Awakening Elementary School System in University

From Chen Lin’s point of view, the entire process was going very smoothly.

Shen Yan’s PowerPoint was logical and well-illustrated. Her delivery was smooth and natural, her enunciation crisp. When she reached the part about the core algorithm Chen Lin had taught her, she explained every key point perfectly. It was clear she had put in the effort to understand it thoroughly.

The ten minutes allotted for the presentation flew by.

Shen Yan gave a slight bow, then straightened up. Her gaze fell upon the judges’ panel as she waited, a hint of nervousness on her face, for the experts’ questions.

Chen Lin saw an elderly, white-haired gentleman sitting near the center of the judges’ panel slowly pick up the microphone in front of him.

A steady, clear voice traveled through the venue’s sound system, reaching everyone’s ears.

"Hello. Your presentation was very clear and quite brilliant. In my opinion, the biggest reason your paper stood out from the many other entries and earned the favor of the judges is that novel optimization algorithm you used. It helped you achieve excellent results in the subsequent modeling."

The elderly gentleman’s gaze was kind. He looked at Shen Yan on the stage and asked slowly,

"So, could you tell us in detail how your team came up with this algorithm?"

Chen Lin was taken aback.

He had paid close attention to the judges’ panel during the host’s opening remarks. The elderly gentleman now asking the question—vigorous and possessing a distinguished air—was none other than the titan of academia he had just looked up on his phone: Academician Liang Tianshi.

However, Chen Lin wasn’t particularly nervous.

’That question isn’t too hard to answer.’

According to what Qu Chengfeng had said on the way over, under this year’s new rules, all Shen Yan had to do was tell the truth. As long as she explained the situation clearly, she would be fine. It wasn’t against the rules, after all.

Besides, knowing Shen Yan’s personality, she would most likely do just that.

Sure enough, Shen Yan bowed politely toward the judges’ panel. Her crisp voice carried through the microphone, filling the auditorium. "Thank you for your question, Academician Liang."

Then, she answered honestly, "We were provided with this optimization algorithm by a fellow student from our school, Yannan University, after our team ran into a bottleneck during the modeling process. We consulted him for help. His name is Chen Lin."

To add weight to her words, she added, "In the ’Special Acknowledgments’ section at the end of our paper, the very first name listed is Chen Lin."

The moment she said this, several experts on the judges’ panel simultaneously picked up their printouts of the thesis. With a rustle of paper, they flipped to the last page. A moment later, they began to nod, clearly having confirmed Shen Yan’s claim.

Chen Lin had thought that would be the end of it.

But he soon discovered things weren’t that simple.

After hearing Shen Yan’s answer, Academician Liang Tianshi didn’t nod immediately like the other judges. Instead, he seemed to hesitate.

He thought in silence for a few seconds, then picked up the microphone and said to the host, "Please give me three minutes."

After saying this, he turned right around and began a hushed discussion with two men—one heavyset, one thin—seated in the first row of the Guests’ section behind him.

This immediately made the atmosphere a little strange.

With the distinguished academic silent, the host wasn’t sure if the proceedings should continue.

Should she ask Shen Yan to leave the stage? Or should she have the next team get ready?

For a moment, the entire auditorium fell into an eerie silence.

Chen Lin’s brow furrowed slightly.

’Something’s not right.’

’Is this really that complicated? Was it worth an academician pausing the Q&A on the spot for a discussion? And he didn’t even talk to the other judges, but went to the Guests in the back row instead. What’s that all about?’

Just in case, Chen Lin discreetly focused his concentration, aiming the Extraordinary Hearing enhanced by his "Little Champion" title directly at that area.

Instantly, the other minute background noises in the auditorium faded away like a receding tide, and the conversation between Liang Tianshi and the two men came through, crystal clear.

"Yunhai, I have a feeling..." Liang Tianshi’s voice held a trace of uncertainty.

The heavyset man practically cut in, "Liang, are you trying to say that the person you’re looking for is actually this Chen Lin guy?"

The slender man immediately cut him off. "Don’t stir up trouble, Fatty."

"Yunhai, I was actually thinking the same thing." Liang Tianshi’s words left the slender man stunned as well.

"...Liang, what’s your reasoning?" the slender man’s voice was filled with confusion.

Liang Tianshi shook his head, his voice dropping even lower. "I have no evidence. It’s just a hunch. I just feel that the person who solved the problem I gave young Wei Beichen in twenty minutes and the person who came up with the novel algorithm in this paper... their level of mathematical talent seems more aligned. Also..."

Chen Lin saw Academician Liang flip the paper to the last page and show it to the two men.

"Look. This Chen Lin... he’s a student in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature."

The slender man and the heavyset man both gasped in unison.

The slender man was silent for a few seconds before quickly offering a suggestion. "Liang, I suggest we continue with the presentation for now. After the event is over, we can speak with Shen Yan privately. We just have to ask her if she has an online business doing homework for others. That should clear everything up."

Liang Tianshi slowly nodded.

Hearing this, Chen Lin’s heart skipped a beat.

’Solved a problem in twenty minutes... an online homework-for-hire business...’

’So, it turns out Academician Liang isn’t here for the modeling competition at all. He’s here looking for me!’

However, after the initial shock, Chen Lin quickly calmed down.

He didn’t panic. Judging by the kind tone Liang Tianshi had used with Shen Yan, he probably wasn’t here to cause trouble.

’In that case, I’ll just wait and see how things play out.’

’I’ll wait until her Q&A is over. After she’s done talking with them, I’ll find her and ask about the situation. It won’t be too late to make a plan then.’

However, just as Liang Tianshi turned back around, preparing to pick up the microphone and end the small commotion, the situation took an unexpected turn.

"Please wait!"

The host, who had been at a loss, latched onto this like a lifeline and immediately announced in a loud voice, "Alright, we have a student in the contestants’ area with a question! Staff, please pass the microphone to the student with their hand raised!"

SWISH!

In an instant, hundreds of pairs of eyes across the hall swiveled from the judges’ panel to the contestants’ waiting area.

Chen Lin couldn’t help but complain to himself again.

’Seriously? All the previous teams had smooth sailing. It was all "good job, great work, everyone’s a winner."’

’Why is it that the moment the team from Yannan University gets up here, all this drama has to break out?’

As everyone watched, a young woman slowly stood up.

She wore black-framed glasses and had a short, ear-length haircut, giving her a quiet and studious appearance. Despite the distance of more than ten meters, Chen Lin’s enhanced vision clearly made out the information on the contestant badge hanging from her neck:

[Jiangcheng University - Yang Han]

A staff member quickly handed her a wireless microphone.

Yang Han took the microphone. She first offered a poised greeting to the judges’ panel and the Guests in attendance. Then, her gaze shifted to the graceful Shen Yan on stage as her voice carried clearly through the sound system, filling the auditorium.

"Honorable judges, and Guests, I am Yang Han from Jiangcheng University. Hello, Shen Yan. I must say, I am personally very impressed with the quality of your team’s paper."

She started with a polite compliment, but then her tone sharpened.

"However, I do have a question. I believe that to ensure the fairness and integrity of this competition, it’s necessary to ask the Chen Lin you mentioned to come on stage and prove his mathematical abilities right here and now."

Her words sent the entire room into an uproar.

Yang Han, however, paid no mind to the surrounding commotion. She paused, then continued in a calm, measured tone, laying out the reason for her challenge:

"Because doing so would prove that the core algorithm in your paper was, in fact, proposed by an undergraduate student. And not... that your team secretly sought help from a teacher or professor, and then, to circumvent the competition rule that states *you must credit any professors or teachers you consulted in the paper*, you simply claimed the help came from a fellow student."

The moment she finished speaking, an even louder buzz of discussion erupted from the contestants’ section and the audience behind them.