Top Student at Their Peak
Chapter 51 - 51 51 Choices Depend on the Pattern

51: Chapter 51: Choices Depend on the Pattern 51: Chapter 51: Choices Depend on the Pattern At the same time, Qiao Yu was having breakfast with Xia Keke at the noodle shop downstairs in their community.

“Brother, how did you do in the competition?

Can you make it to the finals?”

The two of them sat face-to-face at a small table in the breakfast shop.

Xia Keke was busy picking the steaming noodles in her bowl while asking enthusiastically.

Knowing that Qiao Yu signed up for the Little Alibaba Mathematics Competition, she went home to study the rules specifically.

Naturally, she knew that making it to the finals is what counts in this competition.

Qiao Yu replied seriously, “Do you even need to ask?

Would I put in so much effort on something useless if I couldn’t make it to the finals?

You wouldn’t know since you didn’t participate, but the questions were really simple.

It’s actually hard not to make it to the finals.”

Just then, the phone in his pocket vibrated.

Qiao Yu took it out to check.

Coincidentally, it was a WeChat message from the good guy, asking almost the same thing as Xia Keke.

Qiao Yu started to reply.

If his answer to Xia Keke was confident, then his reply to the good guy was more tactful.

“So-so, I felt that apart from the first two questions, the others were quite difficult, especially the last one.

The most annoying thing is that the questions didn’t indicate the scores, so I’m not sure if I can make it to the finals either.”

Evidently, although Qiao Yu’s answer to Xia Keke was boastful, it was actually more genuine.

The reason is simple; after all, they grew up together.

Since Qiao Yu could remember, this little girl has been following him around like a little puppy.

On the way to kindergarten, as long as she was with him, she wouldn’t cry.

If he couldn’t go to kindergarten for some reason, you could hear her crying her heart out through the door.

She even said she was scared and refused to sleep at night.

No one could console her, but if you put her in Qiao Yu’s room, she’d fall asleep in no time.

Honestly, at that time, if Qiao Yu asked Xia Keke to call him “dad,” this little girl would do it without hesitation, loud and clear, without minding anyone around.

This probably had to do with the busy work on the railway.

Xia Keke’s parents didn’t have much time to look after her.

Especially during holidays, when everyone else was together with family, Xia Keke’s parents were on duty in trains, so busy they didn’t know which way was up.

Back then, without high-speed trains, getting on the train might mean several days on board.

So almost every time school was out, it was Qiao Yu who would take Xia Keke around the community, ruling the roost.

Qiao Yu was already accustomed to the look of infinite admiration Xia Keke gave him when she was little.

Unfortunately, since she entered sixth grade, the girl was not as obedient as before.

For example, now if you ask her to call him “dad,” she not only wouldn’t but would think of ways to give Qiao Yu a punch.

…

“Don’t worry, maybe you were too nervous participating in this kind of competition for the first time, and without systematic learning, some comprehensive questions are indeed tough.

Don’t be discouraged, if not this year, there’s always next year.

But in June next year, you’ll probably be preparing for the IMO, keep it up!”

Qiao Yu looked at the comforting words from the good guy on his phone and didn’t know how to reply.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Xia Keke staring at his phone, so he simply put the phone back in his pocket.

Otherwise, this girl might find an excuse to snatch the phone away.

“Who is it?”

“The good guy.”

“That Teacher Lan?

What’s he doing contacting you during the break?”

“He knows I signed up for the Little Alibaba competition, and he’s asking about the results too.”

“Then he must be very happy to know that you can make it to the finals, right?”

Hearing this, Qiao Yu gave Xia Keke a disdainful look and said, “Only kids brag around everyone.

Adults know how to hide their skills, you know?

Hide their skills!

The bird that sticks out gets shot, understand?”

“Then you just said…

Qiao Yu, you’re calling me inhuman!

I’m gonna tell Aunt Qiao!” Xia Keke instantly got angry, her small face scrunching up all her facial features together.

Qiao Yu was quite pleased; at least the girl he grew up playing with was quick-witted, unlike Zhou Shuang who takes forever, but he still stood his ground and retorted confidently, “Are you stupid?

Am I calling you inhuman?

I’m emphasizing that you are family!

Who hides their skills from their own family?”

After saying that, Qiao Yu even rolled his eyes, but it worked well; the little girl across from him immediately stopped being angry, and even her cheeks turned noticeably red.

Yesterday, Star City had another rain, but today it cleared up, and the temperature shot up.

He could see small beads of sweat forming on Xia Keke’s delicate forehead…

Oh no, could this girl be taking it the wrong way, thinking he was confessing or something?

So Qiao Yu put on a serious face and added, “For example, do you think I’d hide my skills in front of my mom?”

What he meant to express was that he treats Xia Keke like family, but she seemed to have misunderstood the meaning and didn’t counter him as sharply as usual.

She didn’t say a word, just sipped her noodles in small bites, pretending to be all ladylike.

There was no way to explain it more clearly.

Frankly, Qiao Yu couldn’t figure out what the quirky little brain was thinking every day, nor did he dare look at the girl’s silly expression, so he simply took big bites of his noodles, finished quickly, and then took out his phone again.

The good guy on WeChat, seeing that he hadn’t replied, went on chattering again.

“Do not be discouraged, and never give up on your pursuit of mathematics.

The path of mathematics is destined to be difficult, and the current failures are only to make your future path steadier!”

“As long as you believe in your talent, you will surely succeed in the future!

I guarantee it with nearly ten years of my teaching experience.”

Fortunately, Lan Jie didn’t send a third message, otherwise, he would really have been moved by the good guy’s spirit of loving students like his own children — just a little bit away from being genuinely touched.

After carefully pondering in his mind this time, Qiao Yu replied, “Don’t worry, Teacher Lan, I have long-term plans.

Although the Xiao Li Group math competition questions are a bit hard, the IMO problems you gave me are quite simple.

I’ll use the exercise book you provided to regain my confidence today.”

After writing this, Qiao Yu still wasn’t quite satisfied and added three bicep-flexing emoji.

“Brother, I’m full.”

“Oh, then let’s go.”

Standing up, he casually paid with his phone, walked out of the noodle shop, and felt the sun gently warming his body.

Qiao Yu let out a big stretch, catching sight of the little girl beside him sneaking glances at him, suddenly feeling refreshed.

He finally regained the feeling of ruling the roost in the community with the little girl back in the day.

The only pity is that those little brats who dared to challenge them back then no longer roam the neighborhood.

Qiao Yu thought the worst part of this world is that as people grow older, simple joys become fewer, the ways to obtain happiness become more complicated, and cost more money.

It’s tough!

“Brother, how about I enroll at Railway First Middle School too?”

The words that entered his ears startled Qiao Yu.

With only a few days left till the high school entrance exam, he didn’t want Old Xia rushing downstairs with a knife to take him on this summer.

“Are you kidding!

You, go to Railway First Middle School?

I’m a man who’s going to Qingbei in the future!

Railway First Middle School hasn’t produced a Qingbei student in years!

So, which do you want to go to in the future, Huaqing or Yanbei?

You might as well think about it carefully during this time, and perhaps I can check things out for you first.”

“Oh, alright then!”

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