Chapter 63: Public Speaking – 1
Chapter 63 Public Speaking – 1
After the P.E. teacher got an ambulance to rush Xu Tongtong to the hospital, Mrs. Xia, one of the teachers who were in charge of the competition, shouted in the dressing room again, “After Lu Yumo, it’ll be Zhou Tingting’s turn, and the last one is Fu Zhi! You guys get ready. I’ll call your name when it’s your turn.”
Zhou Tingting rose to her feet, standing up from her chair.
She had thought of everything. Lu Wanchu had lost her chance to get the first prize, so it would be her turn to shine. Given her perfect, impeccable speaking skills, no matter how good or bad Fu Zhi was, she would only look like a clown.
Besides, even though they had to draw their topic on the spot, there were only 21 topics per grade. She had done the math and she had found out that there would only be one topic left when it was Fu Zhi’s turn and her turn.
In other words, they would be talking about the same topic, so it would be even easier for her to show her superiority to Fu Zhi.
Zhou Tingting’s topic was “Youth”.
She used the phrase “pillars of the nation” as her main idea and elaborated on her opinion on the topic. Even though she was a fragile woman, she was very used to this kind of situation. The desired words rolled off her tongue without any effort, and her voice was soothing to the ears.
Independence, self-improvement, dreams, and future.
She used plenty of lengthy sentences and elaborate diction to express her ideas. However, since she had practiced her speech around the clock and each of her gestures and eye movements was on point, it did not sound too heavy to the audience. Instead, it added a lot of points to her performance.
All the money that the Lu Family had spent on her for 10 years had paid off. Compared to other participants, her performance was far better, her enunciation was correct, and her speech was smooth.
“But why isn’t Zhou Tingting the last one to come on stage? I remember her being the last one in the past few years.”
“Maybe they changed this because of Fu Zhi. I heard that she comes from a rural area and she has never been taught proper English before. I guess it’d be a disaster if she came out before Zhou Tingting, so they put her last. This way, she could make use of the 5-minute to 6-minute intervals to search for something to say about “Youth” on the internet, or she could copy whatever points Zhou Tingting presented...”
“How could they do that? It’s too unfair to Zhou Tingting!”
“I think it’s fine, though. Without Lu Chuwan standing in her way, Zhou Tingting will surely become the champion of the night. As a winner, she should show the loser mercy.”
Zhou Tingting’s performance was exceptional. Nearly all the teachers gave her a high score of 8.5.
Director Liu craned his neck and looked at the vice-president of the FZ Research Institute.
There was a “2” written casually on the scoreboard.
‘Wh... What?’
Director Liu was shocked, but he did not dare say anything to someone who was superior to him.
After all, the vice-president had given a “1” mark to all other participants, and only Zhou Tingting had been able to get a slightly higher mark from him. Perhaps she was the only one who could bring glory to their school...
Meanwhile, a teacher went to call Fu Zhi.
Xu Wei was so worried about her daughter that she could not stand up from her chair.
“What, what should I do? Zhizhi, I’m so scared...”
Xu Wei extended her arms and reached for Fu Zhi as if she was asking for a hug.
Fu Zhi draped her school uniform over Xu Wei. Then, she looked straight into her tear-filled eyes.
‘Now, now, now... What should I do?’
She contemplated it for a while and then said seriously, “Just sit here and make yourself comfortable. You are not the one who’s going up the stage anyway.”
Xu Wei, who was able to hear the words “Why are you scared? Don’t you have something else to do?” in her daughter’s tone, entered a pensive silence.
‘She’s right, but—’
Fu Zhi had already walked to the stage.
The hall was full of people.
Someone was taking a picture of her, pointing the flash directly at her face.
At that moment, the door to the hall opened and the silhouette of a young man appeared under the lights.
A small murmur started spreading in the crowd.
The newcomer had an impressive height, and his two long legs were in a pair of cargo pants. He sat at the rear, his clear eyes shielded behind a pair of gold spectacles and his jacket draped over his arm. He breathed an air of insouciance, and people would shiver from the cold just by standing around him.
Fu Zhi glanced at him and then retracted her gaze.
At the same time, a young man beside him pointed at the stage.
“Your cousin... I can look at her legs all day long.”
Lu Yubai looked in the direction Song Fang was pointing.
Fu Zhi was standing in the center of the stage. All the spotlights on the stage zeroed in on her, causing her skin to look even fairer.
Everyone in the hall was looking at her.
Her waist was thin, and her legs were long and slender. Her beautiful eyes were half-closed, and she exuded an air of calm grace and beauty. She was able to capture one’s heart and soul with a single glance of her eyes, and Zhou Tingting was nowhere near her league.
“D*mn. This girl is really cool. She’s so gorgeous!”
“What the... Am I in Disneyland? Why is there a princess in front of me?”
“This... You call this beauty? Hah, please! You’re making me laugh. I also think that my girlfriend is really pretty—y—y.”