Top Student at Their Peak-Chapter 130 - 85: Predefined Objectives

In this light, it’s quite fortunate that Qiao Yu left first.

Lan Jie was really worried that if Qiao Yu were also on the bus when everyone talked about how difficult this year’s exam was, his expression might further weaken the already scarce confidence of these kids.

After all, he’s someone who walked out confident he could get a perfect score.

Apart from Zhang Luo, who has no chance left, everyone else can still participate once more next year, so it’s not the time to completely lose confidence yet.

...

The driver started the vehicle.

The atmosphere on the bus was somewhat gloomy, and a few people weren’t even discussing this year’s exam questions.

This made Lan Jie feel a bit worried. Even though Zhang Luo would have no further chance to participate in competitions, he would still need to study hard for another year after returning because the more important college entrance examination awaits him. Losing confidence completely at this time is not a good thing.

While considering how to cheer everyone up, the phone rang.

Lan Jie glanced at it, and it was Principal Zhang calling.

Calling at this time, Lan Jie naturally knew what the questions would be. After picking up, the first sentence indeed was: "Everyone has come out, right? How did the exam go this time?"

This was the first time Zhang Tiejun showed such concern for the school’s Olympic Competition results.

Every year the league is held on the second Sunday of September, and the next day is Monday. The principal could completely wait for a workday to understand the situation. In general, he never had any particularly exciting news to offer the principal.

In fact, for Railway First Middle School, offering competition classes wasn’t initially expected to yield much hope. It’s just that since everyone else had them, they couldn’t do without either. Even if the student quality couldn’t compare to other places, those with interest should still be given a chance.

You really can’t say Railway First Middle School lacks ambition. Just visit the Xingnan Mathematics Association, download a list of past Xingnan District publicized math Olympic Competition first and second prize winners, and you’ll understand.

At first glance in the school column, almost all are the names of the four top schools in Star City.

Occasionally interspersed among them are key high schools from counties and cities under Xingnan.

Even the relatively weaker one of the four top schools rarely appears on the list.

The third prize positions were where more schools began appearing. But many were still key high schools from counties and cities below, occasionally dotted with one or two ordinary colleges from Star City.

It can only be said that mathematics relies too much on talent.

Those with mathematical talent have basically been pre-enrolled by prestigious schools and are rarely found outside.

So there’s no doubt that although Principal Zhang asked about everyone’s results on the phone, he was actually only concerned about Qiao Yu.

Therefore, Lan Jie glanced at the situation on the bus and didn’t directly answer Principal Zhang’s question, but instead replied: "We are on the bus, let’s chat on WeChat."

"Oh, understood."

After finishing, the call was hung up from the other side. Lan Jie then opened WeChat and quickly edited a message.

"This year, other test-takers felt the preliminary exam questions were relatively difficult, and everyone’s mood is not very good. However, Qiao Yu feels the questions were very simple and has no problem entering the national competition."

"Oh, good! By the way, I remember the competition list is usually announced mid to late October, right?"

"Yes, but sometimes it gets pushed to early November. However, it will definitely be announced before the winter camp begins."

"Do you think it’s necessary to prepare a separate study room for Qiao Yu now?"

"Yes, since attending classes with the group has no meaning for him. Staying at home every day raises the worry that he might slack off. Preparing a separate study room is a good idea. Additionally, the study room should preferably have a computer and internet access. Many of the things he’s working on now require a computer."

"Understood, carry on."

...

Putting down his cell phone, Lan Jie clapped his hands and said, "Alright, everyone cheer up a bit! The preliminary exam questions were difficult this time, that’s the same for all candidates across the province. It’s possible the cutoff for provincial third place might be lower than in previous years. Let’s not rush into discouragement; keep your spirits up. frёeωebɳovel.com

I’ve always told you, in studying mathematics, don’t just think about how much you score in competitions. The most important thing is to spark an interest in mathematics. When you get to college, you’ll find out that the mathematics learned in high school is completely different from what you’ll study in college.

At that time, what allows you to keep going isn’t how many problems you can solve, but an interest that isn’t easily extinguished,

understand?"

...

On another bus heading in the direction opposite to Railway First Middle School, Shida Middle School’s Olympic Competition coach Li Xiaoyun was sitting in the last row, also discussing the competition questions with other students.

There was no way around it; too many students from the Affiliated Middle School participated in the math Olympic Competition. For this reason, the school specially chartered a bus with 56 seats to accommodate everyone.

With many people, the main coach in charge of the team couldn’t possibly attend to everyone.

The students crowded around Li Xiaoyun were the strongest top few from the regular competition class. Other students had other teachers supervising them.

Of course, unlike Railway First Middle School, the focus of the top students from the Affiliated Middle School’s discussions was still placed on the second exam.

After all, even if you can score full marks in the preliminary exam, the highest you can achieve is a provincial third level. To securely enter the national competition, being among the top 30 in the province is necessary; ultimately, it depends on the performance in the second exam.

Especially since Xingnan is a first-class competition province in mathematics, the advantage is that Xingnan Province gets allocated more national competition spots by the national mathematics society each year, but it also means that the competition among students is much more intense. Just like the college entrance examination, sometimes a tiny margin of a few points can determine whether you can enter the provincial team to participate in the national competition.