66 The Preliminaries Starts
At the entrance of the Big Data Center, under Tian Wenming’s lead, the team stood under the huge screen outside the Data Center.
There was a line of red text on the screen: Arena of the Fifteenth Junior Informatics Programming Competition.
On the road in front of Tian Wenming and the others, a brand new BMW X7 was parked by the roadside. He Jingguo and He Hongyun got out of the car arrogantly.
“Tian Wenming, I’m sorry. I’m late as I wasn’t familiar with this car that I had just bought.” He Jingguo patted the car. There was nothing but smugness on his face.
“He Jingguo, it’s only 7:50 now, you’re not late. The timing is just right.” Tian Wenming’s eyes were filled with curiosity and envy as he sized up He Jingguo’s new car.
“When did you buy this car? How much is it? It looks very high-end!” Tian Wenming asked enviously.
“This car is imported. It only costs 1.8 million yuan, it’s not that expensive, ” He Jingguo said proudly.
“Wow… It’s so expensive!” Tian Wenming gasped. He usually didn’t care much about cars, so he only knew that BMWs were very expensive, but he really didn’t know that they were so ridiculously expensive.
He had wanted to test drive the car, but after hearing the price, he killed the thought instantaneously.
Bi Jialiang’s eyes were filled with envy when he heard the price of the car.
When Jian Qingli heard that the car was so expensive, she saw He Hongyun in a different light.
Zhao Peng pursed his lips indifferently. He Jingguo’s boastful introduction made his impression of He Jingguo worse. “What’s the big deal? It’s just a lousy car.”
“As if he’s the only one to own one.”
“You are just a bunch of sour grapes.” He Hongyun sneered and said disdainfully when he heard Zhao Peng’s muttering.
Ding Ling had been staying close by Li Chengqian’s side the entire time. All her attention was on Li Chengqian. She didn’t pay attention to what He Jingguo said about the price at all.
At this moment, Li Chengqian was holding a book titled ‘Analog and Digital Circuits Explained’. He was reading it very quickly. Although this book was also very difficult, it was nothing compared to ‘Introduction to Integrated Circuits’. Li Chengqian found it a breeze to read.
He had heard He Jingguo bragging, but couldn’t be bothered at all.
“Son, give your best in the competition. As long as you can get into the top three in the preliminary round, I’ll reward you with a two-million yuan sports car,” He Jingguo said generously. At noon today, the provincial office would place their order for his data restoration software. Twenty million yuan would be transferred to his account in a week. A sports car worth two million yuan was naturally not a problem.
Bi Jialiang looked at He Hongyun enviously. “He’s really impressive, awesome.”
“Xiaobi, you have to work hard too,” He Hongyun encouraged Bi Jialiang with a smile.
“Tian Wenming, I’ll take my leave first. I might have to sign the contract with the provincial office today. I have to prepare in advance and might be very busy today. I’ll leave He Hongyun in your good hands today.” He Jingguo said with a smug smile on his face. He glanced around before getting into the car and leaving.
Li Chengqian and Zhao Peng were standing together with Tian Wenming. It was as if he didn’t see the two of them at all. He didn’t even greet them when he left.
He never took Li Chengqian seriously from the get go.
“He’s so full of himself just because of some minor success. Beware, pride come before fall!” Zhao Peng snorted coldly.
“Contract? Ha!” Zhao Peng said knowingly. When he mentioned the word contract, he sneered.
“Li Chengqian, He Hongyun, hurry up and enter the competition hall.” Tian Wenming watched the BMW leave. He turned around and spoke to Li Chengqian and He Hongyun.
In the first theory test of the preliminary round, only one person from each team was needed.
Needless to say, Li Chengqian would represent his team.
After careful consideration, Tian Wenming chose He Hongyun to represent Bi Jialiang’s team.
Although Bi Jialiang was unwilling, he knew from the past two days of interaction that He Hongyun’s theoretical knowledge was indeed a little better than his.
He Hongyun nodded at Tian Wenming and quickly stepped forward. His voice was filled with animosity. “Li Chengqian, I hope that you will still score full marks this time. Although it’s useless to score full marks.”
In the Junior Informatics Programming Competition, the theory test only took up 40% of the score. The real deciding factor had always been the hands-on segment.
Moreover, the theory test for the Junior Informatics Programming Competition was well known for being very tough. In the past ten years, it was very rare for people to score 70 marks, and fewer than five people have done so.
One was considered very good if he achieved a pass.
Most people couldn’t even score the passing mark, which was 60.
That was why He Hongyun said that.
“Also, we’re participating in a programming competition this time. I see that you’ve been reading books on hardware since you arrived at the hotel. Let me remind you that you’ve been reading the wrong book.” He Hongyun had a look of disdain on his face and a cold smile on his lips.
He had a good memory.
Li Chengqian was reading ‘Introduction to Integrated Circuits’ the day before. Today, he was holding ‘Analog and Digital Circuits Explained’.
‘Introduction to Integrated Circuits’ is course material for a three-year postgraduate course, and ‘Analog and Digital Circuits Explained’ is course material for a four-year undergraduate course.
“There’s one more thing I need to remind you. The two books you’ve been reading require four years of undergraduate and three years of graduate school. It takes a total of seven years to finish them. You’ve learned the graduate school curriculum yesterday and the university curriculum today.”
“You’re simply a prodigy!” He Hongyun’s tone was exaggerated, his voice filled with mockery.
“Those who didn’t know better will think that you’re impressive, but in the eyes of those who know the industry, you’re a phony. You’re an idiot!” He Hongyun felt his mood improve after he spoke his mind.
He felt that he had given vent to the annoyance that had accumulated in his heart over the past few days.
After releasing a few hearty laughs, he strode into the competition hall with a smug expression.
When Bi Jialiang heard He Hongyun’s words, he also laughed. He looked at Li Chengqian as if he was looking at a joke.
Jian Qingli looked at Li Chengqian suspiciously, her eyes flickering.
Ding Ling looked at Li Chengqian with full confidence. There was only one thought in her heart, “Li Chengqian has never lied to me!”
“Captain, don’t lower yourself to the level of these despicable people. Do your best. If you’re pissed, I’ll teach He Hongyun a lesson for you when the exam is over,” Zhao Peng said angrily.
Recalling the scene two days ago at Tianyi High School, when Li Chengqian was writing codes and reading them out for him to enter into the computer, Zhao Peng was once again traumatized.
He cursed in his heart, “He Hongyun, you idiot. You have not seen what Awesome Li is capable of. You know nothing about what a genius he is.”
“You called Awesome Li an idiot. You’re the real idiot.”
Li Chengqian was calm, and his expression didn’t change at all. He flipped over the last page of the book, ‘Analog and Digital Circuits Explained’, and then handed the book to Zhao Peng.
“I’m going in for the exam.” Li Chengqian smiled and greeted everyone before walking into the competition hall.
“Let’s go back to the hotel. We’ll come down after they finish.” The hotel was opposite the competition hall and was very nearby.
“Teacher, I want to wait for Li Chengqian here,” Ding Ling said coldly.
“This is an online exam. The results will be released when the response is submitted. Those who did well will have their names and scores displayed on the big screen.”
“It’ll be easier for us to see the exam results from the hotel,” Tian Wenming explained.
“Furthermore, Li Chengqian and the others will take some time. I don’t think you guys have slept well. Everyone, go back and have a good sleep to prepare for the competition in the afternoon.” The competition in the afternoon was on a team basis. Everyone would have to participate.