My IQ has been increasing year by year.

The first prize award ceremony has concluded.

The students on stage took their certificates and went down.

But the stage was not empty.

The host held the microphone, and his voice became solemn.

"Dear teachers and students."

"This year's provincial junior high school mathematics league was extremely competitive, and a number of outstanding science talents emerged."

"Following the rigorous selection process by the provincial competition committee and considering the overall performance in the finals, we have chosen six students to represent our province in the national finals!"

"Students whose names are called, please come to the stage!"

The atmosphere backstage changed instantly.

The students who hadn't left yet all stopped in their tracks.

The teacher who was guiding the students walked over and waved to Chen Zhuo.

"Chen Zhuo, come on, first in line."

He then waved to Lin Yi.

"Lin Yi, the second one."

Then there were four tall boys.

Leading the way was Zhou Kai from the Provincial Experimental High School.

He was very tall, about 1.75 meters, wearing metal-framed glasses, and had an arrogant look on his face. But when he saw Chen Zhuo and Lin Yi, his arrogance subsided considerably, and he became more complicated.

Three boys followed behind, all over 1.6 meters tall, junior high school students, and very well-developed.

Six people, lined up in a row.

At the very front was Chen Zhuo.

Behind him was Lin Yi, who was half a head taller than him.

Behind them were four tall boys, like a wall.

"superior!"

Chen Zhuo took a step.

Step out from behind the curtain and into that blinding light.

He wasn't intimidated, nor did he look around.

His steps were neither hurried nor slow.

Lin Yi followed behind him, still looking spineless, but walking quite fast.

Four boys followed closely behind.

Six people stood in the center of the stage.

Arranged in a U-shape according to height.

Chen Zhuo stood in the very center.

Lin Yi was to his left.

Zhou Kai was on his right.

The other three boys stood on either side.

The visual impact is incredible.

Four tall, robust ninth-grade boys stood like four pillars on either side.

There were two... children who hadn't fully grown up yet, surrounding the middle.

Especially Chen Zhuo.

He stood there, his head only reaching a little below Zhou Kai's shoulder.

It's like a hobbit who has wandered into the land of giants.

The buzzing from the audience instantly intensified.

"Who is that?"

"Why is it so small?"

"Are you sure you're not mistaken? That's a primary school student, isn't it?"

The host opened the red list in his hand.

His voice was loud and clear, echoing throughout the entire venue.

"First place! Provincial team captain! Chen Zhuo from the No. 1 Middle School of the city!"

The host paused, seemingly to confirm, glanced at the list again, and then his voice held a hint of barely suppressed surprise:

"First year of junior high, 10 years old!"

The audience felt as if a ladle of cold water had been poured into a pot of hot oil.

Blasted.

The buzzing sound just now instantly turned into exclamations.

"Ten years old?!"

Holy crap! First year of junior high?!

"I couldn't even understand linear functions in the first year of junior high, and they made it into the provincial team?"

Sitting in the second row, Old Zhao stood up straight as a javelin.

He listened to the gasps of amazement around him, his expression a mixture of sullenness and pride.

He said to Old Sun beside him:

"Oh dear, this child is too young. I'm worried that if he goes to Beijing, he won't even know how to buy a train ticket. It's so worrying."

Old Sun turned his head blankly, glanced at Old Zhao, and couldn't say a word.

On the stage.

When Zhou Kai heard the words "10 years old," even though he already knew it, he still felt like he had been shot in the knee.

He turned his head slightly and looked at the little boy next to him whose voice hadn't changed yet.

Chen Zhuo remained expressionless, and even squinted slightly because the lights were too bright.

Zhou Kai felt incredibly bitter.

He looked at his own long legs, which were 1.75 meters tall, and then at Chen Zhuo.

Is intelligence the opposite of height?

"Second place! Lin Yi from the Provincial Experimental High School!"

"Second year of junior high, 12 years old!"

Another gasp went up from the audience.

"12 years old? And a girl?"

"Even the provincial experimental school has produced some prodigies."

"Third place, Zhou Kai, Grade 9, from the Provincial Experimental High School, age 15..."

The applause was sparse.

Zhou Kai remained expressionless.

He knew he was just a background character.

A huge, mediocre backdrop used to highlight the two geniuses in front.

The certificate has been issued.

A huge red certificate.

Chen Zhuo took it.

Because of his small stature, the certificate he held in his hands almost covered his chin.

He had to raise his hand higher.

The six people hadn't even had a chance to leave the stage yet.

The host's voice rang out again.

"The following is the list of first-prize winners and provincial team members in the National Junior High School Applied Physics Knowledge Competition!"

Then, a few more people came up.

However, three of the six people on stage did not move.

Chen Zhuo did not move.

Lin Yi didn't move.

Zhou Kai didn't move either.

They stood there, watching the staff hand them the new certificates.

"Provincial Team Roster!"

The host read it again.

"First place! Chen Zhuo from the No. 1 Middle School of the city!"

"Perfect scores in both subjects! Number one in both subjects!"

This time, the applause from the audience wasn't explosive, but a heartfelt, thunderous roar.

That was complete admiration.

Once is luck, twice is absolute dominance.

A 10-year-old child outperformed all the top junior high school students in the province in both mathematics and physics.

This is beyond what can be described as a child prodigy.

"Second place! Lin Yi from the Provincial Experimental High School!"

Lin Yi accepted the physics certificate.

She sighed.

The two large certificates were stacked together; they were a bit heavy and a bit slippery.

She muttered something under her breath.

"This is such a hassle. Can't they just give out a trophy? It would be easier to win that way."

"Third place! Zhou Kai from the Provincial Experimental High School!"

Zhou Kai accepted the certificate.

He was truly numb.

Always third place.

Whether at school or in the province.

He was always being overshadowed by the two people in front of him who were several years younger than him.

As he watched Chen Zhuo and Lin Yi's retreating figures, a sense of desolation and sorrow, like the proverb "Why did Heaven create both Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang?", welled up within him.

"Fourth place, Wang Qiang..."

"Fifth place..."

"Sixth place..."

Three new boys stepped onto the stage, completing the provincial physics team.

The photographer shouted from below the stage:

"Come on! Look at the camera!"

"Hey kid in the middle... cough, Chen Zhuo, take your certificates separately! Yes, one in each hand! Time to show your face!"

Chen Zhuo helplessly held one of the two certificates in each hand, as if he were holding up two shields.

Lin Yi leaned lazily against him, holding two books in her hands.

They were surrounded by seven or eight tall boys.

The flash went off.

"Click."

This moment was frozen in time.

Summer of 2002.

The youngest, shortest, but also the most terrifying champion and runner-up combination in the history of the provincial competition.

......

The awards ceremony has ended.

The crowd began to disperse.

Old Zhao rushed backstage, picked up Chen Zhuo (he really did pick him up), and spun him around twice.

"Good lad! Good lad!"

Old Zhao laughed until tears streamed down his face, "Two provincial teams! Our No. 1 High School has truly made a name for itself this time!"

Chen Zhuo was so constricted that he could hardly breathe, and he almost dropped the certificate in his hand.

At that moment, an elderly professor with glasses and gray hair walked over.

Professor Wang.

The head of the provincial competition committee.

"Congratulations, Teacher Zhao!"

Professor Wang looked at Chen Zhuo with a smile.

"This child has potential."

Old Zhao quickly put Chen Zhuo down and helped him straighten his clothes.

"Professor Wang, you flatter me."

Professor Wang looked at Chen Zhuo, then at Lin Yi who was standing not far away and preparing to slip away, and at Zhou Kai, whose expression was complicated.

"Chen Zhuo, Lin Yi, Zhou Kai, you guys come here."

Professor Wang waved.

Several people gathered around.

Professor Wang didn't waste any words.

"Once you join the provincial team, you're no longer representing your school, you're representing our province."

"Next month's training camp will be very demanding."

He looked at Chen Zhuo.

"Chen Zhuo, although you are the youngest, you are first in two subjects, and your results are the most convincing."

"You'll be the liaison for this provincial team training camp, which means you'll be the team captain."

"If anyone has any academic questions, we can discuss them with you first."

Zhou Kai and the other boys were stunned for a moment.

Why make a 10-year-old the team leader?

But when they saw the two perfect score certificates in Chen Zhuo's hand, none of them dared to say a word.

Lin Yi chuckled beside him.

"Okay."

She looked at Chen Zhuo with a mocking expression.

"Captain, from now on, the data processing for physics experiments, as well as those dozens of pages of experimental reports, will all be yours."

"I'm only responsible for operating the machine, not for writing the text."

Chen Zhuo pushed up his glasses.

He glanced at Lin Yi, then at the team members around him who were much taller than him.

There was no refusal.

"OK."

He pointed at Zhou Kai.

"Zhou Kai, from now on, when you get to the lab, you'll be in charge of all the heavy lifting, like moving instruments and setting up equipment."

Zhou Kai straightened his back reflexively:

"……yes."

After agreeing, I realized: Why should I listen to a 10-year-old?

But seeing Professor Wang's approving gaze, he had no choice but to accept it.

"Alright, everyone go back and get ready."

Professor Wang waved his hand.

See you next month at the Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University.

Chen Zhuo took the two certificates and turned to walk out.

Wang Yang and Zhao Chen were already waiting at the door.

As soon as they saw Chen Zhuo come out, the group swarmed around him.

"Team leader! Let me touch it! I want to share in the good fortune!"

"Perfect scores in both subjects! Team leader, are you a god descended from heaven?"

The group crowded around that small figure and walked away noisily.

Lin Yi stood there, watching Chen Zhuo's back disappear into the crowd.

She rolled the certificate in her hand into a tube and tapped it against her palm.

He turned and left.