Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai made an agreement: she would visit Jiang Yubai’s home on the first Saturday of March. She intended to win the 2007 Romanian Master of Mathematics competition and bring the gold medal back for Jiang Yubai to play with.
“I’ll wait for you,” Jiang Yubai replied.
Lin Zhixia suddenly had an idea: “Jiang Yubai, during the time we’re apart, I’ll write about my daily experiences in a notebook. When I come back…”
Before Lin Zhixia could finish, Jiang Yubai had already guessed her meaning: “We’ll each record our own experiences. When you return, we’ll exchange notebooks.”
“Exactly!” Lin Zhixia exclaimed cheerfully. “Exchanging notebooks is like exchanging our memories—it’s as if we were never apart.”
Jiang Yubai was impressed by Lin Zhixia’s impeccable logic.
To show his support and affirmation, he pulled two notebooks from his backpack. Lin Zhixia took one of them and wrote on the title page: Captain Lin Zhixia’s Interstellar Treasure Hunt.
Jiang Yubai wrote in the other notebook: Chief Jiang Yubai’s Long Wait Chronicles.
The phrase “Long Wait Chronicles” faintly hinted at Chief Jiang Yubai’s melancholy and loneliness. However, “Chief Jiang Yubai” was a heroic figure who stood firm and unyielding. He shouldn’t feel the slightest hint of loss or dejection.
Just as Jiang Yubai was about to cross out that line, Lin Zhixia added beside his handwriting: The Guardian Chronicles of the Spaceship.
Lin Zhixia said slowly and deliberately, “Jiang Yubai and Lin Zhixia will always be good friends.”
Jiang Yubai carefully put away the notebook. He wasn’t used to recording daily life, but he decided to make a temporary change—he would briefly summarize the trivial events from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day in chronological order.
While Lin Zhixia was training with the national team, Jiang Yubai became the acting class monitor of Class 17, Grade 8. He maintained class order methodically and summarized in his diary: “Lin Zhixia, three main things happened today that you should know. First, Class 17, Grade 8 won the Little Red Hygiene Flag again. Second, Teacher Zhang is getting married next week. He gave wedding candies to the whole class. You weren’t at school, so you didn’t get any. I’ll make it up to you when you return. Third…”
Jiang Yubai intended to tell Lin Zhixia that in the February monthly exams, he had scored full marks in both math and English, ranking first in the grade. However, he then reconsidered—did Lin Zhixia even care about grades? In her eyes, all the students in Grade 8 were probably about the same.
As Jiang Yubai set down his pen, Duan Qiyan shouted boisterously, “Jiang Yubai, what are you busy with?”
Duan Qiyan noticed the words “Lin Zhixia” in the notebook. He quickly leaned in close to Jiang Yubai and interrogated, “Jiang Yubai, what are you writing to Lin Zhixia?”
Jiang Yubai covered it up: “A work report.”
“A work report?” Duan Qiyan was half-convinced, half-doubtful.
“Yes,” Jiang Yubai said without changing his expression, “As the acting class monitor, I’m reporting on daily work.”
After Jiang Yubai spoke, nearby classmates overheard. They all crowded around him, eagerly asking, “Lin Zhixia is in the national training team—does she still remember our classmates?”
Tang Tingting, the class arts committee member, chimed in: “Of course she does! Lin Zhixia is our class monitor, after all.”Tang Tingting pulled Duan Qiyan aside and sat down next to Jiang Yubai—that seat rightfully belonged to Lin Zhixia. Jiang Yubai’s territorial instincts instantly kicked in. He casually reminded Tang Tingting, "Your seat is in the front row."
"I know," Tang Tingting raised her voice, "Jiang Yubai, don’t just focus on official matters. Being all business is so boring. You should write about classmates’ personal affairs sometimes—Lin Zhixia would definitely love to read that."
"No," Jiang Yubai firmly refused, "She wouldn’t."
Tang Tingting insisted, "She would."
Jiang Yubai said, "You don’t understand her."
Tang Tingting retorted, "I’m a girl, Lin Zhixia is a girl—I understand her better than you do."
Then, Tang Tingting gave detailed instructions: "Write about how Tang Tingting’s essay won a city-level award this month."
The surrounding classmates burst into laughter. Duan Qiyan directly mocked, "Tang Tingting, aren’t you just trying to let everyone know your essay won a city-level award? Lin Zhixia has already won national awards—why would she care about your city-level essay prize?"
Last September, Duan Qiyan and Tang Tingting had played a married couple in the play "Changes." Since then, a few troublemakers in the class had always paired Duan Qiyan and Tang Tingting together. They jokingly called Duan Qiyan "a married man" and often led the class in teasing them.
Duan Qiyan was furious. The strained relationship between him and Tang Tingting was obvious to everyone in the class.
Duan Qiyan thought to himself: Jiang Yubai and Lin Zhixia are the ones who are truly inseparable—why isn’t anyone gossiping about them?
Soon, Duan Qiyan forcefully concocted a reason—it was because of Lin Zhixia’s unattainably high competition scores that no one treated her as an ordinary person. In Class 17 of the second year of junior high, Lin Zhixia was like an otherworldly deity. Everyone was too busy revering her to dare mock her.
Duan Qiyan firmly believed that the reason he got tangled up with Tang Tingting was because he wasn’t strong enough. If he were strong enough to surpass Lin Zhixia, then in Class 17, he could act as he pleased, and no one would dare provoke him.
Duan Qiyan leaned one hand on the desk, moving closer to Tang Tingting. A few more classmates around them chuckled quietly—the subtle emotions of adolescence were sprouting around him, but he said fiercely, "Jiang Yubai, hurry up and tell Lin Zhixia that when she comes back, she must straighten out the class atmosphere and purge this improper vibe!"
Jiang Yubai closed his notebook. "Where exactly is the class atmosphere bad? Just say it. I’m the acting class monitor."
Jiang Yubai wielded his authority impressively.
Duan Qiyan unconsciously yielded.
As if pleading his case before a magistrate, Duan Qiyan lowered his eyes and spoke haltingly with a hint of shyness: "It’s that, that 'Changes' drama group..." Halfway through his sentence, his gaze met Tang Tingting’s.
Tang Tingting raised her eyebrows displeasedly, and Duan Qiyan’s expression instantly changed, flushing red like the brilliant glow of an autumn evening.
In the play "Changes," Tang Tingting had a line where she addressed Duan Qiyan as "husband." Last September, Duan Qiyan hadn’t thought much of it. But this February, recalling that scene made him feel utterly uncomfortable.
Perhaps it was because he had turned fourteen and started paying attention to his reputation.After an intense internal struggle, Duan Qiyan finally said, "There's always a group of troublemakers in class causing a commotion. Can you do something about them?"
Jiang Yubai nodded slightly and responded, "Just let me know who keeps stirring things up. Lin Zhixia is away for national team training, so I'll help maintain class discipline in her absence."
Jiang Yubai stood up from his seat to elaborate his viewpoint. He emphasized the importance of understanding boundaries when joking around. He stated that respect is mutual and the classroom belongs to everyone. The classmates nodded in agreement, showing strong approval of Jiang Yubai's words.
Jiang Yubai was a natural public speaker. His arguments were well-organized, his points clear, and his tone steady and compelling, making people inclined to trust his advice. He was as reasonable and fair as Judge Bao. He quelled the classroom gossip and restored Duan Qiyan's reputation.
Duan Qiyan even felt that Lin Zhixia's approach might not necessarily be better than Jiang Yubai's.
Nevertheless, Duan Qiyan still eagerly awaited Lin Zhixia's return. Although Jiang Yubai was skilled at managing the class, he wasn't Lin Zhixia after all. He couldn't consistently maintain the top academic rank in the grade, occasionally losing to Jin Baihui from Class 18.
Jin Baihui from Class 18 was truly a thorn in Duan Qiyan's side.
He sincerely hoped that Lin Zhixia's exam scores would always surpass Jin Baihui's.
Meanwhile, Lin Zhixia was participating in the national team training camp.
The training lasted two weeks and included four examinations. Lin Zhixia was determined to compete internationally. She took every test seriously, not daring to make any mistakes.
The math training camp had relatively relaxed management without being overly strict. During classes, the attendance rate among auditing students was very high, though some regular trainees frequently skipped—they were like "mythical dragons appearing only by the head," showing up only for evaluations.
Indeed, true masters all had their own styles.
With math competition elites gathered from across the country, Lin Zhixia's strongest impression was that top students generally had their own plans, were busy with their own affairs, and had no time to pay excessive attention to others. Those preparing to study abroad particularly needed to focus on foreign universities, organize application materials, and review for TOEFL and SAT.
Some trainees had already received admission notices from Cornell, Stanford, and Princeton universities.
Lin Zhixia admired them greatly. But she never initiated conversations with others. She always stayed close to Luo Ying.
Lin Zhixia and Luo Ying shared a dorm room. As the lowest-ranked member in the training camp, Luo Ying studied especially hard. Every night, Luo Ying would study in the self-study room until eleven before quietly returning to the dorm, by which time Lin Zhixia would already be asleep.
Lin Zhixia preferred sleeping on her side, tightly hugging a Little Penguin. Seeing this always reminded Luo Ying that Lin Zhixia was only eleven and a half years old—still a young girl who hadn't fully grown up. While she charged fearlessly through math competitions, she remained cautious in daily life.
The training camp's academic workload was heavy, and Luo Ying found it quite challenging. Lin Zhixia wasn't in peak condition either—this was the longest she had ever been away from her parents since birth. After one week of training, Lin Zhixia grew intensely homesick, feeling somewhat distracted day and night, dreaming of Mom, Dad, and Brother.
Despite this, she persevered and achieved top scores in all four examinations.The top-performing students in the exam would have the opportunity to participate in the second round of training in March and represent the country in the 2007 International Mathematical Olympiad this summer.
Meanwhile, the 2007 Romanian Master of Mathematics would be held at the end of February this year.
The Romanian Master of Mathematics included both team awards and individual awards. Each country could send four official team members and two reserve members. When calculating the final team score, the lowest-scoring contestant would be eliminated, and the team total would equal the sum of the other three contestants' scores[1]. This brutal competition format tested both the contestants' mental resilience and the team's cohesion.
Originally, according to the teachers' plan, they intended to send a provincial team to compete. However, considering the exceptionally fierce competition in this year's Romanian Master of Mathematics, the teachers still organized a voluntary selection competition. Unsurprisingly, Lin Zhixia was selected as an official team member.
Official team member!
Lin Zhixia was going abroad for a competition!
After returning to the provincial capital, Lin Zhixia had one week of preparation time. Accompanied by her parents and teachers, she quickly processed her documents. This was her first time going abroad in her life, and Mom seemed extremely worried about her. For two consecutive nights, Mom couldn't sleep well, developing dark circles under her eyes.
Lin Zhixia noticed Mom's dark circles. She clutched the hem of Mom's clothes and assured her: "Mom, Mom, I'll only stay in Romania for one week, then I'll come home immediately."
Mom hugged her and said: "Xia Xia is only eleven years old."
"This September, Xia Xia will be twelve years old," Lin Zhixia added. She raised her head and looked at her Brother.
Brother's expression was even more troubled. He grabbed an apple, took a few bites, and then asked: "Where is Romania?"
"Southern Europe," Lin Zhixia answered.
"Is it safe?" Brother asked with a deeply furrowed brow.
Lin Zhixia nodded: "The team leader will be with us, so it should be quite safe. My school senior Luo Ying will come with me too—she's a reserve member in our team."
"Is Luo Ying's academic performance very good?" Brother asked again.
Lin Zhixia tactfully explained: "Brother, our team isn't the strongest in the training camp. The most capable and experienced contestants are mainly focused on the International Mathematical Olympiad in July."
Brother took a deep breath, unable to even eat his apple anymore.
He paced back and forth in the narrow living room like a troubled veteran cadre. He actually said: "Lin Zhixia, since your team has reserve members, why don't you just withdraw from the competition?"
Lin Zhixia was stunned: "Why should I withdraw?"
"You're too young," Brother reasoned logically. "I'm not comfortable with you going abroad alone. What eleven-year-old child goes abroad by themselves?"
Lin Zhixia said seriously: "This isn't my problem—it's your problem, Brother. You must overcome your inner fears."
She even used his full name: "Lin Zeqiu, I've already registered for the competition and absolutely cannot retreat at the last moment. This isn't some chess competition at the neighborhood entrance where you can run away if you want. This is the 2007 Romanian Master of Mathematics. I'm determined to win a gold medal—I want both an individual gold medal and a team gold medal."Lin Zeqiu was intimidated by her imposing manner, overlooking the fact that she held a strawberry yogurt in her left hand and hugged a plush penguin in her right.
After delivering her bold declaration, Lin Zhixia turned around and went to the bedroom to pack her things.
Every winter vacation, Lin Zhixia would spend a week at her hometown. Mom and Dad had long bought her a suitcase. As she tossed clothes into the case, her brother suddenly appeared beside her: "You don't know how to fold clothes at all."
Her brother was already fifteen years old. Although Lin Zhixia was also trying hard to grow taller, her brother was still considerably taller than her. She could only look up and stare into his eyes, where she saw complex emotions so serious it was frightening.
He kept chattering like Xianglin's wife, asking incessantly: "Romania, in southern Europe, is a small country. Is it safe?"
"Safe," Lin Zhixia affirmed once again.
Lin Zeqiu sat on the floor and voluntarily helped her pack. He was very good at organizing clothes, folding them meticulously. His slender fingers pressed tightly against the edge of the suitcase as he muttered to himself: "If you encounter an emergency abroad, remember to run toward crowded areas. Don't get captured by bad people. A few days ago, I read a story in a magazine."
Lin Zhixia squatted beside her brother and asked curiously: "What story?"
"A horror story," Lin Zeqiu's voice grew deeper.
He elaborated in detail: "There was this man who, shortly after marrying his wife, went to Thailand for their honeymoon. His wife was changing clothes in a fitting room while he waited outside. He waited for a long time, but she never came out..."
"And then?" Lin Zhixia grew even more curious.
Lin Zeqiu stared intently at her: "The fitting room was empty. The woman had disappeared. The man searched everywhere but couldn't find his wife. Several years later, the man went to Thailand again and happened to attend a circus performance. In the circus, there was a disabled woman with her hands and feet cut off, no tongue or ears, confined in a cage like a meat pie. When this disabled woman saw the man, she cried hysterically. The man suddenly noticed that the birthmark on her body was exactly the same as his missing wife's."
Lin Zhixia's breath froze.
Afraid she hadn't understood, Lin Zeqiu patiently explained: "That man took his wife to Thailand. His wife was captured in the fitting room, sold on Thailand's black market, then had her hands and feet cut off, her tongue and ears removed, turned into a human pig... Human pig, do you understand? You must have read Records of the Grand Historian, right? Empress Lü of the Han dynasty turned Lady Qi into a human pig."
Lin Zhixia remained calm for less than a second before darting out of the bedroom. She rushed toward her mother like a kitten returning to its nest: "Mom, Mom, hold me please."
Her mother asked: "What's wrong, Xia Xia?"
Lin Zhixia tattled: "Brother just told me a horror story."
Witnessing this scene, Lin Zeqiu thought to himself: She really is a Mommy's cling-on.
Lin Zeqiu knew that Lin Zhixia was very timid. During her competition in Romania, she'd better stay honestly in the hotel and not go anywhere. As long as she could grasp Lin Zeqiu's underlying message, he was willing to tell her an thrilling travel story every day.
The night before Lin Zhixia's departure, her Mom, Dad, and Brother all suffered from insomnia.The next morning, Brother went to wake Lin Zhixia with dark circles under his eyes. It was still a little past five in the morning. After taking a moment to fully wake up, Lin Zhixia said cheerfully, "Brother, I'll bring you a gift!"
Brother looked horrified. "No, no, don't buy any gifts."
Tilting her head, Lin Zhixia asked, "Why not?"
Brother analyzed, "If you want to buy a gift, you'll have to go out. You might go out alone, get lost in unfamiliar Romania, and a bad person might stuff you into a sack and throw you into a van."
"Really?" Lin Zhixia sounded skeptical.
Lin Zeqiu had pondered this issue all night long. He had never been abroad, not even out of the province. In his imagination, foreign countries were extremely dangerous and brutal. And his young, weak, naive, and overconfident little sister would suffer in a foreign land, with no one to turn to for help. Just thinking about the hardships Lin Zhixia might endure made his throat and heart ache with an indescribable torment.
He had done so many household chores to raise Lin Zhixia.
He couldn't put his inner turmoil into words. He only said, "Gifts aren't important. Just bring yourself back safely."
"Of course I'll come back," Lin Zhixia said matter-of-factly. She had slept soundly last night and even had a wonderful dream where she grew up to be twenty years old, and life became even better.
Around seven that morning, Lin Zhixia, filled with anticipation, met up with her teammates at the airport.
The first person she spotted was Luo Ying. Dragging her suitcase, she ran toward Luo Ying, calling out, "Senior, senior!"
Senior reached out a hand to her. "Let's go check in our luggage together."
Lin Zhixia took her hand. "I've never taken an international flight before. Have you, Senior?"
"I've taken quite a few," Luo Ying replied.
Luo Ying's passport was stamped with many visas. It turned out she had traveled around Europe with her parents before. She calmly went through customs and security, familiar with every step of the process. Lin Zhixia saw her as a role model and deliberately chose a seat right next to hers on the plane.
Perhaps because it was her first time on a long-haul flight, Lin Zhixia was too excited and couldn't fall asleep even when night fell. She tried lying back, lying on her side, curling up with her legs tucked in—nothing worked. Luo Ying simply pushed the armrest up and said softly, "You can rest your head on my lap."
"No! Absolutely not!" Lin Zhixia shook her head vigorously.
Luo Ying sighed. Her name contained the character for "cherry blossom," yet she carried a light scent of roses. The fragrance made Lin Zhixia let her guard down. Luo Ying reached out again and gently patted Lin Zhixia's head—immediately reminding Lin Zhixia of her brother. What should she do? She had only been away from home for a day, and she was already missing her family.
Luo Ying said gently, "You're so young. If you don't sleep all night, you'll feel terrible tomorrow."
Lin Zhixia rubbed her eyes. "It's fine."
Luo Ying revealed, "I promised Teacher Zhang and Teacher Sun that I would take good care of you."
"Did my homeroom teacher, Teacher Zhang, talk to you?" Lin Zhixia asked in surprise.
"Yes," Luo Ying told her. "Teacher Zhang said that since you skipped a grade and are younger than the other students, he asked me to look after you."Lin Zhixia hadn't expected so many people to be quietly concerned about her. She leaned sideways and ended up resting her head on her senior's lap. After about two seconds, Lin Zhixia sat up straight and said firmly, "Thank you, senior. I've already felt your kindness. If I keep resting on your lap, you'll be very uncomfortable during the flight too."
Lin Zhixia turned her face to look at Luo Ying. "Teacher Zhang asked you to take care of me. I think care should be mutual."
Luo Ying raised her hand and brushed her chin. "Alright, once we get to the hotel, we can finally get a good night's sleep."
"Mhmm," Lin Zhixia agreed. She had endured over ten grueling hours on the plane before it finally landed.
The Romanian Masters organizers had sent staff to pick them up at the airport. On the way to the hotel, Lin Zhixia fell asleep in the car. While her teammates were admiring the Romanian street views—the roads and architecture brimming with classical European charm, and the roadside churches displaying Orthodox characteristics that even made Luo Ying snap a few photos—she slept soundly.
The hotel they checked into was called "xahostel."
The buffet breakfast at xahostel greatly lifted Lin Zhixia's spirits. Various sliced hams and breads were arranged in a row, and glass bowls held delicate miniature cream cakes—each topped with a strawberry. Lin Zhixia had to compliment the chef: strawberries and cream were a perfect combination.
After eating two cakes, Lin Zhixia felt completely revived. Strawberries were her lifelong love and her ultimate source of energy. She might have been a strawberry spirit in her past life, which explained why she needed to replenish her life source constantly in this one.
After breakfast, Lin Zhixia returned to her room and fell straight back to sleep. She woke up at exactly 1:30 p.m. when Luo Ying called her for lunch. In the dining hall, they encountered numerous contestants from other countries.
Lin Zhixia weaved through teams from different nations, various languages drifting past her ears and stimulating her brain. She heard German, French, English, and Russian. Meanwhile, her teammates sat together at a table, waving to her from afar.
She ran over to them and asked, "How was your rest?"
One of her teammates, Du Cunkang, was from an experimental high school in a neighboring province. Du Cunkang had studied Math Olympics since childhood and received highly specialized training. At seventeen, he had won both gold and silver medals in national Math Olympiad competitions. He excelled at solving geometry problems and was considered one of the favorites to win this year.
While eating, Du Cunkang answered Lin Zhixia's question: "Even if I go two days without sleep, it won't affect my performance in the exam."
"Two days without sleep?" Lin Zhixia exclaimed in surprise. "Wouldn't you feel dizzy?"
Du Cunkang had a square-shaped face and wore black-rimmed glasses. He adjusted his glasses in a peculiar way—spreading his fingers to pinch both sides of the frames and gently pushing them upward—before saying, "No matter how tired, sleepy, or dizzy I am, the moment I enter the exam hall, I become fully alert."
Du Cunkang was telling the truth. Luo Ying chimed in, "Same here."
The other two official team members and one reserve member also said, "That's how it is for all of us."
But Lin Zhixia found this incredible—her situation was completely different from theirs. If she didn't sleep well, her calculation skills would deteriorate, and her mind would feel sluggish.
Indeed, intelligence wasn't the only measure of ability!
Ordinary people had plenty of strengths too!
Lin Zhixia absolutely couldn't afford to underestimate her opponents.She secretly resolved to eat faster than usual. Although she really wanted to strike up conversations with contestants from other countries, she didn't know what to talk about with them—if she approached someone to discuss mathematical theories, it might create invisible competitive pressure, which wouldn't align with what Duan Qiyan called "competition etiquette." If she tried to engage in philosophical debates, probably no one would want to respond. If she asked about local customs and cultures of different countries, it would clearly be just making conversation for the sake of it.
After an internal struggle, Lin Zhixia decided to remain silent.
Silence was the safest route. Silence was the most secure harbor.
She buried her head and took two bites of food when Du Cunkang suddenly called out to her: "That person is here. That person, let me point him out to you..."
Lin Zhixia looked up blankly: "Which person?"
Du Cunkang pointed ahead: "The Russian contestant. His name is a long string, so we'll just call him alexandrov."
Lin Zhixia repeated: "alexandrov?"
Du Cunkang's gaze never wavered from the distance. He said: "alexandrov is a Russian math prodigy who's been featured in newspapers. Didn't you know, Lin Zhixia?"
For the past six months, Lin Zhixia had rarely read newspapers or magazines. The team leader hadn't told them how strong the Russian contestants were either, so Lin Zhixia had no knowledge of alexandrov at all.
She stood up from her seat and looked ahead without any reservation. She saw a relatively tall Russian youth—he had blond hair and blue eyes, with slightly longer hair that covered his forehead and ears, making him quite noticeable among the Russian team.
"How strong is he?" Lin Zhixia demanded.
After all, Du Cunkang was an honors student. He praised the excellent contestant from the opposing camp in a matter-of-fact tone: "alexandrov published a mathematics book in middle school."
Lin Zhixia showed no fear: "I also helped my deskmate compile competition methods—a thick volume containing various problem types, along with some questions I created myself."
Several team members at the table were somewhat stunned. Everyone had done problem type summaries. In the national training camp, numerous experts took turns providing precise guidance on competition trends. Lin Zhixia's self-described experiences weren't enough to overshadow alexandrov's brilliant track record.
Du Cunkang smoothed things over: "Team competitions are about teamwork—three cobblers with their wits combined equal Zhuge Liang's mastery. As long as our team can solve six out of the seven problems, we can win first place in the team competition."
The Romania Master of Mathematics competition was also divided into two days, with six problems total, each worth a maximum of seven points. The contestant's paper score was their final individual score.
Du Cunkang's high regard for alexandrov made Lin Zhixia look forward to tomorrow's schedule even more.
The next morning, the organizers sent vehicles to transport all contestants from the hotel to the competition venue.
At 9 AM, the Romania Master of Mathematics competition officially began.
The first two problems of this competition weren't particularly difficult. The third problem was the watershed that would separate the scores—even Lin Zhixia needed some time to think it through and avoid potential thinking traps, which gave her an ominous premonition.After the exam, the other three team members appeared perfectly normal, with Du Cunkang in especially high spirits. He was even chatting and laughing animatedly at the dinner table, deliberately striking up conversations with the Korean and Japanese teams. Both teams responded politely to Du Cunkang, who noticed that the Korean students spoke Japanese quite well.
Upon further inquiry, Du Cunkang learned that besides being required to study English, Korean students had to choose either Chinese or Japanese as their second foreign language. Du Cunkang immediately offered to teach his Korean friends Chinese.
One Korean friend surnamed Kim prompted Du Cunkang to dip his fork in water and write the character "Kim" on the table. He hit it off wonderfully with that Korean classmate. When the conversation turned to the girl group Wirls, which debuted in Korea in early February that year, Du Cunkang grew particularly enthusiastic. With a hint of shyness, he confessed that he really liked Korean movie star Jeon Ji-hyun and hoped to find someone like her to marry someday.
However, the more lively and outgoing Du Cunkang appeared, the deeper Lin Zhixia's suspicions grew. On their first day at the hotel, Du Cunkang had shunned all social interactions. His sudden personality shift today could only mean one thing—he was putting on a cheerful facade to keep his teammates from worrying.
Finally, under Lin Zhixia's intense gaze, Du Cunkang secretly confessed to her alone: "I couldn't solve the third problem. I bombed the exam."
This was truly devastating news.
If Du Cunkang couldn't solve it, their team had lost a key player.
Before the competition, Du Cunkang had ranked third in their team.
The most difficult problems in the Romanian Master of Mathematics typically appeared on the second day. If Du Cunkang couldn't turn things around, their team gold medal might be in jeopardy.
Under the warm hotel lighting, Du Cunkang's face looked pale. "I've taken psychological tests before. My mental state..."
"Your mental state is fine," Lin Zhixia lowered her head and whispered to him. "The other two teammates solved the third problem. For now, we're not at immediate risk of losing the gold medal. Tomorrow, you have to trust me—I'll solve every problem. Even if alexandrov is as smart as me, or smarter, I can still tie with him. Don't put pressure on yourself. We're a team—we advance together."
Lin Zhixia was a full six years younger than Du Cunkang.
He never expected that Lin Zhixia could offer him encouragement that felt almost parental. Gripping his knife and fork tightly, he cut into his thin pizza slice. The blade scraped sharply against the ceramic plate as he replied, "Alright, no pressure."
"Mmhmm!" Lin Zhixia nodded.
That night, Lin Zhixia went to bed early. Free from distractions, she fell asleep almost instantly. Waking up the next day, she had adjusted to peak condition and threw herself completely into that day's exam. Just as she predicted the night before, the final problem on this exam turned out to be this year's most challenging concluding problem for the Romanian Master of Mathematics.
The problem originated from a graph theory question: Given a simple graph G containing V vertices, suppose adding N edges causes graph G to contain two cycles of equal length. What is the lower bound for N?Lin Zhixia recalled that a 1998 mathematical paper had once discussed this issue in detail. Inspired by that paper, she wrote down her own problem-solving approach and further narrowed the range of the lower bound. As she wrote, she secretly wondered whether Du Cunkang could come up with a better solution, hoping they could win the team gold medal through joint efforts.
She even stole a glance at the Russian team's Alexandro.
Just as Du Cunkang had said, the Russian team's Alexandro was remarkably strong. His thinking flowed smoothly, with no trace of anxiety or hesitation on his face. The entire Russian team exuded an air of certain victory, which actually made Lin Zhixia feel somewhat intimidated when she observed them.
Why! Why was the Russian team so confident?
Could it be that every one of them could achieve a perfect score?
Lin Zhixia made up her mind that after returning home this time, she would seriously study Russian. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.
Author's Note:
References for this chapter:
[1] Official website of the Romanian Master of Mathematics (2020 edition)
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【Next Chapter Preview: Lin Zhixia's Happy Day! Visiting Little Jiang's Family Museum!】
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