Chapter 17: Knowledge Quiz, Physical Fitness Test, Birthday Dance…

Chapter 17 Knowledge Competition, Physical Fitness Assessment, Birthday Ball...

The next day, Wednesday. Mimicry department classroom.

The first class of the morning happened to be taught by their homeroom teacher. The gray-haired old professor walked into the classroom and, before officially starting the lecture, shared two important announcements with the students.

The first announcement was that the annual Imperial University Comprehensive Knowledge Competition would soon open for registration by school.

Participating universities would each send a team of four students to the official Institute of Educational Research in the capital to compete in the group contest.

"Just like previous years, Faro has already registered for this competition," the professor said kindly. "Students interested in participating can sign up with the class committee after class. The deadline is Thursday afternoon."

"On Friday, based on the registration list, Faro will hold a qualifying exam to choose the four students who will represent the school in the competition."

"Children, as far as I know..." He paused, smiling as he added, "This year's competition has a newly added section on the Mimicry question bank. It's a rare opportunity, so I encourage you all to sign up boldly."

As soon as he finished speaking, the students' eyes lit up. They exchanged glances and began buzzing with excitement.

The annual Imperial University Comprehensive Knowledge Competition was a highly prestigious academic competition widely recognized both within the empire's universities and in broader society.

Given the vast and all-encompassing nature of the official question bank, the competition had earned a nickname: "The Battle of Genius Minds."

This implied that students who achieved outstanding results in this contest were essentially human encyclopedias and intellectual prodigies.

The exam consisted of 300 questions to be completed within 12 hours by each university's four-member team. The questions were divided into three sections: the first tested humanities, the second focused on mathematics and science, and the third—newly added this year—covered knowledge related to the Mimicry.

The change in the official question bank was partly intended to leverage the competition's popularity to promote public understanding of Mimicry, aligning with the empire's current policy of further expanding its applications.

Initially, the students had little interest in what they considered a "Battle of Genius Minds that had nothing to do with them." But upon hearing that this year's competition included questions related to the Mimicry—their field of expertise—they finally grew excited.

After some discussion, many students decided to sign up for the school's preliminary selection. They figured that if the exam had a significant number of Mimicry-related questions, they might have an advantage.

With only four students selected to represent the school, being chosen would be a tremendous honor—something worth including in their academic achievements...

After hearing the professor's announcement, Qi Heyin also decided to sign up.

She wasn't primarily motivated by winning prizes but rather the experience of participating in a team event... something she saw as part of college life.

...Something to look forward to.

On the podium, the professor gestured for the excited students to quiet down before moving on to the second announcement.

"I have another piece of good news for you, children."

"The new semester has begun, which means some of our school's routine activities will also resume," the professor said with a smile. "Yesterday, I received a notice from the registrar's office stating that our grade will begin this semester's physical fitness assessment in two weeks."

"Ah!" Almost all the students in the room groaned in unison.

"Do your best, everyone," the professor said, adjusting his glasses with a meaningful look. "Standing broad jump, sit-ups, pull-ups, a 1500-meter run... I look forward to seeing you all pass successfully."

"Alright, let's begin class." He casually opened his lesson plan.

The students: "..."

Staring at the professor who had just dropped this news so nonchalantly, the classroom fell silent for a moment before erupting into a chorus of collective groans.

Amid the complaints, Jiang Yanche, seated in the second row, turned to Qi Heyin beside him and asked curiously, "Qi Heyin, are you going to participate in the fitness assessment?"

Qi Heyin paused, rubbing her temples wearily as she thought about it.

She hadn’t expected the fitness test to come so soon this semester.

"...I’ll participate," she said after some consideration.

"Huh?" Jiang Yanche stared at her in disbelief. "You’re joining too? Can you even finish a 1,500-meter race?"

"I don’t know," Qi Heyin shook her head honestly.

Given her current physical condition, she could probably manage sit-ups and standing long jumps without much trouble. With a bit of practice, she might even pass.

But when it came to running, Qi Heyin had serious doubts. She got winded just from walking too far, often left breathless and weak. A 1,500-meter race... felt like it would be the death of her.

"You could apply for an exemption," Jiang Yanche offered.

"Exemption means a zero score for that part," Qi Heyin said with a sigh. "And I’ve already been discharged from the hospital for over a month."

Their physical education grades were broken down—30% from the fitness test, 20% from attendance, and 50% from the final assessment. Without those 30 points, Qi Heyin felt she might flunk PE.

Failing meant retaking it... which would only slow her progress toward graduation.

"What’s more important, your health or your grades?" Jiang Yanche didn't get it.

After a moment’s thought, he said casually, "How about this? Since the fitness test is managed by the student council, I’ll just have the sports department give you full credit. How’s that?"

"I won’t cheat," Qi Heyin said firmly.

She gave him an exasperated look and reminded him patiently, "Don’t abuse your authority."

Corruption was a terrible thing!

After a pause, Qi Heyin added, "Don’t worry, I know my limits."

At worst, she could walk the 1,500 meters if she couldn’t run it, then make sure to pass the other test items.

...At least that way, she could at least pass.

She was determined to train hard over the next two weeks.

After class, Qi Heyin went to sign up for Friday’s Knowledge Quiz tryouts with the class monitor.

At noon, like always, she had lunch at the school cafeteria with Jiang Yunxin.

Unexpectedly, Yunxin also brought up the topic of the Knowledge Quiz.

The sweet brunette sat across from her, propping her chin on her hand, her round almond-shaped eyes smiling. "Heyin, are you joining the quiz?"

Qi Heyin nodded slightly and asked, "Are you participating too, Yunxin?"

"I’m not," Jiang Yunxin shook her head, then grinned. "But I hope you do."

"Heyin, do you ever browse FF?" she suddenly asked. "You know, Farro Public School’s official forum."

Qi Heyin thought for a second. "I think I’ve heard of it, but I don’t have an account."

Jiang Yunxin propped her chin on her hand. "Today, there's heavy betting on FF about who’ll represent the school in the quiz this year. Everyone’s really into it."

"It’s a big deal for the school’s bragging rights, after all," Qi Heyin remarked calmly. "I’ve heard Farro has been the defending champion of this competition for several years now."

"That's true. That's why everyone's so serious about it," Yunxin nodded in agreement.

She paused, then suddenly said with a mischievous tone, "I put He Yin's name in as a candidate."

He Yin: "...Huh?"

"Because I believe if He Yin participates, she'll definitely achieve amazing results and make everyone in the academy notice you," Yunxin said with eyes shining with excitement. "I want He Yin to become the academy's it girl!"

"You'll totally blow those so-called male heartthrobs and *young masters* out of the water!"

He Yin looked at her with amusement. "You have so much confidence in me?"

"You bet!" Yunxin’s face turned slightly red as she clenched her fists and waved them excitedly, like a total fangirl. "He Yin is super strong!"

"Oh, right," Yunxin suddenly glanced around cautiously before leaning in to whisper in He Yin’s ear, "Can you ask that ridiculous Shang... Master Shang to stop blocking your name on FF?"

That unreasonable Shang Wenze—so inflexible! Deleting malicious gossip posts was one thing, but he even heartlessly deleted so many posts praising He Yin for her beauty and intelligence!

Did he think he could hide He Yin like this? Didn’t he know there were already tons of private group chats within the academy discussing her?

Of course, Jiang Yunxin also wanted to keep He Yin all to herself—but only in friendship, not by dimming or concealing her brilliance.

He Yin should shine brightly, become a total superstar, the most dazzling presence in Faro Academy!

He Yin was a little surprised. She hadn’t known Shang Wenze had done such a thing.

"I can’t even openly cheer for He Yin on FF anymore," Yunxin whined, pouting.

"...I understand," He Yin said gently, patting her head. "I’ll talk to him."

After discussing the competition, Yunxin lowered her head and took out a pink invitation from her small bag, handing it to He Yin.

"He Yin, my birthday is this Saturday. My family is throwing a party for me. Can you come?" she asked hopefully.

"If you’re inviting me, I wouldn't miss it," He Yin replied naturally. She opened the invitation—the time was set for 7 p.m. on Saturday.

"Is it a formal occasion?" she asked. "It says 'formal ball' here."

That would determine whether she needed to dress formally.

"It’s pretty formal. The guest list was mostly decided by my parents. They invited a lot of high-society types—it’s nominally my birthday party, but really, it’s just another schmoozefest for them."

"I sent out many invitations, but yours is the only one I wrote by hand..." Yunxin lowered her eyes shyly. "You were my first choice to invite."

He Yin felt touched.

"Thank you, Yunxin," she said sincerely. "I wouldn't miss it."

After lunch, the two went their separate ways after lunch.

Walking along the campus path, He Yin began thinking about what gift to give Yunxin. She wanted to make a big deal of it, she thought.

This was the first time she’d received a birthday party invitation from a girl.

That afternoon, He Yin had a PE class.

When selecting courses, she had deliberately avoided the really intense ones.

Sports, be it football, basketball, badminton, or volleyball, were all passed over, and she cautiously chose—Tai Chi.

This class was indeed quite relaxed; the teacher taught slowly and patiently, and one wouldn't feel too exhausted after completing a set of Tai Chi. Qi Heyin's movements were not very coordinated, but her memory was excellent. After practicing a few times, she managed to mimic the movements with some semblance of accuracy, getting about seventy to eighty percent right.

After teaching today’s content, the teacher announced that students could now move around freely, and the Tai Chi class dispersed. Qi Heyin found herself wandering alone to the track field.

Before her lay several winding red tracks, standard in size, each lap measuring four hundred meters.

Her gaze moved upward from the white lines painted on the track, and she couldn’t help but think of the physical fitness test again.

Deciding to jog for a while to test her current stamina, Qi Heyin took a deep breath and began to run slowly along the track.

...Her pace was as slow as a turtle, she thought.

After running about two hundred meters, she was already struggling to catch her breath, her heart pounding rapidly.

Qi Heyin didn’t push herself and decided to stop for a rest.

"Watch out, girl ahead—"

A forceful shout suddenly came from nearby.

Lifting her head, Qi Heyin saw a soccer ball flying high from the field inside the track, spinning rapidly as it hurtled toward her at high speed.

She reacted quickly. Spotting the ball's trajectory, she swiftly stepped back.

"Bang!—"

The football whizzed past her side and slammed heavily onto the ground.

"Classmate! Are you alright?!"

The boy who had shouted earlier hurried over. He stood nervously in front of Qi Heyin, beads of cold sweat on his forehead, still shaken by the close call.

That nearly gave him a heart attack!

But this girl reacted so quickly...

"Sorry about that!" He scratched his head awkwardly. "That was my bad—almost hit you."

Only when the boy spoke did Qi Heyin shift her gaze from the still-rolling football.

...What a careless ball-hurling brute.

"Please be more careful next time," she said coolly, looking at him.

When the boy got a clear view of Qi Heyin's face, his expression froze momentarily, a flash of admiration flickering in his eyes.

His lips parted with an awkward chuckle as he was about to say something, but before he could speak, a sudden flying kick knocked him flat on his back.

"What the hell are you even looking at? That was a pathetic kick."

An annoyed voice rang out.

The boy crashed onto the ground, pain flaring through his body. He groaned, tilting his head back just in time to see a pair of loudly colored limited-edition sneakers arrogantly planted on his chest.

"Y-Yong Master Jiang!" His voice trembling as he realized who it was, the boy gaped up in terror.

"Worthless." Jiang Yanche said coldly.

He looked down at the boy with disdain: "If I ever see you kick a ball like that again, get out of my team."

"Yes, yes... I'm sorry!" The boy nodded repeatedly, his lips trembling, any foolish fantasies instantly vanishing.

Jiang Yanche gave him a contemptuous glance and withdrew his foot.

"Get lost." He uttered icily.

Hearing this, the boy acted like he'd been pardoned, scrambling to his feet and fleeing as fast as he could.

Qi Heyin silently observed everything. She had long known what kind of person Jiang Yanche was—moody and hot-headed. In such moments, intervening would be futile, only provoking his defiant side.

"Jiang Yanche..." Watching the boy's retreating figure disappear at the edge of the field, she sighed and turned to the pink-haired young man frowning before her: "What are you doing here?"

Jiang Yanche looked at her, the hostility in his eyes fading slightly as his expression softened.

"Playing soccer," he replied casually.

"We're preparing for a match. We have a game against another school in a few days."

Pausing briefly, he glanced at Qi Heyin and curled his lips, his tone lightening: "Qi Heyin, I didn’t expect you to actually come practice running!"

"Good on you for keeping your promise. Ah, look at you—all red-faced and out of breath. Have you been running long?"

"Two hundred meters," Qi Heyin replied calmly.

Jiang Yanche: "..."

After a brief silence, he suddenly burst into laughter: "Ah, you're really out of shape!"

Qi Heyin remained expressionless: "No need to remind me."

"...Pathetic." Jiang Yanche pursed his lips and abruptly said: "Let me help you."

Qi Heyin asked: "By cheating for me again?"

"Of course not. Qi Heyin, you’re right—as the team captain, I can’t engage in favoritism." Jiang Yanche said solemnly: "So, let me teach you."

"Teach me?"

"Hmph, don’t doubt me. I’m an athletic whiz." Under the sunlight, the boy narrowed his striking blue eyes, studying her for a moment: "And you... are a complete klutz. Right, Qi Heyin?"

"So let me teach you. With Coach Jiang here, I guarantee you’ll pass the PE test in two weeks. Just a mile? Piece of cake!" He grinned confidently, eyes crinkling.

Qi Heyin: "..."

This guy... what am I supposed to say to him?

Time flew by, and soon it was Friday.

At two in the afternoon, Qi Heyin headed to the academy’s auditorium to participate in the preliminary round of the KNOWLEDGE QUIZ.

Glancing around, she noticed the hall was packed.

Students from various grades and majors had signed up—a whopping five hundred students... The competition would be brutal.

About ten minutes later, several proctors entered the hall carrying thick stacks of test papers, their expressions stern.

Qi Heyin sat at her designated seat, patiently waiting for the papers to be distributed.

The exam bell rang.

The tryouts for the four-member team representing THE Imperial University Comprehensive Knowledge Competition had officially begun.