The news that there was a second-year student capable of getting into the Gifted Class had long since spread everywhere. After more than a week of trying to figure out who that student was, it had practically turned into a game of Werewolf.
Yet no one had managed to uncover the student's identity. According to news from Class 1 of Science Stream, they had already "interrogated under torture" all the students who were best at math, but those students "refused to confess even unto death."
In short, this "Math Prodigy" was practically becoming a campus urban legend.
Things like, "As long as you place a little blackboard at the west corner of the first-floor corridor of the Senior Year Department, write a math problem on it, then the mysterious Math Prodigy will appear, silently solve it, and silently leave."
"This mysterious Math Prodigy may exist right beside every one of us, but do not attempt to find him."
"Once you try to seek out this Math Prodigy, you will fall victim to the poisonous claws of math problems. Every night afterward, you will have the same nightmare: trying to solve a math problem in your dream, then waking up screaming, 'I can't do it!'"
Ahem, that was getting off track.
But now, just as everyone thought that mysterious student had to be from Class 1 of Science Stream, the students of Class 3 of Science Stream never imagined that he would turn out to be one of their own classmates!
For a moment, the entire class turned their eyes toward Xiao Yi.
Xiao Yi's deskmate, Chen Wei, was completely dumbfounded.
So the mysterious Math Prodigy was right beside me?
He stiffly turned his head toward Xiao Yi beside him. "Old Xiao, you..."
"You kept this from me so thoroughly!"
Beside them, Xiao Yi's other roommates also wore expressions of grief and indignation.
"Brothers give you their hearts, and you play mind games with your brothers."
"Something this huge, and you didn't tell your brothers!"
Hearing these guys, Xiao Yi's mouth twitched. Pointing at them, he said, "You're slandering me! You're slandering me!"
"I told you all already. You were the ones who didn't believe me!"
When Chen Wei and the others thought about it, it seemed...
That really had been the case?
Back when they had discussed who that student was in the classroom and dormitory, Xiao Yi had said it was him. Not one of them had believed him.
And now...
"What a rotten world, what cold hearts. Why is there not even this much trust between people anymore?"
Xiao Yi put on a sorrowful, world-weary expression.
The corners of the surrounding students' mouths twitched even harder.
"This much" trust?
Good heavens. If this had been last week, the only person who could have believed Xiao Yi was that mysterious Math Prodigy was probably the same mother who had believed, when you were little, that you could turn into Ultraman.
But regardless, with the facts now laid bare, what else could they say?
"Brother Xiao, I knew it was you! Only someone as handsome as you could accomplish something like this so easily."
"Brother Xiao, you are a beacon, guiding me forward!"
"Brother Xiao, I'll massage your legs."
"I'll pound your back."
Just like that, a whole group of sycophants suddenly gathered around Xiao Yi.
But at that moment, Luo Penghua came over and chased those sycophants away. Then he said to Xiao Yi, "Xiao Yi, come out with me for a moment. Professor Liu Bin is here to see you."
Xiao Yi froze for a moment, then nodded, got up, and followed Luo Penghua out of the classroom.
Inside the classroom, Xiao Yi's classmates looked at one another.
"Damn, a professor?"
"Professors are from universities, right?"
"Of course. Professor is a title that can only be awarded at universities. High schools do not have them. At least, I've never heard of any professors at our school."
"This professor must be from USTC. He actually came to our school in person to see Xiao Yi."
"Bold of you to call Brother Xiao by name! Someone, seize him!"
"My bad, my bad. Slip of the tongue."
After a round of joking, they quieted down again. Yet at that moment, they all knew that Xiao Yi's life had already diverged from theirs onto two tracks that would most likely never cross again.
After all, by the second half of the year, they would be seniors, miserably entering an even harsher stage than their second year. Meanwhile, Xiao Yi would already be on a university campus, gathering with a group of young geniuses who could be considered the nation's finest of that year, escaping the great hurdle of exam-oriented education and beginning to study real science.
Thinking of that, they could not help sighing inwardly. Why was the gap between people so enormous?
Outside the classroom.
Xiao Yi had no idea that he had already been elevated without limit in his classmates' hearts. Perhaps years after graduation, he would become "that Xiao Yi from back then," passed around by word of mouth among his former classmates.
At the moment, he was only surprised that Professor Liu had come to find him so early.
It was not even seven yet!
Luo Penghua explained with a smile, "Didn't Professor Liu promise you that he would bring you some competition problems and study materials?"
Xiao Yi nodded. Of course he remembered. He had waited for more than a week already. Had they finally arrived?
"Professor Liu has prepared everything for you. He happens to be catching a flight to Shangjing today, apparently for an academic conference. He probably won't return for another week, so he got up especially early today to bring you the materials. You must thank Professor Liu properly later."
Xiao Yi was immediately touched. He had never expected Professor Liu to take his matter so seriously.
He nodded. "Mm, I understand."
Without saying anything more, they headed directly behind the teaching building. A car was parked there, and Liu Bin stood beside it. When he saw them approaching, he waved.
"You're here. Come on over. My flight's after nine, so after dropping this off, I need to hurry to the airport."
As he spoke, he walked to the back of the car and opened the trunk.
Then Xiao Yi and Luo Penghua were stunned.
Good lord, there were four entire stacks of books inside, each stack looking like it had at least ten books.
"Professor Liu, isn't this... a little too much?" Xiao Yi could not help asking. "Are these... all problems?"
Liu Bin smiled. "Of course not. The competition problem collection you wanted is here."
Then he took a briefcase out of his car and pulled out a stack of bound A4 paper. "These are it."
Xiao Yi was instantly stunned. This stack of A4 paper...
Was not even as thick as any one of the books in the trunk.
He remembered that the only thing he had asked for was a competition problem collection.
At that moment, Liu Bin explained with a smile, "For someone like you, doing these competition problems does not really mean much. You can work on them in your spare time just for entertainment, like Sudoku."
"And these books are what I truly wanted to give you."
Before you continue