Chapter 712: Aftermath of the Preliminary Round

Old Xu, who was also grading the weekly quiz papers, quietly perked up his ears. He remembered the girl Li Fugui had asked him to register. ’Her name was Tan You, right?’ Thinking of her radiant smile from that day, Old Xu couldn’t help but smile himself.

’Some people are just so infectious. When you see them smile, even just thinking back on it now, you can’t help but smile too.’

’But that guy Li Fugui is really lucky. To think he’s at a place like a rural high school and still managed to find such an outstanding student.’ When he also thought about what Li Fugui had told him—that Tan You’s score was nearly perfect—Old Xu felt a pang of jealousy toward Li Fugui for the first time in his life.

"Tan You? Never heard of her. Let me check again... she’s from a rural high school." One impatient teacher eagerly went to look up Tan You’s school information. But after seeing it was an obscure rural high school, the teacher couldn’t contain his surprise.

"Tan You... I remember Teacher Xu helped register this student," a teacher involved with the competition suddenly recalled something. "Teacher Xu, do you know this student?"

His suspicions confirmed, Old Xu put down his pen. "I don’t know her. The girl is a student of a former classmate of mine. He teaches math at that school and is also Tan You’s homeroom teacher."

"So she really is from a rural town’s high school? And a girl?"

"What’s wrong with being a girl? Does that mean girls can’t be good at math?" Several female teachers in the office were displeased. ’What kind of disrespect is that?’ They taught science subjects too. Who said girls couldn’t excel in STEM?

"My apologies, I misspoke." Not expecting to have angered everyone, the male teacher immediately raised his hands in surrender. "Teacher Xu, is this student a sophomore? Has she ever been in a competition training class before?"

"Nope, not at all. She’s purely self-taught," Old Xu said with a small laugh. "Hang on a second, I’ll give him a call and ask. He’s probably getting anxious over there. But what score did Tan You get? Did she pass the preliminary round? Otherwise, I don’t really have a reason to contact my classmate, do I?"

"She definitely passed. It was a 120-point test, and I did everything I could to dock 2 points," the head of the competition team sighed. "First place."

This time, Old Xu was genuinely surprised. "Alright, I’m calling Fugui."

He didn’t care that it was during class time and called Li Fugui directly. Li Fugui was still grading papers when his phone suddenly started vibrating. Li Fugui jumped.

Seeing it was a call from Old Xu, Li Fugui thought to himself, ’Speak of the devil. Just as I was thinking about him, he gets in touch.’

With that thought, Li Fugui took his phone and stepped out of the classroom. The students watched his retreating back, then went back to studying with their heads down. As for how many of them were actually studying, that was hard to say.

Stopping in the hallway outside the classroom, Li Fugui answered the phone with perfect composure. "Old Xu, it’s me, Fugui. Are the results out? I was just about to ask you about them."

Old Xu was silent for two seconds. "So... Tan You... is she really a homegrown student of your school?"

"Would I lie about that?" Li Fugui said, his eyes crinkling into a smile. "Judging by your reaction, our Tan You must have stunned you, huh? How did she do? Did she get a 115?"

Old Xu glanced at the teachers gathered around him, then back at his phone. "You’re asking about a score that high right off the bat? You’re that confident?"

"It’s not that I’m confident, it’s that I’m confident in our Tan You," Li Fugui said. Hearing Old Xu’s tone, he knew Tan You must have done well, and his mood immediately brightened. "On the way back, Tan You said that given the graders’ typical antics of trying to dock points wherever they can, she’d lose 5 points at most."

"You were right. She got a 118." Old Xu let out a long sigh. "Tell me, how did a student like this end up in your hands?"

Li Fugui was also stunned by the score of 118 for a moment. The next second, he forced himself to remain calm and asked, "That’s first place, right?"

"Yes, yes, first place," the person who answered this time wasn’t Old Xu, but someone unfamiliar. "Teacher Li, I’m the head of the competition team at No. 2 High School. Student Tan You came out on top in this preliminary round. Making it to the next stage is a sure thing."

"I’d like to ask what Student Tan You’s plans are going forward?"

Li Fugui paused, then immediately understood. "I’ll have to ask her. This student has a mind of her own; she studied for the competition entirely by herself. Besides, for a student from a rural town like ours, it’s not exactly convenient to attend training classes at your esteemed school."

"Yes, yes, of course. Could I trouble you to ask for us, Teacher Li? If it’s convenient, could we get in touch with Student Tan You and her parents?"

The person on the other end agreed immediately, though he was hiding his own little scheme. ’What school wouldn’t want such an outstanding student?’

They were all old foxes playing the same game; how could Li Fugui not understand what the other party was getting at? He just lowered his gaze with a small smile and readily agreed. Based on his observations of Tan You, she was someone who yearned for freedom.

’She’s gotten this far by teaching herself. Even if she went to the city’s No. 2 High School, what more could those teachers teach her? Besides, life at No. 2 High wouldn’t necessarily be better than her life here. Li Fugui himself was envious of the way Tan You lived now.’

’As for finding Tan You’s parents, that was even more laughable. As independent as she is, even her parents couldn’t make decisions for her. Thinking it through, Li Fugui didn’t feel the slightest bit of panic about her being poached.’

On the contrary, Li Fugui was actually quite happy that a school wanted to poach Tan You. ’It’s proof of how outstanding she is.’

Just as Li Fugui was fiddling with his phone, the principal, who had been standing next to him, couldn’t hold back any longer. "What were you talking about? You look so happy."

As it happened, Principal Hu had just walked into the hallway when he saw Li Fugui on the phone with a smug look on his face. This piqued Principal Hu’s interest, but the call was too private; even when Principal Hu strained his ears, he couldn’t make anything out.

However, he did catch Tan You’s name, which was enough to make the principal pay close attention. As for the student Tan You, of course he knew her. Back then, Old Wang from Class 1 had specifically come to him about her.

In all his years as a principal, it was the first time Principal Hu had ever seen a female student with such good grades. It was no wonder he had such a vivid impression of Tan You.

Especially since he had even contributed his own private car for Tan You to attend the math competition preliminary round.

At this thought, Principal Hu grew a little excited. "Are Tan You’s results out?"

"They’re out. First place." He was the principal, after all. There was no way Li Fugui would keep him in suspense, so he honestly reported Tan You’s result.

Principal Hu was so excited he slapped his thigh. "Excellent! She’s really brought honor to our school! Should we make a school-wide announcement?"

Li Fugui quickly stopped the pot-bellied Principal Hu. "Let’s not. It’s just the preliminary round. Let’s keep it quiet for now and not put too much pressure on the student."

Principal Hu thought about it and agreed. "You’re right. In that case, you just make sure to take good care of Tan You. Don’t let her be influenced by others. Also, keep a close watch on her. She’s a student our school cultivated. How can we let another school benefit so easily?"