Zuo Ming's face flushed with anger. "Director Li, Teacher Peng did this on purpose!"
Li Guoxiang knew his colleague all too well. Of course Peng Li would pull a stunt like this. "The Advanced Math exam is coming up, and now you've managed to drive away your own teacher. If Class 28 places last, not only will the Rocket Class mock you, but Teacher Peng will use the chance to go after me. There goes my bonus this year."
······
When Zuo Ming and Celia returned to Class 28 and shared the news, the whole class was devastated.
"Teacher Peng just wants us to fail and make us a laughingstock!"
"The Rocket Class always dominates the advanced math exams. If we fall behind again, they'll never let us forget it."
"We can't just sit here and wait for failure. If she won't teach us, then let's find another advanced math teacher."
"But who?"
"I've got it. Isn't Professor Fu teaching at Tsinghua University? Let's ask him to guide us."
"You must be joking! The World Mathematics Competition is right around the corner. The seven-member national team, with students from Tsinghua, Peking University, Fudan, and Shanghai Jiao Tong, is training under Professor Fu right now—alongside that mysterious young prodigy. No one even knows where she is, and Professor Fu is too busy with the team to care about us."
"Still, if anyone could help us, it's him. I heard Professor Fu lecture once. His insights were on a whole different level—far beyond anything Teacher Peng could manage. It was eye-opening. We should at least try to invite him."
Li Yuting suddenly grabbed Celia's arm. "Cici, you should go. You'll be Class 28's representative to invite Professor Fu."
Celia was speechless. "…" Could she possibly say no?
Just then, her phone chimed with a WeChat notification. Master Jiang had added her and Nathaniel Fu into a small group chat.
There were only three members: Master Jiang, Nathaniel, and herself.
Since Celia had changed her phone number and WeChat account after moving to the capital, Nathaniel didn't recognize her.
Master Jiang typed: "Two geniuses, have you met?"
Celia hesitated.
A notification popped up—Nathaniel had replied with a simple: "No."
She could only mirror his answer: "No."
Master Jiang: "Well, now you've met. Say hello to each other."
Celia thought it best to be polite and took the initiative. She typed: "Hello, Senior."
At that moment, Nathaniel was in the middle of training the seven-person competition team. Seeing her message, he quickly replied: "Hello, Junior."
Professor Jiang immediately bombarded the chat with clapping emojis. "Excellent! This year's world competition depends on you two. Feel free to discuss academic matters here."
Meanwhile, in the training room, a few students had gathered around Nathaniel. Zhou Kai from Fudan University asked curiously, "Professor Fu, why hasn't that talented young woman joined us yet? She's so mysterious."
"I heard she's only twenty—still younger than the rest of us," another added.
"Professor Fu, have you met her? Is she pretty?"
Nathaniel had been asked the same question before—Lu Yao had once pressed him about whether the prodigy was beautiful.
He honestly didn't know. He had never seen her in person.
But he did remember one incident. A year ago, when Professor Jiang was predicting competition topics, this young woman had submitted her own predictions. Her handwriting had been exquisite, her notes dense with key points, clearly laid out with precision and insight.
From that alone, he had recognized she was brilliant—truly deserving of the title "genius."
At that moment, a notification popped up again. The young woman, his so-called "junior," had tagged him directly:
"Senior, I've predicted three questions for this year's competition. Are you in the office? I'll bring them over to you."