Chapter 68
Yu Chucheng was sipping the soup prepared by the Lin family. He had only taken two sips when he suddenly sneezed; he felt as if someone was talking behind his back.
He absentmindedly pulled out his phone to message Ji Zhou, wanting to know how things were going on their end. Even though it was Duan Huaijin’s competition and he wasn’t even there, he was inexplicably nervous.
Ji Zhou: 【It’s not his turn yet, but did you know Zhang Hanzhou is also in this competition?】
Yu Chucheng: 【Didn’t know. Let me know when it’s his turn.】
No wonder Zhang Hanzhou hadn’t come to offer his condolences today; he was off competing. He wondered who would win between him and Duan Huaijin.
The judging panel for the semi-finals was extremely rigorous. They frequently interrupted contestants mid-speech, posing tricky and sharp questions. There were even two contestants whose psychological fortitude failed them; they faltered on stage, their voices losing all confidence.
The judges’ reactions only improved when it was Zhang Hanzhou’s turn.
Zhang Hanzhou stood on stage with full confidence, smoothly finishing his entry without a single judge interrupting him. When he stepped down, the room erupted in applause. His friends, in particular, scrambled to give him high-fives.
“Hanzhou is as steady as ever.”
“His preparation was so thorough that even those nitpicking judges had nothing to say.”
“Compared to the others, the difference is night and day.”
Zhang Hanzhou waved his hand modestly. “Don’t speak too soon. There are many formidable people who haven’t performed yet.”
After saying that, he cast a seemingly casual glance at Duan Huaijin. Duan Huaijin didn’t look at him at all; he just kept his head down, quietly going over his script. The noisy atmosphere of the auditorium didn’t seem to affect him in the slightest.
Zhang Hanzhou sat down amidst the applause. He felt fairly certain of victory this time. He had consulted experts to review his content beforehand, and he had met more than half of the people on the judging panel. As long as no one was exceptionally outstanding, the final winner would be him. Once he won this high-profile competition, he could earn more of his father’s respect and make up for his previous mistakes.
Although Ji Zhou didn’t understand what Zhang Hanzhou was talking about, he could tell from the reactions of others that Zhang Hanzhou had the best score so far.
“Do you think Duan Huaijin can beat him?” Ji Zhou turned to ask the equally nervous Xu Mengshu.
Before Xu Mengshu could speak, a guy sitting in front of them suddenly turned around. His voice was sharp and filled with disdain. “Heh, what do you think? He definitely can’t.”
The person next to the guy gave him a nudge. “Stop it. He’s technically your junior fellow student.”
“Forget it, he’s no junior of mine. I’m a legitimate graduate student; he’s just a student my supervisor happens to admire. He’s only a freshman—what can he possibly do? He’s not worthy of being called my junior.”
Ji Zhou warned, “Watch your mouth!”
The guy remained dismissive. “I’m just stating facts. Besides, in our major, reaching a high position depends on connections and resources, doesn’t it? He has neither. Why should he compete with the Eldest Young Master of the Zhang family?”
The guy had a point. Unless Duan Huaijin’s strength was exceptionally overwhelming, the judges would likely choose to do the Zhang family a favor. While unfair, that was the reality. Ji Zhou glared at the guy but chose to believe in Duan Huaijin. “Just you wait.”
Soon, everyone ahead had finished their presentations. Only the final contestant remained.
Judge A looked at the scoring sheet and whispered to the colleague next to him, away from the microphone, “I don’t think there’s any suspense for this year’s competition.”
Judge B sighed, pointing to Zhang Hanzhou’s name. “Yeah. Aside from his content being substantial, the others were as bland as plain water.”
Judge C rubbed his aching eyes. “The last one will probably be the same as the ones before. Let’s just half-listen.”
On stage, the microphone was adjusted slightly higher. A soft click sounded as the USB drive was inserted into the computer, silencing everyone in the auditorium. The judges stopped their small talk and looked at the contestant standing in the center.
Ji Zhou remembered to alert Yu Chucheng. He sent him a message, but Yu Chucheng, busy with something unknown, didn’t reply.
Xu Mengshu sat up straight in excitement. “It’s starting, it’s starting…”
It was ten minutes later when Yu Chucheng saw the messages from Ji Zhou. When he opened his phone, there were over a dozen of them.
Ji Zhou: 【This is so satisfying! I’ve never seen such an incredible match. You have no idea how brilliant the judges’ reactions were.】
Ji Zhou: 【Duan Huaijin is way too powerful. It’s like using a cannon to hunt mosquitoes. Some idiots were looking down on him earlier, and now they’ve been slapped hard in the face.】
Ji Zhou: 【When are you actually getting here? The judges are discussing the final scores now.】
…
Ji Zhou’s excitement practically overflowed from the screen. Yu Chucheng gripped his phone and clicked on the video Ji Zhou had sent at the very bottom.
The video wasn’t long. Ji Zhou had filmed it while holding his phone; at first, his hand was unsteady and the pixel quality wasn’t great. One could only vaguely see the person on stage standing tall. A black suit outlined his broad shoulders and narrow waist. His effortless aura made it seem as if he wasn’t there to compete at all.
Duan Huaijin seemed to handle everything with total composure. Yu Chucheng stared intently at the person on the screen, hearing someone in the background exclaim, “Wow, he’s so handsome.”
Duan Huaijin was indeed very handsome, and standing on that stage at this moment, he was incredibly charismatic. Yu Chucheng began to regret not making an excuse to slip away earlier; he hadn’t seen a single second of it in person.
Meanwhile, the Jingda auditorium was seething. After thunderous applause, the room buzzed with discussion.
“Did you see the judges’ eyes just now? It was hilarious—they lit up instantly.”
“Tell me about it. Number Twelve had only been speaking for thirty seconds when the judges all sat up straight.”
“Number Twelve is bold. He actually dared to throw questions back at the judges. I feel like he should be sitting on the panel himself; it would be easier to discuss the issues that way.”
The guy in front of Ji Zhou looked terrible. Ji Zhou and Xu Mengshu kept clapping right by his ear; though they didn’t say a word, the psychological damage was significant.
Zhang Hanzhou was equally shocked. Duan Huaijin had only just entered university; how could he have such mature stage presence and composure, appearing as if he were accustomed to major occasions? Most importantly, Duan Huaijin’s content was brilliant, causing the judges to nod repeatedly while listening.
The host held the card with the final results. “By the unanimous decision of the expert judging panel, the first place winner of this competition is—”
The auditorium fell silent instantly. Ji Zhou clenched his fists in anticipation.
“Contestant Number Twelve, Duan Huaijin!”
“Hell yeah!” Ji Zhou pumped his fist in satisfaction. Duan Huaijin had delivered. Seeing the guy in the front row sulking was more satisfying than a ten-game winning streak.
As Duan Huaijin took the stage to receive his award and pose for photos with the VIPs, his gaze turned toward the back rows. Ji Zhou and Xu Mengshu were standing and clapping for him. He quickly scanned the entire row but didn’t see Yu Chucheng.
Did something come up?
Duan Huaijin held his certificate, looking into the camera with an expressionless face.
After stepping off the stage, Ji Zhou and Xu Mengshu wanted to be the first to congratulate him, but they were sitting too far back and couldn’t outrun the people in the front rows. Duan Huaijin was a star now; every step he took, he was surrounded by layers of teachers and students.
“Student Duan, you were amazing! Can we be friends?”
“I’m in the same major as you. Can I add you on WeChat?”
Such an outstanding performance in a competition of this caliber was essentially an immediate grant of top-tier dating priority for the next four years. Duan Huaijin was crowded by Omegas wanting to add him to their contacts.
Ji Zhou sighed in admiration. “I wish I had such flourishing luck with the ladies.”
Xu Mengshu gave a light snort. “You?”
Surrounded by the crowd, Duan Huaijin rejected one person only for another to arrive. Though he had won, his mood wasn’t high—perhaps because he had already won in his past life, or perhaps because of someone’s absence.
“Just let me add you, Student Duan. I promise I’ll just stay quietly in your contact list and do nothing.”
“Me too. I just want to make friends with a top student. Look at how sincere my eyes are.”
Duan Huaijin was growing irritable and was about to reject everyone at once. Suddenly, a slender hand grabbed his hand hanging at his side.
Yu Chucheng’s hair was messy, his breathing unsteady, and his chest heaved slightly as if he had used a great deal of effort to squeeze through.
Not long ago, he had finally received permission from his brother to leave. He hadn’t even changed his clothes, arriving in his black suit. To his dismay, the competition had ended just as he arrived; he hadn’t even made it for the final awards.
His necktie was a bit loose, and the top two buttons of his collar were undone. For some reason, seeing so many people surrounding Duan Huaijin for his WeChat made him feel bitterly jealous.
Yu Chucheng pulled at Duan Huaijin’s hand.
“Sorry, he has something to do and has to leave first.”
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