"This midterm exam, the student who deserves praise is Huang Zikun. He scored 695 points in total, ranking first in the class and among the top ten in the whole grade."
Zhang Wanbang gave Huang Zikun a satisfied glance. This was his math class. "Of course, a score of 695 in your second year of high school isn't the same as a 695 on the college entrance exam. I hope Huang Zikun keeps up this good performance."
"Also, Qian Huihui, Xu Qiang, Liu Mingbo, Ye Tao, Yue Lushan... and the other students who ranked in the top hundred for their total scores in the grade, I hope you'll build on your success and keep improving."
For teachers at Nangang Second High School, student rankings were more useful than absolute scores, because college entrance cutoffs fluctuated from year to year, while the acceptance rates at prestigious universities stayed more or less stable.
There were 48 students in Zhang Wanbang's second-year Class 2. He knew that not all 48 of them could get into key universities in the 985 or 211 programs; there was bound to be a certain proportion.
People who studied math liked to analyze probabilities. Zhang Wanbang had examined the college admission data for Nangang Second High School over the past ten years.
The data showed that students ranked in the top hundred in their grade had a 98.26% chance of being admitted to a key university.
For students ranked 101st to 200th, the chance of admission to a key university dropped sharply to 31.15%.
For students who had never ranked in the top 250, the chance of admission to a key university was 0.
Zhang Wanbang looked at Shen Qi and said, "The last student I want to praise is Shen Qi. He got full marks in math again, and his total-score ranking rose to 15th in the class and among the top 200 in the grade. Improvement is always more valuable than a high score."
"It's mainly because Teacher Zhang teaches so well," Shen Qi said gratefully. Teacher Zhang had given him loads of Academic Prodigy Points. What a great mentor!
At noon, Shen Qi went to Zhang Wanbang's office as usual to hand over "Internal Reference 17."
Shen Qi gently set "Internal Reference 17" on Zhang Wanbang's desk and said, "Teacher Zhang, I've finished reading Little Bolyai's Discourse on Non-Euclidean Geometry. I wanted to ask: can I use non-Euclidean geometry to solve problems on the college entrance exam? The last question on last year's math exam was pretty tricky. Solving it in the Euclidean sense required a long-winded proof to show that CD and EF were parallel to AB. If I cite a result from non-Euclidean Geometry, then CD and EF are naturally parallel to AB. I'd only need three sentences to prove the hardest math problem on last year's exam. It'd save time and effort."
"Using university-level knowledge to solve high school math problems is the same as cheating." Zhang Wanbang glared at Shen Qi, then added, "But the Ministry of Education hasn't explicitly forbidden using university-level knowledge to solve high school math problems. In short, it's not encouraged. If you really do it, though, they won't deduct points."
"Oh, okay. I'll get going, Teacher Zhang. I'll come by this afternoon to pick up file number 18." Shen Qi turned to leave.
"Wait, Shen Qi. Would you be interested in taking part in the High School Mathematics League?" Zhang Wanbang called after him.
Shen Qi asked, "Is it hard?"
"For you, winning a prize won't be hard. Making it onto the provincial team will be."
"There's a provincial math team? Is there a national team too?"
"Of course. Each year, no more than six students are selected for the national team. They represent China on the world stage. Nangang Second High School has been around for nearly a century, and only one student has ever made the national team. He represented China at the IMO and won a gold medal."
"You mean that amazing alumnus whose photo's on the bulletin board?" Shen Qi remembered him. He'd heard the alumnus was incredible and had been admitted to Tsinghua University without taking the entrance exam. IMO stood for the International Mathematical Olympiad.
Zhang Wanbang nodded. "That's him."
Shen Qi grew interested. "That alumnus is awesome. His photo was already up there when I was in junior high, and it's still there now. I'll sign up for the Math League, then. When does it start, and what should I prepare?"
"The provincial league starts next month. Buy a few books of High School Mathematics League problems and study them. I'll take care of the registration."
"Okay, thank you, Teacher Zhang. I'll give it my all!"
That evening, Shen Qi returned home.
Shen Zhishan and Fan Yunxia had both come home early. They knew Nangang Second High School was announcing the midterm exam rankings that day.
Shen Zhishan sat squarely on the sofa, his expression stern.
Fan Yunxia was setting out bowls and chopsticks by the dining table. Dinner was ready.
"Sit down." Shen Zhishan patted the sofa cushion, telling Shen Qi to sit beside him.
"We've got fish, meat, and chicken soup for dinner, plus a belt. Take your pick." As Shen Zhishan spoke, he began to undo his belt.
"Hey, hey, Dad, let's talk this out. Don't hit me. Am I even your real son?" Shen Qi was at a loss with his dad. He always started unbuckling his belt at the drop of a hat—and Shen Qi hadn't even shown him his report card yet!
"Cut the chatter. What's your rank?" Shen Zhishan asked coldly.
"Don't rush. Stay calm." Shen Qi took his physics test paper out of his schoolbag, unfolded it, and placed it on the coffee table.
"Eighty-six in physics?" Shen Zhishan picked up the test paper and examined it from every angle. There was no mistake; it was Shen Qi's handwriting. An 86 in physics wasn't too bad. Last time, Shen Qi had scored only 45.
"These are my chemistry and biology papers." Shen Qi took out his chemistry test and set his biology test on the coffee table too.
"Eighty in chemistry? Eighty-two in biology? So you got 248 in physics, chemistry, and biology combined?" Shen Zhishan was baffled, even suspicious.
Shen Qi nodded, brimming with confidence. "Just as you can see, that's right."
"And what was the average score in those three subjects for the rest of your class? 280?"
"It wasn't 280. Our class average in physics, chemistry, and biology was 242."
"So your results in those three subjects were pretty good this time. You scored higher than half the class?" Shen Zhishan couldn't believe it. What the heck was going on?
"That's right. But I didn't do well in Chinese and English. I've given it a lot of thought, and I'll do my best to improve by the final exams." Shen Qi took out his Chinese and English test papers.
Eighty-eight in Chinese, 95 in English. Shen Zhishan felt a little reassured. He figured this was more like Shen Qi's real level. "What about math?"
"My math score was pretty good." Shen Qi finally unleashed the big reveal he'd been holding back. Slowly, he unfolded the math test paper in front of Shen Zhishan.
"One hundred and fifty? Full marks?" Even Shen Zhishan, who had seen plenty in his day, couldn't help being stunned. Shen Qi had actually gotten full marks in math? It seemed too good to be true.
Finally, Shen Qi took out the ranking sheet and placed it on the coffee table. Seeing was believing, so he let his dad have a look.
"15th in the class! 188th in the grade!"
The news was so shocking. Last time, Shen Qi had ranked 47th in the class; this time, he'd climbed 32 places—a huge jump.
Fan Yunxia had no mind to fuss with the dishes anymore. She hurried over to Shen Zhishan and checked Shen Qi's midterm papers and ranking sheet with her husband.
"This... this is such a wonderful surprise!" Fan Yunxia was thrilled. Shen Qi had scored 581 points in total, ranking 15th in the class and in the top 200 in the grade. His absolute ranking was still nothing special, but his improvement was remarkable.
Improvement meant hope. At the parent-teacher meeting, Teacher Zhang had said that any student who could consistently rank in the top 200 in the grade had a chance of getting into a key university.
There were 441 students across the nine science-track classes in the second year. Shen Qi had shot up from 436th in the grade to 188th, improving by 248 places—faster than a stock hitting its daily limit.
"Good job, Shen Qi! Here, have a bowl of chicken soup to nourish yourself." Fan Yunxia hurried to the kitchen, brought back a bowl of hot chicken soup, and held it out to Shen Qi, her joy plain to see.
Shen Qi drained the bowl of chicken soup in one go, wiped his mouth, and said, "That hit the spot! Mom's chicken soup is so good!"
"Drink all you want, son. There's plenty more chicken soup!"
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