After taking the advice, I became a top student.

Inside the banquet hall, the six students from No. 1 Middle School sat together, the atmosphere somewhat reserved. They were surrounded by unfamiliar faces in various school uniforms; occasionally someone would cast a glance, but most of the time, the students from different schools formed their own small circles, conversing in hushed tones.

"That's Qiu Mingyuan from No. 4 Middle School. He came in second in the provincial competition last year."

Bai Zhi pointed to a boy wearing black-rimmed glasses not far away and whispered, "He is good at combinatorial mathematics and has reportedly taught himself Mathematical Analysis."

"That's Lin Wanqing from No. 9 Middle School. She's exceptionally strong in number theory. She won a gold medal last year when she was a junior in high school, and her goal this year is to make it into the national team."

Following Bai Zhi's guidance, Chen Mo looked at each of them.

Almost all the well-known high schools in Chengdu were present: No. 4 High School, No. 7 High School, No. 9 High School, No. 12 High School, Foreign Language School... Each school brought its own star students.

Tonight's dinner is a tradition before the provincial competition. It's less of a meal and more of a way for each school to assess their strengths.

"Oh, so people from No. 1 High School are here this year too?"

A slightly jarring sound rang out.

Chen Mo looked up and saw a boy wearing the uniform of No. 4 Middle School walking over with a tray. His gaze lingered on Bai Zhi for a moment before sweeping over the other students from No. 1 Middle School, his eyes filled with undisguised contempt.

"Chen Hao from No. 4 Middle School," Bai Zhi whispered. "He came in eighth in the provincial competition last year, and he has a foul mouth."

"He confessed his feelings to Bai Zhi last year but was rejected. He's probably holding a grudge this year. Let's ignore him for now."

Zheng Lei reminded him from the side.

"Bai Zhi, long time no see." Chen Hao pulled out a chair and sat down, as if he were very familiar with No. 1 High School. "I heard you're in good form this year? It's a pity, you're the only one who can fight well in No. 1 High School, the others are just there to make up the numbers."

Tan Yuanguo gripped his chopsticks tightly, Zheng Lei's face flushed red, and Yang Hongwei lowered his head and remained silent.

Zhou Hao snorted coldly, "Even being a runner-up is better than you. You're only eighth place last year, and you still have the nerve to show off?"

"So what if we're eighth?" Chen Hao asked dismissively. "What was your high school's best result last year? Oh, I think it was 41st or 42nd in the provincial competition?"

"And this was taken by Bai Zhi. Can any boy from your No. 1 High School even make it into the top 50 this year?"

"you……"

"alright."

Chen Mo put down his chopsticks and looked calmly at Chen Hao. "Eat properly and don't let it affect your digestion."

Chen Hao raised an eyebrow. "Who are you?"

"Chen Mo from No. 1 Middle School."

"Never heard of it." Chen Hao shrugged. "Since when has it become the place of a nobody from No. 1 High School to speak?"

"Now."

Chen Mo's tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable certainty.

Before Chen Hao could say anything more, someone suddenly patted him on the shoulder.

"Chen Hao, come back to our table."

From the Fourth Middle School, a boy wearing silver-rimmed glasses spoke softly, but his voice was not loud, yet it made Chen Hao immediately shut his mouth and obediently get up and leave.

Chen Mo looked up and saw Qiu Mingyuan nod at him.

Chen Mo nodded in response, his gaze meeting Qiu Mingyuan's in mid-air.

The atmosphere at the banquet became subtle after Chen Hao's little incident.

The contestants from different schools were no longer acting independently; some started to actively reach out and test each other's abilities.

"Have you heard? This year's provincial competition's final question was set by the School of Mathematical Sciences at Peking University."

A message spread through the crowd, causing a stir.

"Peking University setting the exam? That must be incredibly difficult!"

"That's normal. Every year in the provincial competition, one or two questions are set by professors from prestigious universities, just to differentiate the participants."

"I heard that last year, fewer than ten people in the entire province solved the last question correctly."

Amid the murmurs, Lin Zhiyuan from No. 7 Middle School, carrying a glass of juice, slowly walked to the table at No. 1 Middle School.

"Chen Mo?"

He looked at Chen Mo with a scrutinizing gaze.

"What's up?"

"As is customary, we should play a little game now."

Lin Zhiyuan sat down at the table where Chen Mo and his group were.

This move drew all eyes in the banquet hall: the ace from No. 7 Middle School was actively seeking out someone from No. 1 Middle School?

They were somewhat confused.

Even Qiu Mingyuan was somewhat surprised.

The dinner before the provincial competition does include some fun games, but the participants never include students from No. 1 Middle School.

It's not that they don't want to involve middle schools like No. 1 Middle School; even if they did, those students wouldn't understand how to play.

He didn't expect Lin Zhiyuan to bring in people from No. 1 Middle School this time. What does that mean?

Driven by curiosity, he also came over with a glass of juice.

The two experts took their seats, and the others, who knew the custom, gathered around.

They weren't so lucky; after all, the space was limited, and most of them could only stand.

Schools like No. 2 and No. 5 can't even squeeze into the circle; they can only watch from afar in the corner.

Their eyes were filled with envy as they looked at the six students from No. 1 Middle School. They really didn't know what kind of incredible luck these six guys had that Lin Dashen had chosen their table as the game venue.

By then, staff members had already brought over a small whiteboard and placed it next to the large round table at No. 1 Middle School.

"Mini-games?"

Chen Mo, a newcomer to the competition, looked at Bai Zhi with a face full of regret.

Bai Zhi nodded.

She was aware of this custom, but they had always been bystanders, so she hadn't told Chen Mo beforehand.

How long have you been practicing for competitions?

Lin Zhiyuan picked up the marker next to the whiteboard and looked at Chen Mo, which would determine the difficulty of the game later.

He was only there to test the waters and make friends, not to watch someone make a fool of themselves.

Of course, if Chen Mo is too incompetent, then it's not his fault that he can't do it; such a person is not qualified to be his friend.

"More than a month," Chen Mo answered truthfully.

"puff……"

Someone nearby sprayed out their drink.

Lin Zhiyuan was also taken aback for a moment, then chuckled, "Are you kidding?"

"no."

Chen Mo's serious expression made Lin Zhiyuan's smile fade.

"Alright, let's begin the game."

Lin Zhiyuan looked at Qiu Mingyuan and began writing on the blackboard with a marker in his hand.

Prove that for any positive integer n, there exists an n-digit number whose sum of digits is a power of 2, and that number is divisible by powers of 2.

"The first person to make it, I'll buy him a glass of orange juice!"

Upon hearing this, everyone became excited.

Even Qiu Mingyuan from No. 4 Middle School and Lin Wanqing from No. 9 Middle School looked at the questions on the whiteboard seriously.

Lin Zhiyuan's orange juice wasn't particularly appealing, but tonight was a gathering of all the competition students in Rong Province. If he could stand out at this gathering, it would be a great opportunity to become famous throughout the entire Rongcheng competition circle.

In this world, nothing is more important than fame and fortune.

Bai Zhi frowned. She had seen similar questions before, and they were quite difficult. It was almost impossible to solve them within five minutes.

She looked at Chen Mo with some concern.

It doesn't matter if she can't do it; nobody cares about her.

But if Chen Mo, who was invited by Lin Zhiyuan, couldn't do it, it would be embarrassing.

On the other side, the teachers also looked this way.

"Lin Zhiyuan would actually send a game invitation to an unknown nobody?"

Deng Rui looked at Zhou Zhi with some curiosity. He had also heard Zhou Zhi and Huo Chao's conversation, but he had thought it was Huo Chao and Zhou Zhi exchanging pleasantries.

But now it seems that this is not the case.

"Did that little guy offend Lin Zhiyuan?"

"To pose such a difficult question in public is an attempt to embarrass that kid in front of everyone."

Clearly, not all teachers share Deng Rui's views.