Jiang Chan had thought the forum post would fade away after a few comments. Who would have expected it to escalate?
Almost the entire grade got involved. Everyone was waiting for the preliminary competition results.
Someone even set up a betting thread on the forum, wagering on whether Jiang Chan would make it through the preliminaries. Ninety nine percent of the bets were against her.
Her dormmates firmly supported her. Since she was one of them, they intended to be her strongest backing.
As for the undercurrents in the grade, Jiang Chan acted as if she knew nothing. She attended class and practiced problems step by step as usual.
Even a max level player could not afford to slack off.
Compared to the surrounding noise, her composure was like a clear stream in a mudslide.
Old He, who came to check on evening study hall, nodded approvingly at her calm demeanor. He knew about the forum too. Who was not a middle aged man with internet habits these days?
He had his own view.
This was part of campus life, a kind of trial. If Jiang Chan made it through, her title as a top scholar would be firmly established.
If she failed to enter the preliminaries, that was fine too. It would simply motivate her to fight again next year. As a first year student, just qualifying for the competition was already a victory.
The preliminary results were released on Wednesday and sent directly to each school’s principal.
By morning break, the academic affairs office posted the list of qualifiers.
Jiang Chan’s name stood out clearly, ranked third overall, second only to two second year seniors.
She had advanced in both physics and biology.
It was an eye catching result. At least Sun Xi, who had competed alongside her, had stopped at the biology preliminaries.
Someone uploaded the ranking list to the forum. When people saw her third place ranking, it was as if a cat had bitten off their tongues.
No one called her arrogant anymore.
Failing to deliver would be arrogance. Delivering was confidence.
No one dared underestimate the thin, dark skinned girl who sat there unmoving yet exuded the steadiness of a mountain.
Back in the dorm at noon, Wen Jing sighed. “Our dorm is producing a genius. You’ve only been in competition class for less than a month and you’re already third. How did you do it?”
Yang Liuqing clung to Jiang Chan’s arm. “Teach me too. Share some study tips.”
Yu Jie said nothing, but her eyes sparkled with curiosity.
Jiang Chan feigned profundity. “Maybe it’s just talent.”
The next second, they pinned her to the bed and tickled her until she laughed with tears in her eyes.
She could hardly tell them about Qing Yuan. That was her greatest secret, one she would never share.
After advancing, the competition class atmosphere became serious overnight.
Most of the second year students had already set aside regular coursework to focus on the semifinals.
Among first years, only Jiang Chan had advanced in physics and biology.
The teachers paid attention to her, though mostly after tending to the other students first. In their view, her advancement was largely luck.
Jiang Chan agreed that luck played a significant role. Many preliminary questions were of types she had practiced before.
Her memory had improved dramatically. Anything the teacher explained once, she almost never forgot.
Under those circumstances, her margin for error was minimal.
Entering the semifinals truly owed much to the competition teachers, who happened to have covered similar problems.
The semifinals required experiments, actual hands on operations.
The second year students were displeased.
Jiang Chan’s progress put pressure on them.
They considered her inexperienced in experiments and were ready to outperform her in the lab.
Yet after the physics teacher demonstrated once, she smoothly replicated every step without a single mistake.
Seeing the physics teacher’s face bloom like a chrysanthemum, the second years felt even more irritated.
One boy muttered, “At this rate, won’t we be crushed by her next year?”
His desk mate replied gloomily, “Please don’t say it.”
In truth, most of them were already being outperformed.
They had once been grateful not to be first years facing her dominance. Now even as second years, life was not easy.
Her improvement in competition class was visible to all.
Even though she deliberately held back, her daily quiz scores rose from the seventies to the nineties, steadily approaching full marks.
If she had scored perfectly from the start, it would have shocked everyone.
As it was, people simply explained her progress as a sudden breakthrough.
As she advanced, the teachers paid increasing attention to her, though they regarded her primarily as a seed for next year. The main force this year remained the second years.
Though optimistic about her potential, they did not expect her to win awards this year.
After all, she was only a first year and had not yet experienced the intensity of such competitions. Participating was already valuable exposure.
Jiang Chan, however, was ambitious.
She scheduled her time tightly, determined to win an award this year.
Not for glory, but for the generous scholarship offered by the school.
Being poor was difficult.
After experiencing more comfortable lives in mission worlds, returning to this constrained existence felt restrictive.
She had already planned her path.
This year, focus on biology and physics. Next year, concentrate on mathematics and chemistry.
Chemistry was her weakest subject. In the previous world, she had stopped at the finals and never entered the national team.
With that resolve, the semifinals soon arrived.
They were held at the same venue as before.
This time, the number of participants had been cut by more than half.
Those who remained were undoubtedly exceptional.
Discover more from Lilly Translations
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Thanks for the chapter!