The 2007 provincial informatics competition was held at 9:00 a.m. on April 12.
In the information science competition, three people form a team, and the team members must work together to complete ten programming questions. Lin Zhixia's two teammates are both seniors in the second year of high school. The grades of these two seniors were originally in the upper middle of the competition class. Since they teamed up with Lin Zhixia, they have become invincible.
If nothing unexpected happens, today's provincial first prize should belong to Lin Zhixia and her teammates.
Lin Zhixia followed the teacher into the classroom with her schoolbag on her back. She yawned, and her teammates asked, "Are you sleepy, Lin Zhixia?"
"I'm a little sleepy," Lin Zhixia said honestly, "My brother got up at five this morning and did some morning exercises in the living room. I was woken up by him."
A teammate was surprised and asked, "Does your brother get up at five in the morning to exercise?"
Lin Zhixia defended her brother: "Next week, he will take the physical education exam."
Yes, my brother is about to take the high school entrance examination.
He works so hard and is so serious.
Lin Zhixia admired her brother's perseverance and supported him getting up early to exercise. The only problem was that Lin Zhixia didn't wake up today. Her reaction was half a beat slower than usual, and her speed in solving problems dropped a lot.
It took her seven minutes to finish the second question.
She was so sleepy that she gradually lowered her head and lay on the computer desk. She held a pencil in her right hand and scribbled on the draft paper, writing mathematical derivations that no one could understand.
The teammates were obviously nervous. One of them said, "Lin Zhixia, you are not in good shape today."
Another teammate said: "The people from Experimental No. 1 Middle School posted on Baidu Tieba that they want to beat Provincial No. 1 Middle School. Look at the scrolling information on the big screen in the front row... Experimental No. 1 Middle School has finished the fourth question."
Lin Zhixia perked up and looked around.
It was only then that Lin Zhixia realized that more than half of the participating teams were working faster than she was. Experimental No. 1 Middle School was the fastest, and they could really beat Provincial No. 1 Middle School.
Lin Zhixia's heart was filled with alarm bells, her consciousness was extremely clear, and her eyes became firm and resolute. She took a deep breath and told her two teammates: "Read the questions aloud to me."
In the competition, each team has three players. Players on the same team share a table. On the table is a computer and a printed test paper.
Lin Zhixia's teammate picked up the test questions and read them aloud to her sentence by sentence.
As soon as her teammate finished reading, Lin Zhixia had an idea. She quickly tapped the keyboard and wrote line after line of code. She didn't even need to compile it to accurately predict the result - because every line of code had been run in her mind in advance. Although her approach may not be the most perfect, her efficiency is amazing.
Lin Zhixia and her teammates won the gold medal in the provincial competition and a reward of 3,000 yuan.
Logically, the 3,000 yuan team bonus should be divided equally among the three teammates. However, Lin Zhixia's two teammates were too embarrassed to take the 1,000 yuan, and they insisted that Lin Zhixia take the 3,000 yuan alone. They also said that Lin Zhixia's outstanding performance in the programming competition benefited the entire team.
Lin Zhixia still gave them 2,000 yuan. She explained: "I learned a lesson at the Romania Masters... teammates are very important. Because my teammates and I are moving towards the same goal, they help me share the pressure."
That afternoon, Lin Zhixia returned home happily holding the provincial competition trophy.
Not long ago, Lin Zhixia won a gold medal in a prestigious math competition, and the Provincial No. 1 High School awarded her a scholarship of over 10,000 yuan. Today, she brought back another 1,000 yuan, and her mother simply didn't know how to praise her, so she just asked her, "Xia Xia is amazing, what do you want to eat tonight?"
Lin Zhixia thought for a moment and suggested, "Mom, Mom, let's have stir-fried beef with green peppers, apple soup, sweet and sour pork ribs, and cold okra tonight, okay? These are my brother's favorite dishes. My brother is about to take the high school entrance exam, and he's very busy every day."
While washing the dishes, the mother replied, "Okay, I'll make you another bowl of egg custard. Xia Xia, you must be tired from the competition today. Come back to your room and have a rest."
Lin Zhixia clung to her mother like a piece of taffy: "During the competition today, Xia Xia almost fell asleep."
Almost fell asleep...
Can you still win first prize?
The mother bent down and wiped the stove with a rag, and at the same time coaxed her daughter: "Xia Xia, if you feel tired, go to bed and take a nap. When your brother comes home, mom will call you to get up and eat."
Lin Zhixia nodded. She walked back to her bedroom, picked up the little penguin, and lay quietly on the bed. In the past month, her brother often gave her little penguin a bath. Her brother also cleaned her room without complaint and wiped her desk clean.
Lin Zhixia noticed that her brother always had a Romanian Easter egg in his pocket.
Lin Zhixia really didn't expect that a mere Romanian Easter egg could have such a great effect. It not only helped her brother overcome his fear of penguins, but also made her attitude towards her much softer.
Her mind was full of random thoughts and she fell asleep before she knew it.
At around six o'clock in the evening, Lin Zhixia was woken up by her mother.
Lin Zhixia got up immediately, put on her plush rabbit slippers, and ran straight to the dining table at home.
The food exuded a warm aroma, and the table was full of Lin Zeqiu's favorite dishes. Lin Zeqiu sat at the table, thinking: "Is it a holiday today?"
His mother told him: "Your sister won the championship in the computer science competition today and won a scholarship of one thousand yuan."
After hearing the good news, Lin Zeqiu showed no emotion. He put a piece of pork ribs into Lin Zhixia's bowl, and Lin Zhixia responded, "Thank you, brother."
Lin Zhixia took a bite of the pork ribs, savored them carefully, and said, "Both the braised pork ribs and the sweet and sour pork ribs made by my mom are delicious. The dishes made by my mom are the best in the world. Xia Xia wants to eat the meals made by my mom every day, and she will be very happy after eating them..."
Lin Zeqiu suddenly interrupted his sister: "Lin Zhixia, you are twelve years old, can you please stop calling yourself 'Xia Xia' all the time? Don't you know how to speak in the first person? Isn't that childish?"
The Romanian Easter eggs seem to have expired.
Lin Zhixia put down her chopsticks and confronted her brother: "I'm happy, what's it to you? You can also use 'Qiuqiu' to refer to yourself. Do you dare to abandon the first person and speak in this way? You don't dare, Lin Zeqiu."
Lin Zeqiu's Adam's apple rolled, and a sentence popped up in his mind - Qiuqiu won't argue with you, Qiuqiu continued to eat. He shuddered and almost dropped his bowl to the ground.
Mom called him by his full name: "Lin Zeqiu, your sister asked me to make the dish tonight. Your sister cares about you very much. Don't always quarrel with her. A harmonious family brings prosperity."
Lin Zeqiu held the bowl and lowered his head to take a mouthful of rice.
Mom waited until he finished chewing before she said, "Qiuqiu, you're going to take the high school entrance exam soon. You have to listen to mom and not get up too early in the morning. You can't mess up your daily routine. You have to eat and sleep like usual. Your class teacher told me that if you perform normally, you can get into the high school department of the Provincial No. 1 Middle School."
The competition in the high school department of the Provincial No. 1 High School is fierce. Lin Zeqiu wants to be admitted to the gifted class of the high school department, so he must get a good score in the high school entrance examination. He is in the sprint stage, and he dares not slack off at all, and he is very strict with himself.
He woke up for no apparent reason at five this morning, and then he couldn't fall asleep again.
He knew that he was under a lot of psychological pressure. He always thought that he was Lin Zhixia's brother and couldn't be too far behind her. If his high school entrance exam results were terrible, his parents would be disappointed.
Lin Zeqiu's assumption of failure made him more eager for success.
He studied diligently, sitting at his desk almost all day on Saturdays and Sundays. In the process of checking for omissions and making up for deficiencies, he occasionally found some difficult questions. Even though Lin Zhixia was sitting next to him, he was unwilling to ask his sister for help.
His sister is a twelve-year-old who still calls herself "Xia Xia".
He didn't need his sister to help him. He could solve the problem independently. Although Lin Zeqiu's heart was filled with such thoughts, reality was always more cruel than imagined.
Lin Zeqiu held a ballpoint pen and stared at the physics test paper handed out by the teacher. He was once again stuck on the key question. He sat still for 20 minutes, feeling vaguely that someone was watching him from behind.
Lin Zeqiu looked back and caught a glimpse of Lin Zhixia. Lin Zhixia hid outside the door and called out cautiously, "Brother..."
Lin Zeqiu replied impatiently: "What do you want?"
"I think you have encountered a problem that you can't solve again, but you are unwilling to come to me." Lin Zhixia expressed her point of view bluntly.
Lin Zeqiu's first reaction was to hide his physics test paper. He opened a Chinese book and covered it up by saying, "I'm memorizing."
Lin Zhixia walked over to him. She followed the clues and easily found the scene, successfully finding the physics test paper. She glanced at the last question and was about to speak when Lin Zeqiu said, "Go back to your room and leave me alone."
Lin Zhixia reached into her brother's shirt pocket and grabbed a Romanian Easter egg. She said seriously, "I heard the Easter egg talking to me. The egg told me that there is only a short time left before the high school entrance examination, and I can make progress together with my brother."
The brother gently pulled her wrist away: "Go and do your own thing."
"I don't have anything to do for the moment." Lin Zhixia moved a chair and sat next to Lin Zeqiu.
Lin Zhixia would sleep with her little penguin in her arms every day. Her little penguin was always fragrant and clean, but she herself had never washed it once. She suddenly realized how much her family cared about her.
Now, she is trying to pay attention to her brother and help him relieve his psychological burden.
She wrote down the solution to the most important question on the physics test paper with a pencil. She opened Lin Zeqiu's notebook and summarized it directly on the last page. She didn't need any book to guide her at all, as she had a clear framework in her mind.
Lin Zeqiu accepted her kindness in silence.
"Where is your math notebook?" Lin Zhixia asked again, "Brother, give me your math notebook."
Lin Zeqiu refused and said, "Forget it, there is too much math content."
Lin Zhixia wanted to say that junior high school math was very simple, but she thought of the "competitive style" that Duan Qiyan always talked about, so she swallowed her words. She imitated Jiang Yubai's words and said in a low voice: "The content of junior high school math is suitable for systematic summary."
Lin Zeqiu felt that his sister had suddenly become much calmer and more sophisticated. He stared at her suspiciously, and she immediately recovered her composure: "Give me your notebook quickly, are you going to give it to me or not?"
Lin Zeqiu gave her a blank notebook.
Lin Zhixia's thoughts were like a flood that had been opened, pouring out onto the paper. She recorded the types of questions in a detailed and appropriate manner. She seemed to be able to guess Lin Zeqiu's math skills, so the difficulty of all the questions she recorded was relatively high, and they all maintained the level of the main questions.
From that day on, Lin Zhixia often accompanied Lin Zeqiu to review.
Lin Zeqiu placed two desk lamps on the table and prepared a soft cushion for Lin Zhixia's seat. At the end of May, the weather gradually became hotter, and Lin Zeqiu found the best electric fan at home, removed the cover, wiped the fan blades with a towel until they were dust-free, and then put the electric fan in Lin Zhixia's bedroom.
Although Lin Zeqiu didn't want to admit it, the facts were before his eyes - after Lin Zhixia's tutoring, his academic performance improved steadily and he returned to the top of the class.
What's even more shameful is that as long as Lin Zhixia is by his side, he has an indescribable sense of security. No matter how complicated the problem he encounters, Lin Zhixia will write the most concise and easy-to-understand solution.
One night in early June, Lin Zhixia accompanied him to the last round of review. He studied until nine o'clock in the evening, and Lin Zhixia began to feel sleepy. She rested her head on her arms, groggy and unable to distinguish between reality and dreams, she muttered to herself: "Brother did very well in the exam, brother is the top scorer in the high school entrance examination..."
Lin Zeqiu thought she was talking to him. After a few seconds, he realized that Lin Zhixia was talking in her sleep - this was very rare. Lin Zhixia was always quiet when she slept, and she almost never talked in her sleep.
But tonight, Lin Zeqiu clearly heard his sister say, "Well...you can interview me..."
Lin Zeqiu guessed her dream. She probably dreamed that Lin Zeqiu became the top scorer in the high school entrance examination and reporters came to her home to interview her.
In reality, Lin Zhixia always avoids reporters and refuses any contact with newspapers and the media. However, in this dream, she said generously: "My brother has always been...always very hardworking, excellent, and shining...My brother is a very good boy..."
Lin Zeqiu raised his hand and supported his forehead. A sour feeling welled up in his throat, and his voice became slower and gentler: "Lin Zhixia, get up."
Lin Zhixia didn't wake up.
He called out again: "Xia Xia."
Lin Zhixia was confused and looked bewildered: "What did you call me just now?"
Lin Zeqiu turned off the lamp: "It's 9:10, go back to your room and go to sleep, I want to sleep too."
Lin Zhixia didn't ask any more questions. She patted her brother on the shoulder and said, "Come on, brother. Good luck on your high school entrance exam."
After that, she staggered back to the bedroom, fell on the bed and fell asleep. Nine o'clock in the evening was the limit of her consciousness. Once it was past nine o'clock, she would be completely eroded by sleepiness.
Lin Zeqiu stood at the door of her bedroom for a while and closed the door.
His memory is far inferior to Lin Zhixia's. But he always remembers this night and Lin Zhixia's evaluation of him: My brother has always been very hardworking, excellent, and shining. My brother is a very good boy.
In mid-June, the high school entrance exam officially began, and Lin Zeqiu maintained a stable mentality. He walked into the examination room with his schoolbag, and in the schoolbag was the Easter egg that Lin Zhixia gave him. Perhaps the good luck of the Easter egg favored him, and he performed very well, almost reaching his highest level. He felt that he had one foot in the high school training class of the Provincial No. 1 High School.
In mid-July, the results of the high school entrance exam came out, and Lin Zeqiu did better than he had imagined. He ranked 49th in the city, and his name even appeared in the Morning Daily. On a red bulletin attached to the newspaper, the names of the top 50 students in the city's high school entrance exam were listed, and Lin Zeqiu ranked second to last, which was already a great honor.
Lin Zeqiu's parents were extremely happy. They were very proud of their son. His father ate an extra bowl of rice for two consecutive days and kept saying at home all day: "Qiuqiu and Xiaxia in our family have such good grades. What a good son and daughter. Tell me, your mother and I have no education and have never been to college, but we can raise children like you. Oh, our ancestors are so sad."
After the high school entrance exam, Lin Zeqiu felt relieved. He opened the Morning Post and asked Lin Zhixia, "One day in early June, you fell asleep on the table and dreamed that I was the top scorer in the high school entrance exam. Do you remember?"
Lin Zhixia was eating watermelon. She heard her brother's words, thought for a second, and then admitted, "I remember."
Lin Zeqiu's heart was in turmoil: "What did you say to the reporter in your dream?"
Lin Zhixia scooped up a piece of watermelon with a small spoon: "In my dream, the reporter interviewed me and asked me what impression I had of you. Brother, how could I say bad things about you in front of outsiders? Even if it was made up, I had to praise you as much as I could."
Even if it is fabricated, I must still praise you as much as I can.
Hearing that, Lin Zeqiu's limbs stiffened a little. He patted the table and walked back to the bedroom without saying a word. Lin Zhixia was still asking him, "Brother, brother, don't you want to eat watermelon?"
Lin Zeqiu replied fiercely: "Eat, eat, eat, all you know is to eat."
Lin Zhixia complained: "Mom, Mom, my brother is vicious to me!"
The mother was washing the balcony. When she heard her daughter's words, she stepped forward and said, "Lin Zeqiu, you should be gentle to your sister. A harmonious family brings prosperity!"
Lin Zeqiu closed his door, still holding the Morning Daily in his hand. No matter what, with the help of Lin Zhixia, he got unprecedented good grades and entered the strongest class in the high school department of the Provincial No. 1 High School. He did not dare to slack off and also previewed the high school textbooks during the summer vacation. He thought he was fully prepared and began to look forward to high school campus life.
On the first day of school in September, Lin Zeqiu and Lin Zhixia took the bus to school as usual.
It was a sunny day, and Lin Zhixia was in a very good mood. She walked into the gate of the Provincial No. 1 Middle School with her brother, and she couldn't help jumping around on the campus: "I'm in the third grade of junior high school!"
The shadows of the trees in the distance swayed in the wind, and the crowds of people were bustling around. Lin Zhixia saw a familiar figure. She immediately left her brother behind, shouting as she ran: "Jiang Yubai! Jiang Yubai!"
Jiang Yubai stood still when he heard her voice. After not seeing him for a whole summer, Lin Zhixia felt that he had grown a lot taller. She couldn't wait to run to his side and asked him excitedly: "Jiang Yubai, Jiang Yubai, guess what kind of birthday gift I prepared for you?"
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