Chapter Seventy-Five: The Top Scholar

After countless reminders and cautions, the family finally released their grip and let Wu Tong enter.

After a month, the fervor brought by Wu Tong had already faded. She was not a star constantly in the limelight, and with a baseball cap covering most of her face, no one recognized her along the way.

In less than half a year, Wu Tong had been in and out of the Capital International Airport several times—she was thoroughly familiar with it by now. Upon leaving the airport, she hailed a taxi straight to Shangjing University, entered the campus with her pass, and smoothly reached her dormitory. She had specifically requested it this time, and only then did Teacher Li agree not to pick her up.

June 10th, the training classroom.

“God Wu, we’re reunited again! How did the college entrance exam feel? I heard the national exam paper this year was pretty tough!” Nie Peng from Ji Province asked Wu Tong curiously.

These students were all admitted directly and didn’t need to take the college entrance exam anymore. Ji Province and Central Plains were both major provinces for the exam, but Central Plains always had the highest number of candidates and the competition was particularly intense. For someone at Wu Tong’s level to go back and take the exam was truly admirable!

He had secretly gotten hold of the exam papers himself—except for math, he barely felt confident. The rest were mostly a blur. The others had tried as well, with similar results.

The exam papers taught them the true meaning of fierce competition!

“It was fine, the knowledge points were quite comprehensive,” Wu Tong replied.

The coverage was extensive and detailed, which meant it was very challenging, demanding high comprehensive ability and exam skills. The others had done well in reading comprehension—it was clear they’d been too reckless. Wu Tong truly lived up to her reputation!

After laughter and chatter, the teacher arrived, and a new round of training began. To ensure real progress—and since this batch of students was already strong—the difficulty of this round was noticeably increased from the start.

Watching Wu Tong, it became clear that the increased difficulty was only relative to them; for her, solving problems was as smooth as ever, without a single pause. If there were a brain-speed converter, her speed would be even more striking—she could solve problems in minutes!

No, they couldn’t bear to watch anymore; their resolve was wavering! The training teacher on stage felt the same—no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t keep up with this extraordinary student. Well, they would readily admit defeat and leave the stage to these young talents!

And so, Wu Tong became the main lecturer in the training session.

Having been called up unexpectedly just to explain problems, Wu Tong wasn’t fazed at all. She showcased her ability to bridge concepts, explaining things thoroughly yet simply. The students below were full of praise—she really understood them and explained as meticulously as when she taught them individually.

Meals, study, sleep—the final sprint days were intense. No one relaxed; every day they marched out with fighting spirit and returned exhausted. Years later, recalling this period, Guo Jiachen and the others still felt it was the purest time when their hearts had room for nothing but study.

Indeed, Wu Tong’s inspiration was their perpetual motion machine.

When one is utterly focused, time passes unnoticed.

As for the Twin Prime Conjecture, Wu Tong had made significant progress, but still hadn’t fully proved it—she was missing a flash of inspiration. Truly, it was a world-class challenge. Even with Wu Tong’s reasoning skills, and despite only working on it alongside her studies, after nearly half a year’s intermittent research, she still hadn’t conquered it.

Step-by-step learning and research would eventually bear fruit; Wu Tong wasn’t too anxious.

June 24th, the eve of the college entrance exam results announcement.

University admissions officers, through their channels, got wind of some inside news—a shocking, record-breaking top scorer had emerged from Central Plains Province! Upon asking the name, it was Wu Tong, as expected, and their hearts ached with regret.

Among them, Huaqing University was especially distraught—this year, the neighboring college would again have reason to celebrate. And likely for several years to come. Remembering the opportunity they once had to recruit Wu Tong, only to lose out by a narrow margin, they felt ill with regret!

A raw score of 750, perfect marks in all subjects—even the least likely, Chinese, was full marks. What did this mean? The competition bonus was completely unnecessary. This was an absolute record in the history of the college entrance exam, one that no one would ever break!

They knew Wu Tong’s admission to Jingda was settled and would not change, but who wouldn’t want to try anyway? When Li Yisheng got the inside news and entered the training classroom, his face was alight with excitement and his smile was uncontrollable. At that moment, Wu Tong’s phone began to ring repeatedly.

Wu Tong was explaining a problem. Guo Jiachen, fearing it might be urgent, answered and put it on speaker, only to hear a congratulatory message that shocked everyone: “Wu Tong, this is Teacher Feng from Huaqing Admissions Office—do you remember me? Congratulations! You broke the record with a perfect score of 750, becoming the top scorer in Central Plains, and the undisputed national champion!”

Full marks… The classroom fell silent, as if someone had pressed pause. Both teachers and students were stunned into speechlessness. Only the voice of Teacher Feng from Huaqing echoed through the phone.

“Wu Tong, have you really not considered coming to Huaqing? Whatever Jingda offers, we’ll increase it by fifty percent, and pay your penalty fee as well!” Teacher Feng made one last attempt. No one wanted to give up on a student who could single-handedly elevate the reputation of the school. Any price was worth it if they could recruit Wu Tong—Huaqing would surely agree!

“Feng, don’t even think about it! Wu Tong belongs to Jingda, she always will!” Li Yisheng finally found his voice. Usually refined, he now almost shouted himself hoarse.

“Feng Donglai, you Huaqing people are over the line!” Another Jingda teacher at the podium reacted as well.

Trying to poach Jingda’s student? Impossible—not even a crack in the window!

Does Huaqing think Jingda is dead? If it’s a challenge, he’d immediately report to the principal. This year’s admissions would be ramped up—not only would they keep their own targets, but snatch all of Huaqing’s as well. Who’s afraid of whom!

“Heh… Some people shouldn’t get angry. Wu Tong is such an outstanding student, she’s worth everyone fighting for,” Feng Donglai replied with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“Thank you, Teacher Feng and Huaqing, for your appreciation. Teacher Li, Teacher Cheng, please rest assured—I won’t waver about what’s already been decided,” Wu Tong said. Initially, she was a bit surprised; she had full confidence in English, math, and science, but a perfect score in Chinese was unexpected. Clearly, her essay performed exceptionally well this time!

“Very good, Wu Tong. Congratulations again! May you shine again in July at the IMO, and achieve another perfect score!” Feng Donglai added provocatively before hanging up, “Wu Tong, Huaqing will always have a seat reserved for you!”

(End of chapter)