“That’s why I said she was impressive,” replied the Secretary-General with a profound look in his eyes.

  The Chairman went quiet for a few seconds before he continued to read the test sheet. He especially focused on the tough physics question, which Zhang had personally prepared.

  A long while later, the Chairman smiled with great admiration on his face while leaning into his seat.

  He sighed and said, “She’s genuinely impressive. Just look at how ingeniously the equation was answered. There isn’t a single unnecessary step in it. Also, this method of solving the question is very novel. It’s even simpler than the answer that Zhang gave us.”


  Although the Secretary-General was not an expert in physics, he saw the excellent logic which the student had used, after he heard the Chairman say so.

  He collected himself and said, “Zhang always wanted to find himself a disciple with unsurpassable talent in physics. Shall we recommend the top scorer from No.1 Middle School to him?”


  The Chairman removed his glasses and rubbed the corners of his eyes. After a brief silence, he replied. “Not yet. Since it’s just a preliminary test, it’s too early to tell. After all, the top scorer is an art student. What if it was sheer coincidence that she solved Zhang’s question?”


  The Secretary-General felt that his words made sense, so he said, “Alright. Let’s see how she fares at the city level heats then.”


  “Mhm,” replied the Chairman gently. Then he placed the answer script on the table.

  The Secretary-General glanced at the answer script again and said, “Shall we take a picture of the answer for the physics question and send it to Zhang? I’m sure he’ll be……”


  The Chairman raised his head and interrupted him. “Zhang already did the Education Association a huge favor by taking time from his busy schedule to help us come up with the question. Questions like this mean nothing to him, so there’s really no need to kick a fuss about it.”


  The Secretary-General touched his nose and replied politely. “Okay, I got it. Then let me archive the answer script.”


  “Go on.”


  As soon as the Secretary-General turned to leave, the Chairman suddenly remembered something and asked the Secretary-General from behind. “Oh yes. There’s a girl called Lu Xia from the No.1 Middle School who signed up for the test as well. How did she fare?”


  The Secretary-General halted in his steps. He remembered Lu Xia’s name because his daughter was her fan.

  The Secretary-General turned to reply to his boss. “She scored 138 marks and came in 6th, so she did quite well.”


  Then he added the next sentence as an afterthought. “I think this student is a campus star who specializes in science. She’s quite talented for doing so well in different fields of life.”


  The Chairman tapped his fingertips on the table gently and replied. “Sure, okay. Carry on with your work.”


  The Secretary-General glanced at the Chairman. Although he was unclear why the Chairman suddenly asked about Lu Xia, he did not probe any further and left.

  ***

  On Saturday.

  Shortly after breakfast, Song Ning dragged Huo Yao off to the supermarket near their estate and bought a lot of groceries and snacks.

  After paying the bill, Song Ning suddenly giggled out loud when she turned around to see her daughter looking miserable with her hands full.

  Song Ning extended her hand to help with the bags and said, “Girls shouldn’t stay at home all the time. You should come out for some fun too. If you keep staying at home to study, you will end up being a nerd.”


  Huo Yao turned down her mother’s offer to help expressionlessly and exposed her mother in a blunt manner. “You’re just saying this because you needed someone to carry your shopping bags.”


  Song Ning coughed sheepishly. When she saw how effortlessly Huo Yao carried the two bags, she knew there was no way this was the delicate and sweet daughter which she had imagined her to be.

  Huo Yao glanced at the grocery bag in her hand and asked her mother. “Are we expecting guests today?”