Chapter 24 The Nanny's Niece's Counterattack
"I never expected that only those two from so many provinces and cities would get full marks. Although the content of the test was different, the questions were very similar. Sigh, are we going to lose again in this international competition?"
In fact, Professor Liang still had some confidence in Fang Yihuai. As for the other spot, if there were a choice, it wouldn't have fallen into Lin Wei's hands.
Meanwhile, far away in City A, Ji Liu learned from his father that Professor Liang had given the two spots to someone else. He felt somewhat resentful, thinking, "I just accidentally got one question wrong. Does that mean I'm inferior to someone who just calculated it?"
Although the competition answer sheets were sealed away, it was still easy for the people on them to find out. Ji Liu saw those answer sheets because of his father, but to be honest, he didn't think it was anything special.
If he hadn't been careless, he should have gotten a perfect score. But Professor Liang only looks at the score; isn't that a bit too much of a performance-based approach?
In terms of thinking ability, isn't he much better than that person who only knows how to calculate? He didn't think there was anything wrong with losing to Fang Yihuai, but he was really unconvinced about losing to Lin Wei.
Girls are generally not good at math, so why did Professor Liang place his bet on her? Because of this, without Lin Wei's knowledge, she gained another potential "enemy."
She and Fang Yihuai were looking at the middle-aged man in front of them, a hint of doubt in their eyes.
Professor Liang: "You must be Lin Wei and Fang Yihuai. Let me introduce myself first. My name is Liang Yanghua, and I'm in charge of the second half of this year's Mathematical Olympiad. You can call me Professor Liang." Looking at the two students who were still in a daze after being called in by their homeroom teacher, a hint of affection appeared in his eyes. These were the future pillars of the nation.
Lin Wei and Fang Yihuai exchanged a glance after hearing this, clearly having guessed what he meant. At this point, they thought he would at most try to persuade them to participate in the Mathematics League, but they didn't expect him to let them skip the National High School Mathematics Competition and directly enter the Mathematical Olympiad Winter Camp.
Upon hearing this, the two were once again amazed by his status in the mathematics community. To be able to offer two spots to someone who would be admitted to the winter camp despite not meeting the usual requirements was something that not everyone could do.
However, Lin Wei was a little confused and raised her hand, saying, "Professor Liang, may I ask why you chose me?" Choosing Fang Yihuai was understandable, but choosing her was not because she looked down on herself, but because she knew her own strength. When it came to competitive thinking, she was indeed not as good as those people.
Or is it that there's no one left to do math these days, so they're just using her to fill in the gaps?
Professor Liang looked at her, admiring that she hadn't lost her mind in the face of this unexpected windfall. "You're right. In terms of thinking, you're indeed not as good as your classmates or anyone else. However, your brute-force solution isn't without its merits."
"Being able to solve the competition problem using conventional methods is enough to show that you have a good grasp of the basics. Because of this, you must have studied a lot of advanced math knowledge." His statement can be considered an affirmation.
Lin Wei nodded. There was no other way; she couldn't solve it using only first-year high school knowledge. If she wanted to force it, she would need a certain theoretical foundation. So, in order to do those competition problems, she had reviewed all the math knowledge from high school and university. However, she wouldn't say she was extremely familiar with it; she could only say she could still use it.
Professor Liang: "That's why I chose you. Besides getting a perfect score in this competition, your learning ability is beyond doubt. Although it's difficult to change your way of thinking, I hope you can grow in the upcoming winter camp." Actually, he still held a sliver of hope. What if she could change? Then her learning ability, calculation ability, combined with this competition format, would be an absolute game-changer.
You know, it took Fang Yihuai one hour and ten minutes to finish that competition question. She wrote four more pages than him, which took her one and a half hours. If she could use the competition mindset to solve the problem, it's unimaginable how fast she would be. And with that time, she could have checked the paper again.
It would be a lie to say that Lin Wei felt no pressure after hearing this. This was nothing like the previous competitions, where she had won first place based on her own abilities. But this spot was given to her by someone else, and she was afraid that she was not worthy of such expectations.
However, she still said earnestly, "I will do my best." She couldn't let others think that he had made a mistake and picked a mediocre candidate, could she?
It's fair to say that no one could resist the temptation of being admitted to the winter camp without taking an exam, and Lin Wei was no exception. Before this, she had actually wanted to try her hand at biology.
Yes, she has decided to pursue biology as her future career path. The reason for this is her grandfather's tooth problem, and secondly, biology has given her a lot of frustration lately. She feels that biology is many times more difficult than math and physics problems, but the more difficult something is, the more she wants to overcome it.
Just imagine how proud they would be of her if tooth regeneration technology were realized in the future! This refers to Lin's parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. Originally, she wanted to make money so they could live a better life, but now she's planning to change her approach: she wants both money and fame.
However, that's a matter for the future. After Professor Liang left, Fang Yihuai said to her, "Congratulations." He hadn't expected that they would be the only two people to be admitted to the Olympic Winter Camp through special admissions. "But what does he mean by 'way of thinking'?" Fang Yihuai was a little puzzled. What kind of way of thinking could be used to solve competition problems?
Lin Wei stammered, "Well... it's just... by sheer willpower, I wrote a few more pages than you." She hadn't felt it when she was doing the problems, but now that she was saying it, it felt like public humiliation. The thought of everyone else answering quickly and concisely at winter camp, while she had written a huge amount, made Lin Wei feel like she had lost.
No, this absolutely cannot happen. She felt a stubbornness akin to struggling to sit up from a deathbed. If she weren't still outside, she would have already entered the system space to begin learning.
On the other hand, Fang Yihuai just thought it was kind of cool. While others were using conventional competition methods to solve problems, she had opened up another path. Wasn't that cool?
He roughly understood what Professor Liang meant by "way of thinking." He hadn't expected her, who seemed so good-natured, to be so stubborn when she wanted to be. But he could understand; if he couldn't do it himself, who cared what method he used, as long as he could?
But he had to admit one thing: he still laughed when he heard it. Although it wasn't mockery, it still ignited a fighting spirit in Lin Wei. "I will definitely improve next time." He would defeat him and those privileged students using that so-called competition method.
Fang Yihuai, unaware of the second half of her statement, believed she could improve, after all, she always managed to pull off miracles.
So the next second he suppressed his smile and challenged her, "I'm looking forward to your performance, Lin Wei." Next time they would be rivals.
The winter camp is merely the threshold for the international Olympiad competitions. To get a spot, they must fight their way through hundreds of people. From a friendship standpoint, he naturally hopes she's one of the six who remain. But on the other hand, aren't they also competitors vying for those six places?
Upon hearing this, Lin Wei replied somewhat perfunctorily, "Mhm, I'm looking forward to it too." This instantly dispelled the previously tense atmosphere. She was currently struggling with how to change her way of thinking; once you get used to brute-force solutions, switching to a different approach becomes extremely difficult.
At this point, she was very puzzled. Was her IQ really that low? Not only was she not as smart as Fang Yihuai, but she was also not as smart as the others. They all knew how to use the competition method, but she was the only one who didn't.
Thinking about this, Lin Wei felt another day of resentment towards those geniuses. Why couldn't the world have one more genius like her?
Despite her sighs and complaints, she still had to study. As soon as she got back to her dorm, she started rolling up her sleeves.
The news quickly spread throughout the class, thanks to the homeroom teacher, who wasn't one to keep secrets and naturally wanted the whole class to know about such a joyous occasion.
Because of the importance of the competition, she even discussed with the teachers of other subjects that they could turn a blind eye and let them focus on math in class. If it were anyone else, these teachers certainly wouldn't agree, since they had all performed exceptionally well in the previous exams.
As long as it doesn't affect the final exams, it's fine if they don't come.
And so, Lin Wei and Fang Yihuai received a get-out-of-jail-free card; no matter what they did in class, the teachers wouldn't interfere, which made everyone in the class very envious.
"When will I be able to receive the same treatment as them?"
"The teachers are too good to them!"
Many jealous voices rang out, but despite their sourness, none of them dared to speak up for Lin Wei and Fang Yihuai, because they knew they deserved this treatment.
The Olympic Winter Camp is a level they can't even imagine. If they're lucky, they might even be able to represent their country in international competitions—something they can brag about for a lifetime.
But for Lin Wei and Fang Yihuai, it was ultimately their good luck to have met such a responsible person as Professor Liang. Otherwise, even if those two spots had been given to someone else, no one would have said anything.
This brings us to Zhang Mo. Although he got a perfect score in this physics competition, he still had to listen attentively in class to prepare for the upcoming national physics competition because no one could vouch for him like Professor Liang did.
When Gao Fuya learned about this, she sighed, "It's a good thing I didn't participate in the last math competition, otherwise I would have been really envious." Nothing is more enviable than everyone participating in the same competition and the other person being admitted to the winter camp without taking the test.
However, she did quite well this time, winning first place in the English competition. Although she still couldn't compare to the two of them, it was still a respectable achievement.
She didn't participate in the last math competition, but she's determined to participate in this National Mathematics League. How will she know she can't do it if she doesn't try?
Because of this, the class fell into a tense atmosphere again. Even though it wasn't about grades, it still made people feel a sense of urgency.
"If I still can't beat them while they're preparing for this national league, that would be incredibly embarrassing," thought one of the top ten students who had previously fallen behind.
Finally, the registration period for the national competition arrived. In theory, Lin Wei had already been admitted to the math winter camp without taking the exam. However, on that day, she still hesitated, staring at the registration page on the website.
Or should I apply for another one?
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