The Reincarnated Science Whiz

Chapter 23: Going Abroad

Back in seventh grade, Qin Yuanqing had finished all his winter break homework in one go. Tomorrow, his aunt and cousin would be visiting their parents’ home, so he knew he wouldn’t be able to do his homework then. On the evening of the first day of the Lunar New Year, there was a reunion with his middle school classmates. Though called a reunion, it was really just a gathering of about ten classmates he’d been close with back then. They didn’t go to a hotel—they met at a classmate’s house in the neighboring village. Everyone hung out until nine o’clock, then made plans to go to a KTV to sing. Qin Yuanqing was tone-deaf, so he tactfully stayed away from the microphone, content to drink some alcohol and munch on sunflower seeds. A few girls took over the mic, singing either songs by Fish Leong or Jay Chou, while the boys mostly sang songs by Ren Xianqi. “Little Qi” was a super star in the eyes of their generation—even if they went to a KTV ten years from now, his songs would still be must-haves. We parted ways around midnight and headed home. Reunions from our school days were just that simple—no need to book hotel rooms in advance, no dramatic stories, just plain and pure. As Qin Yuanqing passed by a villa, his expression suddenly grew complex. He sighed deeply after a long moment, then revved the motorcycle’s throttle and sped past. Some things, once gone, are gone for good—they can only become memories, not part of the present. Whether in a past life or this one, there are always regrets. Perhaps it is precisely these regrets that make life so fascinating. Looking at the whole world, who dares to proclaim aloud that they’re a “winner in life” with absolutely no regrets? The Ninth Day of the First Lunar Month, when people pay homage to the Heavenly Emperor, marked the end of the Spring Festival festivities. Qin Yuanqing took a private car back to school. Registration for the first and second years of high school didn’t begin until the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, but the seniors weren’t so lucky—registration started on the tenth day of the first lunar month. They registered in the morning and did a thorough cleaning in the afternoon. In reality, Qin Yuanqing would only be at school for a few days. On February 26, he would head back to Beijing for his third—and final—training camp, which would end on March 13. Then, led by their team leader, they would fly to Germany. This year’s IMO is being held in Germany. They will travel across half of the Earth to compete on the world stage and bring honor to their country. As for the school, they’ve been giving him the green light all along—it doesn’t even matter if he doesn’t come to class right now. Starting on February 5, 2009—the eleventh day of the first lunar month—all senior high students, whether in the humanities or sciences tracks, began their first round of review focused entirely on the college entrance exam, with the intensity of their studies significantly higher than in the previous semester. Since the math and physics teachers were on leave due to surgery, Qin Yuanqing accepted the school’s request to temporarily serve as a lecturer for those subjects. Whether they were classmates from his own class or neighboring classes, the students not only had no objections but welcomed him with enthusiastic applause at the start of every class. Qin Yuanqing hadn’t prepared any lesson plans. He simply took the key exam topics, made a copy for each student, and then lectured from start to finish, incorporating practice problems and past college entrance exam questions—sometimes even including explanations of this year’s actual exam questions. Worried about being discovered and “sliced up,” Qin Yuanqing kept his actions very discreet. Whether it’s math or physics, there are actually many similarities during high school; the saying that “math, physics, and chemistry are inseparable” isn’t just empty talk. If you can master math, you can master physics; if you can master physics, you can master math. If you excel in one but struggle with the other, it means you haven’t grasped the underlying connections. When explaining problems, Qin Yuanqing would sometimes solve physics problems using mathematical reasoning or tackle math problems with physics-based methods. For example, waves or motion are subjects of study in physics, but they can also be explained just as well through mathematics. Take the motion of celestial bodies, for instance—it is essentially the motion of a circle, with a point moving along an arc, and this explanation holds true as well. Before he knew it, by the time Qin Yuanqing stepped down from his position as a lecturer on February 25, he had already helped two classes complete their first round of math and physics review. Just as Qin Yuanqing was about to set off for Beijing, Principal Fang handed him an envelope, saying it was his compensation for serving as a lecturer during that period—and that refusal was not an option. Qin Yuanqing had no choice but to accept it; when he got home and checked, he found it contained about five thousand yuan. This shows just how difficult a teacher’s life is—the actual take-home pay is really quite meager. It was just like that time when the “Old Prankster” told them that he was about to retire—even as a Senior Lecturer, with his years of service, qualifications, and professional title all factored in—his take-home pay was just over six thousand but less than seven thousand a month. They didn’t believe him at the time, assuming every teacher earned over ten thousand. Now I realize that the claim that teachers typically earn around 3,000 yuan a month isn’t a myth—it’s the truth! On February 26, Qin Yuanqing arrived in Beijing, joined up with the team members, and began their third training camp. During this training camp, the coach taught more advanced material—much of which was completely new to them. Algebra, geometry, and other subjects had essentially gone beyond high school-level mathematics. For example, an algebra teacher posed a problem that required the application of the generalized Green’s theorem—a problem that even many seniors in college wouldn’t be able to solve. Moreover, unlike the previous two training sessions, this one featured lectures during the day and daily routine tests in the evening. These tests were full-fledged exams; after each day’s training session, every team member took a test worth a maximum of 100 points. The intensity of the third training camp was significantly higher than that of the first and second camps; naturally, their meals were also a significant step up. Qin Yuanqing had consistently scored perfect marks, but on the 10th day’s exam, he finally made a mistake and lost 5 points; however, he still maintained a commanding lead in the overall standings. The exams in the final few days began to closely resemble IMO test papers—even the point values were identical. Qin Yuanqing scored a perfect 42 points consecutively, sweeping through the competition like a wolf among sheep. The coach, who had previously been fierce and cold-hearted, suddenly changed his demeanor, becoming warm and gentle. Even when a student made a mistake, he no longer berated them mercilessly as he had before. The other students’ scores also improved significantly, and scoring a perfect 42 points became the norm. On March 13, a delegation of more than a dozen members from the Huaxia Math Olympiad Team boarded an aircraft for Germany. Qin Yuanqing and the others were all fired up with fighting spirit. The team leader had already told them before departure that the stage ahead belonged to them—whether they would bring glory to the nation or bring shame upon it was entirely up to them. Germany, a city in northern Germany, will host this year’s International Mathematical Olympiad. As the competition date drew nearer, teams from more than 100 countries around the world began arriving in Bremen. The Huaxia Math Olympiad Team arrived in Bremen early specifically to allow everyone to adjust to the time difference and acclimate to the environment. The Germany organizers arranged for the Huaxia Math Olympiad Team to stay at a hotel near the venue, not far from the home stadium of Werder Bremen. Werder Bremen is a powerhouse in German soccer, enjoying immense local fame and a massive fan base. However, Qin Yuanqing has no interest in soccer; he has never played the sport nor watched many soccer matches. The team leader, assistant team leader, coach, interpreter, support staff, and six team members were all very satisfied with the accommodations arranged by the organizers. Although not luxurious, the hotel was quiet and clean, and it was only a few hundred meters from the IMO competition venue—just a few minutes’ walk away. Qin Yuanqing and Shen Yi shared a room; perhaps because of their youth, they didn’t have much trouble adjusting to the time difference. “Qin Yuanqing, let’s go out and have some fun. It’s such a rare chance to visit Germany—it’d be a real shame to just stay cooped up in the hotel!” Shen Yi said. Qin Yuanqing thought about it—he had a point. Whether in his past life or this one, this was his first time traveling abroad. Plus, he’d seen news reports about how beautiful Germany was; it would be a shame not to go out and explore. After stowing their luggage and getting permission from the tour leader, the two set out to explore together. Of course, being in an unfamiliar place, they didn’t dare venture too far; they just wandered around the hotel vicinity, staying within a kilometer or two. Perhaps because the International Mathematical Olympiad was being held—and this year happened to mark the 50th anniversary, with celebrations underway—the streets were filled with white people, Black people, and Asian people. Qin Yuanqing and Shen Yi walked into a store and took a look around. Red wine and beer were relatively cheap, but toothpaste and other personal care items were painfully expensive—several times more than back home. What’s more, the vast majority of the merchandise was labeled “Made in China”! Shen Yi came from a well-off family and had exchanged quite a bit of euros before leaving the country. Instead of buying daily necessities, he purchased watches, cosmetics, and jewelry, spending 30,000 euros in less than an hour—which left Qin Yuanqing marveling at just how extravagant he was. Such a life of reckless extravagance is something ordinary people wouldn’t even dare to imagine. Qin Yuanqing, on the other hand, spent just 50 euros on a fountain pen. The same model back home would cost at least a thousand—and if the seller were a bit more greedy, 2,000 would be perfectly normal. “Not bad, Qin Yuanqing. I didn’t realize your English was so fluent—you speak it much better than I do!” Shen Yi was quite surprised. At first, he’d been doing most of the talking, and Shen Yi had assumed Qin Yuanqing wasn’t very good at English. But later, when Qin Yuanqing bought the fountain pen, his incredibly fluent English left Shen Yi speechless. “It’s nothing special—I only scored 150 on the exam!” Qin Yuanqing said modestly. Shen Yi immediately rolled his eyes. Was this blatant bragging? Everyone knows the maximum score for English is 150—and here he was claiming he’d only scored 150. Feeling as if he’d been hit hard, he dragged Qin Yuanqing along, insisting that Qin Yuanqing treat him to some sweets. After wandering the streets for most of the day, Qin Yuanqing noticed a very interesting phenomenon: these foreigners were absolutely terrible at math. Even simple addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division within 40—without a calculator—were a complete mess. You have to understand that this is simply unthinkable in Huaxia—even first- and second-graders there start memorizing the four basic arithmetic operations and their multiplication tables. Even those who’ve never attended school, like vegetable vendors, are very good at mental math. However, this gives rise to another fascinating phenomenon: while the general population is poor at math, the country has produced many great mathematicians—and the world’s top mathematicians are almost exclusively from Europe and America. The disparity is extreme. Take the Fields Medalist, Faltings from Germany, for example—he is one of the world’s top mathematicians. He proved the Modler Conjecture in number theory using methods from algebraic geometry, causing a sensation. Among the world’s greatest mathematicians today, Faltings would certainly rank within the top ten.