Rebirth begins with picking up a cold and aloof school beauty

Chen Zhou looked at Jiang Jiaqi from a distance and smiled, "Dude, why are you so excited?"

Jiang Jiaqi was slightly taken aback. "Was I excited?"

Everyone present looked at him without saying a word, but their expressions said it all.

—You're too excited!

Realizing he had just lost his composure, Jiang Jiaqi felt a little embarrassed.

But Jiang Jiaqi had serious doubts about what Chen Zhou had just said, and didn't believe it from the bottom of his heart!

Jiang Jiaqi composed himself and said seriously, "Chen Zhou, are you kidding me? How could you possibly find three solutions in such a short time?"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!!"

Jiang Jiaqi didn't believe Chen Zhou's statement at all.

He said confidently, "It's already quite an achievement if you can come up with one solution. Saying you can find three solutions is something you can only fool children with."

"And even if you do figure it out, whether your solution is correct is another matter."

Upon hearing this, all the students present felt that it made a lot of sense and quickly became rational. After thinking about it, they all agreed that what Chen Zhou had just said was too outrageous!

Everyone has two shoulders and one head; no one has more arms or legs than anyone else.

Surely you can come up with three solutions when we're completely clueless? That's unreasonable! That's illogical!!

Professor Pei Zhu also didn't believe that Chen Zhou was as amazing as he claimed.

Because he knew very well that the competition question he set was good enough to be used as the final question in the national finals!

Even if you have the skill level of a gold medalist, it's impossible to solve it so quickly!

What's more, they even claimed to have found three solutions—what a load of bull!

Professor Pei Zhu suppressed his thoughts, adjusted his square frameless glasses, and put on a smiling expression.

He said, "Seeing is believing. Chen Zhou, since you say you've solved it, come up on stage and show me and the other students your problem-solving approach."

Seeing that everyone was watching and Dean Lu Haifeng was also casting an expectant glance his way, Chen Zhou knew he couldn't very well refuse.

Furthermore, Chen Zhou knew that neither Teacher Pei Zhu on the stage nor the students below the stage, especially Jiang Jiaqi from Rongcheng No. 7 Middle School, believed that he had the ability.

They're probably all secretly—no, they're openly waiting to see me make a fool of myself!

Very well, then I'll prove it to you! I am invincible!

How lonely it is to be invincible!

Chen Zhou walked confidently to the podium, stood up shortly after, and picked up a piece of chalk.

Then, with one hand in his pocket, exuding a boss-like aura, he said, "Everyone!"

"Now, I will demonstrate the problem-solving framework for the 'water diversion into the city' problem!"

The students in the audience, who had read "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy," silently cursed inwardly, "You're such a show-off! Do you really think you're Sir Newton?"

On stage, Chen Zhou began writing and explaining his problem-solving approach.

"First, we need to consider what algorithm we should use to simulate the water flow, starting from the cities in the first row, to mark all reachable cities?"

"Secondly, based on this, we determine the feasibility of the problem."

"Actually, here we can choose DFS, that is, use the depth-first search algorithm for labeling."

"If all cities in the last row are marked, then there is a solution!"

"Otherwise, there is no solution! In this case, we need to directly count the number of cities in the last row that were not marked."

Chen Zhou spoke with great enthusiasm on stage, while Professors Lu Haifeng and Pei Zhu nodded in agreement with his line of thinking.

The students in the audience almost all looked like they had just realized something.

Zeng Die whispered in admiration, "This Chen Zhou is so confident!"

Huang Ling nodded, "Indeed! No wonder you got a perfect score in the semi-finals!"

Luo Jiyao frowned and said, "But his method may not be correct either."

Huang Ling asked in confusion, "How did you know?"

Luo Jiyao explained softly, "I just used DFS to simulate water flow for feasibility assessment, but I got stuck. My thinking went into a dead end, and I had no idea what to do next."

Huang Ling said, "Wow, Ji Yao, you're so amazing! You actually managed to come up with the first step on your own. I'm completely baffled."

Luo Jiyao: "…………"

Jiang Jiaqi, sitting in the first row, said to the classmate next to him, "What's so special about that? I not only used the DFS algorithm to determine feasibility, but I also know that the last row of cities covered by the water plant is most likely to have continuous intervals!"

His classmate next to him asked, "What does 'high probability' mean?"

A student in the second row, Li Ya, from Rongcheng No. 4 Middle School, spoke up: "It's just a guess."

Jiang Jiaqi turned around. "No, Li Ya, do you even understand? Is this what you call guessing? This is intuition, information science intuition!"

Li Ya chuckled.

At this moment, Chen Zhou on the stage continued to write on the blackboard with chalk while speaking eloquently.

"I think everyone understands the first step we just discussed. Now, the next step is the most crucial one, and it can even be said to be a core insight into this question."

"That means if there is a solution, then the last row of cities that each reservoir can cover must be a continuous interval."

"This characteristic is extremely crucial!"

About half of the students in the audience exclaimed "Oh!" in sudden realization.

"Did you understand?"

"no."

"Then what did you say 'oh' about?"

"Didn't I hear them all saying 'oh'? If I don't say 'oh' back, wouldn't I look stupid?"

"…………That makes sense! Oh!!"

"???"

Jiang Jiaqi didn't take it seriously and said, "Chen Zhou's line of thinking is exactly the same as mine."

Li Ya asked, "Then tell me, how do you prove that it must be a continuous interval?"

Jiang Jiaqi was embarrassed. "Uh, well..."

Jiang Jiaqi thought to himself, "What do I know?! If I knew, I'd be the one standing on this platform!"

I'm stuck at this step!

At this moment, Luo Jiyao stood up and asked, "Chen Zhou, how do you prove this crucial property you mentioned?"

Chen Zhou said, "This is very simple; we can prove it by contradiction."

"It's obvious! When there is a solution, the last row is either a continuous interval or there is a break in the middle. There is no third possibility."

"So let's assume that the last row of cities covered by a certain water storage plant is not continuous, and there are gaps in the middle."

"So, since water can only flow from high to low, the elevation of this break point city must be higher than both the cities on its left and right, and also higher than the cities above it, so that water cannot flow to it from any direction, which contradicts the idea that there is a solution."

At this, about a quarter of the students in the audience simultaneously exclaimed "Oh!"

Jiang Jiaqi, Li Ya, Luo Jiyao, and Zeng Die nodded in unison, saying, "I know what to do!"

Jiang Jiaqi was filled with remorse. "Damn it! I abstracted it into a mathematical model, but I never imagined it would still be a geography problem!"

Li Ya sighed, "Me too."

Three women make a drama. Huang Ling was bewildered. "Wait, Zeng Die, you found out too?"

Zeng Die smiled slightly, "Aren't the remaining steps obvious? Even a fool could see it."

"fool?"

Huang Ling was stunned for a moment, then questioned, "Who are you talking about? Are you talking about me?"

Zeng Die quickly waved her hand, "No, no, I wasn't targeting you."

Huang Ling: "??"

What do you mean it's not 'targeting' me? Doesn't that still mean I'm a fool?

Luo Jiyao sat down and said, "With the key characteristics that Chen Zhou just mentioned, the problem is indeed much simpler."

Huang Ling asked, "No! What exactly is so simple about it?"

Luo Jiyao said, "Because afterwards we only need to calculate the interval [left, right] that the last row can cover for each city in the first row."

Zeng Die chimed in, "Right! Now the problem becomes: how to cover the range [1, m] with the fewest possible intervals."

Luo Jiyao nodded. "At this point, it becomes a very typical 'greedy algorithm problem'."

"???"

Huang Ling was completely dumbfounded. "Wait, so you two are both big shots, and I'm just a newbie?"

Zeng Die smiled but remained silent.

Luo Jiyao comforted him, "Actually, I'm just a newbie too. The real expert is Chen Zhou."

At this moment, Chen Zhou finished his explanation on the stage and said, "So, we can see that this problem tests the comprehensive application of graph theory search, property proof, and greedy algorithm."

"The most important thing is to discover the properties of 'continuous intervals' and transform the problem into an interval covering problem."

"Okay, that's it."

After saying that, Chen Zhou threw the chalk in his hand onto the podium and patted his hands, which were covered in chalk dust.

Professor Lu Haifeng led the applause, his eyes filled with admiration for the talent, "Bravo!"

Then, Pei Zhu thought to himself, "This kid is amazing," and immediately started clapping.

Immediately afterwards, all the students in the room applauded and cheered for Chen Zhou!

"Clap clap clap clap!"

Thunderous applause erupted!

After a long while, the applause, which was like a tidal wave, gradually subsided.

On the podium, Professor Pei Zhu stepped forward and patted Chen Zhou on the shoulder, his eyes full of admiration.

Pei Zhu said, "Chen Zhou, you're a real talent!"

"This is the first time in so many years that someone has been able to solve the problem I posed in such a short time."

"Great job, keep it up!"

Chen Zhou smiled and spread his hands. "Professor Pei, didn't you say that someone made it and there was a 500 yuan prize?"

Pei Zhu: "Uh..."

A student in the audience started commotion, saying, "Professor Pei, you're not trying to renege on your promise, are you?"

Pei Zhu said, "How could I possibly cheat? I just forgot to bring my money."

Professor Lu Haifeng took out his wallet. "It's okay, I brought it with me. Remember to pay me back next time."

Upon seeing this, the audience burst into laughter.

Li Ya gloated, "Jiang Jiaqi, now you know what it feels like to be crushed, don't you?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Jiaqi gave a disgruntled "Heh," turned around, and looked unconvinced.

Jiang Jiaqi said, "Where is the superiority? I'm about the same as him, I'm just a little slower. Give me fifteen more minutes, and I can do it just as well!"

"Why don't we ask him to choose a different question and have them compete again? Who knows who'll be faster!"

Li Ya scoffed, "Stubborn as a mule."

Jiang Jiaqi: "You!!"

Li Ya added, "Besides, even if you had another fifteen or twenty-five minutes, could you come up with three solutions like Chen Zhou?"

Jiang Jiaqi scoffed, unimpressed. "You believe everything he says? Can't you think for yourself?"

"You're boosting others' egos while crushing your own! We're both students from 479 High School, while Chen Zhou, from Tangzhong High School, no matter how awesome he is, can he really be any better than us?"

"The school you attend determines your ceiling!"

Li Ya hissed, "What? You're still not convinced? You absolutely refuse to believe that Chen Zhou can really find three solutions? You don't believe he's better than you?"

"Better than me? Ha!" Jiang Jiaqi became even more agitated. "If Chen Zhou really finds three solutions, I, Jiang Jiaqi, will eat those four blackboards right in front of you!"

Li Ya immediately perked up, "You said it yourself, and both our No. 4 Middle School and your No. 7 Middle School have to be witnesses."

Before anyone could react, Li Ya stood up and shouted to the stage, "Chen Zhou, didn't you say you came up with three solutions? Is that true?"

"Can you show us something?"

"Or are you really bragging like Jiang Jiaqi said?"

"Are your suburban schools any good?"

Li Ya, always eager for a good show, kept stirring things up.

Jiang Jiaqi immediately became displeased and angrily said, "No, Li Ya, why are you dragging me into this?!"

Chen Zhou was delighted to receive the 500 yuan that Professor Pei Zhu had lent him.

Upon hearing this, he glanced in the direction of Li Ya and immediately understood.

These top students from prestigious schools like Chengdu No. 4, No. 7, and No. 9 High Schools still don't respect me enough!

Alright! I'll teach you a lesson again! Broaden your horizons!

Chen Zhou's stubborn temper flared up, and he made up his mind.

The next second, Chen Zhou looked at Pei Zhu with a smile, "Professor Pei, what do you think? Do you really think I can have three solutions?"

Professor Pei said, "How would I know?"

Chen Zhou smiled. "Professor Pei, you're not being sincere!"

Professor Pei gave an "uh" sound, "Okay, Chen Zhou, I admit you're not bad."

"But to say that you came up with three solutions to the 'water diversion into the city' problem in such a short time, I think that's unlikely."

Chen Zhou said, "Alright, how about we make another bet? Add a little something extra?"

Professor Pei was taken aback. "Again?"

The students in the audience cheered loudly, raising their arms and shouting, "Bet with him! Bet with him!"

Unable to resist the students' enthusiasm, Professor Pei smiled helplessly and said, "Alright, then tell me, what are we betting on?"

Chen Zhou said, "I lost, so I'll return the 500 to you. You lost, so you give me another 500, how about that?"

Professor Pei pondered, "If I really lose, wouldn't I have to lose 1000 yuan to this kid?"

This is all the money I've been hiding from my wife!

But upon further reflection, Professor Pei felt that Chen Zhou couldn't possibly do it!

Pei Zhu said, "Alright! 500 it is!"

"Chen Zhou, begin your performance!" Pei Zhu didn't believe it.

He felt that even if we take a step back and assume that Chen Zhou really had three ideas, they might not all be correct!

There are three solutions, but even I, a competition coach, only know two!

That's just bragging!

The students below the stage watched as Chen Zhou erased the blackboard and wrote on it.

Most of them were skeptical!

Huang Ling asked in a low voice, "Zeng Die, Ji Yao, do you think Chen Zhou can really provide three solutions?"

Luo Jiyao gritted her teeth and shook her head.

Zeng Die also shook her head.

Huang Ling asked in surprise, "Zeng Die, even you don't believe Chen Zhou anymore?"

Zeng Die said, "Why should I believe it? I'm not stupid. Do I have to believe everything Chen Zhou says?"

Then she added, "Perhaps Chen Zhou has other ideas, but it's impossible for three to suddenly appear."

"Absolutely impossible!" Zeng Die said firmly.

Luo Jiyao nodded in complete agreement, "Yes! Unless... he's done it before!"

Upon hearing this, Zeng Die and Huang Ling both shook their heads. Even though they had never eaten pork, they had seen pigs run.

In previous years, neither the semi-finals nor the national finals had ever included a real question like this one about "dredging water into the city".

There are no such questions in mainstream competition preparation materials!

Therefore, Chen Zhou could not have done it!

But coincidentally, at that very moment, Chen Zhou was writing furiously on the blackboard while secretly delighted.

Fortunately, I had done it in my past life, and even taught the final question of the 2010 national finals!

I've taught this kind of "water diversion into the city" problem in countless ways, no less than ten times!

Forget three solutions, even if there were five, ten, or twenty, I, Chen Zhou, could solve them all…

Cough cough, that's really just bragging.

Chen Zhou cleared his throat: "Ahem! Now I'm going to talk to you about the second solution. Last time we used the DFS algorithm to simulate water flow, but this time, we will use the Breadth-First Search algorithm to simulate it."

"Compared to the single-minded approach of DFS, BFS is characterized by its ripple-like diffusion and comprehensive search, which allows for more intuitive physical simulations, is easier to compute, and avoids the risk of recursion stack overflow..."

Pei Zhu was stunned as she listened to Chen Zhou's eloquent explanation on stage.

No, Ah Zhou, are you serious?

The students in the audience stared wide-eyed.

"Chen Zhou, does he really know the second solution?"

"He might actually know all three!"

"Holy crap! Is he even human?"

then……

Fifteen minutes later, Chen Zhou finished explaining the second solution to the "water diversion into the city" problem.

Lu Haifeng nodded with great satisfaction, thinking that this boy was destined for great things!

Pei Zhu felt his mouth dry and swallowed two mouthfuls of saliva, thinking to himself: How did this kid do that?

Some of the students present were so happy they couldn't stop smiling!

The way they looked at Chen Zhou was like that of a frog in a well looking at the moon!

"Holy crap! That's amazing!"

How can the differences between people be so vast?

"I'm fucking depressed!"

Then, another twenty minutes passed, and Chen Zhou finished explaining the third solution to the problem.

At this moment, the entire venue fell silent!

Dean Lu Haifeng never expected that Chen Zhou's earlier use of Fermat's words was not just to show off, but because he actually knew three solutions!

At the same time, Lu Haifeng was also thinking that he had cultivated generation after generation of young talents, and after so many years, Chen Zhou was the first computer genius with such talent!

This is how a child should be born!

Lu Haifeng genuinely admired Chen Zhou, this younger generation.

Professor Pei Zhu was dumbfounded. Chen Zhou, Chen Zhou, how did you come up with this brain?

Is he channeling John von Neumann? His brain works faster than a computer?!

Outrageous!

This is outrageous!!

The students in the audience were so shocked that their heads were buzzing and they seemed to have lost their souls.

They looked at Chen Zhou with eyes like an ant gazing at the blue sky!

Absolutely stunning!