On July 7th, the 1995 National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao) arrived as scheduled.
Li Guizhi kept her promise from last year and prepared a sumptuous and perfect breakfast for her daughter.
The Xiao family of three accompanied her to the examination hall to take the exam.
Every day at noon, Li Guizhi and Xu Feng would prepare different delicious dishes for her.
She kept exclaiming as she ate, "I wish I could take the college entrance exam every day!"
Hearing this, Xiao Muyu was speechless.
Li Guizhi smiled and patted her head, "Do well on your exam, and I'll cook delicious food for you every day."
Jiang Xiaoli childishly extended her little finger, "Mommy, pinky promise."
Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and Jiang Xiaoli's college entrance examination in this lifetime came to an end.
Neither the school teachers nor Li Guizhi asked her how the exam went; she flew back to Kyoto immediately without even having time to rest.
This year's International Mathematical Olympiad is being held in Toronto, Canada, with the opening ceremony on July 13th. The national team will travel to Canada ahead of schedule on July 11th.
Before his departure, Zong Jia and Li Guizhi came to see him off at the airport.
Zong Jia handed Jiang Xiaoli an envelope. “You’ve been busy lately and probably haven’t had time to exchange some Canadian dollars for you. It will make it easier for you to buy things when you go to Canada. If you don’t like the food at the hotel, have your teacher take you to a local Chinese restaurant.”
Jiang Xiaoli put the envelope away and gave him a big smile. "Thanks!"
Zong Jia smiled at her and said, "Little Pear, I wish you great success and all your wishes come true."
In fact, Jiang Xiaoli had already asked Teacher Shang to help her exchange some Canadian dollars. She didn't plan to go on a big shopping spree in Canada, as the money she exchanged was enough.
However, seeing how considerate Zong Jia was, she felt a warmth in her heart.
After chatting for a while, Shang Run urged everyone to line up for security and customs. Most of the students had never been abroad, and some had never been on a plane before. They all obediently followed behind their teacher.
More than half an hour later, they completed all the formalities and entered the waiting hall.
Shang Run and Teacher Zhao collected the passports of the group. "Your documents will be given to you after you land. There is still more than an hour before boarding. You can rest for a while and wander around, but don't go too far."
Yu Yang and the other two boys sat down and started reading.
An Ke chatted with Jiang Xiaoli, "Xiaoli, those foreigners are so fair-skinned!"
She quickly pulled her raised hand back, "Don't point at people. The foreigners here might speak Mandarin even better than you. Let's be quiet."
Anke stuck out her tongue. "Really? I've never met a foreigner who can speak Chinese before."
Jiang Xiaoli nodded, "You'll see later, some foreigners can even speak dialects!"
They browsed around the shops nearby and, seeing that it was almost time, returned to the boarding gate.
Shang Run smiled when he saw them. "I was just about to come find you."
Their trip to Canada involved two layovers. They departed on July 11th (Kyoto time) and arrived on July 12th (Toronto time), taking a total of nearly 24 hours.
As they boarded the car to the hotel, Jiang Xiaoli asked worriedly, "Teacher Shang, Xu Xing should have already set off, right? I wonder if he'll make it in time?"
Shang Run was also thinking about this. He silently calculated the time in his mind, "Xu Xing should not arrive until tomorrow, but it doesn't matter. Tomorrow is the opening ceremony, so it won't affect anything."
She nodded and looked out the window, wondering how Xu Xiaohang's grades had turned out.
After arriving at the hotel and checking in, the organizers assigned them rooms on the third floor. Shang Run arranged for the two girls to stay in the middle of the group.
After putting down their luggage, Shang Run took several students to the restaurant for a meal.
The entire hotel has been booked by the organizers for the past few days, and it's filled with contestants from all over the world.
Several students, including Yu Yang who always thought he had seen the world, were a little reserved.
Shang Run and Teacher Zhao found two empty tables. "You guys go get your food first, we'll wait for you here."
An Ke pulled Jiang Xiaoli to get some food, and she seemed very excited, "Xiaoli, there are so many things here that I've never tried before!"
Jiang Xiaoli wasn't a big fan of cold dishes. "Keke, your stomach isn't good, so take less cold food. Just try a little bit."
Anke nodded, "Yeah, I'd forgotten about it if you hadn't mentioned it."
The way the two of them picked and chose things made them seem like they had never seen the world.
The two tall, blonde, blue-eyed girls opposite them spoke softly, but loud enough for anyone around them to hear clearly.
Speaking fluent American English, she laughed and said to her companion, "Are those two short girls on the other side from the Chinese team? They seem to have never eaten anything good before; they don't know what to get!"
The girl next to her laughed exaggeratedly, "Oh, Rebecca, I think you're right, they do look like they have a bad influence, but that's normal given how backward China is!"
The two girls completely ignored Jiang Xiaoli and the others' reactions and continued to criticize them.
Anke was somewhat weak in English, and could only tell from their expressions that they seemed to be talking about them.
Jiang Xiaoli put down her empty plate and looked the girl who had spoken first up and down.
She noticed the pile of grass on her plate and smiled, "Rebecca, right? Are you on a diet?"
Rebecca paused for two seconds upon hearing her fluent and authentic English, then nodded. "Yes, what's wrong?"
Jiang Xiaoli tilted her head with a puzzled expression, "Other people lose weight by slimming their waist, legs, and butt, why do you have to start with brain cells?"
Chinese cuisine is so abundant that we can eat it from the beginning of the year to the end without repeating a single dish. Are you deliberately jumping out to question it to show everyone your ignorance?
Are you really a member of the team participating in the competition? With your level of intelligence, I'm very worried about your team's performance.
Rebecca blushed red from her retort, "Shit, you yellow-skinned monkey! I demand an apology from you!"
Jiang Xiaoli's face turned cold, and she shouted, "Is the person in charge of the event here? I want to complain about racial discrimination here!"
Instantly, all eyes in the room fell on Rebecca, and people of all races—white, Asian, and Black—gave her disapproving looks.
Rebecca and her friends were so anxious they were about to cry.
Upon hearing the student's report, Shang Run quickly walked over and pulled An Ke aside to find out the whole story.
At this point, a restaurant waiter called over Anderson, the person in charge of the event.
Along with Anderson came George, the teacher from the United States who was leading the group.
Rebecca saw George as if he were her savior, and she immediately began to falsely accuse him.
"Teacher, this Chinese person questioned my eligibility to participate in the competition, and she even insulted my character. I want to report her! I want her to be disqualified from the competition!"
George first calmed Rebecca down, then walked over to Anderson. "Anderson, my old friend, my student has been greatly traumatized by this Chinese competitor. I suspect it's a despicable act by the Chinese team to undermine the morale of our American team!"
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