Sisi Shao turned around and glanced at Evan Lin, who was sitting in the back row.
From Sisi Shao's angle, she could only see Evan Lin's side profile, not his whole face. Instead, she got a clear view of Rachel Liu, who was sitting next to him, her expression calm and composed.
Rachel Liu was the kind of girl who could draw every eye without even trying. Her looks and aura were so striking that even Sisi Shao, who was usually pretty proud herself, couldn’t help feeling a little jealous.
“Sisi, what’s the deal with Evan Lin anyway?”
The short, chubby girl sitting next to Sisi Shao shot Evan Lin a sideways glance, her eyes full of curiosity.
She wasn’t much to look at—neither her face nor her figure stood out—but her grades were top-notch, and she got along well with Sisi Shao most of the time.
Hearing what Ouyang said earlier, she couldn’t help getting even more curious about Evan Lin.
“He’s just a narcissist with zero manliness.” Sisi Shao immediately gave her verdict on Evan Lin, looking thoroughly annoyed. Just thinking about the stuff Evan Lin had done made her feel frustrated inside.
“Sisi, should we find a chance to teach that kid a lesson? He looks like he’s hard to get along with—kind of arrogant.” Allen Zeng, who was sitting in front, turned around and pushed up his glasses, looking at Sisi Shao with a flattering expression.
“He doesn’t look like study material either. I bet the only reason he got a spot in the Math Olympiad is because No. 2 High didn’t have anyone else to send.” Allen Zeng mused, looking thoughtful.
“His grades are terrible. Lynn Chen already said so before.” Sisi Shao was totally on board with that assessment.
She’d even asked Lynn Chen about it specifically, and Lynn confirmed that Evan Lin’s grades were really, really bad. The last few semesters, his finals were a total disaster. Lynn’s mom, Lucy Lu, had tried more than once to hire a tutor for Evan, but he always refused.
Later, Lucy Lu tried to get Lynn Chen to tutor Evan Lin herself, but Lynn was obviously not interested and protested, so nothing ever came of it.
Sisi Shao was genuinely surprised that Evan Lin was here for the competition. She never expected to run into him in a place like this.
Thomas Zhao, on the other side, kept sneaking glances at Evan Lin. He wanted to talk to Rachel Liu, but it was painfully obvious that Rachel was radiating pure ice-cold vibes.
What really ticked Thomas Zhao off, though, was noticing that Rachel Liu actually glanced at Evan Lin every now and then!
Of course, it was probably just that Rachel Liu wanted to look out the window and had to turn her head that way, but even so, it still bugged Thomas Zhao.
The bus sped down the highway, racing along the road.
Every so often, a few flashy sports cars would zoom past the bus, speeding by.
By the time the bus got off the highway and reached the River City exit, it was already midday.
River City was way bigger than Brightsea, and as the provincial capital, it was even more bustling. Skyscrapers surrounded them, and the streets were packed with nonstop traffic.
River City First High School was located in the Beihai District. When the bus pulled up, the security guard yawned, strolled out of his booth, asked a few routine questions, then opened the automatic gate and let the bus in.
This year, River City First High was hosting the provincial Math Olympiad, and the River City Education Bureau was taking it very seriously.
The school parking lot was packed with buses—obviously all here for the math competition.
The bus found a spot and slowly came to a stop.
Howard Huang stood up and looked at the students in the bus. “We’ve arrived, everyone. Let’s get off together and head to the hotel to rest for a bit.”
“The Math Olympiad is the day after tomorrow, so you have a whole day tomorrow to explore River City, get settled, and adjust your mindset. Let’s aim for a great result!”
Howard Huang led the group off the bus, and the students followed one after another.
There were plenty of students from other schools milling around the parking lot—just a rough count showed over two hundred people.
All of them were top math students from different cities. For this provincial Math Olympiad, getting a good result wouldn’t just bring honor to their schools—it would also mean a big bonus on their college entrance exam scores.
If you got lucky and won the provincial Math Olympiad, then made it to the national competition and took first place, you might even get admitted straight into top schools like Beijing University or Huaqing University—no need to fight through the college entrance exam gauntlet.
For a lot of people, that kind of ranking was insanely attractive.
Sisi Shao got off the bus with her classmates, and as soon as she stepped down, plenty of boys nearby couldn’t help but stare.
But when Rachel Liu got off, every guy’s breath seemed to catch, and you could practically hear their hearts slow down.
“Let’s go, everyone—don’t get separated.” Old Man Liu glanced back at Evan Lin and the others, then put his hands behind his back and headed off toward the school gate.
The Education Bureau had booked a four-star hotel not far from River City First High. Evan Lin and the others followed Old Man Liu, while Howard Huang led the First High students.
The whole group marched out of the school, heading for the hotel.
River City First High’s campus was huge, and since it was class time, no one came out to greet them. As a nationally ranked key high school, they usually kept an aloof attitude toward visiting teams.
Whether it was teaching staff or facilities, River City First High could easily outclass any other school. Old Man Liu didn’t seem to care much, though—he just looked as calm as ever.
Meanwhile, Howard Huang quietly clenched his fists, feeling a surge of excitement.
If the students Howard Huang brought from Brightsea First High could place in the competition, he might soon be promoted to head of the math department when he got back.
With that on his résumé, after a few more years, he might even be able to transfer to River City First High.
That was Howard Huang’s dream.
It was the dream of a lot of teachers, too.
When they reached the school gate, a middle-aged man stood there, his hair slick and shiny, pacing in front of the entrance.
Seeing him, Howard Huang felt a flicker of recognition, then froze in surprise and couldn’t help exclaiming, “Victor Qin?”
“Teacher, who’s Victor Qin?”
Sisi Shao, standing next to Howard Huang, couldn’t help asking when she saw his reaction.
“He’s the province’s top authority in math education! He’s written the college entrance exam math papers for two years straight, and he personally compiled the entire ‘Heavenly Axes Mathematics’ training series!”
“He’s been featured three years running in the provincial Outstanding Teachers yearbook, and he’s the youngest special-grade math teacher in the province!”
“But what’s he doing here?”
Howard Huang was momentarily baffled, unable to figure it out.