"Young lady, you spoke very well!" the old man praised, then asked, "How long have you been exposed to these?"
The girl's logic was excellent, and her explanation was easy to understand.
The key was that throughout her entire explanation, anyone with a discerning eye could tell that she was knowledgeable and had her own thoughts, not making things up or fabricating on the spot.
The old man's words conveyed admiration, and everyone looked at Qiu Xi with astonishment.
However, the young lady did not become complacent. Instead, she replied to the old man's question with neither humility nor arrogance, "I've been learning from my master for two years."
"Is that so... Hmm?"
"Young lady, you learned from your master?"
The old man, realizing this, was a bit surprised and somewhat dejected.
Such an excellent student already had a teacher?
With Qiu Xi's statement, almost everyone present knew that this master was not an ordinary teacher, but someone with a legacy.
Qiu Xi nodded with a smile, "Yes, I learned from my master."
"Alright..." It seemed he was out of luck.
"Young lady, what you said just now was very good. Would you like to come and sit up front?"
The old man's words clearly indicated his intention to have Qiu Xi continue to hold the fort.
"This..." Qiu Xi hesitated.
If it weren't for Zhen Zhu, she might not have had to answer at all. Now, being invited so suddenly, Qiu Xi felt a little conflicted.
The old man saw through the young lady's thoughts at a glance and continued with a smile, "It's alright. You just need to be responsible for speaking. If you can't, you can hand it over to someone else."
"Alright, then... I'll give it a try?"
The old man's eyes lit up with a smile. "Good! Let's try!"
As they spoke, Qiu Xi lifted her foot and walked towards the center of the arena.
She was young, and even if she was just there to make up the numbers, no matter what, there wouldn't be any problems.
Instead, if she didn't go up now, she might regret it later.
So, it was better to go up. Opportunities like this to learn were not common, were they?
And so, Qiu Xi replaced the old man in the position of the so-called initiator and began to interact with everyone.
Soon after she sat down, someone threw out a topic.
This was one of the rare opportunities for the young lady to get noticed!
It wasn't that they were bullying the young lady for her age; who told her to agree so readily to sit there!
It had to be said that they acknowledged her previous statement, but that wasn't an excuse for them to hold back.
Therefore, after Qiu Xi was ready, the questions came one after another, all sharp.
As time went on, Qiu Xi's brow furrowed tighter and tighter.
This offensive had not been seen since the old man started.
It seemed that everyone truly believed that this young lady couldn't hold on for long.
However, she was precisely the type of person who grew stronger with adversity. As long as she could still speak, she would never be silent.
So, just as everyone thought the young lady was about to give up, Qiu Xi became even more adept at handling the situation.
This made people wonder if she had deliberately hidden her true abilities in the previous situation.
If that were the case, wouldn't their earlier approach seem like a joke?
For a moment, the scene gradually became much quieter, and fewer people spoke up.
Qiu Xi sat there, beginning to relax, even finding time to take notes, which was truly infuriating.
However, no one still had any desire to continue the discussion.
Seeing this scene, Zhen Zhu, sitting above, remained speechless for a long time.
For the first time, she felt a little ridiculous.
Qiu Xi's previous indifference to her indeed had some reason behind it...
Also, her "dimensional reduction attack" seemed to be quite debilitating!
She felt that she was not far from being useless herself...
Recalling what Teacher Cheng had said the previous night, Zhen Zhu looked at Qiu Xi with even more vacant eyes.
So, she had seen through it long ago, and it was only her who was foolishly self-important.
In this brief moment, Zhen Zhu had a different thought.
From then on, she seemed like a changed person. She no longer looked around, her hands moved much less, and in short, she was exceptionally quiet.
...
Qiu Xi sat at the front, and gradually, no one discussed with her anymore.
After waiting for a long time, she could only look at the old man beside her helplessly, hoping for a response.
The old man looked at Qiu Xi, his eyes shining like he had found a treasure, and then dimmed again...
The young lady already had a master...
"Old sir?" After a long silence without a response, Qiu Xi felt a bit puzzled.
"Um..." The old man snapped back to reality and turned on the microphone. "If everyone has no further content for discussion, then our title exchange will end here..."
As soon as the old man finished speaking, the people in the hall started chatting amongst themselves.
They weren't discussing academic issues but the topic of seeing such a formidable young lady today.
"The young lady is too amazing. She's said all there is to say; we have nothing else to talk about."
"Yes..."
When everyone lost face together, it wasn't considered losing face!
They admitted defeat to someone inferior, especially to a young girl.
They couldn't let people think they were petty and mock the young lady!
This was not the demeanor of someone engaged in academics!
"Young lady, your knowledge is very solid. Would you like to visit the next venue for further discussion?" someone smiled and invited Qiu Xi to continue networking.
"..."
Qiu Xi smiled politely, "You flatter me. This is the only thing I'm good at."
Her master was passionate about researching this, and even at his age, he stayed up late occasionally. She had learned a bit by following him.
Coupled with her own interest, she was able to perform as she did earlier.
If she were asked to theorize about something else, it might not have been the same...
"Alright, let's not trouble the young lady anymore. Let's move on to the next title."
Seeing that the young lady truly had no intention of continuing, someone next to her intervened.
Qiu Xi smiled and nodded, expressing her gratitude.
It wasn't until the crowd gradually dispersed that Qiu Xi finally breathed a sigh of relief and returned to her seat to pack her things.
"Young lady~"
"!!!"
The old man's call almost sent Qiu Xi away!
Turning to look at the person still sitting behind her, Qiu Xi calmed herself down, "Old sir, why haven't you left yet?"
"Come, let's exchange contact information. We can communicate about academic issues when we have time in the future."
Since he couldn't take on a disciple, becoming a friend across generations was also good!
Look at this young lady, intelligent and bright, with many ideas. Communicating with her made people feel much more at ease.
"That's easy," Qiu Xi said, taking out her phone and adding the old man's contact information.
"Alright~"
"Well, this old man won't disturb you any longer."
Saying this, the old man left with a smile.
Seeing this, Qiu Xi also put away her phone.
Packing the items on the table into her bag, she should also go and find another place.