WBSGVS Chapter 41 V2

His condition should be quite poor now. With just a little more stress, he would likely need to be admitted to the ICU.

The Pei family would certainly take precautions to prevent any further strain on him, unless… the Pei Corporation ran into trouble.

Qingli smiled at the screen, perfectly positioned at this moment.

A little more would make it pointless.

A little less would not be enough.

At that moment, her phone vibrated. A notification popped up at the top of the screen, and Qingli opened it to find a document sent by Xu Nianhan. Upon opening it, she saw it was filled with mathematical Olympiad problems.

Xu Nianhan: [This is a compilation of common CMO reminders I just organized. The difficulty is considerable; take a look, and we can compare answers once you’re done.]

Qingli casually closed the previous web interface and typed back: [Why the sudden push to study?]

Previously, Xu Nianhan had been relaxed. Even after the preliminary rounds, he continued to do his own thing, and Qingli thought Teacher Chen would be tempted to smash his computer, though the computer was too expensive to destroy.

Qingli had thought he was preparing to give up and focus on stock trading after being eliminated.

Unexpectedly, he took the league seriously and planned to continue working through problems.

Xu Nianhan: [I have no choice. Someone is pushing me from behind, and I’m afraid I’ll fall from first place next time, so I can only work hard.]

Qingli’s mood instantly brightened, temporarily setting aside the Pei family’s issues: [Then why are you still sending me questions?]

[Now that’s interesting!]

Qingli chuckled, opened the document again, and began copying the problems onto a draft paper. Watching her beautifully written characters gradually fill the pristine pages, her sense of accomplishment grew stronger.

In October, the Pei family’s banquet was exceptionally grand.

They invited a lot of guests, and even students like Qingli, who were focused on their studies, heard about it.

Many of the parents at the school were quite wealthy, with intertwined networks. Moreover, Pei Xiyue, who had broken off his engagement, was liked by many young girls. When invited along with their parents, they would show off a bit.

This led to Qingli, Pei Xiyue’s former fiancée, becoming the subject of interest. Many people subtly inquired if she would attend and whether she still liked Pei Xiyue.

Qingli straightforwardly replied that she would not attend, making the girls even more excited.

Fortunately, the short holiday in November arrived soon.

Initially, Qingli planned to rest for a few days. However, Teacher Chen mentioned that a senior of his was vacationing in the southern province, and he is an exceptionally talented mathematician.

So, Teacher Chen brought Qingli and Xu Nianhan along to sit in on his classes.

There wasn’t a lot of content to cover; just a few pointers here and there were better than monotonously working on problems every day.

After weighing her options, Qingli decisively agreed.

As a result, her short holiday was gone, replaced with a wealth of new knowledge.

When it concluded, the professor reluctantly said, “Good kids, I’m from the Mathematics Department of Kyoto University. Although I’m no longer taking students, if you two can get in, I’d be willing to guide you.”

“You must choose Kyoto University!”

Xu Nianhan could, but Qingli shyly scratched her head and replied, “Professor Zhang, I’m sorry, but I plan to study physics at university.”

Professor Zhang looked utterly astonished: “Physics? With your math talent, why would you choose to study physics?”

Qingli grinned, “Actually, I’m quite gifted in physics too. It’s just that I’ve been delayed and couldn’t study both at the same time. Our physics teacher says that a solid foundation in math is necessary for studying physics, so I’m focusing on math first before tackling physics.”

Professor Zhang smacked his lips in regret: “Then where do you plan to apply? Tsinghua University?”

Qingli shook her head: “National Defense University.”

The regret on Professor Zhang’s face instantly vanished. The name National Defense University is quite prestigious. Many scholars come from Kyoto and Tsinghua Universities, but those who graduate from the National Defense University typically go on to conduct research for the country. He sighed, “I never expected such ambition from a young girl. Good for you!”

Qingli smiled shyly as she saw Professor Zhang off at the airport.

After the October holiday, November arrived, bringing the CMO, or winter camp.

A total of 300 participants were gathered, and over five days, sixty of them were selected.

These sixty students would achieve different levels of admission based on their rankings at various universities.

Under Teacher Chen’s guidance, Qingli and Xu Nianhan arrived at Kyoto University to take the exam. Initially, they felt nervous, but suddenly realizing the time, they noticed it was already time to announce the results.

As the awards were called, they started with the bronze medals, then the silver medals. When they began announcing the gold medals, Qingli still hadn’t heard her name, and her brows furrowed slightly.

A girl she had just met two days ago chuckled, “You don’t need to worry! You’re definitely among the top few!”

She clutched her bronze medal with satisfaction: “I’m just happy to get the bronze; that’s enough to qualify for admission.”

“Thank you,” Qingli smiled, still feeling somewhat anxious, but her anxiety was mainly about her ranking. Would she achieve her goal?

“Third place—Zheng Xun!” the award host announced through the microphone.

A round of applause erupted around them.

Qingli let out a small sigh of relief. With only the first and second places left, she was sure her score wouldn’t be absent from the list; she just wanted to know if she had achieved first or second.

At that moment, the host said with a smile, “Next, we have something special—two students are tied for first place! Therefore, there is no second place.”

“Wow!” The crowd gasped, their faces full of envy.

Qingli exchanged glances with Xu Nianhan, who gave her a thumbs-up, exclaiming, “Not bad! You almost topped me!”

Qingli smiled and released a breath of relief, just as the host announced, “Fu Qingli! Xu Nianhan!”

The two of them went up on stage to receive their awards, and thunderous applause followed.

Next was the selection for mutual admission.

As the two students tied for first place, they were naturally the most sought-after candidates at a series of prestigious universities. Qingli was waiting for an admission offer from National Defense University.

As a national military academy, National Defense University stopped allowing admission through the college entrance examination several years ago. Students could only gain entry through special recruitment or by participating in exams specifically for the university.

Qingli planned to sign a mutual admission agreement this time around.

She waited for a while, not seeing anyone approach. Just as she was wondering, she noticed Xu Nianhan again politely declining an invitation from Kyoto University. She asked, “Aren’t you going?”

Xu Nianhan replied calmly, “I want to try being a soldier.”

Qingli laughed, glancing at his flushed ears, and took his hand: “Alright, let’s go find someone to talk to.”

However, this time it was Qingli who got rejected.

“Classmate, this is an Olympiad competition. Our Physics Department has specific requirements that are higher than others. You can apply to other departments, but not to Physics,” the straight-backed admissions officer frowned, puzzled: “Why didn’t you participate in the physics competition?”

Qingli was left speechless: “…”

She had checked before; gold medal winners could choose any department they liked!

She never expected that the Physics Department at National Defense University would have higher standards!

Qingli frowned: “Is there no way?”

The admissions officer shook his head: “No.”

Qingli sighed, asking Xu Nianhan to sign first, planning to explore other options. Just then, her phone rang. It was Professor Zhang calling: “Hey, I just got here in time. Are you at admissions? Are they reluctant to take you for the Physics Department?”

Qingli nodded: “Yes, I didn’t anticipate this situation.”

“Hahaha,” Professor Zhang laughed heartily: “I also forgot about that. I just heard you got first place. Are you not coming to study math with me?”

“No, I still want to attend National Defense University,” Qingli insisted.

Professor Zhang’s smile didn’t fade: “Alright, I spoke to Professor Dong Qing from the Physics Department at National Defense University. He heard about your situation. He discussed it with the Dean of the Math Department and said you could sign up for the Math Department. If you really have the talent, after university, he’ll personally assess you. If you pass, he’ll let you switch majors; if not, then you can’t.”

Before Qingli could express her surprise, the name Dong Qing captured her attention.

Dong Qing was a middle-aged man who had bailed out the original owner in her previous life.

It’s almost time!

She felt a surge of excitement in her chest as the original owner looked forward to seeing her grandfather in this identity.

Qingli smiled slightly and said cheerfully, “Thank you, Professor Zhang!”