“Cough, cough!”
“Since everyone is here, let’s get ready to depart.”
Cheng Su, looking at the students, likely had an idea of what they were discussing.
He hadn’t expected Zhen Zhu to harbor such feelings for Qiu Xi.
She had dared to voice her thoughts while their teacher was present. That was certainly bold, perhaps also linked to her family background.
Although Cheng Su felt a bit embarrassed, he had brought them, and regardless of whether he liked it, he had to take responsibility.
“Teacher Cheng has spoken, so hurry and pack your things. Check if you’ve brought everything you need. If there are no issues, we’ll be ready to leave.”
The invitations were with the teachers. As for the students, they only needed to bring their own materials, nothing else of importance.
“Okay.” Qiu Xi and the others nodded quickly.
“Alright, since there are no problems, let’s go then.”
The arranged cars were already waiting outside, ready for them.
Ding Yujing finished speaking and led Qiu Xi out first.
Ten people, three large cars were arranged, with ample space.
“Xiao Xi, go up first.”
They were leaving with Wang Zhihong and his student. He would wait a moment longer.
“Okay.” Qiu Xi nodded and got into the car first.
...
Half an hour later—
The venue provided by the organizers for the temporary exchange meeting was a school.
Qiu Xi had attended similar overseas events before, but this was her first time at a school venue.
“This is it. You kids stay close; don’t get lost inside.”
Seeing the gathered students, Ding Yujing reminded them again.
The children observing their surroundings only nodded blankly after hearing Ding Yujing’s words.
They then slowly followed behind the teachers.
Catching a glimpse of the school ahead, it had a very European architectural style.
It looked quite nice, and for a moment, she didn’t know how to describe it.
While they were contemplating, they had already reached the venue.
“This is it. Let’s go register first and then take a look at the specific situation inside. There should still be quite some time before the event starts.”
They had arrived about an hour earlier than the scheduled time, and there was still a long while before the event commenced.
“Teacher Ding, let’s go, we’ll go in first,” Yang Shanshan said, addressing Ding Yujing as she noticed the sparse number of people at the entrance.
Standing there now, besides the few people at the entrance checking invitations, there was hardly anyone else.
Ding Yujing nodded, “Alright, let’s go.”
With fewer people, it was better for them to go in early.
After speaking, Ding Yujing walked ahead, with Qiu Xi beside him. The other teachers followed with their respective students.
“Teacher Ding, this space is quite large~” Qiu Xi exclaimed as soon as she entered the vast venue.
The venue was indeed huge; at a glance, it seemed as large as a football field.
What made Qiu Xi even more curious was that it was all on one level.
Even with participants from other countries attending the conference, such a large venue wasn’t necessary!
After all, not all countries would participate, so a slightly larger conference room that could accommodate dozens to a hundred people would have been sufficient.
“This, your teacher doesn’t really know…”
Ding Yujing was also puzzled; he hadn’t known the venue would be this large before arriving.
For their exchange meeting, this was excessively large!
This space, over 100 meters long and about 70 meters wide, was indeed surprising compared to their previous conference rooms that just accommodated the participants.
“Teacher Ding, isn’t this venue… a bit too big?” The students who followed behind looked at the scene with surprise and asked Ding Yujing, who was ahead, with some confusion.
Ding Yujing nodded with a hint of gravity, “Yes.”
“This is indeed a bit strange…”
“But look over there, it seems like they are isolating something, preparing to do something…” Ding Yujing shifted their gaze to a section of the large space not far away.
Suddenly, a large expanse of what looked like glass partitions was erected in the middle, dividing the space.
Yet, even so, they, standing on this side, still felt the place was rather vast.
And what were they preparing to do on the other side of the partition?
“Suddenly dividing the space, what are they trying to do?” Yang Shanshan looked at the erected partition in the distance with extreme curiosity.
“We don’t know now, but I have a feeling something isn’t quite right,” Zhao Qin frowned, her sense of strangeness and unease intensifying.
Cheng Su, who had always been serious and stern, now showed a trace of uncertainty on his face.
“This venue… it doesn’t seem like it’s meant to accommodate only us…”
If it were just for them, there would be no need to go to such lengths to prepare such a large venue and specially separate it with a unique partition.
It looked like two venues…
“That partition… it doesn’t seem ordinary…” Qiu Xi murmured, looking at it from afar.
She recalled that her company’s renovation had once involved a material similar to this, which Chu Lanzhi had mentioned to her.
“Qiu Xi, what do you mean?”
“Could it be that one side is for viewing, and the other is normal?” Ma Qinshu’s eyes widened as she looked at the partition not far from her.
What was initially a casual remark, to her surprise, Qiu Xi nodded.
“It really is.” Qiu Xi, looking at Chu Lanzhi’s reply, nodded earnestly at the others.
Her memory was good; this partition seemed to be exactly as she thought.
“Xiao Xi, tell us more specifically.”
Knowing the detailed situation might help them figure out what this place was for.
“Okay.” Qiu Xi nodded.
“This is a partition made of a special material that I encountered by chance before. On one hand, it’s like the windows of some cars; when closed, people inside the car can see the situation outside, but people outside cannot see inside. On the other hand, this material has excellent soundproofing. Although it looks like a mirror, if needed on the other side, it can be used as a temporary projector with quite good results.”
Qiu Xi explained the special features of the partition as simply as possible.
“Teacher Ding, if your student is correct, then the organizers’ intentions for this event are probably not simple…”
“I think it’s more than not simple. This huge venue, half of it is separated. Could there be people on the other side?” Wang Zhihong’s usually smiling face now showed a hint of anger.
There had been no prior notice about this change before they departed!
“In this case, it’s highly likely that’s the case.”
“However, as for who exactly these people are on the other side, I’m afraid we’ll only know after the exchange meeting ends, unless the organizers tell us.”
“……”
Before the exchange meeting had even truly begun, everyone’s mood had soured considerably.
“Let’s go, let’s go take a look over there.”
“We might only know the specific situation when people start appearing.”
After much discussion with no solution, Ding Yujing prepared to lead them to a spot not far from the partition to observe further.
“Let’s go, let’s see if we can figure something out.”
“Okay.”
With that, the ten of them walked over in twos and threes.
...
After about ten minutes of observation, Qiu Xi had given up.
Since they dared to do this, they probably weren’t afraid of them causing any trouble.
However, since the partition was put up in front of everyone, they probably didn’t intend to hide it from them.
Otherwise, it would mean the organizers were overly arrogant and completely unafraid of pressure from everyone.
These seemed to be the only two possibilities…
“Teachers, why don’t you come over and rest for a while too.”
As time slowly passed and the exchange meeting was nearing its start, more and more people on-site were filled with confusion and curiosity. Rather than continue watching, it would be better to rest early and wait for everyone to uncover the mystery together.
“What this child says is right; we should go over and rest first.” Zhao Qin glanced at her watch; there wasn’t much time left.
Before coming, she had intended to come in early to familiarize themselves with the environment and then let the students adjust their moods. But with this unexpected turn of events, forget familiarizing themselves or adjusting their moods; if her student could speak fluently in a while, she would be satisfied.
She hadn’t been worried initially, but now, with this development, she was unsure.
“Okay, let’s go find a place to rest,” Ding Yujing said after a glance, immediately instructing everyone to go rest.
After waiting for about half an hour, the time for the exchange meeting arrived.
At the appointed moment, the venue suddenly became exceptionally quiet.
...