As someone who had interviewed countless students over the years, Ding Yujing handled this mock interview with ease.
Starting with a self-introduction was standard.
Given Qiu Xi's excellent English skills and her prior stage experience, the self-introduction was a natural flow, presenting no pressure.
Thus, after a few minutes, Qiu Xi perfectly concluded her self-introduction.
"Mmm," Ding Yujing nodded.
He hadn't expected any issues here; this self-introduction was a definite plus for Qiu Xi.
"Alright, next is a test of your professional knowledge. Let's continue."
He and Old Du had agreed that since it was just the two of them, they would each ask a couple of questions in a back-and-forth manner.
Qiu Xi nodded.
"Go ahead and ask," she thought, confident she wouldn't be stumped.
Ding Yujing then began posing questions to Qiu Xi.
Unsurprisingly, after several questions, Qiu Xi answered them all with remarkable smoothness.
Before they could even finish speaking, the answers would surface in Qiu Xi's mind.
Even for the few advanced questions that touched upon theories and required personal insights, Qiu Xi articulated them with an effortless grace.
About half an hour later, Ding Yujing finally paused.
"Old Ding, what do you think? I already told you, Xiao Xi's professional level is incredibly solid!" Du Bin said with a smile to Ding Yujing after taking a sip of his tea.
He knew his own disciple well.
Once this busy period passed, he planned to continue teaching this child.
In three years, or perhaps even sooner, this child would surely amaze people.
Ding Yujing shot him a glance. "Only you would say that!"
Didn't he know?
They were testing together, yet Old Du was now smiling at the child in front of him...
As the two elders bickered, Qiu Xi acted as if she saw nothing, watching with a beaming smile, feeling quite pleased.
"Master, Teacher Ding, if the interviewers are all like you, won't I just pass directly?" If
Five minutes had already passed. If the interview day was also like this, with the interviewers arguing over her on the spot, she would probably die laughing.
Thinking of this, Qiu Xi couldn't suppress her smile.
"..." Ding Yujing and Du Bin paused.
They were being made fun of?!
"Ahem~"
"Xiao Xi, your Master Du and I were merely having a simple academic discussion, a slight debate. You... shouldn't mind."
"Yes... Teacher Ding is right!"
"..." Now it was Qiu Xi's turn to be speechless.
Was this called a discussion? A debate?
Yes! She understood.
A slight curve to her lips, "...Okay, I understand~"
Master and Teacher Ding were right.
"Mmm~ Well done." Ding Yujing looked at Qiu Xi, raising a hand to feign stroking a non-existent beard, and smiled with satisfaction.
"Alright, her professional knowledge is indeed very solid. No problems there."
"Then let's proceed to the next step."
With that, Ding Yujing took out the teacher information he had prepared.
"Xiao Xi, your Master and I have great trust in you, and securing an interview spot is not an issue. Therefore, we'll move directly to the next step, to give you an overview of our academy's situation and discuss what to do after the interview."
"Yes, Teacher Ding, please proceed. I'm listening."
"This is the information. Take a look first, and I'll talk to you about it later."
Qiu Xi nodded, "Okay."
With that, Qiu Xi picked up the materials organized by Teacher Ding.
The materials didn't seem extensive, with only a few teachers listed.
As Qiu Xi looked through them, she mused that these were likely pre-screened by Teacher Ding; she had done her own research before and found the pool to be quite diverse.
After reading them carefully and cross-referencing with her prior knowledge, she had a good idea of the situation.
"Finished looking?" Ding Yujing asked as Qiu Xi put down the papers.
Qiu Xi nodded, "Yes, I'm done."
"What do you think? Any thoughts?"
Qiu Xi nodded, but remained silent. Instead, she flipped over the paper beside her, spread it out, and pointed directly at one of the sheets.
Both men leaned in to look. "Hmm? This..."
After a glance, Ding Yujing and Du Bin exchanged a look and then smiled.
"Old Du, it seems we don't need to say much. This girl Xiao Xi already has her own ideas."
Du Bin nodded with satisfaction. "Mmm... my little disciple actually has good judgment. Acceptable, I suppose."
"..."
He was being boastful again.
Qiu Xi didn't continue listening to their banter. Instead, she felt a bit curious. "Master, Teacher Ding, what are you two talking about?"
What was so peculiar about this teacher?
They didn't seem that way... Teacher Ding had included him, and considering what they had just said, they seemed quite pleased.
"Nothing, it's just that you, girl, have a very sharp eye, which saves your Master and me a lot of trouble."
Ding Yujing smiled. The teacher Qiu Xi had pointed to was precisely one they had discussed recommending to her.
Now, before they had even begun explaining, she had already made a selection, and it was in such alignment with their own thoughts, which was quite pleasing.
"Oh? Teacher Ding, please explain," Qiu Xi said, now genuinely curious.
"Mmm, I'll explain it to you then." Ding Yujing nodded with a smile.
They were going to explain it anyway, and now that it was expedited and saved them time, he was happy to be at ease.
"But before we start, tell us your thoughts first."
"Mmm," Qiu Xi nodded and began to speak. "Teacher Qi's research interests me, and I've also looked into his teaching methods, which are widely praised. I'm quite interested."
Although she hadn't attended this teacher's classes, she was very curious to experience firsthand the situation where every class was full and students couldn't even find a seat, resorting to sneaking in.
"I've also read some of Teacher Qi's papers. Most importantly, Teacher Qi also specializes in German and Spanish, among other minor languages. I want to give it a try."
This reason was actually quite important; it was her need for the next stage.
"Also, Teacher Qi's requirements are quite strict, taking on only one student per year. He's quite willful, isn't he?" Qiu Xi liked this, though she wondered if there would be an additional student this year.
As Qiu Xi spoke in a continuous stream, Ding Yujing and Du Bin were momentarily stunned.
This child had foresight, and her objective analysis was indeed very accurate.
"Xiao Xi, you've assessed it quite accurately and analyzed your own situation well," Ding Yujing and Du Bin said, very pleased.
This child was becoming more and more promising.
Though she had always been promising...