Chapter Eighty-Five: Astonishingly Simple

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After roughly scanning the three problems written on the blackboard, Qin Anyi's mind had already begun working at lightning speed. The three questions consisted of two solid geometry problems and one advanced mathematics question. Although advanced mathematics was typically reserved for university-level study, its principles were merely extensions of elementary and intermediate mathematics. With sufficient knowledge in those areas, one could fully derive the solutions, though the difficulty was considerable. Yet, for Qin Anyi at this moment, such a challenge posed no obstacle at all. His mind was simultaneously calculating through all three problems, rapidly conjuring up various solving methods and approaches, discarding them one by one, until only the simplest and most efficient method remained. All of this unfolded entirely within Qin Anyi's mind, without the need for any written aid.

To the other students, however, it appeared as though Qin Anyi, upon turning to face the blackboard, had simply frozen in place, staring at the questions as if stunned, unmoving and expressionless. A wave of mocking whispers rippled through the classroom as the students noticed this. Despite Wang Chenggang's earlier warning against making any noises, he could hardly object to such harmless sounds. Besides, he himself felt a twinge of disappointment. He hadn’t expected that Qin Anyi would be so taken aback by the questions—at the very least, he should have picked up a piece of chalk and tried to work through them. After all, a student from Changqing No. 1 should not be so lost at the sight of the problems.

Meanwhile, Yan Tao had already begun tackling the first question. After glancing at the blackboard, he felt little confidence about solving any of the three. Still, Yan Tao believed that even if he couldn’t get the correct answers, he might at least score some points for his steps. In his mind, if these tough questions stumped him, then Qin Anyi would surely fare even worse. Feeling reassured, Yan Tao proceeded methodically, solving step by step according to his own reasoning, while occasionally casting a sidelong glance at Qin Anyi. He found Qin Anyi standing motionless before the blackboard, showing no intention of picking up the chalk.

This only further bolstered Yan Tao’s confidence. Clearly, he thought, he was superior—the other boy didn’t even have an approach to the problem. How could someone like that possibly be a student at Changqing No. 1? Yan Tao inwardly scoffed at Qin Anyi and realized whom the whispers behind him were directed at. No longer considering Qin Anyi a rival, Yan Tao devoted himself entirely to solving the blackboard problems, determined to shine now that the other posed no threat.

He was sure that the rest of the class was also attempting to solve the questions, meaning his true competition lay there. Yet, under the current education system, most people's talents were drowned in the mass production of exam-oriented learning. From parents to teachers, no one gave them the time to discover their own worlds.

However, Wang Chenggang's disappointment lasted less than a minute before his perception began to shift. He was astonished to find that the steps Qin Anyi wrote on the blackboard were unprecedentedly simple. Since Wang Chenggang had composed these questions himself, he was intimately familiar with the proper solution methods. Yet, what Qin Anyi wrote differed entirely from what he remembered. Strangely enough, it was still correct!

Staring wide-eyed in disbelief, Wang Chenggang watched Qin Anyi’s hand move confidently, writing out the solution steps. In ten years of teaching, he had never witnessed such a bizarre scenario—a student's method so alien, and yet so effective. This, he thought, was no longer mere skill but had reached the realm of artistry. To Wang Chenggang, Qin Anyi’s approach to mathematics was almost an art form. Clearly, this student must have deliberately concealed his true ability by performing poorly in past exams.

Having reached this conclusion, Wang Chenggang huffed to himself, now eagerly anticipating Qin Anyi’s performance on the third question. If the first two could still be solved by Changqing No. 1 students, the third was utterly beyond the reach of any high school student. Even among undergraduates at top universities, few could tackle it. Would Qin Anyi continue to surprise him?