Chapter 111 The tension is all written by them at this moment

When a boy compliments a girl on her cuteness, it may just be out of courtesy or perfunctory, but when a boy compliments a girl on her cuteness with a smile behind her back - based on Wu Bo's years of experience immersed in romance novels and idol dramas, he knows there is definitely something fishy going on.

She put the matter aside for the time being with the intention of continuing to observe.

On Sunday evening, after finalizing all the procedures and documents, Wu Bo packed up and was about to go home when Xu Sirui reminded him, "Do you have a suit at home? You need to wear formal attire during the three days of the competition."

a bolt from the blue.

Wu Bo opened his mouth wide and looked down at his own figure.

After a few days of following Zhu Yingning's healthy diet, coupled with intense brain work over the weekend, she had indeed lost a few pounds since Chinese New Year, but she was still slightly overweight. Adhering to the principle of "out of sight, out of mind," she donated the few shirts she had at home, because a shirt can easily make someone look hunky and bulky if worn improperly.

Without a shirt, there is naturally no question of a suit jacket.

Zhu Yingning knew what she was thinking the moment she saw her expression. Worried she'd say, "I'm withdrawing from the competition," she quickly offered comfort, "I don't have a formal suit either, but I can rent one. Leave your outfit to me."

Wu Bo finally took back the words "I'm withdrawing from the competition" and pulled Zhu Yingning aside. He whispered, "Are you sure you have my size? If a button suddenly breaks on the day of the competition, I'll be heartbroken and break off all ties with you."

"Don't worry." Zhu Yingning nodded solemnly, "Your business is my business."

**

A few days passed in a flash. After school on Wednesday, Zhu Yingning handed her a set of clothes, neatly packed in a bag, and asked her to go home and change into them to see if they fit. If not, she could bring them back on Thursday and she would find someone to alter them.

Wu Bo went home and changed as instructed. Standing in front of the dressing mirror, she turned and observed her appearance, as if she were glimpsing her own white-collar life ten or twenty years from now. Her mother brought her a pair of black-framed plain glasses. With them, paired with her suit, she looked like a stern teacher in her thirties or forties, the kind that commanded the trust of her parents. Wu Bo felt awkward, but her parents were particularly pleased. Her mother, in particular, insisted that her hair be combed up into a bright bun. After much struggle, Wu Bo finally managed to retain two tufts of catfish whiskers on either side of her cheeks to enhance her facial shape.

When they arrived at school on Thursday, Zhu Yingning asked her if her clothes fit her well. Wu Bo nodded and said they were fine. Suddenly, she felt the urgency of the upcoming competition and grabbed Zhu Yingning's hand and said, "What should we do? I feel a little nervous."

Tomorrow's competition will be held in other schools, and they will have to take their school's bus to the other school's home stadium, participate in a completely unfamiliar competition in a completely unfamiliar environment, and communicate in English throughout the process. Just imagining that scene makes Wu Bo shudder.

"Do you have any way to relieve your nervousness?" Wu Bo babbled anxiously. "Are there any oxygen tanks at the competition venue? Even quick-acting heart pills would be fine."

"No." Zhu Yingning shook his head honestly. After a long pause, he managed to say something comforting, "It's okay. If the sky falls, it will kill Xu Sirui and me first."

"?"

It seemed to make sense. Wu Bo felt much better when he thought that his position was roughly equivalent to that of a logistics staff member.

Unfortunately, her calmness only lasted for one short night. When she woke up on Friday morning, arrived at school, changed into her formal suit, and followed others into the school bus, the nervousness came back like a rising tide, endlessly.

In order to divert her attention, she could only force herself to look around and actively observe the people in the car.

Xu Sirui sat in his seat, headphones on, playing on his phone, completely oblivious to the situation. Zhu Yingning rested her forehead against the front seat, mumbling to herself over a small piece of paper. Tan Jingjing leaned back in her chair, eyes closed, resting her mind. Zou Hao… Zou Hao seemed nervous too, a laptop on his lap, his right hand clacking away at the keyboard while his left, like a hand seal, made random pinches in the air. To the uninitiated, you'd think he was a Taoist priest catching ghosts.

Wu Bo wasn't sure if Zou Hao was actually nervous, or if it was just a small gesture he made when thinking. But she was more inclined to interpret it as nervousness, because it made her feel gloating, and when she felt gloating, she felt less anxious.

After taking the bus for forty minutes, they finally arrived at their destination.

At a public high school, the gate and classroom buildings were covered with signage, and volunteers were on the roadside directing students. Students in suits gradually disembarked from different buses, forming a massive crowd like a flock of arrogant crows.

When Wu Bo saw this, his legs went weak and Zhu Yingning helped him get off the car so that he would not fall.

They followed the volunteers' guidance into a multi-media classroom in the administration building. The tiered seating ascended in rows, reminiscent of Alice being interrogated by the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland. Country plaques stood on the tabletops, and many seats were already occupied. Wu Bo followed Zhu Yingning and Xu Sirui up the rows, startled to the point that every English word slipped through her mind, like someone who had suddenly forgotten their name. "What's the English for Greece?" she asked. "Greece or Israel?"

"Greece." Zhu Yingning pointed to a seat in the sixth row and reached out to pull Wu Bo.

Wu Bo felt the hand holding his was a little cold. "Why are your hands so cold?"

"To be honest," Zhu Yingning pulled her over to the seat, letting her sit on the inside while he sat in the middle. He touched his nose, pondered for a moment, and then said, "...I'm starting to feel nervous too."

Wu Bo was horrified and wailed, "No! Do you know that you are my spiritual support now? If you are nervous, what should I do? I will be scared to death."

"I try not to be nervous," she said vaguely.

Xu Sirui yawned and looked very sleepy.

"How does he manage to be so leisurely and relaxed?" Wu Bo was almost twisted watching from the side.

Since Young Master Xu was too sleepy to answer, Zhu Yingning could only speak for him, "He said this kind of competition is essentially just a large-scale game of house, and he doesn't understand why anyone would be nervous about playing house."

Wu Bo's mind became even more twisted after hearing this explanation. She lamented the unfairness of the world. Some people had participated in Model United Nations until they were demystified by it, while others were uneasy just because they had to wear a suit for the first time. If Xu Sirui's family hadn't been in trouble, would they still be sitting in the same classroom together? Wu Bo was extremely pessimistic. But she felt the warmth of Zhu Yingning's palm in her palm, the warmth mixed with the coolness and light sweat brought on by nervousness. This real touch made her realize that no matter what, no matter how different their backgrounds were, they were now sitting in the same classroom.

Whether they will drift apart or move forward side by side after the straight lines intersect is entirely determined by them at this moment.

**

The opening ceremony and ice-breaking activities were held in the morning. It was not as scary as they had expected. After the entire opening ceremony, both of them had adjusted their mood.

Xu Sirui dozed off almost the entire morning, and only perked up a little at lunchtime, stuffing a few sparse bites of cat food into his mouth.

"Can he really speak normally in the afternoon?" Wu Bo expressed his concern.

As originally planned, Xu Sirui would begin the afternoon's formal debate. He spoke fluent English, was handsome, and most importantly, tall and well-dressed, making him a force to be reckoned with. He was the perfect person to lead the charge, giving the others a head start. Zhu Yingning would raise motions and questions to advance the meeting. The subsequent consultations and paperwork were split among the three of them.

"Sure." Zhu Yingning said calmly.

Wu Bo was curious: "Why aren't you angry when he does this?" She thought she would tell Xu Sirui to take the competition seriously.

Zhu Yingning laughed awkwardly a few times: "I simulated the process from beginning to end with him last night, but accidentally finished it too late..."

"How late?"

"Until three in the morning."

"I'll go."

Wu Bo thought to himself, Xu Sirui, I misunderstood you. It turns out that it’s not you who is defying the heavens, but the person next to me who can stay up until three in the morning and get up at six thirty the next day and still be energetic.

In the cafeteria, the three of them sat together to eat.

Halfway through their meal, a bright and elegant woman suddenly approached their table. Wu Bo involuntarily averted her gaze. Just when she thought she would pass by, the woman stopped in front of them and said with a sweet smile, "Si Rui, is it really you? I thought I was seeing things during the opening ceremony this morning."

Wu Bo was confused. He turned to look at Zhu Yingning and asked with his eyes, "Who is this?"

Zhu Yingning shook her head, indicating that she didn't know him either.

Looking at the other party—Xu Sirui, picking at peas in his bowl with chopsticks, looked up at the words, his face also showing confusion. After a long moment, he searched the depths of his memory and found a name to put on it: "...Xia Jiayi?"

Xia Jiayi smiled bitterly and shrugged: "Were you wondering what my name was just now?"

Xu Sirui didn't answer.

She didn't mind and started chatting with him: "It's been a long time since we last met. I didn't expect you to participate in this kind of competition."

He finally managed a smile and said meaningfully, "I didn't expect that either."

The two started chatting about this.

Wu Bo watched anxiously from the sidelines. He poked Zhu Yingning's arm, trying to get her attention and make her feel a little more threatened. But Zhu Yingning stared intently at the representative badge hanging around Xia Jiayi's neck and said, "She's the Japanese representative. Great! Since she knows Xu Sirui, during the free consultations, Xu Sirui can go talk to Japan while I negotiate with the other countries in the European debt crisis."

Wu Bo was stunned and immediately reflected on himself, feeling that his thoughts were too limited to petty love.

After lunch, the afternoon competition officially began. After the roll call, the presidium opened the official list of speakers and called the country representatives to the stage one by one.

The first person to come on stage happened to be the Japanese representative that Xia Jiayi was on. She was the one sent by their team. She walked onto the stage, leaned over the microphone, and smiled a standard eight-toothed smile. When she opened her mouth, her voice was like spring water hitting stone, clear and penetrating.

Wu Bo was nailed to the spot by her voice, and a sense of inferiority arose spontaneously. He turned his head to look at Zhu Yingning, but saw that she was listening very seriously, and from time to time she wrote down Japan's position on a piece of draft paper.

2012 was a difficult year for the international financial recovery. The European debt crisis had far-reaching consequences, spreading globally from Europe and becoming the biggest obstacle to global economic recovery. Greece underwent debt restructuring, resulting in heavy losses for its four largest banks. Spain faced the dual dilemma of regional banks and public debt. Portugal faced a difficult debt situation and was poised to follow in Greece's footsteps. European countries were trapped, unable to protect themselves. Furthermore, the US government was equally burdened by debt, with partisan strife hindering economic progress and stubbornly high unemployment. Japan's situation was even worse, with its debt ratio ranking first globally for the past three years.

The economic downturn makes IMF reform urgent, but it also faces many obstacles.

The next representatives to take the stage were divided into two factions. One was from the countries facing the European debt crisis, who lamented the difficult economic situation in their own countries and asked the IMF to provide economic assistance. The other was from the BRICS countries, represented by Brazil and India, who called for greater voice for themselves.

The chaos only subsided slightly when the US representative took the stage. Each country was eager to see the attitude of the IMF's largest shareholder, who held a veto. Zou Hao and his team, the US representative, chose Tan Jingjing as their official spokesperson. She walked onto the stage, her hands resting on the podium as she slowly glanced down.

This is her usual gesture when she talks about things in class.

Wu Bo had always been in awe of the League Secretary, with whom he'd been in the same class for a semester. Tan Jingjing rarely socialized with anyone, buried herself in her studies, her thick glasses acting like a wall separating her from the world around her. When she took the stage to announce the League branch's announcements, her expression was cold, and her booming voice made her look like a shark ravenous for blood. Wu Bo figured this was what was known as aura.

Some people are born with this kind of leadership aura.

She stood on the stage, her chin slightly raised, her voice booming. Her attitude was as vague and arrogant as they had expected. She did not specify whether the United States supported IMF reform. All she said was ambiguous and slick clichés, with sophisticated and authentic diction. Her aura, enhanced by the environment, was a thousand times stronger than usual. Wu Bo, listening from below, wished he could wave the white flag in surrender.

"Aren't you afraid?" Wu Bo asked Zhu Yingning in a low voice, his upper and lower teeth chattering.

She smiled and didn't say whether she was afraid or not. She just said, "Everyone is very good."

Yes, everyone's great, so let's not fight for first, second, or third place. I think competing for a participation award is fine; participation is what matters. Wu Bo wanted to cry, but she couldn't. However, she only dared to say this in her heart, not out loud.

But she soon discovered that her worries were unnecessary.

Everyone was indeed impressive, but Zhu Yingning seemed largely unfazed. She maintained her own rhythm, raising her sign at the appropriate times, and that afternoon proposed two motions to host core consultations.

One of the topics is to promote the realization of IMF quota reform.

One of the topics is the discussion on increasing the capital of the IMF.

Wu Bo didn't quite understand what he said, so she asked Xu Sirui, "How is it? What's the level?"

Xu Sirui folded his arms and smiled, picked up the pen with his fingers and spun it around, saying, "If I were the presidium, I would give her extra points for these two motions."

He said that while the representatives' speeches were full of high-level vocabulary and technical terminology, they had spent so much time merely stating their own positions, essentially running into a wall. The proceedings had actually become stagnant because everyone was too strong-willed and unwilling to yield. Her timing was perfect, subtly advancing the meeting and converging the discussion from the scattered expressions of each country into a common core.

His words gave Wu Bo a reassurance. When she looked at Zhu Yingning again, she suddenly understood what he had said to her before.

"Richness doesn't necessarily mean it's right. You have your own ecology."

In terms of the strength of aura, Zhu Yingning is far inferior to Tan Jingjing, and in terms of the calmness of expression, she is also far inferior to Xia Jiayi.

But what does that matter?

There's not just one way to win in this world.

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The author has something to say: There is only one update today, so I tried to make it a little longer><