The teacher is lecturing above, while he is talking below.

In 2012, the Mid-Autumn Festival coincided with National Day.

September 30th was the Mid-Autumn Festival, falling on a Sunday.

As a result, classes were scheduled for Saturday the 29th.

And on Friday the 28th, evening self-study sessions were held.

At the Friday Olympiad Math training class, attendance had predictably dropped by half.

Some students excelled in math but disliked Olympiad problems because they required reading comprehension.

Others simply didn’t want to waste their energy.

However, Xie Yuling was still there—and she had even taken a seat right next to Lin Mo.

Xu Haoming wasn’t the least bit surprised by the dwindled numbers.

In his hands were the answer sheets he had just collected.

But instead of grading them, he called out names one by one to return them.

"Looks like this is all we have today. In that case, I’ll go over the problems first. Take notes on your mistakes."

Unlike Chen Xiaoya, this teacher explained each question in his own way.

"Olympiad problems can be solved through different approaches. You can use your own methods as long as the answer is correct. If it’s wrong, follow my approach."

Formulas, problem-solving techniques—these required practice.

But Lin Mo barely moved a muscle. He had already thought of every method Xu Haoming mentioned.

Meanwhile, Xie Yuling beside him was scribbling nonstop.

Lin Mo glanced at her work. The answers were correct, but her calculations were unnecessarily complex.

In Olympiad competitions, time was the most critical factor.

Often, even the allotted time wasn’t enough to finish all the problems.

The more convoluted the method, the slower the progress.

So Lin Mo studied Xie Yuling’s answer sheet more closely.

"Student over there, don’t you have your own paper? Why are you looking at someone else’s?"

Lin Mo raised his head.

"Yes, you. I’m talking to you."

Xie Yuling froze for a moment before watching as Lin Mo slowly stood up.

"Teacher, I was just checking her approach. All my answers so far are correct."

With that, he held up his own answer sheet.

Xu Haoming raised an eyebrow, glancing at Xie Yuling’s fair and delicate features.

Sitting next to a girl and peeking at her paper—was this kid trying to flirt?

As someone who despised early romance, Xu Haoming wasn’t having it.

"You claim you got everything right? Bring your paper up here and let me see."

Lin Mo calmly handed over his answer sheet.

Xu Haoming took it, first checking Lin Mo’s class and name.

"Class 8, Grade 1—Lin Mo, is it? I hope your answers justify your behavior."

The entire training class had their eyes on Lin Mo.

Some were gleeful, others indifferent, but most were just there for the show.

The gleeful one was a male student from Class 7.

He still sat in his original seat, but the spot beside him was empty—because Xie Yuling had moved next to Lin Mo.

He knew Lin Mo—the guy who walked home with Xie Yuling every day after school.

In class, Xie Yuling had explained that Lin Mo rented a room at her place and that her mother had asked him to accompany her home.

A flawless excuse, wasn’t it?

But now that Lin Mo was about to embarrass himself, maybe Xie Yuling would lose interest in him.

With that thought, he watched eagerly as Xu Haoming graded Lin Mo’s paper.

However, Xu Haoming’s initially mocking smile gradually faded, replaced by a serious expression.

Every now and then, he muttered, "Huh, so that’s another way to do it. It’s actually simpler."

Meanwhile, Lin Mo had already returned to his seat.

Xie Yuling, however, looked at him nervously.

"Your answers… are they really okay?"

"If the logic holds, they should all be correct. But you, my dear landlady, have a much bigger problem."

While the teacher graded his paper, Lin Mo quietly explained Xie Yuling’s mistakes.

Xue Zigui, sitting on Lin Mo’s other side, was sizing him up for the first time.

During the preliminary test, he had merely stopped underestimating Lin Mo, placing him on a similar level to himself.

But now, he was certain—Lin Mo was a formidable rival.

Lin Mo hadn’t consulted him for those two answer sheets, but he had noticed some Olympiad books on Lin Mo’s desk.

One of them was the same as his own.

The Olympiad training had two answer sheets. Xue Zigui picked up Lin Mo’s second one and skimmed through it.

The more he read, the more unsettled he became.

This guy… was unreal.

He couldn’t help but speak up.

"How did you even think of writing so many different solutions?"

"Just learned while reading. If I came across a useful method, I’d jot it down and cross-check my previous answers."

Made perfect sense.

By then, Xu Haoming had finished grading the first sheet.

"You’ve certainly earned the right to help others. Hand me the second sheet. And pass your first one around for the others to see."

Even Xu Haoming, the "sect elder" of this training class, had to admit Lin Mo’s talent was terrifying.

He handed back the graded sheet for others to review while Lin Mo gave him the second one.

"Study it carefully. If you don’t understand something, raise your hand."

Xu Haoming couldn’t wait to grade Lin Mo’s next paper.

As soon as Lin Mo sat back down, Xie Yuling couldn’t hold back.

"Were you always this good at math?"

"No. A lot happened in middle school, so I just studied casually. Now that I’ve let go of the past, I’m taking it seriously."

Xie Yuling knew Lin Mo’s circumstances, so she read between the lines.

Let go of the past?

Could I do the same?

The second sheet was graded just as quickly.

"It’s hard to believe you did this entirely on your own."

Xu Haoming stared at Lin Mo.

Lin Mo nodded. "I’ve never done Olympiad math before. I just followed the guidebooks while solving them."

Hearing this, the rest of the class sighed in relief. But Xu Haoming saw a genius.

If guidebooks were that effective, wouldn’t everyone be acing Olympiads by now?

This stuff required insight and personal comprehension.

To put it bluntly—not everyone could cultivate with top-tier techniques.

Not everyone was cut out for the path of rigorous study.

But it was still one of the fairest paths available.

By the end of the training session, Lin Mo had emerged as the undisputed MVP.

He lost his original answer sheets but gained two new ones.

It seemed future classes would revolve entirely around problem-solving—both explaining and assigning.

As for practice? That was up to them after class.

To top it off, the school had self-funded a thick Olympiad "treasure tome" for the remaining students.

Xu Haoming’s words were: "The competition questions are basically pulled from this book. Just study it thoroughly."

A sea of problems. A pure, unadulterated grind.

But at least it saved Lin Mo the trouble of buying more guidebooks.

As they packed up, Xie Yuling turned to Lin Mo.

"I’ll head home first."

"Sure. If you don’t understand anything on the sheets, ask me. Or jot it down, and I’ll explain it tonight."

"Mm. Let’s get supper tonight, then."

Lin Mo smirked. "When have I ever missed supper at your place?"

They parted ways—only for Xue Zigui to materialize out of nowhere.

"Lin Mo, starting today, you’re my rival."

Xue the Overdramatic had made his debut.

Just like in their past life.

Only, in my past life, the one by my side was Jiang Yunlu.

Lin Mo chuckled, "Then you'd better work harder, little brother."