Chapter 182: The prelude to the debate competition

In the office, the English teacher was talking to Shuishui about the process. "Ma Yue and Luo Ming have been talking to me for the past few days. During your time off, they appealed that the lead debater should be changed. However, when they called the foreign teacher, the foreign teacher insisted that you will be the lead debater. Because of his insistence, you are still the lead debater."

Shuishui listened attentively by the side and nodded. "I will work hard."

"I am your teacher. I will definitely support you as the lead debater! Even if they put pressure on me, I will still support you because I am your teacher. I know how good you are. You are definitely qualified. You don't have to care too much about what the others say." The English teacher was very supportive of Shuishui. She felt that Shuishui deserved to be the lead debater.

Shuishui, with her cold personality, was not the type who would fight for a role. Somehow, she felt anxious. Fortunately, the foreign teacher stood his ground.

"The foreign teacher chose me because Luo Ming and Ma Yue are not qualified," Shuishui said very directly. What she said was the truth. The foreign teacher was very focused on the debate competition and did what he could to ensure that they would win. She knew that everyone wanted them to win.

The foreign teacher emphasized the importance of the competition. It was not an ordinary one. During their meetings, he had repeatedly told them about the importance of their manner of arguing during the debate. They had to learn how to use basic words to get their points across. If the judges wouldn't understand what they were saying, their efforts would be useless.

Ma Yue and Luo Ming could speak the language well, but they would always pause because they need to think. Shuishui, on the other hand, could speak eloquently and had good rapport. She also had a richer vocabulary. That was why the foreign teacher chose Shuishui. It was clear that Shuishui was more capable than the other two in all aspects.

Her teacher held her forehead and sighed. "You child, it's not right for you to say that."

"I think what I said is the truth. If I wasn't capable enough, the foreign teacher would not have chosen me. I have a rough understanding of the debate process. I will return to the classroom first." Shuishui said goodbye to the teacher and returned to the classroom.

When Mu Zilin saw Shuishui, he tried to give Shuishui a big hug. Shuishui retreated and avoided him. "What do you want?"

"Give me a hug. We haven't seen each other for a few days." Mu Zilin fiddled with his book and was a little unhappy.

Shuishui sat down and turned to look at Mu Zilin. "Why are you acting like this? It's like I'm bullying you."

"You've always bullied me." Mu Zilin stuck out his tongue at Shuishui.

Shuishui couldn't help but laugh. She stretched out her hand and pinched Mu Zilin's face. "I missed you very much."

"En, it's good that you missed me. However, can't you be more gentle? " Mu Zilin wasn't moved at all. Shuishui's words were too plain.

Shuishui let go. "Are you still being picky? I need to train for the debate."

"I know, but I feel that you and my brother have something going on," Mu Zilin said in a low voice. He found it strange that his brother often went out with Shuishui and never brought him along.

Shuishui rubbed her chin. "Well, you can ask your brother yourself. After lunch, I'm going out to see my teacher. At two o'clock, I'm going to the convention center for the debate competition."

"Can I go and watch?" Mu Zilin asked.

"What do you think?" Shuishui asked back.

Mu Zilin shook his head. "We still have a class at two. Aiya, I'm really envious of you. You don't have to attend the afternoon classes."

Shuishui smiled.

At noon, Mu Qing and Mu Zilin went to the cafeteria to get some food. Shuishui packed her things and caught up with them. When she arrived at the cafeteria, she would have to eat fast because it was already one o'clock.

She ate quickly. "I'll have to eat fast. I need to go ahead. Help yourself."

Mu Qing looked at Shuishui. "You're so busy every day."

"It can't be helped. The competition time isn't something I can control. I won't be busy anymore after a few days," Shuishui said as she finished the last piece of meat, put the plate away, and rushed over to the gathering.

The school bus would bring them back to school, so there was no need to worry about other problems.

When Shuishui arrived, Ma Yue and Luo Ming didn't look too good. They were unhappy that she had asked for leave for several days, and it was a critical time for them. They were furious, because they could have used that time to prepare. Ma Yue picked up a document and handed it to Shuishui. "Take a look at that. That's the information we found."

Shuishui glanced at it and saw that it was all in Chinese. She put it down and said, "I don't need these. I have prepared my own."

She didn't want to prepare by studying documents written in Chinese because the judges were foreigners. It was an English debate competition, so it was better to prepare by studying documents printed in English.

Ma Yue's expression became bitter. "I don't have any problems with these. We worked on them for several days."

"You guys can refer to that. I'll study my notes." Shuishui took out her own notes and started to read it.

It wasn't that she didn't trust them, but she had different study habits.

Luo Ming pulled Ma Yue back and said, "You don't have to be anxious. This isn't a big deal."

Luo Ming turned to Shuishui. "Qian Shuishui, if you have any questions, you can ask us. We can solve it together."

"Okay. Thank you. Actually, I already have an idea of how this will go. Although I'm the lead debater, if you guys have anything to add, you can speak up. If you guys don't react in time, then I will answer. I hope you guys can pay attention. Don't rush to answer. The validity of your argument is more important. Present your arguments, but don't be too direct. You must use examples. If you don't give examples, our opponent can easily refute the arguments," Shuishui said. They had to work as a team and present solid arguments. She hoped that the team members would not interrupt her during her spiel. If they interrupted her, she would have to change her statements.

Ma Yue was even more dissatisfied. "You think you are very good?"

"I've never thought that way, and I've never said that I'm very good. But I just hope that we get a good result. We need to cooperate with each other. If you can present an argument against the opponent, I'll keep silent and let you speak. Is that okay? However, if you can't answer swiftly, I'll answer for you." Shuishui stressed the impact of being able to respond to arguments quickly.

Shuishui didn't claim that she was very good at debating, and she didn't even claim to be the best among them. Since she was the lead debater, she had to take accountability for their team. Her role was to take into account all aspects of the debate, and although she couldn't directly say it to her teammates, it was important to have strong teammates to win a debate.

Shuishui spoke very directly. She wasn't a weak competitor, and if she could fight to win, she would.

"I understand what you mean. Indeed, among the three of us, you are the one who can respond quickly. We don't know what the topic will be. If it's a side issue, I'm afraid we'll find it difficult to present more solid arguments." Luo Ming had to admit that Shuishui's reaction ability was the best in the team. It had been proven several times during their meetings with the foreign teacher.

He did not have any opinion of Shuishui, nor did he dislike her. He spoke to her in a neutral tone.

"Basically, I will give you three seconds to start the debate. If you don't speak within these three seconds, I will speak in your behalf. Is that all right? After all, if we pause for too long, we will lose points." Shuishui had taken some factors into consideration. The debate competition was all about who could present arguments better. If their team could present solid rebuttals, they would have a chance to invalidate their opponents' arguments.

The team's coach knew that Shuishui could speak the language fluently, but he had never actually seen her in a practice debate, so he was not really convinced about it. Ma Yue went to him every day and appealed for the lead debater to be replaced. He tried to persuade the foreign teacher. However, the foreign teacher insisted that Shuishui should be the lead debater. No matter what they said to discourage the foreign teacher about his decision to choose Shuishui, he could not be swayed.

"Qian Shuishui, actually, Ma Yue and Luo Ming are more experienced than you. Sometimes, it's better to listen to the opinions of others. Don't monopolize the team," he said in a reasonable manner.

Shuishui nodded "I know. As long as it's helpful to me, I will naturally listen to what they have to say with an open mind."

She was also realistic. She knew she could also learn from her teammates.

Her teammates also had their own strengths. Luo Ming was very calm, while Ma Yue could perform exceptionally at certain times.

Under certain circumstances, Shuishui would sometimes be a little anxious. She would try her best to control her emotions and perform well.

When they arrived at the convention center, they got out of the car and were led inside by their teacher. They were familiar with the place.

As they walked inside, Shuishui studied the structure of the place. It was mainly made of glass and steel. On the second floor, they walked on laminated glass. People in skirts would be embarrassed to walk on the second floor, although the view from below would be quite hazy. Shuishui saw a concert hall in front of them. The place was often rented out for speeches, concerts, or press conferences.

They realized that the second, third, and fourth floors were part of the concert hall. It was very big. Their teacher walked in front and said, "This concert hall can accommodate a total of one thousand people. Our seats are in Row G. We'll wait for the drawing of lots. Qian Shuishui, you can go and represent the team."

Shuishui nodded. "Okay."

It was the lead debater who would often draw lots for the team. The lead debater also had to courageously walk up the stage and introduce themselves and their team members.

They sat down as soon as they found their seats. It was already one thirty.

People had slowly filled up the seats in the hall. Some of them were purely sightseeing and occupied the last rows. The front rows were reserved for the participating debaters.

Shuishui sat down and took out her phone.

Ma Yue and Luo Ming were reading their notes, worried that they would forget about what they had studied.

Shuishui's indifferent behavior bothered the coach. She glanced at Shuishui and said, "Qian Shuishui, why don't you read or prepare yourself as well? You won't have time to read later."

"En, later." Shuishui read the message and then looked behind her. She saw her father. She waved to him then turned back around.