Chapter 306: Chapter 305: Lu Mian, You Must Protect Your Head Teacher Well
Lu Mian glared at Su Luo, whose arrogant ponytail swished defiantly as she turned her head away.
“I feel like you guys are conspiring something.”
Having dropped this remark, Lu Mian slowly got up under the expectant gazes of the crowd and walked to the front row.
Outside the amphitheater, the curious junior and senior students of Kunpeng High School gathered around.
“Is this Lu Mian up for it?”
“If we lose Qimo, we’re doomed this time.”
“I think Lu Mian is just overhyped. I don’t believe she’s that amazing…”
“We’ll see soon enough.”
After Lu Mian moved to the front row, Xiao Qimo also walked from the back to the front.
Shouhao sneakily whipped out a camera from his desk and started taking pictures.
Shouhao was astonished by his equipment, “What are you doing, paparazzi?”
“Ptui! If you’re shipping a CP, don’t you need to prepare some photos? Not professional at all!”
“That’s true! I’ll learn Photoshop then, leave the photo editing to me.”
“With Qimo and Mian’s looks, there’s no need to edit the photos.”
“Then let’s edit out all the unrelated people!”
The two brothers agreed and high-fived.
On this side, Xiao Qimo naturally took his seat among the Kunpeng High School team.
The girls on the opposite side all fixed their gaze on him.
Lu Mian pursed her lips and switched places with the student ranked eleventh.
Student Ranked Eleventh: Ah, finally relieved.
Since each team member only had one chance to compete, Lu Mian was automatically arranged for the third round.
The theme of the first round was “Night.”
Era Middle School went first, sending Sheng Zixin to battle against Chen Qin.
The two boys spoke endlessly, almost going through all the poems about the night. Chen Qin was outmatched and eventually admitted defeat.
Sheng Zixin sat down arrogantly, holding his chin high.
One of the leaders from the Education Bureau, also the most distinguished guest this time, commented.
Dong Lingqi shook his head with a frown, “We lost the first round already.”
Principal Zhang responded with a forced smile, “It’s best two out of three; we still have two rounds.”
“This start isn’t promising. Have you arranged your lineup properly? If your school loses again this time, the funding from above won’t be so generous.”
All Principal Zhang could do was offer an awkward smile.
The second round was Su Luo’s battle against Yu Chen from the opposing side.
Su Luo, having participated in various competitions since childhood—district, domestic, and international—was completely unfazed by such events. Yu Chen, known as the “Poetry Repository,” also learned a bit of Sheng Zixin’s arrogance and said with a sneer, “Have you learned about the story of Tian Ji’s horse racing? Your tactical arrangement is fine, it’s just a pity that I will end your hopes in the second round.”
There would be no need to continue the competition if they won the second round.
Su Luo rolled her eyes.
She had always said that boasting before a competition wasn’t a good habit.
The host immediately drew the word “ink” as the subject.
The number of ancient poems containing the word wasn’t too many or too few. Both sides were ready with several possible poems as soon as the topic was announced.
It was still Era Middle School that started first.
Yu Chen opened with the line “Ink clouds dragging rain across the western tower,” hoping to grab the second line as well, but Su Luo quickly followed, stealing the initiative.
Everyone knew Su Luo’s grandfather was Su Qinghe. They knew that the old Mr. Su liked these elegant things.
They always called Su Luo the little go princess because her go skills were indeed very impressive.
Today’s poetry competition showed them a different Su Luo: composed, methodical, not a word of boast, yet proving her ability with sheer talent.
Lu Mian looked up at Su Luo and felt quite gratified.
Su Luo had snatched five points in a row, while Yu Chen only had two. Their opponents were already getting anxious.
Sheng Zijin was racking her brains, continuously scouring for poems about “ink.”
In the back row, outside the competition, the plump and lean brothers were completely laid-back.
“Shouhao, the theme of today’s competition is so subtle,” one commented.
“I’ve noticed that as well. The first round was about the night, quite similar to ‘Mian,’ and now the second round is about the word ‘ink.’ Tsk tsk tsk…”
“If I weren’t here at the scene, I’d suspect the organizers were up to something,” the other replied.
While they were conversing, Yu Chen had run out of steam and was truly at a loss for words.
Sheng Zijin was frantically asking others to help think of something, but everyone’s minds were blank, unable to come up with anything.
Su Luo had fought a beautiful battle.
This also meant that the score was now tied, leaving everything to the final round.
Unexpectedly, it had come down to this.
Xiao Qimo poked Lu Mian’s arm and elegantly pushed up his glasses, “Lu Mian, you have to protect your Director of Education well.”
Lu Mian didn’t respond to him and stood up.
This third round was very interesting, truly testing each side’s knowledge of poetry and reaction speed.
Their opponents sent out Gu Jingyi once again.
Gu Jingyi’s gaze never left Xiao Qimo; she had been staring at him throughout the previous matches.
Lu Mian felt extremely annoyed, sensing that something of his was being coveted by someone else.
She shifted her stance slightly to block Gu Jingyi’s line of sight.
Xiao Qimo quietly observed the girl’s reaction, a smile curling the corners of his mouth.
The host teacher signaled the start of the round.
No sooner had he spoken than Gu Jingyi started spilling words like pouring beans, “May I ask, for the line ‘It seems like a flower but not quite; even so, nobody cherishes it enough to prevent its fall,’ what is the last line of the poem?”
Lu Mian spoke leisurely, “‘Upon closer inspection, they are not willow flowers; they are but tears of the parting.'” Good, it’s my turn to ask. “Please tell me where the line ‘The east wind has done nothing, yet it conjures a myriad of blossoms’ comes from?”
“…” The opponent paused, searching their mind rapidly, even looking at teammates for help. Getting stuck on the first question was too embarrassing.
Unfortunately, her teammates were also at a loss. Some even wanted to check Baidu right then and there.
Gu Jingyi bit her lip, “Pass!”
If she passed, that meant Lu Mian would score a point.
Lu Mian continued to ramp up the pressure, “Alright, next question.”
Fat Hao and Shouhao clicked their tongues audibly.
“It’s a pity that Mian isn’t drinking today; I feel she’s not even trying her hardest.”
“Her questions are too easy. Look at the other side, asking which line and which line—who remembers which line follows which? It’s already good enough that I can memorize them.”
The two expressed their regret that Lu Mian wasn’t drinking alcohol.
The result of the third round was hardly suspenseful. With hardly a few rounds of exertion, Lu Mian completely overpowered the opponent.
It was an absolute domination. She smoothly answered every question asked by the opponent.
And to her questions, the entire opposing team was at a loss.
It showed that what they knew, ‘Brother Mian’ knew. What ‘Brother Mian’ knew, they hadn’t even heard of!
This contest for Director Qimo ended with Kunpeng team’s comprehensive victory, and they even won back their two school badges at once.
As everyone was packing up and dispersing, Xiao Qimo passed by Lu Mian and quickly said in a low voice, “You’ve won me over again.”