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Chapter 179
"After verification, the 27 color blocks identified by Contestant No. 1 are all correct!"
"Wow!"
"Not only that, the production team has just informed me that there are only 27 corresponding surfaces that can be found on this Rubik's Cube image. In other words... Ji Ruochu not only solved the Rubik's Cube but also found all the regions within the time limit!"
"Oh my god! Is she even human?"
"That's terrifying!"
"A true master! A true master!"
...
[Arghhhh! Our baby girl! How could you make your mom so proud!]
[Oh, I was just here for the guests, but somehow I got charmed by the contestant?]
[Isn't this too fake? It's obvious the show gave her the questions in advance. They said no help would be provided, but that was probably just another trick to fool the audience.]
[I also find it unbelievable. With such a short time, how could she not only solve the Rubik's Cube that the production team scrambled but also find all the color regions?]
[This can't be right. How much did the Ji family pay the production team? This is not about selecting talents but just hiring a bunch of geniuses for the little princess to play games with.]
...
Not only were netizens questioning it, but some contestants also expressed different opinions.
"Well... it's not that bad. She had two attempts, so it's natural for her to remember better than other contestants."
"It's not that exaggerated. I think it's just okay. I could do it too if it were me."
...
Seeing the contestants voicing different views, the trolls became even more excited:
[Don't you understand? The little princess is just acting. Whether to say it or not, no wonder she's the best newcomer!]
[I really don't know why Ji Ruochu came here. Does she just like to create personas? Alright, alright, we admit you're a genius, okay?]
...
The comments were flying rapidly, but most of them were questioning the performance, indicating that some thought Ji Ruochu was putting on an act for attention, while others felt the acting was too obvious and smelled a rat.
At the same time, in a group chat named "Perfect Beauty":
[Fang Zhiyuan: If I'm not mistaken, the day before Ji Ruochu went to the competition, you two were tinkering with a new high-level Rubik's Cube and dragged her into studying it together, right? @Jiang Zhi @Qi Yibin]
The other six: ...
[Ren Yujun: You two jerks!]
[Qi Yibin: Hey, how were we supposed to know there would be a Rubik's Cube challenge on the show?]
Qi Yibin just snitched on Jiang Zhi after complaining about being wronged.
[Qi Yibin: But the Rubik's Cube was his doing. @Jiang Zhi]
[Jiang Zhi: ... You little rascal! I said no rush, but you insisted that you wouldn't be able to sleep well if we didn't solve it that day, so you dragged me to find Ji Ruochu to twist the Rubik's Cube all afternoon!]
[Mi Siyu: Why don't you two just fight? The loser has to buy us three breakfast next month.] What was originally just a joke escalated quickly as the people involved joined in.
[Ji Ruochu: Hmm, that works for me. Can I place an order? I want the Liu's oil sticks and sesame cakes from Tsinghua University No. 1 Canteen tomorrow.]
[Kong Chao: What? Free breakfast? I want some too. You're buying three portions or four, it's all the same!]
[Ming Chengle: Tsk, if I had known earlier, I wouldn't have left Peking University and could have scored a free breakfast too.]
[Fu Zhengbo: @Ji Ruochu, there are several good breakfast places at Tsinghua University. Let me send you the list later. No repeats for half a month, no problem. Oh, and buy an extra portion for my dorm while you're at it.]
[Li Yemeng: What? Someone's coming to Tsinghua University to buy breakfast tomorrow morning? Then get me a portion too, thanks bro.]
[Fang Zhiyuan: +1, good people live in peace.]
Jiang Zhi & Qi Yibin: You guys are unbelievable!
...
While the group chat descended into chaos, the show had moved on to the next stage.
After Ji Ruochu's victory in the first round, the remaining four contestants also competed in pairs, with Bei Lingyu and Wu Jinhui emerging victorious.
In the second round, the three winners and three losers paired up for a round-robin tournament to determine the winner of the opening event.
Meanwhile, the color wall had been reset, expanding from 18x18 to 21x21, and the three guests and Older Jin randomly shuffled the color blocks.
Three minutes on the clock, one point for a correct answer, two points deducted for a wrong answer.
By this time, the topic of whether the show was rigged had become a hot search online, with Ruo's fans busy watching their idol while fending off trolls.
Despite the chaos, Ruo's fans still managed to hype up Ji Ruochu's victory with various GIFs appearing in the comments.
The footage showed a young woman in a long dress, looking calm and beautiful. But once the match started, her gaze instantly became aggressive.
At the end of the round-robin tournament, Ji Ruochu was ranked first with an undefeated record.
Next was Wu Jinhui, who lost to Ji Ruochu by a slight margin, followed by Bei Lingyu, Chai Jiazi, Yu Yingqi, and Zhu Xiaoyue.
However, throughout the matches, the difference in the number of correct answers and response times among the contestants was not particularly large. It would be fair to say they were evenly matched.
Especially Ji Ruochu and Wu Jinhui, with one holding an international gold medal and the other a national gold medal, the rivalry between them was intense from the start.
The host later mentioned that Wu Jinhui had been unable to participate in international competitions due to health reasons, implying that had he competed, he might also have won an international gold medal.
What did this mean?
It meant that Wu Jinhui was considered on par with Ji Ruochu by many contestants and the three guests in the observation room.
"When two contestants are evenly matched, besides their equal abilities, there's another possibility..."
Older Jin opened the lid of his thermos and took a slow sip of hot tea before saying, "The questions are not difficult enough."
The three guests and the audience: ???
[How is this not difficult enough?]
[I guess that's expected from Older Jin.]
[It's so amazing that even as a failing student, I can understand what Older Jin is saying.]
[The one above, please elaborate.]
[Ummm... I'm not sure if I'm right, but I think Older Jin means: If you score 100 on the same test paper, it means your ability is 100. But if a genius scores 100, it's because... the total score of the test paper is only 100.]
[Ah! It makes perfect sense when you put it that way!]
"Well done, congratulations to all six contestants. Our warm-up round has concluded. Next, please return to the stage, as our battle for the seats is about to officially begin!"