Tan Qi was momentarily stunned, then nodded respectfully, saying, "Understood, boss."
With that, he quickly walked out.
In the evening, Tan Qi delivered a ticket to the office. The seat was excellent—offering a clear view of the stage while remaining inconspicuous, allowing one to avoid unwanted attention.
Meanwhile, a meeting was underway at the hotel reserved by Seventh High School.
The lead teacher stood, raising his voice to encourage the students: "Give it your all tomorrow! This is a new competition format for you, but it’s the same for all the other participants! So don’t worry! As long as it’s fair and just, trust in your own abilities!"
The teacher paused before adding, "Above all, don’t let nerves get to you!"
Xue Jiao glanced at a senior from the twelfth grade beside her and, sure enough, he looked even more nervous now.
After a few more words, the teacher dismissed the students to their rooms to rest.
"Jiao Jiao..." Cheng Mingze’s room was next to Xue Jiao’s.
"Hmm?" Xue Jiao looked up.
Cheng Mingze suddenly flashed a grin. "Good luck."
"Got it!" Xue Jiao smiled back. "You too."
——
March 28th, the Mathematics Competition Finals.
Lin Zhihua waited until nearly everyone had entered before slipping in through a side door and quickly taking a seat in a corner with a good view.
He wore a long black coat today, blending in effortlessly. Unless someone directly caught sight of his handsome face, no one would notice who was sitting there.
Xue Jiao, dressed in Seventh High’s uniform, sat in her assigned seat. Over fifty participants were seated in rows of eight, seven rows in total.
Her spot was in the third row, fifth seat. Xue Jiao glanced up—the front rows were occupied by invited professors, while behind them sat an audience of three hundred. Though the number didn’t sound large, the sea of faces was still an imposing sight.
Most students, lacking stage experience, couldn’t help but tense up. Accustomed to taking exams in quiet, isolated classrooms, the pressure of so many eyes on them left their hands and legs trembling.
Xue Jiao, too, felt her nerves rise. After all, in both her lifetimes, she’d never solved problems under such scrutiny.
The only one completely unfazed was probably Yang Zhan, seated in the front row.
As for the twelfth-grade senior from Seventh High, he was already drenched in cold sweat before the questions were even revealed.
Xue Jiao closed her eyes briefly, taking a deep breath. Xue Jiao, don’t be afraid. Everyone down there is just a cabbage!
When she opened her eyes again, her gaze was clear and resolute.
An organizer stepped onto the stage and announced the rules from the side. The competition would consist of three rounds. The first was a test—two problems worth ten points each, totaling twenty points, with forty minutes allotted.
Only when the test papers were handed out did Xue Jiao realize it wasn’t so different from a regular exam—just with an audience watching.
The first problem was calculation-heavy, while the second was a geometry question.
During her discussions with Lin Zhihua, they had touched on similar problems. Though not identical, some of the problem-solving approaches overlapped.
Time was tight. Seeing no issues with the paper, Xue Jiao immediately began calculating furiously as the timer in the upper right corner started counting down.
Unbeknownst to the contestants, their progress was being projected onto a screen behind them as they worked.
The grid was small, but Lin Zhihua quickly spotted Xue Jiao’s paper among the dozens displayed.He couldn't clearly see how she was solving the problems, nor could he make out the questions themselves, but Lin Zhihua could tell from her rhythm and expression that these two problems were as good as solved.
The corners of his lips lifted slightly as Lin Zhihua smiled with a hint of pride.
Xue Jiao didn’t feel like she had wasted any time on any step, yet she still only finished writing at the thirty-first minute. Meanwhile, Yang Zhan—that genius—had finished in about twenty minutes. There was also Zheng Mingxuan, a first-year high school prodigy, who had finished just a minute later than Yang Zhan.
After handing her paper to the approaching staff member, she let out a soft exhale.
Indeed, geniuses were geniuses. Just what kind of speed and mental processing power did it take to complete everything so smoothly and quickly?
Once the staff left, all the students sat quietly on stage, and the audience in the venue remained silent.
Ten minutes later, the staff returned.
"Students advancing to the next round are—"
Xue Jiao’s breath hitched, and most of the others tensed up as well.
Were they eliminating people already?
"Yang Zhan, Zheng Mingxuan, Li Lei… Cheng Mingze… Gu Xue Jiao…"
Xue Jiao exhaled deeply, stood up, and moved to the side. The corners of her lips twitched slightly, easing the tension that had stiffened her face.
At least half of the contestants remained on stage. The problems weren’t actually that difficult, and logically, those who had made it this far shouldn’t have had any issues. Most likely, it was nerves—either leaving problems unfinished or causing their minds to freeze up under pressure.
The remaining students bowed before being led offstage by the staff to take their seats in the audience.
Thirty-two students were left, who then returned to their seats.
The second round began, and the papers were handed out.
Xue Jiao froze for a moment, scanning the questions once before immediately diving into writing.
Three problems! Thirty points in total.
Still forty minutes! And there were three problems this time!
Inevitably, Xue Jiao felt a flash of nervousness, her fingers trembling slightly.
[Don’t worry about answering on the spot. They’re testing adaptability and overall competence, but in the end, it’s still math. There’s no way they’d test English in a math competition. As long as you answer with what you know, there’s absolutely no way you’ll have any problems.]
Lin Zhihua’s words echoed in her mind again. Xue Jiao took a deep breath and began writing rapidly.
The forty minutes passed quickly. Xue Jiao only closed her pen when the countdown was nearly over, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
Soon, the staff came up to collect all the papers.
While solving the problems, Xue Jiao had been so focused she hadn’t noticed anything else. But now, with her pen down, she realized not only was her forehead damp, but her back was completely soaked as well.
Clearly, she wasn’t the only one. When she looked up, she saw several others tugging at the backs of their shirts.
Her heartbeat still hadn’t steadied. The earlier tension had been so intense that her pulse continued to race like thunder.
Her gaze unconsciously drifted to Yang Zhan, widely regarded as the strongest contestant this time. Even he was wiping his forehead with the back of his hand.
Xue Jiao let out another breath, her mood settling a little more.
So even the most formidable Yang Zhan had felt the pressure this round. Three major problems in forty minutes left almost no time for revisions—just a desperate race to finish writing before time ran out.
The first round had already made it clear: only a perfect score would secure a spot in the next round.
A perfect score meant finishing everything without a single mistake.
Xue Jiao glanced back toward Cheng Mingze’s direction. As if sensing her gaze, he looked up.Their gazes met, and Cheng Mingze gave her an encouraging and reassuring smile.
Xue Jiao instinctively returned his smile before withdrawing her gaze, closing her eyes briefly to rest her mind.
Below, Lin Zhihua frowned slightly and glanced at Cheng Mingze.
At this moment, aside from the students taking the exam resting briefly, the professors and audience members also took the rare opportunity to relax, murmuring in low voices.
The professors seemed to be discussing something, nodding and smiling intermittently.
Especially the professor from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, whose face was practically blooming with joy. The exceptionally talented Yang Zhan, who had stood out enough to be recognized by top universities, had been admitted to the Academy last year!
So, in a way, Yang Zhan was already a student of the Academy.
The audience members weren’t randomly selected either—they were all math teachers. Now, as they looked at the questions displayed on the screen behind them, they commented:
“This question is quite difficult.”
“Which year’s competition questions aren’t?”
“Teacher Li, can you solve it?”
The male teacher adjusted his glasses and said, “I can, but not within forty minutes.”
“These students nowadays are truly remarkable.”
“Absolutely. This batch seems particularly strong.”
“This year’s assessment is also quite special.”
Of course, there were also some younger teachers who preferred gossip—
“This batch is also quite good-looking.”
“Haha, that’s true. Both Yang Zhan and that Cheng Mingze in the back could make a living off their looks.”
“What about the girl in the third row…”
“Yes, yes! I noticed her the moment I walked in—couldn’t take my eyes off her.”
She wasn’t the only one who couldn’t look away. There was also a man sitting in an inconspicuous corner behind them—Lin Zhihua.
His eyes had indeed never left Xue Jiao, and the corners of his lips curled slightly as he watched her.
He had discussed countless problems with her and often received photos of her problem-solving process.
But he had never imagined that she could look so beautiful when concentrating—her brows sometimes furrowing slightly, other times relaxing effortlessly.
These simple, unnoticed expressions were all captured by Lin Zhihua.
This round of grading took a bit longer, but soon, the organizer’s teacher came up with a list.
“The students who have passed the second round are—”
Breaths hitched again as everyone stared at him intently.
“Yang Zhan, Zheng Mingxuan, Bai Jiu, Cheng Mingze, Gu Xue Jiao.”
For a moment, everyone froze. Li Lei’s face visibly paled.
The boy, who had spent years preparing for this competition, looked frighteningly pale—clearly, he hadn’t expected to be eliminated.
And he wasn’t the only one. Several other students wore similar expressions.
Only five had advanced to the third round, while the remaining twenty-seven were all eliminated!
Some students glanced at the organizer’s teacher, their hands twitching as if they wanted to raise them in protest.
But before they could, the teacher spoke first: “Students with objections can review their papers afterward. Those with deductions cannot proceed to the next round. Now, I’ll announce the rankings from sixth place onward—”
His gaze swept across the room. “Sixth place, Li Lei. Seventh place…”
Li Lei exhaled in relief and gave Cheng Mingze and Xue Jiao, who had stood up to move aside, a thumbs-up.
He had placed sixth—earning him a first-class prize in the winter camp. Barring any surprises, prestigious universities would soon be offering him admission.
Securing a spot at a top-tier university was practically guaranteed.He cheered for Cheng Mingze and Xue Jiao since they were wearing the same school uniform color after all.
Xue Jiao's gaze also subtly drifted toward Cheng Mingze. It was truly a pity—in the original storyline, Cheng Mingze had been locked away.
Cheng Shuo had been helping Gu Xue Jiao resolve her troubles and couldn't accompany Cheng Mingze, resulting in him being confined until the exam was over.
After that incident, his relationship with Cheng Shuo had also cooled significantly.
His own biological father had prioritized solving his stepdaughter's problems over being there for his own son when he needed him most.
With his abilities, he could have made it this far. Xue Jiao felt a pang of regret for the Cheng Mingze of the original story. What might have been just a plot device to deepen the protagonists' relationship had cost him an unforgettable experience as a student.
All because of jealousy—that boy had locked Cheng Mingze away.
Cheng Mingze had missed the competition, which was why there was no information about it in the original story.
Cheng Mingze, who could have achieved glory, ended up with nothing—all because of someone else's envy.
Xue Jiao suddenly thought of Cheng Mingjiao. She hadn't seen her since the New Year.
Xue Jiao, no matter the results today, no matter how many outstanding people appear around you in the future, never let jealousy take hold.
She could strive to catch up, but she must never let envy cloud her vision.
After the rankings of the twenty-seven contestants were announced, they bowed to the professors and the audience before making their way to the spectator seats.
"That student in the white uniform is the top student from our school—really impressive. I didn’t expect him to not even make it to the third round."
"It's not that they couldn’t solve the problems. Maybe they just made small mistakes that cost them points. In a competition like this, there’s no time to double-check!"
"But if he didn’t check, neither did the others."
"Exactly. Look at the top five—those are the real geniuses. Fast and flawless."
"At their level, it’s not just about skill anymore. They’re all incredibly capable, but luck also plays a part."
The livelier discussions soon shifted to appearances—
"The top five this year are all so good-looking!"
"Right? The best-looking ones we saw earlier all made it to the top!"
"How do parents raise kids these days? Handsome and brilliant!"
"Look at that girl—she’s the only one left among the finalists."
"I’ve never seen such a striking young lady before!"
...
Amid the chatter below, the staff cleared the tables and brought out five new ones with projectors, arranged in a row.
They took their seats, each marked with a nameplate. Xue Jiao glanced down at hers—"Gu Xue Jiao, Seventh High School."
"Only two from Seventh High made it? Is that the one in C City?"
"Yes, that’s the one. It’s a good school."
"Many prestigious high schools in the capital only got one student in, but Seventh High has two? Impressive!"
"The school must be having a lucky streak."
"Their principal must be over the moon."
"Haha, I would be too."
...
Listening to the comments, the team leader in the audience seats grinned like a blooming flower.
No doubt about it—the principal would heap praise on him when they returned, and the bonus would likely be substantial!
Chuckling, the team leader rubbed his hands together excitedly.
—
"The third round is also forty minutes—thirty for answering, ten for judges' questions."
As the organizer finished speaking, all five contestants froze momentarily.Originally, they thought these professors were just here to observe like the audience, but it turned out they were the judges for the final round?
How would they evaluate?
What questions would they ask?
All five of them were stunned. Not just Xue Jiao—even Yang Zhan and the others looked dumbfounded.
A bell rang softly, and the room fell silent. Then, staff members came up with several test papers and distributed them one by one.
Following routine, Xue Jiao quickly scanned the paper before starting.
There was only one question, but it was enough to make Xue Jiao’s face turn pale.
And she wasn’t the only one—everyone else looked equally horrified. Zheng Mingxuan, the youngest as a first-year high school student, momentarily lost his composure.
Clearly, it wasn’t just them. Even the audience below was stunned.
When the question appeared on the screen behind them, the crowd couldn’t help but erupt in exclamations—
“How is this possible?!”
“This…”
“How could this be on a high school competition?!”
“Would these high schoolers even know this?!”
“Exactly!”
…
The students who had already finished sat in the audience, eyes wide in shock, while others looked utterly lost.
Some were just relieved they weren’t still on stage—otherwise, they’d surely be handing in blank papers.
How could something like this appear in a high school competition?!
Even the judges’ panel wasn’t calm—
“I was shocked when they mentioned this earlier…”
“Me too! I even said this shouldn’t be tested!”
“I disagreed as well! This is just setting them up to fail.”
“Right, how could high schoolers be expected to answer this?”
“The organizers said they don’t expect them to solve it. It’s just a new experiment—after all, these five are already guaranteed admission to any university!”
“They’ll all get first place, just with different rankings.”
“That’s true. Our math department at Shanghai Jiao Tong would gladly take any of them! Haha!”
“Hey, we’d take them too!”
“Just treat it as a bonus question. Whether they answer it or not doesn’t matter!”
…
“Ding—” The bell rang again, signaling the audience to stay quiet and the contestants to begin.
Yet, no one started writing. All five frowned at their papers in unison.
Xue Jiao exhaled, closed her eyes briefly, then reopened them, confirming that what she saw was indeed real—
Prove Fermat’s Last Theorem.
Yang Zhan was the first to pick up his pen. Instantly, his writing appeared on the screen.
First, he explained what Fermat’s Last Theorem was, then began writing out formulas one after another.
Lin Zhihua silently mouthed: Andrew Wiles.
Yang Zhan was using Andrew Wiles’ proof method. He might not remember every step, but Lin Zhihua knew he was determined to write about Wiles’ approach to proving Fermat’s Last Theorem.
Lin Zhihua’s brow furrowed slightly. He knew Xue Jiao worked hard, but she wasn’t a genius. Even if she knew of Fermat’s Last Theorem, she wouldn’t recall as much as Yang Zhan.
The professor from the Chinese Academy of Sciences smiled approvingly, and the other judges nodded in anticipation.
Five minutes after Yang Zhan started, Zheng Mingxuan also began writing—using the same method.
But from the moment he started, Lin Zhihua could tell Zheng Mingxuan’s grasp of Fermat’s Last Theorem was weaker than Yang Zhan’s.
Next was Cheng Mingze, who wrote swiftly—so fast that even Lin Zhihua had to nod in acknowledgment.
Mihăilescu.
Cheng Mingze was using Mihăilescu’s method.
Three of them scribbled furiously, while two still hadn’t put pen to paper.Bai Jiu didn't write anything, his face pale—clearly he knew nothing about the topic.
Xue Jiao also hadn't started writing. Her eyes were closed, her hand gripping the pen tightly, beads of sweat rolling down her forehead.
With her eyes shut, no one could tell what she was thinking.
Lin Zhihua watched her with concern, thinking to himself—
You're not a genius, there's no need to push yourself so hard.
Lin Zhihua's assumption was correct. Xue Jiao didn't know how to prove Fermat's Last Theorem, nor was she familiar with the known proofs of it.
But fragments of memories from her past life surfaced vaguely—she recalled attending a lecture by a renowned scholar during her first year of high school.
That scholar had shared many interesting stories about mathematics. It was then that Xue Jiao realized the dry theorems in textbooks, each bearing someone's name, actually had fascinating stories behind them about the mathematicians who discovered them.
Fermat...
Fermat's Last Theorem...
Tick tock—
Time passed minute by minute, yet Xue Jiao still hadn't written anything.
After twenty-five minutes, Bai Jiu, his face pale, finally set down his pen.
He had given up.
There was no reason not to. In such a situation, scribbling nonsense in front of everyone would be worse than writing nothing at all.
There was no shame in that.
Just then, Xue Jiao moved. She quickly wrote down a single sentence:
Fermat's Last Theorem refers to... He left no record of his proof, so I can't be certain whether Fermat truly had a clear method of proof. But I'm confident that in the future, I could prove it using hypothetical reasoning. Unfortunately, there's not enough time now to complete it.
Time's up. Pencils down.
Lin Zhihua smiled.
Cheeky.
It wasn't just Lin Zhihua who smiled. The judges were momentarily stunned before the mathematics professor from Tsinghua University burst into laughter, shaking his head. Yet his gaze at Xue Jiao held admiration.
"Now begins the judges' Q&A session. First up, Yang Zhan."
During Yang Zhan's session, the first to speak was a professor from the Chinese Academy of Sciences: "You're remarkable—the best performer today. To write down the formula and proof Andrew Wiles used in such a short time, even mentioning how Wiles addressed the gaps... I believe given more time, you would have completed it all."
The professor beside him nodded and asked, "Has your knowledge always been this extensive?"
Yang Zhan smiled and replied, "I believe books are the most wonderful things in this world. Fortunately, my memory is decent, and I remember most of what I've read."
"You're impressive," the Peking University professor said, giving a thumbs-up.
Next was Zheng Mingxuan. His performance was similar to Yang Zhan's, though slightly weaker—he had written fewer formulas, and some were messy.
But for a high school student, it was still outstanding.
Third was Bai Jiu. No one criticized him. Instead, the professors offered words of encouragement and praise.
"Bai Jiu, you're very capable. It's the organizers who were unreasonable!"
The entire room burst into laughter.
Next up, Cheng Mingze.
The professor from Fudan University didn't say anything—he simply started clapping first.
Xue Jiao glanced back at Cheng Mingze's paper and could only sigh in admiration—the male lead truly was the male lead.
Just look at that skill.
Both he and Yang Zhan had outlined their reasoning completely. Like Yang Zhan, he hadn't had time to write out the detailed steps, but he had used a different approach. The two of them were undoubtedly the strongest competitors tonight.
Several professors immediately extended olive branches, eager to recruit him into their institutions.
Finally, it was Xue Jiao's turn."Student Gu Xue Jiao..." The Tsinghua University professor coughed lightly, unable to suppress another chuckle. "You're quite interesting."
Using Fermat's style to solve Fermat's problem.
Fermat said there wasn't enough space, so he didn't write it.
Xue Jiao said there wasn't enough time, so she didn't prove it.
"I noticed you hadn't started writing for a while. What made you decide to write this in the end?"
Xue Jiao cleared her throat, her pleasant voice carrying clearly—
"I didn't know how to prove it. Earlier I was trying to recall my memories about Fermat's Last Theorem, but only remembered some interesting stories, nothing about the proof itself. So I wasn't planning to write anything at first."
"Oh? Then why did you end up writing this statement?"
Xue Jiao smiled, her eyes filled with gratitude: "I thought of my mentor, who's both my teacher and friend. He once said, whether you can solve it depends on your ability, but whether you try depends on your attitude. I'm grateful for his constant guidance. My abilities might still be lacking, but my attitude isn't too bad. I'm sorry, teacher—I don't know how yet, but in the future, I'll verify whether my hypothesis works."
Author's note: Lin. Mentor. Zhihua: ........................
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