“Professor Guo already said that all of us would be going. So Tan Mo will definitely come along.” Ying Siyuan stroked his chin. “The competition consists of six competing schools, and, every round, one student is nominated to participate. They compete in order to advance into the final rounds. However, all the details are not important. When the time comes, you will understand.”
Tan Mo nodded her head. To be honest, none of them seemed too concerned about this.
Research was still more important to all of them.
For the foreseeable future, Tan Mo’s days will be following a new routine. She has to head to the library to look up resources and come to the research room to do research. She’ll also have to attend her Finance lectures and memorize the “Warring States Literature”, all while attempting the questions set by Professor Zhao.
Her schedule is tightly packed.
Although she possesses a photographic memory, she still needs time to read.
She also needs time to do research.
So, apart from her bedtime and meal times, she no longer has any free time.
Her schedule was so packed that she really couldn’t spend time on anything else.
Tan Mo was finally experiencing exactly what Tan Jinqi had previously warned her about. Once school started, she would be so busy that she would no longer have time to return home.
Tan Jinqi was exactly right.
However, regardless of how busy she was, Tan Mo was determined to return home on the weekends.
Otherwise, her parents and brothers would miss her terribly.
…
One day during the week, Tan Mo and the rest of the team were inside the research room.
Suddenly, Professor Guo charged in.
Everyone: “……”
Recently, Professor Guo had been quite hot-tempered. He had been getting angry more easily.
“I just had a discussion with the Principal, Mr. Mu. I told him that all of you would be representing us in the competition. However, he claimed that it would be unfair to the other students if we skipped the selection process. They would assume that you guys pulled strings behind the scenes.” Professor Guo gnashed his teeth as he explained the situation.
Principal Mu pointed out specifically that Tan Mo was a student from the Finance Department. Wouldn’t it seem strange if she participated in a Chinese Department competition.
If the other students found out, they would have strong opinions about it.
During the discussion, Professor Guo had lashed out. He had declared that even if a selection process took place, the other students wouldn’t stand a chance of getting chosen.
Did they have any idea of the level of his students?
Had they ever watched the competition before?
Even if the freshmen were unaware, how could the older students be ignorant about this?
The competition touched on extremely challenging topics. Couldn’t they be a little more self-aware?
However, Principal Mu insisted that, although it was important to ensure that the selected students were capable, it was also imperative that the school maintained its reputation for fairness and prevented any disputes.
Professor Guo couldn’t think about that conversation anymore. Every time he thought about it, his teeth would begin to ache.
“So I have already signed everyone up,” Professor Guo said in a huff. “Tan Mo, you’re included as well. When the time comes, I want all of you to participate in the school’s internal selection process. Gain a spot on the team!”
“Understood!”
Everyone hurriedly agreed. No one would dare to oppose him when he was in this kind of mood.
Even Tan Mo had finally understood why Professor Guo was so insistent on his team participating instead of some random students. It was because they were his personal mentees and they represented him. If they won, Professor Guo would also be able to maintain his reputation.
Tan Mo was rendered speechless. Alas, such a cultured and refined grandpa had been provoked by Professor Liu to this degree.
“All of you were selected to be a part of my team. I believe that all of you are the best students in the Chinese Department.” As Professor Guo said this, he suddenly caught sight of Tan Mo’s radiant eyes.
Professor Guo sluggishly added, “Of course, I also recruited someone with outstanding potential in Chinese from the Finance Department.”
Everyone: “…”
What Professor Guo had just said was such a tongue-twister.
“All of you must succeed in the school’s internal selection process.” Professor Guo continued solemnly, “All of you are my students. If anyone doesn’t make it through, it will be very embarrassing to me.”
Professor Guo had issued an edict. They had to pass the selection process.
If anyone failed, Professor Guo probably would not look upon them favorably in the future. After all, they still had a long road ahead on this team.
A shiver ran down their spines. Everyone quickly stood up straight and announced, “Yes. We will all pass the selection process.”
Professor Guo finally nodded his head in satisfaction. Then he strolled out of the room.
Professor Guo was the first to receive the news.
Tan Mo and the team were the first to hear about this.
Principal Mu had only given Professor Guo a heads-up.
A detailed and concrete plan still needed to be established.
All the other departments only heard about this one week later when the news was announced to their respective classes.
Lecturer Hong revealed the news to the class monitor, Lin Fuxi, and told her to disseminate the news to the entire class.
Although this was announced to the entire school population, the students from the Chinese Department were still the key players.
A cursory announcement was made to the other departments, but they didn’t really expect anyone to sign up for the selection process.
However, since the school was taking part in an event, they had an obligation to let all the students know.
Since we’ve already informed you about this upcoming event, it’s your business as to whether you really decide to participate.
It’s fine if you don’t wish to participate. However, you can’t blame us for not informing you.
Lin Fuxi stood on the stage and announced, “This time, in order to choose the members to represent our school in the Ancient Text Competition, the school will organize a selection test. To be honest, the process will be very simple. Potential applicants should simply head to the multimedia room where everyone will answer the questions online simultaneously.
“The Ancient Text competition will consist of buzzer questions, so timing is key. This will be a computer-based assessment, and you will get ten seconds to answer every question. The computer will automatically mark your answers, and after you finish answering, everyone will get their scores immediately.
Lin Fuxi continued, “You’ll also be able to see which questions you got wrong.
“Additionally, a list of rankings will appear on the webpage. The rankings will be updated live and everything will be publicly available.” Lin Fuxi paused for a moment before continuing, “You don’t have to worry about people manipulating the charts.”
Everyone present was not sure if they had seen it wrong.
Because they sensed that when she had mentioned manipulating the charts, Lin Fuxi had actually glanced at Tan Mo.
Everyone: “……”
They couldn’t have seen that, could they?
The students exchanged glances.
Had everyone seen the same thing?
Then they probably hadn’t seen it wrong.
Lin Fuxi…
Didn’t have any problems, right?
Why did she glance at Tan Mo when she talked about this?
Tan Mo hadn’t done anything dodgy.
Everyone was filled with unspoken criticisms.
“Everyone will also be able to see the final rankings,” Lin Fuxi continued. “If anyone wants to participate, look for me. You can sign up immediately. Registration will continue until this Wednesday, hence there isn’t really much time for everyone to consider.”
The moment Lin Fuxi said this, a discussion immediately filled the room.
“Are you going to participate?”
“Class monitor, do we have to pay a registration fee?” someone asked.
“No need.” Lin Fuxi said. “We’re choosing candidates to represent us and compete for our school’s glory. You won’t need to pay a registration fee. What’s more, there will likely be prizes for those who win. As for what the prizes are, I’m not too sure myself. I only heard that there were prizes.”
“It doesn’t really matter what the prize is. I only want to join in the fun.”
“But even if we simply participate to have fun, the people who are chosen in the end will definitely come from the Chinese Department. After all, they are the ones who have specialized in the subject.”
“Does anyone know what was tested in the previous rounds of the Ancient Text Competition?”
The moment someone posed this question, everyone shook their heads, completely stupefied.
A glint surfaced in Lin Fuxi’s eyes. “Maybe Tan Mo would know? Doesn’t Professor Guo view Tan Mo favorably?”
