PAGBWMH : Chapter 67

On the first and second days of the competition, the contestants from Districts D and C competed. These participants had entered by submitting their materials online, and after passing the screening, they were allowed to compete. Since there were a lot of people, the first and second rounds resembled thesis defenses, where several judges would ask questions, score them, and select participants to move forward. Both strength and luck played a role.

At the end of the first two days, most contestants were eliminated. Those remaining from Districts D and C moved on to District B, where they would compete for the first time in a real competition.

Mi Xue’s students, upon learning that Yi Wei was participating, came specifically to support him. Even though the Aitsetesburg Psychology Association was the territory of Mi Xue’s long-time rival, Jefferson, they still wanted to show their presence and ensure that no one in the association dared to underestimate Yi Wei.

Yi Wei was having dinner with his senior brothers and sisters in the restaurant. Many people who had come to dine couldn’t help but glance at them, as Mi Xue’s students were now very well-known in the psychology world. Seeing them all gathered in public was a rare sight.

After they finished their meal, they went to the competition’s waiting hall to check the results, which should have been posted by now.

Upon entering the hall, Yi Wei saw Yi Xuan looking dejected, while Qi Ran stood beside him, seemingly trying to comfort him.

Yi Wei walked over and asked Yi Xuan, “Were you eliminated? I told you we might not face each other in the competition. Still, you ranked quite well. Keep working hard. I’d love to have a direct showdown with you someday.”

Yi Xuan, his face darkening, replied, “You only got into District A because of your adoptive mother’s reputation. If we had switched places, you wouldn’t necessarily have made it into District A either.”

Yi Xuan felt that while Yi Wei had always performed well in school and the academy, he had started his psychological studies later than him. Yi Xuan had spent the past six months studying abroad, being praised many times for his talent. He estimated that their strengths were about the same.

Yi Wei couldn’t help but laugh. “Ignorance really is fearless. Why don’t you ask your Brother Qi Ran if he’d dare entertain such an idea?”

Seeing Yi Wei walk away, Yi Xuan turned to Qi Ran, expecting him to confirm that what he had said was true.

Qi Ran sighed. “Even though Yi Wei hasn’t been known for long, none of the contestants in District A would dare underestimate him. Everyone knows Madam Mi Xue’s capabilities and strictness with her students. If Yi Wei doesn’t advance, according to the rules, Mi Xue’s next recommendation would have to start in District D. So, if she didn’t think Yi Wei was up to the task, she wouldn’t have recommended him at all.”

Hearing this made Yi Xuan feel even worse. He thought that if he had Mi Xue’s guidance, he wouldn’t have been any worse than Yi Wei.

Qi Ran tried to console him. “Don’t be too upset. You did well for your first competition, and you’ll have more chances in the future. As long as you keep working hard, you’ll eventually rise to the top.”

Yi Xuan nodded, then said, “Brother Qi, you have to win this competition and show him that there’s always someone stronger.”

“Don’t worry. He won’t be able to surpass me. I’ll make sure he’s thoroughly convinced of that,” Qi Ran said confidently.

The next day, it was finally time for the District A contestants to compete.

After passing through the metal detectors, the contestants took turns drawing room numbers and receiving a special notebook and pen.

There were three rooms in total. The main association had randomly selected participants for each room in the morning, and the association’s staff set up the rooms accordingly. Once everything was ready, the rooms were locked, and the staff waited outside. After all the contestants had drawn their numbers, the doors would be unlocked, and they would enter in order.

Both Yi Wei and Qi Ran drew room Number 3. As they stood waiting outside the door, they exchanged glances. Yi Wei was ahead of Qi Ran in the line. When the doors opened, Yi Wei entered first, followed by the others. Each contestant had twenty minutes in each room.

These rooms were real, not staged according to the association’s design. In other words, the rooms existed in real life, and each contestant had to analyze the personality, habits, age, profession, and more of the room’s occupant based on the layout and details in the room. The more accurate the analysis, the higher the score.

This was a psychology competition, not a psychotherapy competition. Although therapy-related challenges had appeared in the past, it wasn’t certain if they would appear this time.

As soon as Yi Wei entered the first room, he scanned the overall environment. It was a clean, orderly room with everything neatly arranged. After getting a general sense of the room, Yi Wei began to examine all the small details. This type of room could be a trap, as the owner might not be responsible for cleaning or organizing it. Therefore, the owner’s true personality and habits would have to be deduced from the finer details. Anything directly revealing the owner’s information had been removed or blurred out.

Yi Wei quickly inspected every corner, every openable space, and even flipped through every book. After twenty minutes, he exited the room. As he waited outside the second room, he began to write down his analysis in the notebook.

Qi Ran, after glancing at Yi Wei, entered the room when it was his turn.

Once it was Yi Wei’s turn to enter the second room, he found it to be a child’s room. However, this room contained items for children aged five to fifteen, making it difficult to pinpoint the child’s exact age.

The third room was more feminine, warm, and pink, but something about it felt off to Yi Wei.

After finishing his inspection of the third room, Yi Wei left and sat down, carefully recalling the details of all three rooms. He filled in any additional notes in his analysis notebook.

Once he had finished writing, Yi Wei sealed his notebook with stickers, both horizontally and vertically, and handed it in. He then headed to the lobby, where his senior brothers and sisters were waiting.

Yi Wei felt confident as he and his senior brothers and sisters went to the restaurant to grab a bite while waiting for the results.

After returning to the waiting hall, Qi Ran approached Yi Wei. “You’re Madam Mi Xue’s student, so making it to the semifinals should be no problem. But tell me, where do you think you’ll rank when the results come out?”

“I think I’ll rank first,” Yi Wei replied with a smile.

Qi Ran couldn’t help but laugh. “Is that confidence or arrogance?”

“Whether it’s confidence or arrogance, it comes from having the capability to back it up. Knowing yourself and your opponent, mastering analysis and calculation—aren’t those the basics for people like us?” Yi Wei responded, looking directly at Qi Ran.

“The results will be out soon. Just you wait,” Qi Ran said, equally confident.

“Alright,” Yi Wei said cheerfully.

The screen on the hall’s wall lit up, showing the competition results. The screen was divided into two parts: those who had made it to the semifinals and those who hadn’t. Everyone gathered around to look.

After seeing his ranking, Yi Wei turned to Qi Ran and said, “I recall you have a reputation as a genius. Now that I’ve beaten you today, does that make me a genius too? I edged you out by ten points, thank you for the victory.”

Qi Ran’s face darkened as he stared at the rankings on the screen. He was in second place, just below Yi Wei, trailing by ten points.

Qi Ran stood there motionless. Soon, they would reveal the details of the three room occupants, as well as the analyses from each contestant’s notebook. Qi Ran needed to see where he had lost those ten points.

The first room appeared to belong to a woman, but the occupant was actually a man. More specifically, the man’s biological gender was male, but his psychological gender was female. He worked as a manager at an insurance company and was known to be very gentlemanly. Only his lover knew that he had such a room; none of his friends or family were aware.

Qi Ran’s analysis of this room was mostly correct, except for one detail—he had assumed the room’s owner had a boyfriend, but the owner’s lover was actually a woman with a very masculine personality. This could be deduced from the small number of makeup products in the room, which were not used by the owner but by his girlfriend.

Yi Wei, on the other hand, had analyzed all the makeup products correctly, and after seeing his analysis, even Qi Ran felt enlightened.

The second room was a child’s room. The child had passed away, and the mother, after remarrying and having another child, kept the room intact to preserve the memory of her lost child. She cleaned and maintained the room regularly.

The third room belonged to a university student. Everything was neat and organized, and the occupant’s academic performance was excellent. However, the student suffered from severe depression.

Yi Wei and Qi Ran had similar analyses for the second and third rooms, but Yi Wei’s notes were more detailed, which earned him higher marks.

“As I said earlier, knowing yourself and your opponent, mastering analysis and calculation, are basics for people like us. I just realized, though, that while I know your strengths, you don’t know mine, so it’s normal that you miscalculated,” Yi Wei said. “But don’t worry—you’ll have plenty of chances to learn more about my abilities from now on.”

Qi Ran clenched his fists, eyes closed in frustration.

Yi Wei smiled, then turned and left. As he walked out of the crowd, he happened to pass by Yi Xuan, and the two briefly exchanged glances.

After reading Yi Wei’s analysis, the other participants began discussing.

“Even though I’ve never heard of this guy before, and the records show it’s his first competition, he’s scored higher than even Alan Chien. Truly worthy of being Madam Mi Xue’s student.”

“To come in first place in his first competition is amazing. Madam Mi Xue’s students never disappoint.”

“He’s only 21? That’s so young. Alan Chien is known as a genius, but it looks like Yi Wei might be an even greater talent.”

“Of course! Alan Chien is Jefferson’s student, but no student of Jefferson has ever surpassed one of Madam Mi Xue’s students. Everyone knows how strict Madam Mi Xue is when it comes to choosing and teaching her students.”

“Even though Madam Mi Xue hasn’t been active for years, she’s still proving her strength in another way. She’s amazing.”

As the murmurs of the crowd filled the room, Qi Ran turned and left, with Yi Xuan following behind him.

“Mom!” Yi Wei exclaimed in surprise as he walked outside and saw his adoptive mother waiting for him. He hadn’t expected her to come since she hadn’t told him she would.

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