What a Hardworking Day for Myself

A good learning environment and top-performing classmates can actually motivate students to study harder.

After the monthly exam results were announced, most students didn’t slack off—except for the student athletes, of course.

However, even many students who had paid selective admission fees and didn’t originally have high scores were putting in the effort to study.

The reason a top-tier high school is considered elite lies in its superior teaching resources.

What exactly are teaching resources?

At an ordinary high school, your teacher might just be a senior instructor, but here, your teacher is a seasoned expert with the title of "Special-Grade Teacher"—a full professor-level educator.

If a special-grade chef can make dishes that practically glow, a special-grade teacher can make lessons profoundly understandable.

Add to that the environment, facilities, and overall campus conditions, and you see why this is a top-tier institution.

Lin Mo held a test paper filled entirely with Olympiad-level math problems.

"You have one class period to finish this paper. Do as much as you can. Those who fail won’t need to come next time."

This was the first round of elimination, then.

Seated beside him, Xie Yuling glanced at Lin Mo nervously.

She was completely unprepared.

Though Lin Mo had been tutoring her in Olympiad math, she wasn’t sure she could finish this test.

Just then, a student raised their hand.

"Teacher, one class period isn’t enough time."

Xu Haoming raised an eyebrow and tapped the edge of the lectern with his ruler.

"I said, do as much as you can. If you maintain accuracy, one period is enough to reach a passing score."

He checked his watch.

"Stop wasting time. Start writing. Work independently—if you cheat and stay here, you’ll only embarrass yourselves on the competition stage later."

At that, the students picked up their pens and began.

Cheating? Unthinkable. These were top students—they trusted their own judgment.

Olympiad math problems had one defining trait: heavy calculations, complex steps, but the logic behind them wasn’t as convoluted as it seemed.

Once you grasped the question type and approach, the difficulty vanished.

So right now, Xu Haoming was really training them for speed.

Lin Mo picked up his pen and started immediately.

Unlike standard math tests, Olympiad papers had no multiple-choice questions.

It began with fill-in-the-blank problems, followed by full-length proofs.

1. If a real number m > 1 satisfies log₉(log₈ m) = 2024, then the value of log₃(log₂ m) is:

Lin Mo glanced at it and wrote "4049" without hesitation.

Fill-in-the-blanks didn’t require working steps.

But around him, others were already scribbling on scratch paper.

Lin Mo moved on.

No choice—his divine sense allowed him to perform mental calculations effortlessly.

The fill-in-the-blank section was relatively straightforward, and he finished quickly.

Eight questions, five points each—40 points total.

Not even enough to pass yet.

Next came the proof-based problems, each worth 15 points.

"Worth full points" meant every step had to be flawless. Even if you knew the answer, you couldn’t skip any reasoning.

This was the true torment of Olympiad math.

Lin Mo skimmed the prompt and started writing.

From a distance, Xu Haoming watched him and couldn’t help but marvel. These problems weren’t the hardest, but the calculations weren’t trivial either.

Yet Lin Mo had already finished the fill-in-the-blank section in no time.

He’d seen Lin Mo’s perfect score on the monthly math exam—clearly, that wasn’t even his limit.

Olympiad math is a way to gauge a person's limits.

Yet before the class could even finish,

Lin Mo had already set down his pen.

"Another day of hard work for me," he mused.

After checking his answers once more, Lin Mo stood up, drawing the attention of many around him.

Some remained hunched over their papers, still scribbling away—time was running short for them.

Lin Mo walked to the front and handed his test to Xu Haoming.

"Teacher, I’m done. I’ll step out to get some water."

Xu Haoming took the paper, scanning the neatly filled-out answers. No flashy tricks—just one clear solution per problem. He double-checked the calculations. All correct.

Not a single mistake.

Then, the fill-in-the-blank section.

Perfect score.

Out of a hundred points, Lin Mo had secured every one.

When Lin Mo returned with his water, Xu Haoming couldn’t help but say, "If you keep this up, you could compete at the national level."

"Win a national gold, and you’ll secure a direct admission spot."

His voice wasn’t hushed, and the entire class turned to look at Lin Mo.

"What are you staring at? Finished already?" Xu Haoming chided, sending heads bowing back to their papers.

But Lin Mo suddenly asked, "A national gold means guaranteed admission to the math department, right?"

Math was prestigious, but it was for true geniuses. Lin Mo only had an edge in computation—thanks to his spiritual sense aiding his calculations. Actual mathematical research? Not his forte.

"Exactly. And it’d be at the top schools—Tsinghua or Peking University’s math programs. The best of the best."

Lin Mo shook his head.

"I’ll pass on the direct admission. I plan to take the college entrance exam and choose a major I like."

Xu Haoming paused. A major he liked?

Did he not care for math?

For a moment, he debated whether to persuade him further, but Lin Mo’s demeanor made it clear—he wasn’t bothered.

Soon, the bell rang.

Time to collect the tests.

The training class wasn’t large, so Xu Haoming decided to grade the papers on the spot instead of dismissing everyone.

Since Lin Mo had plans to help Xie Yuling’s family set up broadband on Saturday, he wouldn’t be joining Chu Miaomiao’s family for dinner today.

As Xu Haoming graded, he glanced at Lin Mo.

"Come up and help me mark these. You know the answers—just sort the passing ones."

The room buzzed with murmurs.

This outright placed Lin Mo on equal footing with the teacher.

And from Xu Haoming’s tone, it was clear Lin Mo’s paper had been flawless.

Lin Mo had no choice but to step up and take a stack of tests to grade.

In just over ten minutes, the entire class’s papers were done.

Handing his batch back to Xu Haoming, the teacher cleared his throat.

"Two perfect scores today. First, Lin Mo—fast and flawless. Second, Tong Dong—a cautious perfectionist."

Lin Mo turned to look at the boy named Tong Dong.

Ranked first on the school’s elite hundred list, ten points ahead of Lin Mo, he was the undisputed top scorer.

Lin Mo remembered well—this was the one who’d represent the school, then the city, at provincial and national competitions.

Nicknamed: Tong the Prodigy.

Meeting Lin Mo’s gaze, Tong Dong returned it—no arrogance in his eyes, just quiet curiosity.

Lin Mo had crossed paths with him in his past life, but Tong Dong had usually been buried in a book, headphones on.

Indeed, the top-ranked student enjoyed the privilege of unrestricted access to electronic devices.

As for Tong Dong at the moment, he wasn’t quite that audacious yet.

Upon seeing Lin Mo, he merely gave a nod in acknowledgment.

Shortly after, Xu Haoming began announcing who would be expelled from the advanced mathematics training class.