Let’s not talk about the other difficult problems for now, but at least the possibility that the boy was just blindly writing nonsense has been ruled out.
"How is it, really? I’m here losing face, waiting on you."
"Dad, these, these are all correct."
"What about the others?"
"I still need to work through them slowly to know, but judging from the problem-solving methods and processes, he should know his stuff. If you want to check the answers, I can go ask the teacher tomorrow."
"Do this, then. Dig out the papers you’ve written and taken exams on before, pick out a few of the toughest questions from various subjects, copy them down, and let Xiao Yuan try them."
Tan Yunlong now needed to confirm whether the boy truly had the level of a high school student; otherwise, if he went to the school to talk about skipping grades and something went wrong, things wouldn’t end well for him.
Tan Wenbin copied down a problem onto a notebook and set it aside, then told the boy: "Xiao Yuan, try this one first."
Li Zhiyuan stood next to the table and picked up a pen.
Meanwhile, Tan Wenbin took out another notebook and started copying the second question. When he finished and turned his head, he saw that the boy had already put down his pen, waiting for him.
Tan Wenbin took the notebook, checked it, and the answer was correct.
Then, he saw Li Zhiyuan swiftly solve the problem he had just copied down.
Checked the answer, and it was correct again.
These were questions beyond the syllabus. During the exam, only two people in the class had managed to answer them.
Li Zhiyuan suggested, "Brother Binbin, just read the questions out loud, it’ll be quicker that way."
Tan Yunlong nodded: "Read them out!"
Tan Wenbin picked up a math paper and started reading from the multiple-choice questions; as soon as he finished each one, Li Zhiyuan would report the answer.
Soon, except for the geometry questions that needed diagrams, Tan Wenbin had read through the entire paper, and the boy had directly reported the answers each time.
Putting down the paper, Tan Wenbin was dumbfounded.
He usually admired the top-performing students in his class, always feeling pressure and a sense of disparity when discussing academics with them. But in front of this boy, he felt no pressure—it was like he had been totally crushed.
"All correct?" Tan Yunlong asked.
"Yep, Brother Xiao Yuan got them all right."
Tan Yunlong, as if he had found a treasure, started twirling Li Zhiyuan by the arm:
"Hahaha, truly a genius, indeed a genius!"
Parents always have a severe filter when it comes to smart kids with good grades, and parents with kids taking exams are even more so. At this moment, in Tan Yunlong’s eyes, there was a feeling like the Star of Literature had descended upon his household.
Finally, after his excitement had passed, he put Li Zhiyuan down.
Li Zhiyuan put a hand to his forehead; he was a bit dizzy from being spun around.
"Xiao Yuan, I’ve inquired about it. The formal admission procedures have to be done when school starts, and we need to involve someone from the Education Bureau to go to the school. However, Binbin and the other high schoolers are taking classes during the summer vacation, so we could go to the school for a test first, handle the paperwork later, and you can join the classes. How does that sound?"
Li Zhiyuan shook his head: "Uncle Tan, I want to take the summer vacation."
"Well then, it’s only the end of July now. There’s still a month left of summer vacation. When it’s time to handle the admission, I’ll come pick you up."
"Thank you, Uncle Tan."
"Don’t mention it." Saying that, Tan Yunlong slapped his son’s head again, "Look at him, then look at yourself!"
Tan Wenbin hadn’t fully recovered from the shock earlier and reflexively asked:
"Why didn’t you ask what his parents do or their educational backgrounds?"
This slap was even heavier than the last.
"Let me tell you, you and Xiao Yuan are now classmates. You should learn from him more. Besides, he’s younger, so you’re responsible for taking good care of him."
Tan Yunlong nodded; his son wasn’t dumb to that degree.
You take care of others in daily life, and in turn, they take care of you in your studies. Even though he kept saying that grades weren’t everything, which parent’s brain is so waterlogged that they don’t wish for their child to do well in school?
Seeing the boy directly report the right answers after hearing the questions had indeed shocked him, an old policeman. Such a child, if his own son could merely spend his days around him—even a pig would start to seem godlike, right?
"Zheng Fang, Zheng Fang!"
Tan Yunlong left the room, eager to dash to the kitchen and share what he had just witnessed with his wife. He believed she would be even more excited than him, and he also needed to remind her to make a few extra dishes. It didn’t matter if they could finish it all, what was important was the grand gesture.
In the room, Li Zhiyuan sat on the bed, Tan Wenbin on a chair, the two of them, one big, one small, face to face.
"Brother Binbin, don’t be , just call me Xiao Yuan or Yuanzi."
"Brother Xiao Yuan, what do you usually do at home?"
"Just read books all the time?" This answer deflated Tan Wenbin, but still not giving up, he continued to ask, "Besides reading books, what else do you like to do?"
"Fishing for corpses."