In the awkward silence, Yang Changle walked up to Huang Lingqi with a smile.
"Just kidding, was it really that unfunny?" Yang Changle took out a check from his pocket, pursed his lips, and shook his head. "When I tell jokes during class, my students always laugh. Your reactions are making doubt myself now. I hope my students aren’t just giving polite, fake smiles…"
As he spoke, he stuffed the check back into Huang Lingqi’s hand: "I’m not sure how it is on your end, but here, teachers are civil servants. I might have gained a bit of fa, but my primary job is still teaching, and I must adhere to organizational discipline."
"I understand, I’m sorry," Huang Lingqi hurriedly put away the check.
"What do you understand?" Yang Changle couldn’t help but ramble on.
"What I an is, if you’re going to do sothing like this again, could you be a little more discreet? Isn’t this just setting a trap for soone? Even if I wanted to take this money, I wouldn’t dare. Of course, you might have had other intentions, but I can’t be bothered to guess."
"Since you’re here, your primary identity is that of a competitor. Whether you wear a suit or bring bodyguards and assistants, making things so complicated, who’s going to have a good impression of you?"
"I originally intended for you kids in the competition to interact a bit, but now it seems pointless."
"Okay, I won’t nag anymore," Yang Changle said, then waved to Li Zheng and Lin Yujing, "Jijing Team mbers, head to your rooms to put away your luggage, and et in room 8102 in 15 minutes for a brief eting."
After the team mbers started moving, Huang Lingqi bowed and said, "Sorry, Teacher Yang, I wasn’t thoughtful enough."
"I think you overthought it," Yang Changle said, giving Huang Lingqi a aningful look. "Stay away from my students."
With that, he cheerfully chased after his own classmates.
Once they were at a distance, the female assistant ca over and sneered.
"Just a poor teacher, we really gave him too much face."
"Shut up," Huang Lingqi sighed, "Teacher Yang is one of the country’s best physics competition teachers. For soone as talented as him to choose to be a teacher is an act of virtue."
"..." The female assistant wisely shut her mouth, chugging her coffee.
After pondering for a mont, the male assistant also ca over to advise, "Let it go, Kevin. Don’t think about it anymore. We can handle it without their help."
"I need to think about it," Huang Lingqi murmured to himself, "I made a mistake this ti. To save ti, I’m used to just pulling out a check without properly packaging my intentions. I lost my temper at a critical mont and offended Teacher Yang... I should have spent more ti getting close to Li Zheng, tactfully building up this news story... I was too impatient, no choice, I’m under ti pressure. If I had been born ten years earlier, I wouldn’t have to do this..."
While he was talking, the male assistant nodded toward the hotel entrance: "Kevin, the Russian is here."
"OK." Huang Lingqi ran his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath, "I’ll make them recognize with my performance."
...
Even as they squeezed into the elevator, the Jijing Team mbers were still talking about Huang Lingqi.
"This dude gets over 30 million a year for pocket money?"
"He must be bragging."
"It’s hard to say, his family has a monopoly in Yu n’s gambling, real estate, shipping, etc... It’s quite normal for the fourth-generation eldest grandchild to have that much money..."
"Damn it, if I had that much pocket money, why the hell would I study physics?"
"Maybe he’s gotten bored and tired of spending money and suddenly really wants to study?"
"What do you think? Do you think spending money can get boring?"
"...well, no matter how you look at it, it’s impossible. With a hundred thousand a day, I could spend till the end of the world..."
"Speaking of which, is Teacher Yang’s joke level in school about the sa?"
"Pretty much... His class always forces laughter... Not laughing would be too disrespectful to him."
While everyone was discussing the wealthy, only Lin Yujing in the corner of the elevator was looking at herself in the mirror on the wall, making faces.
Li Zheng couldn’t help but say, "What, did you sleep like an idiot...?"
"I sleep like an angel... ugh..." Lin Yujing covered her mouth with an unhappy face, "That’s so disgusting."
"..." Li Zheng swallowed and replied, "He’s not sincere with a single word, don’t pay attention to him."
Lin Yujing also shook her head and turned back around, "I hate when people comnt on my appearance."
"You’re still too sensitive," Li Zheng pointed at his own face, "Appearance is just an inconsequential layer of packaging. Let others think what they want, it doesn’t matter."
"Heh? Then why were you so anxious just now?"
"I was anxious? Did I? Do I care about that?"
"~~~~~"
"Don’t make that face, it makes it look like I’m in the wrong."
"Okay, you loser, you didn’t do too badly this ti," Lin Yujing said casually fanning her hand, "Anyway, I really hate those kind of people."
"Indeed," Yang Changle suddenly nodded, "Such people have no reverence for physics and only use competitions to pad their resus. If soone who treats the national finals like a variety show manages to place, it would be an insult to all the contestants and teachers."
"Why so serious all of a sudden..." Li Zheng looked at Yang Changle’s glowing forehead and the lenses of his glasses, feeling sowhat unaccustod to it.
"Hurry and put away your luggage," Yang Changle said, adjusting his glasses. "The principal instructed that the final round of prediction training was originally just for Ren University Affiliated students, but I’ve changed my mind. Now, I want everyone on the team to participate."
...
That evening, all the Jijing Team mbers enjoyed Teacher Yang’s legendary Ren University Affiliated prediction problems.
Unlike the Chem Competitions, Ren University Affiliated First had firmly held the dominant position in the physics competition, not only in Jijing but also nationally.
Although one could not say that there were countless national champions and IPHO gold dalists, there were at least by the double digits.
As for this year, with only five students making it into the provincial team, that truly was a Waterloo, and it was full of coincidences.
Firstly, the Lake Ying Duo swept through the Jianghu, launching indiscriminate attacks, leaving no blade of grass standing.
Secondly, Feng Qingyang mysteriously retired, shunning the spotlight while hiding his skills.
Had these events not occurred, the number of Ren University Affiliated students in the provincial team would have been at least seven or eight, including strong contenders for the championship like Gu Jianfeng.
Thus, it’s evident that whenever the Lake Ying Duo appears, Ren University Affiliated might beco the biggest loser.
As for Yang Changle himself, despite his thinning hair, he was actually just over 30 years old.
And he was in his sixth year as the physics competition teacher at Ren University Affiliated.
Undoubtedly, beneath his joking exterior was the heart of a top-tier physics expert.
Li Zheng and Lin Yujing originally looked down on this kind of prediction training.
But Yang Changle’s problems turned out to be miraculous, working on them felt like a brain massage.
The focus wasn’t on absolute difficulty, but rather on thodically kneading and connecting the threads together.
chanics, optics, electromagnetism, and so forth, two of the year’s most likely types of problems from each category, served with Teacher Yang’s comforting old thods, and secret tricks. Once you grasped them, you’d feel refreshed all over, as if all your irritability had been cleared away.
So-called prediction problems, it turned out, were not just about predicting questions, but also a form of detox before the exam, like the muscle maintenance athletes undergo before competing, a simple and effective pre-exam therapy.
By nine o’clock, feeling satisfied, the team mbers one by one left, leaving only Tao Feifei to help Yang Changle clean up the ssy papers and drafts.
"Teacher Yang has really worked hard." Tao Feifei said with a bitter smile while tidying up, "With my level, I’m really not much help."
"Eh, you’ve brought up students like Li Zheng and Lin Yujing, which is comndable, especially since it’s your first ti here," Yang Changle cheerfully poured a cup of water and handed it over, "Just make sure not to talk about today’s matter. Otherwise, the principal will scold ."
"Haha," Tao Feifei laughed, accepting the cup, "the principal has to coddle you, right?"
"Coddle? Not at all," Yang Changle poured himself a cup of water, "Ren University Affiliated is a system. If soone similar took over, it would be the sa. If you replaced , you’d also be able to accomplish the work perfectly in a couple of years."
"You’re too modest," Tao Feifei, picking up a problem set, said, "With the level of prediction you have, I could never learn it in my lifeti. If you didn’t say these were prediction problems, and instead claid they were the actual final papers, I’d believe you 100%. The distribution of the question types makes them seem even more authentic than the real papers."
"You’re actually onto sothing," Yang Changle pointed at the papers on the table, "My prediction problems do always seem to be more ’real’ than the actual papers. After the exam is over in a couple of days, if you look at the real paper, you’ll think it’s fake, that the questions are off and don’t make sense. This is the ’Yang Changle Inaccuracy Theorem.’"
"Haha… that’s so funny…" After a forced laugh, Tao Feifei asked, "So, does it an that the question setters deliberately target prediction experts like you?"
"That’s part of it," Yang Changle, sipping water and pursing his lips, remarked, "but every year, there are others who make more accurate predictions than ."
"Really?" Tao Feifei asked in surprise, "Xiangnan?"
Yang Changle shook his head.
"Jibei?"
He shook his head.
"Shanghai?"
"Stop guessing," Yang Changle said with a laugh, "it’s the hosts. Every year, the hosts make the most accurate predictions, and their students’ scores are significantly higher than in previous years."
"…" Tao Feifei was silent for a mont before asking, "Because the hosts are also in charge of setting the questions, right?"
"Yes, but that’s normal. Isn’t it the sa with the World Cup? The referees also give the hosts a slight edge," Yang Changle said with a silly grin, holding his cup, "so sotis I really worry, worrying about the year Jijing becos the host... How would I make predictions then..."
Tao Feifei shook her head, stuffing the paper into the shredder, "To have such worries, it’s quite an eye-opener for ."
"Hey, don’t overthink it. This won’t excessively affect fairness. After all, the World Cup has gone on for years without major incidents, except for that ti in South Korea," Yang Changle offered advice, "Just make sure you don’t discuss this with the students, you never know when soone like Shi Yang might pop up, a hotheaded fool."
"Shi Yang?"
"That’s a whole other story. Didn’t Li Zheng tell you about what happened in the Chem Competitions?"
"No..."
"Ah, you’re not gossipy enough for a teacher," said Yang Changle, rubbing his hands together excitedly, "Co on, let properly educate you on the matter."
...
On June 14, a total of 360 contestants from provincial teams all checked in and began a half-day tour of the exam venue.
The final contest was held in Huihu Middle School.
Li Zheng and Lin Yujing took in the landscape as if they were strolling in a park since "Lake" was part of the school’s na, and the scenery was indeed quite admirable.
The organizers were very thoughtful, wanting to encourage interaction among top competitors from across the country. As the host province, Zhejiang assigned its own team mbers to guide the provincial teams on their tours.
Guiding the Jijing Team were a boy and a girl from Hangzhou No. 2 Middle School. As representatives of an erging star city, both naturally exuded a vibrant energy and belief in themselves and the future.
And they even spoke Mandarin a bit better than the mbers of the Jijing Team.
After a brief tour of the school, there was still ti to spare. Since the topic of "West Lake" and "sweet and sour fish" often ca up in conversation, they volunteered to take the Jijing Team mbers to a good local restaurant for a al.
Of course, the team leader would never agree to that, and even soone as laid-back as Yang Changle wouldn’t dare let the students go out on such a scale. Moreover, the organizers had already arranged a return bus.
In the end, they had to compromise and, before the return trip, they all went to the Xinfeng Snack Shop next to Huihu Middle School to try so soup dumplings and shrimp wontons.
With limited ti and an urgent agenda, the group quickly ate and chatted.
Li Zheng and Lin Yujing didn’t wish to be the center of attention, but the two students from Hangzhou inadvertently sat down to their left and right.
This wasn’t just a coincidence; they were curious about the pair having touched contracts with Jinghua and Ji University, especially curious about Li Zheng, who had participated in Chem Competitions and experienced the "prestigious university signing feast" after competing. They ca to gather information and prepare for their own future experiences.
However, Li Zheng’s answers were bound to disappoint them.
"Just do well in the exams, and everything will follow," Li Zheng said with a nod, sipping on his dumpling.
"Bro, that’s no fun to talk about..." the boy from the No. 2 Middle School asked while slurping his beef noodle soup, "Isn’t there any practical information you can share? Like how to attract the attention of the teachers who offer contracts?"
"Hmm..." Li Zheng put down his chopsticks and thought carefully before ultimately shaking his head regretfully, "Don’t know... I just took the exams normally... Teachers from Jinghua and Ji University all ca to , and many from other schools too. Our chemistry teacher blocked most of them for ."
"..."
The girl from No. 2 Middle School leaned over Lin Yujing and asked, "So, Brother Zheng, how many points did you actually get in the physics retest?"
"Cough..." Lin Yujing coughed softly from between them.
"What’s wrong, Sister Jingjing?"
"Nothing... just call Lin Yujing..." Lin Yujing said reluctantly, sipping her wonton soup.
"Haha, we’re both young, having skipped a grade in elentary school," the girl asked again, "Brother Zheng, your retest score?"
"Let’s not talk about it," Li Zheng waved his hand dismissively, "I didn’t do well, really didn’t."
Here, "didn’t do well" was not an attempt to show off.
After all, he really hadn’t done well in the experint, scoring only about 20 points.
Even if he broke 300 in the theory part, what of it?
Such results were truly not sothing he was proud to discuss.
But the less proud he was, the happier the others beca.
Qi Yingnan waved from afar, "I know, Li Zheng got 327, second place in the whole city."
"That’s pretty good," the girl from No. 2 Middle School sighed, "I only got 275."
The boy nodded in agreent, "I got just 290, Jijing’s physics is strong..."
"Don’t say that," Li Zheng started feeling uncomfortable all over, how could it be as low as 327... it was all screwed up in the experint.
But if he talked about the theory score alone, it would seem petty, like he was showing off intentionally.
He simply turned his head and nudged Lin Yujing with his mouth, "She got 379."
"!!!!!"
The two local students froze on the spot.
First, they looked around in disbelief.
After seeing others nodding in affirmation, they then turned to Lin Yujing.
At that mont, their expressions resembled those of mohawked punks protecting Athena.
Lin Yujing herself was quite embarrassed, "I didn’t do well on the theory part... really didn’t..."
After saying so, she dove into her bowl to drink the soup, avoiding everyone’s gaze.
```
"It should be third in the country," the boy said to the girl.
"Hmm... probably the strongest girl," the girl nodded repeatedly.
Such a conversation made both Li Zheng and Lin Yujing shiver.
Although Li Zheng had long understood that there’s always soone better out there.
But to have studied physics to such a monstrous extent.
He should be nigh unbeatable.
Moreover, a score of 379 in the preliminary competition, would have almost certainly been first place in any previous year, usually leading the second place by dozens of points.
"Third???" Qi Yingnan beca anxious again, "You kidding , bro? The genius is only third???"
"This..." The boy from No. 2 Middle School looked sowhat embarrassedly at the girl.
The girl also glanced at the boy.
It seed there was so unspoken difficulty.
After pondering for a mont, Li Zheng imprudently asked, "The ones ahead wouldn’t happen to be Huang Lingqi, would they?"
"Not him, he scored around 350 in the prelims..." the boy shook his head, "And their competition region... is pretty much under their control, who knows how he really did."
"So who exactly is it? Just say it," Li Zheng put down the stead bun basket, "Such a powerhouse, after the test, I’ll go make their acquaintance."
"Powerful?" The boy grinned, "Not necessarily so."
"This matter... it’s a bit difficult to say outright," the girl also smirked bitterly with a playful expression, "We don’t want to speak ill of others behind their backs."
"Well, it’s not really speaking ill, just stating an objective fact," the boy looked around, making sure there were no familiar faces, then spoke in a not so loud voice, "I’m just stating facts, you guys draw your own conclusions."
"Our province has always been strong in the Physic Competition, with 25—30 spots for the finals."
"Huihu Middle School, the number of people who made it to the provincial team the year before last was 1."
"Last year it was 7."
"This year it’s 15."
"This year, their preliminary competition scores are extrely terrifying; two people scored over 380."
"Six people scored over 350."
"Basically sweeping our province’s top ten."
"At the sa ti, Huihu Middle School is this year’s finals host."
"That’s all I know, everything else is rumors and hearsay," he continued, "After all, becoming this strong so suddenly, many of our province’s well-established schools are resentful, inevitably spreading much hearsay—of which the truth and falsity are unknown, so don’t take it too seriously."
The atmosphere suddenly turned cold.
After a long while, Qi Yingnan trembled, "Leaked test questions?"
"Don’t talk nonsense," the boy from No. 2 Middle School quickly raised his hand and then finished his beef noodles in one gulp, "I believe that their rapid improvent is legit."
"I believe it too," the girl wiped her mouth as well, "But such a sudden rise will definitely cause resentnt, like how our school usually had seven or eight people getting first in the province, and four or five making the provincial team, but this year it’s just the two of us. The others might feel aggrieved and start saying this and that."
While they were talking, Li Zheng’s phone rang; Tao Feifei was calling them to hurry back, it was ti to get on the bus.
Afterward, no one ntioned the topic again, they all properly thanked the two seniors from No. 2 Middle School, and exchanged contact information.
It wasn’t until the bus set off that Lin Yujing suddenly pinched Li Zheng’s arm.
"I’m not even first, you better fight for so spirit, loser."
"Mm," Li Zheng rubbed his arm and nodded seriously.
After many days, he finally experienced a hint of crisis.
Sowhat trembling, sowhat sweating.
After all, the greatest distance in the world.
Is you going to IPHO, and to APHO.
(In the physics competition, the national team selects the top 5 to compete in the International Physics Olympiad (IPHO))
(Places 6-13 compete in the Asian Physics Olympiad (APHO))
```
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