dkrc Chapter 15: Attracted by Capital
Chapter 15: Attracted by Capital
Upon hearing the host announce the winner, the audience erupted in a buzz of discussion.
"Wait, is there a team from the Academy of Fine Arts going on stage? I don't recall them doing that!"
"Signature number 9! It's the project with signature number 9! Did the host mispronounce the name?"
"Wasn't that guy named Gengzhi who just said that? Shouldn't the founder be Ma Chunmei? And who is this Xiang guy?"
The helpful young man in the front row, with his neat short hair and black-rimmed glasses, turned around in confusion to ask, "Excuse me... is Xiang, who's in the art major, part of your team?"
"Yes...yes, he's also our partner." Ma Chunmei showed a hint of nervousness at this moment, and subconsciously glanced at Geng Zhi beside her.
Geng Zhi, however, remained calm and indifferent, gazing steadily towards the podium.
"Shouldn't first place belong to our School of Computer Science? How did it become the School of Fine Arts?" Professor Qi Chuqin, sitting on the judging panel, looked puzzled and raised his voice, asking the host, "Is there a mistake in the name?"
After the female host finished reading, she was also confused. When Professor Qi asked her a question, she hurriedly ran backstage to urgently verify with the scoring statistician.
"The ranking list was generated based on the 'project leader' information submitted during registration. The registrant for number 9 is named 'Hao Pengxiang,' and he is indeed from the Academy of Fine Arts. Ma Chunmei and Geng Zhi are both on the team member list," the scorekeeper explained, pointing to the registration form.
After hearing the explanation, the host quickly ran back to the judges' table, bent down, and whispered the situation to Professor Qi.
After understanding the situation, Qi Chuqin's expression softened slightly. He nodded and didn't say anything more.
As long as Geng Zhi is truly a student of our own college, the vote wasn't wasted, and the high score wasn't for nothing. As for which college the honor belongs to... it doesn't matter, as long as the benefits stay within our own college.
The host then officially announced the list of winning teams for the competition. The top three teams secured awards directly, and the remaining projects will be submitted to the school for final review.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the winning team will receive a free startup funding grant from the university.
As soon as the announcement of the successful conclusion of the roadshow was made, the lecture hall was instantly filled with the relaxed atmosphere unique to the eve of a holiday, and most of the students began to leave in twos and threes.
"Hurry up!" Geng Zhi suddenly lowered his voice and said urgently to the three people beside him.
He swiftly closed his notebook, stood up, and led the way, walking quickly down the aisle.
Although Niu Baoguo, Ma Chunmei, and Huang Lijuan were confused, they hurriedly got up as well, but they were noticeably a beat slower.
Just then, the boy with black-rimmed glasses in the front row called out to Ma Chunmei.
"Hi, excuse me, please...wait a minute," the boy pushed up his glasses, his tone a little hesitant, his eyes darting around as if he didn't dare to look her in the eye, "Could...could I leave you my contact information? Renren or QQ is fine."
Ma Chunmei was taken aback.
She didn't want to give her contact information to this guy who was neither particularly good-looking nor tall, but he had indeed helped her twice, so she hesitated for a moment.
"Excuse me, don't... don't misunderstand," the man with black-rimmed glasses said hastily, waving his hands as he saw her hesitate. He spoke so fast it was like he was speaking at double speed. "I mainly want to... want to learn about entrepreneurship from your team."
He pointed sheepishly at Geng Zhi's retreating figure and added, "I originally wanted to add that senior on QQ directly, but he walked too fast..."
"Oh, I see... Then write down my phone number, 158...XXXX6506."
Ma Chunmei quickly rattled off a string of numbers, then hurriedly called to Niu Baoguo and Huang Lijuan, "Quick, keep up with Geng Zhi!"
The clever girl had already realized why Gengzhi had to run away—if she didn't run away now, she wouldn't be able to get away.
"Hey... wait a minute, kid!" The man with black-rimmed glasses caught up again, holding his Nokia phone, looking puzzled. "I just called you back, and the system said... this number is not in service?"
At this moment, Geng Zhi, who had just reached the entrance of the passageway, noticed that several other students were also walking quickly toward him with burning eyes, and knew that he would not be able to leave for the time being.
He simply stopped and retreated back to his seat.
Seeing the persistent yet embarrassed man with black-rimmed glasses, Geng Zhi asked directly, "Excuse me, are you from the Computer Science department?"
"Yes, senior! My name is Yang Ankang, and I'm a senior majoring in Software Engineering in our School of Computer Science." The boy was excited to see Geng Zhi take the initiative to speak to him.
Hearing the boy respectfully address Geng Zhi as "senior," the honest Niu Baoguo couldn't help but correct him: "We're actually also from the same university..."
He had only spoken halfway when he felt a slight pain on the back of his foot—he had been "accidentally" stepped on by Geng Zhi.
Niu Baoguo hissed and quickly shut his mouth, looking completely innocent.
"Junior, just add me on QQ." He looked calmly at this potential future star and directly gave him a string of numbers, "10xxxxxx24."
Several quick-thinking students who had been listening intently also pulled out their phones and wrote down the QQ number.
"Gengzhi, your speech was absolutely brilliant! Congratulations on winning first place!" It was Zhang Xuhao who spoke as he approached, his face filled with sincere admiration. "Can I add you on QQ? Let's keep in touch!"
"Okay, your project is actually fantastic, it just lacks a discerning eye." Geng Zhi patted Zhang Xuhao on the shoulder without saying anything more.
Of the eight groups that came on stage just now, besides Zhang Xuhao, there were also Qi Junyuan, who came in 3rd place, and Cai Haoyu, who came in 5th place.
They exchanged a few brief pleasantries with Geng Zhi, exchanged contact information, and then led their team away.
By this time, more than a dozen people had gathered around Geng Zhi and his companions, chattering amongst themselves:
"Hey, could you share your presentation slides? I'd like to study their structure carefully!"
"Hello, Mr. Gengzhi, I'm from the School of Foreign Languages, and I'd like to ask you a few questions..."
……
While maintaining a smile and politely responding to the students seeking his advice, Geng Zhi would occasionally glance up at the mostly empty judges' panel.
By this time, the judges had finished their basic greetings, and Yang Jinqian, Kong Fanqin, and others had already left the venue.
Only Zhu Xiaohu, Qi Chuqin, and teacher Jin Zhilong remained, still gathered around the judges' table, talking in hushed tones, seemingly still enjoying themselves.
The last time he looked up, Geng Zhi's gaze met Zhu Xiaohu's, who was looking in his direction.
Zhu Xiaohu gave a rather gentle smile, and then waved to Geng Zhi clearly.
After a slight hesitation, Geng Zhi said to the fans and students around him, "Sorry, the judges are looking for you," and then parted the crowd and slowly walked towards the three people.
As he walked toward the three men, he brushed past a long-haired boy wearing a baseball cap.
He had a vague feeling that the way that boy looked at him was different from how he looked at other ordinary college students.
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