Chapter 44: A Gamble on Fate

What had happened? What exactly had taken place after school on Friday?

Just moments ago, everyone thought Zhang Peiyue had broken Xiao Cheng's leg, but in the next instant, Xiao Cheng appeared completely unscathed, and he was carrying a pile of backpacks all by himself—backpacks belonging to those who had gone on Friday. He called for them to come and reclaim their things—what did this mean? Some of the students had already guessed: Wen Xiaocheng had won the fight and had seized everyone’s backpack as spoils of war!

And the once arrogant Zhang Peiyue didn’t dare utter a single word!

Wow! How impressive was that?

Curious about the details, several students turned to steal glances at Xiaocheng, who sat at the very back row, a place where he rarely spoke to anyone. Now, as he lay down on his desk as if nothing had happened, beginning his hibernation, more than a few classmates watched him in secret.

Xiaocheng was truly tired. Last night, he had been so excited he hardly slept. Never before had he tried focusing so intently on his own body—what martial artists called “internal observation,” what Buddhists called “meditation,” what philosophers called “contemplation,” what Saints called “small cosmos.” Whatever the name, when thought connects with the physical self, everything becomes wondrous beyond words. It truly felt as if his body and the world had fused into one, his inner cosmos merging with the universe outside—a kind of unity between man and heaven.

Yet, there was a tinge of regret. This unity wasn’t complete; only part of Xiaocheng was in harmony. The part belonging to Wen Xiaodao never quite fit in—every time Xiaocheng tried to commune with the universe, Wen Xiaodao would stand aside, grinning like an amused bystander. This irritated Xiaocheng to no end, making him feel as if he were engaged in something deeply embarrassing, almost blushing beneath that ever-present gaze.

The classroom was abuzz with whispers, but with Xiaocheng unscathed, Yang Liushan finally relaxed and returned to her role as class monitor, calling for discipline, “If you have something to discuss, wait until after class. The teacher will be here any moment.”

Such a mild warning could hardly extinguish the flames of gossip burning in everyone's hearts. Though their voices dropped, no one was truly paying attention to their books. Most students had their eyes on Wen Xiaocheng and Zhang Peiyue. Now, Xiaocheng lay with half his face exposed, perfectly composed and serene, while Zhang Peiyue sat upright, his eyes vacant, his face ashen, lost in thought.

Xiaocheng had given him a difficult dilemma.

The backpacks were dumped in the classroom. He was told to notify their owners. Should he go or not?

If he went, he'd lose face in front of both the class and his friends. If he didn't, and his buddies found out he'd located their backpacks but refused to notify them, they'd probably hate him for it. It was a classic case of being caught between a rock and a hard place.

Zhang Peiyue didn't struggle with the decision for long. The bell rang, and the math teacher entered the classroom just on time. Yang Liushan, seeing this from the podium, quickly packed up her books and gave up her spot. At the call of “Class begin,” everyone stood.

After the routine greetings between teacher and students, everyone sat down. Their math teacher, Ms. Dong, was a woman in her early forties, fairly well-liked among the students—meaning, in their eyes, she was less strict than others.

“Before we start today’s lesson, I have an announcement. The preliminary round for this year’s Math Olympiad is about to begin—it’s scheduled for this Saturday. Our school has registered all eighth graders!”

A chorus of groans rose from below. It wasn’t the registration itself, but the fact that the preliminary round was on a Saturday—ruining their hard-earned day off for a math competition was a source of great resentment.

“What are you groaning for? Don’t you know that winning a prize in the Math Olympiad adds points to your records? This year, because the national qualifiers are being held in our province, the provincial education committee is taking it very seriously and has set very lenient criteria for extra points. As long as you make it to the semi-finals, you get an extra ten points! Do you know how many people those ten points can eliminate?

“I know what you’re thinking. You’ve never studied Math Olympiad, so you’ll be knocked out in the prelims and won’t make it, right? I’m telling you, not necessarily! Do you know what score qualified for the semi-finals last year? On a test out of 100, you only needed 34 points to advance! That’s right, 34! There are 60 points’ worth of multiple-choice questions. If you’re lucky, you could guess your way to 34! You think you can’t do it because you’ve never studied Math Olympiad? Well, those who have studied it can’t do it either! The questions are so tough that even high schoolers might not pass!

“It’s fine if you don’t know the answers—just try your luck. Out of those 60 points, if you can guess half correctly, you’ve got a shot! Isn’t it worth giving up one Saturday for a chance like this? Okay, class rep, collect the entry fee after class—twenty yuan per student. If you don’t have it, use class funds for now…”

Sixty points' worth of multiple-choice questions, four options each—random guessing could net you about 15 points. But with luck, some might really get 34; the odds are probably better than winning the lottery.

“And just because I said you could guess, that doesn’t mean you should just write your name and fill in A, B, C, D at random. Understood? No matter how hard the test is, whoever sets the questions, there are always one or two freebies. Go through the entire test; if you don’t know, then guess! But don’t give up those few easy points! Don’t assume it’s not the final exam and you can do whatever you want. If I find out someone handed in their paper in ten minutes, they’ll be in trouble with me! Alright, that’s enough on that. Let’s start the lesson!”

With finals approaching, all the new material had been covered. Now, it was mainly practice tests and explanation of problems. The teacher handed back last weekend’s test papers. Here, the difference between Ms. Dong and Ms. Zhu became clear—if it were Ms. Zhu, she’d have scolded everyone for ten minutes first.

“We won’t go over the multiple-choice questions; I’ll just read out the correct answers. If you got one wrong, figure out what your mistake was. If you don’t understand, ask a classmate—or, if you don’t mind a bit of sarcasm, come ask me. Questions 1–5: B, B, C, A, D…” To distinguish between B and D, the teacher deliberately pronounced “D” as “de” following the pinyin pronunciation, a custom at Second Middle School that would seem awkward to any outside observer.

“Let’s go over question 15. This one really was tough—more than half the class got it wrong, and who knows how many of the rest guessed correctly. Look at the board!” Until now, Ms. Dong had been leaning over her desk as she taught. Turning around, she spotted the pile of backpacks in the corner. Fifteen or sixteen in all, stacked together—a striking sight! Ms. Dong’s eyes widened instantly.

“Whose backpacks are these?”

As she spoke, her gaze swept across the room, noticing that everyone, in unison, had turned to look in one direction. Following their eyes, she found Wen Xiaocheng, who was fast asleep on his desk.

“Wen Xiaocheng!” Seeing him sleeping, Ms. Dong let the matter of the backpacks drop. “It’s only the first period and you’re already sleeping. If you want to sleep so much, why not go home? Do you already know everything?”

“Yes,” Xiaocheng replied, lifting his head and giving a definitive answer in a single word.

“Come up to the blackboard and solve question fifteen!”

———

Doesn’t this routine from the math teacher seem all too familiar?