I was a top student in America.

Li Ao noticed someone sitting down next to him, turned around and saw it was Mr. Brown, and asked in surprise:

"Mr. Brown, what brings you here?"

"I came here specifically to thank you."

Brown exchanged a few pleasantries with a smile before getting straight to the point: "Thanks to your help in revising my application essays, my daughter received her acceptance letter to the UIUC Education program."

"She'll be participating in some programs before summer vacation. It just so happens that MOSP (American Mathematical Olympiad Summer Camp) is also being held at UIUC this year. When you attend the training camp, I'll introduce you two so you can look out for each other while you're in different places."

Back when he was helping to refine the application materials, Li Ao felt that with Brown's daughter's qualifications, being admitted was a sure thing, so he wasn't surprised.

Moreover, with the IFT tuition reduction policy that he helped find out as a safety net, Brown finally had the confidence to completely give up the idea of ​​sending his daughter to a regular university on a full scholarship.

Having a local acquaintance while attending an intensive summer camp in another city is a good thing.

Thinking of this, Li Ao politely replied, "Thank you for your trouble, Professor Brown."

Brown thanked him sincerely, then sighed and revealed some hidden information:

"Her family simply couldn't afford the tuition fees before, and she almost missed out on UIUC."

"Because of this, the child became very ill due to emotional distress and almost developed depression. Thanks to your help, not only was her wish fulfilled, but her emotional knot was also untied."

This was the first time Li Ao had heard these inside stories, and he was quite surprised. He calmly comforted Li Ao, saying:

"You flatter me. Ultimately, it's because your daughter is exceptionally talented. I was just casually mentioning this information."

Immediately afterwards, Brown pulled a thick envelope from inside his coat and handed it over, saying frankly:

"Here is a thousand dollars. It doesn't mean anything by it. The main thing is that the policy you provided saved our family tens of thousands of dollars. This is definitely not something that can be offset by the previous consultation fees. It's just a small token of my appreciation."

Li Ao knew Brown's temperament well, and refusing would seem pretentious, so he simply accepted the envelope and thanked him.

After saying goodbye, Li Ao set off alone for the examination venue more than 30 miles away.

……

4:30 PM.

The first day of USAMO exams is finally over.

Outside the examination hall, in the square, the candidates gathered in twos and threes, still immersed in excitement and anxiety, discussing the questions animatedly.

"I absolutely did exceptionally well today; I actually finished all three questions!"

"This has never happened when we practice with real exam questions."

"By the way, was your answer to the second question three-half?"

As Li Ao walked into the square, he heard a familiar voice and recognized it as Emma, ​​an acquaintance from the workshop. He immediately lowered his head and walked steadily toward the entrance of the examination hall.

This guy is a chatterbox, and he's been pestering his friend Sam to go on and on about his problem-solving process.

In a short while, he went over all three questions.

Sam was thoroughly annoyed. When he looked up and saw Li Ao, he grasped at the opportunity like a lifeline and immediately raised his hand and shouted:

"Hey, Leo! You're out too!"

Upon hearing that Sam had recognized him, and with no way to avoid it, Li Ao had no choice but to stop and turn around helplessly.

Emma looked over and bombarded him with questions: "Leo, you finished them all, right? Was the answer to the second question three-half?"

"Mine is π squared in sixths," Li Ao said truthfully.

Upon hearing this completely irrelevant answer, Emma's confident smile froze instantly, and she was visibly flustered.

"How could this be wrong..."

She muttered anxiously, not even bothering to say hello, and turned to run towards another group of acquaintances, eager to double-check everything.

Emma had barely left when Sam sidled up to Li Ao, nervously confirming:

"Leo, is the answer to the second question really π squared (sixths of a π)?"

Seeing her anxious and uncertain expression, Li Ao couldn't help but chuckle and asked in return:

"Didn't you write π squared (sixths) on your test paper?"

Sam nodded vigorously with a sigh of relief and explained:

"My calculations came back the same as yours! But Emma was so confident about it, which made me a little nervous. Now that I know you got the same result, I feel much more at ease."

Li Ao knew that Sam was not very confident when facing difficult competition problems. Even if she did the right thing, she was easily swayed by others' rhythm if there was any slight disturbance.

Especially her poor performance in the state competition a while ago was a big blow to her, and she became very anxious and insecure.

Thinking of this, Li Ao put away his joking expression and earnestly encouraged him:

"Be confident, you're actually very capable. See you at summer camp."

"Even you praised me, am I really that good? Well, look, I even got the second question, which was so difficult, right?"

Sam immediately jumped for joy, opened his arms and gave Li Ao a big hug. "Leo, thank you for encouraging me. I thought that problem should be π squared in sixths. I was so nervous."

As the two were talking, a greeting came from not far away:

"Sam, what's this about π squared in sixths? Are you talking about the second question?"

Li Ao and Sam turned their heads at the same time, following the sound.

Ryan immediately came into view, accompanied by a tall, red-haired beauty who was behaving intimately with him; she was probably his girlfriend.

"Ryan, you haven't left yet? Didn't your dad come to pick you up?"

Sam saw a familiar face and quickly went to greet him.

Li Ao also waved and greeted him.

Having studied together in the workshop for so long, and with Ryan even treating him to a meal last time, the slight awkwardness they felt when they first met had long since vanished.

Ryan pulled his girlfriend closer and continued:

"I've been waiting for you guys. I wanted to ask Leo how the test went. I also answered π squared (sixths) for the second question. For the third question, the sequence question, was your final answer n cubed plus twice n squared?"

"There's also a constant term, five-sevenths," Li Ao replied.

"A constant term?" Ryan was taken aback.

Upon hearing this, he was a little lost in thought, and only after thinking about it did he realize that he had indeed missed a step.

After all, given Li Ao's abilities, the answer he gave was basically standard.

Seeing his frustration, Li Ao chimed in to comfort him, "Mine might not be entirely correct either. Besides, calculating the constant term at the end is just a small step. Out of seven points, you might only lose one or two points at most, which won't affect the overall score. There's still the exam the next day."

These words revived Ryan's spirits:

"Yeah, it won't have much of an impact. By the way, Leo, you're definitely going to summer camp this time. You'll have to treat us to a meal then, right?"

"Absolutely, we have to fleece you and give you a good meal," Sam chimed in without hesitation.

……

A week passed in the blink of an eye.

The summer camp selection list, eagerly awaited by over 500 math competition participants across the United States, has finally been officially announced.

On Saturday morning at 10 a.m., almost all the contestants, accompanied by their parents, nervously sat in front of their computer screens, waiting for the final results and the list of finalists to be announced.

……