Chapter 21: Problem Solving

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Feng Chuchu glared at him for a brief moment and looked displeased. “You’re not even in the same class as me. Why are you sitting here?”
Before Shi Chengan could respond, Lin Wenyu, who was beside them, interrupted, “Chu Chu, let Chengan sit here. The physics teacher is bound to make us work out problems during the lesson. We may be able to help him out if he needs help. If he sits over at the other end and gets stuck with a problem, all of us may end up staying behind.”
Shi Chengan nodded and smiled pleasingly at Feng Chuchu. “Wenyu is right. I’m not good at my studies, and hope that you can help me.”
Feng Chuchu continued to frown nevertheless but said nothing. Taking it as a sign of agreement, Shi Chengan flashed Lin Wenyu a grateful smile.
Lin Wenyu returned the smile, but then suddenly froze.
Shi Chengan followed her gaze, turning around to look in the same direction. The moment he saw Tang Qianmiao, who was walking into the room, he suddenly looked sullen.
Feng Chuchu pulled a face and said grouchily, “How unlucky to be in the same class as her!”
Lin Wenyu bit on her lip, then said, “I’m so sorry, Chu Chu. My cousin has created so much trouble for your family by moving in there.”
Shi Chengan remarked, “Why are you apologizing? You’re not the one creating the trouble.”
Having said that, he turned to glance at Tang Qianmiao with a disgusted expression.
Tang Qianmiao’s head was lowered and she was looking at her cell phone. She appeared rather agitated.
Feng Xian’s assistant had called to ask her out for lunch. She had rejected the man but he wouldn’t leave her alone and kept calling her.
This time, she ruthlessly blacklisted his number.
The lesson bell went off. A middle-aged man in a striped shirt, black trousers, and a receding hairline walked into the room.
“Quiet everyone, we shall start the lesson now.”
The words were like a magic spell. The moment he said it, Tang Qianmiao felt sleepy.
This was also the reason she liked going to class. It was nap time. If she hadn’t had a good night’s sleep, she would make it up in the span of a lesson the next day.
Propping her head up with one hand, she closed her eyes to rest. After some time, there was a knock on the tabletop and she opened her eyes.
The person sitting next to her shot her a look. “Qianmiao, the teacher is asking you to go up front to solve a problem.
Tang Qianmiao looked up slowly and looked in the direction of the lecturing platform with a lazy expression. Besides the teacher, Lin Wenyu was on the lecturing platform.
Lin Wenyu was holding a whiteboard marker in her hand. Behind her, the whiteboard was filled with the scribbling of the steps to solve the problem. The other side of the board was blank.
The students around started whispering.
“Wow, how smart is Lin Wenyu. She actually managed to solve the problem. She’s deserving of the top position for the year’s cohort.”
“But why is she recommending Tang Qianmiao to work out the other problem… How would someone from the normal class be able to solve it?”
The teacher repeated, “Tang Qianmiao, why are you still sitting there? Come up here and solve the problem.”
Having no other choice, Tang Qianmiao stood up and walked towards the lecturing platform with a nonchalant expression. She held the marker in her hand and stared at the problem for a few seconds.
The students from the top classes started to laugh. “That’s just making things difficult for someone from the normal class. This is a contest problem, so even we can’t solve it.”
“Look, you guys, Tang Qianmiao is already working up a sweat reading the question. I don’t think she even understands what the problem is asking.”
At that point, Tang Qianmiao started writing on the whiteboard, her writing neat as she wrote the answer with no expression on her face.
Everyone gasped in surprise.
They were stumped. Beside the teacher, the smirk on Lin Wenyu’s face vanished. This was beyond her expectations.
This problem was beyond the scope of the syllabus, and even she couldn’t solve it. At best, she could only manage up to the second step.
Tang Qianmiao, on the other hand, had answered after a few seconds.
The answer was a complex one, not something that one could come up with based on a guess. Although the answer wasn’t correct, ultimately this wasn’t the outcome she was after.
She knew Tang Qianmiao’s standard. She was a mediocre student. The sort who would merely scrape by with a pass with an all-out effort. Someone of her standard could at best write out a simple formula to apply.
But what was this situation now?
The teacher tried to suppress his own surprise and asked, “What about the steps?”
Tang Qianmiao placed the marker back on the lectern and said, “I’m too lazy to write it all down.”
“Pfffft!”
Several students burst out laughing. They were mostly from the top classes. “It’s not that she’s too lazy to write them, she probably doesn’t know the steps.”
“Teacher, aren’t you making things too difficult for her? Save her the embarrassment. After all, she’s a girl.” Someone sniggered.
“Well, it’s not easy to dream up such a complicated answer. Give her some credit and let her off. After all, not all of us are Lin Wenyu,” another student said aloud.
Lin Wenyu lowered her head, hiding the slight smile that was playing on her lips. This was the outcome she wanted. She had to let Tang Qianmiao know who the smartest person was.
“Did you dream up this answer?” the teacher asked Tang Qianmiao.