"Yes..."
The student who had broken the rules also lowered their head and admitted their mistake, promising never to do it again.
"Next..."
Shen Qi, who worked in transport, had excellent eyesight. He clearly saw the veins on Teacher Tieguan's forehead twitch twice.
It looked like the next offense was a serious one.
"Year One, Class A, Xiao Chun!!!"
"Huh?"
Shen Qi jumped. Xiao Chun had said just Monday that he would submit a work everyone would admire. How had he ended up breaking the rules?
Yet Xiao Chun looked utterly unashamed, without a trace of fear, like a warrior marching bravely to his death.
"What kind of photo is this?!"
On the projection screen, the camera angle tilted toward a bench beside the Sports Field.
A girl in a white shirt had just finished exercising. Her discarded white socks sat inside her sneakers, and her smooth, bare legs swung gently beneath her athletic shorts. Holding a water bottle, she tipped back her slender neck. Sweat had made her shirt slightly translucent, revealing more of her lovely figure.
"He knows what he's doing!"
"What a shot!"
"I need to go wash my hands."
The boys in the auditorium erupted!
"Brother Chun!!!"
"Once our brother, always our brother!!!"
Chapter 51: Can I Really Make the Shortlist?
The cheers came quickly and died just as quickly.
The boys soon noticed that Teacher Tieguan's expression was as dark as a Muk, while the girls around them had murder in their eyes.
More importantly, Principal Gui was still sitting below the stage.
Silence fell over the auditorium...
Only the boys nearby gave Xiao Chun a thumbs-up, lowering their voices.
"Amazing. That gorgeous shot of Qiu Yan is way too alluring. So innocent, yet so seductive!"
"You guys are ridiculous..." Shen Qi replied quietly. "They pixelated the photo, and you can still tell it's Qiu Yan?"
Qiu Yan, Year One, Class B.
With her pure, elegant looks, cool, quiet demeanor, and healthy, well-proportioned figure, she was wildly popular throughout Pokémon High School.
To protect the subject's privacy, her entire head on the screen had been covered in heavy pixelation. At most, they could see the water bottle sticking out. Her face was completely hidden.
"Shen Qi's such an amateur."
"Exactly. One look at those legs, and you know it's Qiu Yan."
"Unbelievable."
Shen Qi could only marvel. Even when I was in high school before transmigrating, I never saw anything this impressive.
"Xiao Chun!"
Teacher Tieguan's booming voice rang through the sound system, making the windows buzz.
"Tell me, what was the theme of this school event?!"
"Pokémon Photography."
"Then what did you photograph?" Teacher Tieguan pointed at the image, furious. "If you can't explain how this photo has anything to do with Pokémon, you'd better watch out!"
"I photographed Budew."
After a brief silence, Teacher Tieguan let out a bewildered "Huh?" Every teacher and student in the auditorium looked at the projection screen in confusion.
Shen Qi searched the screen for a long time before finally spotting a patch of green beside the folded athletic jacket on the bench.
Her lower half was round, resembling a green flower bud, with two overlapping shoots atop her head twisted into a bun.
It really was a Budew, a Grass- and Poison-type Pokémon.
As an unevolved juvenile, her standard height was only 0.2 meters. The one in the photo seemed even smaller; the folded athletic jacket hid most of her body...
"There really is a Pokémon in it!"
"That's Brother Chun for you."
Now even the upperclassmen were calling him Brother Chun.
Teacher Tieguan's eyelid twitched for a good while, but he forced himself to swallow his earlier words.
Xiao Chun hadn't simply submitted a sneaky photo of a girl to the event, but the Pokémon was hardly the focus. Qiu Yan's Budew merely happened to be beside her. Without him pointing her out, hardly anyone would have noticed.
"You. Come to my office after the assembly."
Punishment was inevitable, but... judging by the admiring looks from the boys, Xiao Chun was already their uncrowned king.
Who said only the person in first place could be a hero?!
"Shen Qi."
"Hm?"
"Am I awesome or what?"
"Legend, how are you planning to get out of this auditorium alive...?"
Shen Qi had been watching Principal Gui's expression the whole time.
At the height of the uproar, the old gentleman had merely laughed along. He seemed to view it as an interlude of restless youth: surprising, hilarious, and perfectly natural.
If punishment was needed, he could leave that to Teacher Tieguan.
Once the uproarious farce ended, the school assembly moved on to its main business.
Teacher Jixiang took over to announce the top five entries in the Pokémon Photography event.
"Fifth place goes to... Year One, Class A..."
Like the announcements of prizewinning athletes at a school sports meet, she paused for effect, keeping everyone in suspense.
The moment she said Year One, Class A, Shen Qi shivered. Please don't let me only get fifth place.
"Rosa, for her work, 'Tasting the Sunset.'"
It was Rosa, who sat in front of Shen Qi. She had been brimming with confidence these past few days, and sure enough, she had some real skill.
The photo had been taken on the roof of the Teaching Building, where a sleepy Bidoof was yawning.
From the camera's angle, the sun setting in the west resembled a reddish-orange tangerine falling right into Bidoof's open mouth.
The image was still, but its implied motion drew the viewers' minds onward, making them imagine Bidoof closing its mouth in the next second and, just as the title suggested, "Tasting the Sunset."
No wonder Rosa had said on Monday that getting a good photo took luck. Capturing this particular shot had truly required both a fortunate coincidence and an attentive eye.
"A very creative photograph..."
Jixiang and the other judges began their commentary.
Shen Qi turned back to nod at Rosa, mouthing, "Impressive."
Rosa looked a little proud, but also a little regretful.
The Bidoof in the photo wasn't hers. Otherwise, she wouldn't have had to take the shot in such a rush. The tilted angle was slightly uncomfortable to look at, and she hadn't had time to consider the composition, leaving it somewhat rough.
She really had just wandered around campus after class in search of a satisfying shot, stumbled upon an opportunity, and hurried to capture it.
Given better conditions, she could theoretically have conveyed the photo's subject more comfortably.
But... if Bidoof had been Rosa's Pokémon, she might never have thought of the idea.
That was how the goddess of fate worked, granting one thing while taking away another.
"Fourth place in the Pokémon Photography event..."
Teacher Jixiang's voice rang out again, and Shen Qi grew nervous.
To be fair, Rosa was already very good. Most students at Pokémon High School had no access to photography training, and few had even handled professional photography equipment.
In such barren conditions, "Tasting the Sunset" had only placed fifth...
"Third-Year Class B..."
"For the work, 'Facing the Sun.'"
Brilliant midsummer sunlight illuminated a broad stretch of grass. Beneath the shade of a tree, Venonat and Golbat shoved at each other.
Venonat's little hands pushed against Golbat's back.
Golbat's wing claws pushed against Venonat's butt.
Both were nocturnal Pokémon-or, more accurately, Pokémon that weren't particularly fond of sunshine. They seemed to have agreed to challenge themselves to sunbathe that day, only for neither to dare take the first step beyond the shade. Instead, each pushed the other forward from behind.
The scene was humorous and lively, but that alone wouldn't have been enough to beat "Tasting the Sunset."
What made "Facing the Sun" impressive was how exceptionally well it had been photographed.
The shade beneath the tree and the sunlight roughly divided the image diagonally in two, creating a striking contrast between light and dark.
The two Pokémon stood at the center of the frame, their movements likewise making viewers wonder which one would be pushed into the sunlight first.
Even more impressive was the overhead angle. That meant the student must have been up in the tree at the time. Without getting two or three meters off the ground, there was no way to produce a shot like this.
The judges also asked about the shooting position. The boy hurriedly explained that a streetlamp had needed repairs, so a ladder had already been set up, and the maintenance worker happened to be making a phone call nearby.
Seeing Golbat and Venonat shoving each other, the boy had recognized a rare opportunity. He immediately scrambled to the top of the ladder and took thirty or forty shots in burst mode, then picked the best one.
"I startled the maintenance guy so badly he nearly dropped his phone."
"Hahaha! A wonderful piece."
Heartfelt cheers and applause rang through the auditorium.
Before you continue