Chapter 63: Xiao Cheng Is Very Busy

For Wen Xiaocheng, who possesses a photographic memory, transcribing the contents of the test paper was a task of utmost ease. To save time, Xiaocheng went straight to Principal Ding's computer and began typing away at lightning speed. The math exam contained numerous mathematical symbols and even geometric diagrams, making it several times more challenging than ordinary typing. Yet, having transformed into a “Great White Shark,” nothing could stump Wen Xiaocheng now. His fingers danced across the keyboard, moving so swiftly that they nearly left afterimages, while line after line of characters and figures appeared on the screen, perfectly organized.

Principal Ding watched with his mouth agape, scarcely able to believe his eyes. Perhaps Xiaocheng’s typing speed wasn’t the absolute fastest, but for inputting a mathematics test—requiring diagrams and formatting—no one could match this pace. This was true genius!

Within five minutes, the test was typed up, and the standard answers followed. Before even half the exam time had elapsed, the official website of Starlight Education had already published the Olympiad preliminary round’s questions and answers!

“Ms. Jiang, go online and do the single-choice questions from this Olympiad paper. Once you’re done, bring your answers to the small conference room. Mr. Li, you do the multiple-choice ones and bring your answers over too. Mr. Gao…”

Even math Olympiad teachers couldn’t keep up with Xiaocheng’s speed. On one hand, his answers were not the official solutions and needed verification; on the other, Principal Ding was simply too eager to know Xiaocheng’s score!

Each teacher only had to solve about ten questions, so before long, they came one after another with their answers, none willing to leave, all waiting to compare them with Xiaocheng’s.

Most of the teachers already knew of Xiaocheng’s reputation, nodding and smiling at him in goodwill. Principal Ding’s expression grew more and more jubilant, until finally he burst out in celebration, “Ninety-eight points! Xiaocheng scored ninety-eight!”

Seven or eight teachers in the conference room stood up at once, applauding Xiaocheng. Ninety-eight points—never in the history of the Mathematical Olympiad had such a score been achieved! The previous record, eighty-seven points, was set by the Russian prodigy Panbolov. That score loomed like a world record, never surpassed.

Today, that record was finally broken by Huaxia!

Seeing the teachers and the principal so elated, Xiaocheng felt a little out of place. He stood up as well, somewhat embarrassed. “Thank you. Thank you, everyone.”

Principal Ding’s hands were trembling as he instructed his assistant, Lixiang, “Go find someone to make a banner: ‘Warm congratulations to our student Wen Xiaocheng for scoring ninety-eight in the preliminary round of the International Mathematical Olympiad Huaxia Regional Selection!’ Make it big enough to be seen from afar!”

Lixiang nodded and was about to leave, but Xiaocheng stopped her at the door. Principal Ding chuckled, “You think we’re making too much of a fuss? Perhaps you don’t know the significance of this score. It’s a milestone in Olympiad history, Xiaocheng! Don’t feel embarrassed.”

Xiaocheng shifted uneasily. “It’s not that I’m embarrassed. I’m just afraid you’ll make that banner for nothing.”

“Huh?” Everyone was taken aback.

“You should write, ‘Warm congratulations to our student Wen Xiaocheng for achieving a perfect score in the preliminary round of the International Mathematical Olympiad Huaxia Regional Selection!’”

“A perfect score?” Shock registered on every face. Principal Ding was the first to react, flipping through the answer sheets. The only discrepancy with the “official” answers was a multiple-choice question: Xiaocheng answered ABC, while Ms. Jiang had written AC. Everyone turned their attention to that problem. After about two minutes, Ms. Jiang flushed with embarrassment and admitted, “I’m sorry, I overlooked it. B is also a correct answer!”

“Perfect score! Perfect score!” The small conference room erupted. Breaking the world record was one thing, but to achieve the first perfect score in International Olympiad history! There’s only a two-point difference between a hundred and ninety-eight, but the significance is worlds apart. There’s a saying: In an exam, the top student scores a hundred, while the underachiever outdoes himself with ninety-eight. The underachiever, always looked down upon, finally boasts, “You only beat me by two points!” To which the top student replies, “You scored ninety-eight because that’s your limit; I scored a hundred because that’s the maximum.”

A perfect score! This isn’t a quantitative change—it’s a qualitative leap!

Xiaocheng, however, remained less excited. He put on a bashful face and said, “Principal Ding, can we settle the account first? The scholarship can wait until the results are out, but what about the ten thousand yuan you promised? I’m broke!”

“Lixiang! Tell finance to bring the cash! No, I’ll go myself!”

Ten thousand yuan, stacked together like a brick, weighed heavily in his hand and seemed to give him a sturdier backbone when tucked at his waist. Even after handing over the money, Principal Ding was reluctant to let go of Xiaocheng. Teachers often have a soft spot for outstanding students, and Principal Ding now felt this down to his bones.

Leaving Starlight Education, it was 10:07 a.m. Wen Xiaocheng departed with the money, resolute, while Principal Ding and several teachers who cherished talent waved their handkerchiefs after him: “Come back again, please!”

Just a few steps outside, Xiaocheng entered a mobile phone store, bought a smartphone for around two thousand yuan, along with two SIM cards that didn’t require ID. Testing the phone, he inserted one card and sent a message to Reporter Shen: “Check the Starlight Education website for the latest uploaded test papers!”

That SIM card, worth just over twenty yuan, had fulfilled its purpose; as soon as he left the store, Xiaocheng snapped it in half and tossed it in the trash. The time was 10:16 a.m.

At that moment, Shen Jia, still at Xiangyang University, received Xiaocheng’s message. Given the prior hints about leaked questions, she immediately grew alert, searched for Starlight Education on her phone, and logged onto their website. A set of Olympiad math problems, with a full score of one hundred, had just been uploaded. The system showed the upload time: 9:53 a.m.

The exam was still underway, and no one outside had seen the test paper. Yet Shen Jia’s instincts told her these were the real questions! Starlight’s site didn’t hide it either, boldly proclaiming them as the official preliminary questions for this year’s Olympiad. How had they gotten hold of the test before the end of the exam, before the committee had released the questions and answers? Was there really a leak? Considering the scale of this event and the various suspicions and complaints beforehand, was there some hidden deal behind the scenes?

“Feng, let’s go!”

“No more interviews with candidates?”

“There could be a major scoop!”

Less than twenty minutes after they left, Wen Xiaocheng returned to Xiangyang University by taxi. The guard at the gate stopped him, but Xiaocheng claimed he’d left something inside and needed to retrieve it. The main responsibility of the gatekeeper was to bar reporters, not examinees, so Xiaocheng was let in.

The security guard, bored, asked casually, “What did you leave behind, young man?”

“My girlfriend!”

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Remember the romance over spicy hotpot in “It’s All Because of Black Stockings”? Remember that unforgettable face in “The Immortal Leap”? A little preview: the next chapter is the ultimate guide to flirting—helping you find love!