"So I only said I was here to join the fun. Anyway, these results don't count toward bonus points for the high school entrance exam, so there's no need to care too much." Some competitions offered bonus points for the entrance exam, but events organized locally by Yao City did not. At best, they looked nice on a student's record.
"True." Principal Li nodded, agreeing with this point. It seemed even the principals understood this. That was why they brought their students along. Other principals clearly understood this too. They looked relaxed, showing no distress about attending this knowledge competition. Although they valued grades, they knew this event didn't really affect them. They treated it like a picnic.
The time came. Everyone sat in their assigned seats. Zhu Yanyi’s seat was neither the best nor the worst. The best seats were reserved for officials and leaders.
Soon, a man who looked like a school staff member walked onto the stage. "Hello, principals and students. This is our first seventh-grade knowledge competition. It focuses on seventh-grade knowledge. Everyone should just participate for the experience." Clearly, this staff member knew the situation. He had to follow orders from leaders. Lower-level staff like him felt helpless. If things went wrong, they would share the blame. If things went right, they might not get credit.
Zhu Yanyi watched this and wanted to laugh. The new staff member probably never expected this situation. From this, she could see that the middle schools in Yao City were still united. At least, this person hadn't caused panic among the people.
"Today's competition has two parts. The first is a written test. Staff will hand out papers soon. You will answer them, and we will grade them on the spot. The full score is fifty. We will calculate your score based on the percentage. The second part is a buzzer round. We will ask questions. Students who know the answer can stand up to answer directly. The full score is also fifty. We will add both scores for the total, then rank everyone."
Zhu Yanyi raised her eyebrows slightly. She thought for a moment, then raised her hand. The staff member was surprised. Principal Liu was also stunned. "Student Zhu Yanyi, what do you want to do?"
"I have some doubts to clear up first." Zhu Yanyi smiled, giving Principal Liu a reassuring look.
The staff member didn't mind the trouble. He pointed at her. "Does this student have any questions?"
Zhu Yanyi stood up. She smiled warmly, making it impossible to dislike her. "What if two people stand up at the same time? The difference might be only a fraction of a second. Human eyes can't see that. How do you judge who answered first?" Current competitions didn't have advanced buzzer systems like in the future. So Zhu Yanyi’s question was very real.
The staff member thought for a moment. "That is indeed a problem. How about this? If two people stand up at the same time and we can't see who was first, please have them write down their answers. Whoever writes the complete answer first wins. Of course, if both are equally complete, they get the same score. Does that work for you? Any other opinions?"
The skill of smoothing things over wasn't just for ancient times. It worked here too.