The afternoon's exchange meeting dragged on, and it wasn't until a significant portion of the time had passed that Ding Yujing's session finally concluded.
His first action after finishing was to find Qiu Xi.
"Teacher Ding, you..."
"You! Don't speak yet!" Ding Yujing looked at the young girl before him, nearly scared out of his wits just moments ago.
This Qiu Xi!
No matter how capable she was, she should have understood that You Nai was not simple!
"Did you read the materials I gave you before coming, or do you think you're so amazing that you don't need to consult with me..." Ding Yujing still felt a chill when he thought about it.
He was afraid that the girl would be brought to tears by that ill-tempered old senior.
After all, this old gentleman was not to be trifled with. He was a person deeply devoted to his academic field, just as he had been when he was young, across so many sessions.
Who knew that when he saw Qiu Xi step forward earlier, he was terrified that she would be so demoralized that she would never attend such an event again.
After all, this wasn't the first time such a situation had occurred. There was a case from the previous session, and it was said that person still lacked the courage to stand on this grand stage...
Qiu Xi looked at Teacher Ding, whose expression was a bit off. The excitement she had felt just moments ago completely vanished.
She had forgotten that she hadn't even shared this idea with Teacher Ding...
"Teacher Ding, please don't be angry... I have all the materials memorized. You know me. If I truly lacked confidence, I wouldn't have gone up there."
She had thought it through carefully and only decided to go forward when she felt confident.
After all, at such an event, if the first person to step forward were to be embarrassed, it would be truly difficult to recover. Especially when that old gentleman was so difficult to speak with.
However, after this exchange, Qiu Xi also discovered that the stern You Nai actually had a gentle side, otherwise, he wouldn't have given her a chance to back down when she stepped forward.
Ding Yujing glanced at this thoughtful student and muttered, "If I didn't know you, I wouldn't have held back just now; I would have gone up and pulled you away!"
Honestly, if he hadn't known Qiu Xi well, had faith in Du Bin's students, and more importantly, had faith in Qiu Xi herself, he might have indeed walked up and dragged her away.
It wasn't easy to nurture such a promising talent...
"Alright!"
"Don't smile like that. Be more careful from now on. If you have any more ideas, tell me first, so I can rest assured..."
Seeing Teacher Ding's demeanor, Qiu Xi quickly nodded.
"Teacher Ding, please rest assured, I will definitely be careful!"
"Mm..."
"But speaking of which, you did a good job..." He should speak his mind, and he should praise her. He was no less shocked by Qiu Xi's actions than anyone else.
It seemed Du Bin was right; this child had truly grown up...
"Hehe~" Qiu Xi smiled faintly. "Thank you for the compliment, Teacher Ding~"
With the issue resolved, she began to feel a little joy again.
"Teacher Ding, your demeanor in that battle of wits earlier was also very impressive, super cool!"
With her mood lifted, Qiu Xi didn't forget to offer the praise she had prepared.
"Mm... that wasn't simple!"
"Come, tell me, how do I compare to your master, who among us..."
Ding Yujing, perhaps a little too pleased, was about to start reminiscing about the old man back in China...
"Teacher Ding, if you don't say it and I don't say it, how will Master ever know?"
"Hahahaha!"
"You mischievous girl, don't let your master find out!"
"Hehe~" Qiu Xi giggled sheepishly.
She wasn't like this in front of her master!
She was a proper and excellent disciple, just occasionally a little playful!
"You two, teacher and student, are happy, but this exchange meeting is almost over, and you're still standing here!"
At this moment, Wang Zhihong, who had just returned from interacting with others, found the teacher-student duo of Ding Yujing and Qiu Xi quite amusing.
Qiu Xi glanced at Xi Weimu, who was following behind Wang Zhihong, and then asked Wang Zhihong, "Teacher Wang, are your discussions also finished?"
She had seen the two of them, teacher and student, walk out together earlier and had planned to follow and take a look, but before she could even take a step, her teacher called her back.
She hadn't expected that they would finish talking in such a short time.
"You girl, the two of us naturally finish quickly, unlike you. The momentum you had when you first went up, many people below were watching."
"When I walked over with Weimu earlier, I heard many people talking about you. You girl has really made a name for yourself this time!" Recalling what he had heard, Wang Zhihong couldn't help but sigh, truly a woman who could compete with men, a promising child!
"Thank you for the compliment, Teacher Wang~" Qiu Xi replied with a smile.
"Let's go, we'll head over first."
"Okay."
Saying that, Qiu Xi and Xi Weimu followed the two teachers to catch the last bit.
...
It wasn't until the sky outside darkened that the exchange meeting here finally concluded.
Qiu Xi noticed that most people, mindful of the occasion, tried to avoid being overly critical and engaged in harmonious discussions.
Although it lacked a bit of the spirit of exchange and debate, achieving such great harmony was not easy.
Towards the end, a few teachers and they themselves murmured that such a harmonious scene was, to some extent, also for tomorrow's summary.
Leaving a bit of suspense for tomorrow, allowing the younger generation to uncover it, was also a good opportunity.
After all, the older generation would eventually step down from this stage, and if the younger generation could take over, they would naturally be happy.
Although this wasn't the thought of most people, some even didn't want to leave opportunities for others' descendants.
However, undeniably, when their own descendants were involved, they could often take a step back, thus satisfying everyone.
...
"The sky is getting late, and our exchange meeting for today will also come to a temporary close."
"Everyone's performance has been brilliant, and we eagerly anticipate the performance of the younger generation tomorrow."
"..."
After the host finished speaking, the venue gradually became noisy.
After a long day, there was so much they wanted to say, and now they could finally speak.
As the crowd dispersed, Qiu Xi and her group finally made their way out.
"Teacher Ding, are we going back now?"
"Yes, directly back." Ding Yujing nodded. "Tomorrow is your stage. Today, let's go back early to sort out dinner, and then you should discuss with your respective teachers. Tomorrow, you should all try to present yourselves."
Opportunities like this were rare, and being able to go up was a good thing.
Especially since most of those going up tomorrow were from the younger generation, and they were all young people, so there was no need to fear anything.
After all, they were still young, could still make mistakes, and still had time to improve.
As long as they could overcome this, the rest would not be a problem.
"Okay..."
As soon as a teacher mentioned this topic, Ma Qinshu fell silent.
Although she had been prepared, when the moment arrived, she still felt a bit nervous and a little timid.
"Alright, we're not back yet, so let's not say too much here. Let's go back first."
"Okay."
With that, the group took a car back to the hotel.
...
At the school hosting the event –
After all the participants in the exchange meeting had left, the observers behind the partition slowly began to prepare to depart.
"Sitting here all day is really tiring!"
"Yeah! My neck is so sore! I've been sitting here all day, and my posture has stiffened quite a bit..."
"But it was worth it, to have the chance to see so many influential figures at once."
"Yes, that's true."
"Many names I've only seen in literature, or in books, or heard from seniors..."
As many people stood up to leave, they chatted about what they had seen and thought, feeling that they had gained a lot.
"But the person who impressed me the most is that girl named Qiu Xi. She looks even younger than us..."
"Yeah! She's so amazing!"
"Right! She actually dared to be the first one to go up, and the person sitting opposite her was the elder Mr. You Nai!"
"Yeah! The key is her questions and answers, they were really to the point and beautifully articulated."
"Mm~"
"Alisa, why aren't you speaking?" Two girls were talking enthusiastically, but they noticed that their companion hadn't said a word.
"I'm looking at her photo. She's really! So beautiful~"
The girl named Alisa turned her phone towards them, showing them the photo on her phone.
A beautiful and academically gifted person, how could one not like her?
"Alisa!"
"Where did you see this?" The two girls looked at her phone in surprise.
"Alisa, can you send me a copy of this photo?"
"Sure~"
"But I didn't find it myself; an Eastern friend sent it to me."
She had friends studying and exchanging ideas there, and as soon as she mentioned it to them, she received the photos at the end.
"She's really, I'm so envious~"
"I like her so much!"
"She's truly outstanding~"
In a gathering of talented individuals, to have someone so prominent, so young, so beautiful, and ultimately an academic achiever, would indeed attract them.
In this venue, they were also part of the younger generation, and they inexplicably liked her.
Mainly, she was simply too outstanding!
"She'll be here again tomorrow. It would be great if we could take a photo together. I want to show it off to everyone!"
"Mm..."
Besides them, many others present were also drawn to Qiu Xi.
... It had to be said that due to this incident, Qiu Xi had inexplicably become popular within this small circle.
And the person who was about to gain fame had just returned to the hotel, preparing to address the common problem of three meals a day.
"Everyone, hurry up. This is the last night, keep going~"
Seeing her teacher still reminding them while they ate, Qiu Xi smiled and immediately showed support for her teacher.
"Okay, we'll definitely keep going!"
"Good..."
After saying that, their ordered dinners also arrived, and the famished people immediately started eating.
...