Chapter 119: Ye Xuan

After this meal ended, the three of them treated Ye Xuan with a bit more warmth.

On the day of the poetry competition, Ye Xuan originally wanted to sit at the very edge of the judges' table to make it easier for him to zone out, but unexpectedly, he was pushed to the very center by the other three judges.

President Liu, acting as the host for this event, was dumbfounded watching this scene.

What was going on?!

He had initially thought that the other three judges would have opinions about the youngest judge, Ye Xuan.

But what was this respectful attitude right now?!

Had something happened that he didn't know about?!

Just as President Liu was still in a daze, Ye Xuan had already been "forced" to sit in the very center of the judges' table.

Sigh!

It seems I can't slack off today.

Ye Xuan lamented with some regret, while simultaneously looking at the contestant profiles in his hand.

The first China Poetry Competition initially had only ten thousand people sign up for the preliminary round.

Ten thousand sounds like a lot, but in the context of the whole country, it was merely a drop in the ocean.

This was enough to show how niche poetry was.

And these ten thousand preliminary candidates had been screened by the China Poetry Society, successfully selecting one hundred contestants to advance to the finals.

Among them were university students, literary workers, and enthusiasts from all walks of life.

At this moment, all one hundred contestants had gathered at the Guozijian Museum.

"So nervous, so nervous! So worried about improvising!"

"I wonder how many points the poem I wrote will get!"

"Professor Wang is the GOAT!"

"I like Sister Dong Qin the most! I wonder if I can have my poem critiqued by her in person..."

"I just don't know why Ye Xuan is here?!"

"Yes, yes, yes, I was also puzzled when I saw Ye Xuan was a judge!"

"Don't underestimate Ye Xuan, let's speak with our work!"

……

From everyone’s words, one could also extract the scoring requirements for this final.

Each contestant needed to present two poetry works: one prepared poem and one impromptu poem.

The prepared poem was an original work prepared before the competition.

The impromptu poem involved randomly drawing a topic on-site and composing a poem on the spot.

Among them, the prepared poem accounted for seventy points, and the impromptu poem accounted for thirty points.

The final score would be determined entirely by the four judges.

Reviewing the contestant situation and competition requirements, Ye Xuan, sitting at the judges' table, glanced at the time; it was already 1:55.

There were only five minutes left until the official start.

Ye Xuan glanced at President Liu beside him, and saw President Liu nodding to the cameraman, signaling the start of the competition.

That’s right.

President Liu hoped that through this poetry competition, more people would understand poetry; this final was also recorded via a live broadcast on the official channel.

Following President Liu’s signal, the cameraman began the final adjustments.

"Attention, everyone in position."

"Countdown, one minute."

"Sixty... thirty... twenty... ten..."

"The competition begins!"

As the voice fell, the live broadcast channel of the China Poetry Society was immediately opened.

Fans who had been following the live stream poured in in large waves.

"I'm here!"

"Beep beep! I'm here, everyone catch me!"

"Go fall to your death, I don't want to catch you!"

"Front row, do you want to laugh me to death so you can inherit my princess dress?!"

"I'm here to cheer for Sister Dong Qin and Kang Hui!"

……

Just as countless netizens crowded into the live stream, a beam of white light fell on the lecture hall, leaving a circle, and President Liu walked slowly to the center of the stage in formal attire.

"Welcome everyone to the first China Poetry Competition hosted by the China Poetry Society.

Hello everyone, I am the president of the society, Liu Neng, and I am also the host for this event."

As he finished speaking, a round of applause erupted from the contestants below.

Seeing this, President Liu also revealed a faint smile and turned his gaze to the four judges below the stage, introducing them grandly.

"Next, let us welcome the four judge teachers for this event.

They are Teacher Kang Hui, Teacher Dong Qin, Teacher Wang An, and the last one, Teacher Ye Xuan."

The applause below the stage became more enthusiastic, and the live stream chat became lively as well.

"Teacher Dong Qin is dressed so beautifully today!"

"Am I the only one who thinks Kang Hui’s face is even squarer? I’m panicking because I also have a square face [crying]"

"Holy crap, why is that guy Ye Xuan sitting in the very center?!"

"It feels like Ye Xuan has 'reluctant' written all over his face, as if sitting in the middle is such a torment for him [laughing to death]"

"Trembling and shaking as I come to cheer for Professor Wang An, although the little old man probably doesn't need my cheering!"

……

Just as everyone was discussing, President Liu on stage had briefly introduced the rules of the competition and then got straight to the point.

"Please welcome the first contestant to the stage."

Soon, a beautiful girl in a red dress walked up first, confidently and generously introducing her poetry work.

"Hello everyone, I am the first contestant, Jenny. The prepared poem I have prepared is called 'Magnolia'."

"Bursts of faint fragrance come from the ground, following the wind, the shadow lingers."

"Thinking of who possesses this flavor, it blooms coquettishly on the branch."

Once the prepared poem was out, all the judges except Ye Xuan nodded.

However, when drawing the impromptu topic [Egg], this first contestant, seeing the countdown time approaching, was at a loss for words and finally could only squeeze out one sentence.

"Chicken egg, duck egg, poached egg, the one who doesn't love me is a dummy."

The voice reached everyone’s ears through the microphone, and both the audience below the stage and the netizens in the live stream burst into laughter.

After a burst of laughter, it was soon the judges' turn to critique.

Seeing the little girl still embarrassed by her improvisation, Dong Qin spoke up to comfort her.

"The artistic conception of the original poem is very beautiful."

"That Magnolia poem is not bad; to have such attainments at such a young age is very rare," Kang Hui also sighed.

Even the usually stern Professor Wang An spoke up to encourage her.

"I hope you will continue to work hard, bravely climb the peaks, and achieve better poetry accomplishments."

With the three judges speaking one after another, everyone’s gaze soon fell on Ye Xuan at the center of the judges' table.

At this moment, Ye Xuan pursed his lips, looking like he had a lot to say but couldn't.

Living in a cultural desert, where had the people of this world ever seen good poetry?!

Accustomed to the low standard of poetry, everyone’s aesthetic ability for poetry naturally decreased accordingly.

The first poem clearly didn't even meet the most basic requirements of level and oblique tones; Ye Xuan really couldn't call it "not bad."

Not to mention the second impromptu one, that was simply a silly quote!

If he were to praise it against his conscience, Ye Xuan felt he would be letting down the nine years of compulsory education from his previous life!

Shaking his head, Ye Xuan went through his mind and finally blurted out this sentence.

"How is this a poem?!"

As soon as these words came out, the first contestant on stage was stunned.

She also knew her improvisation wasn't very successful.

Fortunately, the score for improvisation wasn't high, so she didn't care much.

But she didn't expect that even the poem she had carefully prepared would get such a low evaluation?!

The other contestants below the stage were also dumbfounded.

The live stream chat was flooded.

"Holy crap, holy crap!"

"This guy is so arrogant! I think the first poem was okay, considering the young lady's looks! [heart]"