Although this was Tong Tong's competitor, she still had to maintain the grace and demeanor expected of her.
After the two introduced themselves, the host directed them to the contestants' seats.
Contestants and special guests were seated together, occupying seat number one.
Following this, the host introduced the second contestant and their special guest, continuing this process until the seventeenth contestant.
When everyone saw Yun Duo'er paired with the seventeenth contestant, the applause was particularly enthusiastic.
It was evident that Yun Duo'er was well-loved by the audience. Liu Yifeng, looking at the woman speaking on stage, found her uninteresting and turned his gaze elsewhere.
By the time they reached the twenty-third contestant, Gao Yuan appeared, and the audience erupted once more.
Gao Yuan was the goddess in the hearts of many men, and seeing their goddess on stage now, how could they not be excited?
Gao Yuan also greeted everyone with great enthusiasm. Standing beside her was her teammate, a fifteen-year-old girl who was fluent in three languages and currently studying abroad. She had specifically taken leave to participate in the competition.
The host's lips were nearly parched by the time they introduced the thirtieth contestant.
Up to this point, the oldest contestant was sixteen years old, and the youngest was nine-year-old Song Yicheng.
Although the contestants varied in age, none of them were ordinary. They had all won international awards and were handpicked.
Tong Tong's appearance, however, caused the audience to go wild.
Had they misread? A child this young?
Even the host, when announcing Tong Tong's name, thought he had misread. How could such a young child possibly be in this competition?
It wasn't until Tong Tong appeared on stage that he had to accept the reality of such a young contestant.
Tong Tong's introduction stated: "Proficient in painting, calligraphy, and mathematical calculation."
The audience below found it hard to believe.
Such a young child was likely just starting kindergarten. Mathematical calculation? They'd be lucky if he could count to a hundred.
However, when Tong Tong introduced himself, his words flowed so smoothly and articulately that he certainly appeared more exceptional than the average child, at least in his ability to express himself, far surpassing his peers.
As for Xia Qianqian, no one paid much attention to her, as she wasn't a well-known figure.
Xia Qianqian, having finished her introduction, was not displeased by the subdued reaction from the audience. It was normal for her to have no fame at this stage.
After Tong Tong and Xia Qianqian took their seats, the host continued, "All contestants and guests have now entered the venue. Once again, let us welcome them with thunderous applause."
As the host finished speaking, everyone began to applaud. Liu Yifeng looked at Tong Tong, seated at an elevated position diagonally opposite, and waved with a smile.
Tong Tong saw his father and waved back. The camera then focused on the father and son.
Yun Duo'er also noticed Liu Yifeng's gesture and guessed he was greeting Tong Tong, who was seated behind her. However, she did not turn to look.
They were currently on camera, and she could not do anything that would draw attention to herself and Tong Tong.
Otherwise, if anyone were to investigate them, the fact that Tong Tong was her son could easily be exposed.
Therefore, the best course of action was to not look at Tong Tong and treat him as a stranger.
After crying, Tong Tong felt much calmer when he saw Yun Duo'er again. Even though his mother didn't look at him, he didn't feel sad anymore.
Father was right. Without Mother, he still had Grandpa and Father. Having them was enough.
Since Mother didn't want him and didn't want to acknowledge him, he would act as if he didn't have a mother.
"This is the first time such a program is being held in our country. Each contestant is a gifted individual with their own unique strengths. We hope they will shine brightly on this stage and perform at their best.
Next, I will explain the rules of the competition. There will be a total of three rounds of competition, with each round consisting of three stages.
The first stage tests memory. We will play a video on the big screen, and contestants will provide the corresponding answers based on the video's content.
Each person will have three chances. We will record who takes the shortest time and answers the most questions correctly to determine their ranking.
The top sixteen contestants will directly advance to the next round. The remaining sixteen contestants will enter a preliminary round, where twelve will advance and four will be eliminated.
Good luck, everyone!
Now, let us invite contestant number one, Zhou Yutong, to the stage!"
Upon hearing her name, Zhou Yutong immediately stood up and walked towards the stage.
Her expression was unreadable, showing neither nervousness nor confidence. She reached the answer desk, took a deep breath, and then nodded to the host, indicating she was ready for the question.
"To ensure fairness and impartiality, contestants will select their own questions. There are thirty-two questions displayed on the big screen. Please, contestant Zhou Yutong, choose one."
After reviewing them, Zhou Yutong unhesitatingly chose the first question.
As contestant number one, she wanted to select a corresponding question, hoping it would bring her good luck.
"Alright, please look at the big screen!" As the host finished speaking, an animated clip appeared on the large screen.
The screen showed a bustling market scene, with people coming and going.
There were elderly people, children, middle-aged men and women, and even animals.
The scene lasted for about ten seconds before fading out.
The audience below looked bewildered, unsure what was being tested.
When the host's question was announced, everyone's eyes widened.
"Listen to the question: In the scene shown, how many elderly people were there?
A. 5, B. 6, C. 7, D. 8. Please answer."
"This question is too bizarre! Who could possibly remember the exact number of elderly people? In a ten-second clip, at least fifty to sixty people appeared, along with various animals, confusing things. Who would pay attention to the number of elderly people!" one audience member couldn't help but grumble.
Others were equally stumped; they had no idea.
"Yicheng, do you know how many elderly people there were?" Yun Duo'er asked softly.
Song Yicheng replied smugly, "This is so easy! Only an idiot wouldn't know. There were seven elderly people in total."
It wasn't just Yun Duo'er asking. Other special guests were also inquiring of their teammates, each providing their own answer.
Xia Qianqian was no exception. She asked Tong Tong, and his answer was the same as Song Yicheng's.
However, it was Zhou Yutong's turn to answer, so everyone's attention was focused on her, awaiting her response.
Zhou Yutong's mind rapidly replayed the scene she had just witnessed. In just thirteen seconds, she announced her answer: "I choose C, seven people!"
The audience below didn't believe Zhou Yutong could actually remember and were all waiting for the host to reveal the answer.
The host looked at the answer on his card and replied, word by word, "The answer is C, seven people. Congratulations, student Zhou Yutong, you answered correctly! Please take your seat. We invite contestant number two, Gu Li, to the stage."
Xia Qianqian was overjoyed to see Tong Tong answer correctly. Tong Tong was truly amazing; he could remember such things.
If she had to answer, she would have just guessed blindly because she truly didn't know how many elderly people there were.
It wasn't just her who was happy. Most of the special guests were pleased because their teammates had also gotten it right, which suggested that handling the subsequent questions wouldn't be too difficult.
Only a few were wearing long faces. Having gotten the first question wrong, how would they manage the rest?
Contestant number two, Gu Li, took the stage. He saw that the first question had been replaced and, instead of choosing it again, opted for his lucky number, the eighth question.
The host instructed him to prepare, and a different scene appeared on the large screen.
This time, it showed twenty addition and subtraction problems, but without the answers. However, the problems were very simple.
Again, the scene lasted for fifteen seconds, and many hadn't even finished looking at the problems before the screen went blank.
Although they didn't know what kind of questions would be asked, they suspected they would be more difficult than the previous one.
The host looked at the question in his hand and said, "Listen to the question: In the twenty mathematical problems just shown, how many of them resulted in an answer of thirty-five?
A. 6 problems, B. 7 problems, C. 8 problems, D. 9 problems! Please answer!"
This question completely stumped everyone present, even more so than the previous one.
This time, they hadn't even finished reading the problems, let alone calculating the answers to twenty equations. The difficulty was far greater than counting the elderly people.
Liu Yifeng, having taken the body-strengthening pills developed by Tong Tong, also had memory-enhancing effects.
This question was not difficult for him.
He quickly calculated the answers to the twenty problems using the images he remembered. He just wasn't sure if the contestant could answer correctly.
Many contestants were already silently calculating the answers, and Gu Li was no exception, his brain working at full speed.
For him, with his super-powerful brain, this was nothing.