Chapter 564 - 560: Not a Single Question Answered Correctly

Mr. Stone had personally selected these few problems. They were all highly typical, representative, and by no means simple.

So, Mr. Stone was prepared for the students to struggle with their answers.

The other students’ performances were indeed just as he had expected, but Cecilia Sterling was the sole exception.

Watching Cecilia’s thought process and steps on her scratch paper, he was secretly astonished. Every step matched the official solution perfectly. It was simply incredible.

If he hadn’t picked out the problems himself, he would have even suspected that someone had deliberately leaked them to Cecilia.

After the shock, Mr. Stone’s eyes filled with unconcealed admiration.

The candidate John Lawson had so strongly recommended was truly the right choice.

However, before Mr. Stone could enjoy his delight for long, he discovered that while Cecilia’s thought process and answers on her scratch paper were completely correct, what she wrote on her test paper was a different version entirely.

Seeing this, he couldn’t help but frown, giving Cecilia a puzzled look.

But he didn’t say anything, afraid of breaking the other students’ concentration.

Seeing Mr. Stone standing motionless behind Cecilia, the others grew curious, especially Elias Warner. ’As the one with the most competition experience, shouldn’t I be the one getting the most attention and consideration?’

’What’s this Cecilia Sterling up to? She can’t solve a single problem, can she?’

Time ticked by, second by second. It wasn’t until Mr. Stone announced that time was up and they had to put down their pens that everyone sat up straight. All the while, Mr. Stone had remained standing behind Cecilia, not moving an inch.

He collected Cecilia’s paper first, giving her a deep, meaningful look.

Cecilia knew the teacher had been watching her the whole time, but she wasn’t affected. These Olympiad problems were indeed difficult, but for her, they were a breeze.

In her previous life, when she was immersed in her space research work, the calculations she had to perform were far more difficult than these problems.

"That was so hard!" Lee Warner complained under his breath, then took the initiative to speak to Cecilia. "Cecilia, how many problems did you finish? I answered five, but I don’t know if they’re right. I didn’t even have time for the last one. You thought it was hard too, right? I saw the teacher watching you the whole time. You must have been more nervous than any of us."

Cecilia was already sleepy, and Lee Warner was being incredibly noisy. Unable to stand it anymore, she turned and made a "shush" gesture at him. "The teacher is grading the papers. Be quiet."

A warning from a beautiful girl is always sweet. Lee Warner nodded hastily.

Across from them, Yates Sanders turned and asked Elias Warner in a low voice, "Did you finish everything? Did you think it was hard?"

Elias Warner replied with a calm expression, "I finished them all. As for the difficulty, I’d say upper-intermediate. The problem types the teacher chose are all very typical, but in recent years, the Olympiad has featured a lot of novel problem types that are even harder than today’s test."

"Huh? Even harder?" Hearing this, Yates Sanders’s face fell. "I thought the rest of us were struggling quite a bit. Don’t tell me that after this test, everyone’s going to be eliminated except for you."

Elias Warner said, "That won’t happen. The Olympiad isn’t like a regular exam. Since you all lack experience, you have to start by getting used to the problem types. It’s normal for you to find it difficult at first. You’ll improve as the teacher guides you and you work through more problems. Don’t worry."

Just then, Mr. Stone finished looking over and grading all five papers and looked up.

He first looked at the group and smiled. Seeing his expression, everyone collectively breathed a sigh of relief. At least the teacher didn’t look disappointed.

"This was my first time gauging your abilities, so I was mentally prepared. Among these papers, Elias Warner had the best score." As he spoke, Mr. Stone pulled out Elias’s paper. "Three problems were completely correct. For the remaining three, although the final answers were wrong, you earned partial credit for the formula derivations and physical concepts. This is how partial credit works in the Olympiad. Therefore, your thought process must be clear. It’s better to write out more complex steps than to simplify, because writing one more correct step might earn you one more point. That’s the principle."

"Well then, Elias, you’ve certainly lived up to expectations. The other students and I both recommended you for team captain, and now you’ve also achieved the highest score on this test. It would be immodest to refuse at this point, wouldn’t it?" Mr. Stone said, looking at Elias Warner.

Elias Warner stood up and nodded. "Yes, Mr. Stone. I will be a good team captain."

As he spoke, he glanced over at Cecilia, thinking, ’That should convince her, right?’

But Cecilia’s reaction was even more extreme than before. She had her hands folded on the desk and her chin resting on them. From his perspective behind her, it looked as if she had fallen asleep.

Mr. Stone continued, "The second-place score belongs to Sheila Hughes. Two of the major problems were completely correct. The last major problem was likely left unsolved due to time constraints. She also earned some partial credit on the remaining problems for her formula derivations and physical concepts."

Sheila Hughes was delighted to hear she had placed second. She stood up and said, "Thank you, Mr. Stone."

Mr. Stone gave her an encouraging smile and went on, "Lee Warner’s and Yates Sanders’s results were a bit less than ideal. They also didn’t answer the last major problem, and they didn’t score many points on the remaining ones. It’s possible you’re just not used to this type of Olympiad problem yet. You’ll need to practice more when you have the time."

Lee Warner and Yates Sanders scratched their heads in embarrassment.

In the end, the only paper the teacher hadn’t discussed was Cecilia’s.

"Next, I’m going to give you all a brief overview of the Physics Olympiad..." Mr. Stone stood up, preparing to move on to the next part of the lesson.

Elias Warner paused, slightly taken aback. He had been waiting for the teacher to announce Cecilia’s score. ’Why isn’t he saying anything?’

So, almost subconsciously, he raised his hand. "Mr. Stone, you haven’t told us Cecilia’s score yet."

The others were naturally curious as well and immediately turned to look at Cecilia.

Cecilia wasn’t asleep. No matter what, she had to show respect with the teacher present. She was just a bit drowsy and resting her head was more comfortable. Hearing her name, she subconsciously sat up straight.

Hearing this, Mr. Stone looked at Cecilia, his expression somewhat profound. Still, based on the paper she had submitted, he stated the fact: "Cecilia Sterling did not answer a single problem correctly."

"Huh?"

A collective gasp came from the group, everyone’s face filled with shock.

Elias Warner’s expression remained unchanged, as this was exactly the answer he had expected. ’Why else would the teacher have stood behind her watching for so long? It had to be because she was different from everyone else.’

Satisfied with this answer, Elias Warner sat back down.

Mr. Stone didn’t elaborate and continued with the lesson.

When the session finally ended, Mr. Stone said, "Everyone, pay attention to messages in the group chat. And the captain should organize more practice sessions for the team to get used to the problem types. That’s all for today. You’re all dismissed. Cecilia, please stay behind."

Cecilia nodded, not the least bit surprised.

Elias Warner shot Cecilia a dark look before shouldering his backpack and leaving.

The others quickly followed. Finally, Cecilia got up and walked to the front. "Mr. Stone."

Mr. Stone looked at her, a gentle smile ever-present on his face. "What’s the matter? Don’t want to be the captain?"