Chapter 27: You're the First to Refuse Me to My Face

Qin Chuan never expected that Xu You would refuse him face to face.

But in front of Xu You, Qin Chuan couldn't say too much.

Qin Chuan tried to smile and said, "Xu You, this training camp will cover many important topics. If you don't attend, it will be difficult to pass the selection competition and enter the provincial team. I still suggest you should participate; this opportunity is too rare."

Hearing Qin Chuan persuading him again to attend the math competition training camp, Xu You finally couldn't stand Qin Chuan anymore.

Whether it was Xu You's father or teachers who had taught him,

they all maintained a very open attitude towards Xu You's choices.

Even if they felt a choice might be better for Xu You,

they never really forced Xu You to make such decisions.

But Qin Chuan, a teacher with whom Xu You had almost no previous connection,

suddenly appeared after Xu You ranked first in the math competition in the province, persuading him to give up physics competition for the math competition training camp.

Ultimately, it was all about some benefits.

As long as Xu You registered for the math competition through No. 4 Middle School,

whether or not he attended the data sprint class, Qin Chuan was nominally his math competition coach.

Even if Xu You had never received guidance from Qin Chuan, as long as Xu You achieved results in the math competition, Qin Chuan would be credited in the eyes of others.

"Teacher Qin, if there's nothing else, I'll go back to the classroom."

Xu You didn't want to give Qin Chuan any face,

nor would he give up the math competition for this.

After all, a student couldn't participate in the competition in their own name but only under the school's name.

Whether Qin Chuan benefited from his achievements was not something Xu You cared about.

The only thing Xu You wanted to do was to give his all in both the physics and math competitions, leaving no regrets.

Being refused by Xu You again, Qin Chuan was also a bit surprised.

This was the first student who dared to directly refuse Qin Chuan to his face.

But facing such a Xu You, Qin Chuan didn't dare to erupt, only swallowing his frustration.

"Alright, if you have any questions, you can ask me anytime. Here's my mobile number; you can add me on WeChat. Call me if it's urgent."

"Okay, thank you, Teacher Qin."

Xu You had never attended Qin Chuan's classes and didn't know the level of his teaching.

But from what he knew about Qin Chuan, Xu You didn't want to ask Qin Chuan any questions.

As for the math competition, Xu You didn't aim for any particular ranking; trying his best was enough.

If he really could make it to the provincial team, he would definitely meet more capable teachers and wouldn't need to find Qin Chuan.

"Xu You, you're currently in Class 6, right? How about transferring to the Olympiad class? We have a better teaching team, suitable for students like you. Being in a regular class is a bit of a waste for you."

Xu You was about to return to the classroom and didn't expect Qin Chuan to bring up the matter of transferring classes again.

Having finally obtained the privilege to study on his own in Class 6, Xu You didn't want to join any Olympiad class.

"Teacher Qin, if I remember correctly, the top student of our grade is in our Class 6, right?"

Qin Chuan didn't expect Xu You to respond in this way, momentarily stunned, unsure how to counter.

Xu You turned and left, leaving only his back to Qin Chuan.

After returning to the classroom, Hu Shucheng immediately asked Xu You, "So, are you going to attend the math competition training?"

"No, I'll focus on the physics competition first, and maybe just take the math competition exam when I have time."

Hearing Xu You's answer, Hu Shucheng was relieved.

"Awesome, Xu You. Before, no student dared to refuse Qin Chuan. Now you're the only hope for No. 4 Middle School's math competition team. Even if you don't listen to him, Qin Chuan wouldn't dare to speak ill of you."

Given Xu You's attitude just now, it was very possible he might give up the math competition entirely.

Qin Chuan had no choice but to go along with Xu You, especially since he was counting on Xu You for a good ranking.

During the break, Hu Shucheng told Xu You about the Olympiad class.

Starting from their cohort, No. 4 Middle School officially established the Olympiad class.

The purpose was to allow students with strengths in single subjects to qualify for colleges through competitions.

At the same time, the school gaining more competition awards would also

 help with future admissions.

The school specially equipped the Olympiad class with a professional teaching team.

Teachers like Gao Shang were famous teachers poached from other high schools.

As for Teacher Qin Chuan, his teaching level wasn't that high; it was said he got the position through some connections.

For this year's No. 4 Middle School math competition team, apart from Xu You, only achieving three third places in the province was also related to Qin Chuan's teaching level.

"Xu You, if you really want to do well in the math competition, it's best not to ask Qin Chuan. I know a few friends in math competitions; I can ask around to see if they can introduce a teacher to give you some guidance."

"Sure, we'll talk about it after the physics competition semifinals."

...

September 19th, the physics competition semifinals finally began.

Through these days of intensive training, Xu You's physics level had improved significantly again.

[Physics: 120→168↑]

Since a score of 100 in a single subject is equivalent to a perfect score in the college entrance examination,

Xu You didn't know what level his physics was at now.

He estimated that at least it wouldn't be much worse than that of an undergraduate majoring in physics.

Xu You remembered when he first encountered the semifinal questions, spending nearly an hour to barely solve one major question.

But now, Xu You could completely solve a semifinal question within 20 minutes.

At 9 a.m., the exam officially started.

The physics competition semifinals' questions were very structured, eight major questions, each worth 40 points.

Although the number of questions seemed small, the amount of work was actually quite large.

Each question had over a hundred words of text description and more than ten physical quantities.

It could be said that without professional training, it would be very difficult to solve even one sub-question.

Xu You quickly started to read the questions after receiving the paper.

"1 (40 points), as shown in figure a, there's a tripod stool with a radius of R on a tour bus (considered a rigid structure), the endpoints of the three identical stool legs forming an equilateral triangle with side length a on a horizontal plane, and the center of gravity of the stool is at point G on its axis. A cylindrical thin-walled teacup with radius r is placed on the stool surface..."

This was a mechanics question, with the difficulty lying in the force analysis of a three-legged round stool's three-dimensional structure.

Most high school mechanics questions are about plane force analysis.

Even if involving three dimensions, they're usually simpler structures, not involving too complicated mathematical knowledge.

But the first question of this problem was not a physics problem but a mathematical one.

"(1) To maximize the tea volume in the cup and maintain sufficient stability, what is the optimal height of the tea in the cup?"

Many students were baffled by this first question.

This first question was clearly a three-dimensional geometry problem.

Is this really a physics competition?

Did I enter the wrong examination room?

Of course, it's not unusual to use various mathematical knowledge in physics competitions.

For Xu You, such questions were too simple.

Having read the question only once, Xu You already had a complete solution.

(End of Chapter)