At eight o'clock sharp, the second CMO exam officially began.
There were still three questions with four and a half hours to complete the exam.
Clearly, the difficulty was not as friendly as yesterday's. At least the first question yesterday was a warm-up, whereas today's...
Judging from the furrowed brows of all examinees in the exam hall, the questions were challenging.
Of course, that was not the case for everyone. For example -
When the Jiang surname examinee saw the questions, he immediately perked up as if he had been recharged. Previously slouched, he instantly sat up straight.
That posture - had one not known better, they might have thought he had seen the questions beforehand.
Also -
The Ji surname examinee's pen did not stop moving, while her facial expression remained unchanged throughout. It was as if, to the unknowing observer, she was merely practicing her penmanship.
And her handwriting was admittedly quite good, as a passing proctor silently noted.
...
"Candidates, please stop writing..."
Only when the exam ended after four and a half grueling hours did Ji Ruochu finally let out a breath.
Even as she left the exam hall, wenchang star in her left hand and pen case in her right, her mind was still preoccupied with the exam questions, her solution methods, and... was this really the difficulty of the final?
Even when the lead teacher told everyone to go rest after eating, she remained somewhat in a daze.
Not until her concerned friends who saw her absent-mindedness had piled her favorite dishes onto her tray, and when she took a sip of the hot soup, did she finally confirm that this was not a dream.
What she had just been doing were problems that had stumped her in her previous life, preventing her from advancing past the national training squad. Why she would have such doubts could be traced back to when she was still Tan Ruochu.
Although many details of the past had grown fuzzy, she clearly remembered how difficult that final exam had been.
Back then, she had hoped to win the gold medal in the winter camp to gain recommendation to a prestigious university.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard she tried, she always seemed to fall short of the geniuses, who easily grasped question types that she had brushed up on dozens or hundreds of times.
She had always thought the gap was one of talent, but the truth was, she had already fallen behind from the start.
Unlike the geniuses already familiar with the exam format, she was but a newbie who had only started competitive math six months prior.
And she had only started because the gold medal would lead to a recommended spot at her desired top university, perhaps even with reduced tuition and scholarships.
She needed that chance, so she strived to catch up to those wunderkinds.
Later, even her coach was shocked that she had made it to the CMO.
But that was it.
She vaguely recalled that during the two exam days, drizzling winter rain had fallen outside.
The freezing wind and rain made her shiver.
As the straggler of the pack, it was only after finishing the exam that she realized she had a fever. Upon leaving the exam hall, she lost consciousness.
When she next awoke in the hospital, the final rankings had already been released.
She placed second.
The gold medal that would have granted her entry to her preferred university had narrowly eluded her grasp.
Seeing her so soon after her illness, her teacher and classmates’ faces were etched with pity, for they all knew her goal.
Thus, their regret ran even deeper.
To those geniuses, she must have seemed so pitiful then - burning the midnight oil night after night for a recommendation spot, barely qualifying for the national competition, only to fall just short...
But her coach at the time did not see things the same way. Though the memories had grown hazy, his lamenting words remained clear to her muddled mind:
“She only started competitive math six months ago, yet made it all the way to the national finals. Had it been a year earlier... She may well have claimed the crown.”
“That girl is a tough one. Her roommate said she’s been taking medicine these past few days, claiming they were vitamins. But I just took a look - they were cold medicine. Taking the exam while sick, yet still claiming silver...”
Indeed, had she been in good health during the exam, claiming silver while ill, how could she have possibly stopped at silver?
Had her coach’s speculation not echoed her own thoughts back then?
Had she come from a happy family instead of working part-time jobs since high school, had she learned about competitive math earlier instead of remaining in the dark until her second year... Would the gold medal not have been hers?
In that moment, unwillingness and helplessness surged forth, but it was merely a fleeting sensation.
Complaining would change nothing.
So what if she had missed out on a gold medal? It wasn’t her only path forward. She could still contribute to the nation in other ways than being another burden relying on government assistance.
She had hoped that a recommended spot would allow her to pay next semester’s living expenses through tutoring jobs she could take before the term started. After all, she preferred to earn scholarships through her own effort rather than rely on need-based grants.
But in the end...
“Ruochu?” Noticing she hadn’t touched her food for some time, her friend Miaomiao waved a hand before her eyes in concern.
Snapping back from her wandering thoughts, Ji Ruochu regained her composure.
“Hurry up and eat before it gets cold.”
“Got it.”
With a smile, Ji Ruochu resumed her meal.
Let bygones be bygones. She was no longer that unfledged fledgling who never got a chance to spread her wings.
Now, she had full confidence in herself.
The national training squad surely had a spot with her name on it!
