I was a top student in America.

After hearing Green's words and being met with the gazes of the entire class, Li Ao finally realized: Green had probably obtained the ICTM report card in advance.

However, his face remained expressionless. It wasn't that he was deliberately trying to appear profound; it was mainly because a perfect score was already within his expectations, and he didn't feel particularly surprised.

Green on the podium stared intently at Li Ao, his eyes filled with undisguised satisfaction.

Although he was just an auditor from another school, he was still one of the soldiers I had trained.

He didn't rush to let Li Ao return to his seat, but cleared his throat and continued to announce: "In this exam, there were only three perfect scores in the entire state, and Leo is one of them."

As soon as he finished speaking, a buzzing sound erupted from below.

Combined with the earlier incident where Li Ao pointed out Matthew's mistakes in the steps, the atmosphere in the classroom became even more subtle.

"Did you hear that? A perfect score! He said Matthew missed two steps, so he definitely did miss them."

"Yeah, who was it that just now confidently said that it was impossible for someone to make a mistake?"

"Nonsense, Matthew is human too. Didn't he get a lower total score than Leo this time?"

"That's outrageous. To get a perfect score in a place like the South District by self-study, this guy must be a freak."

……

Green always uses Matthew as a benchmark to criticize everyone, and those present are all top students from prestigious schools in the North District. Even if they don't say it outright, who doesn't have a rebellious streak in private?

Now, a student from the South District has suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He has no conflict of interest with everyone, but he has managed to dethrone the seemingly unshakeable "number one".

Amidst the shock, many people secretly felt a sense of satisfaction at seeing the "villainous overlord fall from grace."

Jimmy, beaming with excitement, winked at Sam in a low voice, "Well done, Sam! You were right! Leo was absolutely right!"

Sam didn't reply, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up in a smile.

Just now, she went back and worked out the logic Li Ao had pointed out, and sure enough, she found the omission in Matthew's two-step algebraic merging.

Given his ability to spot flaws in the steps at a glance, it's no surprise he got a perfect score.

Amidst a chorus of praise, Ryan stared at Li Ao's back as he stood beside the podium, his face a tapestry of expressions that was truly fascinating.

He crumpled the notebook of incorrect answers in his hand, still finding it absurd: "This is unbelievable! The bell rang and he was still scribbling on the paper. How could he possibly get a perfect score?"

Li Ao had no time to notice the undercurrents below the stage. Just as he was about to step back to his seat, Green called him back.

"Perfect timing, Leo. I heard that the last plane geometry question in the morning session stumped a lot of people; very few people in the whole state got a perfect score. I haven't received the exam paper yet, so why don't you just review it for everyone on the blackboard?"

Li Ao stopped and hesitated for a moment: "Professor Green, I used two different solutions to this problem in the exam. Should I explain both of them?"

Green was taken aback: "What? Two solutions?"

"Hmm, this question is interesting." Li Ao nodded. "Since I was bored after finishing the exam, I just wrote down one more answer."

Hearing this somewhat arrogant reply, Green was not offended at all; instead, his eyes lit up.

Students who truly love mathematics will not be satisfied with simply solving a problem correctly and then stop.

For top students aiming for the USAMO (United States Mathematical Olympiad) or even the IMO (International Mathematical Olympiad), finding multiple solutions to a problem is key to breaking through their limitations.

But in all the years he's taught competition classes, the number of students who still have the time and energy to work on multiple solutions to a single problem under the high pressure of an exam can be counted on one hand.

"We have plenty of time today, so you can talk about both." Green waved his hand and readily gave up the center of the podium.

Li Ao turned around in response, picked up half a piece of chalk from the chalk box, and wrote on the blackboard without thinking.

Chalk dust fell in a flurry, followed by a dense rustling sound of chalk tips from the audience.

Everyone focused intently on taking notes.

No one noticed that Ryan's expression was starting to look rather uncomfortable.

"It turns out he didn't fail to finish answering that day; he was actually writing down a second solution..."

He muttered something to himself, his doubts were resolved, but he had a strange feeling about it.

His previous score of 289 points, which had made him very proud, paled in comparison to the perfect score of 320 points that swept the entire state, and even seemed particularly ironic.

Especially when I think about how just a few minutes ago I was making sarcastic remarks to Jimmy and Sam, asserting that they "didn't finish writing."

They've really lost all face.

However, Ruian was a top student in the North District, with a strong mental fortitude, and quickly calmed down:

"AMC12 is the main battleground. There's still over a month left, and with my skills, I might not be able to catch up with him."

He took a deep breath, opened his notebook of incorrect answers, and stared at the blackboard as he quickly wrote down the mistakes.

Li Ao's hands kept moving in front of the blackboard.

He first quickly wrote down the analytical method that coincided with Matthew's, and then drew a diagram freehand next to it, giving a brilliant pure geometric approach.

Staring at the intricate auxiliary lines on the blackboard, some students couldn't help but whisper among themselves:

"How did he even figure out those auxiliary lines?"

"How could he come up with two such complex solutions in such a short time during the exam?"

"...Incredible. They got 320, that's because the test only had 320 points."

On one side of the podium, Green couldn't suppress the smile on his face.

Taking advantage of the moment when Li Ao was focused on writing on the blackboard, he cleared his throat and announced:

"On a side note, the school board has just decided that this year's Carbaner Scholarship will be awarded directly to the student who performs best in this year's state competition."

As soon as he finished speaking, several pairs of eyes in the classroom instinctively drifted toward Ryan.

After all, he had the highest score among Whitney Young High School's students this time.

Noticing the gazes around him, Ryan unconsciously straightened his back, an uncontrollable surge of elation rising in his eyes.

That's the Carbaner Scholarship!

One of the highest honors at Whitney Young High School, with only three places awarded each year.

Although the prize money is not much, as long as it can be filled in on a university application form, it is definitely a valuable asset for getting in.

The alumni who won the award in previous years have almost all gone on to attend Ivy League schools or top ten universities in the United States.

Just as Ryan was almost finished rehearsing his acceptance speech in his head, Green calmly uttered the second half of his sentence:

"Therefore, the school has decided to award this scholarship to Leo."

The classroom was silent for two seconds, then erupted in uproar.

Several students from the school looked at each other in astonishment.

Why award our school's traditional scholarship to a student from another school in the South Campus?

Whitney Young High School has never set such an outrageous precedent since its founding!

Jimmy, Sam, and the others looked up abruptly, all staring intently at the figure standing in front of the blackboard.

Green raised his hand and pressed it down, waiting for the murmurs to subside before dropping the real bombshell:

"Given Leo's outstanding performance, the Board of Trustees has decided to offer him a transfer spot with full tuition waiver, along with a Carbaner Scholarship and an interest-free student loan for living expenses."

In fact, just last night, when Green first saw that perfect score, he was also stunned.

How did a poor kid from the South District, who had only been exposed to competition problems for less than two months, manage to win first place in the entire state?

His first reaction was that the grades were wrong, so he immediately picked up his phone and called several familiar faces in the grading team to verify.

When the results were finally confirmed to be correct, he was utterly shocked.

He had seen how hard Li Ao had been working lately, but this speed of progress could not be explained simply by "diligence".

This is pure monstrous talent.

It's a pity that this gem was buried in the quagmire of Wyndham High School, without even a decent mentor.

Even at such a critical juncture as 11th grade, he still had to rely on odd jobs to make ends meet.

If we could recruit him and train him personally, he would definitely be a promising talent capable of making it all the way to USAMO and even challenging for IMO!

The thought that he might have a future key player for the United States national team in his hands kept Green so excited that he couldn't sleep most of the night.

He called the principal and several board members overnight, patted his chest and made a solemn pledge, which finally secured this exceptional scholarship and transfer opportunity for Li Ao.

……