Learning Knows No End

Director Yan left very disappointed. It's this difficult to recruit a student for our great Shuimu? This is unacceptable! I must report this to my superiors immediately.

Inside the Shuimu University dorms, Director Tian finally burst into laughter: "Shen Qi, we've been eating at Shuimu's expense, living at Shuimu's expense these past few days. They're eager for talent and are offering you a special recruitment, handing over a Tsinghua National Final offer that countless students dream of. Do you even know what a National Final offer is? It means after signing, you don't have to take the college entrance exam, and you can get into Shuimu University through their independent admissions channel. And you, you just directly rebuffed their admissions director. Hey, we're on Shuimu University's turf, aren't you afraid of getting beaten up?"

Shen Qi also smiled: "My dad said, a person must have integrity, even when facing prestigious schools, you can't appear humble, or people will look down on you."

"Enough joking, seriously, Shen Qi, where do you actually want to study? You're about to be a senior in high school. What's your life plan? If not Shuimu, then Yanjing University? Or do you really want to study abroad, at a top 10 global university? By the way, have you been studying IELTS or TOEFL? Hey, is your English level up to par?"

"Why do I feel like your English is pretty average? You can't even articulate clearly a simple English sentence like 'the boundary of the integral region becomes singular, making the integral diverge and difficult to calculate.'" Teacher Tian was also very curious, what exactly was Shen Qi's goal?

"I used to daydream every day, Shuimu, Yanjing, Yanjing, Shuimu, like some anime waifus, only able to fantasize, not act. Now, those anime waifus have transformed into three-dimensional beings, approaching me infinitely, and I've fallen into confusion. My heart is unmoved, I even feel like laughing a little." Shen Qi was somewhat troubled.

Teacher Tian: "This condition of yours is commonly known as being deliberately difficult."

Shen Qi straightened his expression and said seriously: "I want to go to the best school, that's a necessary condition. The school name must sound good, that's a sufficient condition."

"Domestically, the one that meets your requirements is Shuimu, but you just rebuffed them... Globally, does Cambridge sound good? Harvard is also an option, after all, it's 'Buddha-like' and TOP 1. What about the major? I believe choosing a major is no less important than choosing a school." Teacher Tian was neither Shen Qi's parent nor his homeroom teacher, but his enthusiasm was no less than that of Shen Qi's parents and homeroom teacher.

Shen Qi said decisively: "I want to major in mathematics."

Teacher Tian offered his personal advice: "If you stay in China, Shen Qi, you need to consider Yanjing University. Shuimu excels in engineering, while Yanjing is strong in science. Globally... you kid, practice your English first!"

Just then, a "ding-a-ling" and a "dong-dong" sounded, the BGM started, and Teacher Tian's phone rang. He picked up: "Hello, yes, I'm the leader of the Nanyue Province Math Olympiad team. Who is this? Oh, Yanjing University Admissions Office, you want to meet Shen Qi? Please wait a moment."

Teacher Tian covered the phone's mouthpiece with his hand and whispered to Shen Qi: "Speak of the devil, the Yanjing University Admissions Office is also looking for you. Do you want to meet them?"

Shen Qi shook his head: "Not today. My dad is arriving in the Capital tonight. We'll talk tomorrow, tell them to wait."

Teacher Tian continued the call: "I apologize, Shen Qi just finished the National Final and needs rest and adjustment. Let's schedule for tomorrow... I know your Yanjing University has the strongest science department, and is number one in mathematics... It's alright, it's alright, Yanjing University is fine, we're not being difficult. Shen Qi isn't feeling well today... Let's leave it at that for now, we'll talk tomorrow, bye-bye."

After hanging up, Teacher Tian felt great: "Shen Qi, you're really something. You've rebuffed Shuimu and Yanjing within 20 minutes. Look, this is the treatment for being the sole perfect scorer in the National Final. Shuimu and Yanjing are fighting to sign you. Shen Qi, you're the best."

As he spoke, Teacher Tian frowned again: "Shen Qi, you rebuffed Shuimu and then Yanjing. If you truly anger them, you might only be able to study abroad. So, you should strengthen your English, it's wise to have a backup plan..."

At 2 PM, the National Final awards ceremony was held at the headquarters of the Chinese Mathematical Society.

Shen Qi received the first gold medal of his life. It wasn't pure gold, but it was more precious than gold.

System Notification: "New Achievement: National First Place! Congratulations to the host for achieving first place in the National Math Olympiad individual competition. Reward: 10,000 Scholar Points x 2."

Shen Qi chose mathematics as his primary talent. The scholar points obtained through mathematics will be multiplied by a coefficient of 2 on top of the base reward value.

Having won the National Final gold medal and achieved first place individually, Shen Qi earned 20,000 scholar points.

"I've accumulated 29,000 scholar points. I'll save them and make a big splurge when I reach 50,000 points."

Shen Qi stroked the National Final gold medal in his hand. It wasn't easy to come by. Although he got a perfect score in every competition, the process wasn't easy.

Five of the six National Final gold medalists were snapped up by Shuimu University and Yanjing University within half a day. Shuimu got three, and Yanjing got two. Only Shen Qi, who had the highest score in the National Final, had not made a decision.

The twelve silver medalists also became sought-after candidates. They were all admitted to the Golden Autumn Camp at Shuimu and Yanjing, and will participate in specialized and comprehensive ability tests in mathematics this autumn. If nothing unexpected happens, most of them will become enrolled students at Shuimu and Yanjing in the near future.

Shuimu and Yanjing are just that dominant, they want all the gold and silver medalists. The universities in the prestigious school alliance can't compete with these two giants.

If they can't get the gold or silver, they'll go for the bronze.

Two of Shen Qi's teammates won bronze medals in the National Final. They each received special recruitment offers from Wuhan University and Zhejiang University.

Wuhan University and Zhejiang University can't compare to Shuimu and Yanjing, but they are still 985 prestigious universities, and their names are always on the domestic TOP 10 rankings.

At the very least, the three teammates who received the "National Final Advancement Award" obtained independent admissions test slots at Sun Yat-sen University and Tongji University.

As the old saying goes, master mathematics, physics, and chemistry, and you can go anywhere without fear.

Having a specialty always has its benefits. Mastering mathematics, physics, and chemistry means you won't be afraid even if you go abroad. Nowadays, the whole world is short of high-end academic talents.

After the awards ceremony, his teammate Qi Jianhong said gratefully to Shen Qi: "Brother, thank you. I will worship you my whole life and spread your legend widely in our high school. Your brilliant sexagesimal solution to the last question in the National Final, I've downloaded it and posted it on my moments. It's truly god-tier, absolutely amazing."

Shen Qi waved his hand: "Why thank me? I didn't give you any pocket money."

"Actually, we all know that without you, our team wouldn't have advanced to the National Final, let alone get sixth place as a team. If those two conditions weren't met, I wouldn't have gotten the independent admissions test slot for Tongji University. Tongji's School of Science is highly regarded in the industry and is a major I've always admired. So Shen Qi, thank you." Qi Jianhong expressed his sincere gratitude.

Shen Qi smiled: "Aren't you the all-around prince? You've consistently held the top spot in your grade at your high school. Without special recruitment, you could get into a prestigious university through the college entrance exam based on your own abilities."

"The college entrance exam, after all, carries risks. What if you fail? So many people fail. They only see the glory of the top scorer, who cares about the losers acting like dogs? The Tongji independent admissions test isn't difficult, and it's definitely less risky than the college entrance exam. Plus, it's for the School of Science. What if I get assigned to a major I don't want in the college entrance exam? In short, thanks, Shen Qi. I'm leaving now, see you around if fate allows." Qi Jianhong waved goodbye.

"Take care, I wish you success in entering Tongji's School of Science. See you around." Seeing his teammate take a big step forward in his life, Shen Qi was also happy for Qi Jianhong.

They all left.

Only Shen Qi and Teacher Tian remained in the Capital. The deputy leader led the other five teammates back to Nanyue Province.

This year's National Final has concluded, but Shen Qi still needs to stay in the Capital for a while. Isn't he supposed to meet with people from Yanjing University tomorrow?

More importantly, the Chinese Mathematical Society has extended a formal invitation to the Nanyue Province Math Olympiad team, inviting Shen Qi to be selected for the national training team for the Olympic Mathematics Competition.

Being selected for the national training team is a separate matter from accepting the invitations from Shuimu and Yanjing. Shen Qi agreed to the Chinese Mathematical Society without a second thought. It seems he won't have any rest this summer.