I was a top student in America.

That evening, after finishing the last chapter of exercises in ordinary differential equations, Li Ao packed his things and prepared to leave.

We've completed more than half of the exercises; at this pace, we'll be able to move on to the next area of ​​study in a few days.

This confirms his idea: after laying a solid foundation in mathematical analysis and real analysis, the subsequent learning of differential equations and complex analysis is indeed much smoother.

Perhaps before he goes to Annam with the national team to participate in the IMO, his intelligence stat will have already surpassed the threshold of 120.

Back in his dorm, Li Ao, carrying his laptop, pushed open the door to the common room and immediately sensed that something was off.

The people on the sofa and around the table all stared at him.

He asked, somewhat puzzled, "Why are you all looking at me like that?"

Kevin, who had been waiting for him, immediately sat up straight:

"That Emily, she's actually your girlfriend, right? I went to Granger Library to look for you this afternoon and saw you two sitting together, quite close to each other."

"I'm curious too," Michael chimed in.

Benjamin, who was next to him, didn't say anything, but he was clearly listening.

After hearing their words, Li Ao was speechless for a moment.

Seeing their mysterious demeanor, he assumed there were some new arrangements within the team.

But he didn't really have anything to hide, so he just said, "Didn't I already tell you? Emily and I are just ordinary friends. We met at the library today to help her review calculus. She's taking that course in the fall and is worried she won't be able to keep up when school starts."

Upon hearing this, Michael nodded with an expression that said, "I knew it."

"So it was just calculus practice. I knew it. Someone like Leo, who studies for twenty hours a day, wouldn't have time for dating."

After all, in American high schools, academic high-achievers are generally called nerds and are not popular figures who attract girls, so they are all still single.

To be honest, it's already hard enough to be provoked by Li Ao in the national team, but if he also overtakes me in my love life, it's really a bit overwhelming.

Daniel had long regarded Li Ao as an emotionless learning machine and didn't really believe that he would put his mind on romance now.

He followed Michael's words and said to Kevin:

"You're probably overthinking it."

When Kevin returned to the lounge in the afternoon, he specifically told everyone about this, hoping to form an alliance to get Li Ao to confess the truth.

Before they could even exchange a few words, this hastily formed alliance had already crumbled.

To prove he wasn't just imagining things, Kevin persisted, continuing his analysis:

"No, I still feel that the way that girl looked at you was a bit unusual. Even if you don't have any romantic feelings for her right now, she probably likes you quite a bit. Maybe you should..."

At this point, Kevin's voice grew softer and softer, and finally it stopped on its own.

The lounge fell silent for a moment.

Because he suddenly realized: if it were really as he said, then even a super nerd like Li Ao would have beautiful girls who like him.

Looking at myself, I'm not as hardworking as others, yet I'm still single. It's just too discouraging.

After figuring out the key point, Kevin decisively shut his mouth and silently shrank back into the sofa.

He secretly decided that next time he saw Li Ao and Emily hugging, he would pretend he hadn't seen anything.

After listening to Kevin's words, Li Ao sat down in the chair and stretched.

Strictly speaking, he and Emily did get along quite well.

Adding to the fact that they have a relationship with Mr. Brown, the two seem to be closer than just ordinary friends.

But right now he really has no other thoughts on his mind, and he can't spare the time.

"Think what you want."

He muttered something to himself, and seeing that there was still some time before bedtime, he simply opened his exercise book and continued working on the ordinary differential equation problems he hadn't finished in the library.

……

Although there was no unified training on the weekend, time always flew by when I was immersed in the problems.

As per previous years' schedule, the coaching team will maximize the training intensity during the last week before officially departing for the IMO.

The closer the match gets, the greater the anxiety within the team becomes.

According to team leader Miller, out of more than 500 participants in each IMO, only about 40 are gold medalists, a proportion of less than one-tenth.

Moreover, almost half of the contestants didn't even win a bronze medal.

The thought that they had prepared so diligently for so long, only to return empty-handed, would make anyone dare to slack off even a little.

Therefore, whenever a special lecture is scheduled, everyone arrives at the classroom early to eagerly discuss the exercises, afraid of missing any problem-solving techniques the professor might casually mention.

Monday, July 9th.

Before seven o'clock in the morning, Li Aochen ran back and woke up Kevin and the others, and the team's dormitory area began to liven up.

Everyone hurriedly washed up and went downstairs for breakfast. The first item on the agenda in the morning was a special algebra class, and no one dared to be late.

Instead, Li Ao sat at the table, packing his computer and books into his backpack, and said to Kevin beside him:

"By the way, Kevin, I'm skipping Professor Philip's special lecture this morning. You guys can have lunch together; don't wait for me."

His tone was calm, but Kevin suddenly turned around, his face full of shock: "You're going to skip Professor Philip's class?"

Even Michael and Daniel, who were tying their shoelaces, stopped what they were doing at the same time.

Michael couldn't help but advise:

"You should still attend Professor Philip's class. It's not summer camp now; even if you're progressing quickly, you can't skip it. Otherwise, both the professor and Mr. Miller will have complaints."

Kevin immediately chimed in:

"Professor Philip is so kind to you, and he even gave you a small project to do, so you shouldn't skip class."

"Indeed," Daniel nodded in agreement.

Seeing their reaction, Li Ao realized they had misunderstood and explained:

"The professor approved my exemption from the next few classes so I could focus on finishing my small research paper. If I have any questions, I can email him or go to his office."

The room fell silent immediately.

Kevin rolled his eyes: "I shouldn't have said that."

"Leo, don't talk so dramatically next time, okay?" Michael said with a hint of envy, trying his best to keep a straight face.

Daniel, however, seemed a bit curious and asked another question:

"Are you still coming for the plane geometry topic later?"

"I'll definitely go for plane geometry. It's just that Professor Philip's small project on discrete averaging of convex functions requires writing a program on a computer, and the lecture hall isn't convenient."

Li Ao recalled the email Philip had sent last night and answered truthfully.

Although he could skip the algebra course, he needed to derive the two-dimensional weighting part of the discrete average of convex functions on his own and write a program to help verify it.

The topic is quite challenging.

Sure enough, Michael and Kevin, who had just been looking on with envy, immediately changed their expressions to pity after hearing "programming" and "two-dimensional weights".

When they went downstairs for dinner, Michael even gave him an encouraging gesture.

"come on."

Despite the high level of difficulty, Li Ao wasn't too worried.

As long as it doesn't involve advanced mathematics that he hasn't yet encountered, he's confident in handling the analysis part alone.

Moreover, he is now more interested in computer programming than simply writing papers.

After studying for some time, he has roughly mastered the Wolfram language of Mathematica, and his intelligence stat on the panel has also improved.

It seems we're getting closer and closer to breaking through 120 points.

……