Harvest Season

A day later, it was results day.

After the Chinese Olympic Math team received the official score rankings, they erupted in cheers.

The six team members' scores were:

Shen Qi 42 (+1), Lü Qiujian 33, Yang Rui 33, Zhou Yu'an 32, Yu Lei 30, Lu Wenlin 28.

Chinese Olympic Math team total: 198

Lu Wenlin, who scored 28 points, won a silver medal; the other five team members all won individual gold medals.

China's 198 points were the highest team score. Russia and the United States placed second and third with 192 and 185 points, respectively.

"Whoa! Champions!"

"We're the champions!"

The Chinese team members slapped hands in celebration, their spirits soaring.

"Shen Qi, you were amazing! The highest score."

"Shen Qi, what's with your 42+1?"

"Yeah, I'm wondering too. It should be either 42 or 43, so what's this 42+1? The Monster-Group? Judging by our team's total, they must've counted 42 points for me. Maybe the +1 in parentheses is just a note?" Shen Qi looked just as confused.

"Anyway, Shen Qi, you're definitely the top gold medalist. Congratulations!"

"If you hadn't gotten a perfect score, Shen Qi, we might've lost to Russia."

"Boss Shen Qi, I'm down on my knees!"

The team members all looked at Shen Qi with admiration. Getting a perfect score at the IMO was no easy feat.

"We won this team championship through everyone's hard work. It wouldn't have mattered if I were the only one with a perfect score. Anyway, I love you guys, bros. You were all rock solid." Shen Qi laughed happily.

At noon that day, the awards ceremony was held in the grand auditorium of the University of South Bank, London.

The six members of the Chinese Olympic Math team, dressed in matching suits, received the team gold cup, symbolizing the highest honor.

Click, click, click.

The reporters snapped photos from below the stage. Most were local British reporters, followed by American and Chinese journalists.

The reporters quickly sent out a flurry of bulletins.

"Chinese Olympic Math team wins the International Mathematical Olympiad team championship with 198 points! Congratulations to the Chinese Olympic Math team for successfully defending their title!" — This was the Chinese-language bulletin.

"International Mathematical Olympiad: China takes team championship, Russia second, United States third." — This was the bulletin from Western media.

The bulletins were very concise, stating the facts simply and clearly.

In fact, both Chinese and Western people valued mathematics highly.

China had academic competitions in more than just mathematics, but math had the most competitions and was the most highly regarded.

In Western countries, mathematics was not only an important academic discipline but also a major cultural force.

The IMO naturally drew great attention from Chinese and Western media alike. The team championship mattered, but individual rankings might matter even more. Mathematics didn't require instruments, equipment, or high-end laboratories; most of the time, it advanced through the abilities of individual geniuses.

After receiving the team championship award, the Chinese team returned to their seats.

There was only one team championship trophy, but each team member received a team gold medal.

Shen Qi admired the team gold medal in his hand. It was round, shiny, and quite attractive.

System notification: "Congratulations, host, on earning a new achievement: International Mathematical Olympiad Team Champion! Reward: 15,000 Academic Prodigy Points. Multiplied by your Math primary talent coefficient of 2, the actual reward is 30,000 Academic Prodigy Points. Your balance is 59,873 Academic Prodigy Points. Please confirm."

"System, you've been underwater for days. You finally show up and give me a surprise." Shen Qi had accumulated nearly 60,000 Academic Prodigy Points, enough to upgrade his Math Level directly to level 6. Upgrading from level 5 to level 6 required 50,000 Academic Prodigy Points.

Next, the Russian and American teams went onstage to receive the team silver and bronze trophies.

The host announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Mr. Malves, editor-in-chief of the Annals of Mathematics, and Mr. Bell, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Mathematics, to present the individual bronze medals."

Mr. Malves and Mr. Bell might not be famous, but the mathematical journals they edited—the Annals of Mathematics and the Journal of Mathematics—were renowned throughout the Mathematics Community and ranked among the world's most prestigious and authoritative publications.

After Mr. Malves and Mr. Bell had presented the individual bronze medals, the secretary-general of the Royal Society of London and the director of the Clay Mathematics Institute presented the individual silver medals.

The Royal Society of London was the world's oldest scientific society. In 2000, the Clay Mathematics Institute had established seven Millennium Problems, offering a million dollars for solving each one. Both institutions were renowned.

Finally, Sir Wiles, Sir Gowers, and Sir Bocherds presented the individual gold medals.

Since this year's IMO was being held in Britain, and all three knights were Fields Medal laureates, they were the most fitting people to present the individual gold medals.

Although the overall level of mathematics among the British public wasn't very high, the country had three living Fields Medal laureates. Britain's standing in international mathematics was far from low—in fact, it was very high.

Shen Qi went onstage again to receive his individual gold medal. Wiles placed it around his neck.

"Son, we meet again. You made quite an impression on me," Wiles said with a smile.

Shen Qi was too moved to speak, so he simply kept quiet.

The IMO individual gold medal was the highest official individual award. There was more than one gold medalist; this year's cutoff was 30 points, and five members of the Chinese team alone had won individual gold medals.

Whether they scored 42 points or 30, contestants could win an individual gold medal. Gold was the highest honor officially awarded, but people would rank the gold medalists by their scores. The top-ranked one was commonly called the top gold medalist.

When the gold medalists gathered for a group photo, the reporters' cameras clicked at a geometrically increasing rate.

"China's Olympic math contestants Shen Qi, Lü Qiujian, Yang Rui, Zhou Yu'an, and Yu Lei have won individual gold medals. Congratulations to the five young men! They come from Nangang Second High School, Huazhong Normal University High School, Hengshui High School, Renmin University High School, and Yanjing University High School, respectively. Shen Qi ranked first with an individual score of 42+1!" — QQ News.

"Shen Qi from our city's Second Middle School wins an International Mathematical Olympiad gold medal! A true academic star shines on the international stage!" — Nangang News.

Nangang News, a local outlet, hadn't sent a reporter to Britain. They reposted QQ News' report on the IMO.

"Warm congratulations to our student Shen Qi for winning an International Mathematical Olympiad gold medal! Nangang Second High School, the strongest math olympiad school, shines once again!" — This was a post by "Nangang Second High School," the official account of Shen Qi's high school.

"Shen Qi is formidable. Nangang Second High School, the strongest math olympiad school? Doubtful." — "Huazhong Normal University High School" tagged "Nangang Second High School."

Hengshui High School: "Doubtful."

Renmin University High School: "Doubtful."

Yanjing University High School: "Doubtful."

Capital No. 4 High School: "Doubtful." Their school was a genuine elite school, but no one from No. 4 had made the Olympic Math national team this time. Surely they could join in the fun.

With all the reposting and chatter, the number of followers of Nangang Second High School's official account doubled, then doubled again, then doubled yet again. The account had originally had just over 200 followers, mostly school staff and students' parents. Within minutes, it had over a thousand. More and more curious onlookers gathered, and their numbers kept growing. It was noon Greenwich Mean Time, around eight or nine in the evening in China—the prime time for watching the drama unfold.

Nangang Second High School's official account was being dogpiled by several big names in the high school world. They didn't dare keep provoking people, and fell silent, trembling.

At this critical moment, a blogger called PKU stepped forward. Without a word, they liked Nangang Second High School's official post and left an encouraging, supportive emoji.

THU promptly galloped in and left three thumbs-up emojis.

The big names in the high school world fell silent, and the situation was brought under control.

At the awards ceremony in Britain, Shen Qi went onstage for the third time to receive an award. Russian contestant Peter Porasdelafsky went up at the same time.

Shen Qi received a special award—the IMO Innovation Award. Of his total score of 42+1, the 42 was a perfect score, and the 1 was for innovation.

Peter Porasdelafsky received the "IMO Best Player Award in History." He had equaled the record set by Romanian contestant Manolescu: competing in the IMO three times and earning a perfect score each time. This award had been presented only once before; this was the second time.

Shen Qi and Peter Porasdelafsky shared first place among this year's IMO gold medalists. Both had earned perfect scores.

The two shook hands and posed for a photo. Every reporter in the hall focused on the two young prodigies from China and Russia.