ebonymovies Chapter 68 The Wandering Soul
Chapter 68 The Wandering Soul
From the start of the school opening ceremony, the boy named Su Hao had already caused a huge uproar, which could be described as a social disaster.
The reason is so ridiculous it's laughable.
It was simply because he was accompanied by a little girl who looked like his younger sister.
That little girl was a real troublemaker; she actually burst into tears at the ceremony!
She cried so hard it was heartbreaking, clinging to her brother's leg and refusing to let go.
The deafening sound completely shattered the elegant and dignified atmosphere of the place, echoing like lightning throughout every corner of the school!
But compared to his ill-mannered younger sister, Gu Chengyu noticed Su Hao's parents' attire first.
Although it was clear that they had dressed very formally today, they looked completely out of place among the crowd, like two plucked chickens mixed in with a flock of phoenixes!
The man's suit was so old-fashioned that it looked like it had been pulled out of a wardrobe from the last century; it was loose and baggy and clearly no longer fit him.
The woman's suit was reminiscent of the cheap, outdated designs popular in rural-urban fringe areas years ago—dull colors and rough cuts.
Even so, what truly stung Gu Chengyu was the expression on the couple's faces.
Among a large group of parents dressed in the latest haute couture brands, bespoke suits, and exuding an aura of wealth...
The couple, dressed in shabby clothes, showed not the slightest bit of unease or inferiority on their faces!
They were as happy as two radiant sunflowers, laughing without any reservations, their eyes filled with unreserved love as they proudly gazed at their son.
That scene was like a rusty iron nail, piercing deeply into Gu Chengyu's heart, making him feel an indescribable discomfort and irritation.
……
The next morning.
Gu Chengyu sat in his unchanging center seat, still unconsciously observing the guy named Su Hao out of the corner of his eye.
Even he himself couldn't understand why.
As soon as he stepped into this classroom, his gaze would be drawn by some strange magnetic field, naturally passing over the crowd to find that slightly thin figure.
"Good morning."
Just then, a clear voice suddenly rang out.
Just like yesterday, even though the two had no connection whatsoever, Su Hao would always greet him with an unguarded smile whenever their eyes met.
Gu Chengyu remained expressionless, simply raising his hand coldly and pointing to the noise-canceling headphones hanging on his ears as a perfunctory and dismissive response.
He utterly despises people who lack any sense of propriety and are unable to read between the lines.
In this ecosystem teeming with geniuses, most students, from the moment they enter the school, always keep a mental measuring stick in mind, maintaining a precisely calculated social distance.
Whether to greet someone, to what extent to smile, exchange a few pleasantries...
This was never out of politeness, but rather a decision made to maximize benefits after repeatedly considering the other party's family background, social status, and future value in their network!
But Su Hao, this oddball, is completely ignorant of the unspoken rules governing the workings of high society.
Moreover, Gu Chengyu discovered that this guy's behavioral logic was extremely bizarre.
Su Hao arrived at the classroom early today. After putting down his schoolbag, the first thing he did was to bend over and carefully straighten each of the crooked desks, aligning them with the gaps in the floor!
Then he walked to the window and repeatedly pulled on the blind cord.
He only let out a soft breath when every slat of the blinds had reached a visually uniform and precise level.
"This guy... could he be a severe case of obsessive-compulsive disorder and a late-stage germaphobe?" Gu Chengyu thought to himself.
What happened next left Gu Chengyu speechless.
Even though Su Hao wasn't supposed to be on duty on today's schedule, he somehow found a rag and meticulously wiped the blackboard until it was spotless, so clean you could see your reflection in it!
After erasing the blackboard, he wasn't finished; he then emptied the chalk box...
Like a jeweler selecting diamonds, the chalk is meticulously sorted and neatly arranged into the chalk box according to its color temperature and length.
Only after completing all of this did he feel as if he had finished a sacred ritual, ending this bizarre morning routine.
To be honest, Gu Chengyu did indeed have an extremely strong curiosity about this freak!
He had absolutely no idea how much of that so-called "IMO individual number one" title was worth, or how much real value it actually represented.
But it doesn't matter. Since we're all in the top junior class in the country, we'll soon find out who's the best in the upcoming fierce competitions.
……
What's meant to happen will happen eventually.
As the school bell rang, the first in-class quiz began without warning.
In math class, Mr. Zhang, known as the "failure maniac," held a thick stack of test papers in his hand and kicked open the classroom door with a sneer.
"Students, today we will be conducting an entrance placement test."
Upon hearing this, Gu Chengyu's gaze, which had been observing Su Hao, instantly sharpened to the point of being razor-sharp, and his expression became completely solemn.
Don't listen to the teacher's easy way of calling it a "diagnostic test." Everyone here is a shrewd person.
Everyone knows this is the first real bloodbath since entering this class!
This is an important benchmark for measuring whether Gu Chengyu can continue to hold the top position and occupy the absolute commanding height among this group of monsters!
The exam papers began to be distributed rapidly.
When the exam papers, carrying a faint smell of ink, landed on each desk, the classroom, which had been teeming with activity just a moment ago, instantly fell into an absolute, deathly silence, like that of a tomb!
"Begin," Teacher Zhang commanded.
Swish!
The sounds of the pen tip piercing the air and touching the paper exploded simultaneously and uniformly.
The soft scratching of writing, accompanied by a precise and even rhythm, spread rapidly through the enclosed room like the rumble of thunder before a storm.
Watching these top geniuses instantly enter battle mode and bury themselves in deep thought, Teacher Zhang on the podium finally smiled with satisfaction.
"This year's seedlings are indeed quite good."
Although the questions he set were far beyond the scope of high school and were almost cruelly tricky, he was deeply impressed by the tenacious spirit of trying that these young people displayed.
……
At this moment, Gu Chengyu's eyes were like torches, fixed on the first question of the test paper.
[Suppose there is a grid with dimensions 2n times 2n. Starting from coordinates (0,0), move to (2n, 2n), only moving right or up at a time. Prove that the total number of possible paths is always even.]
"Prove that it is an even number..."
A true master's skill is immediately apparent upon their first move!
This is definitely not one of those idiotic problems in high school textbooks that can be solved by simply applying a formula!
In an instant, like lightning striking the night sky, the classic model of the "binomial coefficient" immediately appeared in his mind.
I've got an idea!
The problem can be easily solved by simply using the binomial coefficients to establish an equation and then finding a way to prove its parity!
The pencil in his hand moved swiftly across the draft paper like a swimming dragon.
To be on the safe side, he first tried substituting smaller values to look for underlying patterns.
"I've got it! The pattern definitely exists!"
But Gu Chengyu's brows were furrowed.
Simply substituting numerical values into calculations cannot serve as a rigorous mathematical proof.
If the examiner saw this kind of clever trick, they would definitely draw a big red cross without any mercy.
"What should we do? The logical chain is missing a link... Ah! That's it!"
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration cleaved through the fog in my mind like lightning.
Mathematical induction!
Yes, use mathematical induction to build the framework!
Shh! Shh!
A long string of extremely elegant mathematical formulas began to stretch wildly across the paper.
He was like a master architect, first steadily writing down Pascal's equation as the foundation...
Next, the binomial coefficients are forcibly expanded and broken down into a series of multiplication terms. Finally, like peeling back layers, the parity of the numerator and denominator is derived one by one.
The logic of the entire reasoning process is like a marble staircase, steadily built step by step!
call……
First question solved.
Gu Chengyu let out a long sigh, put down his pen, and took the brief break to look around.
It truly lives up to its reputation as a gifted youth program that gathers geniuses from all over the country.
Despite facing such a challenging problem right from the start, the students have withstood the pressure and are now using their unique abilities to overcome it.
The air was thick with the acrid smell of intense mental exertion!
Everyone looked extremely solemn, their draft paper covered with dense writing, almost to the point of tearing through the paper.
"Um?"
In the midst of this suffocating academic pressure, an out-of-place, seemingly aimless figure suddenly entered his field of vision.
It's Su Hao!
Among a group of top students diligently studying, this "IMO champion," whose reputation is practically legendary...
Facing the exam paper in front of him, he had no idea what to do with his hands, and he was in a state of extreme unease, or even helplessness and desolation.
Looking at his unfortunate appearance, glancing left and right and unable to utter a single word for a long time, one can't help but feel a pang of pity and sympathy!
"Ha... this is what they call being number one in the IMO?"
They couldn't even solve this level of variation of the problem, and were completely terrified?
Damn it, just how much of the admissions process for this so-called "gifted youth program" is actually fraudulent...?
Although a hint of disdain and doubt flashed through his mind regarding Su Hao, Gu Chengyu quickly sneered, withdrew his thoughts, and focused all his energy back on his exam paper.