My subject turned into a beautiful girl

"I'm back!"

Xia Qing pushed open the door and loudly announced with great enthusiasm.

Warm, soft light shone down as Cheng Xiaoyan, sitting on the sofa, looked at her daughter and waved with a smile.

"You're back? Your dad just cut some watermelon, come and have some."

"Eight cents a pound, fresh and sweet! My skill in buying melons is improving day by day." Comrade Xia Sicheng said, wielding a knife to cut open a melon while showing off.

"Yes, yes, you've almost developed eyesight like a hawk," Cheng Xiaoyan teased.

"Wow, it's so cheap! Was it chilled?"

Xia Qing blinked, changed into her slippers, and jogged over. She didn't even bring her schoolbag home... anyway, all the worthwhile things to read were at home, and she never brought them to school anyway.

"Of course it's chilled, but you can only eat two pieces, okay? Don't be greedy and get a stomachache." Cheng Xiaoyan patted her daughter affectionately as she leaned against her.

Hehe~

Xia Qing picked up a slice of watermelon with a smile on her face. "Something really interesting happened at school today. I discovered that someone in my class seems to be a 'fallen genius'!"

"genius?"

Xia Sicheng was taken aback. There weren't many people who could be called geniuses by his daughter, and even fewer with a prefix.

"How could they still have fallen?"

So Xia Qing generously recounted the entire detailed process.

"Isn't it strange? His learning speed is almost on par with when I first started learning functions, but logically, such talent shouldn't be resulting in these grades... So I speculate that something might have caused his talent to disappear, and now I've unintentionally reactivated it?"

"That's certainly an interesting point."

Cheng Xiaoyan, resting her chin on her hand and smiling, asked, "So, Qingqing, how do you plan to find out the reason?"

"I made a study plan for him to see just how talented he really is."

Xia Qing blinked. "I haven't figured out how to find out the reason yet. Let's talk about it later. Maybe I'll change my mind again. I have other things to do recently... Um, I'm preparing to participate in this year's National High School Mathematics League! I have to go to Yongning City on the 11th of next month."

Clearly, this was the real matter Xia Qing was about to discuss.

Xia Sicheng and Cheng Xiaoyan exchanged a glance, and finally Cheng Xiaoyan spoke up: "Okay, it's up to you, but... I remember Qingqing, didn't you skip the preliminaries? You can still directly participate in the league like this?"

"My math teacher told me there will be a grade-wide math exam tomorrow to allocate spots for direct entry into the preliminary exam."

Xia Qing replied, "Anyway, I'm in my senior year of high school, and this is the last time, so I'm planning to go have some fun."

"Then Dad or Mom will take time off to go with you..." Xia Sicheng tentatively suggested.

"No need! Asking for leave is too much trouble. I won't be going alone; I'll have classmates and teachers with me. Just treat it as a trip."

Xia Qing grabbed a tissue to wipe her mouth, looked around, and her eyes lit up. "Hey, the books my math teacher sent arrived? I'll go check them out. Goodnight, Mom and Dad!"

"Remember to go to bed early!" Cheng Xiaoyan reminded her.

"Okay~"

Xia Qing picked up the book "50 Years of IMO" that was on the shoe cabinet, went back to her room, and closed the door behind her.

Cheng Xiaoyan and Xia Sicheng exchanged a glance in the living room.

"That girl named Zhou Yinshuang, she should be going too, right?" Xia Sicheng asked in a low voice.

"Do you even need to think about it?"

Cheng Xiaoyan glanced at him and lowered her voice, "It must be that Zhou Yingshuang wanted to go first, and that's why Qingqing wanted to go with her..."

The two remained silent for a long time before sighing in unison.

"You mean, it's one thing for Qingqing to like girls..."

Xia Sicheng frowned, looking quite distressed. "How come I still can't win her over? The key is that it's a woman pursuing a woman, and I can't even pass on my experience!"

"What do you mean by 'it's fine if you like girls'? How is it 'fine'?"

Cheng Xiaoyan narrowed her eyes. "And, according to you, if it's a matter of a man pursuing a woman or a woman pursuing a man, you have a lot of experience to share?"

"What kind of talk is that?"

A sense of crisis made Xia Sicheng immediately put on a stern face, "I've only ever pursued one person, how could I have any experience like this!"

"Hmph..." Cheng Xiaoyan snorted softly and shook her head slightly.

"I don't think this is anything to worry about. It's been two years. If he wanted to catch up, he should have done so by now... Instead of focusing on this, you should think about that guy named An Yi."

"What's wrong with him?" Xia Sicheng asked, startled.

"This is the first time in so long that our Qingqing has mentioned boys at home. What if there's a chance?" Cheng Xiaoyan pondered.

"I think you're obsessed with this, and you're starting to get all confused," Xia Sicheng said, shaking his head helplessly.

"Have you forgotten the agreement we made with Qingqing after discussing it? As long as she can experience the beauty and joy of a normal person's growth process step by step, everything else is up to her own ideas."

"Normal teenage romance is also part of it..."

Cheng Xiaoyan sighed softly, "Okay, I was just thinking about it casually."

The two remained silent for a while, until Xia Sicheng suddenly laughed.

"Every time I think about it, I can't help but marvel at how two ordinary people like us could have given birth to such a genius daughter?"

"I won the lottery."

Cheng Xiaoyan rested her head on his shoulder. "Tell me, did we make the right decision?"

"Of course that's right. Haven't you read enough stories about geniuses? It's hard for geniuses not to be lonely. We don't know if Qingqing will be lonely in the future..."

Xia Sicheng embraced his wife and said in a deep voice.

"At least, she didn't skip grades, she didn't compete... she experienced a lot of the good things in life, didn't she?"

Xia Qing's bedroom was somewhat haphazardly furnished, with the blankets piled up haphazardly and two bookshelves on either side, both crammed with all sorts of books.

The bookshelf on the left is filled with leisure and entertainment books, ranging from classic literature to novels and comics, and even a row of PS4 game discs. The bookshelf on the right is piled with books and magazines, both in Chinese and English.

If An Yi came here, he would know that Xia Qing's earlier statement that she "had never read 'Advanced Mathematics'" was not a lie...

She was reading "Mathematical Analysis".

Even the book "Mathematical Analysis" was on the bottom shelf, looking like it had been read and studied a long time ago and hadn't been opened in ages.

Xia Qing went to the computer desk and turned on the computer from standby mode.

The screen displayed a webpage, entirely in English, with an orange-brown banner bearing the words "Annals of Mathematics" in white lettering. She put on her headphones, played some music, and then opened the book "50 Years of the IMO," reading it as if it were a light novel.

For her, reading this book was essential for participating in the National High School Mathematics League. It's like a PhD student taking a middle school math exam; they need to look at some questions and solutions beforehand to limit their "accessible knowledge base" and avoid being overwhelmed by a lower-level problem.

It's mainly a case of dimensional reduction attack... it can't score!

……

An Yi's review went more smoothly than ever before.

"Is this how top students perceive the difficulty of learning?"

After completing another part of his study plan, he couldn't help but think to himself.

In fact, understanding mathematical formulas, at least those from the high school level, has never been difficult for An Yi.

He simply missed some of the formulas in class, and when he tried to learn them on his own, he was always distracted and couldn't remember them.

But math is never about memorizing or understanding formulas to get points. Completing this step only means you have a wire. To successfully pry open the "lock" of the problem, you still have to see how you bend that wire into the corresponding key.

Most people need to learn, practice, and memorize to master various methods of bending wire into corresponding keys. A few people are gifted; they can "feel" how to bend the key just by looking at the lock, and when they try it, it often turns out to be true.

An Yi was undoubtedly the former... in the past.

His learning process used to be like this: memorize the formula → do the example problems and feel like you understand → be completely confused when the form is changed → look at the answer and feel like you understand again → encounter the problem in the exam and can't answer it → listen to the explanation and feel like you understand again... and so on.

In some cases, this cycle occurs because he didn't actually understand, only thought he did, or understood but didn't remember. More often, the problem is presented in a completely new form, and he can't derive it using the formulas and theorems he's already memorized.

Everyone is different, and everyone has their own personality. Sometimes, the difference in talent is laid bare.

Of course, theoretically speaking, given the intensity and content of high school knowledge, this talent gap can be completely bridged through hard work. If you lack the ability to apply knowledge to new situations, then simply memorize all three methods.

Unfortunately, not everyone has the perseverance to turn theory into reality; at least An Yi didn't.

Whenever he gets to the point of "making an effort," he always feels a kind of powerless laziness. Even if he just stares blankly at the leaves fluttering in the wind outside the window, he doesn't want to think about anything and is too lazy to do anything.

Actually, his perseverance hasn't changed much; the only change is that he now possesses [Mathematical Thinking Ability +1].

Mathematical thinking ability is that mysterious "feeling"!

An Yi didn't know the extent of the boost from this +1, but so far, the knowledge he had reviewed was no longer as difficult as before.

Previously, after reading a question, he would have to think, struggle with how to solve it, and even try different approaches. Now, he can simply rely on his instincts to write down the answer and, with the help of his greatly improved calculation ability, quickly arrive at the correct answer.

It's so simple, it's like going back to doing elementary school math problems, only with more steps and a bit more complicated calculations!

"It's no exaggeration to say that if learning were always this easy, I could study for a lifetime!" An Yi thought to himself.

But this time he couldn't fully immerse himself in his studies. Almost instinctively, he kept a part of his mind focused on the sounds outside his bedroom.

The living room was quiet, with only the faint sound of a television drama playing. An Yi knew this was the calm before the storm.

With repeated experiences, he naturally gained experience... He could even roughly guess what his father or mother would say.

They would say things like, "It's not easy to send you to school," "I work from dawn till dusk for you," "Your dad can't even eat today," and "If I had your qualifications, I could easily get into Tsinghua or Peking University."

But no matter how many times, I still can't help feeling uncomfortable.

Sometimes An Yi would think to herself, if only she could control herself, not read novels or play games, and focus solely on studying.

In this way, he might become the "other people's child" that his parents talk about, achieve excellent grades, and then... maybe everything will be alright?

But I just can't do it.

Novels are so good, games are so fun, and his classmates always discuss novels and games in their spare time. Does that mean he can't participate in these topics at all?

He could sense that his parents were also trying to change, but just like he was trying to change himself, they found it difficult to do so.

Perhaps realizing she couldn't completely stop his craving for games, his mother once had a heart-to-heart talk with him, saying, "Studying all the time won't help. You need to know how to balance work and rest to maximize efficiency. If you're going to play, play happily; if you're going to study, study seriously. From now on, you're allowed to use the computer at home to play games..."

That sounds reasonable, right?

Then An Yi was pleasantly surprised and went to play on the computer, feeling that she must study hard to repay the favor.

Half an hour later, my mom came over. "Have you played long enough? Time to go study?"

How can anyone have fun like this?

And so, the desire to study hard vanished with the wind.

But I can't say it.

If you want to continue, it will either be something like, "Half an hour isn't enough? You're asking for trouble," or "I knew I shouldn't have let you play. As a student, a little relaxation is enough. Your job is to study..."

Ultimately, nothing came of it.

Occasionally, when An Yi did well on a test, she would receive a dismissive comment like, "Not bad, keep it up. Don't be arrogant. Look at so-and-so, why can't you learn from them? They study even while eating, getting up early and studying late..." or "Don't compare yourself to those who are bad, compare yourself to those who are good..."

If you do poorly on a test, the reaction is, "With your grades, what will you ever do?" "You'll never amount to anything..."

Heartbroken, sad, and in tears... The most painful time was when An Yi locked the door by herself, sat on the windowsill, and opened the emergency exit.

But once he calmed down, he recalled all the little things from the past.

Before he came to Jingjiang City to study, things were not like this.

He remembered the family huddled around a foot basin in winter, three pairs of feet taking turns testing the water temperature, occasionally mischievously stepping in and laughing together. He remembered him groaning with a high fever in the middle of the night, his mother somehow hearing him from another room and waking up to take him to the hospital. He remembered the time he was seriously ill and hospitalized for a week, finally recovering and being discharged, his father happily carrying him home on his shoulders, secretly buying him a bag of spicy snacks.

Those things can't be faked, and there's no need to fake them, is there?

But why did it turn out this way?

Past memories stirred up my mind, my thoughts were a jumbled mess... I couldn't continue studying.

An Yi simply stood up, went to the windowsill, took a deep breath, and looked out the window.

This is the place where he is most connected to the outside world when he is at home. Only here can he temporarily take off the mask that is gradually growing out of him, breathe a sigh of relief, like a bird in a cage welcoming the wind of freedom and relaxation.

The city skyline stacks up in the distance to form towering silhouettes, and countless lights weave together one high cage after another. Overpasses and roads weave between these high cages, and traffic flows on them, with car lights converging into an endless stream of light.

An Yi quietly watched this scene, a scene that would captivate her no matter how many times she saw it.

The world has become bigger, with wide and clean roads, countless cars and people, and colorful neon lights.

But the world seems to have shrunk, so small that there is no longer any time for people to stop and pay attention to the trees and wind around them. They can only be like each point of light in these streams of light, bound by those high cages and streams of light, moving back and forth between two points.

He suddenly understood.

His parents are the same as him; they all came from the countryside to the city and were trapped in this strange world that keeps getting bigger and smaller. So they can only keep running around, changing, and wearily searching for that exit that no one knows exactly where.

Good thing...

An Yi's gaze was focused on the light screen that appeared at will.

He found it.

①Annals of Mathematics: Fun fact—publishing a paper in this journal can guarantee admission to any university without taking the entrance exam (¬◡¬)!

The *Annals of Mathematics* is one of the world's most prestigious and authoritative mathematical journals, published jointly by Princeton University and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. It publishes only about 30 papers annually, with extremely rigorous selection processes; publishing in this journal is considered one of the highest honors in a mathematician's career.