"Oh!"
"What mechanical feeling!"
"It's just that you, Xiao Xi, are too deliberate, so it appears a little forced. Perhaps being more spontaneous in occasional moments would have surprising effects."
Song Daiyao watched Li Da Cai Zi talk at length, his mouth moving as he spoke. He claimed to have hit the nail on the head, but his reading comprehension was clearly not up to par for someone in the arts.
She had no choice, as she was planning to learn from him. Thus, she decided not to drag out this matter any further.
Qiu Xi turned her head, "Is that so?"
Li Du, after listening, slowly nodded his head at her.
That was indeed what he meant.
"Alright, I'll try it myself later then."
Qiu Xi's previous practice had focused on her own delivery, and she hadn't considered that overemphasizing emotion might seem forced.
"Okay!"
"Let's do another run. We'll consider today's first step of speech training to be finished."
Getting it right on the first try during training was like fleeting clouds; therefore, according to their plan, they ran through it again, aiming to correct even a little bit.
While the effects weren't dramatic, the changes were clearly visible.
As soon as Qiu Xi finished, she took a sip of water, "It seems our initial training has had some effect."
Li Du also nodded with a smile, "Indeed, it can improve a lot."
For Li Du, this was certainly true.
If it weren't for Qiu Xi, and Song Daiyao who was specifically there to observe, he probably wouldn't even know where his own problems lay.
Seeing the two of them talking animatedly, as if they were fully engrossed in the topic, Song Daiyao quietly tugged at Qiu Xi's hem from below.
There was still some time left, she could spare some pointers for this little beginner like herself.
Upon seeing this, Qiu Xi turned to Li Du.
"Li Du, then let's end our rehearsal here. After practicing spoken language for a while longer, we can go back."
Although their initial intention was to accommodate Song Daiyao, after discussing it, they both felt it was quite beneficial.
After all, in any competition, spoken language proficiency was highly valued. Practicing together for some time now was definitely not a bad thing; it could even consolidate their progress.
As expected, as soon as Qiu Xi finished speaking, Li Du put away his script and started the day's topic.
The topic had been conceived by Song Daiyao. According to their agreement, they practiced three times a week, and each person would come up with a topic for each session.
Based on her practice during the holiday, Song Daiyao had chosen a current affairs topic this time, similar to the ones Grandma Li had provided before.
However, since it was just the three of them chatting, the requirements weren't that high; they just needed to pick up on the topic, stay on track, and be able to discuss it.
Finally, after chatting for nearly half an hour, the three of them concluded.
Li Du remembered he had to go to the classroom for the last two classes of the morning. He glanced at the time, packed his things, said goodbye to the two of them, and headed to the classroom ahead of time.
"Xiao Xi, with a few more days left, Teacher Yang Yue said we'll start systematic practice. Can I still catch up?"
Song Daiyao was still a little worried. Although it was an opportunity she had earned, it was her first time, and she was inevitably nervous.
Qiu Xi smiled and replied, "Daiyao, what are you worried about? It's precisely because you're outstanding that the teacher chose you. So don't worry, just practice well!"
At their age, the least they needed to fear was making a fool of themselves or feeling embarrassed!
You are still in school, still learning to improve yourself. All of this now is not a dark history; it's just small scars left on your path of growth, each shining with a different light.
This was a principle Qiu Xi had come to understand over the past two to three years.
While systematic learning had provided her with many advantages, in reality, if she hadn't been thick-skinned and proactive, she wouldn't be where she is today.
Just like the competition at the very beginning, at that time, she didn't believe she would definitely win. But with the task at hand, she had to go even if she was afraid of losing. Opportunities were earned.
Therefore, since Song Daiyao herself had sought out Teacher Yang Yue for an opportunity, she should persevere. Otherwise, the next opportunity might be missed just like this one.
Although Song Daiyao was apprehensive, she understood the logic.
Moreover, she had such an outstanding friend by her side!
She had put in a lot of effort during the holidays, and she couldn't back down now.
So, after hearing Qiu Xi's words, she only paused for a moment before nodding heavily.
"Yes!"
"I will work hard!"
"Okay, I..."
Just as she was about to reply, "I believe in you," Qiu Xi felt her phone vibrate.
So she paused, took out her phone.
Seeing it was Liao Xinming, Qiu Xi thought that the previous matter had likely been resolved.
"Daiyao, it's Liao Xinming's call, I'll take it first."
Song Daiyao understood and nodded, "It's fine, you answer it."
"Brother Liao, why are you calling me so early in the morning?"
"Sister Xi, I'm not disturbing you. I'm calling after confirming you're already awake!"
On this end, Liao Xinming had calculated the time meticulously. He had learned about the bosses' schedules early on.
After all, a clear schedule made it easier for him to find people.
This not only benefited his superiors but also himself.
"Alright, I know you understand our schedule. I have time now, so tell me, what's the matter?"
Hearing this, Liao Xinming finally felt at ease and began to report on his work.
"Wei Wei's matter has been completely resolved, and the funds have been recovered."
"I've replaced the waiters who were supposed to be fired with new ones, and the contracts have been amended. If any similar incidents occur in the future, our shop will definitely only profit."
"It's just the pastry chef. I'm undecided right now, so I came to ask."
He had found people, but their specialties were all different, and he wasn't sure which one to hire.
The previous person, Wei Wei, was also not skilled in this area. It was Sister Xi who taught her for a long time before she could make the pastry taste right.
So now he was truly unsure how to proceed.
Should they directly transform and change the pastries, or hire a few more to cover various styles, or perhaps... Sister Xi would be willing to teach again.
"Hmm... This, let me think about it."
Qiu Xi hadn't really considered this issue before. The reason she hired people and sold pastries in the shop was due to Daiyao's strong insistence. She had only done it later.
Now that things had escalated to this point, the pastries would definitely continue. It was just this person she...
"Xiao Xi, let's just hire one more pastry chef. A little competition is quite good. As for what to make, they should just make what they're good at."
Song Daiyao, who had been listening from the side, spoke up when she saw Qiu Xi hesitating.
To be honest, asking Xiao Xi to make pastries before was purely because she loved to eat them.
Although she still loved them now, they were very busy and couldn't focus on these things anymore.
Instead of doing that, it would be simpler to hire someone with good skills and make some changes.
Their milk tea shop's main focus was milk tea, and pastries were just for decoration.
Qiu Xi didn't respond to Song Daiyao's words, but she agreed in her heart.
So she told Liao Xinming to conduct interviews but hire one more person.
After confirming, they would go and take a look.
Upon hearing this, Liao Xinming immediately hung up the phone and went to prepare for the interviews.
"Daiyao, let's go back too. We'll inform Yan Yan and the other two. If this matter is settled, we'll finalize it."
Song Daiyao nodded eagerly, "Okay! No problem!"