news; the entire country only had this one pilot program. The freshmen and sophomores were ecstatic, the juniors and seniors were engaged in heated discussion, the first and second-year graduate students remained composed, while the third-year postgraduates about to finish stomped their feet, lamenting being born at the wrong time.

In Wang Zhuo’s class, almost everyone unanimously agreed that given Wang Zhuo's academic performance, plus the bonus points from his medical contributions, early graduation was a certainty; it was only a matter of time before he finished a year or two ahead.

Wang Zhuo offered casual replies while discussing with everyone, his own mind racing about what he needed to do.

Making up an excuse to leave the venue early, he was intercepted the moment he stepped into the hallway by Department Head Wang Taiping, who had been waiting there.

"How was it? Surprised?" Wang Taiping waved his hand cheerfully. "Come on, let's talk in my office."

Once inside the office, Wang Taiping got straight to the point. "The school only confirmed this yesterday. We've been applying for it, but the higher competent authority hadn't approved it, so I didn't tell you, fearing you'd get your hopes up for nothing."

Wang Zhuo nodded, indicating his understanding.

"Yesterday, the school held a meeting to relay the higher authority's approval. I was initially going to call you, but then I figured one more day wouldn't make a difference," Wang Taiping smiled and poured a cup of water for Wang Zhuo at the water dispenser.

Wang Zhuo quickly accepted it with both hands. Wang Taiping was, after all, an elder and had taken very good care of him; this gesture needed to be maintained.

"I didn't call you here just for a drink," Wang Taiping chuckled slyly, pulling a sheet of paper from a folder on his desk and handing it to him.

"These are several of your elective courses. I've already spoken with the lecturers; you can take the exams this semester. As for the grades, they will be lenient—just don't score too poorly, and you should pass them all at once."

This was a small surprise. Wang Zhuo eagerly looked at the subjects listed on the paper; there were ten in total, and three of them were core courses that he absolutely had to pass in the following academic year to obtain his degree.

"This truly is… I must thank Director Wang for going to such trouble!"

Wang Taiping laughed heartily, "What are you saying? There's no need to be formal between us! But I can only sort this much out for you. I can't manage the core courses taught by the professors and associate professors; you’ll have to handle those yourself."

"Yes, yes, I'm already very satisfied with this," Wang Zhuo scratched his head and smiled. "This way, I really won't have to fight the 'Eight-Year War'; finishing a year or two early is completely fine."

"Go back and see which of these courses you can register for this semester, then just give me a call," Wang Taiping instructed. "You should also notify your class advisor; the necessary procedures still need to be followed."

Wang Zhuo nodded. If he wanted to take an early exam for a subject, he first needed to register with his class advisor so arrangements could be made for him to participate in the unified final exams, as stipulated in the meeting.

That day passed in a flurry of activity. During this time, Wang Zhuo pulled strings and called in favors, quietly securing arrangements with three associate professors. Additionally, two professors already had ongoing business dealings with Wang Zhuo's company, so getting approval for their core courses was as simple as a brief conversation.

In this era, many university professors served multiple roles as mentors, scholars, experts, and businessmen. These two professors were the "experts" among the faculty. Wang Zhuo provided commercial benefits to their companies, and in return, they published soft articles promoting him in the media—they had been collaborating harmoniously for two years.

Just as the faculty and students wondered how many courses Instructor Wang would take this semester, Wang Zhuo had already quietly laid the groundwork, preparing for a small display of his abilities!

What he didn't know was that this small systemic reform was, to a large extent, initiated by him. Although the system was conservative, there was no shortage of radicals within any structure, and his unique case became the trump card for these radical elements—talent should shine early, not be buried on campus!

Wang Zhuo was unaware that he had unwittingly become a guinea pig, the subject of an experiment. However, the practical benefits he gained were obvious. Fame attracts attention, and now, wherever he went on campus, people were whispering behind his back, even attracting crowds; he was starting to feel constrained.

The ivory tower was no longer as enjoyable as it used to be. Since this opportunity presented itself, graduating early was the best course of action!

...

Final exams arrived. Instructor Wang was divinely assisted in the examination hall, his X-ray vision taking in all the classmates' answers, which he copied extensively.

Copying others' answers was now second nature to him, but given his current academic level, many questions truly didn't require him to cheat; they were no challenge at all. Coupled with the help of his X-ray vision, he selectively copied, keeping his scores positioned between "Excellent" and "Good" within the five tiers of grading—neither outstanding nor bottom-tier, maintaining a low profile.

Instructor Wang began to move between the various exam rooms. Some students were astonished to find that this figure of notoriety had become an "exam professional," even appearing in exams for subjects he had never attended. Perhaps he had too much money and was paying the hundred yuan examination fee just for fun?

After ten busy days, he finally managed all the exams. This "exam professional," Wang Zhuo, participated in thirty tests in total, an event that even reached the attention of the Principal.

But Wang Zhuo didn't care about that. The rules were set by them, and he strictly followed them. Whether the grades passed the threshold was the professors' and lecturers' concern; if anyone had doubts, they could go talk to them directly.

Once the scores for each course were submitted, someone was bound to have a headache, right? Thinking about how he had completed more than three semesters' worth of courses all at once, Wang Zhuo smiled cunningly, thoroughly pleased with himself.

(Note: The eight-year integrated program for Clinical Medicine leading to a Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral degree required nearly a hundred courses, which was truly intense!)

Returning home that evening, Siyuan presented him with his slippers and said cheerfully, "Your classmates are here; they're watching others chat!"

"Fei Long and the others? Who are they watching chat?" Wang Zhuo asked curiously. "Why did they come over without saying hello."

"I ran into them on the way back from buying groceries," Siyuan explained. "Guess what I managed to buy today?"

Wang Zhuo glanced over and saw a large basin on the kitchen floor, containing a grouper that was over forty centimeters long.

"Oh?"

He couldn't help but be surprised. It was a relatively expensive Marbled Coral Grouper, usually only seen in large aquariums. It was quite a rare find for Siyuan to buy one at a farmers' market.

"You probably won't guess," Siyuan said proudly, taking his hand and leading him toward the kitchen. "Come quickly and help me decide how to cook it."

As they reached the center of the living room, a plump figure burst out of the adjacent bedroom door—it was none other than Fei Long: "Instructor Wang, quick, come look!"

"What's all the fuss about..." Wang Zhuo grumbled, looking at him and then at Siyuan, uncertain whose direction to follow.

The understanding Siyuan smiled sweetly. "You go look first. I'll bring the things over for you to see."

Entering the bedroom, Sun Donghao and Cheng Gang were both there, their gazes fixed on Wang Zhuo with palpable anticipation. Wang Zhuo was utterly bewildered, wondering what game these youngsters were playing today.

"We were using your computer, watching the Wealth Club members chat," Fei Long explained excitedly. "These guys are seriously rich; some play with sports cars, some even have private jets. Guess what they are researching today?"

"The Wealth Club?" Wang Zhuo shook his head. This was a circle he had been strongly encouraged to join by a newly befriended second-generation rich heir. It was like a high-end club, and they usually contacted each other online using specialized software. So, Fei Long and the others were watching the Wealth Club members converse.

"Stop being dramatic; just show him quickly!" Cheng Gang looked visibly eager.