Let Me Take You for a Massage

The bell signaling the end of the exam echoed through the corridors.

The examination hall doors slowly opened, and the contestants filed out one after another.

Zheng Hua stood outside the examination hall, pacing back and forth slowly. But when he saw the team leaders from several prestigious schools around him looking utterly relaxed—especially Liu Limin from No. 6 High School, who stood there with his hands behind his back, chatting and laughing with others—

Zheng Hua straightened his back as well, forcing himself to look less nervous.

Li Dong emerged from the examination hall carrying his stationery bag, his expression calm. He casually tossed his empty bottle of mineral water into a trash can.

Zheng Hua walked over, keeping his tone as steady as possible.

"How did it go?"

"Not bad," Li Dong replied casually.

Zheng Hua nodded without saying much. He merely patted Li Dong lightly on the shoulder, and the two made their way through the crowd one after the other, returning to their hotel room.

The moment the door closed, Zheng Hua's profound and inscrutable facade instantly collapsed.

He pulled over a chair, sat down, and asked somewhat anxiously.

"Are you confident about this exam?"

Seeing Old Zheng like that, Li Dong could not help laughing. He made an OK gesture.

"Don't worry, Teacher Zheng. Everything was within range."

Only then did Zheng Hua let out a long breath.

He genuinely wanted to put on a show in front of that bald Mediterranean guy for once.

But then he suddenly remembered something and asked Li Dong again.

"Oh? What was the experimental question this time?"

He had heard the rumors about Huaxuan Technology selecting its "personal disciples," so he also wanted to know whether the competition had slipped in anything extra.

Li Dong nodded. Then he explained the question about lithography machine resolution.

Zheng Hua was left dumbfounded as he listened. His level might not have been as high as Old Yang's, but he had taught physics at No. 7 High School for so many years that he still had a basic eye for such things.

"The Rayleigh Criterion... maskless... They really put out a declassified question? Is this a technological bottleneck they ran into, or one they've already solved?"

Feeling a little stuffy, Li Dong walked to the window and pulled open the curtains before voicing his thoughts.

"This should be a problem that's already been solved."

"If it were an unsolved industrial-level challenge, they should have saved it as the finale for the finals. It was unlikely to appear in the preliminary round."

Zheng Hua nodded, finding that reasonable.

He thought over the question for a moment, and his expression relaxed considerably.

"Although this question involves lithography machines, once you strip away all those intimidating terms, the core is still interference and diffraction in wave optics. From what I know of you, this shouldn't be a problem."

Then he suddenly thought of something else and asked tentatively.

"So how did you solve it? Did you use the Immersion Lithography approach? That's a relatively mature industrial solution at the moment."

He knew Li Dong had a knack for stirring things up, always coming up with something flashy now and then. He was terrified that Li Dong had done it again this time.

Li Dong nodded without changing expression.

"Yes! That's exactly what I did."

If Old Zheng found out he had gone with an aggressive solution like "Dual-Beam Laser Interference Maskless Lithography," the old man might lose sleep tonight.

After all, under conventional teaching logic, that kind of solution carried too much risk. What if it was just Li Dong amusing himself? What if nobody else accepted it?

So Li Dong decided it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble.

"Good! Good!"

Hearing that, Zheng Hua said "good" twice in a row.

"The biggest taboo in these major questions is taking an unconventional path. Those engineers grading the papers may like innovation, but they value feasibility even more. Immersion Lithography is good—safe and reliable!"

Once he confirmed that Li Dong had not done anything reckless, Zheng Hua's mood greatly improved.

He got to his feet and waved a hand.

"All right, the exam's over. The results are up to fate now."

"Come on, your teacher will take you around Chengdu properly! I heard Chunxi Road is pretty lively. We'll head back to school tomorrow."

"Huh? Teacher Zheng, does this count as publicly funded tourism?"

"Nonsense! This is post-exam psychological counseling! We'll go... ahem, get a massage. A proper one!"

While Zheng Hua took Li Dong off for psychological counseling, the atmosphere at the other schools was far from as relaxed.

In the hotel lobby's lounge area.

Liu Limin, the director from Jiangcheng No. 6 High School, was consoling Zhao Ziwei, whose face was ashen.

"It's all right, Ziwei. It's only one competition. In the future, we just need to broaden your knowledge a bit. Don't bury yourself in textbooks and drill problems all day..."

Zhao Ziwei kept his head down without saying a word.

He had done terribly this time.

The earlier questions had gone smoothly for him, but that final experimental question—

The first part had been a giveaway.

As for the second part, about standard industry solutions, he normally did nothing but grind through problems and study competition techniques. How would he know the difference between DUV and EUV? He had probably gotten the entire direction wrong.

And as for the design proposal in the third part, he had not even had a point of entry. His mind was full of formulas, yet he had no idea which one to use.

"Teacher Liu, I might not even make it past the preliminary-round cutoff..."

Zhao Ziwei's voice trembled slightly.

Just as Liu Limin was still thinking about how to comfort him, a voice came from behind them.

"Oh? Old Liu, how did your lot do? Zhao Ziwei should be fine this time, right?"

Liu Limin turned around and saw a bald man walking over with a bespectacled boy.

It was the team leader from Tianli High School.

Fine? Couldn't he see that Zhao Ziwei was practically about to cry?

That bald man was unworthy of being a teacher!

Liu Limin took a deep breath. He did not snap back, merely pulled Zhao Ziwei up with a cold expression and turned to leave.

"We're tired. We're going back to rest. No need for your concern."

The bald man watched Liu Limin's retreating back and shook his head with a smile.

"Old Liu is still the same as ever. His mental fortitude isn't up to much."

He turned to the quiet-looking boy beside him, and his tone softened considerably.

"Lin Xiao, did you finish the experimental question?"

Lin Xiao nodded, his cheeks slightly red.

"Yes, I did. I used an Off-Axis Illumination Technology approach combined with a Phase-Shift Mask. The calculations were a little extensive, but it was theoretically feasible."

The bald man nodded at those words. "Competitions still come down to Tianli. Zhao Ziwei is hardworking and diligent, but his head lacks a bit of spark. He's done so many problems that he's gone dull."

Lin Xiao said nothing. He simply stood there quietly, neither nodding nor shaking his head.

Meanwhile, the team from Chengdu No. 7 High School seemed exceptionally quiet.

The middle-aged female teacher did not surround the students and interrogate them like the other teachers. In a competition of this level, winning an award was simply expected of them. Failing to win one would be the news.

She led the team straight toward the bus.

Only before getting on did she stop and look toward the youngest boy at the back of the group.

It was Qiao Fan, the first-year student who had been seated beside Li Dong during the exam.

"Qiao Fan." The female teacher's voice was quiet.

"For the Olympiad in the second half of this year, do you want to take mathematics or physics? With your talent, I think you have a good chance of making the training squad in either subject."

Qiao Fan carried an enormous backpack, making him seem even smaller.

He looked up at his teacher, hesitated, and said.

"Teacher Zhao, but I don't feel like my foundations are that solid."

The stern middle-aged female teacher rarely showed a hint of a smile. She reached out and straightened his collar.

"You simply don't understand yourself yet. How did this trip feel? Doesn't the outside world seem less formidable than you imagined?"

Qiao Fan thought for a moment, and the image of the boy seated next to him surfaced in his mind.

That person had stared blankly for more than twenty minutes before writing anything on the third question.

Meanwhile, Qiao Fan had come up with a modified Immersion Lithography solution in less than five minutes after reading the question.

"Mm..." Qiao Fan nodded and answered honestly.

"It doesn't seem as difficult as the weekly tests at school."

The female teacher smiled.

"Mm. That's why your opponents are on the national team, not in commercial competitions like this."

Qiao Fan nodded, half understanding.

So the experts outside were only so-so.

At the same time, Li Dong and Zheng Hua were already having a blast at Taikoo Li in Chengdu.

From childhood until now, Li Dong had done nothing but solve problems and help with chores at home. This was his first real "trip."

For the first time, he learned that a shopping mall rooftop could actually "grow" an enormous panda butt.

For the first time, he learned that people could line up in front of a hotpot restaurant all the way into the hundreds and still get manicures while waiting.

And, for the first time, he learned...

That in Chengdu, the person asking for your WeChat was not necessarily a girl.

Li Dong had a great time that day, though he was also exhausted.

He had not bought anything at all. He had simply wandered around.

But he felt that shopping was the happiest thing in the world besides studying.