Lin Zhixia clutched her fountain pen and whispered, "I want to be classmates with peers my own age."
Jiang Yubai replied, "If you don't skip grades, we'll all be your classmates."
Hearing their conversation, Teacher Zhai gently advised, "Lin Zhixia, your concerns are completely understandable. I had a student who skipped to seventh grade at eight years old. His classmates were four or five years older and excluded him for being too young—they wouldn't play or talk with him. It caused him tremendous pressure. Though highly intelligent, he was psychologically immature and fell far behind academically..."
Jin Baihui abruptly cut off Teacher Zhai: "He can't blame others—the problem was entirely his own."
Jin Baihui sat upright, her tone measured and steady. Stubbornness and determination were ingrained in her bones, forging her into an unyielding model student.
Picking up a blank draft paper, she secretly thought that if Teacher Zhai were willing to mentor her and send her to the high school competition class, she would seize the opportunity without hesitation—unlike Lin Zhixia's indecisive wavering.
Teacher Zhai sighed. "Jin Baihui, you need to calm your mindset and be more forgiving toward yourself."
Jin Baihui pursed her lips. Her unblinking eyes remained fixed on that high school competition question until the strain became unbearable. Only then did she remove her glasses and wipe her face with her sleeve.
Teacher Zhai returned to the podium and continued the lesson, systematically reviewing frequently tested topics from past years. Lin Zhixia listened distractedly, unsure what she was even thinking.
Her mind overflowed with chaotic, unformed fragments of thought.
In computer science papers focused on data processing, the term "unstructured information" frequently appeared. Lin Zhixia felt like a rigidly formatted database now shrouded by "unstructured information"—unable to immediately produce clear, reliable judgments.
After class, Teacher Zhai urged Lin Zhixia to carefully consider her decision, to which she casually agreed.
According to Class 17's seventh-grade schedule, the fourth period that morning was physical education. The moment Teacher Zhai left the classroom, Duan Qiyan sprang up and loudly urged, "Let's go! P.E. class on the field!"
Jiang Yubai rose slowly. Unzipping his jacket, he tucked his hands into his pockets and quietly followed Lin Zhixia. As they walked toward the field one after another, Lin Zhixia couldn't help confiding, "Jiang Yubai, even if I join the high school competition, we'll still be best friends..."
Her wording, usually straightforward, was uncharacteristically tactful today.
Jiang Yubai understood her meaning—even if he studied with all his might, he and Lin Zhixia were destined to progress at different paces. He would rather watch her advance into the distance than have her stop and wait for him.
So he said, "Captain Lin Zhixia."
Lin Zhixia paused briefly before playing along: "Chief Jiang Yubai."
Within the entire Provincial First Middle School campus, only the two of them were familiar with the "Exploring the Universe" comic series. By exchanging these special titles, they were essentially exchanging passcodes.Jiang Yubai stepped onto the rubber track and said calmly, "Lin Zhixia is exploring a new planet, and Jiang Yubai is waiting for her in the spaceship. Jiang Yubai is certain that Lin Zhixia will find what she wants on that planet. Jiang Yubai and Lin Zhixia haven't separated... they're just carrying out different missions."
He gazed into the distance and added, "Brief missions."
Lin Zhixia's eyes welled up with tears: "Okay."
She murmured to herself, "Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai will always be best friends, never apart."
"Right," Jiang Yubai agreed, "I support you joining the high school training camp."
Lin Zhixia nodded vigorously and suggested, "Jiang Yubai, after the next exam, you can sit with Shen Fuxuan. I'll sit in the row behind you. That way, when I return to our junior high class, I can still sit near you, and you won't be without a deskmate."No," Jiang Yubai declined her kindness, "You continue being my deskmate." When you go to the high school training camp..."
Lin Zhixia picked up his train of thought: "When I go to the high school training camp, my seat will be empty, and you'll have no deskmate. If I'm at the training camp for half a day, you'll be alone for half a day."
Jiang Yubai declared: "It doesn't matter, I don't care."
The PE teacher blew his whistle, and the students of Class 17, Grade 7 hurried to assemble. Though the April spring light was bright, it couldn't withstand the continuous cold wind on the playground. After leading everyone through warm-up exercises, the PE teacher announced loudly: "Same as usual, run two laps first, then return here for class. Today we'll practice for the high school entrance exam PE test - boys will try pull-ups, girls will try sit-ups. Go run now, no slacking off."
The PE monitor of Class 17, Grade 7 was named Cao Wu. Thirteen-year-old Cao Wu was tall and strongly built. He had actively applied to the homeroom teacher for this position of PE monitor, as he particularly enjoyed leading the entire class in running across the playground.
As soon as the PE teacher finished speaking, Cao Wu dashed toward the track.
Duan Qiyan closely followed behind Cao Wu, chasing after him while shouting: "Cao Wu, if you run this fast now, you won't have any strength left for pull-ups later!"
Cao Wu spread his arms wide, palms flat, like a glider. He reveled in the sensation of speeding along, even slightly closing his eyes with an utterly intoxicated expression: "Duan Qiyan!" Close your eyes and run faster! Tell me loudly, doesn't it feel great?"
Duan Qiyan fell under the spell. He tightly shut his eyes, similarly spread his arms, pushed hard with his feet, and leaped upward as if taking off from the rubber track toward the vast azure sky. He shouted cheerfully: "It's great, so great!"
Duan Qiyan added: "Jiang Yubai, quickly copy my moves."
Jiang Yubai thought to himself: Lunatics.
Jiang Yubai was quite close to Duan Qiyan. With foresight, he stepped aside just as Duan Qiyan accidentally crashed into Cao Wu's back. The two of them fell immediately, tumbling to the ground face first.Although none of them were injured, the P.E. teacher insisted they rest. They had no choice but to sit like fools on an army-green sponge mat, staring blankly as their male classmates underwent the "pull-up" test.
The P.E. teacher called out names according to student numbers. Shen Fuxuan, being number 2, was the first boy in the class to take the test.
Shen Fuxuan cleared his throat, took off his jacket, and stood wearing only a thin woolen sweater as he gripped the horizontal bar. The boy's back was slender, his strength still underdeveloped. With all his might, he managed just one pull-up.
"Hahahahaha!" Duan Qiyan heartlessly burst into laughter.
Shen Fuxuan raised an eyebrow at him and mouthed the words: "Old, weak, sick, and disabled."
Just as Duan Qiyan was about to react, Cao Wu stopped him with a hand. Resting his palm on Duan Qiyan's shoulder, Cao Wu advised, "The teacher won't let us do pull-ups. Don't cause trouble."
After exchanging a few idle words with Cao Wu, Duan Qiyan suddenly pulled up his pant leg to show off his newly purchased Nike sports socks. Cao Wu praised his "good taste," and at that moment, the P.E. teacher called Jiang Yubai's name.
Instantly, the entire class's gaze fell upon Jiang Yubai.
It was well known that Jiang Yubai often rushed to the playground after class, and it was said he had a great passion for "hanging on the horizontal bar." Had he trained in advance, perfected his pull-ups, waiting for today to astonish everyone?
Jiang Yubai calmly walked to the horizontal bar, rubbing his hands together with practiced ease. Exuding the demeanor of a master, he didn't even remove his jacket. He gripped the bar, executed four consecutive pull-ups, and then hung motionless in mid-air.
This was his favorite activity—"hanging on the horizontal bar."
Lin Zhixia had observed this before. She had once broken down Jiang Yubai's "hanging on the horizontal bar" movements into several steps, meticulously recording them in her "Human Observation Diary." Frankly, she didn't quite understand Jiang Yubai's behavior. Still, she clapped for him: "So impressive, Jiang Yubai is so impressive!"
Duan Qiyan glanced at Jiang Yubai, then at Lin Zhixia, feeling a twinge of envy. He too wanted Lin Zhixia's praise and encouragement—after all, Lin Zhixia consistently ranked first in their grade. Her approval held extraordinary significance.
Duan Qiyan sprinted to the base of the horizontal bar, grabbed the beam, straightened his legs, and hung with his feet off the ground. He lasted a full seven seconds before unexpectedly descending at the same time as Jiang Yubai.
The P.E. teacher reminded them, "Listen, for the high school entrance exam P.E. test, if you choose pull-ups, you'll need to practice more in your free time."
Lin Zhixia answered on their behalf, "Okay!"
The P.E. teacher chuckled, "Female students don't need to practice."
Yet Lin Zhixia still positioned herself beneath another horizontal bar. The activity of "hanging on the horizontal bar" clearly exceeded her physical limits—she couldn't even manage half a pull-up. She reflected aloud, "Everyone has their own strengths and preferred hobbies."
Jiang Yubai responded, "Don't be afraid, move forward. Learning is your interest..."
Before he could finish, Lin Zhixia tapped the horizontal bar and said, "I'm not afraid, I'm leaving." Jiang Yubai joined her in tapping the bar. All the complex emotions difficult to put into words seemed to dissolve into the metallic clatter they created together.
At the end of April 2006, Lin Zhixia officially joined the competition training for the high school group.The senior from the second year of high school had already set a precedent. Lin Zhixia's arrival didn't cause much stir in the high school department. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning, she would undergo training together with the members of the first-year high school mathematics Olympiad team.
The high school Olympiad subjects at Provincial No. 1 Middle School mainly included mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and informatics—commonly known as the "Five Major Subject Olympiads." Lin Zhixia specialized in mathematics while also maintaining strong interest in physics and informatics competitions.
Lin Zhixia's high school mathematics teacher was surnamed Sun. This Teacher Sun was a male teacher around thirty years old, a mathematics major graduate from a key university. He advised Lin Zhixia to first secure medals in mathematics competitions before focusing on physics and informatics Olympiads.
Teacher Sun told Lin Zhixia: "Build steadily, step firmly."
Lin Zhixia knew that many senior students participated in more than one subject competition. The school's public announcements had repeatedly stated: Warm congratulations to so-and-so student from our school for winning provincial first prize in both mathematics and physics competitions!
To convince Teacher Sun of her capabilities, Lin Zhixia decided to answer questions proactively.
In the high school mathematics Olympiad class, just as Teacher Sun displayed a slide and asked, "Do you have any ideas for this problem?"
Lin Zhixia immediately raised her hand: "Teacher Sun, to prove the upper and lower bounds of the product of the general term formulas of sequences in this problem, we can use Abel inverse transformation combined with Cauchy inequality."
Teacher Sun praised Lin Zhixia: "Quick reaction."
After briefly writing the solution steps on the blackboard, Teacher Sun incidentally mentioned a prime number proof problem. Lin Zhixia raised her hand again: "Teacher Sun, for the problem you just mentioned, we can apply Wilson's theorem and Legendre's theorem..."
"These problems are relatively simple," Teacher Sun nodded.
In Teacher Sun's Olympiad class, he only conducted mathematics exams every two weeks. However, Lin Zhixia's classroom performance disrupted Teacher Sun's plan. To accurately assess Lin Zhixia's problem-solving ability, Teacher Sun brought a stack of test papers one Wednesday morning.
The test was generally difficult, with the last two application problems exceeding the syllabus.
During the exam, two students in the back row were so anxious they were scratching their heads. Of course, the top students in the class remained focused on solving the problems. Teacher Sun walked back and forth with his hands behind his back, noticing that Lin Zhixia rarely used scratch paper.
Her entire thought process seemed to complete itself in her mind.
Her writing speed was extremely fast.
Provincial No. 1 Middle School's high school Olympiad classes possessed strong teaching resources. Teacher Sun wasn't the most elite competition coach in the high school department. However, Teacher Sun maintained good relations with Teacher Zhai. When Teacher Zhai recommended Lin Zhixia for the high school program, Teacher Sun accepted her without hesitation.
Since the results of the middle school mathematics league hadn't been announced yet, other competition coaches in the high school department hadn't noticed Lin Zhixia. The high school Olympiad classes themselves had many exceptionally talented students, and the coaches preferred to cultivate the promising seedlings they had already identified.
Yet Lin Zhixia's comprehension exceeded Teacher Sun's expectations.The final question on the test paper prepared by Teacher Sun discussed a new concept from a mathematical paper and required students to apply this concept to practical problems. After reading the question once, Lin Zhixia immediately started writing. The rapid scratching sound of her pen seriously disturbed the high school freshman sitting beside her.
After completing the test, she didn't delay for even a moment and directly submitted her paper early.
Teacher Sun repeatedly confirmed: "Aren't you going to check your answers?"
"No need to check!" Lin Zhixia slung her backpack over her shoulder. "Teacher Sun, class is almost over. May I return to Class 17 of Grade 7? In our class, the fourth period this morning is art class... I really like art class."
Teacher Sun had specifically reserved the third and fourth periods for the exam. There were still over ten minutes left before the end of the third period, yet Lin Zhixia had already submitted her paper? And she still wanted to attend art class next period?
Teacher Sun didn't say much more. He was naturally a man of few words, and only after becoming a teacher did he have to speak constantly throughout the day. He allowed Lin Zhixia to leave first, then took out a red pen, sat at the teacher's desk, and immediately began grading Lin Zhixia's test paper. The more he graded, the more surprised he became. Thinking about Lin Zhixia being only eleven years old, he couldn't help but feel a strong sense of responsibility as an educator.
Training an international champion for the high school Olympiad competition would undoubtedly be a glorious achievement for any competition coach.
From that day on, Teacher Sun paid special attention to Lin Zhixia. He developed a specialized training plan for her and introduced her to the physics and computer science competition coaches from Provincial First Middle School. Lin Zhixia obtained a dedicated computer from the computer lab—this was her first real exposure to programming. Before this, she had been using her own brain as a program compiler. She felt like she had met many programming languages too late in life—C++, Java, MATLAB, even Visual Basic made her eager to deconstruct them. From May to August 2006, for three full months, Lin Zhixia spent all her free time at school. Her systems analysis abilities grew as rapidly as her programming skills.
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