"Someone you know is here?" their coach asked.
"My dad is here." Shuishui smiled faintly. She turned around and waved her hand.
She was quite happy. Not long after, Mu Ziyu sent a message saying that he had arrived.
Shuishui looked around and saw Mu Ziyu. He smiled at her as she waved her hand. She turned to look at her father again and saw that he had brought a camera. Her father took photos of her as she glared. She smiled awkwardly.
Qian An wanted to take more pictures of Shuishui. He felt that Shuishui didn't take enough pictures of herself during important events. When she grew up, she would look back and see her own pictures. It would be such a beautiful memory. When she got married and had children, it would all be a memory. He wanted to take a few of them. He could also take videos with the camera. He had planned to record Shuishui's performance during the whole competition.
Not all six participating schools went to the convention center. It was impossible to conduct all the debate matches that afternoon. Each match ran from forty minutes to an hour. Shuishui went up the five-meter-high stage to draw lots with the other lead debaters.
She unrolled it and showed it to the staff. Then, she walked to the center of the stage. She introduced her school, herself, and her teammates before she walked down the stage. She was very calm.
The lead teacher looked at Shuishui. She seemed to be a very calm and brave person. She also spoke very clearly.
According to the lots drawn earlier, Shuishui's team was one of the first two teams to compete. They all went up to prepare. Tables and chairs were already prepared on the stage. The judges sat down and gave off a very serious look.
Shuishui and the others sat down. Shuishui sat in the middle, indicating that she was the lead debater. The three boys in front of them all wore suits and looked a little imposing.
Shuishui's teammates, however, gave off a feeling of weakness.
The judges, most of whom were foreigners, sat down. One of them said, "The scope of your topic is the construction of a nuclear power station. Five high schools sare on the affirmative side, while three high schools are on the negative side. Let's start."
"We are very supportive of the construction of nuclear power plants. Due to the increase in population, there is a higher demand for energy. Nuclear power plants can provide us with enough electricity to enable us to live," Zheng Fang stated his argument. It was a very common opinion.
Everyone was a little nervous in the beginning. Topics for debates were given on the spot, so there was not much time to prepare.
Zheng Fang was at a disadvantage because he had to think fast and speak first.
Ma Yue said directly, "Nuclear power plants cause pollution. Operations inside the nuclear power plant may be compromised, and any damage inside the plant will have a grave impact on the environment."
Luo Ming continued, "Any possible nuclear leakages will directly pollute the environment. Over the century, we have already seen and heard how powerful and how deadly nuclear power plants are."
Zheng Fang stated his rebuttals.
Shuishui listened as they argued. The others mainly focused on how it could help the environment and not its potentially deadly effects. Could it be prevented in the future? Shuishui listened while Ma Yue was very anxious and rushed to state her own arguments.
Shuishui did not care. If Ma Yue wanted to say something, she could have said it. After a few rounds, Ma Yue was not confident because she had no in-depth knowledge of the matter.
Luo Ming was relatively calm. He wasn't like Ma Yue who said everything in one go. Ma Yue often poured out all her arguments in one spiel, and she would have nothing left to say in the later part of the debate because she had already said everything,
The debaters had started to discuss the pros and cons. "Technology has greatly advanced in this century. What reason do you have to say that there won't be newer technologies in the future that can prevent nuclear leakage? The probability of a nuclear power plant exploding or leaking is very low. We have to consider the survival of our people. In the eyes of most people, nuclear power plants and radiation are closely linked. They think that nuclear power plants strongly emit radiation, so it's hard for them to accept nuclear power as a source of energy. In fact, everyone is wrong. Nuclear power plants are not as scary as they think. Nuclear power plants use nuclear reactors to replace the boilers of thermal power plants. Nuclear fuel is used to produce heat in the nuclear reactor in a special form of burning to turn water into steam."
"Actually, it is still very easy to understand the principle. We should not misunderstand the effects of putting up nuclear power plants." The main debater felt confident and revealed a mocking smile. He looked down on Shuishui's side because Ma Yue had stuttered. She ran out of words.
Shuishui started to state her own arguments. "There are so many new energy sources now—solar energy, wind energy, and tidal energy. Not only will they not pollute the environment, but they will also be sustainable. According to Europe . . . "
She spoke fluently and gave practical examples. Many of the examples she stated were well-known facts in the science world, and she even quoted the lines of a few scientists. "Here are my rebuttals to the other team's arguments. Nuclear power plants are ultimately beneficial and can solve future problems as regards high demand for electricity. However, it is a fact that putting up nuclear power plants can be deadly, because of the possibilities of leakage. Let's return to the final topic. I'll just state an example. There was a nuclear leak in a region, and in the past seven years, seven thousand cleanup workers died, of which one-third committed suicide. Among the medical rescue workers, 40% of them suffered from mental illness or permanent memory loss. So far, of the 834,000 people who participated in the rescue work, 55,000 have died, 70,000 have become disabled, and more than 300,000 people have died from the harsh effects of radiation."
She stood up and confidently stated her rebuttals. "These are all human lives, and we don't mean that humans can conquer the heavens. Those problems could have been solved, and we wouldn't have lost so many people over the years. Moreover, we have to talk about how to promote the development of humanity. The rapid development of new energy sources, the widespread use of hydroelectric power generation in many areas, and other new energy sources—wouldn't that give us a safer environment?"
"Since it's for the development of humanity, then we can't use human lives as a compromise. We also have to think about future generations. Therefore, based on various factors and the principle of nuclear radiation, we insist that the construction of a nuclear power plant is not necessary." Shuishui had said a lot. The debaters from the other team did not understand many of the words because Shuishui spoke very quickly.
The other team's reaction was delayed for a few seconds. Their lead debater stood up and said, "There are always risks."
"I'm sorry. Please refute my argument!" Shuishui immediately said.
The other team felt conflicted because they did not understand. Shuishui had spoken too quickly, and many of the words she had used were very obscure.
The judge could not help but shake his head.
Did he not understand?
The main debater continued speaking, but he was interrupted by Shuishui. "May I trouble you to refute my argument, or are you unable to find a theory to refute it?"
"Actually, what we mean is that nuclear leakage is a big problem, but we can prevent it." The other team's lead debater felt that by saying this, he would be able to continue.
Shuishui continued to press him. "You haven't answered my question directly. You can't give an example. After all, I've never heard of a way to prevent leakages."
The other team's lead debater was speechless.
They were stuck and didn't know what to say.
The judges had already come to a conclusion.
Although the debaters did their best, they couldn't possibly refute Shuishui's arguments. She had given solid examples to prove what she had said, and their opponents team appeared invalid against Shuishui's arguments.
Ma Yue basically didn't say anything after that because Shuishui had presented the best arguments in behalf of the team. She, on the other hand, stuttered and couldn't say anything at all. She had grabbed the opportunity, but she ran out of things to say.
Luo Ming was able to present his arguments because he had prepared for it. What others stated in their arguments, he had already thought about.
He also helped Shuishui.
Ma Yue's face was extremely red. She wanted to find a place to hide. She was embarrassed because she couldn't get a word in. Shuishui spoke fast. She didn't even understand.
Zheng Fang was furious because they felt that the debater across them did it on purpose. She had spoken too fast and used many obscure words.
Shuishui couldn't care less. As long as the judges could understand, it was fine. If they couldn't understand, it was no longer her concern.
The coach of Shuishui's team was a third-year high school English teacher. At first, she felt that it wasn't suitable for a first-year high school student to be the lead debater. After the debate, it seemed that Shuishui truly was capable for the role. Ma Yue did what she could in the beginning and was almost overpowered by the other team.
Moreover, Ma Yue was hesitant during the debate and spoke without confidence.
Ma Yue had previously told herself that it was not suitable for a first-year high school student to be the lead debater. She realized that she was mistaken.
It was over. They smoothly qualified for the next round. They waited for further announcements.
Their coach looked at them with satisfaction. "Qian Shuishui, you are very suitable to be the lead debater."
When Ma Yue overheard this, she felt completely embarrassed. She had previously told their coach that Qian Shuishui wasn't good enough. The debate earlier, however, proved that it was she herself who was incapable, not Qian Shuishui.
Shuishui shrugged her shoulders. "Teacher, excuse me. I'll go and talk to my dad."
"All right. Do you want to go back to school? Or do you want to go back with your dad?" their coach asked, since the curriculum for the first year of high school was not very stressful. They also had no remedial classes.
"Then I'll go with my dad." Shuishui thought that it was naturally good that she didn't have to go back to school.
She jogged over and went to Qian An's side. "Dad."
"I think my daughter is really amazing." Qian An was also stunned. He had never known that Shuishui spoke like a foreigner.
Shuishui cracked a smile. "I'm fine. It's just that I haven't met a strong opponent. "
Qian An laughed and patted Shuishui's head. "Do you still want to go to school? If you don't, Daddy will take you out for dinner."
Shuishui nodded. "Sure. It's been a long time since I've had dinner with you." She suddenly remembered someone. Mu Ziyu was also at the venue. "Daddy, Zilin's brother, Ziyu, is also here. Should I ask him to come along?" Shuishui asked.
Qian An nodded and agreed. After all, Shuishui and Zilin were very good friends.
Shuishui walked towards Ziyu and said, "My dad is over there. Do you want to talk to him? Besides, he will take me out for dinner later. If you want, you can come too."
Mu Ziyu didn't refuse. "Sorry to bother you then."
Shuishui walked over to her father with Mu Ziyu and said, "Dad, it's not convenient for us to talk here. Let's talk outside."
"All right. Long time no see. We haven't seen each other since that last meal," Qian An said to Ziyu and smiled.