Contest
Zhu Shiyi returned to his dormitory.
"How did it go?" Ni Yuqi turned to the side. "Was it added or not?"
Zhu Shiyi gave a muffled "hmm" and went back to his seat on his own.
Ni Yuqi probably sensed something was wrong, and lowered her voice, asking, "What's wrong?"
"I participated as Xiao Yuhan, without using my own name," Zhu Shiyi said, her voice low.
"Isn't that just getting something for free?" Ni Yuqi sat up in surprise. "Why did you agree to that?"
"She said she'd treat me to hot pot." Zhu Shiyi hadn't finished speaking.
“What’s the point of a hot pot meal?” Ni Yuqi interrupted impatiently. “What we want isn’t just a meal.”
“Yes,” Zhu Shiyi explained helplessly, “but she said that if I pass the provincial competition, my name can be added to the national competition.”
Ni Yuqi calmed down a bit: "Then is this considered a violation?"
“She said she had asked the teacher and it wouldn’t affect anything,” Zhu Shiyi replied. “She also said that several groups had this situation, and the organizers wouldn’t interfere.”
Ni Yuqi pursed her lips: "No wonder that person withdrew at the last minute."
Zhu Shiyi remained silent and nodded.
She remembered Xiao Yuhan's words.
"I really didn't mean to leave the project team. But I had no choice. The notice from above came too suddenly, and I didn't want the efforts of the other two team members to go to waste."
"Most importantly, if we win an award, we still have a lot of work to do. We can share the work and add your name to the list, wouldn't that make it even more legitimate?"
“Consider it exercise,” Zhu Shiyi sighed. “Anyway, I won’t lose out.”
......
The match is about to begin.
Zhu Shiyi tried hard to familiarize himself with the draft, but found that the content of the draft differed somewhat from the PPT materials.
She asked two other group members in the group, and they said that the content of the article was not their responsibility.
They also said that this project was a gold medal project in another elite competition, and there would be no problem with the PPT materials.
Zhu Shiyi was anxious, so he ran next door to ask Xiao Yuhan.
In contrast, Xiao Yuhan had an excellent attitude and spoke very humbly.
“I didn’t even notice that. Indeed, I also think it would be smoother if you changed it that way,” Xiao Yuhan affirmed, smiling amicably. “Shiyi, you’re so thoughtful. You can just change it directly.”
You can't hit someone who's smiling.
Zhu Shiyi didn't have time to dwell on her previous feelings towards Xiao Yuhan: "But they said in the group that the information is fine."
Xiao Yuhan said it was fine: "If you find any problems, feel free to fix them. We absolutely don't mind. I'll just talk to them."
Zhu Shiyi was finally relieved.
Zhu Shiyi corrected a minor problem, but his perfectionism got the better of him. No detail was spared, and even long passages of text were not immune to the same error.
The PPT layout, content extraction, and a whole host of other elements were all under Zhu Shiyi's control.
This revision took until well past midnight.
Zhu Shiyi went to bed, tossing and turning.
Half an hour passed, and I was still not sleepy at all.
She simply got up and started reading the manuscript.
I looked and read until 3 a.m.
He knew the speech by heart.
The drowsiness has passed.
Zhu Shiyi felt physically tired.
I recall that short passage from the opening remarks.
"I am the speaker, Xiao Yuhan."
Before she knew it, a wave of drowsiness swept her into a dream.
A night of light sleep.
The next morning, Zhu Shiyi was woken up by the alarm clock.
She clicked her tongue habitually, then suddenly opened her eyes wide.
She quickly sat up, climbed out of bed, washed up, changed clothes, and put on makeup all in one go.
She had never been this efficient since starting university.
Competition venue.
Zhu Shiyi was surprised to find Xiao Yuhan and Xu Mengyao standing together.
She went up to greet them.
Xu Mengyao's eyes showed surprise: "Shiyi, what are you doing here?"
Zhu Shiyi didn't know how to explain it for a while.
“Shiyi, please do it for me,” Xiao Yuhan said directly, affectionately taking Zhu Shiyi’s arm. “We agreed that I would treat you to hot pot tonight.”
Zhu Shiyi nodded.
She was bothered by the unfamiliar touch on her hand, but she couldn't turn around and leave.
...
On an early autumn morning, the sun shines warmly on my skin.
Zhu Shiyi, however, was nervous.
With the sun shining down, she wasn't in the mood to worry about not having an umbrella or sunscreen.
She simply took out her speech and began to read it aloud.
He withdrew his arm without making a sound.
It was time to enter soon.
Zhu Shiyi had intended to read the prepared notes, but the speaker on stage was speaking with great enthusiasm and passion.
She couldn't bear to look at the manuscript anymore, so she looked up at the podium.
Their group's number was just right, not too early or too late.
The competition also includes a Q&A session with the judges.
In the first few groups, the judges did not ask any difficult questions.
Soon it was Xiao Yuhan and Xu Mengyao's group's turn.
Their group has six people, and the main speakers are Xu Mengyao and Xiao Yuhan. Xu Mengyao is the group leader in charge.
Xu Mengyao has always been very hardworking. Since starting university, she has participated in almost every activity and competition, and her GPA in her major courses has always been among the best. Her performance is naturally outstanding.
Xiao Yuhan was also quite good, answering questions meticulously.
After he finished speaking, the judges in the audience applauded, showing expressions of satisfaction.
After the thunder subsided, it was Zhu Shiyi's turn to go on stage.
With slightly damp palms, Zhu Shiyi took a deep breath and straightened his back.
She quietly wiped her leg with her palm before grasping the microphone.
"Respected judges, dear classmates, good morning. I am the speaker from Group Six..." Zhu Shiyi paused, "...the main speaker."
She still couldn't bring herself to say the name that didn't belong to her.
It's better not to say anything. Xiao Yuhan just appeared in the previous group, and now there's another person with the same name in this group. It's suspicious at first glance.
"Our group's project is on the economics of traditional Chinese medicine food."
"In today's society, people's pursuit of health is increasing. Data shows..." Zhu Shiyi flipped through the PPT, glanced up to confirm the data in her memory, and then spoke more fluently about the project plan.
The explanation proceeded as usual.
After finishing his closing remarks, Zhu Shiyi bowed deeply.
The applause from the audience was lukewarm.
Zhu Shiyi gently pursed her lips.
It was time for the judges to ask questions.
As is generally customary, it is best for all group members to take turns answering the questions asked by the judges.
Groups where only one person answers may have their "teamwork" score lowered.
The judges first asked two fairly standard, detailed questions.
Group member Li Xiaohong answered the first question, and Zhu Shiyi answered the second question.
The judges nodded and posed the third question: "Traditional Chinese medicine food is an emerging industry. You have planned three stages, focusing on the initial stage."
"If you want to expand your advantages, you must broaden your market. But then, with competitors entering the industry, how will you leverage the advantages of your project?"
Cai Jiarong's face was tense.
She was to answer the third question.
This issue was outside the scope of their data collection and thinking.
According to the rules, you are allowed 30 seconds to think about each question.
Half of it has already passed.
Zhu Shiyi's mind raced as he searched for keywords.
Advantages during the initial stage.
Thirty seconds passed, and Cai Jiarong had no other choice but to pick up the microphone and grit her teeth and start making things up.
"I think, expanding the market..." she cleared her throat, speaking more smoothly, "...while also increasing advertising and ensuring product quality..."
There was a moment of silence on the stage.
Zhu Shiyi glanced sideways and noticed that Cai Jiarong's eyes twitched slightly, blinking countless times in just a few seconds.
It's normal for students to be nervous in student competitions, and the judges are used to it and didn't rush them.
Zhu Shiyi, however, caught a fleeting twitch between the judge's eyebrows.
The judges asked whether the industry could survive the initial stage and usher in a period of explosive growth.
How can individual businesses win in the market?
Zhu Shiyi was startled.
She discovered that their group's proposal confused the concepts of "industry" and "enterprise".
My heart sank, as if I understood the outcome.
She straightened her mind a little.
Pan Yue's speech suddenly came to mind.
After years of development, the camping brand has once again carved out its own niche.
"Continuous innovation," Zhu Shiyi suddenly picked up the microphone and added.
In emerging industries, every action taken during the early stages is an innovation.
In the mature stage, all companies are pretty much the same, so how can one stand out?
"Brand characteristics," he answered first, "We take brand development as a strategic goal of the company."
"The economy of traditional Chinese medicine food is still in its infancy. As you just said, what we should do is expand the market."
Zhu Shiyi cleverly incorporated industry content into the company's planning: "Therefore, we talked a lot about products and channels, these are essential industry plans. All of this is to enable more consumers to accept the Chinese medicine food industry."
The judges looked up.
When Zhu Shiyi was being stared at, he mustered his courage and spoke calmly and deliberately:
"If this economy can truly mature, then what we need to do is focus on brand characteristics and reputation. First of all, we are an established brand in the early stages of the economy, which inherently possesses brand value."
“Besides being an ‘established brand,’ we can build brand advantages in many other ways. For example, as our group members just mentioned, product quality and marketing.”
"And then there's pricing. We can further segment the market, offering different services for different consumer levels. For example, afternoon tea restaurants, milk tea shops, and convenience store products could create a price tier..."
When the scheduled time was up, Zhu Shiyi bowed deeply and stepped down from the stage.
Xiao Yuhan and Xu Mengyao gave her a thumbs up.
The other two group members also quietly sat down. But they didn't look at Zhu Shiyi; they just chatted amongst themselves.
Zhu Shiyi touched the tip of his nose, feeling inexplicably embarrassed.
Her intuition told her that the two group members had a problem with her.
Then came the announcement of the rankings.
There are a total of 10 groups of contestants. The competition has one first prize, one second prize, and two third prizes.
Teams that win awards can advance to the national competition.
Zhu Shiyi was secretly looking forward to it.
The second prize was awarded to students from other schools.
The third prizes were awarded to two groups: one from a fellow student whose members were strangers, and the other from a group from another school.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Shiyi felt a slight lump in his throat.
She took a deep breath and shook off that affectation.
We were already warned, so what's there to be sad about?
Anyway, she didn't put in any effort in this competition, did she?
The first prize went unsurprisingly to Xu Mengyao's group.
Xiao Yuhan clenched her fist excitedly and cheered with her good friend sitting next to her, her face beaming and her cheeks bulging.
Zhu Shiyi clapped along with the crowd.
Next, the rankings for the remaining groups were announced.
Zhu Shiyi's group, number six, was ranked after group eight, which meant they were in sixth place.
At noon, the moment Zhu Shiyi stepped into the outdoor area, a burst of bright light shone directly at him, making it impossible for him to open his eyes.
“Shiyi,” Xiao Yuhan followed behind her, holding an umbrella over her, her voice brimming with excitement, “Let’s go eat hot pot together.”
"Actually, it's not necessary. We didn't get a ranking," Zhu Shiyi said, barely able to open her eyes under the umbrella. "I wasn't of much help either, so you don't need to spend any money."
"It's alright, we made a deal, you really helped me a lot." Xiao Yuhan hooked her arm around Zhu Shiyi.
"It's mainly because it's a bit hot to eat hot pot at noon." Zhu Shiyi just wanted to be alone for a while, so she made up another excuse.
“Then let’s do it tonight,” Xiao Yuhan suddenly waved and called out, “Jiarong, Xiaohong, let’s take a picture together.”
Zhu Shiyi perked up slightly.
She couldn't have a deadpan expression when it was time for a group photo.
When they reached the autograph board, Xiao Yuhan handed the umbrella to Zhu Shiyi and took out her phone: "Shiyi, can you take a picture of the three of us?"
Zhu Shiyi was stunned.
"Three, two, one."
Zhu Shiyi took a picture of the three of them all by himself.
Xiao Yuhan claimed she needed to speak with her teacher, took her umbrella and phone from Zhu Shiyi, and left.
Cai Jiarong and Li Xiaohong left without saying a word to Zhu Shiyi.
She was left alone, exposed to the sunlight.
My neck and shoulders felt warm, but my chest felt like an ice pop.
The scorching sun burned her, causing her to melt and melt again.
The mission failed to achieve its intended goals, expectations were dashed, and inexplicable hostility arose.
My vision is blurred.
A shadow quietly fell, and a clean tissue landed in my palm.
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