Chapter 51: The Fierce Newcomer in the School of Mathematics

Zhu Zhixuan was the first university student from their village to be admitted to Yanjing University, symbolizing the hopes of the entire village and school.

He had originally thought that his score of just over seven hundred on the college entrance exam was quite impressive. However, upon arriving at the School of Mathematics at Yanjing University, he felt somewhat disheartened—primarily because of Jiang Xu, a student admitted through competition exemption.

Before this, he had never even heard of the five major subject competitions, nor did he know that one could enter Yanjing University without taking the college entrance exam.

Only after confirming that Xu Ming and Ni Mingjie, like himself, had taken the regular exam and been admitted through normal applications did he feel a slight sense of relief.

But now, what had he just heard?

Xu Ming was actually the top scorer in the science stream with 741 points? And he studied eighteen hours every day?

Although both had scores above seven hundred, there was a difference of thirty points between them—a gulf that placed them in entirely different leagues.

Zhu Zhixuan had exerted many times more effort than others to escape the mountains and not disappoint his parents and teachers, even memorizing vocabulary while eating. Yet compared to Xu Ming’s eighteen-hour daily study routine, his own life seemed almost comfortable.

As these thoughts raced through his mind, a feeling of admiration welled up.

“A top scorer is truly a top scorer. I can’t compare to Xu Ming.”

...

At that moment, Xu Ming didn’t have time to care how his roommates perceived him. Curious, he immediately asked Ni Mingjie:

“How did you find out all this?”

“I saw your interview on the school’s Weiming BBS forum. There were many comments from senior students below it,” Ni Mingjie replied with a smile.

“Everyone says you’re the top dog among this year’s freshmen in the School of Mathematics,” he added honestly.

Xu Ming immediately felt a wave of embarrassment.

He was, of course, familiar with the Weiming BBS forum. As Yanjing University’s officially recognized campus forum, it was the most widely used platform by faculty and students alike. Beyond course announcements and academic lecture recruitment, it included second-hand trading and club recruitment. Every day, a large number of school members logged on to discuss hot topics.

He had occasionally browsed it during summer vacations while visiting internet cafes to look up academic papers or professors’ profiles in the Math School.

He never expected that now, he would become the subject of discussion.

If it had only been reported by the provincial newspaper or television, the reach and influence would have been limited.

But with some senior student posting it to the campus forum, no wonder he became famous among freshmen.

Now it made sense why the counselor and senior students had looked at him strangely during registration—they had probably seen the interview video on the school’s forum.

...

Jiang Xu’s interest was piqued as well.

With a curious expression, he asked, “Xu Ming, did you really study eighteen hours every day in high school?”

Though there were only two top scorers per province, the Math School at Yanjing University had six of them, which wasn’t nearly as interesting as the idea of studying eighteen hours daily.

“To be honest, I’m skeptical too. Didn’t you get tired?” Ni Mingjie chimed in.

Zhu Zhixuan, lying on his bed, didn’t speak but craned his neck out, eagerly awaiting Xu Ming’s answer.

Hearing their words, Xu Ming didn’t hesitate and openly nodded.

“Yes.”

“Those who have passed away will rest forever; the living need not sleep long.”

He had always enjoyed the process of learning. Studying eighteen hours a day was his most dazzling badge of honor.

“This is insane. The math department really is a madhouse. Maybe I should consider switching majors.” Ni Mingjie’s face showed a deepening horror born from misunderstanding the math school.

Jiang Xu then thoughtfully said, “With Xu Ming in our class, it looks like there’s no room for slacking off.”

After speaking, he returned to his desk and began organizing his math books. The initial relaxation brought by the start of the semester instantly turned tense after Xu Ming’s words. As a national competition exempt student, even though they were roommates, he didn’t want to fall behind.

Moreover, Xu Ming was a regular exam student, meaning he was already at a disadvantage compared to competition students in terms of mathematical knowledge.

However, this stereotype barely lasted five minutes before it was forcefully dispelled.

Because Jiang Xu happened to glance over and saw Xu Ming pulling books out of his bag.

Advanced Algebra, Volume One.

Mathematical Analysis, Volume Two.

Analytic Geometry.

There was even a Jimmy Dimovich problem set.

Were these books appropriate for a college entrance exam student?

In Jiang Xu’s view, students who took the college entrance exam wouldn’t encounter content beyond the syllabus during high school.

All their energy was devoted to learning high school content.

This was why many students struggled to keep up with advanced math when they entered university, especially the math school. Late submission of assignments and failing courses were common and not surprising.

Yet here was Xu Ming, already studying first-year university math textbooks.

And in a level of detail that made him look more like a competition student than Jiang himself.

Puzzled, Jiang Xu hesitated briefly before standing and approaching Xu Ming.

“Xu Ming.”

“Are you already studying mathematical analysis and advanced algebra?” he asked casually, picking up a copy of Advanced Algebra as he spoke.

Xu Ming replied calmly, “I self-studied some during the summer.”

“Ah, so you weren’t afraid of the semester starting or falling behind,” he said, looking at Jiang Xu.

“So it’s just self-study...” Jiang Xu muttered, relieved, then added affirmatively, “It’s a good idea to get a head start during the summer. It’ll make the freshman placement exam much easier.”

As soon as he finished, Ni Mingjie suddenly turned around and exclaimed, “Placement exam? The Math School still has that tradition?”

“I heard from seniors it’s an old tradition,” Jiang Xu explained. “It’s mainly for differentiated teaching. The test includes forty percent of math analysis and analytic geometry questions. The top twenty percent of the scores get placed into the advanced class.”

He revealed all the information he knew without holding anything back.

But for Ni Mingjie and Zhu Zhixuan, this was like the sky collapsing.

“No one told me! I haven’t even studied analysis or geometry,” Zhu Zhixuan couldn’t keep quiet.

Ni Mingjie gave up entirely. “Fine, ordinary class it is. At least the pressure will be less.”

“But the bottom ten percent will form remedial groups and must attend mandatory evening tutoring sessions with teaching assistants,” Jiang Xu added another piece of information without trying to persuade Ni Mingjie.

Though Xu Ming didn’t know as much as Jiang Xu, he understood that this placement exam was biased towards competition students.

In a way, it was a resource allocation method, identifying key students for advanced training early on.

Not only regular exam students were confused, even top scorers could be placed into the ordinary class.

Of course, this didn’t apply to him.

Just as he was about to speak, Jiang Xu interrupted warmly.

“The placement exam usually takes place after the freshmen’s advisor meeting. I can help everyone review the key theorems that often appear in the exam over the next few days.”

“That’s great!” Ni Mingjie’s eyes lit up.

Zhu Zhixuan quickly expressed his gratitude as well: “Thank you, Jiang Xu.”

After hearing this, Xu Ming naturally refrained from mentioning tutoring. The four of them agreed to focus on filling their stomachs first during lunch.

...