Before attending the winter camp, Qin Zheng asked Jiang Li a question: “Do you have the confidence to make it to the national team?”
Rather than answering his question directly, Jiang Li responded by asking, “Are you nervous?”
“…” Qin Zheng wanted to say: Can you not be so blunt?
Qin Zheng had long discovered that Jiang Li’s personality was completely different from Jiang Ruo’s — saying they were polar opposites wouldn’t be an exaggeration. If he had asked Jiang Ruo the same question, she definitely wouldn’t have responded so straightforwardly. She would try her best to comfort him and fill him with motivational speeches so that he would go to the winter camp with full confidence. But Jiang Li was different; she always did her own thing, rarely considering others’ feelings when she spoke, yet never making anyone feel offended.
Jiang Li showed everyone around her positive side. Although she never demanded anything from others, anyone who spent a long time with her would naturally be inspired by her presence. Jiang Li was not like the sun or the moon; if Qin Zheng had to define her, he thought the Big Dipper suited her better. She always managed to attract everyone’s attention and then guide them without their realizing it.
Jiang Li noticed Qin Zheng’s strange look and thought he had seen through her, “Even if you don’t make it to the national team this year, there’s always next year. We don’t only have this one chance.”
Qin Zheng couldn’t help but laugh, “I still hope to make it this year.”
“Then let’s work hard together, and bring glory to our first-year group,” Jiang Li said. Although the male lead did not make it to the national team in the novel, Jiang Li felt she shouldn’t be confined to the plot, as the current Qin Zheng was very different from his novel counterpart.
In the novel, Qin Zheng not only had to help Jiang Ruo overcome her weaknesses when preparing for the competition but also felt jealous of Lin Tian’s closeness to Jiang Ruo. After the competition, although he successfully made it into the provincial team, he had to spend most of his time comforting Jiang Ruo, who was down because she didn’t make the team. Even under such circumstances, Qin Zheng was only a step away from joining the national team, which spoke volumes of his talent.
But since she had entered the story, Qin Zheng and Jiang Ruo had gradually drifted apart. His time spent preparing for competitions increased daily, showing his diligence.
Seeing things from this angle, Jiang Li suddenly felt that Qin Zheng had a very high chance of making it into the national team, so she told him, “It’s alright. I think our prodigy god Qin will definitely make it to the national team. Before you do, remember to shine your halo over the land, so I can also catch a bit of your luck.”
Qin Zheng looked incredulous, “Are you mocking me?” Although Jiang Li’s expression seemed very sincere, he still felt brainwashed by her. But strangely, being teased by Jiang Li like this, he inexplicably relaxed and stopped worrying about whether he could make the national team.
Out of the school’s twenty-one members who made the provincial team this year, only eighteen chose to attend the winter camp. The three who gave up were all in their third year. Jiang Li wasn’t very familiar with the third-year students, but she was quite close to Chen Jie, who had told her the reason for giving up the winter camp.
Chen Jie’s scores barely allowed her to pass into the provincial team, and she knew that attending the winter camp wouldn’t allow her to make the national team or apply to prestigious universities. She had prepared hard for the competition, not for a direct admission quota but for extra points for the college entrance exam. After achieving her goal, she focused entirely on preparing for the college entrance exam and no longer thinking about competitions.
Jiang Li shared this with Feng Qi, who asked back, “If it were you, would you give up?”
Jiang Li shook her head slowly, “I don’t know, what about you, Uncle?”
Feng Qi smiled, “For me, this is not a multiple-choice question.”
Jiang Li sighed, “Talking with a genius like you makes me feel so defeated!”
Feng Qi rubbed her head with a smile, “I lend you a bit of genius luck, and you’ll be a little genius in the future.”
Jiang Li: “…” If becoming a little genius was that easy, she’d let her third uncle rub her head every day, as long as it didn’t cause her to go bald!
…
The five-day winter camp ended quickly, and Jiang Li felt she had gained a lot, as she not only won a gold medal but also qualified for the national training team with a very good score. This time, eight people from Minjiang First High School made it into the national: two from the first year, two from the second year, and four from the third year. After the roster was announced, Teacher Sun couldn’t help but joke, “I think Teacher Wu could provide Jiang Li with breakfast for another month.”
Teacher Wu grandly waved his hand, “One month? Two months is no problem.”
Teacher Sun chuckled, “I thought you were going to cover her meal card expenses for the next two and a half years.”
“…” Teacher Wu wanted to say: This sly old man!
To Jiang Li’s surprise, on the day they returned to school, the school actually held a welcome ceremony, even praising the first-year group for performing the best. Originally, everyone thought they were just making up the numbers, but they ended up qualifying 100%.
“…” Jiang Li had nothing to comment. Of two first-years who joined the winter camp, two made it to the national team. Saying it’s 100% was not wrong.
From the moment she qualified for the national, Jiang Li became even busier, as she now aimed for a bigger dream. Since she had made it to the national, why couldn’t she think about making it from the top 60 to the top 16? She didn’t care whether her goal was audacious; she just wanted to dream big.
However, Jiang Li was surprised to see herself performing even better. Not only did she make it to the top 16, but she also advanced to the top 6, becoming one of the six members of the national representatives for IMO. Qin Zheng was eliminated in the last round, but Jiang Li, along with one of the ‘Golden Triangle’ Guo Dongyi, made it to the end.
Jiang Li advancing to the top 6 was unexpected for many, including Qin Zheng. When he went to congratulate her, although he was smiling, he looked a bit bitter, “I was hoping to fight alongside you again next year, but it looks like I’ll have to go it alone now.”
Having fought alongside Qin Zheng for months had built a camaraderie between them, so Jiang Li racked her brains to find comforting words, “At the end of last semester’s exams, I only scored one point higher than you. If you work hard this semester, maybe you can surpass me?”
Qin Zheng replied helplessly, “You’re rubbing salt in my wound.”
Jiang Li also felt that this wasn’t very comforting, so after thinking hard, she said again, “You are fighting alone, while I have a group of think tanks behind me. We can’t compare.”
Qin Zheng asked dumbfoundedly, “Is this your way of humblebragging?” It’s a good thing he had a strong heart, or else he really couldn’t have handled Jiang Li’s provocations.
“What if I say I’m comforting you, would you believe me?” Jiang Li asked again.
Qin Zheng nodded, “Of course. As one of the Twin Prodigy Gods of Minjiang First, I believe you wouldn’t lie.”
Jiang Li: …
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