There were only a few days left until the final exams. Luo Ming was also very nervous, but he was also confident. He had never fallen behind in his studies. He studied every day, which was why he was able to find time to file the complaint concerning the debate championship.
The debate organizers had already written to the school about Luo Ming's complaint. Ma Yue was sanctioned and given a small demerit. She was in her third year of high school, so she was let off easy by not having been given a huge demerit. If she were, it would have been difficult to redeem her grades.
Ma Yue was so angry that her teeth were itchy. She wanted to talk to the school administration about it, but she knew she couldn't refute it because they had evidence against her. She could not explain why she did what she did. If she told them she was nervous, they wouldn't believe her because it could be seen in the video that she had rushed to answer. Why did she rush to answer? Was it to highlight herself or to show her stupidity? Naturally, she couldn't admit anything.
Luo Ming heard that they could go undergo the assessment with the debate organizers after the final exam, so he finalized the schedule of their appointment and told Shuishui about it.
Shuishui quickly agreed to it. "Sure. It's just one day after the final exam. It's good that it's early, because I'm going to travel far during the holidays."
"Okay, then it's a deal," Luo Ming happily agreed.
On the day of the final exams, the students reported to their assigned rooms. Shuishui was assigned to Room No. 1. Students from the key class often filled the first room, because they had the highest grades. Suhishui walked to the first seat in the front row.
The other students looked at Shuishui with curiosity in their eyes. She was known as the girl who had always been in first place. She was basically smarter and better than them, who were mostly from the key class. It was well known that Shuishui's grades in science and math subjects were exceptionally high. Key class students could only surpass Shuishui in the arts subjects. Even in that aspect, there was not much of a gap. Although Shuishui was not very good in the arts subjects, her grades were still relatively high. The student with the highest grade in the arts was only forty points higher than Shuishui's grade. Shuishui dominated in the other major subjects. Also, the grades of the liberal arts majors were uncertain. If the students studied more in the liberal arts, they would have gotten higher grades.
The science subjects were, among all the other subjects, of great importance to everyone.
There were fewer girls who were good in the science subjects. They were also not very physically attractive. Over the years, they were known as dinosaurs--they were largely considered geeks and nerds. When Shuishui entered the school, she broke this stereotype. She was intelligent and smart at the same time. Shuishui had many admirers, but no one dared to confess because everyone believed that she was in a relationship with Mu Zilin. They then realized that they were not together. It seemed that she had always been single. Later, they heard from Mu Qing that Qian Shuishui had a boyfriend. Immediately, Shuishui's other admirers lost hope.
Of course, there were also people who took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Shuishui. However, Shuishui's attitude was too cold, and it was difficult for them to get close to her.
Although Xu Die had transferred to another class, her life did not get any better. She was still ostracized by the other students. This was all thanks to her classmates who had spread the news about her. The other students knew that if they hung out or were seen with Xu Die, they would also be criticized. Most people couldn't stand her anymore and felt too uncomfortable around her.
Xu Die also found it boring in school. She started skipping classes and incurred many absences. Instead, she hung out with her friends from outside the school. At the same time, she got to know many people, including gangsters. All the while, Xu Die wanted to teach Shuishui a lesson and wanted to retaliate, so she started to hang out with gangsters. Although it was somehow embarrassing for her and somewhat tarnished her reputation, she endured it to achieve her goal. Besides, this new group of friends always liked being around her and basically took advantage of her.
After two and a half days, the finals were over, and they all went home. The day after the exam, Shuishui met with Luo Ming at the school gate early in the morning.
Luo Ming saw Shuishui and said, "Hi! Good morning. How was the final exam?"
"It was all right." Shuishui nodded. She wore thick clothes because the morning air was a bit chilly.
Luo Ming checked his phone for the address. "Actually, it's near the convention center. Let's go there first and look around."
Shuishui wasn't that familiar with that area, so they grabbed a taxi. It was quite far and the fare was relatively expensive, but they didn't really care.
Inside the car, they didn't say anything. The atmosphere was a little awkward. Luo Ming took the initiative to speak first. "Have you eaten breakfast?"
Shuishui nodded. "Yes. After all, it's already nine o'clock." She opened her backpack. "I've prepared a few notes. I checked online yesterday. The topics for the upcoming competitions are not difficult. I wonder if they will choose from these topics."
"Then let me take a look." Luo Ming did not bother checking online because he did not think too much about it. When Shuishui mentioned it, he realized that he seemed to have been passive in preparing for the assessment. He quickly skimmed through Shuishui's notes.
"It's a little difficult. This is about animal protection. Should we kill all the natural enemies of the deer on this mountain? Didn't that happen already? Of course we can't kill them." Luo Ming was quite amused by the questions.
"Did you look at the remarks on the side? It is a purely fictional mountain forest. It simply depicts a scenario. It is quite different from the cases we have encountered in modern times, so we have to start studying these differences." Shuishui felt that although the questions seemed a bit problematic, they could still utilize important bits of information. It would test their ability to understand the topic at hand.
He sighed and looked at the notes. "I see. It is quite difficult. My English is not as good as yours. If you had not said it, I would not be able to notice those details."
The taxi soon arrived at the destination. Shuishui was supposed to pay, but Luo Ming handed her money. "We're here. Let's ask around."
They asked around and were pointed towards their destination.
As they entered the building, Luo Ming was nervous. "I'm so nervous."
"Good luck." Shuishui wasn't nervous at all. She couldn't tell Luo Ming that there was no need to be nervous because it was too deliberate. Her calmness would set off the environment and make him even more nervous.
"You don't look nervous at all. I'm really envious," Luo Ming said enviously.
"Yeah. I'm not nervous because I'm more open-minded," she explained simply. Whether they would pass or not, it didn't mean much to her.
They soon arrived on the fifteenth floor and entered the spacious reception hall. They approached the receptionist and confirmed their appointment. The receptionist asked them to wait for a moment. Ten minutes later, a man in a suit approached them and said, "Classmates, sorry to have kept you waiting. I was delayed by some matters. Come."
The middle-aged man brought them to a small conference room. "You two sit here and wait for a while. I'll go get the judges."
The middle-aged man closed the glass door and walked out, leaving the two of them in the conference room. After they waited for a few minutes, two foreigners walked in. They first introduced themselves then extended their hands and shook hands with them.One of them said, "You're very punctual. I've heard a few things about your team. Also, we've seen the video of your competition. Your other teammate was indeed a little strange, and she also dragged you down. Although we have all seen how good you are as debaters, you have to pass the assessment before you can participate in the national competition next semester. It will definitely be much more difficult. Also, there will only be two of you, and it will not seem very fair, especially because the pressure is even greater. I hope that both of you will think about it carefully."
Their message was clear. Shuishui and Luo Ming understood that even if they passed the assessment, only the two of them could join the debate competition. They are not allowed to add a third speaker to replace Ma Yue. They would be under extreme pressure as they would be competing as a duo against teams with three speakers.
Luo Ming pondered for a moment then asked Shuishui, "What do you think?"
"What are you afraid of?" Shuishui responded. This gave Luo Ming courage. 'That's right. What are you afraid of?' he thought.
"Sure. We are willing to accept the challenge." Luo Ming greatly treasured the opportunity. How could he give it up so easily?
The two foreigners smiled. One of them continued, "Part of the assessment is recording you both on video. Is that all right with you?"
"Sure."
"No problem."
They sat down, and the two foreigners took out a document and handed it to them. "The two of you will pick a topic. You will have to choose whether you are on the affirmative or on the negative side, and then you will present your arguments. If you succeed, then you will pass."
They knew it would not be easy to convince the foreigners, but Luo Ming and Shuishui did not back down. Luo Ming let Shuishui pick the topic. He was afraid he would pick a bad topic and ruin their chance.
Shuishui pulled out a topic and read it out loud. "Do you think that the benefits of granting private entities the right to keep and bear arms outweigh the disadvantages?"
Luo Ming patted his chest. He was relieved when he heard the topic.
Shuishui and Luo Ming discussed in private for five minutes. "Then let's oppose it. After all, people in our country aren't allowed to carry guns."
"Okay. Then how do we present our arguments?" Luo Ming didn't quite understand how they could convince the two judges with only one point of view.
Shuishui quickly gave a breakdown of their tasks. "I'll start first. You give a scenario of how guns caused violence. I'll summarize it. What do you think?"
"Okay. That's it." Luo Ming didn't expect Shuishui to come up with a decision so quickly.
Qian Shuishui nodded to the judges. "We're ready. We can begin."
They were given ten minutes to present their arguments and to wrap up their spiels.
The judges didn't say much. They started recording and took out pens and sheets of paper.
Shuishui looked at the judges and presented their arguments, backed with facts and statistics.
Luo Ming also calmed down. When he opened his mouth to speak, he felt that he had outdone himself. He had almost stuttered in some parts, but Shuishui helped him.
They then presented their conclusions and recommendations concerning the topic.
The assessment lasted for half an hour.
The judges also stopped writing.
Initially, Luo Ming and Shuishui thought that the judges would announce the results soon after they finiished. After a while, the man in the blue suit told them that they would be informed of the result after three days.
The men were very friendly towards them. "Don't worry too much. There won't be much of a problem. It's just that this matter isn't something that only the two of us can decide. We still have to show the video to the other judges. We will have to inform you of the result in a few days."
Luo Ming quickly thanked them. "Thank you for giving us this chance. We are very honored. Regardless of whether we pass or not, we are grateful. We will work hard in the future."
"That simply shows how mature you are. Good luck. We think that you are both very good debaters, especially Qian Shuishui. I would have thought that you have studied abroad for a few years because you have a good accent and a smooth diction. I simply don't want you to lose the opportunity to join the competition because of an irresponsible teammate." The man sounded very optimistic. He was also quite fascinated by Shuishui's debating skills.