Chapter 102

In order to live more comfortably in prison, Shen Yue had a new goal - make big money by winning competition prizes.

In theory, making money through competition rewards was feasible, but Shen Yue soon realized it was easier said than done after she started studying.

Those competition questions were completely different from the ones she could solve by rote memorization!

She had already memorized the foundational knowledge, but application was the real problem.

During lessons, Niu Kaihuai would usually give sample questions even when teaching beyond the syllabus. As long as Shen Yue followed the solving steps of the sample question, she could easily figure out new questions using the same method. Even if the new question was a variation that required her to think around corners, Shen Yue could still solve it with her own ability.

But competition questions were different. Shen Yue was certain she would not be able to think her way around competition questions.

After being thrashed by five questions in a row, Shen Yue put down her pen and started praying as a better alternative to giving up.

Seeing Shen Yue who was previously enthusiastic about making big money suddenly lose motivation, Qing Xiaoyu curiously came over and asked, "What's wrong? Can't solve the questions?"

Shen Yue nodded. It wasn't just being unable to solve them, she had no idea how to even start on the questions.

It was like she had ten thousand knowledge points in her brain but didn't know which ones to apply to solve the question.

In layman terms, she lacked intelligence. Qing Xiaoyu took a look at the question Shen Yue was working on, and quickly started writing out the solution steps.

She passed the answer to Shen Yue, "Take a look and see if you can understand it. Ask me again if there's anything you don't understand." Shen Yue took back her workbook. After reading through quickly, she said, "I understand now."

Qing Xiaoyu had just picked up her pen when she heard Shen Yue's words. For a moment, she wondered if Shen Yue was deliberately messing with her. But on second thoughts, this was Shen Yue who was too lazy for such tricks. So Qing Xiaoyu casually wrote another question using similar knowledge points and passed it to Shen Yue, "Do this question again to consolidate your learning."

Shen Yue took the question and started solving by following the thought process from earlier. After going through two simple steps, she managed to solve the question.

Looking at the answer, Shen Yue felt a strange sense of accomplishment. She quickly passed her workbook back to Qing Xiaoyu, "Sister Xiaoyu, I'm done."

Qing Xiaoyu took a look at the workbook and saw that the question was correctly solved. She praised Shen Yue, "Not bad, you pick up things quickly. Try this question now."

This time, Qing Xiaoyu wrote a trickier question. Following Qing Xiaoyu's original solution method, Shen Yue still could not solve it after 30 minutes.

These 30 minutes coincided with Niu Kaihuai's lesson. Niu Kaihuai originally saw Shen Yue with her head down, writing and drawing something. He was about to scold her, but when he saw Shen Yue working on a difficult question from the Olympiad exam five years ago, he silently closed his mouth.

It was good for children to have a fighting spirit. As her teacher, he should not stifle the student's motivation, especially for students like Shen Yue who only made intermittent efforts and consistently slacked. He should give her his full support during the times she tried hard!

After class, Niu Kaihuai saw that Shen Yue was still working on the question. Feeling very satisfied, but not wanting to be a devil, he pointed out the issues in Shen Yue's solution process before leaving - fulfilling his responsibilities as a teacher.

Shen Yue thought for a while, then started writing following Niu Kaihuai's guidance. Five minutes later, she presented Qing Xiaoyu with a perfectly wrong answer.

Looking at Shen Yue's work, Qing Xiaoyu racked her brains but could not figure out how she managed to get it so utterly wrong.

She had used the most difficult and obscure theorems and formulas to produce the most perfectly wrong solution.

That was Shen Yue for you.

Recalling Shen Yue's outstanding memorization ability from the past, Qing Xiaoyu suddenly realized something. She first went through the correct solution method with Shen Yue, then gave her a similar question to try. As expected, Shen Yue was able to solve it.

As long as the techniques and theorems used did not change, Shen Yue could solve the question even if it was tweaked slightly.

But for completely new questions... Shen Yue would not be able to solve them. Instead of jumping to conclusions after realizing this, Qing Xiaoyu tested it over several more rounds, even getting Gao Qin to help out. By the end of school, they arrived at a conclusion.

For Shen Yue to be able to solve a question, she must have seen similar basic question types before!

Looking at Shen Yue doing questions in front of her, Qing Xiaoyu heaved a deep sigh.

Judging by Shen Yue's current situation, it seemed difficult for her to win prizes. She definitely could not solve unfamiliar questions encountered during competitions.

Just as Qing Xiaoyu was thinking if there were other ways to earn money, she suddenly realized an issue.

Shen Yue could not solve unfamiliar question types... Then if she changed her thinking, Shen Yue would definitely be able to solve questions of types she had seen before.

In other words, as long as Shen Yue had seen enough variety of question types, theoretically she would have a high chance of hitting the right types during competitions. And if she encountered the right types, she would definitely be able to solve them.

With this thought, Qing Xiaoyu passed Shen Yue a stack of past competition questions that she had attempted during her Olympiad days. She instructed Shen Yue, "Shen Yue, I've written down most of the solutions to questions in this book. For those without solutions, check the answers provided at the back. Memorize all the questions in this book when you get home later. Can you do that?"

Qing Xiaoyu was just tentatively asking because she knew Shen Yue's after-school routine best - eating, sleeping, watching her brother. Getting her to study at home was impossible. Reading trashy novels at home was more likely.

So after saying all that, she was already 80% prepared to be rejected.

"Okay, I'll remember. Thank you, Sister Xiaoyu."

As Shen Yue spoke, she reached out both hands to receive the thick stack of questions from Qing Xiaoyu. Her expression was fully earnest, not a hint of perfunctoriness, only sincerity.

In that instant, Qing Xiaoyu who had thought Shen Yue was only joking about making money suddenly sensed her determination.

So Shen Yue was serious after all.

Just then, after gauging the thickness of the book, Shen Yue remarked, "Luckily there aren't too many questions. I should still have time to play for two hours after memorizing them today. Sister Xiaoyu, shall we watch the drama together later?"

Qing Xiaoyu who was just moved by Shen Yue's determination: ......

"Just call me after you've memorized them... Oh yes, it's the 15th episode today. That second female lead, I'm telling you she really gets on my nerves..."

As Qing Xiaoyu chatted with Shen Yue about the drama, she gradually forgot the brief dissonance she felt from Shen Yue earlier.