Mathematics Society's examination paper? Aiden finished the question with his head full
of questions, unable to stop thinking about how this could have happened.
Even so, he was still the first person to finish the task in the entire examination hall.
Fortunately, the other candidates were already numb to Aiden's comings and goings.
They were no longer in the mood to give him any attention.
All of their effort was focused on working hard to solve this last question. That day at
1130, when the bell rang, the three rounds of the competition officially ended. Now, the
Evaluation Committee of the Mathematics Society would mark the papers and, on the
basis of the total score from the three rounds, would award gold, silver, and bronze
medals and the special award with the $5,000 cash prize.
While the teachers and students from each school were waiting for the results to be
announced on the sports field, the Evaluation Committee was hidden away in a marking
room, marking and grading the papers. There were five people in total on the Evaluation
Committee. Other than the head examiner, the other four were all senior teachers and
fellows of the Mathematics Society, and among them was the long-faced, middle-aged
man whom Kevin had met.
This man shuffled through the test papers for a long time. Finally, he picked out those of
Kevin and Aiden. While the other examiners were immersed in marking and checking, he
quickly swapped the names on the two papers so Aiden's paper would appear to be
Kevin's, and Kevin's marks would be given to Aiden.
When he had finished, the horse-faced man quietly put the two test papers back, the
corner of his mouth revealing a hint of complacency. After the papers were sorted, the
results were tabulated. Less than half an hour later, the head examiner left with the final
results to announce them on the sports field.
There were only four examiners left in the room when a tall figure wearing a military
coat suddenly entered. The four teachers stood up, surprised and a little flustered.
Chairman, why are you here? Arthur Wiles replied calmly, I think I am the one who asked
the questions here.
Can I have the students' results? Of course! Utterly intimidated by Arthur Wiles, how
could they dare to say no? Wiles was, after all, the chairman of the Mathematics Society.
He was an eminent mathematician and founder of the society. He was the one behind
this competition to select mathematical talent, but it had been a long time since he had
set a test question.
After his discussions with Aiden at the Kay family home, he found it hard to suppress the
desire to do so, and had therefore decided that he would be the one to set the test
questions for this year's paper. Arthur Wiles casually flipped through the mountain of exam papers and asked casually, Who has won the special prize this time? The four of
them looked at each other. The horse-faced man replied, Of course, it is young David.
Although Kevin's score is not bad, he is not nearly as good as David. The examiners
thought their words would make Arthur Wiles happy, but they did not expect his stern
face. He scolded angrily, Who asked you to side with Davey? He should only get the
ranking he has earned.
Favoring him like that will only harm him. Chairman, please forgive me. The four
teachers were so in awe of Wiles that they turned pale, repeatedly apologizing.
Hurry up and show me Kevin's exam paper! Arthur Wiles glared at them again. Looking
at the test paper with Kevin's name written on it, Arthur Wiles sighed. This is what a
special prize should look like.
Davey is not nearly as good. This boy is indeed a genius. However, something about this
test paper didn't feel quite right, and it felt strangely familiar.
At the same time, the head examiner, the dignified stout old man, was announcing the
results outside. The field was filled with tension and excitement. Every year when the
results were announced, it was as if the world depended on them, causing both teachers
and students to be excited and nervous.
In Otis High School's area, Mr. Harvey's palms were already sweaty, and he had turned
to prayer. God, give us a ranking. Even if it's only a bronze.
First, I will announce the bronze awards. Three students have been awarded bronze this
year, and they are Erica Becker of Fairfield High School, Madison Curry of Springdale
High School, and... The atmosphere among the Otis High group became unbearably
tense. They were all staring at the head examiner on the stage.
Michael Bence of Otis High School, congratulations to all three. Please remember to
come and collect your awards at the end of the morning. The Otis High students were
stunned for a moment before starting to cheer loudly.
It had been so many years. They had finally won an award that wasn't just a certificate of
commendation. They grabbed Michael Bence and raised him above their shoulders,
tossing him into the air.
Bence looked excited and so proud. Even Mr. Harvey felt relieved. He wiped the tears
from the corner of his eyes and looked at Aiden, who was calm and composed.
If Aiden hadn't had such a negative attitude, he could have won a bronze too. Next, the
silver award. But the Otis High students were so busy celebrating, they didn't even hear
the name of the silver prize winners.
And the first prize, the gold award, goes to Radnor High School's Kevin Burka. Kevin, who
was standing right by the stage, calmly accepted congratulations from those around
him, while gazing strangely at Aiden in the distance. As the awards were announced,
cheers and sighs were heard from the sports field.
But there was a sense of anticipation still. Everyone's eyes were focused on the head
examiner, waiting for him to announce the special prize. This year's special prize, the
honorary title of Mathematician of the Year, together with the cash prize of $5,000, goes
to David Wiles.
Everyone applauded. When they had discovered that David was competing, many people
had expected this result. But as the winners went up to the stage to receive their
rewards, Aiden furrowed his brow, confused.
He knew he had answered all the questions correctly. How was it possible then that he
had not won a single award? And the person who had won the special prize was Davy,
whom he knew. Aiden knew that Davy could not have completely solved the last
question.
Something must have gone wrong. When Michael Benz returned from collecting his
bronze award, he saw Aiden frowning. He deliberately waved the medal in front of Aiden
and mocked, I told you to go home, but you wouldn't listen.
You didn't even get a certificate of commendation. How pitiful. The other students were
even more scathing.
What's the use of knowing a prodigy if you're not one yourself? You just wasted one of
our places. Even Mr. Harvey shook his head. He feared that Aiden's talents might be
short-lived.
Then it remains only for me to declare the county mathematics competition over, came
the voice from the loudspeaker. Wait! Just as the head examiner was about to announce
the end of the competition, a loud shout interrupted him. All eyes in the playground were
drawn to the sound.
From one side of the field, Arthur Wiles, wearing a great coat and with an imposing
presence, walked up to the stage with a furious expression. Four members of the judging
panel followed behind him, looking shame-faced. The long-faced judge looked dazed, as
if he had suffered a huge blow.
Kevin's heart skipped a beat when he saw his expression. He had a bad feeling. Let us go
back 10 minutes.
Back in the marking room, the more Arthur Wiles looked at Kevin's test paper, the more
he felt that there was something wrong with it. He suddenly frowned and said to the four judges, Give me the list of students participating in this year's competition. He looked
carefully through the list and finally saw a familiar name in the Otis High School column.
Aiden! Arthur Wiles' eyes suddenly became sharp. There's a student named Aiden from
Otis High School. Give me his test paper immediately! The committee had never seen
Arthur Wiles so anxious before.
They could not help but be curious about this Aiden. It was strange, they thought to
themselves, that they had not marked him down for any award. Only the horse-faced
judge froze, his forehead bathed in cold sweat.
The judges did not dare refuse Wiles' demand. They quickly found Aiden's paper and
showed it to him. Arthur Wiles looked at the answer paper.
His frown deepened and, when he saw that the last question had not been attempted,
his face showed his suspicion. He suddenly focused on the space where Aiden's name
was written on the paper. His eyes narrowed.
Then he took out the same part of Kevin's paper and compared the two. His anger grew.
The names had been tampered with.
What the... Arthur Wiles slammed the table with all his strength. The huge force of his
hand knocked a teacup on the table to the ground. It shattered, splashing tea on
someone's shoes.
But no one would have dared wipe it off. They all stood rooted to the ground, trembling.
It had been... I've never seen Arthur Wiles so furious. His anger erupting was truly terrifying. What
exactly had he read on the paper to make him so irate? As for the horse-faced judge, his
face was becoming paler and paler.
His legs were trembling, and he felt agonizing cramps. The more Arthur Wiles thought
about it, the more incensed he became. He pointed at the four men Do you know who
Aiden is? He is the best mathematics genius I have ever seen.
He has an ability that even I can only admire. I got the idea for the last question from
him. Now you are telling me that he doesn't even have a ranking? Do you think I am so
old and senile that you can fool me like this? Everyone was shocked to their core.
They had no idea that Aiden had such a pedigree. Apart from the horse-faced judge, the
committee was confused. If Aiden is such a genius, why didn't he win an award? Arthur
Wiles stood up suddenly.
He threw the papers from Kevin and Aiden at the four of them and shouted, Which of you
did it? His terrifying presence overwhelmed them. The horse-faced judge was so terrified
that he fell to the ground, whining. It wasn't me.
I didn't change their names. The room was suddenly quiet. The other three judges looked
at him in shock.
Arthur Wiles' face was dark with fury. He stood over the horse-faced judge and pulled
him up from the ground. Did I say their names were changed?