I Might Have Fallen in Love With My Childhood Sweetheart -
Chapter 169 - 165 Semifinals 1
Chapter 169: Chapter 165 Semifinals 1
It might be because F University didn’t have a holiday this time, but the number of spectators in the competition arena was significantly higher, with the back seats almost completely filled.
This time, Song Shize was still confined by his old man, so Ruan Ruan and the others definitely had no way to follow along again.
At nine o’clock in the morning, the retest officially began.
Qingran paid special attention to the judges’ table, where the six judges hadn’t been replaced; Lin Zhou and the fat professor still sat in their seats from the last time.
The young man still had that refined and cultured appearance, now wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, and seemed somewhat weary.
More than a month had passed since Qingran had last seen Lin Zhou, and she could now face him with complete equanimity.
The order of contestants going on stage this time was different from the last; F High drew one of the later slots.
The first to go on stage wasn’t City No.1 High School, but a school that had fewer students left from the last round, with only thirteen students advancing.
Now, thirteen students stood on the stage, several of whom were so nervous that their hands shook while writing.
Not having to go first eased Old Wu’s nerves; he paced back and forth in front of the students repeatedly, again and again reminding them to compose themselves and to treat the retest just like a regular exam, urging them not to be nervous, as it would affect their performance.
But it was futile; those who weren’t nervous remained calm, and those who were nervous stayed that way.
Qingran leaned back in her chair with her eyes closed, still feeling a slight but uncomfortable headache.
Xie Ying’an, seated beside her, turned to look at her for a while, then slowly reached out to grasp Qingran’s hand, which hung by her side. While facing the stage, his fingers carefully threaded through Qingran’s, interlocking them tightly together.
He simply hoped this gesture would make her discomfort less severe.
Qingran’s eyelashes quivered slightly, but she pretended to be asleep and didn’t struggle.
The headache didn’t subside just from holding hands; with the air conditioning set at a comfortable level inside the arena, Qingran actually felt a bit sleepy in this comfortable environment.
The competition this time depended entirely on skill and memory, with three long and difficult questions displayed on the big screen, and a mere twenty minutes to answer all of them.
Failure to answer within twenty minutes meant elimination.
Even if all questions were answered within twenty minutes, a single incorrect answer also meant elimination.
Each batch of students had different questions anyway, so Qingran didn’t waste any energy on the earlier rounds’ problems.
Old Wu, however, asked them to take a look at the problems on the board, to see if they could solve those three questions within twenty minutes themselves.
Consequently, the students all became absorbed in those problems and no longer had the mindset to feel nervous.
Not checking the problems would have been better; once they did, the scene became a chaotic battleground, filled with sighs of despair as everyone assumed they’d definitely fail this round.
The twenty minutes hastily ticked by, and the judges gave their scores matter-of-factly within three minutes.
In the end, from the first round of more than ten students, only three passed.
The students who hadn’t yet gone on stage were nearly losing their minds, with hushed wails lingering everywhere.
Not even having left the stage yet, several of the eliminated girls couldn’t hold back their tears any longer.
This elimination signified that all the time and effort they had invested previously had been in vain.
Next, another school took the stage; Qingran had some memory of this one—the first school to compete in the initial round last time, Shida Affiliated High School.
Today, Shida Affiliated High School had arrived at the same time as F High, and as they walked over, those students showed no sign of nervousness on their faces, each seemingly happier than the last.
Having advanced eighteen students from the last round, Shida Affiliated High School’s students seemed to grasp the harsh reality of the retest, their faces now more tense than before as they went up.
Another twenty minutes whisked away, and this time the fat professor asked one of the students from Shida Affiliated High School a question.
When Qingran hazily opened her eyes, the fat professor had already finished asking questions, and the student who was questioned barely passed the semifinal with a score that was on the edge.
Only 6 out of the 18 students from Shida Affiliated High School made it through.
Nearly half an hour of drowsy sleep somewhat relieved Qingran’s headache. She was a bit worried that this headache would affect her performance later, so she tried to keep her mind as blank as possible.
The palm linked with Xie Ying’an’s had begun to sweat. Without making a sound, Qingran quietly let go of her hand.
Xie Ying’an glanced over, the girl’s complexion already looked much better, no longer as pale as before. He lightly sighed in relief and also drew back his hand.
The third group to go on stage was from City No.1 High School, seated next to them. City No.1 High School had the most students advance from the preliminary round, with a total of 22 students.
However, this semifinal also revealed their true strength; only 10 out of the 22 students passed.
Among the passers, Qingran saw the refined-looking boy, seemingly named Bai Wenxing. The girl sitting next to him had passed too, and was currently on stage, happily laughing and pulling on Bai Wenxing’s arm.
Old Wu and Teacher Sun were whispering to each other.
Old Wu couldn’t hide the envy in his voice: "Look, the number of students who passed from the first two schools combined doesn’t even amount to the number from City No.1 High School. That’s the strength of City No.1 High."
Teacher Sun nodded in agreement: "No wonder they are our school’s strongest rival, City No.1 High truly has the capability."
Old Wu sighed, "Before Ji Yanchen and Xie Ying’an enrolled, City No.1 High School used to dominate our F city; no other school could stand up to them."
Now the fear is that if F High doesn’t produce new talents soon, City No.1 High might return to the superiority they had over them before.
All one can hope for is that F High creates a miracle in this semifinal and the upcoming final, to at least make City No.1 High chase them for two or three years.
It wasn’t until the last group before noon that it was F High’s turn to go on stage.
There was ample lighting on stage, and this time, unlike before, they didn’t have fixed seating arrangements; the students were allowed to choose their seats freely, since their chances of cheating were zero.
Qingran stood in the middle, Li Qingmo in front of her, Xie Ying’an behind her, and Wen Shiyi chose a seat at the back.
Before the competition began, the fat professor’s gaze fell on Qingran. He chuckled and turned his head to say something to Lin Zhou beside him.
Their microphone was off. Qingran saw Lin Zhou look up at her after hearing what the fat professor said.
This time, the young man’s gaze at her lacked the complex emotions he had last time; it was as if he was looking at a stranger.
Qingran lowered her head to avoid Lin Zhou’s eyes. She took several deep breaths and felt the headache disappear all at once.
She suddenly realized, beforehand, she had always thought her headache was influenced by the aura of the male and female protagonists; now she knew that was not the case.
Her headache was entirely due to her own heart knot, which was Lin Zhou, Li Qingran’s husband from her previous life in the book.
It was because she did not want to repeat the same mistakes from the book that her body physically began to reject Lin Zhou.
This sudden relief also came because of Lin Zhou.
The young man’s eyes were open and clear; those events only she was aware of had never occurred in the eyes of others.
Three questions appeared on the screen at some point, and Qingran was still lost in her thoughts, head bowed.
Old Wu, anxious, fisted his hand and smashed the empty chair next to him several times. After smashing it, he grew even more restless.
"What is Li Qingran thinking? What time is it now? There is barely enough time for the twenty-minute round, sigh—why did this child suddenly..."
The girl sitting next to Bai Wenxing watched Qingran for a moment, then whispered to Bai Wenxing, who was staring blankly at the stage, "Bai Wenxing, do you think that girl is so nervous she doesn’t know anything? Haha—"
Her tone was filled with undisguised mockery.
Bai Wenxing didn’t say anything, just lowered his head and stopped looking at the stage.
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