Chapter 58
Chapter 58: National Mathematical Olympiad
“What is correct?”
The postgraduate was feeling puzzled. He took a step forward to take a look and was astonished. “This…”
It was only then that Feng Xingshen regained his senses. He anxiously stood up and put away the papers. Seeing his student retract his gaze tactfully, he heaved a sigh of relief.
The postgraduate was still in a state of shock. “It’s correct?”
Feng Xingshen nodded.
He seemed to have recalled something and hurriedly took out his phone. He gave Xue Xi a call via WeChat.
It was late at night and the young lady seemed to be asleep. The phone rang for some time before it was picked up. The young lady appeared uncomfortable to be interacting in this way. “Hello,” she simply greeted moments after answering the call.
Her low and aloof voice had a hint of sleepiness.
Feng Xingshen quickly said, “Have you sent the results of the proof to anyone else?”
She paused before responding, “No.”
The man heaved a sigh of relief and said in a serious tone, “Before publishing it, don’t let anyone else see it for the time being. There are many academics who would take others’ credit for their own.”
“…Oh. I got it.”
Her voice was as calm as before. Feng Xingshen felt as though he was the eunuch who was worried sick while the emperor himself was not at all anxious.
He coughed and asked, “Did you proof this theory on your own?”
She paused and replied in earnest, “No. My maternal grandfather proved two-thirds of it. It should be obvious from the draft that I sent you.”
Feng Xingshen noticed it, but many had tried to use this method to prove the theory in the past. They always got stuck in the last step and could not proceed from there.
Hence, the first two-third portion of it did not really matter and was considered elementary. The hard-to-come-by portion was the last one-third!
Even if the young lady said that she was the one who proved this theory, there would be no problem at all.
Feng Xingshen developed greater trust in her character.
He treated her as his junior and grew fonder of her. He smiled. “Which journal are you intending to publish this on?”
She paused. “Huh?”
She was clearly confused.
Feng Xingshen responded, “You need to arrange this into a thesis and submit it to the most influential math journal. Do you know how to write a thesis?”
“…I don’t.”
Feng Xingshen chuckled. “I can help you with this. I advise you to submit it to Inventione-Mathematica. Your proof would create a buzz in the international math scene for sure!”
She, however, did not seem to be very excited and continued to reply calmly, “Sure.”
Feng Xingshen: “…”
If it were him, he would definitely prepare the thesis for the whole night, but her attitude…
He asked further, “Are you free?”
“No.”
“Are your studies hectic?”
“No, I have to attend the National Mathematical Olympiad.” It had been a week since Xue Xi did her math questions. In order to show that she regarded the competition to be of great importance, she decided to spend the next three days doing questions.
“…”
Feng Xingshen once again felt that the world was a fantasy.
Why would someone as formidable as you, who proved Bartra’s theory, participate in a competition with a bunch of high schoolers?
However, at the thought that the young lady was merely a high schooler, he gulped. “Are you in your senior year?”
“Mhm.”
“Okay. If you don’t mind, I’ll get someone reliable to write the thesis for you!”
“Thank you, then.”
Only then did he feel relieved. He asked, “We’ve spoken only twice in the group chat. Why did you trust me and sent me the draft?”
Although he was a math expert in the nation and of proven character, he could not even promise that he would be able to resist when it came to theses like this…
This was an honorable event that would go down in history!
Listening to this question, Xue Xi thought it was weird and replied casually, “Aren’t you the one who asked me to help you with this question?”
Feng Xingshen: “??”
…
Xue Xi, who was woken up in the middle of the night, was not bothered by this matter and continued sleeping.
For the next three days, she spent all her attention and effort on doing the Math Olympiad questions.
Old Lady Xue wanted to mock her on several occasions but was prevented by Xue Sheng. Liu Yiqiu and Xue Yao seemed to have received a great blow from the piano incident. Thus, they were well-behaved.
Three days passed and Xue Xi packed up her luggage to go for the National Mathematical Olympiad.
The students participating in this competition were almost the same as those who went for the Math Star Competition. The international school had three girls as well, and the other two girls were staying together.
Old Liu asked Xue Xi for her opinion and allowed her to stay alone.
On the bus, Fan Han saw the girl, who was wearing a cap, sitting alone in the last row. He pursed his lips and sighed. There were too many people on the bus and tongues might wag, so he decided to comfort her after they had checked in to the hotel.
Five hours later, the bus arrived at the hotel.
During the check-in, Fan Han moved slowly on purpose because he wanted to find out Xue Xi’s room number. She passed her identity card to the receptionist and the latter smiled. “Hello. Single rooms are no longer available in our hotel. Is it alright that we upgrade you to a presidential suite for free?”
The rest were startled. There is such a good bargain?
Fan Han was stunned. The presidential suite was on the 28th floor, and average guests could not go to that floor unless they were staying there.
Xue Xi did not give it much thought and replied, “Mhm.”
Immediately, the service staff came to collect her luggage. When the others had left, Fan Han pondered over it and realized that he still had a lot of allowance. Just as he was about to upgrade to the suite, he saw other guests checking in. “Are single rooms still available?”
“Yes. Which floor would you like, sir?”
Fan Han was dumbfounded and could not comprehend what had happened. By the time it was his turn, he requested to upgrade his room but was notified, “Sorry, but our hotel’s suites have all been booked. There is no available room that we can upgrade you to.”
Fan Han: “???”
Xue Xi slept particularly well that night, and breakfast was delivered to her room the next morning. By the time they had gathered, she boarded the bus in great spirits.
They arrived at the competition venue, and Old Liu briefed them on the instructions before they headed in. When Xue Xi arrived at the examination hall, she took out her admission card and entered the classroom.
Immediately, she met someone familiar—Liu Liyuan.
As luck would have it, Liu Liyuan sat right beside her.
Ever since the previous incident, Liu Liyuan had been harboring hatred for her. She spread rumors about how Xue Xi enjoyed her life as a rich heiress. In the end, the latter’s first place put her back in her place and she became the butt of the joke!
During this period of time, she could not get down to studying and knew that she had no hope of winning an award.
She clenched her fists in enmity. Standing up all of a sudden, she lifted her pencil case and threw it fiercely at Xue Xi. Since she could not get an award, the perpetrator should not think of finishing the competition peacefully!
Pak! Instantly, her wrist was gripped by Xue Xi.
The teacher came over and hollered, “What’s going on?”
Liu Liyuan narrowed her eyes and fell backward. She toppled the desk and chair behind her. Enduring the pain on her waist, she shouted, “Sir, she hit me!”
Both would be disqualified if they fought in the examination hall!