Perhaps because there were too many people, she was a little nervous, and her voice was a little rushed when she first started speaking.
However, it was only for the first few sentences. The girl on stage adapted very well, and the rest went smoothly, much better than Qiu Xi and the others had anticipated.
"It seems we don't need to worry anymore. Let's get ready," Qiu Xi said, glancing at number 28 behind her.
The person behind nodded, "Okay."
After number 27 finished, the opposing team was about to begin. They really should prepare.
With that, the two of them took their things and sat down at their stations.
Fortunately, the competition's speakers were good and there was no noise, otherwise it would have really affected their work.
The speeches only took a few minutes, and soon, number 27 came down.
At this time, the people from the opposing team also came up.
Qiu Xi glanced at them and was stunned.
What a coincidence…
The person who came up from the opposite side was a young girl, someone she and Yu Xin Xin had already met twice in the two days they had been here.
However, there was no time to think about it, as she had already begun.
It was a speech of only a few minutes, and not a very professional one at that. To Qiu Xi, it posed no difficulty at all.
Moreover, the person on the opposite side had a good grasp of the rhythm, which was favored by the judges and the audience.
So, after a few minutes, Qiu Xi remembered almost all of the main content and some of the details without missing a beat.
Before the question-and-answer session between the two sides, there were about two to three minutes of communication time.
"What should we ask?"
Number 28 asked Qiu Xi, holding the paper with her notes.
"I'll pick this one," Qiu Xi pointed to a spot on the paper on the table.
"Hmm… you took such thorough notes…"
"Then I'll ask about this."
There wasn't much time, and now wasn't the time for exclamations.
After number 28 said that, she didn't delay and continued to ask.
Qiu Xi nodded, "Okay."
Although the questioner might have intended to make things difficult, as long as the person being asked could justify their answers, there was nothing to be difficult about.
So, no matter what was asked, it was better to think carefully about how to answer the question.
When the questions were insightful and the answers were also insightful, such a competition would look more interesting.
Just as the two of them had chosen what to ask, the host's voice rang out.
"Let's leave it at that. It's about to begin."
"Mm."
Since they spoke first, the opposing team asked first, and they would answer.
As they had expected, the first question was reasonable and within their predictions, so number 28 answered smoothly.
However, the second question encountered a hitch.
Perhaps feeling that they were too good, this question was specifically designed to pick fault.
Stepping out of your comfort zone, that was the theme.
The other side only said a couple of sentences quoting their content, then proceeded to ask a counter-question on their own.
You say you can step out, so can you?
They even gave an example.
As soon as the question was posed, it not only startled Qiu Xi's side but also stunned their own teammates on the opposing side.
This wasn't what they had discussed before…
For a moment, the atmosphere became overly quiet.
And at this time, the person asking the question was beaming with a bit of pride in her eyes.
Qiu Xi noticed this.
How could two people who seemed to get along so well give such a discordant impression?
That's right!
The one who was truly picking fault was the other girl Qiu Xi and her group had encountered.
And just when everyone thought it was over, Qiu Xi spoke.
Her tone was steady, her reasoning sound, and as she spoke, she became more natural.
Since you asked like that, how could I satisfy you without dispelling your doubts?
To be honest, she was being a bit mischievous here.
This ability to change faces was truly amusing!
Watching the other side's expression grow increasingly grim, Qiu Xi finally finished speaking with a smile.
With that back and forth, it came to an end.
Next, it was their turn to ask questions.
The two of them did not change their original plan and asked what they had thought of earlier.
However, when it came to Qiu Xi, she a little unhappily added a small trap into her words.
This was what made it fair…
And when she saw the other person begin to stammer, Qiu Xi admitted that she felt a surge of satisfaction!
It was exhilarating!
Even though she was glared at fiercely at the end.
"Xiao Xi, I didn't expect that girl, who looks so gentle and delicate, to be so difficult…"
As soon as their group finished, Yu Xin Xin complained to Qiu Xi.
"It's a good thing it was you, otherwise we might have been eliminated early."
She was still upset!
"It's normal, we're opponents."
Since she had already retaliated, that was that.
After all, that's how competitions are. If you win, others don't care what methods you used. So if you're not as skilled, you can't blame others for their moves.
"Alright, let's go rest nearby. The next round is about to begin."
Yu Xin Xin nodded, "Mm."
…
After waiting for a long time, the two groups behind them finally came down. At the same time, Qiu Xi and their scores were displayed.
Fearing that there wouldn't be enough time to see everything, everyone took photos.
"This scoring strategy is really interesting. Don't the judges find it troublesome?"
When the first group's scores came out, they were too focused on the total score and ranking to scrutinize them.
Now that they were looking at their own, it was different…
Although it was a team competition, the scores were given individually.
"Perhaps it's for easier subsequent ranking…"
Qiu Xi said, her eyes still searching for her code… 21, 9.0 (out of ten), ranked 2nd in both groups, currently 5th…
Fortunately.
Qiu Xi secretly let out a sigh of relief.
Thanks to that girl earlier, she had shown her true colors…
"Xiao Xi, aren't our scores pretty good?"
Yu Xin Xin, having already seen their scores, quietly asked Qiu Xi.
Thinking about Yu Xin Xin's score she had just seen, 23, 8.9 (out of ten), ranked 3rd in both groups, currently 7th…
Looking at the rankings, it was obvious that there were ties, but for now, the scores were acceptable.
"Mm, it seems okay for now…"
The fifth group was already up. There was only one group left. Combined with the scores of the fourth group she had glimpsed, their scores were roughly in the middle.
"That's true…"
"I just don't know what tomorrow's topic will be, whether it's easy or difficult…"
"Think less and focus on watching the competition."
Although Qiu Xi said that, she inwardly felt that it probably wouldn't be easy.
However, based on what she had seen so far, the topics for the first round were very different from previous years. She wondered if tomorrow's would be the same…
Time was tight. It was unclear if it was to give the participating students more preparation time, but this first round of competition was completed in just one morning.
However, even though it was said to be a morning session, it was actually dragged until past 1 PM, nearly 2 PM, by the time it concluded.
“…The first round of competition for the first day has now concluded. Specific competition information and rankings will be distributed to relevant personnel in the form of a file tonight. Please do not worry and pay attention to receiving the messages.”
“…Next, we will announce the topic for tomorrow’s second round of competition. Please refer to the big screen.”
As soon as the host finished speaking, several characters appeared on the huge screen.
Second round fixed topic speech, topic: "The purest joy in life is simple happiness."
Qiu Xi, "…"
As expected!
She had been struggling with it earlier, but now that the answer was out, it was indeed in the style of the Century Cup.
The topic itself was quite "captivating."
"I knew it…"
"Things are never that simple…"
Yu Xin Xin beside her had already started muttering to herself.
But she wasn't the only one. Many participants on their side were murmuring, and the sound became very noisy.
They weren't even paying attention to what the host on stage was saying.
This continued until the teachers below started calling out names…
Seeing the two teachers not far away, Qiu Xi started calling out, "Xin Xin, we should go."
"Teacher Huang and the others are still waiting for us."
"Ah… okay, let's go quickly."
Perhaps thinking that they still had to spend time writing their speeches, Yu Xin Xin didn't delay at all and pulled Qiu Xi down.
"Teacher Huang, we're here."
"I see you. There are too many people, let's just go out first."
"Mm."
With people coming and going, it was indeed inconvenient to talk.
However, after going out, the two teachers didn't say much to Qiu Xi and the others, and took them directly back to the hotel.
After such a long time, it was more important for the children to eat.
As for the competition just now, it was only the first round, and it was already over, so it wasn't important.
…
Evening -
After the detailed scores were released, the two teachers only briefly mentioned them, without dwelling on them.
Qiu Xi scored 9.0, ranking 9th; Yu Xin Xin scored 8.9, ranking 20th.
This was within their expectations, so they didn't dwell on it.
They still had to prepare for tomorrow's competition…
Qiu Xi was even more pressed for time. While she found writing speeches easy, she would have a tough time tonight if she wanted to deliver it without notes.
Yu Xin Xin was struggling with keeping her writing on topic, and she was also very nervous.
So, both of them basically just glanced at their scores and then immediately buried their heads in their speeches.
And with that, they were busy for the entire evening, and both went to bed quite late.