The bell signaling the end of the exam echoed through the hallway.
The examination hall doors slowly opened, and the students filed out one by one.
Zheng Hua stood outside, pacing slowly back and forth. He noticed the supervising teachers from several other prestigious schools all looked cool as a cucumber, especially Liu Limin from the Sixth Middle School, who was chatting and laughing with someone, hands clasped behind his back.
Zheng Hua straightened his posture, forcing himself to appear less nervous.
Li Dong walked out of the exam hall carrying his pencil case. His expression was calm as he casually tossed an empty water bottle into a nearby trash can.
Zheng Hua walked up to him, keeping his voice as steady as possible.
"How’d it go?"
"It was alright," Li Dong answered casually.
Zheng Hua nodded without saying much more. He just patted Li Dong’s shoulder gently, and the two of them made their way through the crowd, one after the other, back to their hotel room.
The moment the door clicked shut, Zheng Hua’s inscrutable facade instantly crumbled.
He pulled over a chair, sat down, and asked with a hint of panic in his voice,
"So, are you confident about the questions this time?"
Li Dong couldn’t help but laugh at Old Zheng’s expression. He made an "OK" gesture.
"Don’t worry, Teacher Zheng. It was all within range."
Only then did Zheng Hua let out a long sigh of relief.
He really wanted to stand tall in front of that balding guy for once.
But then he suddenly remembered something and asked Li Dong,
"Hey, what was the experimental question this time?"
He had heard the legends about Huaxuan Technology selecting its "Direct Disciples," so he wanted to know if this competition had any of their signature problems smuggled in.
Li Dong nodded. He then described the question about the resolution of a photolithography machine.
Zheng Hua was stunned as he listened. His skills might not be on par with Old Yang’s, but having taught physics at the Seventh Middle School for so many years, he still had a discerning eye.
"The Rayleigh criterion... maskless... They really used a desensitized problem? Is this a technical bottleneck they’re facing, or a problem they’ve already solved?"
Li Dong felt a bit stuffy. He walked to the window, pulled back the curtains, and then shared his thoughts.
"It should be a problem they’ve already solved."
"If it were an unsolved, industrial-grade problem, they would’ve saved it as the final question for the finals. It’s unlikely they’d use it in the semi-finals."
Zheng Hua nodded, thinking that made sense.
He mulled over the question for a moment, and his expression relaxed considerably.
"Although this question involves photolithography, if you strip away all the intimidating terminology, the core of it is still just interference and diffraction from wave optics. Knowing you, you shouldn’t have had any trouble with it."
Then another thought occurred to him, and he asked tentatively,
"So how did you solve it? Did you use the immersion lithography approach? It’s more expensive, but it’s a relatively mature solution in the industry right now."
He was well aware of Li Dong’s ability to stir things up. He was always pulling some fancy, unconventional stunt, and Zheng Hua was afraid he’d done it again this time.
Li Dong nodded without a change in expression.
"Yes! That’s exactly what I did."
’If I let Old Zheng know I came up with a radical solution like "dual-beam laser interference maskless lithography," the old man probably wouldn’t sleep tonight.’
’After all, in the traditional teaching mindset, such a solution is too risky. What if it was just me getting carried away with my own idea? What if the graders didn’t buy it?’
So, Li Dong decided it was better to let sleeping dogs lie.
"Good! Good!"
Hearing him say that, Zheng Hua said "good" twice.
"For a major question like this, the last thing you want is to take a wild, unorthodox approach. Those engineers grading the papers might like innovation, but they value feasibility more. The immersion method is great, it’s a safe bet!"
Confirming that Li Dong hadn’t done anything reckless, Zheng Hua’s mood improved dramatically.
He stood up and waved his hand grandly.
"Alright, the exam’s over. Let’s leave the results to fate."
"Come on, I’ll show you a good time in Rongcheng! I hear Chunxi Road is pretty lively. We can head back to school tomorrow."
"Huh? Teacher Zheng, does this count as a company-paid vacation?"
"Nonsense! This is called post-exam psychological counseling! We’re going to... AHEM, get a massage. A proper one!"
While Zheng Hua was taking Li Dong for his "psychological counseling," the atmosphere at the other schools was not nearly as relaxed.
In the hotel lobby’s lounge area, Liu Limin, the director from Jiangcheng Sixth Middle School, was consoling Zhao Ziv, whose face was ashen.
"It’s okay, Ziv. It’s just one competition. From now on, we just need to broaden your knowledge base a bit more. Don’t just bury your head in books and grind practice problems..."
Zhao Ziv kept his head down, not saying a word.
He had done very poorly this time.
The earlier questions had been smooth sailing for him, but that final experimental question was a disaster.
The first part was a giveaway.
For the second part, about standard industry solutions, he had only ever buried his head in practice problems and studied competition techniques. How was he supposed to know the difference between DUV and EUV? He probably got the whole approach wrong.
As for the third part, the design proposal, he didn’t even have a starting point. His head was full of formulas, but he had no idea which one to use.
"Teacher Liu, I might not even make the cut for the finals..."
Zhao Ziv’s voice trembled.
Just as Liu Limin was trying to think of how to comfort him, a voice came from behind them.
"Well now, Old Liu, how did your student do on the exam? Zhao Ziv should be fine this time, right?"
Liu Limin turned around and saw a bald man walking over with a boy in glasses.
It was the lead teacher from Tianli Middle School.
’Fine? Can’t you see Zhao Ziv is on the verge of tears?’
’This bald guy is a disgrace to the teaching profession!’
Liu Limin took a deep breath. He didn’t retort, simply pulling Zhao Ziv up with a cold expression and turning to leave.
"We’re tired. We’re going back to our room to rest. No need for you to worry."
The bald man watched Liu Limin’s retreating back, smiled, and shook his head.
"Old Liu is the same as ever. His mental fortitude is so weak."
He turned to the quiet, gentle-looking boy beside him, his tone softening a few notches.
"Lin Xiao, did you solve the experimental question?"
Lin Xiao’s cheeks flushed slightly as he nodded.
"Mhm, I solved it. I used an approach combining off-axis illumination with a phase-shifting mask. The calculations were a bit heavy, but it’s theoretically feasible."
The bald man nodded upon hearing this. "When it comes to competitions, Tianli is still the one to beat. That kid, Zhao Ziv, he works hard, but his mind lacks a certain spark. He’s studied himself stupid."
Lin Xiao didn’t say anything. He just stood there quietly, neither nodding nor shaking his head.
Meanwhile, the group from Rongcheng Seventh Middle School was exceptionally quiet.
The middle-aged female teacher wasn’t hovering around her students asking them all sorts of questions like the other teachers. For them, winning a prize in a competition of this level was expected; failing to win would be the real news.
She led the team directly toward the bus.
But just before boarding, she stopped and looked at the youngest boy at the back of the line.
It was the first-year high school student who had been sitting next to Li Dong during the exam, Qiao Fan.
"Qiao Fan," the teacher said, her voice soft.
"For the Ossai competition in the second half of the year, are you thinking of focusing on math or physics? With your talent, I think you have a good chance of making the training camp for either subject."
Qiao Fan was carrying a huge backpack that made him look even smaller.
He looked up at his teacher, hesitated for a moment, and said,
"Teacher Zhao, but I don’t feel like my foundation is very solid."
The stern, middle-aged female teacher showed a rare smile and reached out to straighten his collar.
"You just don’t know your own strength. How did you feel coming out here this time? Did you realize the outside world isn’t as strong as you imagined?"
Qiao Fan thought for a moment, and the image of the boy who had sat next to him surfaced in his mind.
That person had stared blankly for a full twenty minutes before starting on the third question.
Meanwhile, he himself had conceived a variation of the "immersion lithography" solution less than five minutes after reading the question.
"Mmm..." Qiao Fan nodded and said honestly,
"It seemed easier than the weekly tests at school."
The teacher smiled.
"Exactly. So your real opponents are on the national team, not in a commercial competition like this one."
Qiao Fan nodded, only half-understanding.
’So, the so-called experts out here are nothing special after all.’
Meanwhile, Li Dong and Zheng Hua were already having a blast at Taikoo Li in Rongcheng.
Growing up, Li Dong had done nothing but grind practice problems and help with chores at home. This was his first time truly "traveling" in any meaningful sense.
It was his first time discovering that a giant panda butt could "grow" out of a mall’s rooftop.
It was also his first time learning that you could get a queue number in the hundreds while waiting for a hot pot restaurant and get a manicure in the meantime.
And it was the first time he knew...
That in Rongcheng, the person asking for your WeChat isn’t always a girl.
That day, Li Dong had a lot of fun, and he was exhausted.
Although he didn’t buy anything and just window-shopped.
But he felt that, besides studying, window-shopping was the most fun a person could have.

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