However, whether they believed it or not was beyond their control.
The judges surrounded Zhou Sixue, bombarding her with questions for at least ten minutes. They treated her like a once-in-a-lifetime prodigy, each eager to take her under their wing.
"Ms. Zhou, I've already contacted my alma mater, St. John's University. They will send you an invitation for an exchange program within a week."
"Universities in the Americas are also preparing. Ms. Zhou, you must come to the Americas; we would all welcome you with open arms."
"Ms. Zhou, you should consider joining the English Research Lab in Nan City. With your language talent, you are exactly the kind of person we need."
Xie Yiming stroked his beard, satisfied. "Hmm, this is the promising student I discovered. Even if she joins the English Research Lab, she will still be my student. It has nothing to do with any of you. I gave her 99.9 points. I didn't give her a perfect score to keep her from getting too proud. That's it. Little Zhou is my student. Alright, stop asking. Let's announce the results."
The other judges shot daggers at Xie Yiming with their eyes.
Xie Yiming accepted it all with a cheerful smile. After all, Little Zhou wouldn't be going with any other teacher; he had discovered her!
Surrounded by the judges, Zhou Sixue felt completely overwhelmed.
But... she already had a teacher!
And, while the judges' reactions were flattering, weren't they being a bit too much?
Still, no matter what, she was thrilled!
Wow, making it to the finals meant there was prize money!
She could share the money with God Ji!
No, she would give it all to God Ji, buy him milk tea, cola, and sweet little cakes!
Finally, Zhou Sixue could step down from the stage.
As soon as she descended, she saw Ji Chuxing's faint smile. "Not bad, you did a great job with your speech."
Ji Chuxing usually had a blank expression, but in front of someone he trusted like Bo Yanchen, he showed a bit more emotion. However, in front of the Class 16 students, he mostly appeared lazy and indifferent.
But this faint smile made Zhou Sixue gape in awe.
She was even more thrilled than when the judges praised her.
"God Ji, you look so good!"
Ji Chuxing: "..."
The other Class 16 students also congratulated Zhou Sixue.
"Little Si, your speech was amazing!"
Even though I didn't understand most of it!
Zhao Feifei gave Zhou Sixue a crazy hug!
In short, the Class 16 students were all very happy, celebrating Zhou Sixue's success.
The Qihang class, sitting behind them, felt sour.
"You're acting as if the results have already been announced. Aren't you celebrating too early?"
"Let me tell you, the judges haven't finished scoring yet. Some people are just too self-assured."
After the competition ended, Zhao Feifei couldn't hold back her temper and retorted, "Can you get six full scores and one 99.9 from seven judges?"
Lu Hang chimed in, "Our Little Zhou has already received an invitation from St. John's University. Can you do that?"
Wu Hao added, "Our Little Zhou has been taken as a student by Teacher Xie. Can you do that?"
Zhou Sixue weakly countered, "Uh... my teacher is God Ji."
Wu Hao: "..."
But no one dared to refute her words.
The Qihang class students, though unwilling to admit defeat, had no way to counter this statement and could only endure it.
Liu Xiuping couldn't stand it anymore. "Teacher Huang, aren't you going to say something to your students?"
Old Huang exclaimed, "Zhao Feifei, Lu Hang, Wu Hao, sit down properly. Don't be too high-profile; it will make others jealous."
Liu Xiuping almost spat out blood!
Satisfied, the three smiled slightly and sat back down.
Ji Chuxing also glanced back, and Zhou Ru, who was sitting diagonally behind her, saw her face.
She hadn't seen Ji Chuxing for some time. Why was she here?
Hmph, Ji Chuxing better know her place. She didn't want to have any interaction with her in this setting. But seeing her indifferent gaze, as if she hadn't even noticed her, Zhou Ru felt extremely indignant!
Forget it, she wouldn't bother with her for now. She was just an audience member, envious of those participating in the competition.
The judges' scores were calculated by machine, and the results were announced just five minutes after the competition ended.
Xie Yiming announced the results.
"In this selection round, after the judges evaluated the contestants on their behavior, demeanor, and professional skills, the results are now ready. The top three out of 100 contestants will advance to the national selection. Now, I will announce the results. The three lucky ones are Yang Nan from Nan City Experimental Middle School, with a final score of 90.3. Third place, Li Li from Nan City No. 19 Middle School, with a final score of 91.2..."
At this point, Xie Yiming paused, perhaps intentionally.
But the Qihang class, including Wen Xinyue and Tang Chuxin, all paled!
How could this be!
Their names weren't mentioned!
They were clearly favored by the judges!
Although Zhou Sixue had received praise from the judges earlier, they were confident in their abilities and believed they would advance to the national finals.
First place?
Yes, they were the first place!
They exchanged glances, their expressions friendly on the surface, but a fierce rivalry simmered in their eyes.
Then, they both looked at Xie Yiming.
Xie Yiming cleared his throat, smiling happily. "First place, as expected, goes to Zhou Sixue from Nan City No. 1 Middle School, with a final score of 99.9. Congratulations, Ms. Zhou!"
Zhou Sixue nearly jumped three feet into the air!
She cheered, "God Ji, I made it to the national finals!"
She couldn't help hugging Zhao Feifei. "Feifei, I'm so happy!"
She bounced around and turned to hug Ji Chuxing.
Caught off guard, Ji Chuxing managed to keep her from falling.
Excited, Zhou Sixue also hugged Old Huang.
Old Huang patted her shoulder, chuckling. "Zhou Sixue, you did great!"
Zhou Sixue almost cried, nodding vigorously. It was all thanks to God Ji's teaching!
Then, in her excitement, she hugged the school bully, Brother Xing, who had popped up behind Old Huang.
Young Master Lu was caught completely off guard.
What the heck!
Was this a perk he could enjoy?
Young Master Lu turned red as a cooked shrimp, frozen in place.
Then, Zhou Sixue almost hugged Wu Hao, but he kicked her away!
Wu Hao: ??
What just happened?
Young Master Lu stood there, dumbfounded, grinning like a big chrysanthemum.
Zhou Sixue's joy was cut short as she went up to receive her award along with the other three finalists.
The third and second-place winners gave their acceptance speeches.
Zhou Sixue was still buzzing with excitement, and the host asked her to give her acceptance speech.
She immediately looked at Ji Chuxing, signaling with her eyes.
God Ji, should I be high-profile? Should I be high-profile?
Why not be high-profile when she got first place?
Receiving her signal, Ji Chuxing nodded, indicating that she should be high-profile.
Zhou Sixue was thrilled!
Okay, she would make God Ji high-profile!
After all, she owed her success to God Ji!
So, she took the microphone and said, "I want to thank my parents for giving me life and allowing me to participate in this competition. I want to thank my homeroom teacher, Old Huang, for supporting me and letting me read English originals during Chinese class. I want to thank Teacher Xie for encouraging me to participate. I want to thank my classmates for coming to cheer me on. I love you all, but the person I most want to thank is God Ji!"
Ji Chuxing's small tuft of hair stood on end!
She frantically signaled Zhou Sixue to stop.
Shut up! Don't say it!
But Zhou Sixue didn't see it.
Her eyes shining with tears, she declared loudly, "Thank you, God Ji! She is my English teacher! This time, I was able to enter the national finals because of her excellent teaching!"