In March, spring arrives and the temperature rises. The campus is covered with green grass and peach and plum trees are in full bloom.
For students in the competition class, "March" means challenges and opportunities.
The preliminary round of the 2006 National Junior High School Mathematics Competition was held in mid-March. The exam lasted two hours and the competition was very fierce. Only 10% of the candidates could enter the semi-finals.
On the day of the preliminary competition, Jiang Yubai's uncle personally drove his nephew to school.
Before Jiang Yubai said anything, his uncle became nervous: "Xiao Jiang, you are just in the first grade of junior high school, and you have skipped two grades. You should treat this national-level exam with a normal mind. Even if you don't do well, it doesn't matter. I, your uncle, failed the first audition for the symphony orchestra, but I didn't lose heart. I walked step by step to the position of the first violinist. Xiao Jiang, gold will always shine..."
Jiang Yubai interrupted his uncle: "If I don't do well in the exam today, I will still participate next year."
The uncle parked his Porsche on the side of the road. He held the steering wheel and turned to look at Jiang Yubai: "Okay, Xiao Jiang, keep going! Although your IQ is not 174, in my uncle's heart, you are a little genius."
Jiang Yubai clenched his fists: "Yes!"
Jiang Yubai got out of the car in high spirits, and his uncle watched his nephew leave.
Outside the gate of the Provincial No. 1 Middle School, there was a lot of noise and people moving around. Lin Zhixia ran through the crowd and came to Jiang Yubai's side. She only had a small bag on her back, which contained her admission ticket, bus card, phone card, and a pen.
She unzipped her small bag and took out her admission ticket. Jiang Yubai immediately asked her, "Didn't you bring your pencil case?"
Lin Zhixia said, "It doesn't matter. I don't need a pencil case."
Jiang Yubai reminded: "At least there should be a set of compasses and rulers."
Jiang Yubai took the National League very seriously. He made full preparations and brought two sets of stationery with him, which really came in handy. He put down his schoolbag, found the two sets of stationery, and gave the most complete set to Lin Zhixia.
Lin Zhixia did not refuse. She took a step forward and said, "Jiang Yubai, you are so nice." Her tone was lighter than usual, not as if she was talking to him on purpose, but rather as if she was talking to herself.
"It's nothing," Jiang Yubai responded calmly, "It's just a small matter, no need to thank me."
Lin Zhixia jumped up and said, "I used to think that what you said was different from what you thought in your heart, but now I have a new opinion. Jiang Yubai, you are very good to your friends, without asking for anything in return, and you don't even force a 'thank you'."
She stretched out her hand, pointed into the distance, and praised softly, "Jiang Yubai is like a diamond in the sky, bright and dazzling. I can see him as soon as I close my eyes."
Lin Zhixia's simple metaphor made Jiang Yubai freeze in his tracks. He just casually gave a set of stationery, why did it receive such high praise?
Jiang Yubai almost completely forgot that Lin Zhixia was his competitor.
"Defeating Lin Zhixia" was originally Jiang Yubai's wish. This wish was deeply rooted in his heart. But he had to admit that his competitive spirit inspired by Lin Zhixia was quietly fading away day by day.
Jiang Yubai was immersed in self-analysis when someone suddenly patted his shoulder. He looked to the side and saw Duan Qiyan, who looked solemn. Duan Qiyan, with a schoolbag slung over one shoulder, asked as he walked: "Lin Zhixia, Jiang Yubai, can you get first prize?"
After the "lock-picking incident" during the winter vacation this year, Duan Qiyan never provoked his classmates again. He lost his former arrogance because he found that since entering junior high school, he was no longer the number one god of war, but the number one god of misfortune.
The "No. 1 God of War" of Provincial No. 1 Middle School should be the invincible Lin Zhixia.
Lin Zhixia said confidently: "The junior high school league competition is not difficult, I will get first prize."
Jiang Yubai and Duan Qiyan didn't have any concerns in their hearts.
"The junior high school league should be easy for you, right?" Duan Qi Yan asked tentatively.
Lin Zhixia replied modestly: "It's OK."
Duan Qiyan asked again: "Hey, what time do you go to bed after studying every night?"
Lin Zhixia said honestly: "Before nine o'clock."
Jiang Yubai's answer was more precise: "Half past eight."
Duan Qiyan's breathing stagnated. He always insisted on going to bed at 10:30 at night. He thought he was a little lazy, but he didn't expect Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai to go to bed earlier than him.
He heard that Jin Baihui from Class 18 stayed up until midnight every night.
Lin Zhixia can stay at the top of her grade just by studying like a jerk. If she works as hard as Jin Baihui, how strong can she become?
In order to inspire Lin Zhixia's potential, Duan Qiyan mentioned a senior from the Provincial No. 1 High School. The senior won the first prize in the National Junior High School Mathematics League in his first year of junior high school. He taught himself high school courses during the summer vacation of his first year of junior high school and won the first prize in the National High School Mathematics League in his second year of junior high school. Later, the senior participated in the National Middle School Mathematics Winter Camp and achieved excellent results in the International Olympiad. He is one of the best students that the Provincial No. 1 High School has ever cultivated.
After Duan Qiyan introduced the senior in detail, he asked Lin Zhixia: "Hey, Class Leader Lin, how big is the gap between you and the senior?"
Before Lin Zhixia could speak, Jiang Yu said bluntly, "Lin Zhixia and Senior are different people. There is no point in comparing them."
Jiang Yubai's words touched Lin Zhixia's heart. She went around Jiang Yubai and said, "Jiang Yubai, I also want to participate in international competitions. I also want to team up with you to participate in the Romanian Mathematics Masters Competition. That kind of competition seems to be quite interesting. Each country will send a representative team. I heard that the players from the United States, South Korea, and Russia are all very strong. We can try to beat them!"
Jiang Yubai and Duan Qiyan have both heard of the "Romanian Mathematics Masters Competition". Jiang Yubai fell silent, and Duan Qiyan directly stated: "The Romanian Mathematics Masters Competition is too high for me..."
After a pause, Duan Qiyan said loudly: "Team Leader Lin, please wait for me for two years. During these two years, I will regain my status as the number one god of war. You and I will join forces to win the international championship and let our names be printed in the alumni directory of the Provincial No. 1 Middle School Archives."
To be honest, Lin Zhixia didn't want to team up with Duan Qiyan.
Jiang Yubai ranked ninth in the class in the entrance exam. When school started, Duan Qiyan would occasionally come to tease Jiang Yubai, and Lin Zhixia still remembered it vividly. As the monitor of the 17th grade class, she couldn't discourage Duan Qiyan from studying in front of him, so she simply said vaguely, "Duan Qiyan, you should first get a first prize in the league competition."
Jiang Yubai raised his left hand and held it in front of Lin Zhixia: "I will get first prize in the exam."
Lin Zhixia applauded him: "Of course! Jiang Yubai definitely won first prize in the exam!"
Duan Qiyan noticed that Lin Zhixia's attitude towards him was completely different from her attitude towards Jiang Yubai. Why was that? Since the beginning of the second semester of junior high school, Duan Qiyan had frequently shown his affection to Lin Zhixia, but Lin Zhixia usually responded to him politely and distantly.
In the Grade 17 class, Lin Zhixia was always the top student in the class, while Jiang Yubai and Shen Fuxuan would take turns to be the second in the class. Duan Qiyan was always ranked fourth or fifth in the class, and the students ahead of him would never sit at the same table with him.
When Duan Qiyan was choosing his next deskmate in his mind, Shen Fuxuan's voice came from behind them.
Shen Fuxuan shouted loudly: "Preliminary round, here I come!" He ran like a gust of wind, passing Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai.
Lin Zhixia followed Shen Qixuan and ran forward: "Go! Go!"
Duan Qiyan saw their battle formation and naturally didn't want to fall behind. He ran as fast as he could, his shoes scraping against the ground, making a loud "thump thump" sound. He ran quite a distance, and Shen Fuxuan was still laughing at him loudly: "Hahahaha, look at Duan Qiyan, he is born to run wildly."
Jiang Yubai commented: "Sometimes I don't quite believe that he is two years older than me."
Lin Zhixia laughed happily: "Hahahahahahahaha, I don't believe it either."
The preliminary round of the Mathematics League opened in a relaxed and happy atmosphere.
Jiang Yubai was extremely motivated. He wanted to finish all the questions in the first and second tests of the preliminary competition. When he entered high school, he and Lin Zhixia would participate in the Romanian Mathematics Master Competition together. Then, his and Lin Zhixia's names would be printed in the school history archives of the Provincial No. 1 High School.
Therefore, the league exam paper is no longer just a simple exam paper, but also a touchstone for the future.
Jiang Yubai is extremely focused and his writing is as if inspired by god.
His thinking flowed smoothly, and his pen made a continuous "rustling" sound. With ten minutes left before the end of the exam, he had already finished the last big question. He did not hand in the paper early. He carefully checked the multiple-choice questions and fill-in-the-blanks, and verified them in his mind.
In this preliminary round, he and Lin Zhixia were not in the same examination room.
When he raised his head and glanced out the window, he suddenly saw Lin Zhixia. She stood by the railing with her back to his classroom, looking up at the light blue sky with white clouds floating in it.
Jiang Yubai remembered what Lin Zhixia said to him this morning. She said, Jiang Yubai is like a diamond in the sky, bright and dazzling, I can see it as soon as I open my eyes.
The results of the preliminary round of the Mathematics League were announced at the end of March, and Lin Zhixia was qualified for the retest without any suspense. In their Grade 17 class, in addition to Lin Zhixia, there were seven other students who could participate in the retest, and Jiang Yubai was one of them.
Teacher Zhai appeared again and served as their head coach.
Teacher Zhai gathered together all the bright students from Class 17 and Class 18 of the first grade of junior high school and gave them special math training every day.
Lin Zhixia had not yet shown her full strength during the winter break training. But in the April special training, whenever Teacher Zhai called her name, she would answer questions quickly and without any hesitation. She was clearly not on the same level as the other first-year students. Teacher Zhai noticed her talent and quickly found the questions from the high school league competition.
It was the best sunny day since the beginning of spring. The sun was shining brightly, the sky was clear, and I could hear the sound of students reading in the next class.
Teacher Zhai stood on the podium in a classroom, holding a ruler and pointing to a question on the blackboard: "This is the 15th question of the 2001 High School Mathematics Competition, which involves the common sense of a point resistor. Has your physics teacher ever talked to you about resistors?"
Jin Baihui raised her hand: "I have learned about resistors!"
Teacher Zhai nodded slightly. He had a very good impression of Jin Baihui. Jin Baihui from Class 18 was very hardworking and conscientious. No matter how difficult the task was, she could always complete it on time and in full.
Jin Baihui also wrote on the first page of her math homework book with a marker: "Be as careful at the end as at the beginning, and you will not fail." Teacher Zhai appreciated her learning attitude.
Perhaps, there is a difference in talent between Jin Baihui and Lin Zhixia, but she can make up for that deficiency with her own hard work.
Teacher Zhai suggested expectantly: "You all should give it a try and write down this question..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Zhixia told him: "Teacher Zhai, I've finished writing."
Lin Zhixia's seat was in the middle of the second row. Her deskmates were Jiang Yubai and Shen Fuxuan. Jin Baihui sat right in front of Lin Zhixia. The moment Lin Zhixia spoke, Jin Baihui turned her head and stared at her, asking, "Have you seen this problem before? Why did you only spend one minute writing a proof of resistance?"
Lin Zhixia held the edge of the draft paper and slowly raised it up, shielding her face and Jin Baihui's gaze. Her problem-solving process was fully displayed in front of Jin Baihui.
Teacher Zhai walked down the podium quickly. He picked up Lin Zhixia's draft paper with both hands, scanned it briefly, pressed his fingertips on the paper, and folded a mark on both sides of the draft paper. Time seemed to pass very slowly. The second hand of the wall clock moved forward four units before Teacher Zhai said, "Lin Zhixia."
Lin Zhixia looked up at him: "Teacher Zhai."
She is only eleven years old this year, still a little girl, but Teacher Zhai made a conclusion: "Lin Zhixia, after you finish participating in the semi-finals of the junior high school mathematics league in April, you can continue to participate in the high school league. I will help you contact the teacher of the high school competition class. It is not okay for you to follow us to learn the junior high school competition. It really is not okay. If you follow the high school competition class, you will have the opportunity to get more honors... I had a student before, whose situation was similar to yours. He finished learning the content of high school mathematics, physics and chemistry in the first year of junior high school, and won the first prize in the high school mathematics league in the third year of junior high school. In his first year of high school, he directly won medals in international physics and mathematics competitions. He just entered the second year of high school this year and was successfully admitted to the School of Mathematics of Peking University. You see, this is your way..."
Jiang Yu asked, "Should Lin Zhixia skip a grade and go to the high school competition class?"
Teacher Zhai thought for a moment and added, "No need to skip a grade. My student didn't skip a grade. Lin Zhixia is in junior high school and can also participate in the high school league. Lin Zhixia, you have accumulated enough gold medals in the competition. You don't even need to spend time studying in high school. You will be directly recommended, just like your senior."
Lin Zhixia said nothing. She and Jiang Yubai looked at each other for a while.
This was perhaps the most difficult decision Jiang Yubai had ever made. Jiang Yubai turned his head away, avoiding her gaze, but his tone was more determined than she had imagined: "Lin Zhixia, you must be brave and move forward."
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