Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Three days passed by quickly and it was soon the day of the expert interview in Beijing.
The train tickets to Beijing were reimbursed by the school but the cost of the hotel was not.
The three people arrived in Beijing by train and each of them booked a hotel room near Yanjing University.
They did not speak again that night.
The three planned to meet up next morning at eight o’clock in Yanjing University’s lounge which was right outside of the interview venue.
When they arrived, the venue was already crowded. Not only were there competition teams, but there were also media reporters who were interviewing the teams.
Lu Zhou did not want to appear on the TV and so, he found a remote position and sat down. He took out the printed thesis and began his final preparation.
He had not even started to read before he heard discussion voices.
“… The experts have already selected the prizes before the interview. The interview is just a test of the authenticity of your thesis.” Not far away, a seemingly awkward genius leaned back in his chair as he chatted with the teams, “I’ve been here three times already.”
The few listeners were surprised, “That is, the winners have already been selected?”
“They already wrote the press release scripts!” said the genius with a smile.
“God, where are you from?”
“Wudaokou.”
Expressions of admiration appeared on people’s faces.
Wudaokou’s genius is different than the rest!
Winning three national first level prizes. How impressive!
Maybe this guy is coming after the Higher Education Society Cup?!
But I thought Wudaokou university didn’t participate in the National Mathematical Modeling Competition as they only cared about their inner competition?
Maybe they participated after all…
Lu Zhou sat nearby and he had an astonished look on his face.
Is this true?
He thought that the expert interview was similar to the presentation and he did not know that he was only here to show his face. He had spent three days fixing his powerpoint but no one even cared.
Lu Zhou did not know whether to laugh or cry.
Even though he was just here to show his face, he could still gain something right? After all, geniuses around the country were gathered here. If he could make friends with people of this level, it would help in his future career development…
However, that was just theory and it did not always apply to real life.
Geniuses were all arrogant. A bunch of arrogant people would not be able to make friends as they could not even communicate properly.
Lin Yuxiang felt uneasy and uncomfortable sitting amongst this group of people.
She was used to being stuck between the two geniuses. However, now that there were dozens of geniuses surrounding her, as a dumb student, she felt incompatible and she was under immense pressure from it!
The sweet and innocent smile became stiff and unnatural.
Lu Zhou was reading the thesis in his hand in preparation for the upcoming expert interview when a young female reporter came over with a cameraman.
“Sir, hello. Are you Lu Zhou?”
When Lu Zhou raised his head and saw the microphone, he had some suspicions in his heart but he merely nodded and said, “Yeah.”
“I’m a reporter from the Beijing Daily. Can I interview you?”
“Sure, what do you want to ask?”
“Thanks for your cooperation,” said the female reporter with a grin. She continued, “How do you feel about this mathematical modeling competition?”
Lu Zhou thought and said, “It’s alright.”
That was all he said.
“…” The female reporter smiled politely and continued to ask, “It’s alright? Can I ask if you felt like the questions were difficult?”
“It’s… Okay,” said Lu Zhou.
Close!
I nearly said “It’s alright” again.
Lu Zhou silently praised his intelligence.
Female reporter: “…”
After Lu Zhou finally sent the reporter away, he was preparing to calm down and read his thesis when a man walked over.
The man was wearing a suit that stood out and he looked educated. Lu Zhou thought that he was decent looking. His vibe was similar to Wang Xiaodong but fiercer.
When the handsome guy walked over, Lin Yuxiang’s eyes lit up. She used her phone as a mirror and fiddled with her bangs.
The awkward part was that the guy did not even see her. He did not even see Wang Xiaodong as his eyes were locked onto Lu Zhou.
“You’re Lu Zhou, right?”
Lu Zhou raised his head and said, “… You’re?”
“Wei Wen, from Yan University,” said Wei Wen as he extended his hand. He continued, “I saw your thesis on [Optimal Inversion Theory of Linear Operators and Linear Functionals], it was very well written.”
Lu Zhou smiled as he shook his hand and said, “You’re too kind.”
“Don’t need to be humble,” said Wei Wen as he released Lu Zhou’s hand. He then said, “Of course, your thesis might be good but I’m the one winning this competition.”
Lu Zhou: ? ? ?
After Wei Wen said this, he turned around and left.
As Lu Zhou watched the back of the guy, he was confused.
What the hell? He came all the way over here and shook my hand, just to talk sh*t?
And I spent all this time analyzing why he came over.
Am I the only normal person here?
Lu Zhou shook his head and continued to review his thesis. It was at this moment that the venue ringed.
The presentation had begun!
…
In the venue, the judges sat professionally on the judges’ table.
Lu Zhou was already numb to all their titles.
He played the powerpoint as planned.
The powerpoint presentation finished.
Lu Zhou was waiting nervously for the questions from the organization committee when one of the old gentlemen sitting in the middle left opened his mouth.
“What’s your prospect of landing on the moon?”
What?
Is this question related to the thesis?
However, Lu Zhou did not hesitate and he immediately responded fluently.
“It’s meaningful.”
“How meaningful? I think it’s a waste of money,” said the old gentleman. He continued to ask, “Some time ago, I was discussing this with my old friends. In many rural parts of our country, children don’t even have desks. The landing cost tens of billions of dollars a year. Compared to the Americans, or the Russians, how meaningful is it?”
Lu Zhou looked at this old gentleman strangely. He did not know what he meant by asking these questions. Was he asking about the future of aerospace technology? The scientific value of landing on the moon? If the space program increased the national spirit?
He was unsure.
Lu Zhou secretly observed the other judges and saw that they were watching with great interest.
When Lin Yuxiang saw that her captain did not speak, she could not help but feel anxious. However, Wang Xiaodong stood behind Lu Zhou and was expressionless. Maybe he thought that the captain will have an answer or that he did not know how to answer either.
Lu Zhou thought for a bit and opened his mouth.
“Do you think that the Great Wall has any meaning?”
The old man’s eyebrows jumped as he had not expected the answer. He smiled and said, “Of course it has meaning. What kind of Chinese person would disagree?”
“That’s now but what about before?” asked Lu Zhou as he smiled as well. He looked at the old gentleman and said, “More than 1000 years ago, many people protested against wasting resources and gave up on many great projects. Emperor Shi Jingji was criticized for thousands of years for this. Now, if we think it’s a waste of money and thinks that missiles and satellites are enough, won’t we be criticized as well? Like we gave up on the universe?”
The judges’ table went silent.
Although Lin Yuxiang held her breath, she still had a smile on her face. Wang Xiaodong was still expressionless but his fists were squeezed tightly.
The old gentleman looked at Lu Zhou and suddenly laughed.
“Hahaha, yes! Good answer!”
It’s over?
Lu Zhou could not believe it. This judge actually let him go.
What about the thesis? Isn’t it necessary to examine the authenticity of the paper? Why were the important steps skipped? Instead, I was asked something that isn’t relevant.
He did not believe that this old man did not know the meaning behind aerospace.
After the judges signaled Lu Zhou to leave, he took his USB and left the venue with his two teammates.
Before leaving, he glanced at the old gentleman’s nameplate.
He was shocked.
Ren Changming!
Of course, it was not the name that scared him but the title behind the name.
Former Chinese designer of the lunar exploration project!
After Lu Zhou and his team left the venue, Ren Changming looked at the old man next to him and said with a smile, “Old Wang, are you happy with this answer?”
“Oh, why did you bring our discussion onto the stage? What would a student know? He was full of himself,” said Wang Zhongyi. Although he was dissatisfied, from his facial expression, it seemed to be different.
Wang Zhongyi paused and asked, “What’s the student’s name?”
Ren Changming unscrewed the vacuum flask and sipped some hot water before he smiled and said, “Lu Zhou.”
Wang Zhongyi frowned and said, “I think I’ve heard of his name before…”
…
When the three people went back to the hotel in the evening, they gathered in front of the television in Lu Zhou’s room.
The winners would be announced on the television.
It seemed that the expert interview was indeed just for the teams to show their face. The winners had already been decided before the interview began. Otherwise, it was impossible to decide the champion in such a short amount of time.
They would not even have the time to exchange opinions!
“It’s very good to get the national first level prize,” said Lin Yuxiang while she looked at the television. She whispered, “I saw a lot of geniuses in the lounge.”
“Yes,” said Wang Xiaodong as he nodded his head. He added, “I saw a few familiar faces in the lounge.”
“Familiar?” asked Lu Zhou.
“Yes,” nodded Wang Xiaodong. He said with an expressionless face, “I saw them at last year’s National College Student Programming Contest.”
No wonder!
Then that really was a gathering of geniuses.
Lu Zhou nodded and continued to stare at the TV.
A competition like the mathematical modeling competition had fewer viewers and so, CCTV did not spend much time reporting it. Instead, they inserted it between the news segments.
“This afternoon, the last expert interview of the National Mathematical Modeling Competition came to a successful conclusion. There were more than 70,000 undergraduate and specialist college students in the country, and a total of more than 300 national first level prizes.”
“From the 300 national first level prizes, there are also two special awards for the Higher Education Society Cup and the Matlab Innovation Award.”
It’s here.
Lu Zhou squeezed his fists as he held his breath and looked at the screen.
This deciding moment for my mission evaluation is here!
The list of winners was announced.
The Undergraduate Higher Education Society Cup winners were…
Lu Zhou, Wang Xiaodong, Lin Yuxiang (University of Jin Ling)!
