Jiang Fuyue’s words were amplified through the sound system, echoing in every corner of the conference hall.
They unavoidably drilled into the ears of everyone present.
No one had expected that Jiang Fuyue’s pinpoint was not about problem-solving approaches or calculation steps, but a tiny unit!
Chiba Tosaki’s eyes turned sharply cold, and even his doll-like face couldn’t suppress the fierce hostility emanating from him at this moment.
The leader of R country turned pale, sweat pouring down his face.
Yan Zhenfeng and Qin Libin exchanged glances. “She’s really something! How did she spot such a detail?”
They were both amazed and proud.
The presiding chairman asked, “There are two minutes left. Does R country wish to speak?”
The leader remained silent.
Chiba Tosaki quickly flipped through the exam paper, his burning gaze seeming to pierce through the pages.
However, as the last second passed by, he couldn’t find a single mistake in Jiang Fuyue’s work.
The presiding chairman announced, “Time’s up.”
In the end, the Special Prize unquestionably fell into Jiang Fuyue’s hands.
Yet, the girl smiled calmly, as if she had anticipated this outcome long ago.
After the dispersal, she left the hall with Yan Zhenfeng and Qin Libin.
In the corridor, they ran into the leader of R country and Chiba Tosaki walking towards them.
Both sides nodded in acknowledgement. Some grace and consensus still existed, especially under the public eye.
The leader of R country said, “A splendid competition. Congratulations.”
Yan Zhenfeng replied, “You did well too. You’ve secured the full marks gold.”
Jiang Fuyue and Chiba Tosaki locked eyes again, the doll-like face recovering its smile.
“You’re good,” he said. “Not only did you evade all traps successfully, but you also launched a beautiful counterattack.”
Jiang Fuyue narrowed her eyes slightly. “You’re not bad either. Carefully planned, every move a trap, with the ends justifying the means. Unfortunately, I’m not like your previous competitors, dead or wounded. Disappointing, isn’t it?”
Chiba Tosaki neither denied nor nodded foolishly.
Their eyes met, and though it felt like a long time, only five seconds had passed in reality.
Yan Zhenfeng said, “Well then, we’ll be on our way.”
The leader of R country warmly invited, “Welcome to visit R country.”
“If the opportunity arises. Goodbye.”
Jiang Fuyue withdrew her gaze first and followed Yan Zhenfeng and Qin Libin.
In the moment they passed each other, she heard Chiba Tosaki lower his voice,
“The IPhO has ended, but our competition is just beginning. Until we meet again.”
Jiang Fuyue kept her gaze forward.
Back at the hotel, it was already ten at night.
But no one in the team rested; they all unconsciously gathered in Sun Qun’s room, eager to hear the results as soon as possible.
Suddenly—
“They’re back!” Huo Fanjin jumped up.
“Where? Who said that?” queried the people in the room.
Huo Fanjin shook her phone. “Sister Yue just messaged me.”
Everyone’s eyes lit up.
Sure enough, less than a minute later, Yan Zhenfeng pushed the door open and walked in first.
“Oh, why are you all crowded together?”
“Professor Yan, how did it go?” Huo Fanjin, being the closest, rushed over like an excited monkey, eyes filled with anticipation. “Did the captain win the special prize?”
“What do you think?” Yan Zhenfeng teased, but his smile had already given him away.
“Ah ah ah—” Huo Fanjin screamed in place, “She won it, didn’t she?!”
Yan Zhenfeng didn’t deny it.
“She really did it! Oh my god! Full marks and a special prize, Sister Yue is amazing!” She was as excited as if she had won herself, or even more so.
While others weren’t as exaggerated, their eyes were just as fervently on Yan Zhenfeng.
“Alright, enough teasing everyone. Congratulations to Jiang Fuyue for winning the full marks gold medal and the special prize!”
Lin Shumo smirked, confirming her abilities.
Ling Xuan watched Jiang Fuyue’s return, eyes ablaze with growing admiration.
“Sister Yue is amazing!” Fang Canyang wanted to clap, but refrained due to his injured left hand. “Edmond, Chiba Tosaki, all have to step aside!”
The one who reacted the most was Sun Qun, who fell straight off the edge of the bed onto the floor. The next second, he quickly got up, “Did we really get it?”
Fang Canyang nodded. “Professor Sun, it’s true.”
“I want Old Qin to confirm it.”
Qin Libin, who had been mentioned, looked a bit helpless but replied word by word, “Yes, it’s true. All three of your group’s students won gold medals, and Jiang Fuyue even got a perfect score and a special award. Satisfied now?”
“Hahaha! You know me well, Old Qin. I couldn’t be happier!”
Lin Shumo and Ling Xuan exchanged a look. The three students in Professor Sun’s group… included them as well.
So…
Yan Zhenfeng stepped forward and patted them on the shoulder, “Congratulations, all gold medalists.”
Both of them had scored the same, a 48.
“What about me? What about me?” Huo Fanjin couldn’t wait, “Did I manage to get a medal?”
According to the rules, the average score of the top three competitors counts as 100%.
The first place went to Jiang Fuyue and Chiba Hamazaki, who both scored 50, while Edmund scored 49.
The average of these is 49.7.
Thus, a score of 44.7 and above earns a first-class gold medal; 44.7 to 38.8, a second-class silver medal; 38.8 to 32.3, a third-class bronze medal; 32.3 to 24.8, an honorable mention; and below 24.8, only a participation certificate is issued.
And Huo Fanjin’s score was exactly 39, just barely qualifying for a second-class silver medal.
“So that means,” she swallowed hard, eyes wide in disbelief, “I got a silver medal?”
Yan Zhenfeng nodded.
“I… actually got a silver medal? This isn’t a dream, right? Fang Canyang, come over here. Let me pinch you!”
Fang Canyang shook his head like a rattle and hid behind Jiang Fuyue.
Huo Fanjin wasn’t angry. She pinched her own arm instead, “Ouch! It hurts—so it’s real? I actually got a silver medal?!”
“I thought I’d be lucky to get a bronze, but to get a silver…” As she spoke, she started to cry. “No kidding, I never imagined… Every time after a competition, I was so worried about dragging everyone down. Although I still dragged the team down now, with all of you winning gold medals while I just got a little silver, at least I didn’t drag us down too much, right?”
“Pfft—” Sun Qun couldn’t hold back his laughter.
Lin Shumo gave her a look, “At least you’re self-aware.”
Fang Canyang shyly peeked out from behind Jiang Fu Yue, “Not everyone has won gold yet. I don’t even know my results; maybe I’m the one who dragged us down.”
“No,” Qin Libin said calmly. “You scored 48, just like Lin Shumo and Ling Xuan, so you also won a gold medal.”
Fang Canyang was stunned.
Huo Fanjin burst out, “So I was the one dragging us down after all. But I’m quite satisfied with my score—any higher, and I wouldn’t have been able to achieve it…”
The corner of Yan Zhenfeng’s mouth twitched, “We’re all one team, so let’s not talk about dragging each other down. You did your best. And without any surprises, our team score will definitely win first place!”
Huo Fanjin immediately jumped up, cheering loudly, her face still streaked with tears, laughing and crying at the same time.
Meanwhile, Fang Canyang was still in shock.
How did he score the same as Lin Shumo and Ling Xuan? Their training scores were always higher than his, and they usually solved problems faster.
“Professor Yan, I…” he muttered in a daze, “Did I really score 48? You didn’t misremember?”
“I’m not senile; I can remember a two-digit number.”
“No… I… didn’t… mean… that…” he stammered as he tried to explain, blushing as he struggled to speak.
“How… how could… it be possible? I…”
Yan Zhenfeng patted him on the shoulder and solemnly called his name, “Fang Canyang.”
“Huh?”
“You’re outstanding; have confidence in yourself.”
This wasn’t just comfort or politeness—it was a fact.
Jiang Fuyue’s perfect score and special award were no surprise; Ling Xuan and Lin Shumo’s high scores were also expected.
Because these three had the strength and consistency honed over repeated practice sessions.
But Fang Canyang was different.
When he first joined the program, he didn’t stand out at all; after some training, he began to show promise and made it into the national team. In subsequent training, he progressed visibly, though he didn’t shine as brightly as Jiang Fu Yue and the others, he was consistently impressive.
And this result in front of him was the culmination of that steady progress.
If there was one word to describe Fang Canyang’s state, it would be—steady!
Step by step, solid and dependable.
At this point, the results for Team China were fully revealed: four golds and one silver, with a perfect score and a special award!
A huge victory.
That evening, Yan Zhenfeng called in the results, and the response on the other end was three “goods” in a row.
Day six had ended with joy and excitement.
…
In country D, 11 p.m.
After more than twenty hours of flying, Zhong Ziang and Xie Dingyuan, uncle and nephew, finally landed.
