From child prodigy to chief scientist

"It really is that child! How did he manage to get such a high score?"

"I've prepared for so long, but I can't even pass a child's test."

"Are you sure you're not mistaken? He looks only eleven or twelve years old, right?"

He Muzhou also looked at Xu Xiao with great interest, but unlike the others, he did not feel a strong sense of frustration.

No matter how unexpected Xu Xiao's performance was, at least it did not pose a threat to He Muzhou.

But upon learning this, Luo Yushen's brows furrowed even more deeply than before.

He felt that if it weren't for Xu Xiao, he might have gotten the last spot in the competition.

In his indignation, Luo Yushen continued:

"Teacher Qian, Xu Xiao shouldn't be a high school student, right? And he hasn't participated in the training camp before, so why is he qualified to take the selection exam?"

Seeing Luo Yushen like this, Xu Xiao didn't know what to say for a moment.

Actually, he could somewhat understand Luo Yushen's feelings. He did feel like an outsider who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, which had affected others to some extent.

Despite this, he didn't think there was anything wrong with him coming to participate in the selection exam, and he certainly wouldn't give up the spot because of it.

He earned this opportunity himself, and everyone competed fairly with each other.

Xu Xiaoke has even bigger and more ambitious goals for the future, so she naturally won't be modest about such things.

Just as Xu Xiao was about to refute Luo Yushen, Qian Feng spoke first:

"Who says students in the junior class aren't eligible to take the selection exam? As long as they haven't graduated from high school or are over the age limit, they can apply."

"Furthermore, our training camp is only to help everyone better prepare for the competition, and it is not linked to the eligibility for registration."

"If you attribute your failure to get a spot to an eleven-year-old child, do you think that reason holds water?"

When he said these words, Qian Feng was actually very angry, but he was trying his best to suppress his emotions.

What he didn't say directly was that even if Xu Xiao hadn't participated in the selection exam, and there had been an extra spot, it wouldn't have been Luo Yushen's turn anyway.

Hearing Qian Feng's words, Luo Yushen wanted to argue further, but in the end, he lowered his head in shame.

He knew in his heart that with his level, even if he were given a spot, he probably wouldn't achieve anything worthwhile.

The reason he just turned his attention to Xu Xiao was more of a loss of composure due to an emotional breakdown.

After Luo Yushen calmed down, he realized just how ridiculous his behavior had been.

"I'm sorry... Teacher Qian, I shouldn't have said that. Xu Xiao, I apologize..."

Xu Xiao didn't take the matter too seriously, but she still felt warm inside that Qian Feng was so determined to speak up for her.

Although he hadn't participated in much of the training camp before, Qian Feng was still able to treat everyone equally.

Seeing this scene, some students also felt somewhat guilty.

In fact, there are quite a few students who share similar thoughts with Luo Yushen, but they just haven't said it out loud.

But now that I think about it, the fact that they couldn't even pass an eleven-year-old child's test is what they should really reflect on.

After the meeting, Qian Feng specifically sought out Xu Xiao.

"Xu Xiao, don't take Luo Yushen's words to heart. He did lose control of his emotions a bit. You're perfectly capable of participating in the math competition league. Just focus on your exam preparation from now on."

Qian Feng's eyes were full of admiration when he looked at Xu Xiao.

Xu Xiao's mathematical talent is indeed extremely rare. He was able to achieve such a score with almost no preparation. It is no exaggeration to call him a mathematical genius.

Even if Xu Xiao doesn't achieve outstanding results in this league, he still has a good chance of winning the national scholarship next year, or even entering the national training team and securing a guaranteed admission to Tsinghua University.

"Thank you, Teacher Qian. I will continue to work hard."

As Xu Xiao came out of the math competition training room, she happened to see Yang Dun coming out of the classroom next door.

"Xu Xiao, I've qualified for the physics competition, you..."

Yang Dun was about to ask Xu Xiao about the situation, but remembering that Xu Xiao's exam results were not ideal, he quickly swallowed his words.

"Hehe, I passed the math selection exam too."

Upon hearing this news, Yang Dun immediately smiled happily.

"That's great! I was worried you wouldn't get in. You got a spot even though you didn't study much. Xu Xiao, you're amazing!"

"I didn't expect this either. I was planning to focus on preparing for the college entrance exam, but it looks like I'll be busy again."

"I feel you can focus your energy on the competition first. If you can make it into the national training team, you won't have to take the college entrance exam again."

Upon hearing Yang Dun's hypothesis, Xu Xiao smiled helplessly.

If you can get into the national training team for the five major high school subject leagues, you can be directly admitted to Tsinghua University or Yenching University.

However, such spots are extremely rare; in the national team competition, there are only sixty spots available nationwide.

Liaoning Province is not a strong province in competitive sports, and it may not even produce one student who makes it into the national training team each year.

Of course, being able to imagine such a scenario is still a very happy thing.

"Hey, tell me... if we both get accepted into Tsinghua University or Peking University through the guaranteed admission program, should we choose Tsinghua or Peking University?" Yang Dun asked.

"Hmm... that's quite a tricky problem. Tsinghua University is indeed good, but Peking University isn't bad either."

Thinking about the scenario of being sought after by these two universities in the future, Xu Xiao felt that this was indeed a happy trouble.

"I feel that if I were to study physics, Yenching University would be a better fit. Xu Xiao, what major do you want to study after you go to university? Is it mathematics?"

"I haven't thought about that yet, but I think I can study anything as long as I don't study computers."

Xu Xiao certainly didn't want to relive his past life's experiences, even though computer science was his absolute strength; studying that major again would only bring him immense pain.

"Really? You're so good at math, studying computer science would be a good fit for you too. But choosing math is also a good idea, so we can go to Peking University together in the future."

For science and technology majors, Yenching University is second to none in China, and even Tsinghua University lags behind in some aspects.

"Okay, let's set a goal: whether through competitions or the college entrance exam, we all want to get into Peking University!"