Chapter 20: 20

The hotel offered a variety of food in its breakfast buffet, including Western and Chinese. Shen Shao picked his favorite foods and put them on his plate. Before he could turn around, a teenaged boy wearing the school uniform of Jingcheng No. 1 High School walked up to him, looked at his plate full of native Chinese food, and said with a polite smile, “Hello. Are you not used to Western cuisine?”

Shen Shao picked up a cup of milk and smiled at the boy. “Thanks, I prefer Chinese-style breakfast.”

The boy turned to the side and politely let Shen Shao walk past. The smile on the boy’s face faded after Shen Shao walked away.

“Shen Shao, what did that kid from No. 1 High School say just now?” Seeing Shen Shao carrying his breakfast, Zeng Ping moved over to make room. He pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose. “That guy’s a little weird.”

Shen Shao smiled carelessly and sat down beside Zeng Ping. “It was nothing. He just said hello.” He’d seen people like that in his previous life. The boy clearly despised everything about Shen Shao, but he was polite to his face, and his every gesture revealed “aristocratic” elegance.

Shen Shao wouldn’t say that he disliked such people, but it was hard for those who walked different paths to travel together. What’s more, he’d met that boy in his previous life.

The young man who played the piano in front of a floor-to-ceiling window had been a shadow that Shen Shao couldn’t let go of when he was young.

“I’ve been asking around. I heard that he’s considered a genius in No. 1 High School. He’s one of the finalists this time,” Zhang Li said. She had a cheerful personality and was popular among the female students participating in the competition, so she’d already heard some gossip. “They say his name is Xiao Ji and his family is well-off. He’s extremely polite and handsome. A lot of girls in No. 1 High School have a crush on him.”

Shen Shao gave a dry cough. Xiao Ji, little chicken? What a distinctive name. So catchy and easy to remember.

“But I think he just acts that way.” Zhang Li lowered her voice. “Maybe I’m imagining it, but I keep thinking that although he looks polite, he secretly feels contempt for everyone.”

Shen Shao raised his eyebrows. He didn’t think a young girl like Zhang Li would be so perceptive. He took a sip of milk and smiled. “Whatever he does, it has nothing to do with us.”

“You’re right.” Zhang Li nodded. “Shao Ge, you have to do your best later! Jiayou!”

Shen Shao picked up one of the thin-skinned, stuffed steamed buns and silently took a bite. If spiritual power could manifest visually, he’d be surrounded by a mountain of energy right now.

Before the remaining contestants entered the field of battle, Vice Principal Yao and the two teachers earnestly told Shen Shao not to be nervous, they’d wait for him outside, and so on.

Shen Shao thought they were even more nervous than he was, but he nodded dutifully. He turned back and smiled at the group of five as he entered the arena.

After Shen Shao walked inside, Vice Principal Yao sat down in the waiting area. He noticed there was a camera beside him and did his best to act relaxed. It was only the tapping of his right index finger that revealed his emotions.

After the ten participants entered the arena, they went to stand at the numbered table that corresponded to the tag they were wearing. After introducing themselves, they waited for the competition to begin.

The host was a veteran of youth programs at the TV station, and her Mandarin didn’t have the slightest accent. Every time a picture of an item appeared on the screen, she read the price without slowing down. After listing twenty different items, she paused.

“I’ll now ask the contestants to look at the items on the big screen. Please write down the total price in thirty seconds.” The host swept a glance at the ten young people. “The countdown begins now.”

As soon as the bell rang, Shen Shao lifted his pen and quickly wrote the price on his writing board.

“Time’s up. Contestants, please display your answers.”

“Surprisingly, two contestants have different answers than the others. Let’s all take a look at what the correct answer is,” the host said mysteriously. “Please look at the big screen.”

Some of the print reporters standing around the stage were stunned by the candidates’ performance, and their jaws dropped. There was no way they themselves could remember the prices of all those items. Even if they did, they couldn’t calculate the correct answer so quickly. These high school students were demons, plain and simple.

By the time the reporters took out their calculators to try to determine the answer, the second question had already been asked.

On camera, the performance of Shen Shao and Xiao Ji was the most remarkable. The moment the countdown bell rang, they wrote the correct answer without hesitation. It was particularly conspicuous among several contestants who stood there thinking with their eyes closed.

There were five questions in the first round, each of which was worth ten points. The two candidates with the lowest scores were eliminated.

The second round of competition began soon after. This time, in addition to the previous twenty items, another thirty items were added. The most excruciating thing was that some items had the same brand name and size, but slightly different packaging colors and prices. For example, a certain shampoo came in seven colors, enough to summon a rainbow if you collected them all.

The second round was more intense. After the five questions were answered, three more contestants were eliminated. Only five students remained.

At that point, the TV station took an advertising break and the contestants were able to rest.

“The remaining contestants are—Xiao Ji from Jingcheng No. 1 High School, Zhou Lu from Yanghe No. 3 High School, Shen Shao from Furong No. 3 High School…” After the live broadcast resumed, the host introduced the five contestants left on the field. “The competition is getting more and more intense. I don’t know who the champion will be. Please keep watching to find out.”

One hundred items. Select a few, then calculate the total price. It was an almost impossible task for ordinary people.

Yesterday’s competition showed everyone what it meant to be a genius, and today the ratings kept increasing the moment the live broadcast began. In the past, China didn’t have many shows of this nature. Although there were various competitions that tested intelligence, the style was different and the participants weren’t the same.

In recent years, the news media and various governmental departments paid more and more attention to education. As the standard of living gradually improved over time, people were extremely concerned about the education of their children. For many parents of this generation, they’d rather skimp on food and clothing for themselves than on their children’s studies. Therefore, when it came to the topic of geniuses, they had a natural interest.

Because of this concern and all the discussion around it, the ratings of the show naturally picked up. Everyone involved in the competition felt happy. After all, this was a kind of reform too. Who said a math competition couldn’t be interesting?

Of course, as soon as yesterday’s session was broadcast, some people criticized the competition for being too unprofessional. They thought it was tainted with the smell of copper, which degraded the whole concept.

Regardless of the comments of the outside world, it was an irrefutable fact that there was a lot more attention on Sunday’s game.

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The first question of the third round was answered correctly by all five students. Shen Shao’s school uniform bow tie was a little tight, so he loosened it with one hand. In fact, their normal school uniforms weren’t this good-looking. The clothes they were wearing right now were chosen specifically for the competition. Shirts, ties, and black jackets with the badge of their school. The only thing that was the same as their normal school uniform was probably the school logo.

“Please look at the big screen. You have fifteen seconds to answer the question.”

There were six items on the screen: a beverage, a floor mop, a bottle of shampoo, a packet of cookies, a hair dryer, and a rice cooker. Half of the items were produced by the sponsor, and there was a big close-up of the logo.

When he saw the items, Shen Shao’s brain immediately flashed through the prices of all the products. When the bell rang, he quickly wrote down the answer.

He wondered if any candidates tried to memorize the prices of the sponsor’s products before this morning’s competition. In Shen Shao’s opinion, it would be a waste of time. The conglomerate produced a wide variety of things, and it was impossible to memorize them all in just a few days. What’s more, those items were deliberately mixed in with generic things like fruit and brooms. If there was a single price you didn’t remember, the total would be wrong.

Therefore, this seemingly simple process was a true test of their memory, reaction speed, and mental calculation skills. All three were indispensable.

After completing five questions, two of the five people were eliminated, leaving the students of Jingcheng No. 1 High School, Yanghe No. 3 High School, and Furong No. 3 High School. In previous years, these schools were basically the top three, but the championship was usually won by students from Jingcheng No. 1 High School, with Yanghe No. 3 High School and Furong No. 3 High School competing for second and third place.

At this point in the competition, almost everyone expected Jingcheng No. 1 High School to win. Some were even ready to congratulate the principal of the school.

“This is the final round. Are the three players nervous?” The host handed the microphone to Xiao Ji. “Xiao Ji, do you have anything to say?”

“I know a lot of my teachers and classmates are watching the competition. I’ll try not to let you down. Thank you.”

A very official answer, but it was rare for a sixteen- or seventeen-year old to behave so naturally on TV.

“Student Shen Shao, do you have anything to say?”

Shen Shao looked at the microphone in front of him and said with a smile, “I’m not nervous, thanks.”

The host was speechless. This person was so simple and straightforward, but the way he smiled was truly rare.

After interviewing the three contestants, the host returned to the center of the stage and pointed to the big screen to go over the rules of the final round. “This time, the three contestants must not only give the total price of the items, but also provide the price of each item. Accuracy is vital to the last decimal point. The first contestant to make a mistake will become the second runner-up. The answer time is ninety seconds. Now, is everyone ready?”

When all three players nodded, the host gave a cheering gesture. “OK, the final round begins.”

The competition was more intense than anyone expected, especially after the student from Yanghe No. 3 High School was eliminated. Xiao Ji and Shen Shao were almost evenly matched. People who thought Xiao Ji would win the championship began to doubt their initial judgment.

In the end, the organizers displayed a crazy picture which showed four boxes of toothpaste with the same brand and size but different features, three bottles of shampoo in different colors, an umbrella, a bottle of vinegar, and a learning machine. None of the ten products had appeared in previous questions.

When Xiao Ji saw the bottle of vinegar, his expression became a little ugly. There were two other brands of bottled vinegar among the one hundred products, and in his mind they were jumbled together. For a while he had no idea which price was correct.

He glanced at Shen Shao, who’d already started to answer the question. The only thing he could do was grit his teeth and write down the answer in his mind.

“Oh, what a pity, Student Xiao Ji is just a little short of the correct answer.

“In this competition, the incredible performance of these students has opened our eyes….”

Although Xiao Ji still had a smile on his face, he was a little confused. How could he have lost?

And lost to a poor student who was inferior to him in every way?

He originally thought that with Gu NingZhao not participating, the championship was in his pocket. Who knew that a dark horse would emerge?

Jingcheng No. 1 High School’s unbroken record in the math league for several consecutive years was lost because of him?

When he looked at the shy smile on Shen Shao’s face, Xiao Ji thought this was his most embarrassing moment in more than ten years.

 

TL Notes:

Competition (2) – The original chapter title was “赛程二”, “Schedule (2)”, but I thought it might be a mistake. This chapter is much more like a continuation of Chapter 19 (“Competition”) than Chapter 18 (“Competition Schedule”)

it was hard for those who walked different paths to travel together – 道不同不相为谋 – lit. persons who walk different paths cannot make plans together / to go separate ways (idiom)

catchy and easy to remember – 朗朗上口 – to flow right off the tongue (of lyrics or poetry) / to recite with ease / catchy (of a song)

jiayou – 加油 – lit. “add oil”, come on, good luck. Basically the Chinese version of “Fighting!”

stuffed steamed buns – 小笼包 – xiǎolóngbāo – A type of small Chinese steamed bun (baozi) usually filled with pork and prepared in a xiaolong, a small bamboo steaming basket. They’re pinched at the top and typically have a cascade of ripples around the crown (Wikipedia)

the smell of copper – 铜臭 – the stink of money; profits-before-everything mentality; profit-seeking spirit

learning machine – 学习机 – A tablet or similar device intended to help students study or practice math problems, etc.

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