Chapter 91 Returning Home
Inside the room, She Ning closed her eyes briefly, turning her attention away from Ya Ya.
She had a guess about the method Cui Zhongxun was muttering. Putting down her book, She Ning went to Professor Li's room.
For the next two days, things were calm in the hotel. Even the most troublesome country, H, fell silent. They disappeared after meals every day, leaving Ya Ya to monitor their movements. After reporting to Professor Li, She Ning went out early every morning.
"Professor Li, is something wrong with Aning? I haven't seen her lately." After not seeing She Ning for two consecutive days, Zhao Xiaoyan, who lived in the next room, swallowed the hard-to-chew baguette slices at the dining table and couldn't help but ask in confusion.
She Ning left early and returned late, and Zhao Xiaoyan lived next door, but she couldn't find a chance to ask her.
In a foreign land, Ah Ning is all alone. She's brave, so isn't Professor Li worried?
"It's alright, she'll be back as soon as she's done." Meeting Zhao Xiaoyan's worried and confused gaze, Professor Li put down his coffee cup, a smile playing on his lips.
The image of She Ning bending an iron rod with her bare hands that day flashed through her mind. If they encountered bad guys, she wondered who would suffer more.
However, even so, Professor Li did not agree to let her go out alone. Later, it was She Ning's cousin, who looked very capable, who came to communicate and said that she would accompany her throughout the process. Considering the instructions given by the leaders before she went abroad, Professor Li only agreed to let She Ning leave the group after She Ning made repeated assurances.
"Tomorrow is the last day. Is there anywhere you'd like to go?" Professor Li asked.
Zhao Xiaoyan and the others exchanged a glance, and then shook their heads in unison.
They strolled around the area several times in the past two days. The scenery was beautiful, and the architectural style was quite different from that in China. However, compared to knowledge, they preferred to study the training questions that She Ning had left for them at the hotel.
And I don't know if it's because of inadequate sanitation and cleaning, but there's always a strange smell outside the street.
They came from the airport a few days ago. On the way, someone got carsick and opened the window. The smell that wafted in through the window is something Zhao Xiaoyan doesn't want to recall now.
Seeing their "completely uninterested" expressions, Professor Li didn't press them. After finishing breakfast, she gave them a few instructions and went upstairs.
After leaving the house, She Ning put the puppet into the system. She has now taken a bus for more than an hour to reach the city.
Carrying a dark blue woven cloth bag, wearing white sneakers, with her hair in a high ponytail, dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, she walked through the mall lobby in a clean and neat outfit.
The mall had just opened in the morning, and there weren't many customers yet. But She Ning's distinctive Eastern face stood out among the tall, blonde-haired, blue-eyed people. In particular, her delicate features and fair skin made her look like a finely crafted figurine in the crowd, and passersby couldn't help but turn around and look at her again and again.
Ignoring those stares, She Ning skillfully walked into the mall's public restroom.
After a while, she came out again. She Ning was completely different from before. She had smooth, shiny golden waves, and her delicate, flawless face was now covered with small freckles. At the same time, she had grown much taller. She was dressed like most people in the mall, blending into the crowd and becoming inconspicuous.
Some people noticed that the young girl from the East had been in the restroom for a long time and hadn't come out. They sent someone in to check, but the restroom was empty. The mall was large with several entrances and exits, so they didn't pay much attention and assumed she had left through one of the other doors.
Meanwhile, She Ning used the transformation function of the ever-changing gloves to buy a ticket and successfully entered a new museum once again.
Today is her last night in F country. She Ning took the last bus back. When she arrived at the hotel, there were no guests in the lobby, only the front desk staff. The blonde, blue-eyed young lady smiled at her, and She Ning politely waved in response.
After a busy day, even a body nourished by spiritual energy couldn't withstand the strain. Dragging my weary body, I boarded the elevator. As the elevator slowly ascended, a pair of bright, piercing eyes were reflected on the silver-white stainless steel wall.
Thinking about the items in the system's storage compartment, She Ning's steps became much lighter.
However, if Ya Ya hadn't had other tasks, she wouldn't have needed to leave early and return late these past two days. She could have simply used Ya Ya's fixed location, shared her consciousness, and released the puppet to handle the situation without consuming much of her mental energy.
After reporting her safety to Professor Li in his room, She Ning returned to her dormitory and quietly finished her personal cleaning. She lay on her bed and quickly went into the systems laboratory.
The research on salt-tolerant rice has come to a close, but there are still many green leaves on the tree of science waiting to be lit. Time is running out, and every minute counts.
The exam results were announced in the afternoon.
After lunch, led by Professor Li, they walked to their destination. Accompanying them was Team Leader Lin, who had also disembarked from the plane, but was not allowed to contact the team members due to prior access to the exam papers and was staying in a confidential hotel.
The awards ceremony was held in the old auditorium.
When the examiner stood on the stage and read out the final rankings and scores in a calm tone, the entire auditorium fell into an unbelievable, deathly silence.
"...Total score: Rabbit Nation Team, 236 points."
The brief pause seemed to freeze time.
Immediately afterwards, as if cold water had been poured into a boiling oil pan, a huge, almost dome-shaking roar erupted!
Applause, cheers, whistles, gasps of disbelief...
The various sounds mingled together, creating a deafening noise.
"236! My God! That's a full 25 points higher than second place!"
"Three-peat! They really did it!"
"Incredible! That She Ning got a perfect score of 42! She got all six questions right!"
"OMG, this is her first time competing, and she's only 14 years old!"
Behind the auditorium, after the results were announced, the area where She Ning and her friends were instantly engulfed in a wave of jubilation.
"Ahhh!!! Three-peat! We did it, living up to everyone's expectations!!!" Zhao Xiaoyan, Chen Xinyi, and the others jumped up suddenly.
They hugged each other tightly, patted each other's shoulders hard, and many of them shed tears of emotion.
"We did it!!!" From the qualifiers to the end of the competition, there was pressure from domestic and international media, and the heavy burden of winning three consecutive championships.
The immense pressure of the past few days has finally been released.
Professor Lin and Professor Li were also surrounded by the team members, who were clustered around them in the center.
Professor Lin has served as the team leader ever since the country began sending people to participate in the IMO competition.
The usually composed old professor's eyes were now red-rimmed, his lips trembling as he repeatedly said, "Good! Good! Excellent!"
On one side, Professor Li, who was always serious and never smiled, patted She Ning and Zhao Xiaoyan's backs forcefully, her hands trembling slightly.
The three-peat not only signifies victory in this competition, but also shatters the international misconception that China is bad at mathematics.
The flashes of light were like a dense downpour, flashing wildly and illuminating the corner that was enveloped in ecstasy.
Reporters eagerly thrust their microphones forward, and questions in various languages flooded in like a tidal wave.
"She Ning! Please share your feelings right now!"
"Professor Lin! Three consecutive championships! This is a historic moment! What would you like to say?"
How did you overcome all the distractions before the competition?
The flashing lights were a little too bright, and She Ning squinted slightly.
While answering a question about "how to stay focused," her gaze inadvertently swept across the edge of the bustling crowd.
There, a few figures stood out conspicuously from the crowd.
Ryan had his hands in his pockets, his back ramrod straight, but his head was slightly bowed. His blond hair fell down, obscuring most of his face, leaving only his tightly pursed lips, which were almost in a straight line.
The impetuous young man was finally taught by reality the truth that there are always people more capable than you, and there is always something beyond your understanding.
In this competition, he only scored 38 points, which was worse than almost everyone else in the Rabbit Country.
Clive stood beside Ryan, his imposing figure like a silent statue, his gaze fixed on the podium, meeting She Ning's eyes.
His eyes were extremely complex, showing shock, resentment, and disappointment, but deep down, there seemed to be a trace of cold awe that even he himself was unaware of, born from the crushing of all luck by absolute power.
Last year they trailed the leader by one point, this year the gap is even wider, at three points.
Originally, it was thought that without Li, the championship was a sure thing, but who would have thought that there would be a dark horse like She Ning.
The Rabbit Country is indeed a hidden power, a country not to be underestimated.
Choi Jong-hoon stood in the shadow cast by a huge pillar, his gold-rimmed glasses reflecting the brilliant lights of the auditorium, obscuring his expression; only the lines of his profile were taut.
He only scored 37 points in this exam, barely enough to win a gold medal, but his ranking was near the bottom. For him, this was not an honor, but a great disgrace.
Choi Jong-hoon tilted his head to look at the person next to him and raised his chin.
"I want to report this!!!" Amidst the enthusiastic cheers, a sharp voice rang out incongruously.
"The Rabbit Country cheated!"
His voice, like a bolt of lightning, froze the lively atmosphere.
"I have evidence!" The sidekick who had been following Choi Jong-hoon throughout the competition stood on tiptoe and shouted, holding up something in his hand.
It's finally here.
Choi Jong-hoon's backup plan.
In the crowd, She Ning gestured to Professor Lin.
Receiving a look from She Ning, Professor Lin nodded slightly. With years of experience leading teams, he already had a plan for dealing with such situations. Moreover, She Ning had reminded him and Professor Li long ago.
At this moment, all eyes were focused on the H country team member who was holding up a camera.
A sense of astonishment and tension filled the air.
The chairman of the examination committee, a mathematician from country F with gray hair and thick glasses, immediately darkened his expression.
He leaned closer to the microphone and said seriously in heavily accented English, "Ladies and gentlemen, please keep quiet."
“This is an extremely serious accusation. According to the IMO statutes, the awards ceremony must be suspended immediately until the matter is thoroughly investigated.”
As soon as he finished speaking, several staff members quickly emerged from a corner of the auditorium and took the expensive Pentax film camera from the whistleblower.
Choi Jong-hoon crossed his arms and stared blankly at She Ning and her group.
Emergency meeting room of the examination committee.
The leaders of various countries sat around the table. Professor Lin looked calm and composed. He took out a document that had been prepared in advance from his briefcase. Next to him was a summary of the intelligence that She Ning had given him in advance through secret channels.
The chairman immediately took the film out of the camera and instructed the staff to develop it right away.
While waiting, the H country team leader, surnamed Cui (who shares the same surname as Cui Zhongxun), couldn't wait to speak: "Mr. Chairman, colleagues! My team members captured the moment when the Rabbit country team members were secretly passing notes during the exam break! They definitely didn't win based on their true abilities!"
Influenced by the Cold War, China faces a severe tension in international relations. In the dog-eat-dog world of international law, China, having just experienced the ravages of war, has become a tempting prey for many powers.
Especially the two small neighboring countries, they pose little threat, but they are disgusting.
Without interrupting the H country team leader's speech, Professor Lin patiently waited for him to finish before slowly standing up: "The IMO adheres to the rules of fairness, openness, and impartiality. We respect the rules of the competition and are willing to cooperate with the organizing committee in its investigation."
“However, Mr. Chairman,” Professor Lin’s voice was clear and firm, without any hesitation, “I strongly protest against the H country team’s unauthorized filming of other countries’ athletes during the competition. This in itself is a serious violation of the IMO’s spirit of friendship and basic rules.”
He paused, his gaze sweeping across the room: "More importantly, I would like the committee to verify two key facts."
"First, the so-called 'rest period,' according to the official schedule, is the lunch break after all the exams have been completed. Team members are allowed free time to move around and chat. Even if they were passing notes, it would be perfectly within the rules, so how could it be considered cheating?"
He presented the official schedule.
"Secondly," he picked up a document, "about this camera. I would like to ask Team Leader Cui, when the organizing committee had not arranged for photography and all team members were busy preparing for the exam, why did your team members so 'coincidentally' bring a professional camera and 'precisely' capture this moment? I am more inclined to believe that this is a carefully planned smear campaign against the Rabbit Country team by some people in order to cover up their poor performance!"
Professor Lin's words were forceful and his gaze was piercing. Coupled with the evidence in his hand, Cui Zhongxu was somewhat overwhelmed.
"This, this, doesn't prove you didn't cheat!" Choi Jong-wook's eyes darted away, avoiding Professor Lin's gaze, but he still stubbornly insisted on speaking as if nothing was wrong, while his eyes occasionally stole glances at the hall outside.
"Damn it, I hope Choi Jong-hoon's evidence is strong enough to prove China is a real threat, otherwise he'll really get me killed," Choi Jong-wook muttered to himself.
Meanwhile, staff also delivered the photos that had been urgently developed.
The photo was taken from a tricky angle and was blurry, but you could vaguely see two members of the Rabbit Country team talking after the exam, one of them holding a piece of paper.
The committee's experts circulated the photos.
A tour leader from Country D, who is also a PhD in optics, carefully examined the photo with a magnifying glass. After putting the magnifying glass down, he said cautiously, "Judging from the direction of the shadows and the folds in the clothing, this was clearly taken after the last exam in the afternoon, when the sun was setting. This is completely inconsistent with the exam time."
The truth has come out!
This so-called "ironclad evidence" was actually taken after the exam, and is likely just everyday conversation notes, or even just a napkin.
The committee members whispered among themselves, nodded, and showed expressions of disgust.
In the eyes of rigorous mathematicians, such acts of fabricating evidence and distorting facts are more shameful than academic failures.
"Wait, we have more information to supplement." Seeing that the photographic evidence was not convincing to the board of directors, Choi Jong-wook was anxious and restless. Just then, Choi Jong-hoon had someone hand him a brown paper bag from outside the door.
"This document proves that the Rabbit Kingdom knew the exam questions in advance. As for how they obtained the exam content, some people know the answer perfectly well." Holding up the brown paper bag in his hand, he glanced at Professor Lin and said meaningfully.
Professor Lin remained calm and collected, not even glancing at him, letting him perform his monologue.
Seeing this, Choi Jong-hoon withdrew his gaze, scoffing inwardly. "Let's see if you can still be so calm and collected." He handed the bag to the staff member, then leisurely sat down, crossing his legs under the table in a good mood, watching the staff member take out the palm-sized recording device with a look of amusement.
In the quiet conference room, the plastic-looking recording equipment emitted a hissing sound, interspersed with the clear voice of a young girl.
"The test paper... it's not difficult... I've practiced most of the knowledge points with them before..."
The recording clearly shows a conversation between She Ning and Professor Li on the first day of the exam. At that time, they were all marveling at She Ning's accurate prediction of the exam questions. They never expected that the conversation would be secretly recorded and then falsely accused of being evidence of Professor Lin leaking the exam questions.
"You've prepared quite a lot of things, but unfortunately, ugly people always cause trouble." Professor Lin chuckled and took out the remaining documents from his bag.
Outside the conference room, Choi Jong-hoon leaned against a pillar with his arms crossed, staring at She Ning and her group with a sneer. His sycophantic teammates around him occasionally spoke in a flattering tone.
"Some people are really shameless. They can't win openly, so they resort to low-class tactics."
"If you can't handle losing, don't play. Honestly, all sorts of cats and dogs are making a fool of themselves."
The sarcastic remarks kept coming on, buzzing like annoying flies.
Chen Xinyi couldn't help but roll his eyes. If Professor Lin hadn't warned him before he left that there might be troublemakers at the meeting and that everyone should not act rashly, he would have already gone up and challenged him.
She Ning and her group remained calm and quietly awaited the outcome.
The H country team talked until their mouths were dry, but She Ning and her team remained unmoved. It was like punching the air—utterly powerless. Gradually, they also gave up.
After a brief closed-door discussion, the meeting room door finally opened, and the chairman returned to the podium, his expression even more stern than before.
"Following an urgent investigation and deliberation by the organizing committee," his voice, clear yet slightly static through the old-fashioned microphone, "we have determined that the accusations made by Team H are false accusations based on deliberate misleading and distortion of the facts, and therefore reject them!"
How is that possible?!
Upon hearing the verdict, Choi Jong-hoon's eyes widened, and he stood up straight in shock. He looked at the podium, then abruptly turned to look at She Ning and the others.
She Ning smiled "friendly" at him.
She had long anticipated that they had a backup plan. From the first day they arrived in F country, She Ning had Ya Ya keep a close eye on Cui Zhongxun. To this day, Ya Ya has not withdrawn his information. She Ning has seen everything that he has done during this period through Ya Ya's eyes.
We're not in a hurry to expose them, just to see what other tricks they can pull. And wouldn't it be more fun to bring them crashing down when they're at their most triumphant, thinking they've succeeded?
The audience was initially silent, but then erupted into a huge murmur of discussion, with disdainful gazes flooding towards the H country team.
Those who can participate in the IMO competition are all top students. They have a unique arrogance and naturally despise this kind of behavior. Those who were originally close to the H country team immediately took a big step away.
The location of the H country team instantly became a vacuum zone; there was no one else there but them.
Ignoring the minor incident, the chairman continued, "The spirit of the International Mathematical Olympiad is the pursuit of truth and wisdom, built upon trust and respect. The actions of Team H severely violated this spirit. Therefore, the committee unanimously decided:"
"First, Team H's results in this competition are valid, but their behavior will be recorded and subject to the strongest condemnation."
"Second, the H country team member who presented false evidence will be immediately expelled from this IMO and permanently banned from participating in any IMO-related activities."
"Third, given Mr. Choi Jong-wook's leading role in this incident, his qualification as team leader is immediately revoked. At the same time, the committee will formally send a letter to the Mathematical Society of H country, recommending that it suspend Mr. Choi Jong-wook's qualification to participate in any national team affairs indefinitely."
Upon hearing the verdict, Choi Jong-wook and Choi Jong-hoon turned deathly pale.
In particular, Choi Jong-wook only wanted to help his cousin, but he ended up completely ruining his reputation in the international academic community.
The team member, who was permanently banned from participating in any Imam competitions, collapsed to the ground in shock. He had participated in Imam competitions to win prizes and make money, but now everything was over.
Thinking of the Choi family's background, he immediately grabbed Choi Jong-hoon's trouser leg, wanting to ask him for help.
Disappointed by the announcement of the results, Choi Jong-hoon had no interest in paying attention to him and let him fiddle with his trouser legs until the security personnel led him away from the auditorium. Choi Jong-hoon did not even glance at him.
After announcing the penalties, the awards ceremony continued. All six members of the Rabbit Country team won gold medals, and She Ning received a special award for her ingenious problem-solving method.
When the news of the entire team winning awards and achieving a three-peat reached China, major media outlets rushed to report it. Television, newspapers, radio... the news was everywhere, and it became a household name across the country.
As soon as She Ning and her group got off the plane, they were surrounded by enthusiastic crowds and flowers. It was Zhu Xiujin who led the team to rescue them.
"They were so incredibly hospitable." After finally getting into the car, Zhao Xiaoyan wiped the sweat from her forehead hastily and said with lingering fear.
She was almost buried under the flowers.
She Ning sat down next to her, and seeing this, handed her a clean handkerchief and helped her tie up her messy ponytail.
Zhao Xiaoyan turned to the side, placed her hands on her knees, and obediently let her operate. To make it easier for She Ning to operate, she even shrank her body slightly.
After She Ning helped her tie her hair, Zhao Xiaoyan turned around and hugged She Ning, who was a head shorter than her, and ruffled her smooth hair a few times. "Ah Ning, how can you be so thoughtful!"
Thinking that they would all go back to their own homes and find their own mothers later, Zhao Xiaoyan was very reluctant to part with her and couldn't help but rub her cheeks a few more times.
"What should I do? We haven't even separated yet, and I already miss you. What am I going to do in the future?"
"Don't take this opportunity to pet me. School starts on September 1st, and we'll be in the same school." Unable to break free from her embrace, She Ning reached out and tickled her, speaking in a "cold" tone.
All of them were guaranteed admission to university when they entered the national training team. Zhao Xiaoyan and several other classmates, like She Ning, chose Q University. They will be freshmen in September, and they will be able to meet then, not to mention...
“We’re from the same town, don’t make it sound like we’re worlds apart.”
"Hahaha... I was wrong, I was wrong." Zhao Xiaoyan, who couldn't stand being tickled, laughed until tears streamed down her face and begged for mercy repeatedly.
Zhu Xiujin was driving in front. Looking at their playful interaction through the rearview mirror, he couldn't help but smile.
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