She became a heartthrob among internet celebrities.

Chapter 128 Variety Show 05

With two hours to go before the afternoon session started, most of the contestants chose to return to their hotels. The production team provided boxed lunches, but some contestants suggested going out to eat. After all, they were all adults, and the production team gave them a few instructions before letting them go.

Jiang Lai originally wanted to ask Zhou Yunyun and the others if they wanted to go out to eat, but when she saw the bright sun outside through the glass, she immediately gave up the idea.

“I think the boxed lunches are pretty good too,” Jiang Lai said to Zhou Yunyun, with a bitter face.

Zhou Yunyun agreed: "It's too sunny. We can order takeout at the hotel. We don't want to go out anyway."

The two girls didn't want to go out, and the boys didn't want to bother either, so the four of them ate the boxed lunches that Lin Chaoyin had given them at the hotel.

"Senior, why are you even providing lunch boxes?" Zhou Yunyun asked.

"No, there are people specifically in charge of this, but I was just thinking of talking to you guys, so I took over this as well." Lin Chaoyin said, "How was your morning?"

Lin Yi: "It's quite interesting. More interesting than I imagined."

Chen Shuo buried himself in his rice, and only after swallowing the last bite did he say, "The contestants are quite talented."

"That student from USTC is really strong."

"Hey, stop talking about that. Haven't you seen any good-looking people?" Zhou Yunyun nudged Jiang Lai with her shoulder with ill intent. "Do you think there are any?"

Jiang Lai understood what she meant, but didn't respond. Instead, she pretended to be serious and said, "We shouldn't be so superficial. It's not enough to just focus on appearance. Inner beauty is more important."

Zhou Yunyun rolled her eyes: "Nonsense!"

"Hey, you know what, there are a few good-looking ones, they get more screen time." Lin Chaoyin noticed Jiang Lai and Qu Su's little interaction from below the stage. "Like Qu Su from Huada University?"

She touched Jiang Lai's face: "You're just as pretty as me, junior! A lot of people say you two are a perfect match!"

"Oh dear, that won't do! How can we let our own junior schoolmate go to the rivals!" Chen Shuo joked, and Lin Yi nodded with a smile.

Jiang Lai feigned embarrassment and annoyance: "Shut up!"

The room was filled with a pleasant atmosphere.

"Let's talk about something else. Good luck in the afternoon's competition!" Lin Chaoyin patted Zhou Yunyun on the shoulder. "You can't lose to Huada."

Zhou Yunyun clenched her fist and said, "Don't worry!"

Jiang Lai asked curiously, "Senior, what's the competition this afternoon?"

"Of course I can't tell!" Lin Chaoyin: "I can't violate my professional ethics~"

Jiang Lai and Zhou Yunyun: "6....."

"Just kidding. Although we're alumni, as your senior, I really hope you can win, but I really can't say. You'll find out when the time comes." Lin Chaoyin glanced at the time on her phone. "I should probably go now. There's a lot of work to do with the interns. You guys should get some rest too, and be in good spirits this afternoon."

Lin Chaoyin left, and Lin Yi and Chen Shuo also said they were going back to get some sleep.

Zhou Yunyun: "Are you sleepy, junior?"

Jiang Lai: "I'm not sleepy, but I'll still take a nap. Half an hour should be enough. Didn't my senior say that we need to be in good spirits in the afternoon? I estimate that I'll be doing a lot of mental work in the afternoon."

Zhou Yunyun had originally planned to ask Jiang Lai to check out the comments on the show from netizens on Weibo and Douyin, but after hearing what she said, she thought it made sense, so she also took a break.

-

Half an hour later, the alarm clock rang on time.

Jiang Lai and Zhou Yunyun groggily got up, washed their faces, and then went out of the room.

Lin Yi and Chen Shuo were already waiting for them. The four of them walked out of the hotel together and boarded the production team's bus.

"The production team is quite good. They booked a good hotel and even sent a car. Otherwise, it would be quite hot to walk to the TV station right now," Lin Yi remarked.

“That’s right, that’s right, let’s get in the car first!” Chen Shuo pulled him along.

Jiang Lai was still not quite clear-headed, but she got on the bus as well.

"Junior, come here!" Zhou Yunyun quickly took a seat, and Jiang Lai went over and sat down next to her. Zhou Yunyun sat by the window, while Jiang Lai sat by the aisle.

Lin Yi and Chen Shuo had intended to sit on the other side, but someone else had already taken their seats. Lin Yi smiled and said, "Hello, classmate, this seat—"

Qu Su pulled his baseball cap over his face and said, "I'm going to sleep."

Lin Yi's smile froze on his face: "?"

Chen Shuo pulled Lin Yi to sit down in front of Jiang Lai and Zhou Yunyun, saying, "Never mind, it's the same in front."

As soon as Jiang Lai sat down, she closed her eyes and leaned against Zhou Yunyun, completely unaware of what was happening around her.

The bus drove smoothly on the road, which was neither too far nor too short, but had several turns.

As the car swayed, Jiang Lai's head moved back and forth on Zhou Yunyun's shoulder, while Qu Su, sitting on the other side, stared at her profile.

Zhang Yan couldn't bear to look: "Are you a pervert?"

Qu Su didn't even turn his eyes to look at him, and said directly, "Shut up!"

The bus was filled with the sounds of the contestants chatting amongst themselves. Jiang Lai, now fully awake, sat up straight and said, "Thank you, senior!"

When Zhou Yunyun heard her voice, her heart melted. "It's okay, if you're still sleepy, just take a nap."

Jiang Lai shook her head: "Never mind."

“Sleeping too much is not good,” Qu Su interjected.

Jiang Lai nodded in agreement: "Yes."

Qu Su was pleased to see her talking to him. He took out a few mints from his pocket and offered them to Jiang Lai like a treasure, asking, "Want some?"

Jiang Lai looked down at the candy in his hand. She didn't really like the mint flavor, so she shook her head. "No, I don't like it. You eat it yourself!"

"Okay." Qu Su withdrew his hand, looking aggrieved. "I'll bring you something else next time."

Zhou Yunyun watched with a leisurely air.

Seeing her expression, Qu Su handed her the candy, saying, "Here you go, don't look at me. Jiang Jiang, actually I don't like mints either, what a coincidence, hahaha!"

Zhou Yunyun took the candy without knowing why, and then heard Qu Su say that. She was speechless, tore open the mint candy and put it in her mouth.

Qu Su continued, "So what flavor of candy do you like? Chocolate, perhaps?"

Jiang Lai looked at him questioningly: "Orange flavor. No chocolate."

Qu Su: She answered me! She cares about me!

Along the way, Qu Su actively tried to find topics to talk about, and Jiang Lai would respond, so the atmosphere between the two was quite good.

Soon, the bus took everyone to the TV station.

Everyone entered the studio.

At exactly 2 PM, the live stream started on time.

Let's see who comes in first!

—Ahhhh, I came to see Qu Su.

—Go, juniors! Go, alma mater!

As the live broadcast began, host Shi Lan addressed the camera: "Hello viewers and contestants! Welcome back to the stage of 'Brainpower Showdown.' I am Shi Lan."

"Next up is our afternoon match, please look at the big screen!"

Shi Lan waved his arm at the camera, gesturing for everyone to look at the large screen behind him. The camera panned, revealing the words "Ever-Changing Cube" on the screen.

The show's mascot appeared on screen, speaking in its usual adorable tone: "Contestants, please pay attention! The cube shown next to me now has six QR codes on each of its six sides. You need to find the rectangular cube that can be restored to form this cube from among the vast number of rectangular cubes on site and then restore it. After that, you need to scan each face to verify your identity. If you scan all six sides correctly, you will succeed in the challenge. The ranking will be based on the time taken."

After saying that, it disappeared, leaving only the unfolded diagram on the screen. Suddenly, a bright light appeared, and the contestants noticed that the stage was filled with long tables, and many long cubes appeared on each of their tables.

The contestants all gasped in surprise.

Zhou Yunyun patted her forehead: "I can't do this. Whoever can, let's try! I can fold a square, but I really can't remember a QR code."

Lin Yi carefully observed the QR code on the screen: "You can focus on the more obvious features to memorize it."

Chen Shuo made a mournful face: "What if it's different in some small place?"

Lin Yi calmly replied, "The process of elimination."

Chen Shuo: "I'm dizzy."

He was trying to find someone to cry with when he saw Jiang Lai, who hadn't said a word, standing to the side. Seeing that she was still carefully examining the QR code, he assumed she also found it difficult, so he went up to her and asked, "Junior, are you confident?"

In terms of memory, Jiang Lai dares to say that she is not bad at all. After all, she has the buff there. She also consciously trains her ability. She doesn't say she can remember everything at a glance, but if she puts her mind to it, she can always memorize things.

While answering Chen Shuo's question, she continued to stare at the QR code: "I think it's fine."

“Yeah, it’s really hard—” Chen Shuo stared at her: “What did you say? I think I misheard?”

Jiang Lai pointed to his eyes with her right hand: "Senior, your eyes are about to pop out. Also, you heard me right, I said I think it's fine."

Chen Shuo was about to say something when Zhou Yunyun stopped him: "Don't bother your junior. You're not good enough and you want to hold her back? Let her prepare in peace! Also, even if you feel you can't do it, you can't give up. You should go and memorize it too!"

Lin Yi also expressed her agreement.

The host only continued speaking after the noise from the audience gradually subsided.

Shi Lan looked surprised: "This is way too difficult!"

Indeed, this question tests not only memory, but also observation and spatial reasoning.

—No, who can remember a QR code?

—Hmm...Isn't there a drama where the male lead can memorize the female lead's QR code?

—You know that's a TV drama, right?!

—This is so hard! No wonder they said the morning's questions were just a warm-up; the afternoon's questions were really difficult, so difficult that most people couldn't even finish them.

—Yeah, this morning there was a bunch of people saying this show was terrible, that the contestants weren't good enough, and now look at them! Come out and keep talking!

In short, if you can do it, then do it; if you can't, then shut up.

Shi Lan: "Let's cut to the chase and invite the contestants to the stage!"

Everyone went up to the stage and walked to the long table with their names on it.

After the host gave the start signal, the contestants quickly began their movements.

Some people threw it far away to try and see the whole QR code, while others started searching for it directly.

—Actually, this is quite difficult, because if the contestants focus on one particular place as their memory, they might overlook other areas.

—It's all black and white, my eyes are getting tired of seeing it.

—I took a screenshot. The QR code leads to the words "Brainpower Showdown," and all the sides are the same.

—Upstairs did what I wanted to do; I was just curious what the QR code would show.

A piercing sound rang out.

The camera panned to one of the contestants, whose screen displayed "Incorrect Answer".

—I suddenly realized, could I just piece them all together first? And then directly scan the QR code?

—Exploiting loopholes?

—No, didn't you hear the host explain the rules? One mistake means a half-minute penalty, two mistakes mean a full minute. This competition is about time, so the more mistakes you make, the more time you get penalized, and you still lose.

--I see

The contestants were all answering the questions seriously, and Jiang Lai was no exception.

Unlike the others who glanced at the screen and then at the long bar, Jiang Lai stared at the large screen for a while before slowly walking to her long table.

The camera then focused on Jiang Lai, who first arranged all the long cubes in order, and then systematically categorized them.

—What are the criteria she uses for classification?

—I can't see it clearly!!!

—Our junior is so pretty!!

Go Jiang Jiang!!!

Jiang Lai immediately started working, picking up one piece and beginning to assemble it. After assembling it twice, she put it down and picked up another piece to start assembling.

—? Could she have remembered everything?

—Really?

—Absolutely impossible!

In fact, Jiang Lai did not continue to look at the big screen, but instead focused on assembling the cubes.

The camera then shifts to other people.

—? Move it back!

—I'm so anxious!

Go BGI!

Jiang Lai rubbed her eyes, let out a long breath, and then scanned the code and clicked submit.

"Ding-dong!" The first place winner has been announced!

Some contestants were drawn to the competition and looked up to see who had finished, while others continued with their actions.

—Is it Imperial University?

Wow, that's amazing! They actually finished it in such a short time!

—No, how does a person's brain work?

Jiang Lai was led off the stage by the science assistant and sat back in the contestants' seats. Her wall competition was over, but the others hadn't, so she could only watch from below.

A camera panned to her.

Jiang Lai waved to the camera: "Hi~"

—She's greeting me; she likes me!

—Don't dream upstairs, that's clearly my wife.

—Do you know how long Jiang Jiang had to coax me because of what the person upstairs said?

—It has to be Imperial University! Is it that strong?

—I know this contestant; she participated in an English vocabulary competition before and is very strong.

So, is it because they have a naturally strong memory?

Where are the people from Beijing University? Come out and explain this to everyone!

—It's definitely Imperial University's first place, but who's second? Come on, let's make a bet!

The live stream was lively, and the atmosphere among the contestants on stage gradually became tense.