"The seats were arranged in a square ring. There were nine rows on each of the east, west, south, and north sides, all facing one another. It was a slightly modified round-table conference." Xie Yuanxun gestured as he explained.
Song He nodded. He could picture the layout, something like a stadium.
"The first three rows are where the big shots sit, the leaders in their respective fields! More than half of them are academicians. During meetings, they'll argue fiercely because their opinions matter most, and they're the only ones qualified to give lengthy speeches!" Xie Yuanxun said, his tone brimming with envy.
"Our seats are all in the fourth row or farther back. We're basically there to sit in on the meeting. Once in a while, if we happen to be involved in some extremely niche field, we might get a brief chance to speak, but the odds are tiny. Our main job is to applaud the big shots." Xie Yuanxun joked.
You Deyi chimed in from the side. "Little Song, don't be discouraged about sitting in the back. You're still young. Put in another dozen years or so, and forget getting into the first three rows—even sitting in the first row will be possible. I'm the one who should be discouraged. I barely managed to scrape into the last seat of the third row. I probably won't make it to the second row in this lifetime."
Song He stared blankly for a long while. "But... I'm in the third row too."
You Deyi froze.
Xie Yuanxun froze as well.
The VIP lounge suddenly fell silent.
Xie Yuanxun suddenly burst out laughing. "Song He, you've learned bad habits. You even know how to scare people now. We almost fell for it! The first three rows are packed with academicians. How