CHAPTER 379: CHAPTER 379: RESULTS

On stage, Ji You had already begun to process the materials.

Gao Jie was an extremely proud person. Apart from his parents, elders, and a few professors at school, he admired no one. Even the rising star Xu Siyu did not impress him as being stronger than himself. However, as he spent more time with Xu Siyu, feelings beyond mere friendship towards her blossomed in his heart, which is why he couldn’t stand to see Xu Siyu mistreated.

Gao Jie’s action today was essentially to stand up for Xu Siyu.

Otherwise, he truly disdained the idea of competing with a junior.

If he lost, it would be embarrassing.

Even if he won, it would still be embarrassing since others would think he’s bullying the younger and weaker.

Of course, this was just an example. Gao Jie never believed that he could lose.

Thus, seeing Ji You starting her work, Gao Jie furrowed his brow, displeasure written across his face, but then he thought since the competition had begun, he decided to let the results speak for themselves. After winning against Ji You, he would have her apologize to him in person.

So, Gao Jie also approached the workbench and started his own crafting.

minute.

minutes.

minutes.

...

As time ticked away, Ji You, who had been completely focused on her task without a single distraction, finally stopped her hands and smiled after safely packing the three portions of processed materials.

In fact, processing materials and creating handicrafts share similarities. Handicrafts mostly rely on inspiration and handwork, with only a little help from tools for assistance.

But processing materials is more than just using hands; it requires numerous advanced tools for assistance. This not only tests one’s understanding of the materials but also their proficiency with various tools.

On this note, Ji You was at a disadvantage. She began earlier than Gao Jie, but ended several minutes later than him.

Upon seeing Ji You stop her work, Gao Jie lifted his chin and said, "Finally stopped. I watched your processing earlier; your techniques were quite clever. During critical moments, you relied on skill to prevent the materials from collapsing. But constantly using tricks only shows that your fundamentals are a complete mess. Miss junior, after the competition is over, I suggest talking less and spending more time improving your basics."

Ji You: "..."

Ji You slowly curved her lips and said, "Thank you for your concern, senior. I admit that indeed, fundamentals are my only shortcoming and inadequacy. Compared to a senior with such profound foundational skills, I certainly stand no chance. But—I still request that senior talk less, or even stay quiet. Let’s have the three professional teachers and three fair classmates judge the final result."

Snappy retort!

If it wasn’t for maintaining her own image, Ji You really wished she could tell Gao Jie to shut up.

Gao Jie lifted his chin, full of pride: "Fine."

Next—

Jiang Tong, Xia Dong, and Shi Yin, the three classmates, immediately took the materials processed by Ji You and Gao Jie for testing.

Gao Jie stood up straight, maintaining a proper posture. Tall and handsome, at that moment, he was like a perfectly genteel young nobleman, moving gracefully.

And Ji You?

Ji You lacked any sense of image, loosening her arms and legs right in front of everyone. To maintain her focus, she barely moved except for her hands. So she was really feeling the stiffness all over.

Ji You kept swinging her arms and legs, and after finishing that, she even did some radio calisthenics. So... while waiting for the results, everyone watched Ji You stretching out her limbs:

On stage, the five bodyguards whispered stealthily:

Sheng Qingyan raised his hand to his forehead: "Spicy Eye indeed—"

Yue Qiyuan silently shook his head: "A sight most distressing—"

Yue Qiguang glared and cursed: "This idiot, can’t she just stand still properly?"

Shen Changqing opened his mouth then, half a second later, closed it again: Discussing others’ rights and wrongs in their presence was not the upbringing he had been given.

Chu Jiaojiao was different from everyone else. Her eyes sparkling, she clutched at her chest: "Classmate Ji You is truly beautiful, with strong abilities, generous actions, yet not bothered by minor details. Her movements are as fluid as clouds and flowing water, elegant and natural, indeed the world’s most beautiful person."

The four others: "..."

The four discreetly shifted away, putting some distance between themselves and Chu Jiaojiao.

Below the stage:

"Ji You, what is this performance about? Is she trying to energize everyone with an impromptu show because the wait is too dull?"

"So hard on the eyes."

"Can she please stop?"

"When will the results be out? I don’t want to watch her monkey around anymore. What did my eyes ever do wrong?"

...

All of a sudden—

The notification sound indicated the results were in.

Everyone stopped and fixed their gaze on the three students holding the reports.

—Who lost in the end?

At the judges’ table, Director Wang, who had kept a very low profile since entering, suddenly said, "Bring the results here."

No one objected to Director Wang’s command.

Then, the three students brought the results over; Director Wang glanced at them first, showing no expression, and then he handed the results over to Professor Ye Hong sitting next to him.

Professor Ye Hong read them without a word.

Then, he passed them on to Professor Jiang Yulan.

Professor Jiang Yulan took them, read them, and a smile briefly appeared at the corner of her mouth as she said, "Hmm, not bad."

Not bad?

Who’s she referring to?

Ji You? Or Gao Jie?

The ambiguity of Professor Jiang Yulan’s words led to wild speculation, causing considerable discomfort. Students in the audience were nearly craning their necks, eager to get a closer look at the results.

Fortunately, the judges didn’t plan to keep anyone guessing, and Director Wang directly said, "Cheng Jing, announce the scores."

Cheng Jing, as a student manager and the one maintaining order, was promptly conscripted by Director Wang to play the role of a host.

Cheng Jing promptly stepped up, took the two data reports, and peeking at the results, her round, apple-like cheeks remained expressionless.

Really—

Not a hint was revealed.

The audience waited with bated breath, just looking forward to Cheng Jing announcing the results.

Ji You stopped her stretching exercises and had taken a seat.

Gao Jie straightened his spine, pride and arrogance evident on his handsome face.

Cheng Jing looked around, cleared her throat, and said, "Now, I will announce the scores. First—"

Gao Jie raised his hand, interrupting Cheng Jing, and said, "Since I’m a guy, I’ll let Ji You go first, announce Ji You’s scores."

Cheng Jing’s mouth twitched slightly at being abruptly interrupted, and she looked at Ji You with a silent query.

Without any concern, Ji You gestured dismissively and said, "Actually, it doesn’t matter who goes first, it’s only a matter of seconds. Since Senior Gao Jie wants to know my scores, go ahead and announce mine first."

Her words were heavy with irony.

Cheng Jing’s face carried a smile as she said, "Alright, let’s take a look at Ji You’s scores first. Starting with the first piece of Material, here are the various data: The effective usage rate is 96.4%..."

Huh?

Only 96.4%? That doesn’t sound very good.

Ji You herself didn’t seem too disappointed upon hearing this.