Everyone Is Happy

"Shen Qi's semi-final paper, my review conclusion is 60 points."

"60, full marks, no problem."

"Agreed to give Shen Qi full marks."

After the 11 judges reviewed Shen Qi's paper, they reached a highly consistent opinion and gave him full marks.

"So the result is very clear, Shen Qi got full marks in the First Test and full marks in the semi-finals. Without a doubt, Shen Qi, a student from Nangang Second High School, will win the championship of this Provincial High School Mathematics League. Our Mathematics Society will invite Shen Qi to join the provincial team," the Vice President summarized.

"No objections."

"Fair and reasonable."

The meeting approved the Vice President's proposal.

"Next, please continue to review the semi-final papers of the remaining 11 contestants. We will announce the final results later," the Vice President gave new instructions.

Meanwhile, the lounge downstairs was filled with various aromas: baked chicken wings, stewed beef brisket, saury, king prawns, white rice, pasta, pizza, and a wide variety of fruits... Eat as much as you want, no charge, all you can eat.

"Delicious, delicious, awesome." Shen Qi was eating heartily, he was hungry.

He was the only one eating with such gusto; the other 11 contestants were each lost in their own thoughts, mostly unhappy and with no appetite.

"Wuwuwu..." One fair-skinned boy even shed tears of sadness and regret.

Shen Qi felt pity as he watched, so he picked up a chicken wing and placed it on the boy's plate, advising, "You must be a contestant from out of town, don't cry. A true man doesn't shed tears easily. Here, have a chicken wing."

"I don't want to eat, how can I eat!" The fair-skinned boy was heartbroken and somewhat out of control. "I'm the best at math in my school. I came to the provincial capital to compete, and in three whole hours, I could only do one problem. It's too monstrous. You city folks really know how to play."

"Hey, hey, if you're angry, don't take it out on me. I'm also one of the contestants, and I didn't set the questions." Shen Qi found these math whizzes particularly difficult to deal with. He tried to be friendly, but why were they all so unapproachable? Was it his fault again? Was he being punished by heaven for finishing all the questions? Was he destined to have no friends?

"Nangang Second High School, eat your food and stop talking nonsense," a contestant from Nangang Foreign Language School said, giving Shen Qi an unhappy glance.

Shen Qi also found him annoying. "When our Second High School was founded, the land your Foreign Language School is on was considered the outskirts. Old folks say it used to be a pig farm."

"F*** you," the contestant from the Foreign Language School said in English, gritting his teeth. Their school was indeed built on the site of a pig farm.

"F*** you too," Shen Qi retorted in English, feeling lonely inside. Outsiders rejected him, and locals ostracized him. Damn it, he really had no friends.

The collective lunch was not a pleasant one. Each contestant came from a different school, and there was no open communication among them; they were competitors.

15 minutes later, lunch ended. A judge brought 12 semi-final papers to the lounge and distributed them to each contestant by name.

Shen Qi took his paper and saw, hehehe, 60 points, full marks.

"Holy crap, 5 points."

"I'm dizzy, 10 points."

"I'm a bit better, 15 points."

"I want to hit someone, 20 points."

"I want to kill myself, 25 points."

Several contestants who scored below 30 points wailed loudly. They couldn't even get half of the highest possible score on a single paper; it was shameful.

The judge said, "After a fair and just review, I, on behalf of the judging panel, announce the final results. Shen Qi, a student from Nangang Second High School, with a perfect score in the semi-finals, has won the championship of this Provincial Math League. Congratulations, Shen Qi."

"Luo Ming, Shu Minbo, and Yang Huan tied for second place with 35 points. Cheng Le and Qi Jianhong tied for third place with 30 points."

"Our Provincial Mathematics Society cordially invites the above six students to join this year's provincial team to prepare for the national competition soon. Additionally, the awards ceremony will be held in one hour in the auditorium next door. If any student has questions about their paper score, please raise them within one hour, and our judging panel will re-verify."

"If there are no questions, please proceed to the auditorium in one hour. In addition to the first, second, and third place awards, we will also present special awards to students ranked seventh to twelfth. In short, you are all winners and the hope for the flourishing development of mathematics in our province. Congratulations!"

The judge left after announcing the results, leaving the students with mixed feelings of joy and sorrow.

"Full... full marks?"

"Shen Qi from Nangang Second High School?"

All eyes turned to Shen Qi.

"You... you..." Luo Ming from Nangang Foreign Language School stared at Shen Qi, unable to speak.

"I'm going out for some fresh air, teammate Luo Ming," Shen Qi said as he put away his paper. Luo Ming had won second place with 35 points and would be joining the provincial team with Shen Qi. Since they would soon be teammates, it was best not to maintain such a tense relationship.

After Shen Qi left, Luo Ming muttered to himself, "It's against all reason, against all reason..."

With a cheerful jog, Shen Qi arrived at the reception area of the Provincial Mathematics Society building. His parents were waiting there, along with their school's teachers, Cao Xin'an and Zhang Wanbang.

"Mom, Dad, Teacher Cao, Teacher Zhang, the results are out," Shen Qi's face was beaming with accomplishment.

"So the result is good?" Shen Zhishan saw Shen Qi's cheerful demeanor and assumed the outcome was positive.

"What place did you get, Shen Qi?" Fan Yunxia asked impatiently.

"I just want to know if you made it onto the provincial team," Zhang Wanbang was still confident in Shen Qi, believing that getting a ranking was not difficult, but failing to make the provincial team would be a failure.

Only Cao Xin'an remained silent. He was the leader of Nangang Second High School's Math Olympiad team, bringing Shen Qi, his sole team member, to the semi-finals.

Shen Qi took his paper out of his backpack and first handed it to Cao Xin'an. "Teacher Cao, I got 60 points in the semi-finals, which is full marks. The only full marks. My final ranking is champion."

"Champion? That's great news!" Shen Zhishan was beaming with pride, as if he had won the championship himself.

"My son is amazing!" Fan Yunxia was extremely excited. Shen Qi's continuous surprises made her feel proud.

"Good. Shen Qi, you are the second provincial champion from our school in eight years, and the third provincial mathematics champion in our school's history," Zhang Wanbang smiled. A teacher is happiest when their student wins.

"Indeed, it can be done." Cao Xin'an scanned Shen Qi's semi-final exam paper, his wrinkled old face gradually relaxing. "But Shen Qi, you must not become arrogant. The national competition still awaits you."

"Mhm!" Shen Qi nodded, also very happy because his parents and teachers were happy.

"Little Zhang, take a look at this paper. It's quite difficult." Cao Xin'an handed the exam paper to Zhang Wanbang.

Zhang Wanbang took the paper and quickly scanned the three questions. "These questions are really tricky. Let alone high school students, even engineering students not majoring in mathematics would struggle to get a perfect score."

Shen Zhishan respectfully offered cigarettes to Cao Xin'an and Zhang Wanbang. "Teacher Cao, Teacher Zhang, Shen Qi's achievement is mainly due to your excellent teaching. Allow me to host dinner tonight to thank you both for nurturing Shen Qi."

The atmosphere was joyful, and everyone was pleased.

One hour later, the awards ceremony was held in the grand auditorium.

As parents and teachers, Shen Zhishan, Fan Yunxia, Cao Xin'an, and Zhang Wanbang were all seated in the auditorium, ready to witness the glorious moment for their son and student.