All those who wanted to participate stepped forward one by one. In front of each of their desks, there was a projection screen displaying the ancient painting. The real painting was also hanging in the middle. If anyone felt that the projection was not clear enough, they could go to the real painting in the center, but they were not allowed to touch it with their hands.
Wang Pan originally had no qualification to participate in such a competition. However, she had performed excellently among the younger generation, so she was also included as a participant.
Perhaps because of Lu Chuanbai's special attitude towards Xu Qingqing before, Wang Pan deliberately observed Xu Qingqing a few more times.
She noticed that Xu Qingqing didn't even step forward to look at the ancient painting. After just glancing at the projection for a few times, she started to paint.
Humph, what's there to be so proud of? She just wants to act like a big shot in front of Lu Chuanbai.
Wang Pan thought disdainfully.
Among the younger generation participating in the competition here, besides Wang Pan, it was only Xu Qingqing. Unconsciously, she regarded Xu Qingqing and herself as the same kind of people, both being outstanding among the youth.
However, she was different from Xu Qingqing. Xu Qingqing relied on her family's profound heritage, while Wang Pan had achieved everything through her own hard work. With a passion for painting, she had managed to turn her hobby into a profession.
In Wang Pan's bones, she was extremely proud, believing that no one among the younger generation was her match.
Everyone was quietly painting. The competition was set for two hours. The judges had selected the same area on the painting for everyone to copy.
According to professional estimates, it would take about an hour to copy this area. However, if anyone finished copying ahead of time, they could get up and submit their works.
However, during the competition, if someone finished too quickly, it would inadvertently put pressure on those who were still painting. And this pressure was also a factor that the judges were considering.
Half an hour later, Xu Qingqing got up, submitted her work to the judges, and then sat down.
To ensure the fairness of the final competition, even though Xu Qingqing had submitted her work, the judges would not look at it immediately. Instead, they would wait until everyone had submitted their works and then appraise them together. The quality of the works would be easily distinguishable.
Seeing Xu Qingqing submit her work so quickly, Wang Pan couldn't help but feel a bit panicked.
Even if her painting was of the same level as Xu Qingqing's in the end, because Xu Qingqing had submitted her work ahead of time, it would make her seem less capable than Xu Qingqing.
So now, if she wanted to defeat Xu Qingqing, she needed to surpass her in terms of quality.
Although she knew what she should do, the nervousness in her heart still had a certain impact on her performance. She only managed to display about 90% of her strength. It was already an hour later when she submitted her work.
At this time, Xu Qingqing was sitting leisurely on the rest seat, playing with her phone boredly, as if this competition was just a formality for her.
Wang Pan couldn't help but walk up to her. Before speaking, she first put on a smile and said, "Miss Xu is really amazing. You submitted your work in just half an hour. It really put a lot of pressure on me at that time. Could it be that you had seen this painting before?"
Xu Qingqing looked up at her and replied, "Yes, I have."
Without any hesitation, Xu Qingqing directly admitted it.
This surprised Wang Pan a bit.
She couldn't help but say with a bit of sourness, "Miss Xu truly lives up to her noble family background. You have wide connections and a broad vision. You've even seen such amazing ancient paintings. Unlike me, I can only visit the ones on display in libraries. I have no chance of seeing the more obscure ones."
Xu Qingqing could tell that she was being sarcastic, but she didn't want to argue with her. In Xu Qingqing's view, Wang Pan was just an arrogant college student.
"Sometimes, there's a certain kind of fate when it comes to these antique paintings. Actually, this fate can bring either good fortune or misfortune. Fortune and misfortune always come hand in hand. Miss Wang Pan doesn't have to force things too much. In the end, it might all be in vain."
What Xu Qingqing said was a summary of her many years of experience, but it didn't sound the same to Wang Pan.
What did it mean? Was Xu Qingqing saying that she was not fated to have anything to do with these ancient paintings and that there was no need to force it? If she did, would it mean she would lose the competition?
Immediately, Wang Pan felt a bit annoyed and thought that Xu Qingqing was being really unreasonable.
"Miss Xu, I do envy your background, but that doesn't mean you can insult me. Whether I have a fate with these paintings or not is up to me. I don't need you to lecture me here."
"I've always liked to take the initiative. Whether something belongs to me or not, I always have to fight for it to know the result."
Xu Qingqing could see that Wang Pan had misunderstood her meaning. She shook her head helplessly and said, "Think whatever you want."
Her calm and unruffled attitude only annoyed Wang Pan even more.
"Miss Xu, perhaps your status is higher than mine now. But as time goes by, it's still uncertain who will be the last one standing. Miss Xu, from today on, I'll regard you as my opponent. One day, I'll surely surpass you."
Wang Pan suddenly said with great determination.
Xu Qingqing was completely stunned.
What was all this about? She hadn't done anything!
"Okay, think whatever you like. I don't care."
Xu Qingqing said helplessly. She found that she couldn't reason with Wang Pan at all. No matter what she said, Wang Pan always managed to misinterpret it. So, it was better to say less.
Wang Pan got up and said, "Sorry to have bothered you just now, Miss Xu. Let's wait for the results."
Then Wang Pan left and went to find her classmates who were waiting for her.
As soon as Wang Pan came over, her classmates surrounded her and started asking questions one by one.
"Panpan, how do you think it went? Do you have confidence in winning?"
"What are you talking about? Our Panpan is a genius in archaeology at Jiang University. Even if she's not absolutely sure of winning, her painting must be good."
"Did you see those famous paintings just now? Even if our Panpan didn't win the qualification for copying, just showing her face in front of these experts will surely lead to a great future."
The confidence that Wang Pan had lost in front of Xu Qingqing was restored with the praise from her classmates.
She pretended to be shy and said, "Oh, you're all thinking too far ahead. In front of so many experts, my copied painting must be nothing special. Maybe it'll be the one at the bottom."
"Everyone always pays attention to the first place. Who would care about the last one?"
Everyone laughed again and said, "Panpan, you're just being too modest."
At this time, the judges had already started to unfold these paintings and appraise them one by one.
To ensure the fairness of the written test, the names of the painters were written on the back in extremely small characters. Before the results were announced, it would be impossible to tell whose work it was.