Not long.
The staff member summoned by the short man hurried back, holding a new batch of admission tickets, and respectfully handed them to Lu Mingming.
Lu Mingming put on a coy and hesitant act, saying to the fat man:
“If I win this time, is your promise still valid? If you go back on your word like you just did, I don't think there's any need for me to guarantee anything else to you.”
“Yes, of course it is!”
Things had reached a point of no return. Giving up now would only result in him suffering in silence.
The fat man gritted his teeth, “If you can pass the intermediate childcare qualification certificate, let alone eat a table, you can tell me to eat anything!”
The difficulty level of the intermediate childcare qualification was a whole round higher than that of the junior childcare qualification. The cubs provided by the officials would selectively choose their “questions” based on prompts.
He thought to himself: “There happens to be a friend I know in the intermediate childcare exam room who can easily tamper with Lu Mingming’s exam.”
“Lu Mingming absolutely cannot obtain the intermediate childcare qualification certificate!”
“Absolutely not!”
“Alright, I will witness this and establish a Holy Knight’s contract for you two.”
The little knight, who enjoyed watching the chaos, skillfully used his mental power, and a contract written in silver calligraphy slowly condensed in mid-air.
Fearing that Lu Mingming wouldn’t understand the rules, he kindly reminded her, “A bet witnessed by a knight cannot be reneged on. Those who violate it will receive severe punishment and be reported to the entire planet.”
Lu Mingming didn’t care and directly signed the contract with her fingerprint.
A flicker of an unreadable light flashed in the fat man’s eyes as he quietly signed the contract.
With a flash of golden light, the Contract Holy Book was retracted into the little knight’s personal space, signifying the formal establishment of the contract.
The staff of the intermediate exam immediately escorted Lu Mingming to the intermediate exam hall, while the others remained at the scoring site, awaiting the subsequent issuance of qualification certificates.
Everyone present couldn’t sit still, eager to leave the exam hall and reveal the big news of the day.
“The low-level planetary streamer consecutively taking both junior and intermediate qualification exams is bound to be a top entertainment headline for the entire day!”
…
There were far fewer streamers in the intermediate exam hall than in the junior exam hall, but the hall itself was more spacious, even equipped with air conditioning, maintaining a warm average temperature.
Most people were in groups, with weariness etched on their faces. Some were still repeatedly reciting from handwritten notes.
Lu Mingming vaguely heard phrases like “cod liver oil for fur and skin,” “shrimp need to be deveined,” and “wood ear mushrooms need to be soaked”… all kinds of common sense.
She quietly found a seat to rest and gather her thoughts, trying her best not to disturb the others’ revision.
However, the streamers in the intermediate exam hall didn't think so.
The intermediate exam hall was arranged the same as the junior exam hall, but this time there were only three levels of exams.
Lu Mingming had performed exceptionally well in the first round of exams and was directly escorted to the A-level exam room after passing, adding to the pressure of the already stressed candidates.
The candidates who came and went had eyes full of vigilance.
“How strong must one be to be personally escorted by the staff!”
Some people discreetly sized up Lu Mingming, their expressions incredulous.
After a brief moment of surprise, they quickly threw themselves back into a new round of studying.
The luminous watch on her wrist suddenly vibrated. Lu Mingming opened the message to see—it was a greeting from her cubs.
She first opened the chat window for the little white tiger.
“Tangyuan: [Cat with a question mark face]”
Lu Mingming couldn’t help but let out a smile and quickly replied:
“Sister is at the intermediate childcare qualification exam hall. I’ll be back after the exam. I won first place in the junior exam just now [fireworks][fireworks].”
“Tangyuan: [Cat sleeping soundly]”
After conveying the same message to the other two cubs, the announcement for the assessment to begin sounded.
Lu Mingming presented her admission ticket.
The invigilator on the opposite side checked it carefully and recognized Lu Mingming’s appearance, inexplicably saying, “Are you Lu Mingming?”
“Yes.”
Lu Mingming felt a bad premonition.
“Could that fat man have contacted someone to get her already?”
The invigilator said nothing but silently noted down the candidate’s exam room.
“Go in and find your correct seat.”
The layout of the invigilator’s room was the same as downstairs, but the performance area was increased by ten square meters, and a central range hood was installed.
Lu Mingming sat on a soft stool, waiting for the assessment to be announced.
The streamers entered the exam hall sporadically. After checking everyone, the invigilator glanced covertly at Lu Mingming’s exam room and then signaled to a small, thin child in the cub lineup.
The thin cub nodded and headed straight for Lu Mingming’s room.
The invigilator on stage then announced:
“The intermediate childcare qualification exam will begin shortly. The young contestants in front of you will pose the questions. Please try your best to satisfy their requests. You will be jointly graded by the young contestants and the scoring teachers.
The competition begins now. Please refrain from any unnecessary actions. Violators will be expelled from the competition and banned from taking exams for four years.”
While saying this, the invigilator deliberately added, “Especially for those low-level planetary streamers who lack manners, it would be best to pay attention.”
The hostility was palpable.
She solidified her assumption that the invigilators were colluding.
Lu Mingming maintained a calm demeanor and reached out to pet the little cub’s head.
Unexpectedly, the little cub frowned and dodged, showing an expression of dislike.
Her raised hand felt a bit awkward. It was the first time she had encountered a cub in the interstellar world that was so resistant to her.
“Hello, little one.”
Lu Mingming simply squatted down, keeping her gaze level with the cub’s, to show the utmost respect.
“What do you want me to do?”
According to the training teachers, the cubs would randomly draw their exam questions from the official test papers in advance.
These questions ranged from easy to difficult.
In the room next door, where the questions had just been revealed, a low grumble could be heard: “What kind of joke is this, bathing an animal that’s afraid of water? What a heartless question!”
Lu Mingming propped her chin, staring intently at the silent cub with a smile.
“If there’s any tampering, it can only be with the questions and the scoring.”
The fat man had catered to both cubs in the first round, so he likely had no connections with the scoring personnel. Therefore, the tampering must be with the questions.
The little cub nervously picked at his fingers, “What I want is very simple. I want to eat the legendary deep-fried icicles.”
After saying this, he let out a sigh of relief, seemingly thinking the difficulty was too high, and shyly buried his head in his shoulders, unable to lift it.
No matter what, the task was completed.
Deep-fried icicles involved frying icicles in oil, which, in an interstellar world with extremely poor culinary skills, was equivalent to a fantasy.
It had once been considered one of the unsolvable culinary mysteries of the world by gourmets, and no one had yet unraveled the secret of this dish.
“So you wanted to eat this.”
Lu Mingming thought it was some kind of elaborate feast.
“If you want to eat it, I’ll make it for you right away.”
Hearing her words, the little cub looked up and glanced at her suspiciously, “Don’t lie to me. If you can’t make it, you can withdraw from the competition. Otherwise, your dish will be sent to the scoring table and it will be very embarrassing.”
“Leave it to me. You sit over there.”
Lu Mingming wrote down the required ingredients stroke by stroke and called out to the staff member standing at the door.
“Please prepare what’s on the white paper for me, and also bring a bag of fruit, the more the better.”
The staff member inadvertently glanced at the question and his eyes widened instantly.
“What the hell?! Who came up with this question? Why would deep-fried icicles appear?! Isn’t this something no one has ever been able to make?”
The staff member looked at Lu Mingming with pity and went to prepare the items on the white paper under her perplexed gaze.
“This little streamer is definitely being targeted. She should report it to the superiors immediately after preparing the ingredients!”
For the remaining time, Lu Mingming filled a large ceramic basin with clean water and sat on the soft stool with the little cub, humming a hometown tune.
The little cub scratched his head, not understanding what this woman was up to.
“Did you give up directly?”
If she was giving up, he would go directly to Uncle Fatty to get his reward and not waste time staying here.
“No, Sister is waiting for the materials to be delivered.”
Lu Mingming’s expression was relaxed and indifferent, as if she were about to casually eat sunflower seeds with the little cub by the door.
“Thank you so much. This dish is very simple, and it’s something I can make.”
The little cub: “???”
The little cub tentatively asked, “…Are you crazy?”
Lu Mingming gave a fake smile, “I don’t mind looking after you on behalf of your parents.”