Chapter 559 : Questionable
Hu Ruixing nodded. “Of course.”
Qin Murong was finally escorted into the car secretly. She was guarded along the entire route by bodyguards from the Qin and Hu families until she arrived at the airport. She then boarded the Hus’ private plane.
The moment she boarded the plane, Qin Murong knew that there was no hope left in her future.
She was completely lost about her coming days in Nacheng. She felt as if her life had already ended.
What was the point of being in a small remote town like Nacheng?
Tan Mo and Qin Muye could not care less about how the Hu family would treat Qin Murong after she landed in Nacheng.
The preparation work for Tan Jinqi’s crew was complete, and the filming would officially begin on Wednesday.
Tan Mo wanted to be part of the crew. If there was any need to modify the script, she could do it on the spot and give immediate feedback.
However, she had to prepare for the math competition, so she had no choice but to postpone joining the crew.
Nonetheless, Tan Mo was still having daily discussions with Tan Jinqi regarding the breakdown of the scenes.
Tan Mo was expertly skilled and efficient in drawing storyboards. Tan Jinqi only needed to express his thoughts, and Tan Mo would be able to sketch them out simultaneously.
She wondered if Professor Guo and Professor Yao had made a schedule to contact her.
They would take turns calling her on alternate days.
Professor Guo would check up on Tan Mo one day, and Professor Yao the next.
They would always ask how her preparations were coming along.
Each time, Tan Mo would respond that she was doing great, which she wasn’t sure if both of her professors believed.
Regardless, they kept checking in on her on alternate days. It was either a phone call or a text via WeChat.
This went on until the day before the competition.
The big day was tomorrow. Professor Guo and Professor Yao had gathered all the mathletes in a vacant lecture hall.
When it came to mathematics competitions, there were no rigid requirements restricting the participation of students in different grades.
However, most of the participating students were either in their third or final year.
There were only a couple of freshmen and sophomores who were likely confident enough to believe that their understanding of mathematics had reached a level of competence that was sufficient for them to take part in competitions.
Perhaps some people just wanted to have a little experience so that they could be prepared for future competitions.
Tan Mo noticed two familiar faces in the crowd...
Du Zeyang and Chi Xuanzi.
Their eyes lit up when the two of them saw Tan Mo. They began waving happily at her. “Tan Mo!”
Their excited voices attracted the attention of those around them.
Everyone looked over.
To their surprise, it was Tan Mo.
Everyone was confused, thinking that they had gone to the wrong room.
Was this not the classroom briefing for those in the Department of Mathematics who were participating in the upcoming mathematics competition?
Did the Department of Chinese Literature or Department of History have some activity planned in the same room as well?
Tan Mo hurried over to greet Du Zeyang and Chi Xuanzi.
“I’m surprised that you signed up for the math competition too.” Du Zeyang was suddenly feeling very confident about this competition. “Which category did you sign up for? Team or individual?”
“Individual, and I signed up for all of them,” Tan Mo said.
Chi Xuanzi inhaled sharply. “Are you participating in the Shing-Tung Yau competition too?
“Yeah.” Tan Mo nodded. “What about you guys?”
“We’re participating in a team competition, and we also signed up for the Shing-Tung Yau Mathematics Award,” Du Zeyang explained.
“But I don’t have much confidence in winning any medals. I just wanted to try it out. I have better chances in the categories of the Hua Luogeng Mathematics Award and the Chern Prize,” Chi Xuanzi said. “But I thought I could give the others a shot too.”
Du Zeyang nodded. “My thoughts exactly! The ones I’m better at are the Hua Luogeng Award and Zhou Weiliang Award. But I signed up for the other ones just to see how I’d do. Of course, I don’t expect to win the Shing-Tung Yau Mathematics Award. I’ll be satisfied as long as I can get a good ranking in the Hua Luogeng Award and Zhou Weiliang Award. But if I do get a medal, then that would be the cherry on top.”
From Tan Mo’s perspective, Du Zeyang and Chi Xuanzi were considered top students in the Department of Mathematics.
Yet, the two of them didn’t even have confidence in this competition. They only aimed to win individual medals, and not necessarily the gold medal either, because they were happy enough with getting the silver and bronze.
“What about the rest?” Tan Mo asked. “Are they confident?”
“I can’t say that they aren’t, but they’re all mostly confident in the individual categories. No one has their hopes pegged for the all-rounder competition except Wu Yuanbo and Yuan Siwen, who are aiming for the silver medal of the Shing-Tung Yau Award. Their current goal is to get the bronze and compete with each other for the silver medal.”
Tan Mo didn’t know much about the Department of Mathematics, so she asked in a hushed tone, “What rankings do Wu Yuanbo and Yuan Siwen belong to in the Department of Mathematics? Are they at the top of the ranks, or...”
“They are tied for first place. They’re both equally good,” Du Zeyang said.
Tan Mo thought, ‘The Department of Mathematics at Beijing University could really do with some improvement.’
The best-ranking students were only aiming for the silver medal of the Shing-Tung Yau Award, and they were still not very confident with themselves at that.
The situation seemed dire.
As Tan Mo was questioning the capabilities of the Beijing University mathletes...
The others were observing Tan Mo.
They wondered what she was doing there.
Tan Mo excelled in both the Department of History and Chinese Literature. Why was she sticking her foot in the Department of Mathematics too?
While everyone was quietly judging one another, Professor Guo and Professor Yao finally entered the room.
Without the professors saying a word, the students became quiet.
“Wu Yuanbo, how many people have arrived? Are they all here?” Professor Yao asked.
Tan Mo had yet to meet Wu Yuanbo.
Hearing what Professor Yao had said, a tall and thin boy with dark skin, thick lips, and black-rimmed glasses walked out from the crowd.
He hesitated for a while, unsure if Tan Mo should be added to the headcount.
“Everyone’s here.” Whether Tan Mo was included or not, the rest were all here.
Professor Yao nodded and waved toward Tan Mo. “Tan Mo, come over here.”
Everyone’s eyes were suddenly focused on Tan Mo.
Under the gaze of the crowd, Tan Mo stepped out and made her way toward Professor Yao.
“Professor Yao, Professor Guo,” Tan Mo called out in respect.
Professor Yao thought, ‘Hey, the little girl finally said his name first!’
All this while, she had always called out to Professor Guo before him.
What was that about?
Was their seniority ranked in no particular order to Tan Mo?
Both Professor Yao and Professor Guo smiled and nodded at Tan Mo.
“How have your studies been coming along lately?” Professor Guo asked.
Tan Mo answered in her heart, ‘You asked me the same question only yesterday.’
“It’s been going pretty well. I’ve done all the past year’s questions, and they were all pretty okay,” Tan Mo said.
The conversation between Professor Guo and Tan Mo made it explicitly clear to everyone there.
Tan Mo was participating in the math competition after all.
Did she really have what it took?
From the looks of it, Professor Guo and Professor Yao clearly knew that already.
They both agreed that Tan Mo would do just fine out there.
Someone could not help but voice out their concern. “Professor Guo, Professor Yao, are you implying that Tan Mo will be joining the competition?”
“Yes.” Professor Yao nodded. “After witnessing Tan Mo’s mathematical abilities, I recommended Tan Mo as a participant to President Mu and Professor Guo.. After being assessed by Professor Guo, he personally invited Tan Mo to be a mathlete in the upcoming competition.”