Chapter 1 The First Round
The first round of the competition began, but Zhan Jinzhi already felt the intense hostility.
Because this first round was a knockout-style Q&A, each person's answer would affect the time allotted to the next.
Thus, almost every time it was Zhan Jinzhi's turn, the previous contestant would intentionally take up his allocated time, drastically shortening Zhan Jinzhi's thinking period.
Despite this, Zhan Jinzhi had answered every question correctly so far.
"Why are they doing this?" Even Zhan Shiqing noticed the problem. "They're clearly targeting my brother!"
Zhan Shiqing's words naturally drew the attention of others. Upon closer thought, it did seem to be the case.
However, they had no idea what the reason behind it was.
Zhan Jinzhi knew they had conspired to prevent him from answering in time, potentially leading to his elimination in the very first round.
Although he didn't particularly care about winning or losing, he couldn't completely ignore someone targeting him.
"So far, all the young contestants have performed well. Only two have answered incorrectly. We will now increase the difficulty of the questions and the time allotted. Everyone, pay attention!"
Upon hearing this, several people on stage exchanged glances. This was where their real strategy lay.
They were confident in their abilities and believed that by shortening the time, they could make Zhan Jinzhi falter.
However, the subsequent questions exceeded all their expectations.
"In this final round, we will test your extracurricular knowledge and the depth of your knowledge reserves. It will cover a wide range of related subjects."
As the host spoke, he pressed the timer and posed the first question.
The first person to answer was one of those intending to target Zhan Jinzhi, and the question completely stumped him.
This was knowledge far beyond what a student could be expected to know.
"Lin, your time is almost up!" the host reminded him.
However, he ultimately failed to answer.
Following this, almost everyone before Zhan Jinzhi failed miserably.
"It seems today's questions are a bit too difficult. I wonder how Zhan Jinzhi will perform next?"
The audience became tense. The previous contestants' disappointing performances had placed all their hopes on Zhan Jinzhi.
However, as soon as the host posed the question, Zhan Jinzhi calmly provided the answer.
The audience erupted in thunderous applause, everyone excited by this moment. In their hearts, there was no doubt that Zhan Jinzhi was the champion of the day.
But Zhan Jinzhi found it strange. In reality, the questions for this event had been provided to them before the competition, and they only needed to memorize them and demonstrate quick reflexes. Yet, the questions in this round were not among those previously provided. This indicated that the program team had made adjustments for some reason.
He looked at the others who had failed to answer and wondered if this change was because of him.
In fact, it was the show's director who had changed the questions at the last minute, and this was due to Wei Yumeng.
"Director, have you noticed that something is off with the contestants on stage?" Wei Yumeng asked directly upon seeing the director.
The director thought for a moment and nodded, "Indeed."
After all, the division among the contestants on stage was quite apparent.
"But I believe this is just a small program for the children. There's no need for them to develop conflicts at this stage."
Wei Yumeng said this with a frown. If this continued, Zhan Jinzhi's situation would only worsen.
The director, well aware of Wei Yumeng's status and unable to afford offending her, could only ask, "Then, Mrs. Zhan, how do you think we should handle this?"
Wei Yumeng thought for a moment, "I'm not here to use my child to gain an advantage, so I only ask that you provide them with a fair platform."
"How about this: for the final round, we will make corresponding changes to the questions so that they rely entirely on their own knowledge and skills. What do you think?"
The director's unspoken implication was clear: even if Zhan Jinzhi didn't achieve a better result, it would only be due to his own shortcomings.
Wei Yumeng readily agreed, as this was her only request.
Thus, Zhan Jinzhi and the others received a completely new set of questions.
Zhan Jinzhi frowned. If the difficulty continued at this level, the outcome would be unsurprising.
As the son of Zhan Mohan, he had acquired certain specialized extracurricular knowledge through other means early on, but these classmates certainly had not.
Just as the host was about to announce the final scores, Zhan Jinzhi suddenly spoke.
"Host, I concede this round. I voluntarily withdraw."
His words shocked everyone present, even Wei Yumeng, who had just returned to her seat.
Given the current situation, Zhan Jinzhi had the highest score among the contestants. If he maintained it, he would surely win. Yet, he chose to give up.
The host walked up to Zhan Jinzhi. "Classmate Zhan, do you really intend to withdraw?"
Zhan Jinzhi nodded. "I have made my decision. I believe the final outcome of this competition is not important. What matters is that it was an opportunity for exchange."
The other contestants, who had been saddened by their own failures, were now somewhat surprised.
Zhan Jinzhi continued, "I have actually communicated with the other contestants backstage. They are all very capable. The reason they lost to me in the first round was simply due to my luck. If we continue to compete, I'm not confident I can still win first place. So, it's better to leave the stage to those who are more capable."
With that, he voluntarily walked off the stage, leaving the host somewhat stunned.
Wei Yumeng and Zhan Shiqing went backstage to meet him personally.
"Mom, you won't blame me for making this decision, will you?" Zhan Jinzhi apologized. If he had won this competition, it would have been beneficial for the Zhan family, but he had made a different choice.
Wei Yumeng shook her head and only asked, "Jinzhi, can you tell me why you made this decision?"
"Because from the very beginning, they were all targeting me. Although the competition became fairer due to Mom's communication, I still feel that even if I won today, it would only lead to them disliking me even more. So, it's better to end on a good note, so that neither side is made uncomfortable."
Hearing this, Wei Yumeng breathed a sigh of relief. So Zhan Jinzhi had considered things more comprehensively than she had. But how did Zhan Jinzhi know that she had spoken with the program director?