Chapter 58: He Must Get Full Marks

Liu Xinjie did not hesitate in the slightest upon hearing his advisor's words, quickly pulling out Xu Ming's test paper and handing it over.

As his advisor lowered his gaze to examine it with keen interest, Liu Xinjie did not forget to share what he knew.

"Speaking of this Xu Ming, he has quite a reputation in the School of Mathematics. Aside from scoring an impressive 741 on the gaokao, there was even a report about him on the university forum, interviewing him about how he apparently studies for a minimum of eighteen hours every day."

"He must have self-studied mathematical analysis and advanced algebra-geometry in advance during the summer vacation."

After collecting the papers and returning yesterday, he had deliberately contacted He Wenbin to inquire about Xu Ming's background.

"Maintaining such diligence and never forgetting to study is indeed an exceptional quality, but that alone is not enough." Zhang鲁平 replied while his eyes had already fallen upon the proof steps.

Among those who become top scorers in the gaokao, none are without hard work.

Even relying solely on mechanical problem-solving, one can still achieve a full score in mathematics.

Yet that is limited only to high school.

To stand out upon entering the Yenching University School of Mathematical Sciences, talent is ultimately the decisive factor.

Furthermore, some questions in the diagnostic test were drafted by professors who had a clear grasp of the overall difficulty.

Upon hearing that a student had submitted their paper so far ahead of time and achieved a near-perfect score, Zhang Luping's first thought was that the School of Mathematics had encountered someone with a genuine gift for studying mathematics.

Therefore, unlike Liu Xinjie, he did not place his primary focus on the claim of studying more than eighteen hours a day.

As his gaze moved downward, scanning rapidly through numerous problem-solving steps, he instantly grasped the solver's train of thought.

Just as his student had mentioned, the proof processes for the first nine questions were flawless and could even be described as stunning.

It was hard to imagine they were answered by an ordinary high school graduate.

Although Zhang Luping rarely praised students, at this moment, he could not help but softly utter two words:

"Not bad."

However, when he saw the final question, his brows furrowed slightly at first, before his expression shifted to one of pleasant surprise as if he had thought of something.

He immediately picked up the pen and draft paper on his desk, and began working through the calculation right there in front of Liu Xinjie.

A growing sense of amazement began to show on his face.

Meanwhile, Liu Xinjie felt a bit puzzled, wondering why merely looking over a freshman diagnostic test paper could take such a long time.

To the extent that his advisor had even started writing.

Having spent two years assisting his advisor, he knew well that the biggest taboo at such moments was to interrupt casually.

Thus, he could only stand quietly to the side, waiting in silence.

After a few minutes or so, he finally heard his advisor's voice, laced with unmistakable joy.

"This question was not answered incorrectly by him; he must be awarded full marks."

Hearing every word of this declaration from his advisor, Liu Xinjie, to be honest, felt a tinge of envy.

Recalling all the times he had brought his own problem-solving approaches or research papers to the office to consult his advisor, he had never once seen the man display such happiness—always wearing the exhausted expression of someone who felt forced to endure his job.

He had originally assumed his advisor's personality was simply stoic, but this current situation somehow looked entirely out of character.

"Could it be because I always fail to meet the advisor's standards?"

Just as this dreadful thought surfaced in his mind, a shudder ran through his body as he hurriedly purged it away.

The next second, shifting his focus, he took the initiative to ask, "Could it be that he used some novel proof method?"

"He has redefined the weighted Gram matrix and introduced a new chain of inequalities under this matrix. Utilizing this new inequality chain allows related problems to be solved much more simply and precisely."

"Right now, I am quite intrigued by his proof methodology," Zhang Luping replied in a deep voice, a hint of delight lingering at the corners of his mouth.

Liu Xinjie fell silent upon hearing this.

Naturally, he knew how complex it was to weight the Gram matrix and prove a new chain of inequalities.

The mere quantity of formulas required for the derivation was terrifying.

Even senior students in the School of Mathematics could not necessarily complete the proof successfully.

The crucial point was that this demanded extreme mathematical talent, and could not be achieved simply by piling up hours of sheer effort.

As he was pondering this in his mind, his advisor's voice sounded once again.

"Change his score to full marks and have him enter the advanced class. People who are both talented and diligent like him are precisely the ones our School of Mathematics needs to focus our efforts on cultivating."

"Understood, Advisor." Liu Xinjie nodded in agreement.

Having concluded the report on the diagnostic test results, Liu Xinjie had no intention of lingering too long and disrupting his advisor's work.

Yet just as he turned to leave and had taken only two steps, he was suddenly called back by Zhang Luping.

"Wait a moment."

"I recall there is an analysis seminar tomorrow afternoon. Have Xu Ming and Lu Mingzhe attend it together."

"It will be good for them to adapt to the pace of lectures in advance."

"I will inform them," Liu Xinjie replied once more.

Soon, as Liu Xinjie's figure vanished from the office, Zhang Luping did not remove his reading glasses; instead, he stood up, walked over to the computer nearby, sat down, and skillfully used the mouse to log into the university's Weiming Community Forum.

He then opened the School of Mathematics section.

...

Xu Ming did not go to the library tonight. He remained alone in his dorm room, tackling problems to consolidate his theory of ordinary differential equations.

" $y'' - 2y' + y = e^x sin x$ "

His gaze dropped to the desk, and as the example problem came into view, a method for solving it quickly arose in his mind.

"A non-homogeneous equation; use the operator method for high-order linear ODEs."

Having determined the proof method, it took only a short while before the steps for the non-homogeneous particular solution and exponential shift were completed on the draft paper.

[Through diligent study, your [Mathematics] proficiency has increased, and you have gained 2 experience points.]

Just as he finished proving the problem, the dormitory door was suddenly pushed open from the outside. Ni Mingjie, Jiang Xu, and Zhu Zhixuan walked in excitedly, each holding a sheet of A4 paper.

"Xu Ming."

"We managed to get the answers to the diagnostic test. They were solved by a very kind-hearted, repeating mathematics PhD student."

Ni Mingjie slammed the paper filled with handwritten formulas directly onto Xu Ming's desk, his mood quite elevated and a bright smile blooming across his face.

Hearing this, Xu Ming was not surprised.

He knew that the few of them had gone to the rooftop of Science Building No. 1 to participate in the Mathematics Coffee House event spontaneously organized by the senior students of the School of Mathematics.

Every year when the diagnostic tests ended, the number of fresh-faced newcomers at the venue would surge.

"Senior Brother Zhou said that this year's question types were overall much more difficult, and he didn't really believe anyone could get a full score."

"The three of us have already checked the answers. Jiang Xu's score is decent; he will most likely be assigned to the advanced class. Zhu Zhixuan and I, judging by past years, should barely clear the average line, so we probably won't need to attend the evening tutoring sessions."

"Senior Brother Zhou's answers are quite reliable," Jiang Xu chimed in, nodding in agreement.

Beside him, Zhu Zhixuan also wore a look of anticipation.

Xu Ming took in everyone's words. Although going out of his way to check answers was not his style, he still picked up the paper and looked it over carefully.

Then, parting his lips, he replied with a couple of sentences.

"His answers are indeed correct, and his train of thought is basically similar to mine."

This caused the few occupants of the room to gasp in astonishment and excitement.

Thinking that with Xu Ming around in the future, they would likely never need to worry about problem sets and homework again.

And as the diagnostic test for the School of Mathematics came to a close, the university's week-long campus training period finally arrived.