Early the next morning, Evan Lin did his usual laps around the residential community and only arrived at the school gate at nine thirty.
This time, the National Math Olympiad team was led by Old Man Liu.
Besides Old Man Liu, there were four others at the gate—two boys and two girls.
Even before getting close, Evan spotted Rachel Liu, who stood out from the crowd.
Today, Rachel Liu wore a pale skirt with white canvas shoes, a little vest over a white shirt—her face as cold and aloof as ever. When she saw Evan walking over, a flash of surprise crossed her eyes.
This time, the school had five spots for the Math Olympiad team, while First High got ten.
Originally, No. 2 High wasn’t supposed to get this many spots—it was thanks to Ethan Yi making headlines that the Education Bureau took two spots from First High and gave them to No. 2 High.
During the last exam, Rachel Liu saw Evan hand in his paper so quickly and assumed he’d given up, so she didn’t bother thinking about him at all.
Just now, everyone had been waiting for the so-called fifth member—no one expected it to be Evan.
He only spent forty-five minutes on the test—how did he get a spot on the team?
Lydia Liao was inwardly startled, but she managed to hide her shock perfectly.
Old Man Liu, seeing Evan Lin arrive, broke into a rare smile and nodded at him. "Since you’re here, let’s head out. We’ll go to the station first—the Education Bureau chartered a bus this time, and we’re riding together with First High’s team."
With that, Old Man Liu put his hands behind his back and led the way.
"Evan Lin?"
Another boy looked at Evan, a flash of barely noticeable displeasure in his eyes.
His name was Thomas Zhao—a true math prodigy since elementary school, always dominating every math test and standing above his peers until sophomore year.
In junior year, he was finally surpassed by Lydia Liao, who was in the second tier of math talents, but Thomas was still recognized as a math genius. His most impressive record was scoring perfect marks in three consecutive midterms and finals—even the strict Old Man Liu would nod at him from time to time.
On the last test, Thomas scored 105. Whenever people asked, he’d claim he only got about seventy, but that was just false modesty—deep down, he was proud and arrogant, especially when it came to math.
Especially in the world of mathematics.
"Heard you got a 110?" Thomas asked with a smile, stepping forward as if to clap Evan on the shoulder. But halfway there, he hesitated and didn’t go through with it.
Because he saw Evan’s face turn slightly, those calm, indifferent eyes making the darkness in Thomas’s heart churn with irritation and unease.
He’d hoped to use this trip to get closer to Lydia Liao, but was disappointed when, as soon as Evan showed up, Lydia’s attention shifted entirely to him.
"Seriously, a 110?" Ivy Zhao, a freckled girl with a single ponytail, stared at Evan in surprise. "Aren’t you the soccer ace? You’re this good at math too?"
"You probably don’t know this, but Evan Lin’s basically the campus legend now. Used to keep a low profile, but suddenly he taught Leo Tianxia a lesson, settled things with Ethan Yi on the field, and now he aced that hellish math test with an insane score like 110. You gotta respect that, right, Evan?" The girl speaking was Lydia Liao, about 165 centimeters tall, wearing denim shorts. Her looks were above average—maybe not as ethereal as Rachel Liu, but at least class-flower level.
"Thanks for the compliment," Evan replied, glancing over the group before losing interest.
He couldn’t be bothered to guess at their little schemes—none of it mattered to him.
That test paper was just a matter of spending more time thinking—if Evan used the full exam time, he was sure he could’ve gotten a perfect score.
Seeing Evan uninterested, Lydia Liao frowned slightly, a bit annoyed.
She was fairly well-known at school: good grades, good looks, decent family background, and plenty of boys chasing after her.
Before, Lydia never would’ve spared Evan a glance, but now, he was the one not putting her in his eyes—which made her quietly irritated.
No matter what she said, Evan refused to play along, leaving her feeling powerless.
Ivy Zhao and Lydia Liao, now united in their annoyance, both found Evan hard to stomach. Thomas Zhao, meanwhile, smirked inwardly—he was supremely confident in his own math skills, and figured Evan must have cheated to score 110.
The group fell into a tense silence. Old Man Liu didn’t bother to smooth things over; instead, he looked at his five students with a sigh and a hint of emotion in his eyes.
When they reached the bus station, the students from First High were already waiting.
First High’s coach, a middle-aged man, came over quickly when he saw Old Man Liu, greeting him with a broad smile. "Mr. Liu, why didn’t you call ahead? I could’ve sent a car to pick you up."
"No need, it’s just a short walk. I’m still able to get around," Old Man Liu replied calmly, not playing the senior card at all.
Even though First High and Second High were always academic rivals, Old Man Liu obviously stood above such petty competition.
First High’s coach was Howard Huang, a rising star who’d trained several top math students and led his team to awards. Before the trip, the principal had called him into the office for a special reminder.
To sum it up: beat Second High in competition results, but treat Mr. Liu with extra respect in every other way.
Howard Huang glanced at the five students behind Old Man Liu. He paused, a little stunned by Rachel Liu’s looks, but that was about it.
First High’s team consisted of seven boys and three girls.
Both groups began sizing each other up, and most of the boys’ eyes lingered on Rachel Liu and Lydia Liao.
"Evan Lin!"
A surprised voice from the First High crowd caught Evan’s attention.
Evan looked over and, seeing who it was, raised an eyebrow in mild surprise.