Please Drink This Bowl of Chicken Soup

"This midterm exam, the student worth commending is Huang Zikun. With a total score of 695, he ranked first in the class and in the top ten of the entire grade."

Zhang Wanbang glanced at Huang Zikun with satisfaction. This was his math class. "Of course, a 695 in the second year of high school can't be equated to a 695 on the college entrance exam. I hope Huang Zikun continues to maintain this good form."

"Additionally, Qian Huihui, Xu Qiang, Liu Mingbo, Ye Tao, Yue Lushhan… and other students' total scores ranked in the top hundred of the grade. I hope you all make further progress."

For the teachers at Nangang Second High School, a student's ranking was more valuable than their absolute score. This was because the admission lines for the college entrance exam fluctuated annually, while the admission rates for prestigious universities remained relatively stable.

Zhang Wanbang's second-year (Class 2) had 48 students. He knew that not all 48 students could get into 985 or 211 key universities; there had to be a certain proportion.

People who studied math enjoyed researching probabilities. Zhang Wanbang analyzed the college entrance examination data for Nangang Second High School over the past ten years.

The data indicated that students ranked in the top 100 of the grade had a 98.26% probability of being admitted to a key university.

For students ranked 101st to 200th in the grade, the probability of being admitted to a key university plummeted to 31.15%.

Students who had never broken into the top 250 of the grade had a 0% probability of being admitted to a key university.

Zhang Wanbang looked at Shen Qi and said, "The last student I want to commend is Shen Qi. He scored a perfect score in math again, and his overall ranking rose to 15th in the class and within the top 200 of the entire grade. Progress is always more valuable than scores."

"It's mainly because Teacher Zhang teaches so well," Shen Qi said gratefully. Teacher Zhang had provided him with a large amount of scholar points. What a mentor!

At noon, Shen Qi went to Zhang Wanbang's office as usual to hand over "Internal Reference 17."

Shen Qi placed "Internal Reference 17" gently on Zhang Wanbang's desk and said, "Teacher Zhang, I've finished reading Little Bolyai's Discourse on Non-Euclidean Geometry. I'd like to ask, can Non-Euclidean Geometry theories be used to solve problems in the college entrance exam? Last year's math exam's final question was quite tricky. Solving it in the Euclidean sense required writing a lot of verbose proofs to demonstrate that CD and EF were parallel to AB. If I cited Non-Euclidean Geometry arguments, then CD and EF would naturally be parallel to AB, and I could prove last year's most difficult math question in just three sentences, saving time and effort."

"Using university-level knowledge to solve high school math problems is equivalent to cheating," Zhang Wanbang glared at Shen Qi, then added, "But the Ministry of Education hasn't explicitly prohibited the use of university knowledge points to solve high school math problems. In short, it's not encouraged. If you really do it, you won't lose points."

"Oh, okay. Then I'll be going now, Teacher Zhang. I'll come back in the afternoon for Document No. 18." Shen Qi turned to leave.

"Wait a moment, Shen Qi. Are you interested in participating in the High School Mathematics League?" Zhang Wanbang called out to Shen Qi.

Shen Qi asked, "Is it difficult?"

"Winning an award won't be difficult for you, but reaching the provincial team line won't be easy."

"There's a provincial team for math? Then is there a national team?"

"Of course, there is. Each national team selects a maximum of six members, and they will represent China in global competitions. Nangang Second High School has been established for nearly a hundred years, and to date, only one person has been selected for the national team and won a gold medal for China at the IMO."

"Is it that amazing alumnus whose picture is on the bulletin board?" Shen Qi recalled. This alumnus was said to be very impressive. He was directly admitted to Tsinghua University. IMO is the abbreviation for the International Mathematical Olympiad.

Zhang Wanbang nodded, "That's him."

Shen Qi became interested. "This alumnus is really awesome. I saw his picture there when I was in junior high school a few years ago, and it's still there. Then I'll sign up for the Math League. When does it start, and what do I need to prepare?"

"The provincial league starts next month. Go buy a few books on High School Mathematics League exam questions to study. I'll handle the registration for you."

"Okay, thank you, Teacher Zhang. I'll give it my all!"

In the evening, Shen Qi returned home.

Shen Zhishan and Fan Yunxia were both home early. They knew that Nangang Second High School would announce the midterm exam rankings today.

Shen Zhishan sat on the sofa with a stern expression, his legs spread wide.

Fan Yunxia was setting out bowls and chopsticks at the dining table; dinner was ready.

"Sit down," Shen Zhishan patted the sofa cushion, motioning for Shen Qi to sit beside him.

"Dinner has fish, meat, and chicken soup, and also a belt. Choose what you want to eat," Shen Zhishan said, starting to unbuckle his belt.

"Hey, hey, Dad, let's talk. Don't resort to violence. Am I even your biological son!" Shen Qi was truly exasperated with his father. He'd resort to unbuckling his belt at the slightest disagreement, and Shen Qi hadn't even shown him his report card yet!

"Stop rambling. What's your rank?" Shen Zhishan asked with a cold face.

"Don't rush, don't panic." Shen Qi took out his physics test paper from his schoolbag, spread it out, and placed it on the coffee table.

"Physics 86?" Shen Zhishan picked up the physics test paper, looking at it horizontally, vertically, and from all angles. It was indeed Shen Qi's handwriting. A physics score of 86 wasn't too low; Shen Qi had only scored 45 in physics last time.

"These are the chemistry and biology test papers." Shen Qi then placed the chemistry and biology test papers on the coffee table.

"Chemistry 80? Biology 82? So, adding up physics, chemistry, and biology, Shen Qi, you scored 248 points?" Shen Zhishan was very confused, even suspicious.

Shen Qi nodded, saying with full confidence, "As Dad can see, it's correct."

"Then what's the average score for physics, chemistry, and biology among your classmates? 280?"

"It's not 280. The average score for physics, chemistry, and biology in our class is 242."

"So, you did pretty well in physics, chemistry, and biology this time, surpassing more than half the students in the class?" Shen Zhishan couldn't believe it. What on earth was going on?

"Yes, but my Chinese and English performance wasn't good. I deeply reflect on this and will strive for improvement in the final exams next time." Shen Qi continued to take out his Chinese and English test papers.

Chinese 88, English 95. Shen Zhishan felt slightly relieved, thinking this was Shen Qi's true level. "What about math?"

"Math, I did pretty well." Shen Qi finally revealed his trump card after holding it back for a long time, slowly unfolding his math test paper before Shen Zhishan's eyes.

"One hundred and fifty? Full marks?" Even Shen Zhishan, who had seen a lot, couldn't help but be shocked. Shen Qi's math score was a perfect score; it seemed too unbelievable.

Finally, Shen Qi took out the ranking sheet and placed it on the coffee table. Seeing is believing, so take a look yourself.

"15th in the class! 188th in the entire grade!"

The news was too astonishing. Shen Qi, who had ranked 47th in the class last time, had advanced 32 places this time, a huge leap.

Fan Yunxia lost interest in arranging the tableware. She immediately came to Shen Zhishan's side and, together with her husband, reviewed Shen Qi's midterm exam papers and ranking sheet.

"This… this is too surprising!" Fan Yunxia was especially excited. Shen Qi ranked 15th in the class with 581 points in this midterm exam, placing him in the top 200 of the entire grade. While his absolute ranking wasn't exceptionally high, his progress was significant.

Progress brings hope. Teacher Zhang said during the parent-teacher meeting that students consistently ranked in the top 200 of the entire grade had a chance to get into a key university.

In the second year of high school, there were 441 students in 9 science classes. Shen Qi had rocketed from 436th place in the entire grade to 188th, an improvement of 248 places. This was a more explosive rise than a stock hitting its daily limit.

"Well done, Shen Qi! Come, drink this bowl of chicken soup to replenish your strength." Fan Yunxia hurried to the kitchen, brought a bowl of hot chicken soup, and held it out to Shen Qi. Her joy was evident.

Shen Qi downed the bowl of chicken soup in one go, wiped his mouth, and said, "Awesome! Mom's chicken soup is always the best!"

"Drink up, son, there's plenty more chicken soup!"