ABT Chapter 0035 On-Site Speech
The reading on stage paused slightly, and supporters and guests applauded with smiles of congratulations. Journalists took advantage of this gap to snap a few photos, but overall, it was quite perfunctory, after all, they were the second-to-last ranking team.
However, a scene that caused a commotion throughout the venue unfolded.
The leader of the first-ranked ACCD, Johnny Wayne, strode over and extended his right hand to Li Fanyu from a distance.
"Congratulations, oh my God, you guys gave me such a big surprise!"
Li Fanyu hurriedly patted Cheng Ke on the back. Cheng Ke, overcome with excitement, checked her own appearance. Her face turned red, and she slid down awkwardly.
Li Fanyu didn't want her to get down either, she was so soft and tender... What's wrong with this American? So lacking in vision, thumbs down!
Nevertheless, he reached out his hand, but unexpectedly, Johnny went in for a bear hug and patted him hard on the back twice.
And it wasn't over yet. Toyota Chika, who had already left the exhibition hall, turned back and quickly walked to the group of five, bowing and shaking hands with each of them.
This left everyone dumbfounded. The three top students turned disdainfully aside, rejecting her greetings. They had absolutely no goodwill towards the Japanese at this point.
"I'm sorry! My teammate did something that put you in a difficult situation. If you hadn't made it to the finals, I would have felt very guilty. But fortunately, you turned it around. In the next competition, I will defeat you fair and square!"
Toyota Chika said each word slowly, ignoring everyone's indifference, bowing deeply again, and smiling as she left.
The first and second-ranked teams came over to congratulate, arousing the reporters' keen sense of news. They snapped away incessantly, and all sorts of recording pens were almost poking into Li Fanyu's mouth.
He and the three top students answered the reporters' questions with half-baked Chinese-style English, causing headaches for the foreigners.
Cheng Ke, with a red face, hid to the side. Her little brain had short-circuited, and she kept fantasizing about shooting herself.
"Ah ah ah ah! How could you do such an embarrassing thing! It's so shameless!"
Seven big French boys stood nearby, poking each other in confusion, looking at the qualification certificate in their hands.
After a while, one of the handsome guys shrugged and said, "I remember we were third?"
...
To save time costs, the schedule of the competition was very tight. After a short rest and lunch, they began the afternoon session.
The content of the competition was very simple - to give a speech to the expert jury, selling their own design concepts to them.
Thirty teams in the finals, ten awards. A winning probability of 3:1 or less.
After discussion among the five of them, Li Fanyu, who had the clearest understanding of the design concept, took the stage to explain the speech. Cheng Ke took the stage to provide the "face value" support and translate and polish the speech.
Li Fanyu stood on the stage, looking at the pitch-black surroundings, the spotlight shining on him, making it hard to open his eyes.
He glanced at Cheng Ke, who indicated that they could start.
"Before coming here, my teacher told me that the theme of this competition is to promote green automotive design. At the time, I was thinking, what kind of car can truly be considered green? My imagination was quite large, and the first thing I thought of was whether plants could be used as a driving force, watering them could make the car move. But after careful consideration, I realized that even if such a car could be designed, it might not necessarily walk faster than us."
With Cheng Ke's translation, there was a kind laugh from the audience below the stage.
"So I thought, what should a truly green car look like? It doesn't have to be too big, but it should at least have adequate space. It doesn't have to be too fast, but it should at least feel like driving. It doesn't even need to have too many functions, because in a sense, green is about returning to nature."
"So, in our vision, the Smart was born with a total length of 2.5 meters, using a three-cylinder engine with a displacement of no more than 0.6 liters. It is designed specifically for urban use, freely navigating through congested traffic and flexibly moving and parking in tight parking lots. It can be the first, second, or even third family car, suitable for fashionable young people, mothers picking up children or shopping, and white-collar workers commuting to and from work..."
Li Fanyu had never done a roadshow before, and he hadn't even touched a PPT. However, he had watched Apple's keynote events on video. As he confidently spoke, the judges felt a sense of déjà vu...
They were very interested in Smart. Compared to other entries, Smart's appearance was eye-catching and exquisite, and its design concept was extremely relevant to the theme of the competition. If all entries were to be graded, if there was a score based on theme relevance, Smart would undoubtedly score 100.
Faced with such a refined little car, many judges showed great interest. It was said to have appearance modules that could be changed at will, incorporating cutting-edge technological features of the times, and an outstanding environmental protection concept.
Especially the judges from France, their expressions were simply one of adoration. Europeans really liked small cars; in the eyes of ordinary Europeans, cars were just a means of transportation. So, occupying minimal resources, not feeling bad about discarding after a few years, having a beautiful appearance, and a fashionable personality had become hard standards for choosing a car.
And Smart met all of them.
Li Fanyu's speech ended amidst enthusiastic applause. He and Cheng Ke high-fived, quickly making their way to the stage.
The three top students gathered around, repeatedly calling out "awesome," leaving the judges dumbfounded with their flattery, which was also a kind of skill.
Li Fanyu proudly shook his head; well, who do you think I learned from? The brainwashing expert in the mobile phone industry, Steve Jobs.
After the speech, they had nothing else to do for the day. The judges would exchange and discuss tomorrow, deciding on the winners of each award.
But they couldn't rest, they still remembered the plagiarism accusation!
The five of them rushed to the adjudication group, where they argued with the chief judge and several reviewers for more than three hours.
After saying everything they needed to, the chief judge suggested they wait for the verdict.
They all felt a tremendous sense of exhaustion, as if the day had drained them of a year's worth of energy. They uncharacteristically hailed a taxi and returned to the apartment.
Although taxi fares in Munich were exorbitant, with their tired bodies, lying on the thick carpet as soon as they entered the room, they felt that even giving their wallets to the driver was worth it.
Before they could even return to their rooms, they collapsed on the thick carpet and fell asleep.
Zhu Jiu had been on a business trip for the past few days, and the others slept like logs, sleeping until dawn.
Li Fanyu woke up feeling itchy, sneezing twice. When he opened his eyes, he saw a beautiful girl lying beside him.
Cheng Ke held a strand of her own long hair, giggling mischievously when she saw him wake up.
Damn! Did I sleepwalk into Cheng Ke's room last night because I was too tired? Heaven help me, I must have defiled myself!
Li Fanyu quickly checked his pants; his belt was still intact, and so were his boxers.
Really disappointing.
Seeing his actions, Cheng Ke blushed, immediately understanding his lecherous thoughts.
She raised a small fist and hammered Li Fanyu hard, threatening, "Stop thinking nonsense! I woke you up just to, just to tell you. I was just too happy yesterday, and, and, you know, it's just, just..."
"Getting carried away?" Li Fanyu interjected.
"Yes, getting carried away. Don't you dare think otherwise! I admit, as a teammate, you're very outstanding. But I advise you not to have any improper thoughts, otherwise I'll, I'll, I'll..."
"End up injured?" Li Fanyu interjected again, noticing her penchant for idioms. But it seemed like her momentum wasn't as strong as before...
"Hmph! You're quite clever."
After saying this, Cheng Ke took a deep breath, pulled Li Fanyu's arm, and placed it under her head. Li Fanyu was about to tease her when a slender finger covered his mouth.
"Don't think nonsense! I have a stiff neck, just borrowing it for a while..."
Meanwhile, the three top students could only forcefully shut their eyes, exaggeratedly snoring.
In the early morning, there was a faintly ambiguous and sour smell, causing them to struggle between waking up and staying asleep. In unison, the three of them heard a rhythm; I'm trying my best to perform, who's supposed to be with you on stage...
In the end, honest boy Zhang Yu couldn't hold it any longer, got up suddenly, and apologized to the startled Cheng Ke, "Sorry, holding in my morning pee is too damaging to the bladder. I can't continue acting..."