They're already in university, and the primary school system is only just starting out?

From Chen Lin's perspective, the whole process went very smoothly.

Shen Yan's PPT was logically clear and richly illustrated. Her explanation was fluent and natural, with clear pronunciation. In particular, when she talked about the core algorithm that Chen Lin taught her, she explained each key point very well, clearly having put in the effort to understand it thoroughly.

The ten-minute explanation session passed quickly.

Shen Yan bowed slightly, then stood up straight, turned her gaze to the judges' panel, and waited nervously for the experts' questions.

Chen Lin saw the elderly gentleman with gray hair, sitting in the middle of the judges' panel, slowly pick up the microphone in front of him.

A calm and clear voice reached everyone's ears through the venue's sound system.

"Hello, student. Your explanation was very clear and excellent. From my perspective, the biggest reason why your paper stood out from many other works and won the favor of the judges is the very novel optimization algorithm you used in your model. It helped you achieve very good results in the subsequent modeling process."

The old gentleman's gaze was gentle. He looked at Shen Yan on the stage and slowly asked:

"So, could you explain in detail how your team came up with this algorithm in the first place?"

Chen Lin was taken aback upon hearing this.

He had paid special attention to the judges' panel while listening to the host's opening introduction. The elderly gentleman asking the question was none other than Academician Liang Tianshi, the academic luminary he had just found on his phone.

However, Chen Lin wasn't particularly nervous.

This question is not difficult to answer.

As Qu Chengfeng mentioned on the way, under this year's new rules, Shen Yan only needs to tell the truth and explain the whole story, and that's it, since it won't violate any rules.

Moreover, given Shen Yan's personality, she would most likely do the same.

As expected, Shen Yan on stage first bowed politely towards the judges' panel, and her clear voice echoed throughout the venue through the microphone: "Thank you for your question, Academician Liang."

Then, she frankly replied, "This optimization algorithm was provided to us by a classmate from Yannan University after our team encountered a bottleneck in the modeling process. His name is Chen Lin."

To make her point more convincing, she added, "In the 'Special Acknowledgments' section at the end of our paper, the first line is Chen Lin's name."

Upon hearing this, several experts on the judging panel simultaneously picked up their paper copies of the paper and flipped to the last page. After a moment, they all nodded, clearly confirming Shen Yan's statement.

Chen Lin originally thought that this matter was over.

But he soon discovered that things were not so simple.

After hearing Shen Yan's answer, Academician Liang Tianshi did not nod immediately like the other judges; instead, he seemed somewhat hesitant.

He thought silently for a few seconds, then picked up the microphone and said to the host, "Please give me three minutes."

After saying that, he turned around and began to discuss in hushed tones with two men, one fat and one thin, sitting in the first row of guest seats behind him.

The situation suddenly became somewhat delicate.

The expert judges remained silent, and the host was unsure whether the process should continue.

Should she let Shen Yan step down first, or let the next team prepare?

For a moment, the entire venue fell into an eerie silence.

Chen Lin frowned slightly.

Not right.

Is this matter really that complicated? Is it worth an academician pausing his defense on the spot to discuss it? And why didn't you discuss it with the judges next to you, but instead went to consult with the guests in the back row? What kind of operation is that?

Just in case, Chen Lin quietly focused his mind and used the extraordinary hearing enhanced by his "Little Champion" title to accurately target that area.

Instantly, the other scattered noises in the venue receded like a tide, and Liang Tianshi's conversation with the two men clearly reached his ears.

"Yunhai, I have a feeling..." Liang Tianshi's voice carried a hint of uncertainty.

The chubby man practically blurted out, "Teacher Liang, are you trying to say that the person you're looking for is actually this Chen Lin?"

The thinner man immediately spoke up to stop him: "Fatty, don't make things worse."

"Yunhai, I actually have this idea." Liang Tianshi's words stunned the thin man.

"...Teacher Liang, what is your basis?" The thin man's voice was full of confusion.

Liang Tianshi shook his head, lowering his voice even further: "There's no basis for it, it's just an intuition. I just have a feeling that the person who can solve the problem I gave Wei Beichen in twenty minutes and the person who can come up with this novel algorithm in this paper are more likely to have similar mathematical talent. And..."

Chen Lin saw Academician Liang flip to the last page of the paper and show it to the two men.

"Look, this is Chen Lin, a student in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature."

"hiss--"

The thin man and the fat man gasped almost simultaneously.

The thin man paused for a few seconds, then quickly offered his advice: "Ms. Liang, I suggest we continue with the interview process for now. After the event is over, we can have a private chat with Shen Yan. Just ask her if she offers homework-doing services on Xianyu (a second-hand marketplace), and everything will be clear."

Liang Tianshi nodded slowly.

Hearing this, Chen Lin was startled.

"Did one problem in twenty minutes"... "Helped someone with my homework"...

So, Academician Liang isn't here today for any modeling competition at all; he's here to see me!

However, after a brief moment of shock, Chen Lin quickly calmed down.

He remained calm. Judging from Liang Tianshi's gentle tone towards Shen Yan, the other party was probably not there to cause trouble.

In that case, let's just wait and see.

After the defense, Shen Yan will be called over for a chat. I can then ask her for details and make a plan later.

However, just as Liang Tianshi turned around, preparing to pick up the microphone again to end this minor incident, an unexpected change occurred.

"Please wait a moment!"

The host, who had seemed somewhat at a loss, seized the opportunity and immediately announced loudly, "Okay, we see that a student in the participating teams' area has raised their hand to ask a question! Please have the staff hand the microphone to that student!"

Swish!

In an instant, hundreds of eyes in the audience turned from the judges' seats to the contestants' waiting area.

Chen Lin couldn't help but mutter another complaint in his mind.

No, all those teams that went up there were perfectly calm and peaceful, everyone was happy and relaxed.

Why are there so many strange things happening when it's Yannan University's turn?

Under everyone's gaze, a girl slowly stood up.

She wore black-rimmed glasses and had short, ear-length hair, appearing quiet and gentle. Even from a distance of over ten meters, Chen Lin's enhanced vision allowed him to clearly see the information on the athlete's badge hanging around her neck:

Yang Han, Jiangcheng University

The staff quickly handed her a wireless microphone.

Yang Han took the microphone and first greeted the judges and guests in a graceful manner. Then, her gaze turned to Shen Yan, who stood gracefully on the stage, and her voice was clearly transmitted throughout the venue through the sound system.

"Distinguished judges and guests, I am Yang Han from Jiangcheng University. Hello, Shen Yan. I personally have great admiration for the quality of your team's paper."

She started with a polite compliment, then quickly changed her tone and became sharp.

"However, I have a question. I think that in order to ensure the fairness and rigor of the competition, it is necessary to invite the student Chen Lin you mentioned to come up on stage and demonstrate his mathematical ability on the spot."

These words caused an uproar in the room.

Yang Han ignored the commotion around her. She paused, then continued in a calm and unhurried tone, stating her reasons for her doubts:

"Because this proves that the core algorithm in your paper was indeed proposed by an undergraduate student, rather than... your team privately seeking help from a teacher or professor, and then claiming to the public that they consulted a classmate in order to circumvent the competition rule that you must acknowledge the name of the professor or teacher you consulted in the paper."

As soon as she finished speaking, an even louder discussion erupted in the contestants' area and the audience area behind her.