Two Geniuses and One Deadweight?

On Saturday afternoon, after finishing his Real Analysis exam, Lu Zhou turned in his paper early as usual and headed to Old Tang's office.

The moment he entered, he was surprised to find quite a few people standing inside.

Besides Tang, Lu was also there, along with Professor Zhang Zhongjie, the chair of the Computer Science Department at the Software Institute. His name was renowned throughout the computer science world. Even though Lu Zhou had never taken his classes, he had heard plenty about him.

There was also a young man and a young woman.

The man wore glasses and was neither tall nor short. He looked completely ordinary, with nothing especially remarkable about him. Yet just standing there, Lu Zhou could sense the aura radiating from him inside and out: I'm a top student.

So this was the genius Tang had mentioned—the one who had won first prize in the National High School Computer Design Competition twice in a row while still in high school!

This guy was a real academic powerhouse! Lu Zhou marveled inwardly.

As for the other girl, he had completely overlooked her.

First, the person beside her had far too strong a presence. Second, she herself seemed to radiate the air of a weakling.

What surprised Lu Zhou, however, was that she was the first to greet him.

The girl smiled naturally. "Hello, you must be that genius from the School of Mathematics, right?"

Lu Zhou replied modestly, "Genius would be an overstatement. There are plenty of brilliant people in our School of Mathematics."

Only then did he take a proper look at her.

Her hair was styled with side-swept bangs, and she wore light makeup. Her looks were probably somewhere between a six and a seven out of ten. She wore a simple white floral dress that fell to her ankles, along with a pair of white canvas shoes.

Judging by how closely the two of them stood together, she was probably this top student's girlfriend?

Sigh, even someone who looks this honest can get a girlfriend. So unfair... Lu Zhou lamented inwardly.

Tang smiled and criticized him, "You little brat, you're far too modest. If you ask me, there really isn't anyone in your class who's better than you. I wrote the Advanced Mathematics 2 exam for the entire School of Mathematics, and you were the only one to get a perfect score. You got full marks on a paper I personally set, so it looks like I'll have to make a separate paper just for you next semester!"

"You're joking, Professor. Please go easy on me," Lu Zhou said with a smile.

A perfect score was exactly what he had expected. He had more or less guessed it after the exam, so he was not particularly surprised.

In contrast, the two students beside him were stunned. Even the computer science genius who had initially looked down on him slightly raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Getting good at mathematics was not difficult; his own math grades were not bad either.

But getting a perfect score was a completely different matter.

"Wow, you're amazing!" The girl blinked her long lashes and looked at Lu Zhou with undisguised admiration. Then she generously held out her hand. "My name is Lin Yuxiang. I handle student affairs at the School of Computer Science. Can I ask you about math problems in the future?"

"Lu Zhou. Of course you can." After a brief handshake, he quickly let go and answered somewhat awkwardly.

"Haha, I have no objection if you want to discuss mathematics. But you can continue after we're done here! Let me introduce everyone first. This is Wang Xiaodong, this is Lu Zhou, and this..." Lu introduced the two men, then hesitated for half a second when he got to Lin Yuxiang.

Professor Zhang quickly picked up the thread with a smile. "This is Lin Yuxiang. She's also a freshman and seems to be the vice president of our student union. She came with Wang Xiaodong."

The implication was clear: he had not invited her.

Tang and Lu both wore slightly strange expressions, but neither said anything.

"Hello."

"Hello."

The exchange between the two top students was straightforward, without any unnecessary pleasantries.

"Here's the situation. I'm sure Tang and Professor Zhang have already explained the details to you, so I won't repeat them. This is mainly about forming a team for the National Mathematical Modeling Contest." Lu smiled kindly, cleared his throat, and continued. "Professor Zhang and I discussed it yesterday. I think our goal should not be limited to this year's national competition. We should also look toward the Mathematical Contest in Modeling next February. You are the best students from the Software Institute and the School of Mathematics, and I believe you have the ability! Of course, while looking toward the future, we must also keep our feet on the ground. I hope that in this September's Mathematical Modeling Competition, you can win honor for yourselves, our schools, and even the university."

"Professor Lu, I've looked into the College Student Mathematical Modeling Competition. Teams are required to have three members." Adjusting his glasses, the computer science prodigy continued before Lu could say anything else. "For the remaining teammate, I would like to recommend Lin Yuxiang. She works in student affairs, which happens to make up for my weakness in presentations. She is also the vice president of the literature club, so I assume academic writing will not be much of a problem for her."

That was a huge problem. Just because literature and academic papers both contained the word "writing" did not mean the two concepts could be confused, right?

And besides...

Lu Zhou sighed inwardly. This guy's emotional intelligence is even lower than mine...

Sure enough, Lu and Zhang both looked subtly uncomfortable.

The College Student Mathematical Modeling Competition encouraged students to form their own teams, but since he had agreed to join the university's official team, he should at least follow the school's arrangements. After all, the instructors, training materials, and training venue were all prepared by the school, and they were the best available.

More importantly, their goal was not merely this year's national competition, but next year's Mathematical Contest in Modeling as well. It was not that they could not bring along an outsider, but the person he recommended should at least have some respectable achievements.

The student union?

Clubs?

What kind of achievement was that supposed to be...?

"Professor Lu, Professor Zhang, Professor Tang, please allow me to make this shameless request. Although I know I am still far behind these two geniuses, I will work hard to keep up with them!" Lin Yuxiang lowered her head slightly, her expression earnest and her tone sincere. "Please believe in me and give me a chance to prove myself!"

Lu and Zhang hesitated, exchanging glances.

The third slot had originally still been under discussion. With a mathematics genius and a computer science genius working together, they were aiming for first prize in this year's national competition and a first prize—or even the grand prize—in next February's Mathematical Contest in Modeling.

According to the original plan, Lu had intended to arrange a student with outstanding academic writing skills for them.

But...

To be honest, Lu did not think highly of the girl.

However, at that moment, the computer science genius spoke again. "Professors, I had originally planned to form a team with her anyway, but then I suddenly received the school's notice. I think... rather than work with teammates I don't know, it would be better to cooperate with someone I'm familiar with. That would actually give us a better chance of winning."

Hearing that, Lu Zhou quietly shook his head. Man, do you even know what you're doing? You're forcing the department heads' hand...

Do you think this competition is a spring outing where you bring your girlfriend along? Do you think top students can do whatever they want? Besides, even if you ignore the university leaders' opinions, shouldn't you at least discuss it with your teammate?

He could not even be bothered to take issue with the guy's obvious disdain for him.

Seeing that the atmosphere had become somewhat awkward, Tang, who had been silent all this time, suddenly smiled and stepped in to smooth things over. "Let the young people handle young people's affairs. We old folks are only here to bring them together. As for academic writing, Lu Zhou has some experience. By the way, where is your SCI paper in the review process now?"

"It's already been accepted." Lu Zhou smiled shyly, but then he suddenly realized that Tang might misunderstand and think he had submitted to AMC because it had been accepted so quickly. He hurriedly added, "It was submitted to Communications in Mathematics and Applications, as you recommended."

"It was accepted? Why didn't you tell me?"

Lu Zhou quickly explained, "It was only accepted today. I came here today specifically to tell you."

This time, Lu was the surprised one. "Communications in Mathematics and Applications? Not bad. If I remember correctly, that's the official journal of the Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University, isn't it?"

Professor Zhang Zhongjie also looked at Lu Zhou in surprise. "Publishing an SCI paper in a core journal as a freshman? Not bad, kid."

"Of course. Look whose student he is." Tang took a sip of tea, his eyes narrowing with delight as the wrinkles at their corners deepened.

That was the kind of person the old man was.

You could flatter him ten times and still possibly earn his displeasure. But praise one of his students, and he would be happy for quite a while.

"So amazing... I thought you were an upperclassman. I can't believe you're a freshman like me." Lin Yuxiang opened her mouth in surprise, making no effort to hide her admiration.

Wang Xiaodong said nothing, but from his expression, he seemed to have somewhat acknowledged Lu Zhou as a teammate. Still, Lin Yuxiang's attitude toward Lu Zhou made him subtly unhappy, though he did not say anything.

"...You're overpraising me, Professor. It was all thanks to Tang's guidance," Lu Zhou said modestly.

Professor Zhang looked at Lu Zhou and nodded approvingly at his humble attitude. Then he thought of the genius from his own school and could not help shaking his head inwardly.

Being young and spirited was not a bad thing, but arrogance and complacency were another matter entirely.

He was still a step behind...

"Then that settles this year's national competition for now. As for next year's Mathematical Contest in Modeling, we'll observe first and decide later." Hearing that Lu Zhou had experience publishing an SCI paper, Professor Lu said no more and simply smiled. "By the way, Student Lu, you don't have any objections to this new teammate, do you?"

Lin Yuxiang looked at Lu Zhou, her doe-like eyes blinking with pleading.

You're too naive, girl. Do you think acting cute will make me compromise?

Lu Zhou thought for a moment and shrugged.

"I... have no objections."

Although he was not entirely satisfied with the third teammate, the computer science genius was here and could make up for his own shortcomings in programming. Given this top student's temperament, if Lu Zhou disagreed, the team probably would not be formed at all.

After weighing the pros and cons, two geniuses carrying one deadweight was still better than going out alone to find two useless teammates. Besides, this deadweight might be somewhat useful after all. At the very least, presentations required speaking, and he might not necessarily be good at that.

Ever since Old Tang had told him that the school would offer prize money for this competition, he had made up his mind.

He was determined to win first prize in the national competition!

Wang Xiaodong breathed a sigh of relief, while Lin Yuxiang broke into a victorious smile and gave Lu Zhou a grateful look.

Lu Zhou merely smiled and said nothing.

Professor Lu clapped his hands. "Then it's settled. Professor Liu Xiangping will serve as your advisor. Gather tomorrow morning at eight in Room 104 of Teaching Building A. Professor Liu will give you a brief introduction. It's getting late, so you should all head back and rest."