It was nearly eight o'clock when a refined-looking middle-aged man walked into the venue, surrounded by an entourage. The host's voice rang out over the loudspeaker: "Please stand up and join me in a round of applause to welcome our guests!" Instantly, everyone in the hall stood up and broke into enthusiastic applause. Several press photographers scrambled to take pictures as camera flashes blinked continuously.
After quickly taking their seats on the stage, the host announced: "The Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government attach great importance to this commendation conference in our province. Despite their extremely busy schedules, Secretary Tao of the Provincial Party Committee and Vice Governor Zhao have both taken the time to honor us with their personal presence. Now, let us once again express our most sincere welcome and heartfelt thanks with enthusiastic applause!"
Thunderous applause filled the hall. Officials from the Department of Education, members of various Municipal Education Commissions, instructors, and contestants alike were thrilled to hear that the Provincial Party Secretary and the Vice Governor were personally attending the commendation meeting. They clapped with extra vigor, especially the education officials in the front row, whose faces were flushed with excitement.
As the applause subsided, the host said: "Please quiet down. Now, we invite Comrade Xu Dongliang, Director of the Department of Education, to announce the opening of the meeting."
Standing at the podium, Xu Dongliang adjusted the microphone and said: "I now declare the commendation and award ceremony of the provincial selection trials for the Global Mathematics Olympiad, along with the educational achievement exchange conference, officially open!"
Following a round of warm applause, Xu Dongliang continued: "First, let us invite Provincial Party Secretary Tao to give us his instructions!" With that, he led the applause.
Secretary Tao delivered a brief yet passionate speech that pushed the atmosphere of the meeting to a climax.
Wu Hua felt a slight sense of surprise; he sensed that Secretary Tao's gaze had swept in his direction a few times.
The meeting proceeded in an orderly fashion, with wave after wave of applause. After Director Xu introduced the province's educational achievements, the moment the contestants had been eagerly anticipating finally arrived: the announcement of the competition results!
Song Xinmei sat right next to Wu Hua. The moment the announcement of results began, she grew tense and instinctively grabbed Wu Hua's arm.
After all, she was still a student, and at this moment she was extremely excited and nervous. Wu Hua smiled faintly and said nothing.
"The first place in the Global Olympiad selection trials goes to Wu Hua from Wujiang University!"
After the applause died down, the Deputy Director added: "What is even more gratifying is that Wu Hua is the only contestant in this Olympiad to achieve a perfect score of 100!"
The hall erupted into enthusiastic applause once again.
Song Xinmei turned to look at Wu Hua in utter astonishment. By this point, her heart had truly yielded; first place in the provincial Olympiad, and a perfect score at that—this far exceeded her own capabilities.
At this moment, Song Xinmei could not help but admire Wu Hua. After all, young women naturally looked up to those who excelled, but she no longer cared about any bet; she was far more concerned with her own ranking.
Second place... Third place... As name after name was revealed, Song Xinmei grew increasingly nervous, her grip on Wu Hua's arm tightening.
It wasn't until her name was announced for sixth place that she slowly relaxed her tense grip on Wu Hua's arm. She sat in a daze for a brief moment, then covered her face with both hands and burst into tears of joy.
Wu Hua gently took her hand, offering silent comfort.
With the reading of the results concluded, it was announced that the top six contestants had been awarded the title of Jiangnan Province Merit Student.
Next came the award presentation ceremony. First, Secretary Tao presented the awards to the champions. Standing on the stage alongside three other champions, facing the myriad gazes and camera lenses, Wu Hua felt his heart stirring as he envisioned a bright future.
When Secretary Tao handed Wu Hua his award and looked closely at his face, he experienced a start, his gaze flickering before he quickly regained his composure.
Wu Hua caught that momentary flash of surprise in Secretary Tao's eyes, but before he could dwell on it, Secretary Tao had already reached out to shake his hand, handing him the first-place certificate along with a large red envelope.
Following the award ceremony, the meeting drew near its conclusion, and the time came for Vice Governor Zhao to announce the news regarding the China-America middle school student mutual visitation delegation.
At this moment, Secretary Tao whispered a few words to Director Xu beside him. Director Xu immediately waved over the deputy director who was hosting the meeting, gave him a few instructions, and watched as the deputy director returned to the podium.
Clearing his throat, the deputy director announced: "Next, we invite the representative of the award-winning contestants, Wu Hua from Wujiang University, to come to the stage and speak!"
Hearing this, Wu Hua couldn't help but freeze for a moment, wondering why he was suddenly being asked to give a speech.
He knew very well that if a meeting had such a segment, it was usually arranged in advance with a prepared speech. To suddenly push someone up there without following protocol—how could that possibly work?
Yet, when push came to shove, he wasn't stage-frightened. After all, having been a website station master in his past life, he frequently had opportunities to speak on stage, and he had even summarized the essence of public speaking into four key words: "Welcome, Thanks, Vision, Wish"—a formula that could be put to use in any occasion.
By the time he stepped onto the stage, he had already figured out what to say.
Standing firmly, he scanned the entire audience and spoke in a clear, resonant voice: "First, a warm welcome to the outstanding young students from across the province as they gather in the beautiful Jiangcheng to jointly participate in our province's mathematical feast. Thank you to the leaders of the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial Government, and the Department of Education for your care and support; thank you to the teachers for your help and guidance. I hope my fellow students will keep the earnest teachings of our leaders firmly in mind, study diligently, and strive to improve every day. I wish everyone great academic success in the future, that you may serve our country and contribute your strength to the construction of our motherland!"
As his voice trailed off, the hall erupted into thunderous, lingering applause!
The most excited person today was undoubtedly Director Guo of the Wujiang Municipal Education Commission.
As the biggest winner of this provincial mathematics competition and conference, he watched as Wujiang City achieved stellar results in the selection trials. When Director Xu introduced the province's educational achievements, Wujiang City took up a full third of the presentation, allowing him to shine brightly in front of superior leaders and the supervising Vice Governor.
What surprised Director Guo even more was Wu Hua's outstanding performance.
Upon learning that Wu Hua would take the stage to speak on behalf of the award winners, he turned to ask Deputy Director Wang beside him. Confirming that this had not been part of the scheduled agenda, his heart filled with confusion, and he broke out in a cold sweat for Wu Hua.
He was terrified that an unprepared Wu Hua might freeze up in front of the massive audience or stammer through his words—that would be utterly humiliating!
Witnessing Wu Hua stride toward the podium with total confidence, Director Guo couldn't help harboring a glimmer of expectation: perhaps this genius Wu Hua could pull off a performance that exceeded all expectations.
The moment Wu Hua finished speaking, Director Guo slammed his hands together in excited applause, cheering both for Wu Hua and for the perfection of this moment. Even Secretary Tao on the stage could not help but applaud Wu Hua's exceptional performance.
Finally, when Vice Governor Zhao announced that the college student delegation would visit New Jersey in America in November, the applause in the hall surged like a tidal wave.
The meeting concluded successfully, and around noon, the organizing committee arranged for everyone to dine at the Donghu Hotel.
Originally, Secretary Tao's secretary had informed Director Xu that Secretary Tao had other arrangements and would not be dining there at noon.
To everyone's surprise, Secretary Tao temporarily changed his mind and decided to stay for lunch.
The prizes for this competition were generous: 500 yuan for the champion, 300 yuan for the runner-up, 200 yuan for the second runner-up, and 100 yuan each for fourth through sixth place.
Those who received the title of Provincial Merit Student were awarded only a certificate of honor, but to students, this held immense significance—such an honor was priceless.