Chapter 9: Impossible, Absolutely Impossible
Xu Ming wasted no time. He pulled out his straw-colored scratchpad and began to work out the answers, starting with the fill-in-the-blank questions.
Completely absorbed, he quickly found the same feel he had when solving problems that morning.
He felt a natural, effortless confidence.
He had already finished reviewing the knowledge points in the textbook, and coupled with his ability to flexibly apply various formulas and theorems, after reviewing the problem and a brief moment of thought, he had a clear approach, finally deriving the accurate result.
The steps were logical, and errors were virtually non-existent.
At the front of the classroom, Wang Qingtao meticulously focused on explaining the problems, not paying attention to Xu Ming's situation.
As time flew by quickly, in the blink of an eye, two Evening Self-Study Sessions had passed.
"I don't know how many times I've told you this! When solving problems, firmly remember the Twelve Maxims I'm giving you."
"Clear思路 (thought process), simple process, accurate answer."
"I hope this is the last time; otherwise, I'm going to talk myself hoarse."
After explaining another geometry problem, Wang Qingtao shared his experience with the students in a rather humorous and relaxed tone. This was his usual teaching style, hoping students would like him as a teacher, and by extension, develop a strong interest in math, which helped improve their grades.
Amidst the knowing laughter of the class, the dismissal bell rang on time.
Wang Qingtao didn't prolong the class this time. He placed the chalk and test papers he was holding on the podium and called out: "Take a break."
Instantly, the classroom became lively. Some headed to the restroom, while others continued to examine their mistaken problems.
It wasn't until this moment that he remembered Xu Ming.
His gaze involuntarily drifted over.
In his line of sight, Xu Ming was focused, seemingly writing something, which made him restless.
"Could he have just copied down the problem-solving process I just explained?"
Wang Qingtao shook his head and muttered to himself, then actively walked towards Xu Ming's seat.
While re-copying the problem-solving process was common among many and seemed to better convey that they had listened attentively, the most crucial thing was to truly understand the problem-solving approach.
One needed to master it thoroughly and apply it broadly.
Otherwise, the next time they encountered a similar problem, even if slightly modified, they'd still be completely lost.
They'd just write 'Solution' and leave it at that.
He approved of Xu Ming's attitude, but his method was ineffective.
So he wanted to make it clear to him how to raise his Math score as much as possible in the remaining hundred days.
In doing so, he would be living up to his role.
Li Wenhui's spirits lifted. Just as he stood up, he noticed the homeroom teacher walking towards Xu Ming. An expression of understanding quickly appeared on his face. He stopped his steps and sat back down on his stool.
He was inwardly looking forward to what was about to happen.
"Is Xu Ming about to get reprimanded?"
After a brief few seconds of hesitation, he turned and sat with his back to the podium, perfectly keeping both Xu Ming and the homeroom teacher in his sight.
"He handed in a blank paper for such a simple test. Who knows how much he'll lower the class's university admission rate for the National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao)."
"It'd be strange if he didn't get scolded."
Just as Li Wenhui was gloating, Wang Qingtao walked to Xu Ming's side and lowered his gaze to look at the test paper.
The paper that had previously been completely blank was now filled with formulas and symbols.
At first, he didn't think much of it, assuming his judgment was correct and Xu Ming had simply copied the answers. But after glancing at the problem-solving process, his pupils suddenly constricted, filled with shock.
He found that the steps on the paper were actually different from what he had just explained; it was another method of solving the problem.
"Could he have re-answered the questions?"
Feeling surprised inwardly, he didn't ask directly but instead sat down beside him, glancing over and carefully examining the proof steps for the comprehensive problems.
This problem was about finding the minimum value of a function. The method he taught everyone was rather clever, aiming to minimize complex Formula Derivation steps, making it easier for others to understand.
But Xu Ming had chosen the opposite approach, leading to theorems involving other knowledge points.
If one wasn't confident in their own abilities, even a slight mistake would lead them into a dead end, pointlessly wasting precious exam time.
Yet, this method was also correct and could also prove the result.
Just as Wang Qingtao was filled with immense curiosity, Xu Ming finally finished solving the final challenging problem regarding implicit zero points of derivatives.
"Finally, it's done."
He casually tossed his pen onto the paper, and his tense mind instantly relaxed.
He slowly let out a breath. Just as he was about to stand up and stretch, the homeroom teacher's voice abruptly sounded by his ear.
"Let me see your test paper."
Hearing this, Xu Ming turned his head to glance. Seeing it was indeed Wang Qingtao, his body instinctively recoiled, hitting the wall.
He stammered a bit, "Teach... Teacher Wang."
He had been so focused on solving problems, how could he have noticed that his deskmate had already changed?
Wang Qingtao directly picked up the paper, his gaze falling on the last few comprehensive problems that had been covered by scratch paper. He found that Xu Ming had completed all of them as well, and he still couldn't find a single mistake.
One must know, he hadn't even covered these problems in the two Evening Self-Study Sessions.
This meant that Xu Ming didn't hand in a blank paper because he couldn't answer the questions. It was clearly because he intentionally hadn't done them before.
Having understood the true situation, he took a deep breath and looked at Xu Ming, asking.
"Why didn't you write anything during the exam?"
"Uh... I have my own study plan," Xu Ming paused, then gave this answer.
Wang Qingtao fell into a brief silence. Then he picked up a pen himself and graded the test paper for the second time, right there.
Apart from a few multiple-choice questions he got wrong at the beginning, all the fill-in-the-blank and comprehensive problems received full marks.
Finally, he wrote the number 130 at the top of the paper.
Faced with such a completely unexpected result, Wang Qingtao recalled what other subject teachers had mentioned over the past two days. Xu Ming was indeed studying Math according to his own pace and methods.
In that case, handing in a blank paper the day before yesterday was understandable.
However, in his impression, those who did this were usually talented students from key city high schools who participated in math competitions.
Thinking that Dongping No. 1 High School didn't have the environment for this, an expression of regret appeared on his face.
He quickly composed himself, raised his hand and patted Xu Ming's shoulder, his tone subtly laced with a hint of emotion.
"In the future, try to use simpler methods when solving problems. And don't neglect other subjects either. The National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao) won't just look at your Math score alone."
Xu Ming took back the test paper, a hint of embarrassment on his face. It wasn't that he intentionally increased the difficulty of solving problems; it was mainly because after drawing the 'Formula Derivation' Entry, he increasingly enjoyed the process of derivation.
The deeper his understanding of formulas, the clearer he could see the logic behind Math.
As these thoughts ran through his mind, Wang Qingtao suddenly stood up and solemnly announced to the students in the classroom: "I'd like to make a correction here: Xu Ming's actual score is 130 points."
Almost the instant his words fell, a stir rippled through the class. Li Wenhui, who had been waiting to see Xu Ming get lectured, felt his jaw drop to the floor.
Countless question marks appeared on his face.
What the heck?
Shouldn't the homeroom teacher be harshly criticizing him? Why is he praising him instead?
Moreover, he had personally collected the test paper, and Xu Ming clearly hadn't answered any questions. Where did such a high score come from? ...
(End of Chapter)