Chapter Summaries

Yan Xiao and Lin Fangxin finished their assigned problems, while Yan Xiao also solved the other four. After their group submitted its work and left the competition venue, Linda handed in her answers too, determined not to come second even though she already was.

• Lin Fangxin drew the first problem, and Yan Xiao agreed to work without giving her hints.
• Yan Xiao solved problems two through five while Lin Fangxin worked on the first and Zhao Zimo slept.
• Yan Xiao and Lin Fangxin finished, checked each other's work, and decided to submit their papers and take a walk.
• The team leader was surprised to see that Yan Xiao's group had completed all five problems, then allowed them to leave.
• Linda saw Yan Xiao's group departing and handed in her own work so she would not come second.

Yan Xiao's team won the competition by a wide margin, and the Peppercorn Institute of Technology teacher tried to recruit Yan Xiao and Lin Fangxin with scholarships. After the teams moved on to the Science and Technology Museum, their Chinese team leader called Jida University to ask for scholarships of his own.

• The Peppercorn Institute of Technology teacher and the English team leader were astonished by the papers submitted by the Chinese team.
• The Peppercorn Institute of Technology teacher offered Yan Xiao a place at the institute, but Yan Xiao refused and Lin Fangxin reminded him that China had caught up.
• The Chinese team leader accused the teacher of poaching Jida University students and promised to seek top-tier scholarships for Yan Xiao and Lin Fangxin.
• The foreign team leaders also considered recruiting Zhao Zimo, mistaking his nap during the competition for a sign that he was a hidden ace.
• Yan Xiao's group won by a wide margin, and the team leader took everyone to the Science and Technology Museum.
• The team leader called Jida University to ask for scholarships.

Yan Xiao and Zhao Zimo went out to watch a basketball game while Lin Fangxin stayed behind to review for the competition. After witnessing several robberies on the way to a bar, Yan Xiao chose to return to the hotel with Zhao Zimo.

• The team leader arranged three days of intensive review before the competition, but Yan Xiao and Lin Fangxin found they had already completed the assigned problems.
• Yan Xiao suggested that he and Lin Fangxin spend their free time having fun, but Lin Fangxin chose to stay in and review.
• Yan Xiao went out with Zhao Zimo, and Zhao Zimo drove them to a basketball game.
• Yan Xiao and Zhao Zimo watched the game from seats near the front of the arena.
• Yan Xiao and Zhao Zimo turned back before reaching a bar after Yan Xiao witnessed at least three robberies, and they returned to the hotel.

Yan Xiao and Zhao Zimo took Lin Fangxin to a park for a barbecue, where Yan Xiao reassured her about the upcoming competition. Lin Fangxin asked whether there was anything Yan Xiao could not do, while Zhao Zimo grilled their food.

• Yan Xiao and Zhao Zimo bought barbecue ingredients and invited Lin Fangxin to join them at a park.
• Lin Fangxin hesitated because she had planned to study, but Yan Xiao persuaded her to come.
• The three drove to a quiet park and divided the barbecue tasks among themselves.
• Zhao Zimo lit the fire and grilled while Yan Xiao cut the meat and Lin Fangxin prepared skewers.
• Yan Xiao reassured Lin Fangxin about the competition and said he was familiar with programming.
• Lin Fangxin listed Yan Xiao's many skills and asked whether there was anything he could not do.

Yan Xiao made delicious Chinese barbecue in a park in the United States and shared it with local children and their families. After the meal, the grateful parkgoers helped him clean up, their impression of Chinese people changed by his warmth.

• Zhao Zimo burned his first batch of skewers, so Yan Xiao took over and grilled the meat over coals seasoned with salt.
• A little girl and her father approached Yan Xiao to ask about the barbecue seasoning, and he explained that it was cumin.
• Yan Xiao invited the little girl to try the skewers, then shared the freshly grilled meat with her, her father, Lin Fangxin, and Zhao Zimo.
• Other children gathered to eat, and Yan Xiao let them enjoy the rest of the ingredients.
• After the barbecue lasted into the afternoon, people in the park helped Yan Xiao pack up and clean, grateful for his kindness.

Yan Xiao, Zhao Zimo, and Lin Fangxin arrived at the international competition venue and learned they would be isolated while working on the problems. Yan Xiao proposed asking whether they could hand in early, leaving Lin Fangxin doubtful as they waited for the papers.

• Yan Xiao, Zhao Zimo, and Lin Fangxin ate breakfast before joining their team and traveling by coach to the competition venue.
• The team arrived at a hotel where students had to hand in their phones and stay separate from teachers and other teams.
• Yan Xiao and Zhao Zimo shared a room with Lin Fangxin, and the three made Yan Xiao and Zhao Zimo's room their workspace.
• Lin Fangxin explained that the competition had five problems and that they could choose one to answer.
• Yan Xiao suggested asking the teacher whether they could hand in early once they finished, but Lin Fangxin said students usually ran out of time.

Yan Xiao's team completed the models and programming for all five problems in two days, leaving Lin Fangxin surprised when he said the work was finished. She began checking his files before deciding whether to submit them early.

• Linda received the papers and worried that the competition would be harder, while teams from the United States, Nihon, and India rallied themselves to fight for first place.
• Yan Xiao decided to design the models and have Lin Fangxin handle the programming, guiding her through their discussions.
• Yan Xiao's team finished modeling all five problems in less than a day, with Zhao Zimo supporting them by handling errands and meals.
• Yan Xiao and Lin Fangxin split up the programming, and Lin Fangxin finished modeling her second problem within a day.
• Lin Fangxin found Yan Xiao asleep at his desk, but he told her that all the coding was done and suggested submitting early.
• Lin Fangxin copied Yan Xiao's files to her computer and started checking the first problem.

Yan Xiao, Lin Fangxin, and Zhao Zimo submitted their answers early after solving and uploading all five problems. The Chinese team leader arranged for them to go sightseeing with a teacher while they waited for the exam to end.

• Lin Fangxin reviewed and revised her solutions with Yan Xiao over the first several days of the exam.
• On the fifth day, Yan Xiao called the competition staff, confirmed their early submission, and the three students left the exam area.
• The team leader was astonished that they had answered all five problems and worried other countries might try to recruit them.
• The team leader arranged a sightseeing trip with a female teacher and offered to cover the expenses, so Yan Xiao agreed.

After Yan Xiao's team submitted perfect answers to all five problems early, the judges recognized their exceptional ability, while Linda waited anxiously to learn how they had done. With the competition over, the students prepared for the next day's awards ceremony and their flight home.

• Yan Xiao and his two teammates spent two days enjoying activities with their teacher while the judges discovered they had submitted answers to all five problems.
• The judges graded Yan Xiao's team's work, awarded them full marks, and decided they needed to recruit such talented students.
• Linda waited to see Yan Xiao's team after submitting her work, then learned they had left the exam room two days earlier.
• The team leader praised Yan Xiao's group at a meal and explained the next day's schedule before dismissing the students.
• Yan Xiao packed for the awards ceremony and flight home, and he reflected on families who sacrificed to give their children better opportunities.

As Yan Xiao and the Chinese delegation traveled to the awards venue, the judges discussed how to recruit him and decided to seek approval for an even better offer. At the ceremony, Yan Xiao realized the other delegations were watching his team because the results had likely leaked.

• The judges agreed to ask higher-ups to approve a stronger offer for Yan Xiao, and Qiao Si went to seek an official's signature.
• Yan Xiao and the Chinese delegation arrived at the convention center and took their assigned seats.
• Yan Xiao noticed other delegations watching the Chinese team with admiration, envy, or disdain.
• Yan Xiao guessed the results had leaked and that his team's performance had made the other contestants look bad.

At the awards ceremony, the Chinese team leader realized the interview sessions gave foreign schools a chance to recruit contestants and worried they would target Yan Xiao. Yan Xiao reassured her that he had no desire to study abroad and preferred to stay in China.

• The Chinese team leader noticed that contestants were being interviewed without their team leaders present and realized the organizers were creating opportunities for schools to approach them.
• The team leader anxiously tried to tell Yan Xiao that foreign schools might offer him a chance to study abroad.
• Yan Xiao misunderstood her concern as a sign that he had failed to win an award, then realized she feared other schools wanted to recruit him.
• Yan Xiao told the team leader that he had no particular desire to study abroad and believed China was better than anywhere else.

Yan Xiao won the competition’s grand prize, and James invited him to study at Peppercorn Institute of Technology with generous financial benefits. Yan Xiao declined, choosing to remain at Jida University in China, and the story left him preparing for his individual interview.

• James greeted Yan Xiao in a lounge before his individual interview and congratulated him on winning the grand prize.
• James invited Yan Xiao to study at Peppercorn Institute of Technology and listed financial aid, free tuition, housing, and a car among the benefits.
• Yan Xiao listened but decided the incentives would not persuade him to leave China.
• Yan Xiao thanked James for the invitation and declined, citing his ties to China and his commitment to Jida University.

Yan Xiao turned down the American universities’ attempts to recruit him, and James decided to travel to China to invite him. On the flight home, Yan Xiao, Lin Fangxin, and Zhao Zimo discussed where to eat rather than academics.

• Yan Xiao politely refused the American reporters’ requests to sign with their universities, and the Chinese team leader ended the interview.
• James rejected the idea of delaying Yan Xiao at customs and decided to go to China to invite him.
• The team leader took Yan Xiao, Lin Fangxin, and Zhao Zimo through the VIP passage and bought first-class tickets for all three.
• Yan Xiao, Lin Fangxin, and Zhao Zimo debated where to eat after returning to China and agreed on pork intestine hotpot.

Yan Xiao arrived at Jida University to register at Yuanpei College, where Zhao Siyu became distracted by his looks and forgot to ask his name. The chapter ended with Gao Peng mistaking her question for an invitation to introduce himself, only to be rejected.

• Yan Xiao left home for Jida University with his identification and admission letter.
• Yan Xiao chose Yuanpei College’s reception desk and asked Zhao Siyu to help him register.
• Yan Xiao completed registration, collected his student card and other items, thanked Zhao Siyu, and left.
• Zhao Siyu realized she had forgotten Yan Xiao’s name and asked aloud what it was.
• Gao Peng introduced himself, but Zhao Siyu told him she had not been asking him.

Lin Fangxin enrolled at Jida University, while Yan Xiao decided to buy a home near campus instead of renting. His earlier dispute with a landlord had left him determined to avoid the risks and hassle of renting.

• Zhao Siyu fantasized about Yan Xiao until Lin Fangxin arrived to register, prompting Zhao Siyu to see her as a romantic rival.
• Lin Fangxin completed her enrollment paperwork and went home rather than moving into the university dorms.
• Yan Xiao chose not to live in the dorms and planned to buy a home near campus for his university years.
• Yan Xiao recalled how a landlord had forced him out of a rental after less than three months, despite a three-year lease.
• Yan Xiao won the ensuing lawsuit but decided he would buy a home rather than risk renting again.

Yan Xiao visited a real estate agency near Jida University to look for an affordable apartment before starting university. After dismissing the agent’s claim that local rents would soon rise, he asked whether any cheap homes were available nearby.

• Yan Xiao traveled to the area around Jida University to look for a home.
• A saleswoman at I Love My Home greeted Yan Xiao and assumed he was looking to rent.
• Yan Xiao studied the property listings and saw that his savings would only buy an old, small top-floor apartment.
• The saleswoman claimed rents would rise after nearby electronics malls were renovated.
• Yan Xiao doubted her sales pitch and asked about cheap apartments close to Jida University.

Yan Xiao looked into buying a house and chose to visit an inexpensive listing near Jida University. He arrived at Xingxing Community, where the oddly placed gorilla sculpture at the entrance caught his attention.

• Yan Xiao asked a saleswoman about cheap houses, and she printed information on three listings.
• Yan Xiao learned the cheapest house cost just over four million because its school district was the worst of the three.
• Yan Xiao asked the saleswoman to take him to see the house, and she drove him there on her electric bike.
• Yan Xiao found the community conveniently close to Jida University's east gate but disliked the gorilla sculpture at its entrance.

Yan Xiao bought an apartment after checking that the building was quiet, then moved in and attended his university welcome assembly. The chapter ended with Lin Fangxin telling him their class had to meet to choose class officers, a prospect Yan Xiao found tedious.

• Yan Xiao asked to stay late at the apartment to check for noisy children upstairs and decided to buy it.
• Yan Xiao negotiated the price down from 4.3 million to 3.9 million and completed the purchase within two days.
• Yan Xiao changed the apartment's door lock, moved in, and quickly fell asleep.
• Yan Xiao attended the university welcome assembly and found the speeches dull.
• Lin Fangxin told Yan Xiao their class had to meet in room 308 to choose class officers, and Yan Xiao lost interest.

Yan Xiao attended his first class at Jida University and listened as class advisor Song Ming explained university life and research projects. The chapter ended with Song Ming noting that students would study at Yuanpei College for two years before moving to another college.

• Yan Xiao chose a seat in the back-row corner, and Lin Fangxin sat beside him.
• Song Ming welcomed the students and described university as a new society where he would help them adjust.
• Yan Xiao observed the four other students seated in the back row, including a girl with anime charms and a boy dismantling a game console.
• Song Ming explained that students could propose research projects to earn credits and explore their interests.
• Song Ming said students would spend two years at Yuanpei College before continuing their studies at another college.

Yan Xiao studied music production and learned how chords and progressions worked through the system’s explanations. He spent the night reviewing his lessons at a street stall, preparing to use music as a new path to earn money.

• Yan Xiao avoided the crowded cafeteria, went home, and ordered takeout.
• After eating, Yan Xiao summoned the system and began studying music production, hoping to pursue entertainment as a source of income.
• Yan Xiao found classic Earth works in the system’s library and decided he needed to build a strong foundation before using them.
• Yan Xiao compared an expensive online course with the system’s lessons, which explained chord progressions and chord characteristics in greater depth.
• Yan Xiao studied until midnight, then went to a street stall for skewers and beer while humming and reviewing what he had learned.