Time passed by minute by minute, and Lao Cai's fingers hovered over the computer keyboard.
Lao Cai is a meticulous person. When he writes programs, he strives for perfection. He turned his head and discussed with Xiao Liang how to improve the efficiency of the program. Lin Zhixia couldn't find a chance to interrupt, so she could only sit in her seat and listen quietly to Lao Cai and Xiao Liang's heated conversation.
Lao Cai felt that he had excluded Lin Zhixia from the team. He felt a little guilty. He told a joke to liven up the atmosphere and asked Lin Zhixia to help him check the code.
Lin Zhixia took a quick look and confirmed that there was nothing wrong with Lao Cai's procedure.
Previously, Lin Zhixia had pointed out that Lao Cai's "binary string should not be shifted left by two bits." However, it now seems that Lao Cai's thinking is correct. Lin Zhixia apologized to him: "I'm sorry, I was wrong just now. I didn't expect you to write it like this. Your solution method is completely different from mine."
Lao Cai adjusted the position of his chair. While submitting the code, he said to Lin Zhixia, "Hurry up, let's study the sixth question. The sixth question is algebraic geometry..."
Before Lao Cai finished his sentence, Xiao Liang tapped the table with his fingers: "The fifth question is wrong."
Lao Cai and Lin Zhixia raised their heads together and looked at the computer screen.
IHSPC is a brutal and rigorous competition, and the scores of each team are updated in real time and are open and transparent. Contestants upload the code of a certain question, and the background program will immediately determine the score.
Right or wrong, points scored or points deducted, it all depends on a single thought and a single moment.
Mr. Cai felt a huge pressure. He held his breath and said in a hoarse voice: "Did we write the fifth question incorrectly?"
There was a big mistake in the fifth question, which resulted in a 7-point deduction. The overall ranking of the Provincial No. 1 Middle School dropped from sixth to seventeenth.
So far, the Russian and Korean teams are far ahead, followed closely by several Chinese teams. Provincial No. 1 High School has no advantage, Lin Zhixia is nervous, and hurriedly checks the feedback from the backstage. She said: "You used a binary string to represent the set in question 5, and shifting left by two bits means multiplying by 4, but you forgot to write one case... I was also wrong, I didn't read every line of your code carefully."
Old Cai frowned tightly, his face gloomy. He held the mouse and refreshed the page. The ranking of the competition was updated again - Provincial No. 1 Middle School dropped to 19th place.
Lin Zhixia always ranked first in her grade in every exam. She had never seen a score of "19th". She was a little confused. Lao Cai was still correcting the fifth question. Xiao Liang comforted him, "Lao Cai, don't worry, there is still a chance."
Mr. Cai submitted the fifth question for the second time and it was again judged as “Error”.
This "Error" means "mistake". The Provincial No. 1 Middle School was deducted another 4 points, and its overall ranking continued to decline.
"It's really terrible." Old Cai sighed.
Lin Zhixia blocked Lao Cai's hand and grabbed the keyboard. She added a new variable based on Lao Cai's program. She clicked the left mouse button and pressed the green confirmation button. However, she was unable to reverse the situation. "Error" appeared repeatedly, and the ranking of "Provincial No. 1 Middle School" fell to 43rd place.
Xiao Liang criticized mercilessly: "Lin Zhixia, you handed it in too quickly. We didn't see your writing clearly."
At this time, Lin Zhixia took out the test paper and reread the stem of question 5. She said to her teammates, "I know, we all remembered this question wrong. Two weeks ago, when the teacher was training us, he gave us a question that was 80% similar to question 5, but the constraints were completely different..."
Before Lin Zhixia finished speaking, Xiao Liang and Lao Cai were already working together to revise it.
They were all inspired by the gambler mentality.
The worse they failed on question 5, the more they tried until they got it right.
Lin Zhixia pointed at the screen and suggested, "Delete this function. It is redundant code."
The so-called "redundant code" refers to the code that is not necessary.
Xiao Liang's fingers moved rapidly on the keyboard, but he ignored Lin Zhixia. Xiao Liang and Lao Cai lowered their heads and whispered to each other, exchanged opinions seriously, and submitted the answer to the fifth question again - this time, they finally succeeded.
The huge competition venue was filled with conversations in various languages.
The Russian team across the table was laughing and talking, they were currently ranked first in the competition. The Estonian team next door was solemn, and three teammates were drawing pictures while discussing question 6.
Outside the wide French windows, there was a wet mist. The windows were covered with misty water drops, and the sky became increasingly dark and gray. The buildings in the distance stood in rows, reflected in the dark background, like a profound oil painting.
Lin Zhixia was distracted.
Lin Zhixia only got her first computer this year, while Lao Cai and Xiao Liang have been learning programming since childhood. Xiao Liang's father and mother are both programmers at a computer company in the provincial capital, so it can be said that she comes from a "family of programmers." Perhaps, Lin Zhixia should adjust her state and work hard to do a good job as an assistant.
After some careful consideration, Lin Zhixia nodded. She dragged her chair closer to Lao Cai.
Old Cai opened the main page of the competition and saw that the Provincial No. 1 High School was ranked 49th, and the teams behind them were still on the rise. If the situation continued like this, they would have no hope of winning a bronze medal, let alone a gold medal.
Lin Zhixia asked in confusion: "Why are we falling further and further behind?"
Lao Cai said: "Both Russia and the United States have sent more than 20 teams. Look at these American high schools, they are all ahead. Even the British schools have surpassed us..."
Lin Zhixia quickly said, "I know how to answer question 4. As long as we answer question 4 correctly, the score of Provincial No. 1 High School will go up!"
"How do you do the fourth question?" Lao Cai asked her, "Or the same method as before?"
Lin Zhixia was very sure: "Yes."
Old Cai pushed up his glasses on his nose. He still thought that Lin Zhixia's approach was wrong, just like he had written the fifth question incorrectly. He thought that Lin Zhixia had a wrong view of the fourth question. He suggested that Lin Zhixia first create a set of data on a draft paper, and then substitute this set of data into her program to verify whether her method would be successful.
"I've calculated it in my mind." Lin Zhixia said honestly.
But Lao Cai said, "Write it down, write a few more pages, I will ask you step by step. You just submitted the fifth question and didn't let Xiao Liang and I check it. You made a mistake, and the team lost four points."
Lin Zhixia reached out and touched the keyboard: "At first, I thought that the fifth question was a routine question we had encountered before... You and I made the same mistake. This is the principle of 'three people make a tiger' - three people confirm the same thing, no matter whether it is true or false, their first reaction is to follow the crowd."
Old Cai stroked the keyboard with his right hand. He was originally thinking about the sixth question. But Lin Zhixia's words made him inexplicably irritated. He took off his glasses, put them on the table, raised his palms, and rubbed his face violently.
Lin Zhixia's words were so many and made Lao Cai feel upset and confused.
The most taboo thing in the IHSPC competition is for teammates to accuse each other. Lao Cai has received more than two years of training, and he and Xiao Liang are very clear about this rule. However, Lin Zhixia didn't seem to understand, or she just felt that it didn't matter if she told the truth.
Old Cai held his forehead and said, "Lin Zhixia, how old are you this year?"
Lin Zhixia moved back an inch and said, "I am twelve years old this year... I am thirteen in my physical form, and will be fourteen soon."
Lao Cai pointed at himself and then at Xiao Liang: "We are several years older than you."
"Our souls are equal," Lin Zhixia murmured to herself, "Whether I am twelve or ninety-two, I will treat you the same way."
Xiao Liang said, "You are twelve years old this year, not ninety-two years old..."
Lin Zhixia remembered her business: "Time is so tight, can I use the computer to finish question 4 first?"
Old Cai couldn't stand it any longer and exploded, "Can't you just write down the steps? You will lose points if you answer incorrectly. You are a human, not a god. If you make a mistake, your teammates will have to clean up your mess. You should be sensible at the age of twelve, right?"
Lin Zhixia paused for two seconds and confronted him: "Can you please stop attacking my age? I do make mistakes, everyone makes mistakes, as long as we correct them, that experience is meaningful."
Old Cai collapsed and said, "Don't talk to me about chicken soup."
Lin Zhixia patiently explained, "I can write down the steps for question 4, but question 4 is about recursive exponential functions, so I have to write it using number theory and then apply Fermat-Euler's theorem. I saw that no one was using the keyboard, so I suggested that I write the program, and then I will explain it to you in detail with the help of the code. This will be clearer to you than what I wrote by hand. I can also write the program code on paper and then copy it into the compiler... But in this way, you may not be able to check every step I take, because the code is destined to be concise and jumpy, and you can't debug it with your naked eyes."
"Debug" is a programming term that means "solving program problems."
Lao Cai did not answer. His eyes were focused on the display screen.
The ranking of the Provincial No. 1 Middle School is still declining. There is also an African national team that has risen to the first place above the Provincial No. 1 Middle School.
African team?
In Lao Cai's impression, Africa is an underdeveloped region. He watched a documentary about an African city - the periphery of that city was the African grassland, and lions, antelopes and zebras ran happily in the suburbs of the city, which shocked him greatly.
He was actually surpassed by the African team.
Lao Cai was not even sure whether the students of the African team were safe in their daily lives, whether they would be chased by lions, teased by leopards, or threatened by elephants.
However, he, who received good training at the Provincial No. 1 Middle School and enjoyed the attentive hospitality of the cafeteria chef, was not as good as a team from Africa.
A mass of suffocation formed in Lao Cai's chest, which was neither rising nor falling, blocking his lungs. He said slowly, "You won the gold medal in the Romanian Masters Competition, and you came to participate in the information science competition. The teacher insisted on putting you in our group, squeezing out our original teammates. The person who was squeezed out and I were good friends for five years in high school. The teachers insisted that you were smart, strong, capable, and talented. OK, fine, I agreed to let you join the team. But you still deducted four points from us. Is this your strength?"
Lin Zhixia sat on the chair and moved back a distance. She didn't want to listen to Lao Cai anymore.
Especially when Lao Cai mentioned that he and the team member who was squeezed out were good friends for five years in middle school, Lin Zhixia suddenly thought of Jiang Yubai. If someone squeezed out Jiang Yubai's position, Lin Zhixia would definitely be very angry.
However, the coach did not tell Lin Zhixia that Lao Cai, Xiao Liang and that person were good friends and teammates who had trained together for many years.
The coach only said: Lao Cai, Xiao Liang, and Lin Zhixia, you three are the most suitable to form a team. Lin Zhixia, you have a good personality and mentality, and you have won the gold medal in mathematics in an international competition. You, Lao Cai, and Xiao Liang will definitely win the IHSPC trophy!
Lin Zhixia was in a very low mood.
Lao Cai was still blaming her: "I got the fifth question wrong for the first time. You said I had neglected to consider a situation and pointed me in the wrong direction, causing me to lose seven points. After these troubles, the African team was able to surpass us..."
"I've admitted that I was wrong," Lin Zhixia looked at the invigilator who was getting closer and closer, and consciously lowered her voice. "This itself was an accident. We should share the risk and the consequences because we are a team."
IHSPC regulations state that competitors can discuss quietly but are not allowed to make loud noises.
Lao Cai's voice was a little loud, which affected the New Zealand player sitting behind him.
The New Zealand players reported the situation to the supervisor. The supervisor verbally warned the team from Provincial No. 1 High School: "Excuse me, could you please lower your voice?"
Lin Zhixia hurriedly apologized: "Sorry, my teammates and I..."
Before Lin Zhixia finished speaking, the teacher stopped her and said, "That is all right."
After saying that, the teacher left.
Xiao Liang huddled in a corner and didn't hear the English questions and answers from the invigilator. He asked Lin Zhixia, "What happened?"
Lin Zhixia relayed: "The teacher asked us to keep our voices down. I said I was sorry, and the teacher said it was okay."
Unexpected situations occurred one after another, and Lin Zhixia and her teammates were a little absent-minded. Lin Zhixia wanted to do the fourth question, but Xiao Liang said, "Forget it, let's do the sixth and seventh questions first."
Lao Cai was writing the sixth question on the computer. He compiled it several times. Xiao Liang and Lin Zhixia helped him establish a set of input and output data standards.
Time passed quickly on the field. Provincial No. 1 High School's ranking rose three times and fell four times. A thin layer of sweat formed on Lao Cai's back. Although he answered the sixth question correctly, his method took a long time and his final score was low. He tried a different method, but the sixth question became "Error". Not only did he not gain any points, he also suffered some losses.
He quickly calmed himself down and assigned the remaining questions to his teammates.
Lin Zhixia held her cheek with one hand and began to read the tenth question. The tenth question was the most important question of this competition, involving complex integral geometry. Integral geometry was originally one of Lin Zhixia's best areas, but when she transformed her mathematical thinking into programming language, the Russian team had already solved the tenth question.
The Russian team happened to be sitting right opposite Lin Zhixia.
The three Russian boys were all smiles, silently celebrating their victory. They were more than ten points ahead of the second-place Zhejiang team, and seemed destined to take home the gold medal.
The Zhejiang team was playing a close game with a South Korean team. Every time the South Korean team surpassed the Zhejiang team by a few points, the Zhejiang team would catch up madly. As the game progressed, the Zhejiang team even caught up with the Russian team, only three points behind Russia.
Lin Zhixia looked at the computer screen and quietly encouraged her compatriots: "Come on Zhejiang, come on Zhejiang, surpass Russia soon."
Lao Cai's mother is from Zhejiang. He regrets why he is not in the Zhejiang team.
Lao Cai refreshed the page in vain. The Zhejiang team's score kept changing. Lao Cai simply closed the page. He continued to discuss the topic with his teammates, but a new disagreement arose. This time, Lao Cai and Lin Zhixia agreed, but Xiao Liang had a different view. Xiao Liang also said, "If Ah Zhou was here, Ah Zhou would stand on my side."
This "Ah Zhou" is the teammate who was unfortunately screened out.
The mood within the team was even more depressed.
By the end of the competition, the Provincial First High School had answered six questions correctly and reported many wrong answers. Their final ranking was 24th and they received a participation award.
At first, Lin Zhixia didn't feel very sad. Almost at the moment the conflict broke out, she had anticipated the outcome.
However, on the way back, Lao Cai and Xiao Liang took all the responsibility in front of the coach. They said that the reason for such a big mistake in this competition was that they were not in good condition on the field. Neither of them mentioned the mistake Lin Zhixia made on the fifth question.
Lin Zhixia asked Lao Cai privately, but Lao Cai said that, firstly, he and Xiao Liang were indeed not in a stable relationship, and secondly, when he and Zhou were teammates, he was used to helping Zhou out.
When they returned to the Provincial No. 1 Middle School, the two coaches of the Information Science Department were both heartbroken. It turned out that the final ranking of the IHSPC was the worst result in the history of the Provincial No. 1 Middle School.
In last year's competition, Provincial No. 1 Middle School won the bronze medal.
This time, Provincial No. 1 Middle School only received a trivial participation award.
Lin Zhixia realized it later. She left the high school department in a daze and walked back to the classroom of Grade 9 (Class 17). Her disastrous experience in Moscow, Russia, had already been reported back to the Grade 9 class. When the students in Class 17 saw her enter the room, no one spoke, and no one knew how to comfort her.
Lin Zhixia sat back in her seat quietly.
Jiang Yubai turned his head and looked at her: "Lin Zhixia?"
Lin Zhixia spoke in a very low voice. She said to herself, "Don't call me. Let me think about it alone. What's the problem? Is it because I'm not serious enough in the competition... But I tried my best. I didn't dare to quarrel. If I made too much noise, I would be disqualified from the competition, and it would also affect the next generation of contestants in our school... I didn't know what to do. They didn't believe in the methods I said. I didn't believe in their methods either. Later, I became more negative and depressed... During the training period, everyone got along well, but when it came to the competition, my mentality changed..."
"Lin Zhixia," Jiang Yubai interrupted her, "Everyone is affected by the environment, don't blame yourself."
Lin Zhixia burst into tears: "Our school won the bronze medal last year."
"Our school did not allow girls to enroll a hundred years ago." Jiang Yubai suddenly raised this point. He said: "Tradition is not a rule, it cannot remain unchanged. Lin Zhixia, you are a very good student."
As soon as Jiang Yubai finished speaking, there was a knock on the nearby window.
Lin Zhixia's seat was by the window - she always liked to sit by the window. She raised her head and looked out the window.
Jin Baihui was standing outside Class 17, holding a notebook. Her gaze penetrated the glass and reached Lin Zhixia's eyes: "You got 24th place? This is the worst ranking I've ever heard of. You didn't work hard at all."
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