Top Student at Their Peak
Chapter 86 - 70: Is this final difficult mainly because of the attention to detail?_2

Chapter 86: Chapter 70: Is this final difficult mainly because of the attention to detail?_2

In fact, many times, the interest in learning for junior high and high school kids is cultivated gradually like this.

At least at this moment, Lan Jie was engrossed in a preliminary round question about combinatorial arrangements, pondering how to make some variations and then directly apply them to student Olympic Competition training.

It’s not particularly beyond the syllabus. Currently, high school learning content already includes permutations, combinations, the binomial theorem, and some parts of the pigeonhole principle.

At twelve noon, the staff timely came to the lounge to take everyone to lunch.

It was still the same restaurant they had breakfast in, still in a buffet style.

Lan Jie took a tray and came to the hot meal area, just thinking about what to eat when he suddenly heard someone calling him from behind.

"Teacher Lan, Teacher Lan."

When Lan Jie turned his head, he saw Xiao Guo, who was in charge of receiving him yesterday, panting as he walked towards him from behind.

"Hey, Xiao Guo, what’s up?"

"Oh, it’s like this, the competition’s expert panel wants to invite you to have lunch with them, so they sent me to call you." Guo Songyuan explained in a low voice.

They specifically sent him because he was responsible for receiving Lan Jie and Qiao Yu yesterday, so he could find them directly without causing too much of a stir.

From the content of this sentence to the young man’s tone and volume, Lan Jie could roughly judge that Qiao Yu’s performance in this competition was probably quite stable.

After all, he had no personal connections with the expert panel, and it was unlikely for them to suddenly regard him highly without reason.

They wouldn’t call him up just to humiliate him because a student from an unranked school like Xingtie First Middle School suddenly emerged as a finalist, would they?

So he couldn’t help but smile and casually put down the tray he had just picked up, calmly saying, "Thank you, Xiao Guo."

"You’re welcome, let me take you over there."

...

"This is Teacher Lan, Lan Jie, who came with Qiao Yu."

"Teacher Lan, have a seat; this spot is reserved for you."

As soon as Guo Songyuan brought Lan Jie into the private room, someone at the table immediately greeted him.

Lan Jie calmly nodded at the seven people at the table, then sat down at the spot reserved for him.

"Alright, let’s arrange for the dishes to be served."

"Okay. Please wait a moment, teachers." After saying this, Guo Songyuan walked out of the private room, closing the door behind him.

The person who had just invited Lan Jie to sit also enthusiastically began to introduce themselves: "Teacher Lan, let me introduce myself first. I am Director You of the Board Office of Xiao Lake University, and I am responsible for handling some of the logistics for this competition."

"Director You, nice to meet you." Lan Jie nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

Before coming to Xiao Lake University, facing such a scene might have made him a bit nervous, but after this trip with Qiao Yu, he was completely at ease.

How should I put it?

It’s probably a subconscious feeling of "my student is amazing; who do you think you are?"

Although it seems a bit like taking advantage of someone else’s prestige, he truly showed no fear in front of the expert panel.

Not to mention, from a division of labor perspective, it really should be these university professors thanking them. Without these high school teachers laying the foundation for the students, the universities wouldn’t be able to recruit suitable candidates, right?

...

"Let me introduce to Teacher Lan, this is Professor Liu Yidong from Dongshan University, who is responsible for the independent grading phase of the competition’s expert group."

"Professor Liu, hello, I’ve long admired your name, nice to meet you."

"Teacher Lan, you’re too kind. The student you’ve brought with you this time, named Qiao Yu, is truly extraordinary."

As expected, the reason he was invited here for lunch was because of Qiao Yu.

Very soon, Director You of Xiao Lake University introduced everyone in the room in a circle. It was only when he got to Professor Xue Song from Yujiang University that Lan Jie almost couldn’t hold back.

The equation Qiao Yu worked on before seemed to be the one this professor had posted on that mathematics forum.

Although he had used a nickname on the forum, he had clearly stated his identity in the private messages he sent to Qiao Yu. Lan Jie really didn’t expect that after getting to know this professor yesterday, he would meet him directly today.

"Teacher Lan, Qiao Yu is indeed amazing. Before we came here, he had already solved four problems in the Algebra and Number Theory track, and his answers were quite perfect. Being able to have such capabilities at just fifteen years old is truly precious!

I happen to be in charge of Algebra and Number Theory, so I was particularly curious about the child’s teacher and suggested specially inviting you for a meal together. It’s a bit presumptuous, please forgive the intrusion."

Sitting across from him, Xue Song added with a smile.

After hearing this, Lan Jie smiled, feeling a sudden impulse to see what expression this professor would have if he knew that the problem he posted on the forum was also solved by Qiao Yu.

Fortunately, he managed to hold back.

After all, this was Qiao Yu’s private matter, and whether to make it public should be the child’s decision.

"Well, being curious about me isn’t of much use. Qiao Yu is quite special; he truly wasn’t taught by me. At most, I just discovered him. When it comes to mathematics, he reached his current level mainly through self-study."

In front of these experts, Lan Jie chose to speak honestly.

Boasting isn’t impossible, but there’s no need. Moreover, boasting in front of these professionals would be too easy to see through.

Qiao Yu chose the Algebra and Number Theory track.

As he had said before, he truly couldn’t measure up to that. What if these big shots got interested and threw out a difficult problem to discuss, what would he say?

However, his words also surprised the professors at the table.

"All self-taught?" Xue Song was stunned for a moment and subconsciously scrutinized Lan Jie for a moment.

Lan Jie appeared quite frank, not like someone who was lying.

This independent grading expert group naturally comprised more than just the people in this room, after all, there were over seven hundred answers to grade, and even with AI assistance, the workload was substantial. Not to mention there were cross-grading stages to prevent cheating.

However, because the professors in the expert group are all very busy, and since this is essentially a private online competition, grading can also take place online.

So today, only one expert representative was invited for this track. Xue Song was able to attend because he was already a professor at Yujiang University and lived in the same city as Xiao Lake University, making it very convenient to come here, so he decided to stop by.

Originally, it was just a chance occurrence; he truly didn’t expect to meet such a talent.

At other direction, it might be fine, but Xue Song was too aware of the significant difference a good teacher makes in Algebra and Number Theory.

Put it this way, typically learning number theory, difficulties emerge one after another. Without timely feedback and guidance, it could make any math enthusiast crumble. The most important thing is that self-learning, in terms of selecting resources and comprehending depth, can directly impact learning results.

Having a famous teacher’s guidance is entirely different.

A good mentor can provide students with a systematic knowledge framework, target various difficult points for analysis, and always recommend different learning resources and exercise materials according to the student’s progress.

At least Xue Song knew very well that if he hadn’t met several good mentors at Princeton, he wouldn’t have been able to persevere even with his talent.

Now, someone was telling him that a fifteen-year-old student could reach such a level entirely through self-study?

Recalling his mood in the morning when he accidentally discovered in the background someone solving problems quickly, and each answer uploaded was nearly impeccable, he was genuinely skeptical of Lan Jie’s words.

...

Seeing the atmosphere at the table cool down due to Lan Jie’s words, Old Xue stared at Teacher Lan without speaking, and other professors were looking at each other. Director You quickly spoke up to break the awkwardness in the private room.

"Well, Teacher Lan is really modest, oh right, I forgot to ask where you graduated from?"

"Oh, I did both my undergraduate and master’s at Shuangdan University." Lan Jie replied with a smile, as this was the only thing he could feel truly proud of, after all, Shuangdan University’s mathematics program was steadily ranked top three in Huaxia.

But after introducing himself, Lan Jie didn’t forget to explain: "However, I really didn’t give much guidance to Qiao Yu. In fact, I didn’t know how to guide a student like Qiao Yu. Professor Xue just mentioned, Qiao Yu is choosing the Algebra and Number Theory track.

Actually, I’m not good at this track either; my master’s focus was in combinatorial mathematics. And as you know, Qiao Yu is a student at Xingtie First Middle School. Perhaps you haven’t heard much of this school, because it isn’t a key middle school and certainly can’t compare in teacher resources to those famous schools.

So if Qiao Yu can get good results in the finals, it really has little to do with me or the school, it’s all thanks to his own effort."