Chapter 40 First Prize! (Two chapters combined)
After the speech, Gu Yin went backstage. The expressions on the faces of the people in the room were quite interesting, ranging from resentment and jealousy to anger and other complex emotions.
When everyone first entered the backstage area, they didn't take Gu Yin seriously at all. She was wearing unfashionable clothes and had silly-looking hair. She looked like she came from the countryside. How good could someone from the countryside be in English? Her accent was thick and local. Unlike them, who had been exposed to English since childhood and had even received special training, they thought, "One is like an elephant, the other is like an ant. There's no comparison." But they were proven wrong. No one here thought they could compare to her. Everyone was very dissatisfied.
Gu Yin didn't think too much about it. She went backstage and walked out, through the crowd, to where the Gu family was sitting.
Li Mengxin moved over to let her sit outside.
Although I've heard Gu Yin practice many times at home, none of them have been as wonderful as this one.
"You were absolutely fantastic! When you were standing there answering the judges' questions, I felt like you were glowing! I'm so proud of you!" Li Mengxin said excitedly, holding Gu Yin's hand.
Gu Yin was a little embarrassed: "It's not that exaggerated, I just performed normally. By the way, where did Teacher Cai go?"
"She left after watching your game. She must have something to do. Wait a bit, she should be back soon."
Hearing this, Gu Yin nodded and remained silent, leaning back in her chair and quietly watching the contestants' speeches on stage.
After watching one contestant, the host intervened and switched the conversation. Gu Yin turned to look at the other side of the aisle and quietly looked at the other person: "Uncle, you've been staring at me ever since I sat down. Is there a problem?"
The man, caught off guard, turned away awkwardly, glanced around, then turned back, slightly bending down, and whispered, "I'd like to ask where you learned English? Which tutor helped you?"
Gu Yin shook her head: "No training, I learned it on my own."
The man, clearly not a man of honor, scoffed, "You're from the countryside, where did you learn to be? What good will it do you to tell me? The more students you have, the more money your instructor makes! He'll be happy to see you blocking your instructor's guest like this."
Gu Yin turned her head away and ignored him: "Believe it or not, it's up to you."
Seeing her like this, the man mocked, "Are you worried that my son will be better than you after he goes there? Are you afraid he'll take away your privileges? Are you afraid my son will surpass you? Are you even afraid the teachers will find out someone is smarter than you and give up on you? Isn't that right? Admit it! That's exactly what you're thinking! Haha! I've finally realized you're a despicable person!"
"Are you going to keep babbling on and on? Try saying another word and I'll throw my shoe at you! What kind of nonsense is it to bully my granddaughter? Come and argue with me if you dare! I can hear your schemes from miles away, you little brat! Your son, who's practically wetting his pants on the platform, can compare to my granddaughter? You're blind as a bat!"
Gu Yin had closed her eyes to rest for a while and didn't pay attention to the sparse sounds coming from the side. But then the old man's voice came from in front of her, which startled Gu Yin!
Gu Yin looked down and saw the old man bending over, holding a cloth shoe in his hand, hiding behind the chair, and unleashing a barrage of attacks on the person.
Gu Yin smiled helplessly: "Grandpa, there are so many people here, let's ignore him and sit back down, your legs are going to go numb from squatting!"
When Gu Jianguo saw his granddaughter open her eyes, he chuckled and said, "Did I wake you up? Then Grandpa will go back to his seat. You rest well, we'll ignore him!" After saying that, he waved his shoes at the man, put them on, and squatted back to his seat.
The man looked pale and was almost furious! If there hadn't been so many people around, Gu Yin guessed he would have stood up and shouted, "Rude!"
That's exactly what the man was thinking. He usually interacted with cultured and refined people like himself. Being scolded like that by an old man from the countryside, he didn't know how to respond and could only hold it in, feeling upset and resentful!
Gu Yin took a short break, and then her speech ended. The other contestants' speeches were only about a third the length of Gu Yin's. If nothing unexpected happened, they were all able to finish in a little over an hour.
After reviewing the information, the judges began to announce the winners.
The Gu family members gripped their chairs nervously. Although they knew their daughter spoke better than the others, they still couldn't be sure until the very end.
When Gu Yin's name was called and she won first prize, the Gu family members all stood up and cheered. Gu Yin hugged her family and then walked onto the stage. She was very calm, after all, it was expected. She was more concerned about how to go to the city library to collect information for 001 in the afternoon. The city library requires a library card to enter, and she didn't know where to get one in a short time.
A total of four contestants won awards. In addition to the top three, there was also an Outstanding Encouragement Award, which was meant to comfort and encourage the fourth-place winner to keep up the good work.
After the four people stood in place, the host said with a smile, "Next, Judge Ma from the Organization Department will come up to present awards to the outstanding contestants!"
The person took the certificate and came to Gu Yin: "Gu, you are exceptionally talented! Keep up the good work, don't be arrogant, and study diligently! We hope to see your brilliant performances on more stages in the future!"
Gu Yin smiled and nodded: "I will remember your teachings!", then reached out and took the certificate and trophy.
After the awards ceremony, the host asked each of them to say a few words about the competition.
Gu Yin took the microphone, smiled, and looked at the audience: "Go all out, leave no room for retreat! The future is promising!" Then she looked at the Gu family members and Teacher Cai Yu, who had arrived at some point: "I will live up to your expectations!" After speaking, she handed the microphone to the next person.
Li Mengxin, sitting in the audience, rubbed the corner of her eye and smiled, saying, "Our efforts have finally paid off, Teacher Cai. Thank you so much! If it weren't for you, Ayin wouldn't have known about this competition, wouldn't have had the opportunity to come here, and wouldn't have won an award. Thank you so much for your guidance!"
Cai Yu felt embarrassed, as she hadn't been able to help much. She said apologetically, "It's all thanks to Gu's own hard work! She's incredibly talented! You parents also really supported her participation in the competition. If any part of us had held her back, today's result might have been different. If we really want to thank someone, we should thank ourselves!"
Gu Yin received the award and was about to leave when someone called her back.
"Gu, please wait a moment!"
Gu Yin turned around and saw that it was the English group leader of Jiangshi Ganmin Middle School, who was also a judge. So she stopped and walked over.
Qin Xiangyi put on her coat, walked up to Gu Yin, and looked at her clear and calm eyes, which showed no excitement. She smiled and said, "It seems that this award was within your expectations."
Gu Yin smiled: "I signed up aiming for first place. If I didn't even have that confidence, there would be no point in me coming here."
Qin Xiangyi nodded: "Ambitious and hardworking, that's fantastic! By the way, which school do you go to?"
"Wanli Town No. 2 Middle School".
Are you in your final year of junior high?
Gu Yin shook her head: "No, is it for the first year of junior high?"
Qin Xiangyi hesitated for a moment: "Then can you transfer to a school in the county?"
Gu Yin blinked: "If I'm not a student from the county, does that mean I have no chance to get into your school?"
Qin Xiangyi nodded and sighed: "It's very difficult. Only the top students in each county have a chance. It's extremely difficult for students from your town. For example, if your grades are the same as those of students in the county and you meet our school's admission standards, but they can produce some certificates, then the spot will be given to them, and you will lose it. Moreover, certificates are also graded. Arts and literature certificates don't count; national-level certificates are the best. If someone's grades are slightly lower than yours, but they have national-level certificates, then we will give them priority in admission. Do you understand?"
Gu Yin understood, of course. The best high school in the entire province was Jiangshi High School, which gathered the best students in the province. Once you got in, as long as you didn't do anything stupid, you could basically get into university. The better the school, the higher the requirements. Students from their town never even dreamed of going there. However, a boy in Gu Shu's class suddenly had a breakthrough in the second semester and got in with the third-highest score in the county. The boy was originally from Lijia Village, but his father was able to buy a house in town, so the whole family moved to town. They would often go back to the village to farm.
Gu Yin nodded: "I understand, teacher. Transferring to a school in the county is very difficult. None of my family members have county household registration, so we can't go." Although we don't need to own a house now, we must have household registration. Her whole family has rural household registration, which cuts off their hopes. But she doesn't think that she can't get into Jiang High School while she's in the town's No. 2 Middle School. She has a lot more time than others, and she also has the help of the system. As long as she works hard, she will definitely get an admission notice from Jiang City when she graduates.
Seeing that Qin Xiangyi wanted to say something more, but the Gu family was getting a little anxious, she interrupted Qin Xiangyi: "Teacher, I have confidence in myself, so please don't worry! See you at Jianggao in three years! I hope you will teach my class English then! My family is getting impatient, so I won't take up any more of your time. Goodbye, teacher!" She nodded and then left.
Qin Xiangyi smiled helplessly: "Then goodbye, Jiang Gao!"
Gu Yin waved behind her.
Upon seeing Gu Yin return, Cai Yu stepped forward and asked nervously, "What did the judges want with you? Do they think there's something wrong with your ranking?" The rest of the Gu family also became nervous.
Gu Yin didn't know why they thought that way, and said helplessly, "No, the teacher just cared about my studies and told me not to be arrogant and to study hard and down-to-earth."
Hearing her say that, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Gu Jianguo looked at Cai Yu and said, "Teacher Cai, it's lunchtime. Let's go to a restaurant outside and have a meal together. We've been busy for so long and must be tired. We've already made reservations!"
Cai Yu shook her head: "I want to go too, but I can't. I have some things to take care of back home. You guys go eat! After you eat, take your time to explore the city. You can go to the bookstore and buy some materials for next semester's courses!"
"No matter how urgent the matter is, you have to eat first before dealing with it. How can you handle it on an empty stomach!" Gu Jianguo didn't understand.
Cai Yu's fair face flushed slightly, and she said a little shyly, "My family introduced me to someone and asked me to go and meet him, so I really won't have a chance to eat this meal."
Hearing her say that, the Gu family smiled kindly. Li Mengxin grabbed her wrist and said, "This is a major life event. We won't hold you back. We wish you find your Mr. Right!"
Cai Yu nodded shyly, then left first.
After she left, Gu Yin realized she had forgotten to ask her how to get into the library. Oh well, she'd figure it out herself later.
After lunch, Gu Jianguo and his team didn't linger and went straight back to the construction site, as they still had work to do in the afternoon.
Seeing that Li Mengxin was a little sleepy, Gu Yin gently suggested, "Mom, why don't you rest at the hotel for a bit? I'll go check out the library up ahead and be back at three o'clock. Then we can go home together, okay?"
Li Mengxin had originally wanted to take a nap, but upon hearing her daughter's words, she immediately stood up: "How can you go out alone? You're still so young! I'll go with you, let's go!"
Gu Yin almost forgot that she was only twelve years old now, not the independent Gu Yin who was 32 years old in her previous life.
"Okay, let's sleep for an hour first, then go over there after we wake up. We'll take the bus back at four o'clock. If it's late, we can stay another night. Is that alright with you?"
Li Mengxin nodded: "Okay, the bus doesn't stop until six o'clock, we'll get back to town by four and it'll still be light by five, that's fine!"
After Li Mengxin fell asleep, Gu Yin asked 001 to redeem the reward for her.
001 flew out: "100 points in the whole county, 2 points reward, completed. All level 1 system shops are open. First prize in the city English competition, 3 points reward, completed. How do you want to allocate them now?"
Gu Yin didn't respond. Instead, she opened the mall. The previously gray parts had all turned blue. The mortal world, the cultivation world, the apocalypse, the interstellar world, Western mythology, the immortal world, the ancient world, and many other worlds were all blue. Gu Yin tried to open the apocalypse button, but as soon as she clicked it, a sharp pain shot through her head, and she lost consciousness.
Looking at the unconscious Gu Yin, 001 sighed helplessly: "I didn't even have time to explain the rules to you, and you recklessly went to try it yourself! Luckily I was here, otherwise you would have been reincarnated by now!" After saying that, he took out the Rejuvenation Pill from Gu Yin's Sumeru Mustard Seed and fed it to her whole.
After a while, Gu Yin slowly woke up. Looking at 001 floating in front of her, she tried to move her head and found that the stinging pain was gone. She asked in confusion, "What happened to me?"
001, hands on hips, angrily said, "What the hell did you click on? You didn't even ask me before you clicked! If I wasn't here, you'd be finished! Those were just the various small worlds within the Great Thousand Worlds! Your spiritual power isn't even enough to read the mortal realm, yet you want to leapfrog to see the apocalypse! You're too audacious! I'm telling you clearly now, in this world, you can only open the mortal realm; you can't open the other worlds! Those are for mission takers to complete missions to open! And mission takers must be baptized by the main god! Understand?"
Gu Yin nodded thoughtfully: "So only those who complete the quest can click and enter those worlds, right?"
001 nodded: "That's right!"
Gu Yin blinked, then reached out and touched 001: "I understand, thank you 001. By the way, I put all five of my points into the Luck Value!" She had a plan for this winter break to boost her luck.
001 took flight and changed the points: "Bound to: Gu Yin"
Stamina: 70, not bad (would collapse in a strong wind).
Intelligence: 65, so-so (better than an idiot).
Beauty, 50, just passing grade (the beauty elixir of the cultivation world is worth having).
Luck, 37 bad (Keep it up, unlucky host!)
"Okay, that's enough."
Looking at those numbers, Gu Yin knew she had a long way to go. Only by upgrading these values to normal levels would she dare to save points to upgrade the store; otherwise, those few points would be of no use at all.
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