High Impact || Genshin Impact H.S AU

Chapter 7.9

She winced, the spotlight shining brightly on her. The audience was nothing more but darkness, merely a glaring void. Gulping audibly, she lean into the microphone and began to speak.

“Therefore, that is why we should stick with logic and not emotion,” Yanfei declared, with little gusto. She knew that it’s a bad idea to not debate with energy or gusto, or else you can’t seem convincing and win the debate.

She had been told about it many things, whether it was her textbook, peers, or teachers.

Yet for once she decided not to be energetic, despite it being the day of the decathlon debates. Her eyes felt tired, shaking, and wishing to collapse after a night of cramming and procrastination.

Looking across the stage, she sees her opponent, the Fontaine prep school.

The luxurious students, having grown in one of Tevyat’s most notorious rigorous law systems, seemed confident. Gowning in silk and fancy clothing that probably came from a luxury brand that isn’t available in the Genshin District, they smirk, chins high up.

The wannabe lawyer rolls her eyes, annoyed at their confidence. If she wasn’t feeling so conflicted and awful, she would decimate them with all she got. One of the students, they glared their eyes at her, casting a dirty look.

During it all, the judges discuss amongst themselves, deciding who was the winner in the debate. They held their clipboards and leaned to one another, whispering, discussing the future of the students. Yanfei did feel a small part of her shaking in fear, nervous to walls, but the majority of herself felt empty and null.

Then the judges stop whispering, breaking the Fontaine prep students’ glaring and dragged their attention elsewhere.

“We have decided that the winner shall be…” a male judge says, pausing for a moment. Yanfei rolls her eyes, annoyed at the dramatics of it all.

“Genshin High,” the male judge concluded. Her team erupts into joy, jumping up and down, hugging her while she casts a small smile. The Fontaine prep students scoff baffled by the results. Their advisor starts to try and drag them away from the stage, though some resist, clearly having an issue.

“We did it Yanfei!” Xingqiu exclaims, having been also chosen for the team. Yanfei smiled weakly, doing her best to seem responsive and enjoying herself yet she felt unsatisfied. A small façade she played, jumping along, and cheering them on, bowing during the applause, and even dabbing when leaving the stage to seem normal. But she felt empty, lonely.

She left the stage and went out the back door, leading into a hallway where their advisor, Eula was waiting with open arms.

“Congratulations, students!” Eula exclaimed, seemingly proud. The other teammates crowded around the advisor, chattering, and asking if she saw them say something or do something they liked during the speeches.

Eula nodded, entertaining their notion before saying, “Hey, get some cake for me, here’s my credit card, go” and sent them off to the nearby decathlon Bakesale. The other teammates followed suit and Yanfei was about to join grudgingly but she got held back by Eula.

The tall blue-haired teacher dragged Yanfei to a corner, pushing her into and trapping her there. Yanfei felt a slight sense of panic rising, confused.

“Okay kid, talk. What the hell was that?” Eula deadpanned. Yanfei was shocked, surprised to see her advisor see through her façade and know that something was up.

“What do you mean? I was fine,” Yanfei defended weakly, not ready to give in just yet.

“Please, your conclusion was the weakest and they’re never weak. You’re easily the best debate speaker out of all of the kids here, yet you’re giving low-quality work. So, spill whatever is killing you before we go against Sumeru,” Eula demanded.
Yanfei opened her mouth, but no sounds came out. She was stunned and unsure. The past month she had been beating herself up, confused about her emotions with Hu Tao.