Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

After pausing for a few seconds, Chen Yu was worried that Huo Yao might get nervous, so she added. Although there are members of the Education Association present, there is nothing to fear. Just tell them whatever they ask you.

Huo Yao nodded and went to the Principals office quickly.

Two middle aged men were sitting in the Principals office with him. They were probably the men from the Education Association, whom Chen Yu had mentioned.

Huo Yao glanced at them before she turned her eyes to the Principal and bowed as she said, Did you want to see me, Sir?

Mhm, replied the Principal as he beamed and waved at her.

Come over. I want to introduce you to a couple of people. These are members of the Education Association. This is the Secretary-General, Tian Ye, and this is their honorary member, Zhao Lian.

Huo Yao nodded at them without the slightest fear or anxiety.

The Secretary-General raised his brow. This young woman looked to be rather calm. He cleared his throat and said, Huo Yao, right? Can I ask you a question?

Huo Yao looked at him with her bright eyes and said, Please go ahead.

The Secretary-General straightened his body before he asked. Judging from your solutions for both tests, you didnt use the standard methods taught in schools. Did you hire a teacher to coach you?

His question made even the Principal curious.

No, I didnt, replied Huo Yao calmly.

A few seconds later, she suddenly asked in return. Does this have anything to with the 10 points deduction from my city level heats?

The Secretary-General was shocked that Huo Yao had not undergone any external coaching and also by her keen sense of perception.

He nodded and replied in a calm voice. Yes, youre right. You should have gotten full marks for both your written paper and on-site quiz, but the last two solutions you gave were beyond the scope. Although you answered correctly, we deducted 5 points each as a matter of principle.

Beyond the scope? asked Huo Yao quizzically as she narrowed her eyes.

Zhao Lian cleared his throat and clarified. It means that you cant use methods that are beyond the middle school syllabus to solve the questions.

So it doesnt matter even if I got the answer correct? asked Huo Yao as she frowned.

She had not known about these rules.

Zhao Lian explained further. Going beyond the scope violates the principles of fairness. Since we didnt stipulate any methods, we only deducted 10 points in total. It would have been unfair to give you a zero on both questions.

Huo Yao fell into silence after she heard them.

Although easier methods were available to her, they insisted that she use more complicated methods to get the answers step by step. It seemed she did not understand the academic circle well enough.

Moments later, Huo Yao said, So I can only stick to the middle school syllabus when I go for the quizzes to avoid such baffling deductions?

In theory, thats how it works, said the Secretary-General with a smile.

Huo Yao rubbed her forehead woefully and replied. Okay, I get it.

She had sabotaged herself, and it seemed that it was wrong to overperform.

Zhao Lian was quiet all this while but then he raised his head and said ambiguously, If you can make it to the international level in the quiz, you dont have to worry about going beyond the scope.

A look of surprise swept across the Secretary-Generals eyes when he heard Zhao Lian.

Although he was only an honorary member of the Education Association, he was well-connected with all the capitals major associations. Moreover, he was a Tsing University professor.

Was Zhao Lian overreacting by bearing so much hope on a little lass who had displayed her talent for the first time in the preliminary test and heats?