All kinds of advertisements are often posted on the blackboard downstairs of the dormitory, there are certain clubs that organize activities for all students in the school, there are certain seniors who transfer computers, there are certain places that hold cultural and entertainment performances, and all kinds of notices issued by the school are indispensable. When students return from school, they always stop in front of the colorful blackboard to watch the excitement for a while. I'm no exception.

When we returned to the dormitory after school that day, we were fascinated by a notice on the blackboard.

"The 4th Computer Programming Contest of Zuo Yong University?" Geng Qiming read with interest, "In a group of three, use a computer, write a program to solve 11 problems in 5 hours? It looks like it's amazing. ”

I watched it carefully several times, and the game described between the lines gave me a very familiar feeling, for the input data given, according to the requirements, an algorithm was implemented in code to find the correct result. That's the "Olympiad in Informatics" that I once participated in!

"I know what kind of game it is." I explained to my roommates, "I've been in this kind of competition before. ”

"Oh? When? ”

"When I was in the sixth grade of elementary school. At that time, it was called the 'Olympiad in Informatics', which was the same concept as the Olympiad. It's just that at that time, I was alone, and I completed 4 questions in 3 hours. ”

After hearing this, Geng Qiming was in awe of me, as if they saw a great god standing beside him, exuding golden light around him.

"Awesome, my brother!"

"Then you can definitely participate!"

I didn't feel happy in the admiration of my roommates, but just sighed and said, "It depends." ”

In the past eight years, from the fifth grade of elementary school to the graduation of high school, the ability to write programs has also become one of my specialties, which is my unique advantage from other students, and many of the reasons why my teachers and classmates are impressed by me are also very important.

However, from the first prize in elementary school, to the second prize in junior high school, to the third prize in high school, which failed to take the computer-based test. When my computer teacher showed up in front of me that day and told me that I didn't make it to the finals, I already knew how much I hated computers, how much I hated those esoteric algorithms, and how much I wanted to escape the label attached to me.

When filling in the application, I deliberately avoided the computer, but I didn't expect a "big category enrollment", but once again let the computer hide around me, which is really ghostly.

Some courses are the same between majors in the same category, so the school will divide the classes in the first two years to let students from these majors study these courses together, and then let students choose specific majors and start to study courses unique to their majors from the third year.

This means that by the time I choose a major in the second semester of my sophomore year, I will most likely be caught by the computer magic again.

My roommates and I used to discuss choosing a major.

"What do you want to choose?"

"I chose automation when I filled in the volunteers, but I don't want to do it now, those calculus and various feedback calculations are a headache." Geng Qiming said.

"I originally chose the communication, but now I see those convolutions, Fourier transformations or whatnot, and I don't understand it at all." I said.

"Well, yes, I hate that convolution too. In addition, I also heard that the correspondence classmates will live on the other side of the railway yard in the future, and the dormitory over there can be broken, with no balcony and no independent bathroom. Another roommate talked about the information he had gathered from his senior.

"So, it seems like a computer is not bad." Geng Qiming said with emotion.

"Well, I plan to do that too, and it's said that the salary will be higher after graduating from computer science." Another roommate said.

Hearing how my roommates leaned towards computers made me feel a little wavering.

Those abominable advanced math forms the most exhausting nightmare of college life, and although I kept my exam scores excellent, those troubled days were no more comfortable than when I was learning computer programming. I don't want to go through that kind of life. Since I have a foundation in computers, if I choose computers, I will definitely make my whole university life much easier.

Now, knowing that I have an extraordinary level of computer skills, my roommates want to choose computer science even more, and with such a strong thigh by my side, their college life will be much easier.

So, from that day on, they kept encouraging me to choose a computer with them. However, the psychological shadows brought to me by those years of spending time with computers still echo in my mind from time to time, always reminding me that this is not a suitable path for me, and if I go on this road again, I will still return home like before.

A few days later, Fang Cuilan also found me.

"I heard you've participated in programming competitions before?"

"How do you know?" I was surprised.

"Geng Qiming told me."

"Well, I've been there."

"Have you read that contest notice, do you want to participate?"

"I've seen it. Do you want to participate? ”

"I'm not that level. It's my roommate who wants to participate, but he suffers from a lack of teammates. I asked Geng if he wanted to participate, and he recommended you. ”

"Your roommate? Who is in our class? ”

"No, she's from medical school."

"Isn't the medical school on another campus? How could I live with you? ”

"The basic curriculum for the first two years of medical school is basically the same as everyone else, so I also take classes here, and I only moved to the north campus after my junior year."

"Oh, that's right."

"Have you found a teammate? Can you bring her one? ”

"Not yet, I wasn't going to attend."

"Why?"

"Well, it's a long story." I don't want to talk to anyone about the unglamorous years, "But not long ago, one of my classmates also contacted me about teaming up for the competition, and now with your roommate, I can really form a team." Maybe you can consider it. ”

At that time, I did mention to my classmates in my original class that I had studied computer science when they were talking about major choices. It just so happened that the other day, he also mentioned the contest to me and introduced a friend of his.

Again, I didn't say yes at the time.

"Then I'll let her contact you." Fang Cuilan said excitedly.

"Okay."

That night, I added QQ with that girl.

"Have you ever participated in a programming contest before?" I asked.

"Nope."

"Then why would you want to participate?"

"After learning C in my freshman year, I thought it was quite interesting."

"Do you want to learn C in medical school?"

"Well, all walks of life can't do without computers."

"Okay. So why do you find it interesting? ”

"I don't know why, but I just feel very fulfilled every time I finish writing a program and seeing the results."

"But the questions in the competition are much more difficult than those in the textbooks, and the software used to write the program is not the software used in class."

"It's okay, I can learn."

"Are you really that interested in computers?"

"Uh-huh."

"Alright then, I'll call another partner, and then let's make an appointment to prepare for the game together."

"Okay."

I was amazed that a girl from medical school would be interested in computers.

But maybe life is like this sometimes, people in the city desperately want to get out, but there are people outside the city who want to get in. What you are engaged in may not be what you like, but what you want to abandon may become something you have to face.

"Do you believe in fate?" The teacher's question rang in his ears again. I thought I could get rid of the computer forever, but I had to touch it again.

Ay! Let's pick up the splinter again, I smiled wryly, this is probably fate. Keep throwing it away, and keep picking it up, looking forward to being able to overcome the problems that couldn't be solved before, break through the haze and fear in my heart, and take the computer steadily. But who knows if it'll be thrown away again?

Just like my feelings for Lin Ximeng. gave up in indifference again and again, and remembered in loneliness again and again; I tried to put it down again and again, and tried to pick it up again and again.

Confused professional, confused feelings. The computer that can't be thrown away, the Lin Xi dream that can't be forgotten.