"Their license plates were Xiang A1163h and Yue Cu1688," Zhou Yutong said, closing her eyes nervously, as if awaiting a verdict.
She wasn't entirely sure if her answers were correct, relying only on the vague numbers she recalled.
Seeing her lack of confidence, everyone thought the possibility of her getting it right was slim.
"Tong Tong, did this sister answer correctly?" Xia Qianqian whispered.
Tong Tong replied, "She got one right and one wrong!" Upon hearing this, Xia Qianqian looked at Zhou Yutong with pity.
The rules didn't care how many were correct or incorrect; if even one was wrong, the answer was considered incorrect.
Although the host already knew the answer, he milked the suspense to build atmosphere. "Did Zhou Yutong answer correctly? Let me reveal the correct answer.
One of the car license plates was Xiang A1163h. Congratulations to Zhou Yutong for getting one of the license plates correct."
As he finished speaking, the audience below erupted in applause, which only made Zhou Yutong more nervous.
This part was the most agonizing. She would have preferred the host to tell her immediately if she got everything right, rather than revealing it piece by piece, which made her feel like she was being judged.
The host, looking at the answer card in his hand, continued, "The license plate of the other car is Yue Cu168…"
He suddenly paused, looking towards Zhou Yutong, and occasionally scanning the audience.
Others, seeing that the first part was correct, assumed the last digit must also be right.
Even Zhou Yutong felt she had gotten it right. Xia Qianqian, however, was a little nervous. Didn't Tong Tong just say she got one right and one wrong? But now it seemed like everything was correct.
If Tong Tong was wrong, it would mean Tong Tong's abilities might be inferior to Zhou Yutong's.
Tong Tong, however, remained calm. When the camera focused on him, he even flashed a sweet smile at the lens, a smile that could melt any cameraman.
Under everyone's gaze, the host finally revealed the last digit of the license plate: "9!"
The exclamation of "9" sent shockwaves through the crowd. Everyone felt pity for Zhou Yutong. A difference of just one digit between 8 and 9 was too unfortunate.
However, it was clear that Zhou Yutong was still very capable, as she was only off by a single number.
They hadn't paid any attention to these two cars, let alone their license plates.
Zhou Yutong's smile was strained upon hearing the answer.
She was filled with regret. Just one digit difference had cost her the question, putting her at risk of entering the elimination round.
"According to our competition rules, a contestant only gets the question right if they answer everything correctly. Unfortunately, Zhou Yutong got this question wrong. Please take your seat!" The host also felt regret for Zhou Yutong, but a mistake was a mistake.
"Next, let's invite contestant number two, Gu Li, to the stage, and contestant number three, Zheng Rong, to select a question."
...
Time ticked by, and before they knew it, it was Song Yicheng's turn again.
With his intelligence, he answered this question correctly, taking about the same amount of time as the previous one.
Before him, in addition to Zhou Yutong, two other contestants had gotten the question wrong.
Later, up to Tian Tian, two more contestants made mistakes.
This indicated that the questions were somewhat difficult, with a higher error rate than the previous round.
By the time Tong Tong came on stage, there had already been seven errors.
As soon as Tong Tong appeared, he instantly captured everyone's attention.
Tong Tong's performance in the previous round had left a deep impression on them.
Now, everyone was curious whether Tong Tong would answer the question as quickly as he did in the last round.
After Tong Tong sat on the high stool, the host asked, "Tong Tong, your older brothers and sisters have all finished their turns, and the error rate is higher than last round. You are the last contestant. Are you nervous right now?"
Tong Tong shook his head. "Not nervous!"
"It seems Tong Tong has a good mentality and is not intimidated by pressure!
Next, we invite contestant number one, Zhou Yutong, to choose a question for Tong Tong.
Will she choose a slightly easier question, or a more difficult one?"
Zhou Yutong stood up, holding the microphone, and looked at the thirty-two choices on the big screen. After some thought, she finally chose question seven.
"Okay, please take your seat, Zhou Yutong. Contestant Tong Tong, please get ready. The countdown on the big screen will begin," the host announced. The big screen then started its countdown.
Yun Duo'er clenched her fists tightly. Although Song Yicheng had performed well in both rounds, neither of his performances was as stunning as Tong Tong's in the first round.
If Tong Tong performed exceptionally well in this round as well, then Song Yicheng would have a formidable rival.
Initially, Tian Tian was already a strong contender for Song Yicheng. With Tong Tong and a foreign contestant added to the mix, it would be difficult for Song Yicheng to reach the top three in the finals.
Soon, the countdown ended, and a kindergarten scene appeared on the big screen.
Children in a kindergarten were doing morning exercises in the backyard playground. There were crowds of children.
They were all wearing different clothes and had various hairstyles. Some boys had long hair, and some girls had short hair.
Moreover, the children were not lined up in a proper order. They were mixed, boys and girls alternating, and their positions were very disordered, making it dizzying to watch.
Ten seconds flashed by. Everyone had already guessed that the question would likely be about the number of children.
If this were the case, the question would be relatively simple.
Since the children were visible throughout the entire video, most people with good memories should be able to count how many there were.
However, they had only guessed half of it correctly.
After the video ended, the host immediately began to ask, "Tong Tong, please listen to the question. In the scene you just saw, how many female children and how many male children were there? The timer starts now!"
Upon hearing this question, everyone was stunned.
There were at least over two hundred children in the video. Counting the total number was already very difficult, let alone separating them by gender.
Even if they were to be counted separately, the hardest part was that some girls had short hair, and some had long hair.
Tong Tong was so young; it would be difficult to distinguish between boys and girls based on hairstyles alone. This question's deceptive nature exceeded their imagination once again. Indeed, no question was simple.
The other contestants remained silent, recalling the children in the video and calculating the number of males and females.
However, as they counted, they became confused. Only a few people's minds remained clear.
Everyone thought Tong Tong would surely get this question wrong.
Unfortunately, they had underestimated Tong Tong.
As soon as the host finished speaking, Tong Tong answered in just three seconds, "123 male children and 106 female children!"
The audience below couldn't help but murmur amongst themselves upon hearing Tong Tong's answer.
"Is this child serious? Can he really calculate the number of male and female children in such a short time, or is he guessing?"