Chapter 121 - Wagers

Chapter 121: Wagers

At the hotel.

Qin Jiatong’s eyes were red as she separated from Teacher Chu.

“Teacher, don’t worry. I’ll be fine in a while. It won’t affect tomorrow’s competition.”

The students who had gathered around also came forward to comfort her.

“Qin Jiatong, are you alright?”

“Jiatong, don’t think too much. This was never your fault.”

“That’s right. You were also deceived by those two people. How can I blame you?”

At the beginning, Teacher Chu had thought the same way.

However, after listening to Qin Yiyi and Captain Xu’s words.

He had been thinking about one question along the way.

Bad people would not have “BAD” written on their faces.

Those who looked like good people, crying a few times, begging one or two times to get everyone’s sympathy, were definitely good people?!

People who clearly did not know the real inside story, what right did they have to stand on these matters?

As he was thinking, Qin Jiatong suddenly looked at him with red eyes.

“Teacher Chu, are you also blaming me for causing trouble for everyone?”

“Jiatong, how can you say that? This matter isn’t your fault at all. It’s not your fault.”

“Right, Jiatong, don’t worry. Teacher Chu definitely won’t think that way.”

“That’s right. It wasn’t your fault to begin with.”

Teacher Chu looked at the students who were surrounding Qin Jiatong and trying to comfort her. They were even trying to put on a high hat for her.

It was both funny and infuriating.

They were trying to put themselves on a high pedestal. Could they not criticize Qin Jiatong anymore?

Each and every one of them had a good plan!

How great would it be if they put all their attention on their studies?

Shaking his head, he only looked at Qin Jiatong and the others. “Alright, Hurry up and go back to your room to rest. You need to gather your spirit and focus on the competition tomorrow.”

“Alright, thank you, Teacher Chu.”

After the group of people left.

After some thought, Teacher Chu went to Qin Yiyi’s room.

He didn’t go in either. He only knocked on the door.

“Qin Yiyi, are you there?”

No one answered.

A hotel staff member walked over and reminded him with a smile.

“Sir, the guest in this room shouldn’t be here. If you don’t have anything urgent, could you come back later?”

“That’s fine.”

After thanking him, Teacher Chu returned to his room.

There were two teachers in one room.

The other teacher was reading a book when he heard the commotion at the door,

“You’re back. How are you? Are you alright?”

“What could be wrong? It’s just a child’s mistake. Furthermore, it has nothing to do with them.”

These words were what the other teachers were thinking in their hearts.

Therefore, when Teacher Chu went to the police station to collect people, they did not follow him.

It was not a big deal.

Teacher Chu glanced at the other party, nodded, and sat on the sofa at the side in silence.

The other party did not pay much attention to it, while Teacher Chu glanced outside from time to time.

Where did Qin Yiyi go?

Why didn’t she come back?

Qin Yiyi didn’t leave the hotel. She was in Shang Jingheng’s presidential suite.

She was watching anime and soap operas.

She was slumped on the sofa eating snacks. When she turned her head, she could see Shang Jingheng’s picturesque face.

Qin Yiyi thought, ‘Oh my, these days, I’m like a God!’

Yes, of course, in Qin Yiyi’s heart, these days were something she wouldn’t even exchange for godhood.

Just as she was thinking this, the big screen of the television flashed and turned black.

“Ah!” Did the power go out?!

She turned over and sat up, only to see Shang Jingheng looking at her with a faint smile.

She was a little unhappy. Looking at this jade-like face in front of her, she felt that it wasn’t so pleasing to the eye anymore.

“I’m just watching it with gusto. What are you doing?”

Although it was said to be a soap opera to kill time, but one had to be dedicated to one’s work.

One could not give up halfway!

Shang Jingheng directly pretended not to see the resentment in her eyes.

“You’ve been watching for forty minutes. You need to rest.”

With that, he handed over the flower tea that he had asked someone to brew earlier, his expression calm,

“Drink this tea. It’s good for your eyes.”

Qin Yi unwillingly brought it over to drink a few sips, then turned her head to face Shang Jingheng and arched her eyebrows.

“Let me finish watching that. As a human being, you can’t quit in the middle like this.”

Shang Jingheng looked at her with amusement.

“Is this how you give up halfway?”

Qin Yiyi nodded like a chick pecking on rice. “Yes, yes, yes, that’s how it is. Just a few minutes, just a few minutes?”

“Rest for ten minutes, and then I’ll play it back for you.”

He pointed at the television and very seriously explained to Qin Yiyi.

“This is connected to the internet. You can switch the program freely within seven days.”

Qin Yiyi,”…”?You’re awesome!

Dinner was eaten outside.

Qin Yiyi did not want to go out, but unfortunately, she was coaxed out by Shang Jingheng with food and his face.

The two of them went to a private restaurant.

Looking at the dishes that were being served one after another, including the dishes, they were all exquisite and elegant.

Even the toothpick box that was placed at the side was custom-made.

Qin Yiyi looked at Shang Jingheng in amusement.

This person had put in a lot of effort to make her happy.

Her eyes flashed as she calmly picked up a piece of braised pork elbow.

“Eat more. You’ve lost a bit of weight. Take care of yourself.”

Shang Jingheng couldn’t help but smile as he nodded. Then, he ate whatever she picked up.

He didn’t reject anything.

After dinner, the two of them casually walked around outside for two rounds before returning to the hotel.

Shang Jingheng sent her back to her room.

“Rest well. I’ll send you over tomorrow morning.”

Qin Yiyi shook her head and refused.

“You do your thing. I’ll go with teacher and the others.”

Although she didn’t care about the gazes of those students and the discussions behind her back, there was no need to be special if they could go together.

Besides, Shang Jingheng definitely had other matters to attend to when he came over.

She waved her hand at him.

“Wait until I’m done with my competition and you’re done with your work.”

If it was possible, she wanted to take a good stroll around the imperial city afterward!

The next morning, she woke up at 7 AM and ate for half an hour.

She arrived at the competition venue at 8:10 am.

The rules of the competition were simple and crude.

Three and a half hours to draw the most touching painting, showcase their skills, color matching…

Every student got a cubicle.

Just enough to make sure they couldn’t see others and avoid being affected.

Qin Yiyi felt very good. She went through the gate to receive her pass, and checked her paints and brushes.

The clock ticked down to 8:30.

As one of the judges gave the signal, more than 100 students, including Qin Jiatong and the others, took a nervous breath and lowered their heads.

They started to draw.

Qin Yiyi was the only one who didn’t start drawing immediately.

She just sat in her seat with her eyebrows slightly lowered, staring at the drawing board beside her with an indifferent expression.

She seemed to be thinking about something.

But at the same time, she seemed to be emptying out everything…

In the monitoring room.

Some of the judges had already noticed the situation on her side, and a hint of surprise flashed across their eyes.

Why did this little girl seem to be in a daze?

Was she more than capable or…

Qin Yiyi was still sitting there without moving even when the competition had already started for more than half an hour.

The judges, who had divided their attention to her, saw that the other students were all nervous and busy in an orderly manner.

Only Qin Yiyi was sitting there without moving…

One of the judges frowned, and there was a hint of displeasure in her eyes.

“What’s wrong with this girl? She’s sitting there without moving. Why did you ask her to come?”

Some of the judges beside her looked over when they heard this.

“What’s wrong? Let me see.”

The video could be replayed.

Then, it was replayed all the way from the start to the current time.

The teachers were a little speechless.

“This little girl is quite good-looking, but is she really here to compete?”

Three hours.

They were worried that everyone didn’t have enough time, and the other contestants were all nervous and racing against time.

But she…

An hour passed in the blink of an eye.

Qin Yiyi was still there, not moving.

The judges and teachers had already given up on looking at her.

Using the words of Teacher Zhu who had first discovered her, this should be a fake, right?

Forget it, forget it, there were plenty of good seedlings!

Instead of this one who was angry at herself, it would be better to observe the other contestants.

If there was a suitable one, she might even be able to recruit one as a disciple!

Two hours later.

There were already people who couldn’t sit still and were obviously nervous.

Some students had even started to stand up and walk back and forth in front of their own drawing boards.

This kind of emotion was easy for the teachers to understand.

They had sat for too long.

Their emotions were tense. If they couldn’t vent or balance well…

Then, it was very likely that they would fail their drawing…

The teachers looked at each other and became more and more serious.

The more calm a contestant was at this moment, the better their psychological quality would be!

Occasionally, some teachers would look at Qin Yiyi.

Then, the next moment, they laughed.

“This little girl is really steady. Look, she’s still choosing the paint. Look at her energy…”

“What’s the use of being steady? Have you seen her lift a brush up until now?”

“I’m afraid she’ll just randomly draw a few strokes and submit the manuscript, right?”

Everyone was talking.

Qin Yiyi slowly stretched her back.

She raised her head slightly, and her eyes, which were not smiling, stared at a certain spot.

It was just a glance.

This gave a shock to the two teachers who happened to look in her direction.

One of them retracted his gaze with a whoosh.

“Thi-this, could she have discovered us?”

“How is that possible?”

The one who spoke was the female judge teacher who had noticed Qin Yiyi first.

Her tone was filled with indifference, and it was even filled with deep displeasure, “This is the position of the camera that we had specially chosen. Moreover, it is semi-concealed, so as not to let those contestants know and affect the performance of the competition.” After saying this, she paused for a moment and raised her hand to point in Qin Yiyi’s direction. “Look at her. From the beginning until now, she has been sitting there without moving. It’s obvious that she has used a backdoor. I already feel that it’s a miracle that she hasn’t slept, yet she still discovered us?”

“Sigh, Teacher Zhu, don’t say that. Maybe this child really hasn’t thought things through.”

A simple-looking middle-aged man laughed and spoke.

“She’s just a child. It’s normal for her to not perform well.”

Teacher Zhu laughed.

“Teacher Lu, are you not trusting my judgment?”

She glanced at the other party and did not wait for the middle-aged judge teacher to say anything else. Instead, she directly said, “Teacher Lu, let’s make a bet, shall we?”

“I bet that this girl’s drawing won’t even get 60 points. No, as long as she can get 50 points, then you win, Teacher Lu.”

When Teacher Zhu said these words, she had a smug look on her face. Her tone was arrogant and provocative.

“How is it? Do you dare?”

Teacher Lu glanced at her and frowned.

“Teacher Zhu, we are the judges of the competition. How can we bet on our students?”

“What’s wrong with that? It’s not a bad thing.”

Teacher Zhu’s nonchalant tone was filled with provocation. “Or are you saying that you don’t dare? I remember that your teacher just lost to my teacher some time ago. So what? As a disciple, you are also afraid of losing, so you learned from your teacher and became a coward. Oh, are you an ostrich?”

“Teacher Zhu, watch your tone!”

No matter how good Teacher Lu’s temper was, when the other party’s words insulted his teacher, his face darkened, “As a judge teacher, you have to be responsible for your own words.”

“Haha, what I said is the truth. What’s the big deal? Are you saying that you don’t dare to?”

“I know that you are a teacher and a disciple… as the saying goes, I am a hero. What a pity…”

What’s a pity?

Naturally, it was the opposite of what she said.

Teacher Lu’s eyes were filled with rage as he stood up.

“Teacher Zhu, if you dare to insult my teacher again, don’t blame me for being impolite!”

That was his father-like elder!

Seeing that the two of them were about to quarrel, the surrounding teachers tried to stop them.

“Alright, alright. Everyone is here to work. Harmony begets wealth. Harmony begets wealth.”

Teacher Lu didn’t intend to say anything else and was prepared to sit back down.

Firstly, arguing with a woman wasn’t his style.

Secondly, the time and place weren’t right!

Thirdly, even if he really won the argument, his teacher wouldn’t be happy.

Instead, he would scold him for not doing his job properly!

However, just as he sat down, Teacher Zhu chuckled.

“Teacher Lu, if you win this time, how about I apologize to your so-called respected teacher on behalf of my teacher?”

“I’ll personally visit your teacher and apologize to him.”

“How about it? Do you want to compete?”

Teacher Lu suddenly sat up, her eyes staring at Teacher Zhu.

“Is what you said true?”

“Of course it’s true!”

Teacher Zhu looked at her expression and chuckled, “However, if this contestant doesn’t score 50 points, then you have to apologize to my teacher. Of course, you can also give up your spot to participate in the foreign exhibition next month.” She raised her eyebrows, with a smile, she continued, “You can’t just not take out any bets, right? There’s no free lunch in this world, right, Teacher Lu?”

“Teacher Zhu, don’t say too much…”

“Teacher Lu, let’s take a look at the students here…”

Some people wanted to persuade her, while others stood at the side to watch the commotion. At the same time, they were also secretly gossiping.

“Why does it look like Teacher Zhu is targeting Teacher Lu?”

“Sigh, you guys don’t know that some time ago, these two teachers came from different painting schools and had some conflicts… look, this Teacher Zhu is defending her teacher against injustice, but doesn’t she look a little ugly?”

She ignored the murmurs of the teachers around her.

Teacher Zhu just looked at teacher Lu with a sneer, “How about it? Do you dare or not?”

Her gaze was filled with disdain and contempt.

She looked at Teacher Lu as if she was looking at an ant that could be trampled to death at any moment!

This made the veins on Teacher Lu’s forehead bulge.

He slammed the table in fury and gritted his teeth.

“Let’s bet!”