"Thank you very much, classmate Yu He, for giving such an outstanding speech. Let's see, classmate Yu He's comprehensive score is..."
The host said enthusiastically, reminding the six judges not to forget to score.
"Classmate Yu He, did you stay in the United States before?" Professor Smith asked.
He also used American English, and his pronunciation was exactly the same as Yu He's.
"No," Yu He replied in English.
"Where did you learn your pronunciation? It's too perfect!"
"I didn't specifically learn it. It's just that my former neighbors were Americans, and I learned it from listening a lot."
"Oh, my god, your learning ability is truly amazing!" Smith exclaimed.
If one didn't live in a purely English-speaking environment and hadn't formally learned pronunciation, yet could speak such pure American English, their talent for linguistics was truly high.
Dean Lu hadn't lied to him; this student was indeed a promising talent.
If any students had doubted Yu He's English speech was memorized beforehand, the fluent, back-and-forth conversation in pure American English between her and Professor Smith now completely proved her English proficiency.
Meanwhile, in the backstage lounge.
"Shiyi, why are you speaking up for Yu He?" a female classmate walked up to Pei Shiyi and asked in a low voice.
As far as she knew, didn't Pei Shiyi look down on Yu He as a competitor?
Pei Shiyi replied with a calm expression, "She's very capable!"
At first, like everyone else, she had a preconceived notion that since Yu He came from the mountains, her academic performance must be poor.
Now, having witnessed Yu He's speech and her fluent interaction with Professor Smith, she was convinced!
"Are you two still unconvinced?" Lu Chenyu stared at Gu Ze and Lan Jiaojiao, warning them, "Classmate Yu He is not only good at English; her grades in other subjects are also not bad. Don't always judge people by their appearance, jump to conclusions without knowing the full picture, and spread rumors, which seriously harms Kaiwei's school spirit."
Gu Ze's face turned ashen. "Her English is good, that's all! Her performance in other subjects is likely not that great!"
How could the education level in impoverished mountainous areas lead to good grades?
"Stubborn!" Lu Chenyu's face darkened, and his voice deepened. "You two will apologize to Yu He when she comes. If she forgives you, this matter will be over."
What if she didn't forgive them?
Would this matter continue?
Gu Ze suddenly realized the seriousness of the situation.
Lu Chenyu had already broken off ties with him for Yu He. What else was he capable of doing?
He recalled that Kaiwei had two spots for direct admission to Harvard University each year. Previously, Lu Chenyu had intended to give him one spot, and they would go abroad together after the college entrance examination next year.
At this point, he couldn't afford to fall out with Lu Chenyu...
"If that country bumpkin's grades are truly as impressive as you say, why is she in Class 11? If she has the ability to get into Class 1, I'll kneel down and apologize to her in front of everyone in Class 1!" Lan Jiaojiao exclaimed, stomping her feet.
Seeing this outcome, with her likely having the lowest score among the twenty contestants, her face burned with embarrassment, and her eyes were filled with resentment.
She had anonymously recommended Yu He precisely because she wanted Yu He to make a fool of herself.
In the end, she had paved the way for Yu He, and she herself had become the clown!
Now, she was being told to apologize to Yu He. A surge of anger shot through her.
As soon as she spoke, Lu Chenyu's face turned so dark it looked like it could drip ink.
Everyone looked at her as if she were an imbecile. How could someone with such low emotional intelligence be in Class 1?
Lu Chenyu had offered her a way out, yet she was still being so defiant, truly not respecting the identity of the second young master of the Lu family?!
Even Gu Ze unconsciously distanced himself from her slightly.
On stage.
The host had received the final scores from the six judges and announced, "Then let's see classmate Yu He's score..."
"No need for scoring! I declare that the 'Campus Belle' of this year is classmate Yu He!" Professor Smith interrupted the host.
The host glanced at the scoring results and then smiled, "Professor Smith has excellent judgment! The six judges gave classmate Yu He a score of 99, the highest score of the evening! The reason for deducting one point is that the speech was not original."
"Congratulations, classmate Yu He, on winning the 'Campus Belle' title of this year! Please give your acceptance speech."
The host handed the microphone to Yu He.
"Thank you to the academy for organizing this event, which gave me the opportunity to stand on this stage. I also thank everyone who recommended me for the preliminary selection."
Yu He paused here, her clear gaze sweeping across the stage before finally settling on the host. She continued, "Opportunities on stage are fair. Therefore, I would like to recommend the classmate with the lowest score in this competition to dance for everyone, giving her another chance to perform. Is that okay?"
Although it was a question, the host inexplicably felt a sense of irrefutability.
"I think this is a good idea. Then please invite that classmate to the stage," Professor Smith agreed.
The audience below was completely bewildered. What was going on?
"Why are you asking me to dance? I won't!" Lan Jiaojiao, pushed onto the stage, protested indignantly.
"Didn't you recommend me to participate in this event because you wanted us to mutually benefit on this stage, and then you could recommend me?" Yu He retorted.
"Who wants your kind of mutual benefit?!" Lan Jiaojiao flared up.
Her dance foundation was poor, and her limbs were uncoordinated. Dancing in front of everyone would only lead to embarrassment.
"Oh, so the person who anonymously recommended me to participate is you," Yu He said indifferently.
If she wanted to know who had anonymously recommended her, she could find out with a simple move by checking the code.
She was deliberately provoking Lan Jiaojiao.
"You! I... I didn't! You... you stop talking nonsense!" Suddenly exposed in front of everyone, Lan Jiaojiao stammered incoherently.
"Whether it was Lan Jiaojiao who recommended her, I don't know, but she's the one who told me to vote for Yu He," a classmate below said at this moment.
"Me too. She said classmate Yu He's English level wasn't good, but she was still so motivated, so she should be supported."
"Me too."
"Me too!"
Quite a few people raised their hands one after another to echo this.
"So, from the beginning, classmate Yu He didn't want to participate in the 'Campus Belle' selection, and Lan Jiaojiao deliberately pushed her onto the stage?"
"What was her intention?"
"She went around telling people that Yu He's English was bad, and then deliberately canvassed votes for her. Wasn't she trying to make Yu He look foolish?"
"Now it's a slap in the face."
"Don't say it, my face still hurts."
"..."
The students present were in a heated discussion. Lan Jiaojiao's face burned, unsure if it was from shame or anger.
They had clearly promised her that they wouldn't tell anyone that she had canvassed votes for Yu He!
"This student's character is problematic!" Professor Smith commented.
This single comment struck Lan Jiaojiao like lightning, leaving her thoroughly scorched.
Would she still be able to smoothly advance to Kaiwei's university department in the future?
Professor Smith's tone shifted. "However, acknowledging and correcting mistakes is a great virtue. You will dance for classmate Yu He as an apology, and don't do such things again in the future."
At this point, Lan Jiaojiao had no choice but to dance, whether she wanted to or not.