Seeing Jiang Yuwei seemingly about to participate, Li Zhiwei also felt a little apprehensive this time, changing his previous arrogance. He turned his head and whispered to Chen Lishu, "This girl was number one in the city's English competition before. If she participates, shouldn't we just give up?"
"How can you boost others' morale while dampening your own? Are you not Lishu's friend?" Although Zhang Xue didn't have much confidence, she chose to stand with Chen Lishu at a crucial moment.
What are friends for? They are there to support each other unconditionally at critical times.
So what if they lost? At worst, they would just take a detour around Sun Ling and her group in the future. It wouldn't cost them anything.
Seeing Jiang Yuwei about to help her, Sun Ling immediately perked up. She knew Jiang Yuwei's strength too well. With her joining, they would make that wretched Chen Lishu embarrass herself in front of everyone.
"Who said I wouldn't dare? I'm just afraid some people will be so loud now and cry even harder later!"
Sun Ling looked at Chen Lishu and her group with her chin slightly raised. "One round doesn't mean much. How about this: if we win, you guys won't be allowed to participate in the 'English Corner' anymore."
Zhang Xue wished she could rip off her smug face. "You can't just say we can't participate and we won't. How can your mind be so narrow-minded!"
"Stop the nonsense. If you don't dare to bet, you can leave now. No one is forcing you."
"You!"
Chen Lishu stepped forward to hold back Zhang Xue. She looked at Sun Ling and Jiang Yuwei and said sternly, "Fine. If you lose, you will apologize to everyone here for today's incident."
With Jiang Yuwei present, Sun Ling seemed to foresee victory and immediately agreed, "Okay, we'll apologize if we lose."
"Forget it, we'll lose if we lose. My skin is thick anyway. Whoever wants to laugh can laugh." Li Zhiwei muttered helplessly when he saw Chen Lishu was serious. He looked up and said to Chen Lishu, "Count me in."
"Even Zhiwei isn't afraid of losing face, so I have to accompany him. Chen Lishu, if you're short on people, count me in too," Fatty Feng chimed in from the side.
Li Zhiwei retorted, "With your skills, you'd better rest."
Fatty Feng protested, "Why do you look down on me? At least I count as a person."
Li Zhiwei replied, "You're a sacrificial lamb."
"..."
Listening to their conversation, Chen Lishu couldn't help but purse her lips and smile. Having such friends felt wonderful.
"Since it's a speech competition, I think we should decide on a topic first. To not waste everyone's time, each side will choose three people. We'll have ten minutes for preparation, and then each person will have three minutes to present. What do you think?" Chen Lishu proposed.
"Okay," Jiang Yuwei nodded.
Seeing her agree, Sun Ling quickly leaned over to the short, stout boy and asked in a low voice, "How's your English? I'm telling you, don't mess up at the critical moment!"
How could he say he wasn't good enough in front of the girl he liked? Moreover, he had gotten in through his own merits, so the short, stout boy nodded firmly, "Sun Ling, don't worry, it'll be fine."
With his reply, Sun Ling's lips curved into a satisfied smile, looking at Chen Lishu with an air of assured victory. "I think the topic should be praising our great motherland."
As soon as she finished speaking, Li Zhiwei let out a scoff. "Sun Ling, have you no shame? That's the topic for your recitation meeting today, isn't it? You're not even this blatant about cheating."
Li Zhiwei said this as he picked up a speech draft from the floor, which had fallen out of a desk compartment when he kicked it earlier.
Sun Ling's face flushed when she heard his words, but she quickly retorted, "If not this, should we choose the one written on your blackboard?"
Li Zhiwei glanced back at the small blackboard and nodded unapologetically, "That's fine too."
Sun Ling exclaimed, "You!"
"How about we discuss the school's academic atmosphere based on what happened today?" Chen Lishu suggested.
"That's an excellent topic," Huang Jianjun, the department head, said to Chen Yinchu from the side.
"I also think it's good. This is the first year we're enrolling students nationwide, so the academic atmosphere definitely needs to be strengthened."
The two of them had been called over by other students. They had initially thought it would be another troublesome mediation, but when they arrived, they found that there was no arguing or fighting. Instead, Chen Lishu had resolved the issue in a much more positive and proactive way.
"Old Chen, this little girl is quite good, proposing the topic of academic atmosphere. That's interesting."
Chen Yinchu said with a hint of pride, "The students I've chosen are definitely not wrong."
On the other side, after ten minutes of preparation, Jiang Yuwei was the first to step forward.
She intended to seize the initiative and win the first round convincingly. The opponent's subsequent performance would surely be affected.
Seeing Jiang Yuwei step out, Chen Lishu glanced at Zhang Xue and said, "Xue'er, you go."
"Me? Lishu, I can't." Jiang Yuwei was so formidable, there was no chance of winning against her.
"Don't you remember what I just told you? Don't be nervous. Just try your best. No matter what level you perform at, you've won by bravely taking this step."
Zhang Xue secretly encouraged herself, then stepped forward.
When Jiang Yuwei saw Zhang Xue step out, she was visibly stunned. She had always thought Chen Lishu would be the one to face her, and felt a slight sense of disappointment.
Then, she felt a touch of disdain towards Chen Lishu. Pushing her good friend out for fear of embarrassing herself, she thought, "She's not all that."
There was a significant gap in English proficiency between Zhang Xue and Jiang Yuwei, so the outcome was predictable. Zhang Xue was defeated.
"It's okay. Your performance just now was much better than usual, and you've improved a lot," Chen Lishu said, patting Zhang Xue on the shoulder.
Zhang Xue smiled at her, "Didn't you say that taking this step is winning? Don't worry, I'm not competing with her, I'm competing with myself."
Seeing Jiang Yuwei easily win the first round, Sun Ling couldn't help but show a triumphant smile. "Chen Lishu, I choose you."
They were just a bunch of clowns. Today, they would be thoroughly disgraced in front of everyone.
"Why use a butcher's knife to kill a chicken? Sun Ling, since we're such good friends, I'll play with you," Li Zhiwei said with a playful grin and stepped forward.
Sun Ling's face flushed when she heard his words, and she spat at him, "Who is good friends with you? Don't flatter yourself."
"Good friends or not, you have to face me. Stop dawdling and let's start."
Sun Ling was momentarily speechless.
Although Li Zhiwei usually appeared carefree, Sun Ling knew that his English major was significantly stronger than hers. However, at that moment, it hadn't been specified who would be matched against whom, so Sun Ling could only brace herself and go along with it.
The result was no surprise. Sun Ling's speech was illogical and barely lasted three minutes. Afterwards, seeing the expressions of the crowd, her eyes began to water. She secretly pinned her hopes on the short, stout boy. As long as he won, her side would win.
On the other side, Jiang Yuwei's gaze fell on Chen Lishu, and she couldn't help but frown. Seeing Chen Lishu's unhurried demeanor, she had a nagging premonition that the outcome wouldn't be ideal.