Chapter 65: Senior Brother Liu, How Could Even You?

Liu Xinjie's blackboard writing skills were by no means inferior to those of the faculty instructors. He turned around and quickly wrote a classic example on the blackboard.

"Given that the sequence ${a_n}$ satisfies $a_1=sqrt{2}$, $a_{n+1}=dots$"

"Prove the convergence of the sequence ${a_n}$;"

"Find the limit $lim_{n o infty} a_n$."

$dots$

"Let's look at this problem first. It's a classic recurrence sequence limit problem. Next, we will adopt the blackboard relay method, taking turns coming to the stage to derive the steps step by step, and then the whole class will discuss and correct any errors together."

Liu Xinjie turned back to face the people below the stage, the corners of his mouth curving upward with a faint smile as he continued.

Whether it was the blackboard relay or solving a single problem by multiple methods, these were problem-solving techniques frequently used in the School of Mathematics' exercise classes.

Although the pressure was immense, the rate of improvement was equally rapid.

And facts proved that this was indeed the case.

Almost as soon as Liu Xinjie's voice fell, except for Lu Mingzhe, Su Meng, and other competition students who had some confidence in their own abilities, the rest of the room immediately could not help but grow nervous.

Their gazes locked tightly onto the problem information on the blackboard, and they hastily began calculating on their scratch paper.

Mainly, if one were called to the stage and wrote down erroneous steps, not only would it be embarrassing, but it would also affect the person who went next.

As for Xu Ming at this moment, he was simply burying his head in his practice assignments.

There was no help for it.

Even with upwards of twenty assignment problems, he felt no difficulty whatsoever in solving them, so no matter how he looked at it, there was no need to listen to the lecture.

He believed Senior Brother Liu would be very understanding.

On the contrary, Lu Mingzhe appeared very enthusiastic, immediately raising his hand and eagerly volunteering to go up to the stage.

"Senior Brother Liu, shall I write the first step?"

"Then we'll leave it to classmate Lu Mingzhe." Hearing this, Liu Xinjie glanced over and immediately reached out to hand the chalk across.

Also worth mentioning was that Lu Mingzhe did not just write down the proof steps; once finished, he did not forget to turn to the audience and add a few words of explanation.

"This problem examines the application of the monotone bounded principle, along with the four arithmetic operations of limits. Solving it requires certain algebraic scaling techniques for the proof."

As he pointed out the problem-solving思路, his gaze glanced toward Xu Ming intentionally or unintentionally.

Seeing that the other person did not even look up, he felt a slight sense of disappointment.

He had wanted to see his opponent ignite with a fighting spirit and come to the stage to write the subsequent steps, but as it turned out, the other person did not value the exercise class at all.

With Lu Mingzhe taking the lead, the atmosphere inside the classroom quickly became much livelier. Su Meng and even Jiang Xu, both competition students, went up in the relay to write out the proof steps.

And they were unanimously judged correct by the whole class.

Yet Liu Xinjie seemed to have something on his mind, periodically shifting his gaze toward Xu Ming in the middle of it all.

Unfortunately, he received no response.

For the past week or more, he had been working overtime every night to write his paper, terrified that Xu Ming would finish first and present it to their advisor for revisions. If that really happened, once word got out, he would inevitably be mocked by his fellow apprentices under the same advisor.

Yet until today's exercise class, he still hadn't seen Xu Ming proactively come over to consult him about the paper.

He wondered if this paper had actually been written at all.

After all, as a newly enrolled freshman in the School of Mathematics, he simply didn't believe anyone could independently complete an SCI paper, even if the detailed proof process and steps had already been derived.

With this thought lingering in his mind, he simply decided to call him out by name and ask directly.

"Classmate Xu Ming."

"Come up and write the final few steps of the second question."

Almost the instant his voice fell, the others immediately turned their heads simultaneously, looking at Xu Ming who was still busy with his practice assignments.

To be honest, Xu Ming had no idea what had happened. Feeling Jiang Xu gently nudge his shoulder beside him, he paused his pen, raised his head, and cast an inquiring look.

"Senior Brother Liu wants you to come up and solve the problem," Jiang Xu hurriedly reminded him.

Hearing this, Xu Ming came back to his senses and said nothing more, subsequently standing up and walking toward the podium.

Although this was his first time seeing the problem and he hadn't really thought about it, the moment he raised his hand, he reeled off several lines of formulas composed of mathematical symbols.

Liu Xinjie watched this scene unfold. Although he knew Xu Ming's mathematical proficiency surpassed that of the competition students, such a rapid problem-solving speed still inevitably startled him.

"Classmate Xu Ming's proof steps are very complete and accurate." After giving this affirmation, he took the initiative to ask Xu Ming:

"Were you working on your exercise assignments during class just now?"

"I've already finished writing all of them," Xu Ming nodded and admitted truthfully.

Although he said it as if it were a trivial matter, it sounded completely different when it reached everyone else's ears.

Everyone had a rough estimate of the difficulty of the exercise assignments and the calculation time required. Being able to finish them before submitting them on the weekend already counted as a very fast problem-solving speed.

Yet it was only Wednesday, and Xu Ming actually claimed he had already finished writing them, which genuinely startled everyone.

Even Lu Mingzhe contracted his pupils, thinking of his own progress which hadn't even passed the halfway mark, unable to believe what he was hearing.

"How did he solve them so fast?"

On the other hand, Liu Xinjie finally breathed a long sigh of relief. Since he was busy with practice assignments, it was completely normal that he didn't have time to mess with the paper.

No wonder Xu Ming hadn't come to consult him.

In that case, he could also take a few days to slowly refine his own paper.

However, out of concern for his future junior fellow apprentice, a thought crossed his mind, and he took the initiative to ask another question.

"Have you found a study group yet?"

As soon as his voice fell, he continued to elaborate in detail.

"Here in our Yenching University School of Mathematics, a study group is your only bulletproof vest, and exams are the absolute standard for testing its thickness."

"A group suited to your own level can improve your study efficiency."

"There isn't a suitable candidate just yet." Xu Ming stood by the podium, looking at Liu Xinjie with expectant eyes.

"How about this."

"I'll help recommend one for you, and I'll send you a text message notification when the time comes." Realizing what Xu Ming meant, Liu Xinjie immediately shouldered the matter.

Xu Ming said with delight, "Sorry to trouble Senior Brother Liu."

Yet just as he was returning to his seat, he failed to notice that Lu Mingzhe's expression at this moment was completely dazed.

He found himself utterly unable to comprehend what he had just heard and seen.

Clearly, he had known Liu Xinjie longer, and he considered their relationship to be quite good, so why was Liu so enthusiastic toward Xu Ming instead?

He was actually volunteering to help recommend a study group.

You must know that his own study group had been contacted by himself through the community forum.

Before, it was Zhang Luping acting like that, and now even Senior Brother Liu...

He was practically like a succubus.

"He just solves problems a little faster than me, that shouldn't be the case, right?" Lu Mingzhe repeatedly questioned in his mind, unable to concentrate any longer.

After class, Liu Xinjie did not leave immediately. Perhaps because he was in a good mood, he proactively walked over to Xu Ming and added a reminder in his capacity as a senior brother.

"Take your time with the paper, no need to rush too much. If there's anything you don't understand, you can come find me at any time."

"Don't be shy at all."

"People in our School of Mathematics might not have fair skin, but our skin must be thick."

Xu Ming naturally didn't have the problem of being thin-skinned. Although he wouldn't mind going to Liu Xinjie for guidance, now that the paper was completely written and translated, there really was no need for such a superfluous gesture.

Yes.

At noon today, he had successfully finished translating the entire paper.

Therefore, he offered an honest explanation:

"Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother Liu, but I've already finished the paper. I was just thinking about finding an opportunity to show it to Professor Zhang."

"Both Chinese and English versions," Xu Ming added without forgetting.

Liu Xinjie listened to every word Xu Ming said, feeling as though he had just been struck by a club. No matter what, he had never imagined that Xu Ming hadn't written it; rather, he had already finished it ages ago.

He paused in place for over ten seconds, his mouth twitching as he forced out a smile, patted Xu Ming's shoulder, and replied:

"You've already finished it... Well then, you can go over tomorrow morning. Professor Zhang is usually in his office around that time."