Su Yue only truly realized how embarrassing she had been the previous night on the second day.
“Why didn’t you stop me!” she glared at the other three in the dorm. All three claimed innocence.
“You didn’t do any groundwork, you just said…”
“But I think Officer Chen was a little interested in you at first. I saw you clinging to him and he didn’t seem to mind.”
Yes, things had been going quite well. It was her own fault for speaking out of turn.
But Su Yue didn’t have the luxury of dwelling on it. She had a lot of classes today, and with a week left until the beginning of next month, her debate competition was fast approaching. On top of that, her homeroom teacher insisted she host the department’s singing competition later that month.
So, these awkward feelings gradually dissipated amidst the busyness. After a few days, Su Yue even felt like the party that night, her words, and even Chen Ziming’s presence were just a dream.
It was the day of the campus finals for the debate competition.
Early in the morning, Su Yue gathered with her teammates. The topic for this debate was which was more important: journalistic ethics or news value. Su Yue’s team had drawn the position that news value was more important.
This was not an advantageous situation for them. In debates, topics often had an inherent bias. For example, with this topic, many people’s first reaction would be that ethics were more important.
However, as a debater, one absolutely could not be guided by such thinking. Su Yue was majoring in journalism and aimed to be a reporter to uncover news. Therefore, this topic was undoubtedly a challenge for her.
Around one o’clock, Su Yue headed to the auditorium in Zhuo Yuan Building to participate in the debate. On the way, she met Li Niannian and Chen Cheng, who were there to spectate.
“Do a good job, okay? Uncle Chen Cheng will also be coming,” Li Niannian said on the way.
Then, she moved closer and added in a low voice, “Take this opportunity to change his impression of you.”
Su Yue suddenly stopped, looking at Li Niannian with disbelief. Why would he come?
Seeing her reaction, Li Niannian explained, “He was giving his final lecture this morning. We ran into him, and I invited him to come along. Who knew he’d agree? He went back to his office first, though, and will come over this afternoon.”
Su Yue felt a wave of anxiety, and a fine sheen of sweat broke out on her skin. She wanted to say something, but her teammate called her from ahead.
She decided not to think about it anymore. The debate was the most important thing. She hastily bid them farewell and hurried to catch up with her teammates.
The auditorium lights illuminated the stage. Su Yue was wearing the school suit she had worn to dinner that day. Her long hair was tied back into a high ponytail. She put on her gold-rimmed, round glasses and stood in the fourth position, which happened to be on the outermost edge of the stage.
She focused intently on her notes, silently reciting her prepared closing remarks several times and reviewing potential questions from the opposing team.
As people gradually filled the seats, Su Yue was fully absorbed in the debate and didn’t notice Chen Ziming’s arrival. He sat in a seat by the edge in the fifth row, a position that offered a clear view of Su Yue’s face.
With everything ready, the debate began. After the host announced the topic, the first speakers for both sides started their opening statements.
It was clear their position was easily shaken. From a moral high ground, there were always a thousand ways to criticize. Fortunately, their team had prepared for these criticisms in advance.
They cited a classic image, the photograph of a vulture standing next to a dying child in Africa, as an example: “If Kevin Carter had only wanted to save the child and not taken this photograph in time, he would have saved one child. But the pitiful children of that land would have lost the opportunity to be seen, and there would have been no subsequent humanitarian aid or global concern. From this, it can be seen that the impact of valuable news is far more extensive and important than the realization of your temporary moral principles.”
The opposing team, naturally, was not convinced. They had now entered the free debate stage. Both sides exchanged words, their verbal sparring filling the entire hall with a tense atmosphere.
Su Yue joined the fray at this point, her demeanor calm and collected. She had already summarized the opponents’ lines of reasoning during the previous two segments and had formulated a counter-attack plan for the present moment.