Chapter 18 Legend

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After leaving the classroom, She Ning turned and headed towards the administration office. Director Xia told her to find her after the exam.

There weren't many people in the corridor; everyone was taking exams in the classrooms. When She Ning arrived at the administration office, Director Xia was focused on grading assignments. When she saw She Ning, she put down her red pen and pulled over a chair from the side.

"Come and sit down," she invited.

After She Ning sat down, Director Xia opened a drawer, took out a piece of paper, and handed it to her: "Interested in giving it a try?"

She Ning, looking at the registration form in her hand during the "National Middle School Mathematics Competition," paused, somewhat puzzled, and asked, "Can junior high school students participate?"

When she was researching school admission policies, she specifically looked into the possibility of being exempt from university entrance exams by winning math Olympiad competitions. As far as she knew, this competition was open to all high school students, with participation based on voluntary participation and registration handled by the schools.

“This won’t work,” Director Xia said, pointing to the registration form and shaking her head. Then she added, “But the preliminary round is fine.”

"The preliminary round is a math Olympiad selection competition jointly held by several schools in the town. It aims to select promising Olympiad candidates for targeted training. There are not many academic requirements; even first and second year junior high school students can participate."

Their town has always focused on students' basic learning and hasn't paid much attention to this competition. They've always adhered to the principle of voluntary participation, letting students participate if they want and not if they don't. However, last year, a student from a neighboring town won first prize in the provincial math Olympiad and was admitted to university without taking the entrance exam.

From then on, the neighboring schools became arrogant and would come over to show off every time there was a city meeting. After a few times, the schools in their town joined forces to organize this preliminary exam, hoping not to lose to them the following year.

She Ning understood what Director Xia meant. It was similar to the Olympiad class in later years, where seeded players were selected in the preliminary round, and after targeted training, they would represent the school in the competition in the semi-finals.

The National High School Mathematics Competition is held on the first Sunday morning of mid-October each year. She will be a high school student starting in September this year, so she is eligible to participate. Whether she can skip to the senior year is still uncertain. If she can win an award in the Olympiad, she can also get into university without taking the entrance exam.

She Ning thought for a moment, filled out the registration form in her hand, and then handed it back to Director Xia. "Director Xia, could you please help me register?"

"The preliminary round is on May 16th. Time is a bit tight, so please make sure you study hard."

Director Xia neatly put the registration forms back into the drawer, closed the drawer, and then took out a few books from the bookshelf on the side. Pointing to one of them, she specially introduced it, "You should take a closer look at this book, 'Compilation of Mathematics Competition Materials from Eight Provinces and Cities.' It contains many relevant competition questions and solutions. If you have any questions about your studies, you can come and ask me."

Director Xia smiled and gave She Ning some instructions, but she felt that She Ning probably wouldn't have many opportunities to come to her for questions.

When I walked out of the academic affairs office carrying heavy materials, more than half of the exam time had passed, and students were coming out of the classroom one after another, especially those from classes one and two.

At the stairwell, She Ning ran into He Xiaoyan, who had taken her to Class 9 that morning, and Lin Qian, whom she had seen at the school gate before.

She Ning glanced around their vicinity, but didn't see the person she wanted to see, so she looked away.

"Weiwei is taking an exam in Class 3 and hasn't come out yet."

He Xiaoyan was still sharing news with her friends when she looked up and saw the person in question. Her eyes lit up, and she grabbed Lin Qian and rushed over to She Ning's side.

As if knowing that She Ning was looking for someone, she took the initiative to explain.

"I just told her that you're now our alumnus, but she doesn't believe me." He Xiaoyan said, her twin braids radiating smugness, as if she were tattlering on someone.

"Look at me, did I exaggerate?" she asked proudly, turning to her friend.

Lin Qian ignored her childish behavior; her attention was entirely on the documents that She Ning was holding. After staring at the documents and looking back at her for a while, she met She Ning's eyes and asked, "Are you also participating in the preliminary round of the Mathematical Olympiad?"

"Mm." She Ning nodded.

The girl in front of her was much taller than her peers. She Ning guessed that she was probably about 1.67 meters tall. She Ning, who was 1.55 meters tall, was standing a step taller than her, but was still slightly shorter.

She Ning is very sensitive to other people's attitudes.

Lin Qian harbored a strange hostility towards her, not in a malicious way, but rather as if she regarded her as a formidable rival, always tense and giving off a feeling of wanting to fight.

"I will defeat you." With a determined look in She Ning's eyes, Lin Qian uttered these words before turning and leaving decisively.

"Hey, Qianqian, you..."

"Ah Ning, I'm sorry, Qianqian didn't mean any harm. Let's talk again next time."

He Xiaoyan anxiously tried to grab her friend's hand, but Lin Qian walked too fast. She could only put her hands together, apologize to She Ning, and then run after Lin Qian.

She Ning stood there holding the documents for a while before going downstairs and walking towards the school gate.

She Hongmei didn't go to set up her stall today. She Ning saw her pushing her cart and standing under a big tree waiting for someone as soon as she came out of the gate. She Hongmei, who was always paying attention to the situation at the school gate, also noticed She Ning appearing at the gate immediately.

"Are you tired or hungry from the exam today?" She handed the steamed bun hanging on the handlebars to She Ning, and She Hongmei took the documents from her and put them in the bag in the bicycle basket.

Having eaten so much in the morning, she wasn't hungry yet. She Ning took the bun from her, broke it in half, and gave the larger side to She Hongmei. The filling was her favorite char siu.

"Half for each of us." She Hongmei was initially unwilling, but when she met She Ning's resolute gaze, she finally gave in, "I understand."

This char siu bao is famously delicious in town, and each one costs one yuan. She couldn't bear to eat it herself, so she only bought one. It wasn't that she couldn't afford the few yuan, but she was just being paranoid and didn't want to eat it, feeling it would be a waste to eat it.

She Ning is right; you can only love others after you love yourself.

From now on, we'll all eat together, no special treatment. She Hongmei thought to herself as she ate the fragrant and delicious steamed buns.

Since they weren't setting up a stall today, they had plenty of time. She Ning and her friends strolled around the town, buying a lot of things they needed for daily life, as well as kitchen supplies, before returning home.

When they returned to Xiahe Village, they happened to run into everyone who had finished working in the fields and were coming back. Seeing She Ning and the others riding bicycles and carrying large and small bags from outside the village, many people felt a pang of sadness.

"Hongmei, is setting up a stall very profitable?" Luo Xiaoling had previously mocked her for degrading herself to do such a low-class thing, and was certain that she would be caught and lose everything. But now, seeing her carrying large bags and small packages, and her life getting better and better, Luo Xiaoling felt a surge of jealousy and couldn't help but ask sourly.

“Yes, Hongmei, if you have any way to make money, we’re all from the same village, it wouldn’t be right not to help each other out.”

"I don't know if she's just putting on a show, pretending to be something she's not. Do you really believe she can make money?" Having suffered in silence before, Lin Xiufen had been holding her breath. Now, seeing everyone praising She Hongmei, she came out of the door with a basket in her hand, still picking green beans, listening to the commotion outside, and spat out a sarcastic remark.

"Some people have no capital, yet they try to earn money by smearing their mouths with lard. It's shameful."

She Ning and her group originally planned to make a fortune quietly and were just thinking about how to get away with it when Lin Xiufang came out to help them out. However, what she said went a bit too far, and the villagers looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Hey, they didn't say anything, but you all said it all, and now you're all babbling on and on. You're really something else entirely." Some of the people who arrived later couldn't help but speak up after hearing the whole thing.

"Can't I even speak the truth?" Lin Xiufang retorted, sticking out her neck.

"Mind your own business and worry about yourself." Guan Xiuli, who rushed over from home upon hearing the news, snapped at Lin Xiufang, "Your own family is in a mess, and you still have the mind to meddle in other people's affairs."

After saying that, Guan Xiuli glared fiercely at She Yaozu, who was standing behind her.

She Ning followed her gaze and looked over. When She Yaozu met She Ning's calm gaze, the ruthlessness she had shown that day involuntarily surfaced in his mind. His still-healing wound throbbed with pain, and he couldn't help but tremble. He lowered his head, not daring to meet her eyes.

Guan Xiuli usually looks gentle and kind, but she can be quite scary when she gets fierce. Everyone was just joking around, but now that the situation is so awkward, they just let Guan Xiuli pull them away without daring to say a word.

Luo Xiaoling, who had started the trouble, was the target of everyone's anger. They glared at her fiercely, and the relationships she had just managed to salvage with small favors had now plummeted to rock bottom.

Luo Xiaoling quickly brushed the mud off her legs and left. When she got home, she didn't dare to say anything, afraid that She Laosan would find out what she had just done and delay his business.

Guan Xiuli led the people back to the She family home, and after She Ning and the others went inside, she immediately closed the door.

"Do you know who broke the fence of my sister's chicken farm?" Guan Xiuli asked in a low voice as she approached them, afraid that the neighbors might have ears.

"She Yaozu?" She Ning guessed, recalling her glare at him earlier.

"!!!" Guan Xiuli looked at She Ning in shock, unable to believe that she had guessed it so easily. Then she smiled with satisfaction, patted She Ning's head and praised, "No wonder you can skip a grade and go to the third year of junior high school. You are so smart."

“It’s him!” she said in a low voice. “He’s incredibly bold, going there in broad daylight. But he only damaged the fence; he didn’t do anything else.”

“Since there was no property damage, we can’t report it to the police.” Guan Xiuli said with some regret, “It’s too much to beat him up. My sister can only warn him that if she sees him here again, she will break his legs.”

However, this is just a scare tactic; if it were to actually happen, the perpetrator would be charged with intentional assault.

She Ning lowered her eyes, lost in thought.

His target wasn't the chickens, yet he damaged the fence. What was his intention?

Bell cover, railway, fence...

Could it be that Aunt Xiuhua's chicken farm on the mountain is hiding some unknown secret?

"Aunt Guan, is there any legend about that mountain?" She Ning tugged at her sleeve and asked.

Just as Guan Xiuli was having a good time complaining to She Hongmei, she was taken aback. Speaking of which, it seems there really is such a thing.

A note from the author:

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The International Mathematical Olympiad was discontinued in 1980, but the fictional setting in Wenli did not.