Standing on the stage, Shen Xingruo was also drawn to the synchronized chanting of Zhao Langming and Li Chengfan. However, there was some distance between the stage and the audience, so she couldn’t hear very clearly. She only saw the “Star” LED boards held high by the two of them and subconsciously thought it was Lu Xingyan’s doing, so she nodded in that direction.
The format for tonight’s final match was quite simple:
First, the teams were paired off by drawing lots. Each pair would compete in a round of 25 rapid-fire questions. Points were awarded for each correct answer and deducted for each incorrect one.
After the rapid-fire round, the team with the higher score would proceed directly to the final round, called the “K” round. Additionally, the team with the higher score between the two pairs would be given one chance to use a live assistance device in the “K” round.
The lower-scoring teams from the initial rounds would then compete in another “K” round. The winning team from this round would join the other two teams in the final round, starting a marathon of question-answer sessions.
In the marathon round, questions would be directed at individual team members in a rotating order. If a team member failed to answer a question, they would be eliminated from the game, putting more pressure on their teammates.
Once all team members from a team were eliminated, the game for that team would be over.
After the teams introduced themselves, the first round of drawing lots began. Dà, having been the top scorer previously, had the privilege of drawing first.
As the team names scrolled on the big screen, the captain of Dà called for a halt, and the screen immediately stopped on South City University.
—Dà and South City University would form one team, while the remaining T University and F University would form another.
The captain of South City University’s team was Yu Si, tall and handsome, with strong answering abilities. In the previous round of five into two, he turned the tide and secured the last spot in the semifinals for South City University. He also performed well in the semifinals, leading South City University to enter the finals with the second-highest overall score.
Online, Yu Si and Shen Xingruo were paired up as a couple, but in reality, they hadn’t spoken much to each other. Rumors circulated in the elite circles. After the round of five into two matches, Shen Xingruo’s teammates gossiped with her, saying that Yu Si was quite a player, changing girlfriends every other day. Recently, he had been dating a girl from the Music Academy who was also a social media influencer, and he had allegedly stolen her from someone else.
Shen Xingruo had heard plenty of outlandish rumors before and wasn’t one to blindly believe them. But she didn’t have a favorable impression of a guy who would meet backstage, immediately exchange WeChat, invite her for drinks, and subtly suggest cooperation in creating gossip.
Shen Xingruo’s coldness was particularly thorough. Yu Si wasn’t stupid; seeing her attitude, he didn’t bother to engage further. With such a cold and distant relationship between them, some viewers still forced a sugar-coated interpretation of their appearances together in the first two episodes of the competition, turning it into a highlight of this season’s campus tour. The program planners knew what was being discussed online and had to force cues about them into the scripts for the hosts.
Now that Dà and South City University were paired together, the host took advantage of the opportunity to ask, “Shen Xingruo, when you faced off against Yu Si in the round of five into two, what did you think of his answering ability?”
Shen Xingruo was succinct. “Very good.”
The host looked at her expectantly, but her smile gradually stiffened.
Was that all?
The host hesitated for a moment, realizing that she had nothing more to say. He quickly regained his composure and continued with the next question. Among the contestants, some were as succinct as Shen Xingruo, and others loved to show off. After going around the circle, this segment had wasted about seven or eight minutes.
When the audience began to nod off, the rapid-fire round finally began.
“The first question, please listen carefully. What is known as the liquid bread?”
Someone quickly buzzed in with “Milk.”
“The correct answer is, Milk! Dà team scores one point!”
“The second question, please listen carefully…”
The first few questions were relatively simple, and most of the audience sitting in the studio or watching TV knew the answers. It was purely a matter of who could buzz in the fastest.
After a few rounds, everyone understood just how crucial the word “rapid” was in “rapid-fire.” As soon as the host mentioned the keywords, someone would already be buzzing in before he finished the question.
Yu Si was the ace of their team, with quick reflexes and accurate guesses. Without warning, he achieved a “pent-akill,” pulling their team ahead by a large margin.
Many girls in the audience were cheering excitedly, and he even playfully made a money-counting gesture to the audience, adding to the lively atmosphere.
Li Chengfan and Zhao Langming didn’t understand much, but it didn’t stop them from getting engrossed. They whispered to each other, “Sister Ruo isn’t fast enough, didn’t even manage to buzz in once. I think this rule puts women at a disadvantage. The men are all well-trained!”
Lu Xingyan glanced at the two of them, arms folded across his chest, leaning back in his chair with a look of indifference. After a while, he finally uttered two words, “Oily feeling.”
By the time they reached the tenth question, the overwhelmingly one-sided situation on stage finally began to loosen up.
The host said, “The ‘Qingming Riverside Scroll’…”
Yu Si buzzed in, “Zhang Zeduan!”
The incorrect answer buzzer sounded in the arena, and the host chuckled, saying, “Yes, Zhang Zeduan is indeed the author of the ‘Qingming Riverside Scroll,’ but this question isn’t about the author. It’s about which museum currently houses the ‘Qingming Riverside Scroll.’ South City University’s team loses one point.”
The members of the South City University team all looked disappointed.
In the next three questions, South City University buzzed in twice without waiting for the full question, and both times, their answers were incorrect, costing them the points they had gained.
Both teams entered a deadlock, hesitant to buzz in randomly. Moreover, as the questions progressed, they became increasingly difficult, leaving many unable to answer.
By the seventeenth question, the situation began to turn around. Shen Xingruo, who hadn’t answered a question before, quietly buzzed in and answered three questions in a row, all correctly!
The host asked, “Describing a woman with long eyebrows and willow-like figure. Who is this describing?”
Shen Xingruo replied, “Li Shishi.”
“The king of roadside trees refers to?”
Shen Xingruo answered, “Banyan tree.”
…
The South City University team refused to be outdone, intensifying their efforts to answer questions. The scores of both teams were neck and neck, all the way to the final question:
“Now, both teams are tied at 99 points. The last question will be crucial. The answer to this question will determine which team can directly enter the final round of the ‘Ocean of Questions’ competition.”
The host paused for a moment and picked up the question card. “The last question, please listen carefully: What are the three main types of solo harmonica?”
While South City University was still considering whether to buzz in cautiously, Shen Xingruo seamlessly pressed the buzzer as soon as the host finished speaking.
The arena erupted into a frenzy. The host added suspensefully, “Alright, Shen Xingruo from the Dà team has buzzed in for this question. What will her answer be? Is it correct?”
All eyes were on Shen Xingruo, including those of her teammates, who were nervous. They didn’t know much about music and had never discussed this topic before, so they were unsure whether Shen Xingruo genuinely knew the answer or was simply buzzing in out of habit.
Shen Xingruo adjusted her microphone and replied, “Chromatic harmonica, diatonic harmonica, and tremolo harmonica.”