After a long car ride, the first thing Qiu Xi did upon arriving at the arranged hotel and putting down her things was to call Ding Yujing.
"Little Xi, you've already arrived at the hotel?"
Receiving a call from Qiu Xi at this hour, Ding Yujing knew the girl must have just arrived at the hotel.
"Yes, we just finished checking in."
"Good, then get some rest first. We can talk about anything else tonight." Ding Yujing, thinking it was just the girl reporting her safe arrival, was about to hang up after Qiu Xi finished speaking.
After all, traveling can be tiring, and she should rest well now to be energetic for tasks in the afternoon.
"Teacher, actually, I called specifically to tell you that we just received the competition schedule."
"The rules for this year's competition have changed significantly, and we're still researching them."
Ding Yujing frowned, his face full of confusion. "What changes?"
Before he and Little Xi set off, they had discussed it; she wouldn't have called specifically to relay information if there were no special changes.
So, had the changes this year really been that big?
Ding Yujing, with many thoughts running through his mind, decided to suppress his confusion for now and wait for Qiu Xi to explain.
"Teacher Ding, it's like this, this competition..."
Before Qiu Xi could finish speaking, Ding Yujing on the other end of the line was already stunned.
What was a "group arena match"?
What was "bring your own topic"?
Had the organizing committee gone mad, or had he?
Why such an unexpected turn of events?
Why did it sound so unreliable?
"Teacher, Teacher Ding... I'm done talking, you..."
Qiu Xi had called out several times but heard no response from Teacher Ding.
With no other option, Qiu Xi raised her voice and called again, "Teacher Ding!"
"Ah... oh!"
"Little Xi, do you have a detailed explanation there? Send me a copy to look at."
If he couldn't figure it out, he would research it himself.
"Yes, the lead teacher gave it to us when we got off the bus."
Saying that, Qiu Xi sent the two screenshots. "Teacher, I've sent them to you, please take a look."
"Alright, I'll study it first. You should go get some proper rest."
"We'll talk about the rule changes later." Let him study it first.
After Qiu Xi finished explaining, she had no other issues. So, following Ding Yujing's advice, she ended the call.
"Xiao Xi, are you done talking?"
Qiu Xi and Yu XinXin were from the same school, so to facilitate things, they were arranged to share a room.
Qiu Xi had started making calls as soon as she entered the room and put down her belongings.
Although Yu XinXin didn't know who she was talking to, from what Qiu Xi had said, it seemed to be about the changes in this year's competition rules.
Qiu Xi glanced at Yu XinXin and nodded. "Yes, I'm done talking."
As for anything else, since the other person hadn't asked, she naturally didn't need to say more.
Moreover, even if she did say something, she couldn't articulate it clearly right now, as Teacher Ding himself was still bewildered.
If she were to say anything more now, it would be like looking for trouble.
Yu XinXin blinked for a moment. "Okay..."
Although she was a bit curious, she knew her boundaries.
So, without thinking further, she brought up another matter.
"Xiao Xi, we still have two days of rest. What are you planning to do?"
Two days wasn't long, nor was it short. Yu XinXin, for one, was planning to bury herself in practice in the room.
Qiu Xi shook her head and sighed. "What else can I do... I'll just stay in this room and read more."
Confused, she guessed the first two days would be about everyone's adaptability and accumulated knowledge.
However... there was one thing she could prepare in advance.
With the changed competition rules flashing through her mind, Qiu Xi smiled. If they weren't careful here, these two days could truly be "wasted."
Thinking about it, Qiu Xi didn't hide it from Yu XinXin. "XinXin, the requirement for the third round of the competition is to bring your own topic, right? If we have extra time these two days, we can start preparing."
This was very obvious, but she was afraid some people might be too nervous and unprepared.
Or, knowing the requirement in advance, would it make everyone more anxious?
After all, some people can perform miracles under pressure, but the more they overthink and dwell on things, the more problems will arise.
So, it could only be said that this premature topic, this topic that appeared in advance, had its pros and cons.
However, Yu XinXin clearly belonged to the former category.
From the moment she got off the bus until she checked into the hotel, she had been feeling rather anxious, her mind constantly occupied with what to do.
Although she knew the rules, after hearing them, she was too preoccupied and, for a moment, prioritized figuring out solutions over what she should actually be doing.
It wasn't about worry or regret, but about carefully reviewing the rules and preparing.
If people were already half-defeated before the battle even began, then this war was not worth fighting!
Since they were doomed to fail anyway, why waste "resources"?
Therefore, when Yu XinXin heard what Qiu Xi said, she sat on the edge of the bed and was instantly stunned.
That's right!
What was the use of all her current conjectures?
Before even participating in the competition, she was already guessing topics, analyzing the mindset of the question setter, and contemplating not fighting... all of this was less effective than calming down and preparing diligently!
With this realization, Yu XinXin immediately smiled, jumped off the bed, and ran over to embrace Qiu Xi.
"Xiao Xi!"
"It had to be you!"
"Thank you~"
"I'm going to go look at the materials and prepare now~"
"..." Watching Yu XinXin jump around and not forget to pull her along to spin, Qiu Xi's head was starting to spin.
"Alright!"
"Hurry up and go prepare. We might not have this much time tomorrow."
After all, this rest period also included a trip to the competition venue, so they should make the most of it.
"Yes!"
"I'm going~"
Qiu Xi smiled, then turned and took out her own notebook to start writing and drawing.
As for what topic she should bring, that still needed some thought.
...
Meanwhile, in Chongxi City, after hanging up the phone, Ding Yujing immediately discussed the matter with Du Bin.
"Old Du, don't you think this competition is very strange?" Ding Yujing looked at the pictures on his phone and mumbled to Du Bin.
Du Bin, who was in the Qiu family's study in Jin Hai City, was also looking at the same picture.
After a long while...
Just as Ding Yujing was wondering if the call on the other end had already been disconnected, Du Bin finally spoke.
"In normal times, this would be strange, but this year, it's considered normal."
"This year?"
"Old Du! You mean... the exchange meeting?"
In such a short time, Ding Yujing's mind had flashed through countless ideas.
"Yes, think about this time next year."
Ding Yujing thought for a moment and murmured, "Yes... how could I have excluded this possibility!"
He had trained Little Xi with all his might, not only because he genuinely liked the girl but also to assess her strength and prepare her for the exchange meeting at the end of April.
But how could he have forgotten!
The domestic exchange meeting was held once a year, which was normal. The anomaly was this year; after this year's domestic exchange meeting, next year would be the international exchange.
The international exchange meeting was held once every four years, and when the domestic exchange meeting coincided with the international exchange meeting, there would be a one-year gap.
So!
Could the change in rules this time be related to next year's international exchange? Ding Yujing was a little uncertain.
After all, their own internal exchange meeting was next month. What was the point of doing this?
Was it to increase their workload?
"Old Du, why do you think the people in charge are doing this?" Ding Yujing's thoughts blurted out as he spoke.
"It's not a big deal. They probably need people..." Du Bin recalled that a long time ago, when the exchange meetings first started, someone had done this, "selecting disciples from the public."
He just didn't expect that after so many years, someone would still be doing this.
"Tell Little Xi..." Thinking about it, Du Bin still felt he should inform his young disciple to avoid confusing her.
"Forget it! I'll tell her myself later."
Ding Yujing, "..."
What, was he unreliable?
However, he only hesitated for a moment because he also remembered this matter from many years ago.
Then, he immediately relaxed. They had already decided on Little Xi long ago, so they weren't afraid of this tactic.
Furthermore, since everyone's starting point was the same, there was even less reason to worry.
Therefore, after Ding Yujing figured it out, he became leisurely.
As for the child, she would be taught by her own master.