Physics Olympiad Exam

Teachers' office.

Old Yang was grading math homework with a furrowed brow.

"These brats can recite the derivative formulas backward and forward, but the moment they see a composite function, they go completely blank..."

Just then, Jiang Yang rushed in in a panic.

Old Yang looked up at the panting Jiang Yang.

"What's wrong, Teacher Jiang?"

Jiang Yang strode straight to Old Yang's desk.

"Li Dong! Li Dong has to enter the physics competition!"

Hearing that it was this again, Old Yang's brow furrowed even deeper.

He took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose, his tone helpless.

"Teacher Jiang, I know you have quotas to meet, but can't you fleece a different sheep?"

"Li Dong's math is on a real upswing right now. As long as he keeps it steady, he truly has a shot at a high score in Gaokao math. His physics grades may be pretty good now, but they're only good at No. 7 High School. Put him in a citywide competition..."

Old Yang shook his head.

"So why waste that time and energy? Delaying his Gaokao review for a competition where he won't win an award would be far too irresponsible."

In Old Yang's eyes, any competition that did not serve the purpose of improving Gaokao scores was pure nonsense for No. 7 High School students.

"No!"

Jiang Yang's face had turned red with anxiety as he cut Old Yang off.

"He's not merely good. He's a genius!"

With that, Jiang Yang turned to his desk, pulled open a drawer, and took out a brand-new exam paper.

It was a past preliminary-round paper for the high school Physics Olympiad. Its overall difficulty was slightly higher than the toughest Gaokao questions, and that chain problem had been copied from one of this paper's multiple-choice questions.

"Teacher Yang, I won't waste words with you."

Holding the paper, Jiang Yang spoke as he headed outside.

"Once he finishes this paper, I'll bring the results back and slap them in your face!"

Old Yang stared at Jiang Yang's departing back, utterly bewildered.

"What's Jiang Yang even trying to say...?"

Senior Three Class 2 classroom.

Class had not started yet, and the room buzzed with noise.

Everyone was discussing Teacher Jiang suddenly running out earlier, while some were mocking Jiang Yizhou for his embarrassing moment.

"Hey, did you see Jiang Yizhou's face..."

"Serves him right. Who told him to pretend he knew what he was talking about?"

Jiang Yizhou was lying facedown on his desk, listening to the commotion around him.

Every mocking remark from his classmates stabbed straight into his heart.

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded from the doorway.

Jiang Yang was back.

Holding an exam paper, he walked up to Li Dong.

Slap!

He smacked the paper onto Li Dong's desk.

"Li Dong, do this paper right now."

Li Dong had been reading the section on photon interference in Feynman and was startled by the commotion.

He lowered his head, his gaze falling on the exam paper.

The 38th National High School Physics Competition Preliminary Round Exam?

CPhO?

Li Dong raised an eyebrow, thoroughly confused.

What was going on?

He remembered that the competition he was supposed to register for was not the Physics Olympiad, but something called the "Huaxuan Cup National Physics Applications Competition."

"Teacher, this..."

"Stop talking." Jiang Yang glanced at his watch.

"Forget it, class is about to start. Come to the office and do it there."

"Bring a pen and scratch paper!"

Left with no choice, Li Dong picked up a pen and stood under the stunned gazes of the entire class.

At that moment, the class bell rang.

Jiang Yang ignored it. Instead, he took Li Dong's monthly exam paper and walked to the podium.

He picked up a piece of chalk and began writing on the blackboard with swift strokes.

In less than a minute, a concise, clear derivation appeared on the board.

It was the correct solution to the chain problem.

F_total = G + F_impact = (λx)g + 2λgx = 3λgx

That huge "3" was like a symbol of mockery, stabbing certain people in the eyes.

After finishing, Jiang Yang addressed the dumbfounded students below.

"This is the correct solution to the problem you wanted."

"You don't need to do anything else this period. Study this solution! Then carefully correct every question you got wrong before! I'll collect them before class ends!"

He looked toward a figure in the second row.

"Jiang Yizhou."

"Copy it out too."

"Take a good look at what physics thinking is, and what logic is."

Without another glance back, Jiang Yang led Li Dong out of the classroom.

As the two disappeared, the classroom was silent for a moment before erupting into buzzing discussion.

"Holy crap! What's going on?"

"That paper Teacher Jiang gave Li Dong looked like a Physics Olympiad paper."

"How is that possible?"

"Why wouldn't it be? And for the solution on the blackboard, Teacher Jiang was holding Li Dong's monthly exam paper too!"

"Seriously?"

At the front of the classroom, Mi Xia stared at the smooth, flowing derivation on the blackboard, her beautiful fox-like eyes filled with shock.

Again...

Just like the solution to that derivative math problem—concise, yet straight to the heart of the matter.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yizhou's head was buzzing.

"Impossible... absolutely impossible..."

In the office.

Old Yang was still wondering what Jiang Yang had meant by "slap the results in your face" when Jiang Yang hurried back again.

And behind him stood an innocent-looking Li Dong.

The other teachers in the office also stopped what they were doing and looked over curiously.

As Li Dong's homeroom teacher, Old Yang naturally had to ask what was happening.

"Teacher Jiang, what exactly is going on? Why did you bring Li Dong here?"

Jiang Yang knew he had been too worked up earlier and had not explained himself clearly.

He pointed at Li Dong, then at the exam paper, and tried to calm himself as he spoke.

"I found a past Physics Olympiad preliminary-round paper for him to do."

"What?"

Old Yang's voice rose several notches in surprise.

"A Physics Olympiad paper? Teacher Jiang, are you mistaken? Li Dong's physics grades may be decent, but that's only in school exams. A Physics Olympiad paper... how could he possibly do it?"

The chemistry teacher beside them chimed in as well.

"That's right, Teacher Jiang. Don't crush the kid's confidence."

Jiang Yang sighed and gave a bitter smile.

"At first, I thought the same. But..."

He turned to look at Li Dong.

"During the last monthly exam, I accidentally put a problem with the difficulty of a Physics Olympiad semifinal question into the paper."

"As a result, the entire grade—hundreds of students—was wiped out."

Jiang Yang slapped Li Dong on the shoulder.

"But Li Dong solved it! And he used calculus and the Momentum Theorem."

The teachers in the office all looked at Li Dong with uncertainty and disbelief.

Calculus? The Momentum Theorem?

Jiang Yang's words immediately made Old Yang think of that out-of-syllabus math problem. That familiar feeling returned.

He looked at Li Dong uncertainly and asked tentatively.

"Li Dong... what's going on? When did you learn calculus?"

Being watched by so many teachers, Li Dong looked a little awkward.

He scratched his head, trying to make his expression look sincere.

"Well... I saw some educational videos online before and thought they were pretty interesting, so I taught myself a little calculus."

"And I'm pretty interested in physics too. I felt that high school methods were sometimes too troublesome, so I tried applying it. I didn't expect to solve it by accident."

"By accident..."

Hearing that, Old Yang's eye twitched uncontrollably.

Last time, he had also said it was because he wanted to save effort. This time, it was "by accident" again.

This kid was getting better and better at humblebragging.

Still, compared with the other teachers' shock, Old Yang found it easier to accept. After all, he had only just finished being shocked not long ago and was still on cooldown.

He gave Li Dong a long, searching look.

"Fine, then give it a try."

"But don't put too much pressure on yourself. There's no shame in not being able to finish it."

The commotion naturally drew the attention of the other teachers in the office.

Some knew Li Dong, while others did not.

The biology teacher who knew Li Dong wore a strange expression.

"I remember this kid. He works hard, but his brains... were just so-so, right? How did he suddenly figure things out? And now he's doing Physics Olympiad problems?"

The teachers who did not know him quietly asked around.

"Who is he? Our school has a hidden top student like this? Why haven't we heard his name before?"

"I heard he's from Class 2. His grades used to be average."

"Tsk, tsk. Kids these days really know how to hide themselves."

Jiang Yang ignored the whispers. He pulled out the chair in front of an empty desk and pushed the exercise books on it aside.

"Come on, Li Dong. Sit here."

"Ignore everyone else. Work at your own pace and do as much as you can."