The Provincial Mathematics Society's grand auditorium was decked out in festive decorations, filled with a solemn yet joyful atmosphere.
Officials and experts from the Provincial Department of Education and the Provincial Mathematics Society had come to the event. They would present awards to the champions, runners-up, and third-place finishers in this year's Provincial High School Mathematics League.
At around three in the afternoon, the awards ceremony officially began.
First, the deputy director in charge of primary and secondary education at the Provincial Department of Education gave a speech. Then the six champions, runners-up, and third-place finishers, dressed in their respective school uniforms, went onstage to receive their awards and pose for a group photo.
Standing onstage, Shen Qi held a glass trophy in his left hand and a certificate in his right. As both the contestants' representative and the champion, he gave a brief speech: "My teammates and I all love mathematics. Our goal is to represent Nanyue Province in the national finals—and maybe even make it further. We will definitely strive to...!" He had originally meant to say, "We will definitely claim the throne," but decided that sounded inappropriate, so he changed it to "We will definitely strive."
The audience burst into enthusiastic applause.
Shen Qi's parents were filled with pride, and his teacher was especially pleased.
After the awards ceremony, the Provincial Mathematics Society formally invited the six top finishers to join this year's provincial team, and asked for the opinions of their parents and teachers.
Their parents, teachers, and the students themselves had no objections, of course. The chance to represent the provincial team in the national competition was too good to pass up.
Just as expected, Shen Qi and the other five students joined this year's provincial team.
The six students came from different cities across the province. It was May, so they had to return to school for classes. The provincial team's training camp would begin in late June, and the national competition would kick off during the summer vacation in July.
Just after Shen Qi, fresh from his victory, left the Provincial Mathematics Society building, he received a system notification: "New achievement: Provincial Mathematics Champion! Reward: 3,000 Academic Prodigy Points. Please claim your reward."
"Three thousand points. That's awesome!" Shen Qi had already earned most of the Academic Prodigy Points he could get from showing off his mathematical ability at school. But doing things outside school had brought him a hefty number of points.
With the newly earned 3,000 Academic Prodigy Points, Shen Qi now had 7,801. He spent 5,000 of them to raise mathematics to Level 4.
Host: Shen Qi Age: 17 Mathematics Level 4 (0/10000) Chinese Level 1 (0/1000) English Level 1 (0/1000) Physics Level 1 (0/1000) Chemistry Level 1 (0/1000) Biology Level 1 (0/1000) Sports Level 1 (0/1000) History Level 1 (0/1000) Geography Level 1 (0/1000) Politics Level 1 (0/1000) Remaining Academic Prodigy Points: 2801
Of the system's ten subject categories, Shen Qi's mathematics was far ahead at Level 4. Raising it from Level 4 to Level 5 would take 10,000 Academic Prodigy Points.
Ten thousand points was no small amount.
It had taken fewer than 10,000 Academic Prodigy Points in total to raise his level from 0 to 4.
Level 5 was the professional level, a watershed—and a task set by the system. Shen Qi had to reach it before graduating from high school.
He still had time, and he had a clear goal: make it to the national finals of this year's Mathematics League and try to win the national gold medal.
Winning the provincial championship had earned him 3,000 Academic Prodigy Points. The reward for a gold medal in the national finals should be at least double that.
So if he earned another thousand or so points through his daily efforts, then added the achievement reward for a national gold medal, he might reach Mathematics Level 5 this summer.
That night, Shen Qi had a dream. A wonderful dream.
It began with him standing on the podium as provincial mathematics champion, holding a glass trophy. It wasn't an expensive trophy, but it meant a great deal to him: it was the first trophy of his life, and it was a provincial championship trophy.
Suddenly, the scene shifted. The stage grew larger, and he had advanced to the national level. The trophy in his hand changed in shape and material; it was now a golden abacus, more expensive and impressive than before.
The scene shifted again. Foreign faces surrounded him—he had reached the international stage. A blonde, blue-eyed foreign girl with a generous bust and long legs presented him with flowers and gave him a kiss. A kiss on the lips.
When Shen Qi got up, he changed into a fresh pair of underwear. It was already early morning. It was Monday, and he had school.
After a ten-minute bike ride, Shen Qi reached the school gate and immediately noticed something out of the ordinary.
A red banner hung high on the outer wall of the administration building: "Great News: Congratulations to Shen Qi of Our High School Department on Winning the Provincial Mathematics Championship!"
The administration building faced the road, so passersby outside the school could see the announcement.
"Wow, impressive! Provincial mathematics champion!"
"Is this student going to get into a top university through special admission?"
"Of course!"
"Nangang Second High School is something else. It's a powerhouse in mathematics."
"I'll tell my son when I get home. I'll have my grandson apply to Second High when he takes the middle school entrance exam."
"Auntie, what grade is your grandson in? Which middle school does he go to?"
"Third grade. He goes to the school on the street across from here."
"..."
Wow, the school had made one heck of an advertisement. They'd hung a banner right out on the street, and even a woman out shopping for groceries was talking about me. The school's recruitment drive had reached all the way down to elementary school. Shen Qi wheeled his bike through the gate, parked it, and headed for the classroom building.
The eleven classes in the second year of senior high were spread across the third and fourth floors. Shen Qi's class was on the third floor.
As soon as Shen Qi reached the third floor, he saw someone coming down the stairs from the fourth floor.
The woman wore black slacks, a white shirt, and a pale green scarf around her neck—a professional look. It was hard to guess her age. Students only knew she'd worked at the school for more than ten years, going from substitute teacher to director of discipline. She was probably no youngster, belonging to the ranks of middle-aged career women.
"Shen Qi."
"Director Nie."
Shen Qi came face-to-face with the middle-aged woman. She was Nie Huiying, the director of discipline. Female directors of discipline were a rarity.
"Shen Qi, you've truly surprised me. This time last year, you and Xu Rui were causing trouble off campus, and I was the one who stepped in to mediate and settle things. Now, a year later, you've turned over a new leaf and soared to new heights, winning the provincial mathematics championship and becoming the third provincial champion in our school's history. Congratulations." Nie Huiying thought back on the past and looked at the present. There were no limits to what young people could achieve; they were the ones who made miracles happen.
"Thank you for saying that, Director Nie. I'll head to class now." Shen Qi turned to leave. He was rather afraid of this female director of discipline. Director Nie had an especially good memory. There were over a thousand students in the High School Department, and she could call more than 80 percent of them by name. She knew quite a few things from Shen Qi's checkered past.
"Wait." Director Nie called him back. "You're the provincial champion now, a model student for the whole school, not a troublemaker. Why are you running away when you see me? Am I that scary?"
"No, no. Director Nie is kind-hearted and dignified, and she's the goddess in the hearts of all the boys at our school." Shen Qi stopped. Thinking about it, he was the provincial mathematics champion now. He had no reason to be afraid of the director of discipline.
"I'm much too old to be anyone's goddess." Director Nie smiled. Women of any age appreciated a compliment, even when it came from a boy who was almost an adult.
"Shen Qi, do you know what subject I taught before I became director of discipline?" Director Nie asked.
"I've heard. You used to teach mathematics at our school, and you were classmates with our homeroom teacher, Zhang Wanbang, at university." Shen Qi knew quite a bit. Apparently, his mentor Zhang Wanbang had pursued Director Nie when they were young, but it had never worked out. Now Director Nie was a middle-level administrator at the school, while Zhang Wanbang was still a frontline teacher. So this woman was no ordinary person.
"Teacher Zhang is a good teacher, with a high level of teaching ability," Director Nie said in a very official tone.
You two used to be together. You were our Teacher Zhang's ex, and now you're being so formal, showing no regard for the past. Ah, love—what is love, anyway? Shen Qi's gossip-loving side flared up as he thought about his homeroom teacher and the director of discipline.
"Shen Qi, I studied mathematics too, so I know how difficult it will be for the Nanyue provincial team to make it to the national finals. Since I've run into you today, let me give you some advice." Director Nie got to the point.
"Please enlighten me, Director Nie."
"Shen Qi, you need to be mentally prepared. Even if you go to the capital in July for the national competition, you might only get to compete in one preliminary round. Our province isn't strong in mathematics, after all, and the national competition is a test of overall strength. The six contestants' scores are added together to determine which teams advance to the national finals. That said, it isn't impossible for you to earn an invitation to Tsinghua-Peking's Golden Autumn Camp based on your individual preliminary-round results. In any case, for the next month or so, I suggest you devote yourself to preparing for the national Mathematics League. Focus on mathematics and set your other subjects aside for now."
"You're already in the second half of your second year of high school, and your third year is coming up. This may be your last chance to compete at the national level. I sincerely hope you can become a dark horse in the national competition, so you should play to your strengths and concentrate your efforts. Focus on mathematics in the near future, and try to earn invitations to the Golden Autumn Camps at Shuimu University and Yanjing University. Miracles happen; it all depends on your faith and determination." Director Nie encouraged him.
"Who said I wanted to go to the Golden Autumn Camps at Shuimu or Yanjing?" Shen Qi looked confused. Why did directors of discipline always love arranging other people's lives?
Director Nie was astonished. "Don't you want to get into Shuimu or Yanjing through special admission? Are you studying for the TOEFL and IELTS because you want to study abroad?"
Shen Qi replied, "Shuimu's fine. It has a nice name. Forget Yanjing, though. I haven't really considered it."
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