From child prodigy to chief scientist

The day before the children's class exam, Xu Lang and Yu Guilan took Xu Xiao to Shengjing.

Because the exam starts quite early, even though the steel city is very close to Shengjing, it will still be very rushed to get there on the same day.

They found a hotel near the exam venue, just a few minutes' walk away.

The next morning at seven o'clock, the three of them arrived at the gate of Yucai North Campus.

By this time, hundreds of children had gathered at the entrance, and each child was accompanied by their parents.

While waiting to enter the examination room, Yu Guilan chatted with another parent next to her.

"Oh, you guys are here to take the entrance exam for the children's class too, right?"

"Yes, which school does your child attend?"

"Gangdu Elementary School, what about you?"

"Gangdu Elementary School? Does Shengjing have such an elementary school?"

"We're not from Shengjing, we came from the Steel City."

Upon learning that Xu Xiao came from the steel city, the parent paused for a moment.

Compared to Shengjing, the education level in Gangcheng is much lower, and the average ability of students is significantly worse.

"Oh, we're from the Provincial Experimental Primary School."

"Provincial Experimental Primary School? Then there's no need to go to Yucai Primary School, right?"

Both the Provincial Experimental School and Yucai School are the top-tier education groups in the province, and both have very comprehensive education systems.

Even if we had to make a comparison, the Provincial Experimental School is definitely not inferior to Yucai School.

"That's true, but the Provincial Experimental School doesn't have a children's class. If you can get into the Yucai Children's Class, it's definitely better to study at Yucai."

According to the teaching plan of Yucai Junior Class, students will start learning junior high school courses directly after enrollment, and can generally take the college entrance examination within five years.

They are all fourth or fifth grade students, which means they can take the college entrance examination two to three years earlier than other students.

"Wow, there are so many students taking the exam for the children's class this time. I bet there are already several hundred students waiting."

"This is nothing. We're just one of the exam venues. There are probably two or three thousand students who have registered."

"I heard there are only sixty spots left. The competition is fierce."

"Yeah, I wonder if Jianfeng will be able to pass the exam. He only got second prize in the previous Hua Cup competition. Hey, what were your kids' results in the Hua Cup?"

Upon hearing the other party mention the words "Hua Cup", Yu Guilan was speechless.

The Hua Cup, also known as the "Hua Luogeng Gold Cup Youth Mathematics Invitational Tournament," is considered the most challenging mathematics competition for primary school students in my country.

For these students taking the Yucai Children's Class exam, having participated in the Hua Cup competition is a very common thing.

Xu Xiao had never participated in any competitions before, and his family had never even considered such a thing.

Left with no other choice, Yu Guilan had to answer truthfully.

The parents were quite surprised to hear that Xu Xiao hadn't even participated in the Hua Cup competition.

It's worth noting that getting into the Yucai Junior Class is even more difficult than winning an award in the Hua Cup competition.

They had been preparing for the Yucai Children's Class exam for two whole years, enrolling in three different training camps.

"I see... Actually, it's good to come and participate, at least it can broaden one's horizons."

"Yeah, we're just here to train a bit, we didn't have any high hopes."

Despite saying that, Yu Guilan still felt somewhat inferior.

She originally thought that her family already valued education quite a bit.

However, compared to these students from Shengjing, the gap between them was far too large.

Xu Xiao silently observed all of this, but said nothing.

Ultimately, everything depends on ability, and the results will reveal all.

At 7:30, the school gates finally opened.

"Dad, Mom, I'm going into the exam room."

"Okay, don't be nervous during the exam, just stay calm."

Xu Xiao was assigned to the seventh examination room. Following the signs, Xu Xiao successfully found her examination room.

The invigilator checked Xu Xiao's admission ticket and, after confirming that it was correct, let Xu Xiao in.

Not long after, a somewhat familiar figure walked in and sat down next to Xu Xiao.

It was the child of the parent who was just chatting with Yu Guilan.

The boy's name was Zhao Jianfeng. When he saw Xu Xiao, he nodded politely.

After a brief greeting, Zhao Jianfeng did not have any further interaction with Xu Xiao.

As one of the top students at the provincial experimental primary school, Zhao Jianfeng was determined to succeed in this exam.

Xu Xiao doesn't seem to have the ability to get into the junior class, so they probably won't have any further interaction.

As the exam was about to begin, the invigilators started distributing the exam papers.

"After you receive the exam paper, please check it for any missing parts. If everything is in order, you can write your name and exam number, but you cannot answer the questions yet..."

After writing their names and exam numbers, the candidates did not start writing the answers, but instead focused their attention on the questions on the exam paper.

Although the exam hasn't officially started yet, you can actually use this time to preview the questions.

Some particularly bright children can even solve the earlier questions by mental calculation, thus saving some exam time.

Zhao Jianfeng was one of them. In those few minutes, he had already mentally calculated the first two multiple-choice questions.

As soon as the bell rang to start the exam, Zhao Jianfeng quickly filled in the answers to the two questions.

This feeling of being ahead at the starting line greatly reduced Zhao Jianfeng's nervousness.

What he didn't notice was that Xu Xiao, who was standing next to him, had already finished the first four questions.

As the exams progressed, the students in the exam hall displayed different states of mind.

Most students seemed overwhelmed, as both the difficulty and the number of questions in the exam were too much for many.

Only a few students, like Zhao Jianfeng, who are exceptionally well-prepared, can handle the situation with relative ease.

Half an hour passed quietly.

Zhao Jianfeng has already completed the second math problem, which is considered very fast in the exam room.

Most students are only at the fill-in-the-blank questions so far, and some have even had to start working on other sections of the questions because the math problems are too difficult.

Just then, a student in the examination room suddenly stood up, took the exam paper, and walked towards the podium.

"Teacher, I want to hand in my paper."

Upon hearing this, the students couldn't help but look in the direction of the student, and even Zhao Jianfeng raised his head as well.

Upon seeing the student's face clearly, Zhao Jianfeng realized that he actually recognized the person.

It was Xu Xiao.