HCB Chapter 9 Award
Chapter 9 Award
A five-year-old child, when angry, can also act recklessly and without reason.
Su Hui crossed her arms, like a sulking little ball, stubbornly turning her head to stare intently at the sky to her left.
It's like they're having a battle of wits with a passing cloud.
"Huihui, why are you so upset?"
Lin Wan squatted down and softened her voice, trying to coax her.
But the little girl puffed out her cheeks like an inflatable pufferfish, and even turned her body away, leaving her mother with only a proud back of her head.
"Oh dear, our beautiful Huihui, whisper to your mother, what's wrong?"
That gentle voice was like a taut string snapping.
Su Hui's nose tingled, and large tears welled up in her eyes. Her small mouth trembled, and she began to cry.
"My brother!"
"Hmm, what's wrong, brother?" Lin Wan asked patiently, following her lead.
The little girl sobbed again, choking out:
"My brother hasn't played with me for two days! He said he'd play with me after the competition, but he lied! He's a big liar!"
Tears streamed down her face, falling to the ground and striking Lin Wan's heart.
"Oh, don't cry, don't cry, because we have guests at home now."
Lin Wan quickly reached out and gently wiped away her daughter's tears, soothing her softly.
"The guests are leaving soon, can we wait a little longer?"
Mentioning the guests, Lin Wan subconsciously glanced at the tightly closed door.
What was that person's name again?
Zhou Mingyuan?
That university professor, who is said to be extremely famous abroad, rushed over early this morning, his suit still showing some wrinkles from his overnight journey.
He was acting like a fanatical fan meeting their idol, chatting with Su Hao in the room.
In the past, if an academic luminary of this caliber had visited their home, Lin Wan would probably have trembled even while pouring tea.
But this kind of thing happens every now and then, and she's long since become immune to it. She feels nothing at all, and even wants to go to the kitchen to cook a dish.
'Anyway, my son can handle it himself,' Lin Wan thought to herself.
Her son's mind had long exceeded the comprehension of an ordinary mother.
"Then, can Mom play with me instead of my brother? I'll teach Mom!"
Su Hui tugged at Lin Wan's sleeve, looking up at her with a tear-streaked face full of expectation.
Lin Wan sighed helplessly.
The mundane details on the stove and the dust on the window couldn't outweigh the expectation in my daughter's eyes, so I could only smile and agree.
"Okay, Mom will play with you today!"
"Um!"
One second Su Hui was in tears, the next she was all smiles and ran into the room with her short legs.
A moment later, it came running out, huffing and puffing, carrying a small basket.
The basket was filled with colorful number cards that Su Hao had personally cut and made for her.
Lin Wan had seen the two children playing this together before, but she hadn't looked closely and had no idea what kind of magical rules it was.
The cards were neatly divided into two categories: large numbers and small numbers.
"The rules are very simple!"
Su Hui, in her childish voice, took on the role of little teacher.
"Mom shows me this big card, and I'll smash it with the little cards I have! The more cards I use, the more amazing I am!"
The cards handed to Lin Wan were a stack of so-called "large numbers".
Lin Wan casually flipped through the cards, treating it as a normal number game for children, and randomly picked a card with "90" written on it and handed it out.
"It's 90? Then I'll pay..."
Su Hui wasn't intimidated at all. She plopped down on the ground and started rummaging through her pile of cards with her chubby little hands, muttering to herself in a serious manner.
"Hmm... let's start with a 2!"
90 has been destroyed, leaving 45!
Next up is... 3!
Now there are 15 left, so let's play 3 and 5 again!
没有丝毫停顿，小丫头兴高采烈地把四张小卡片（2、3、3、5）「啪嗒啪嗒」一张张挑出来，整整齐齐地排在「90」面前。
"Ta-da! Mom, look! I used four sheets!"
She clapped her little hands happily, then naturally spread out her chubby little palms and looked at Lin Wan with a righteous air.
"sugar!"
Lin Wan's smile froze instantly, replaced by an indescribable look of astonishment.
她呆呆地看着地上的「2、3、3、5」，又看了看那个写着「90」的大数字卡片。
and many more.
90... 2 out, 45 remaining.
3 are discarded, leaving 15.
Then play 3 and 5.
2×3×3×5=90。
As an adult, her brain went blank at that moment.
What kind of international joke is this?!
Is this supposed to be children's pretend play?!
Lin Wan looked at her innocent and carefree daughter with a bewildered expression, stiffly reached into her pocket, and stuffed a piece of candy into Su Hui's hand.
"Now it's Mom's turn! Give an even bigger number!"
Su Hui unwrapped the candy and urged him on in a muffled voice.
Lin Wan swallowed.
She swore that the couple had never taught Su Hui any of these things!
Su Hao simply held his younger sister in his arms every day and started reading to her and telling her stories from some unknown day.
Next comes recognizing characters.
Numbers, English letters, and even the multiplication table that many elementary school students struggle to memorize—these were all learned by this brother and sister in no time through their "game."
"I never expected that he would be teaching his five-year-old sister how to factorize prime numbers!"
This is a fundamental theorem of arithmetic, which expresses a positive integer as a product of prime numbers.
This absolutely rational mathematical underlying logic was forcibly transformed by that monstrous son into a childish game of pretend play for his sister.
Seeing Su Hui's innocent expression, as if she was simply happy to play with her brother and didn't consider it anything profound or difficult to learn, Lin Wan's feelings were extremely complicated.
As parents, we can't escape worldly expectations.
Watching her daughter's bewildered yet precise movements, Lin Wan would occasionally have the thought, "Could it be that our Huihui is also a peerless little genius?"
But she eventually understood that daughters and sons are different.
The son, Su Hao, seemed to be born with a kind of completeness that did not belong to this world.
No matter what it is, he can accomplish it with an almost ruthless independence.
That eager, thirsty look of someone standing in front of a bookshelf is nowhere to be seen in Su Hui.
However, Lin Wan had long since let it go and didn't care anymore. As long as she could grow up happily and healthily in this lively atmosphere, that was already wonderful enough.
......
"Click".
The tightly closed door finally opened.
"Are you done talking?" Lin Wan stood up.
After quite some time, the professor who had come from afar finally emerged from the shadows of the room.
But she vaguely saw that when the professor came out, he was walking unsteadily.
No one knows what shocking things he and Su Hao talked about inside. He just stood at the door, turned around and stared blankly at Lin Wan who had come out to see him off.
This titan of the international academic community had a slight twitch in his facial muscles. He opened his mouth, his expression a complex mix of hesitation and a sense of profound loss of moral compass.
In the end, he swallowed all his words, leaned forward slightly, greeted them politely, and then hurriedly left as if escaping some indescribable pressure.
"What did you talk about?" Lin Wan asked.
"It's nothing," Su Hao said casually, as if nothing had happened.
"He said he's a professor at an American university and asked me to publish a paper when I have time."
"Huh? A thesis?" Lin Wan was stunned. "Isn't that something very complicated and profound?"
"It's not that difficult. He said I just need to organize the problems I've solved and write them down."
He also said he would take care of the submission and everything else, so I didn't need to worry about it.
Lin Wan opened her mouth, still finding it somewhat unbelievable, and even felt a wave of dizziness.
In her understanding, academic papers are something that only college students studying hard in an ivory tower would ever touch.
Even though she has been trying her best to reshape her worldview and adapt to her son's superhuman intelligence these days, she still struggles to do so.
But Su Hao always managed to shatter her newly formed understanding time and time again with an extremely nonchalant attitude.
"So, this is what he came here for today?"
"Oh, I guess he mentioned it casually while he was bringing this to me."
As if he had just remembered, Su Hao casually moved a cardboard box out from behind the study door.
The box was quite large, square in shape, and the sender's name was prominently printed with several weighty words:
"Xia Hua Cup Mathematics Competition Organizing Committee".
"Huh? What's this? It's pretty big!"
Lin Wan took the box with suspicion, and her hand suddenly sank down, startled by the unexpected weight.
She turned around, grabbed a utility knife, and carefully cut open the sealing tape.
Peel back the bubble wrap that was stuffed full of shock-absorbing material, and you'll find an extremely exquisite item inside.
"A book?"
Lin Wan opened the exquisite gift box, which could be opened like a book.
The first thing you see is a certificate with an intricate background and gold lettering.
First Place Winner of the 19th Xia Hua Cup Mathematics Competition
"You put a lot of effort into it."
Lin Wan admired the certificate, her fingertips gently tracing its surface.
The thick paper was coated with gold leaf, which shimmered dazzlingly under the light.
At the center of this resplendent honor, there are only two simple words.
Su Hao
National-level! Mathematics competition! First place!
Looking at those two words, I think of my own child, whom I carried for ten months and gave birth to, who received the highest recognition on that battlefield that gathered mathematical geniuses from all over the country...
Lin Wan's nose suddenly stung, and her vision blurred uncontrollably.
Amidst this quiet undercurrent of emotions, Su Hui, like a kitten that has caught the scent of fish, quietly slipped over and began rummaging through the cardboard box, her bottom sticking out.
"Wow! Mom, look! A plate! A plate that lights up!"
That was a very significant, disc-shaped medal awarded by the organizing committee!
Lin Wan looked at the certificate in her hand, then at the silver medal in her daughter's hand, her face filled with undisguised excitement.
Her mind started racing, trying to figure out what kind of display case to buy to put the certificate in the most prominent place in her home.
However, Su Hao didn't even glance at the certificate, seemingly uninterested in this honor that could drive countless students across the country crazy.
"Aaaaaah!"
Su Hui's cheerful, bell-like screams rang out in the living room.
Perhaps it was a natural liking for shiny things, but the little girl clutched the heavy silver medal tightly in both hands, as if it were her most beloved toy.
Su Hao immediately picked up his sister.
"Let's go! Let's take off!"
The brother and sister played a game of "flying an airplane" by lifting each other high in the living room, their laughter echoing throughout the house.
Lin Wan wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, shook her head with a helpless smile.
Just as I was about to clean up the cardboard boxes and packaging scattered all over the floor, I noticed with my sharp eyes that a document was quietly lying at the very bottom of the box.
She pulled it out and took a look.
[Bonus Claim Instructions]
- Prize money: 50,000 yuan
"There's a bonus too? And such a large one?"
Lin Wan's breath hitched slightly.
For this ordinary family that was already struggling financially, this 50,000 yuan was an absolute lifeline.
But she held onto the document tightly, with no intention of ever using the money.
No, we have to save it for Hao Hao!
This kid is too prodigy! I wonder if he'll ever need to spend a lot of money in the future!
A gentle breeze blew through the window, rustling the leaves.
On this very day, the name Su Hao stirred up a storm of controversy in the national circle of geniuses.