◇ 【074】 One against five, feeling proud (3)

Gu Juan said: "Since you are best at physical fitness, let's compete in physical fitness."

"How?" Bain asked.

Gu Juan pointed at the platform below and said, "You and I will both hang on to the wooden board at the edge of this platform with one hand. Whoever holds on the longest will win. How about that? Of course, I will ask the host to put down a soft mat underneath to prevent either of us from falling and getting hurt."

Bain spread his hands and said, "This is so easy! I can start anytime."

Gu Juan said to the host: "Thank you for your help."

"Mr. Gu, you are so polite." Liang Xun walked aside and whispered to the staff.

There was a thick mat used for high jump in the stadium's storage room, which was quickly brought over and placed underneath.

Bain curled his lips in disdain and raised his eyebrows at Gu Juan, "I'll go down first." After saying that, he squatted down at the edge of the platform with his back to the audience, grabbed the wooden board with one hand, and jumped down neatly. He was hanging in the air with only one arm, looking around leisurely.

Gu Juan was also quick and hung it up at the same time.

"The countdown starts now!" Liang Xun shouted excitedly.

The words "00:00:00" appeared on the big screen, and the time moved forward second by second, quickly changing from 00:00:00 to 00:01:00, 00:02:00... 00:09:00...

"This action looks simple, but it's not easy to stick to it. Liang Xun, um, you're a grown man, don't you have any interest in challenging them both?" Wen Li deliberately gave Liang Xun a difficult question.

Liang Xun turned his back to her again, sighed, and whispered to the audience, "Why is she still making things difficult for me even though I'm not her husband?"

The audience burst into laughter.

"Liang Xun, what are you mumbling about?" Wen Li narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"Nothing." Liang Xun turned around and shook his hair. "A tall, rich, and handsome man like me, taking on two people alone is certainly no problem! However, if I beat Gu and Ackerman, wouldn't it be embarrassing for them? So I decided not to challenge them."

The audience laughed again.

Wen Li looked at Gu Juan and Bain with amusement, "Let's play some music for them to help them relax."

The camera extended into the space below the platform, displaying the expressions of Gu Juan and Bain on the big screen. Gu Juan's right hand was clinging to the wooden board, his left hand in his trouser pocket, his expression as calm as a flat model posing for a photo.

Bane was also relaxed, with a smile on his lips.

Wen Li warned, "These are highly dangerous moves, please don't imitate them. It's not convenient for us to talk to Gu and Ackerman right now. Liang Xun, why don't we take this opportunity to interview their friends and partners and dig up some inside information?"

"Good idea!" Liang Xun gave a thumbs up. "They both look very relaxed. I'm afraid they'll have to compete for a long time."

"Well, you interview Ackerman's friends first, and I'll find out where Gu's friends and roommates are." Wen Li said.

Liang Xun secretly thought that this girl was cunning, but he didn't show it on his face. He walked up to Ackerman and the others with a smile on his face.

"Bane is truly amazing. He's managed to hold on until now without batting an eyelid. Could you please tell us how Bane normally trains himself? Share your experience with us?"

From Ackerman's position, he could only see Bain and Gu Juan's hands, or five fingers to be exact, and it seemed that they did not hear what Liang Xun said.

Catherine had no choice but to speak on her behalf: "From what we know, Bane trains for at least four hours every day, two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening."

"So, has he ever done such a challenge before? He looks like he is very familiar with it, which really convinces us old people." Liang Xun could see the confidence on Gu Juan's face. Therefore, he didn't mind praising Bane a few more times at this time. When Bane lost, it would form a sharp contrast, and the ratings would definitely soar.

Catherine shook her head. "As far as I know, no. This challenge method is very... fresh."

Seeing that Wen Li had already found Gu Juan's friends and roommates and was waving to him, Liang Xun quickly asked one last question, "We can see from the big screen that the game has entered a stalemate, and the two players are equally matched. At this time, do you have any blessings you would like to send to dear Bain?"

Catherine nodded, "Yes, we do. Bane, you're the best! Come on, we believe you can win!"

"Okay, I believe Bain has received your blessings." Liang Xun walked to the stairs, "Now let's turn the camera to Wen Li."

Wen Li's image appeared on the big screen. She was sitting between Liu Hui and Zhang Cong.

Xi Lang put on sunglasses and Lin Xuan also covered his face with a hat.

"Hello, audience friends! The people sitting next to me are Gu Juan's roommates. We're about to find out what this idol looks like. Are you curious? I'm very curious. Let's go ask them."

Liu Hui sat next to the beauty, smiling so much that his eyes became slits.

"Hello, Liu, Zhang, and Zhao, may I ask what your male idol is like in private?"

Liu Hui said: "She's good-looking, so she's the public enemy of boys."

"Hahaha..." The audience nearby burst into laughter.

Zhang Cong said: "A top student, majoring in both English and Traditional Chinese Medicine."

Zhao Rui said: "Although Gu Juan looks "noble and cool", but in fact..."

Xi Lang coughed lightly. He didn't want all the students in the school to shift their attention to Xiao Juan.

Liu Hui immediately bumped Zhao Rui with his arm.

Han Lin and Li Ruicheng were laughing secretly.

Although Zhao Rui didn't understand why he was bumped into, he wasn't stupid at all. He immediately changed his words: "But we're grown men, and we're all pretty straightforward, so we get along very well. The day before yesterday we even climbed the Great Wall together and took lots of photos."

Liu Hui smiled and said, "Don't ask us for photos. We won't give them to you even if you ask us. If the three of us ever get into hard times, we might be able to make a lot of money by selling Gu Juan's photos."

Everyone laughed.

Wen Li said, "The competition over there is still going on. It seems that classmate Gu is not only handsome, good at studying, and good-looking, but also has first-class skills. So, I wonder how classmate Gu usually trains-"

At this moment, a cry of surprise suddenly came from a distance.

"What's going on?" Wen Li quickly stood up and looked at the big screen that had switched cameras.

Liang Xun said with regret, "What a pity! Bain fell. He wasn't hurt, was he? Oh, I saw he fell on a cushion, so he shouldn't be seriously injured. Our medical staff have come forward to check him out. Wen Li, please come back soon. Let's check the time. It stopped at 00:18:08. Oh my god! Bain lasted 18 minutes! Can you do that? I can't do it anyway."

While he was speaking, Gu Juan held the wooden board with both hands, raised his left leg, and climbed up easily.

"Many of our audience friends didn't pay attention just now. Let's take a look at the replay to see what happened?" Wen Li said as he walked back quickly.

The large screen began replaying the previous content. Bain's face was covered in sweat, his five fingers gradually turning white. After a moment, he clenched his right fist, sighed softly, glanced at Gu Juan, frowned, and immediately turned his head away. After about five or six seconds, a look of frustration and resignation crossed his face. His fingers had been slipping involuntarily, and then he fell straight down. Gu Juan, on the other hand, remained in his original position, except for a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. His eyes remained calm, unfazed by praise or criticism.

"So, in the second round, Gu won!" Wen Li returned to the podium. "It's a shame that Bain lost, but he was still impressive. He hung in the air for 18 minutes. It's no easy feat!"

Liang Xun smiled and asked, "Congratulations, classmate Gu. What do you think now?"

Gu Juan looked down at the stage. "I wonder how Bain is doing. We have a saying in Country C: 'Victory and defeat are common in war.' I sincerely hope Bain doesn't take winning or losing too seriously. I've lost in competitions with others before, and it's nothing."

In the Xi family's villa, Xi Yongming, Lin Ronghua, Xi Cong and Luo Qingyou were all watching the live broadcast.

Xi Cong said with a smile: "This little Gu, he is still acting like a spoiled brat after getting the advantage."

Xi Yongming nodded approvingly. "He's doing a good job. Sometimes, you don't have to be aggressive. A combination of softness and hardness can be more effective in breaking down the enemy's psychology."

After Gu Juan finished speaking, the camera turned to Bain below.

Bane punched the platform's pillar hard, then noticed the camera was pointing at him and tried to calm himself down.

"Time is limited, so shall we start the third match?" Wen Li asked.

Gu Juan looked at Ackerman inquiringly to show that he respected his opinion.

The camera gave him a close-up approvingly.

Ackerman knew he was actually provoking her, so he held his breath and nodded, "Catherine, are you ready? Hmm?"

Katherine felt the pressure he was applying and nodded, "OK."

Liang Xun said, "We all know that Catherine's best skill is medicine, and classmate Gu also happens to be studying medicine. Is classmate Gu planning to challenge herself in this area?"

Gu Juan nodded, "Yes."

"How do you want to compete?" Catherine asked.

Gu Juan looked around the audience. "A conservative estimate is that there should be 20,000 people here. How about we ask all those in the audience with symptoms to stand up? You and I will randomly select a patient for each other, and we will assess the symptoms and prescribe the appropriate medicine on the spot, and time the process. This way, we can avoid the possibility of cheating. Then, we will ask the professors from our school's medical school to judge whether our diagnosis is correct."

The school knew the content of Gu Juan's challenge and invited several professors from the medical school to watch the competition in advance.

"Finally, our victory or failure will be determined based on the accuracy of our diagnosis and the time it takes." Gu Juan continued, "Catherine, what do you think?"

Catherine exchanged a meaningful look with Ackerman, smiled softly, and said in a sweet voice, "No problem!"

"In a competition like this, luck will also affect the outcome of the game." Wen Li said to Liang Xun.

"Yes. For example, one patient's condition is milder, while the other's is more severe." Liang Xun said, "However, since this is a challenge, it will be more interesting this way. So, shall we begin now?"

"But before we begin, I hope that all the audience will cooperate and not make any small movements to intentionally guide the two contestants in choosing patients or intentionally mislead the two contestants. Okay?" Wen Li added seriously.

The audience nodded.

"Okay, now, please stand up if you are feeling unwell. Maybe our two young doctors can cure your illness today." Wen Li said with a smile.

A few people stood up from the audience, about forty or fifty people.

Catherine crossed her arms and said, "Mr. Gu, please choose a patient for me first."

Gu Juan didn't choose anyone specifically, but casually pointed to a middle-aged man closest to the platform, "Excuse me, uncle."

The middle-aged man walked up quickly and said, "Hello."

Wen Li said, "Let's ask this uncle to introduce himself first."