Chapter 56: The Pride of the School of Information and the University of Technology

Chen Yuan, who was just waking up, had no idea that Fang Youning had already imagined him as a tragically abandoned man ruthlessly cast aside.

"Take a look at this."

Fang Youning quietly slid her phone over, displaying the highlighted notes on the screen.

"Are these the parts I need to pay attention to?"

"Mhm. If you can't remember them, I can take a screenshot and send it to you."

"No need. Mere Little Nezha is a piece of cake; I've got it completely under control."

With the system's reward buff, there was simply no need for these fancy extras.

"Oh, oh."

Fang Youning put her phone away.

Such a woodenhead!

"I'm heading off first. Bye-bye."

"Bye-bye."

Chen Yuan left with his books, while Fang Youning stayed behind as she had a class here in the second period.

Before he had even walked two steps, Chen Yuan turned back.

"What's wrong?" Fang Youning asked, holding her phone.

"I forgot my trash." Chen Yuan picked up the coffee bag. "Do you have any rubbish you want thrown away? I can take it with me."

"No, I don't."

"I'm leaving then."

"Mhm."

Chen Yuan walked away. Since he had no more classes for the day, he planned to go back and play video games.

"Boss, how on earth do you even know Fang Youning?"

As soon as he stepped into the dorm, his three roommates swarmed him, with Sun Pengnan looking the most excited.

"So what if I know her? Don't you know Wang Shuang from Computer Science? Did I say anything about that? No, I didn't."

"Can Wang Shuang even be compared to Fang Youning? She has thicker facial hair than I do."

"A homely wife is a household treasure, Number Three. You should be content," Liu Shiyu chimed in.

"Damn it, enough talk. Let's fire up the game."

After playing games for over an hour, they went out together for lunch.

Once the two afternoon classes were over and he had grabbed a bite to eat, Chen Yuan received a message from Li Yingying.

Li Yingying: "Gather at Multimedia Classroom 203 in the Main Building at 5:30."

Chen Yuan glanced at his phone and saw it was almost time, so he made his way to Main Building 203 along the way.

Standing at the doorway, he poked his head inside to take a look.

There weren't many people yet, and Fang Youning was already there.

With her hair tied up in a neat meatball bun, she stood gracefully before the computer. A silver stud glinted on her earlobe, and her jawline was as clear and sharp as the edge of thin porcelain, glowing with a jade-like chill in the light.

No wonder that beneath the overwhelming intimidation of Song Jianian's good looks, there were still so many staunch supporters of Fang Youning—her physical appearance was indeed formidable.

Turning his gaze to the audience seating, Qi Chen was the only department head from the Information School present; Liu Jinlong hadn't come.

Their presence was merely symbolic to lead the way, serving no real practical purpose, so there was no need for both of them to show up.

Aside from Qi Chen, there were two other shortlisted contestants, while the remaining two had yet to arrive.

The guy was named Liu Haoyuan, and he had forgotten the girl's name.

The girl was moderately pretty, though Liu Haoyuan was utterly negligible.

"Let's find a place to sit first. Once everyone arrives, we can begin."

Fang Youning's voice was soft, and she still harbored a tiny trace of disappointment—why wouldn't he ask for her contact information?

"Alright."

Entering the classroom, Chen Yuan sat down next to Qi Chen.

"How are you feeling about your preparation?" Qi Chen asked.

"Exceedingly well."

"What are you singing?"

"Little Nezha."

Qi Chen: ......

"Brother Yuan, we're here for a school competition, and you're still singing a nursery rhyme," Liu Haoyuan remarked.

"I don't normally listen to other songs anyway."

"If you really sing Little Nezha, our college's reputation will be trampled into the dirt tonight. It's still not too late to change songs," Qi Chen warned.

"Senior Sister, when you wear spaghetti straps on Douyin and wiggle your hips to act cute, why didn't you think about the school's reputation? *Baby, my tummy is rumbling with thunder*—who sings that? Tell me, look in my eyes, tell me, why!"

Qi Chen covered her face, overcome by a massive wave of shame. "Zip it, singing a nursery rhyme is fine."

"Senior Sister, don't be shy. I actually love watching it, and I even follow you."

Fang Youning, who was busy tinkering with the computer, quietly raised her head.

He actually follows Senior Sister on Douyin......

"Really? What's your Douyin handle?" Qi Chen asked.

"Can an expired ointment still be rubbed on—any ring to that?"

"Let me check."

Qi Chen pulled out her phone, opened Douyin, and checked her following list.

"Is this you?"

"Yep."

"What kind of atrocious name is that? Change it immediately."

"As expected of a woman who dances in spaghetti straps, you understand everything."

"Hee hee hee......"

Covering her mouth, Qi Chen laughed uncontrollably. "Stop being so annoying with that awful name."

Fang Youning listened with her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed.

What is Senior Sister laughing at?

An expired ointment should still be usable, right? At worst, it just wouldn't work. What's so funny about that?

Shortly after, the other two members from the Information School arrived, along with five people from the School of Science.

The seventy people had been divided into seven groups, with two student union department heads each leading three officers to conduct the evaluations.

Each group would select four to six people to make up a pool of thirty for the next round.

Once everyone from both colleges had arrived, the members of the Student Union's Literary and Art Department showed up as well.

Leading the charge was Li Dongyang, closely followed by Fan Siyu and another guy.

Seeing Chen Yuan, Fan Siyu was somewhat surprised. You can advance just by singing a nursery rhyme?

Li Dongyang was equally surprised to see Chen Yuan show up, but he didn't say anything, walking straight up to the podium instead.

"Since everyone is here, the competition can begin. I hope no one is nervous, perform well, and show your true level."

Li Dongyang spoke with an air of affected dignity, though he didn't quite pull off the pose, deliberately infusing his speech with dramatic ups and downs like a government official addressing subordinates.

The last person who combed his hair into an adult style and put on a handsome suit had already faded into obscurity, yet here he was, putting on airs.

The members of the student union took their seats in the front rows.

"Let's begin in order," Fang Youning said, holding a sheet of A4 paper.

"School of Science, Kong Zhengjie."

Kong Zhengjie wore a crew cut, styled with a somewhat unkempt look, and possessed the aura of an ultimate academic weapon. In an exam room, Chen Yuan would blindly copy his answers without hesitation.

The song he chose was *Counter-Attack*. After listening to the entire performance, Chen Yuan thought he sang quite well, though he had no idea what level the others were at.

After he finished, Li Dongyang even offered a critique.

A guy who played the violin was now critiquing someone's singing—power truly was a wonderful thing.

At that moment, someone poked their head in through the doorway to peer inside.

Jiang Shuyi.

Spotting Chen Yuan and the people from her own college, she simply walked right in.

"You guys carry on, I just came by to watch the commotion."

Once inside, Jiang Shuyi took a seat next to Chen Yuan.

"Senior Sister, what brings you here?"

"We had a departmental meeting today, and they're still discussing business inside, so I came over to watch the fun," Jiang Shuyi said.

"Not bad at all, you actually made it through the preliminaries. Sing properly later, don't embarrass our department and college."

Jiang Shuyi's appearance did not disrupt the rhythm of the competition.

The two colleges alternated. After Kong Zhengjie stepped down, Liu Haoyuan went second. He sang decently, but not as well as Kong Zhengjie.

Over the next hour or so, the first nine contestants all finished singing.

Those who sang well were generally allowed to finish their songs, while mediocre performers were cut off right after the chorus, signaling that their chances of advancing were slim.

"Is the School of Science this strong this year?" Qi Chen muttered with deep anxiety.

Among the first four contestants from the Information School, only one had managed to sing all the way through.

Since she herself could sing and had formally studied it, she could tell there was no foul play—the contestant had sung *Picking Nine Lotus Flowers*.

Even the only person who finished singing was at risk of elimination, leaving Chen Yuan as their sole remaining sapling.

Yet the moment she thought about him singing *Little Nezha*, she wanted to cover her face in shame—it was even more embarrassing than the time she shook her butt on Douyin to record a video.

The reputation of the Information School!

"Now inviting student Chen Yuan from the School of Electronic Information and Computer Science to perform *Little Nezha*."

The people from the School of Science had never witnessed such a spectacle and were all searching the room for Chen Yuan.

He was actually going to sing *Little Nezha*? Had this guy lost his mind?

Chen Yuan walked up to the stage, guessing that Fang Youning had deliberately placed him last and even used the polite phrase "now inviting"—it seemed this songstress maiden also knew who her favorites were.

At that moment, the accompaniment music began to play.

"Tell a myth, once upon a time there was a family......"