章節 185: Chapter 185: The Four Talented Ones
"I declare the exam has begun!"
After ensuring everyone had received their templates, Ma Tengdong looked at Xia Yu. With a nod from Xia Yu, Ma Tengdong checked his watch and loudly announced the start of the test.
As soon as Ma Tengdong gave the order, everyone quickly turned over their covered templates and began examining them, trying to identify the type of drawing they were most skilled at.
Seeing the tension among the employees, Xia Yu smiled faintly.
These eight drawings were all created by him. They were selected from four different manga: *Pokémon*, *Dragon Ball*, *One Piece*, and *Douluo Dalu*—two images from each series, carefully chosen to ensure they had similar difficulty levels.
It took him nearly the same amount of time to draw each, ensuring fairness by making each drawing worth about the same in points.
Xia Yu planned to use this exam to sort everyone into four different manga studios.
By giving them such a limited time, ensuring that almost no one would finish, he could clearly see who had strong abilities and who didn't.
There's an old saying:
The difference between a top student and a genius is that while the top student scores 98, the genius scores 100. The top student believes the gap is just two points. But the genius says, "You scored 98 because that's your limit. I scored 100 because that's all there was to score!"
To distinguish between top students and geniuses, Xia Yu compressed the time to raise the difficulty. When nearly everyone fails to complete the task, it becomes obvious who is merely good, who is truly great, and who is far from the mark.
Thanks to Ma Tengdong's hint, the smarter ones would likely start with what they were best at, which would let Xia Yu see their strengths clearly. Then, he could assign them to the appropriate manga studio.
As for their rankings, that would depend on the scores they achieved on their two best drawings.
Xia Yu was confident that these exam rules would push them to their limits, exposing their characteristics and making the job of categorizing talent much easier for him!
The exam had begun, and all that was left was to wait until tomorrow to tally the scores.
Xia Yu didn't stay around; he left the test area in the hands of Ma Tengdong and Kato Hide and returned to his office.
Time flew by quickly.
In what seemed like no time at all, the hour was up.
Ma Tengdong checked his watch, entered the drawing room, and shouted, "Alright, time's up! Everyone put your pencils down! Anyone caught continuing will be marked with zero!"
"Sigh..."
At his command, everyone stopped working, although many were clearly reluctant. But seeing Ma Tengdong glaring from the front, they could only swallow their dissatisfaction.
At the same time, they looked around and noticed that many others were in the same situation, which made them feel a little better. Silently, they hoped that they had drawn more than others.
"Line up and submit your work!"
After Ma Tengdong's order, the employees obediently handed in their drawings in an orderly manner.
"You, you, and you, help me carry these drawings to my office."
Ma Tengdong pointed out a few people to help carry the stacks of drawings and then left the room with them.
"Whew, they're finally gone!"
"That was so hard. I only managed to finish five drawings, leaving three incomplete. My score is going to be low... Sigh!"
"You managed to do five? I only finished four! You're in better shape than I am! And you're still complaining? I'm the one who should be bashing my head against the wall!"
"I drew one more, but my quality wasn't good. My total score might end up being lower than yours!"
As soon as Ma Tengdong left, the oppressive atmosphere in the drawing room lifted considerably. Many who had been holding in their frustrations finally had the chance to vent, and the room quickly filled with chatter.
As Song Quanping quietly packed away his drawing tools, someone approached and tapped his arm, asking curiously, "Quanping, how many did you manage to draw? You must have finished them all, right?"
Without even looking up, Song Quanping recognized the voice as Tian Zhi, a colleague who had joined after him but whose skills were on par.
He looked up with a wry smile and replied, "Do you think that's possible? I only finished seven. How about you?"
"Haha, same here! I only managed seven. I had just started on the eighth when time ran out."
Tian Zhi laughed, undeterred, his personality bright and optimistic—a trait likely nurtured by his lifelong love for raising small animals.
From the moment Tian Zhi approached Song Quanping, everyone around them started paying attention. After all, by now, everyone was familiar with each other.
Both Song Quanping and Tian Zhi were recognized as top talents among them. Naturally, their discussion about the exam piqued the interest of others, who wanted to see how the 'top students' had fared.
When they heard that both had only finished seven drawings, some people sighed in relief. These were the ones who had managed six. The gap wasn't too big—just one drawing.
Besides, if even the top talents hadn't finished, then it was unlikely anyone had. Those who completed six should still rank near the top!
"What? Jiang Min, you finished all of them? That's amazing!"
Suddenly, a shout of surprise drew everyone's attention to a young man standing resolutely in the middle of the room.
This young man, recruited independently, was a local from Jiulong, only 20 years old. His family had been fishermen for three generations. Although he couldn't afford to study, he had one passion: drawing. Entirely self-taught, his drawing speed was extraordinarily fast.
When he first joined, his skill level was considered mediocre. But he had a special talent for drawing quickly and was extremely eager to learn, often asking Kato Hide for guidance.
Under Kato Hide's tutelage, he improved rapidly. Although his skills were still just above average, his speed combined with his solid improvement had propelled him into the top ranks, earning the admiration of many.
He was one of those naturally gifted individuals that others could only envy.
The exclamation caught the attention of both Song Quanping and Tian Zhi, who also looked over at the young and somewhat shy Jiang Min.
Their eyes met, and they felt the pressure suddenly increase.
This was a serious rival!
Luckily, Jiang Min's speed was his main advantage, but his drawing skill was still lacking. Even with his natural talent, his self-taught background couldn't compare to their systematic training.
Even though Jiang Min often sought extra lessons from Kato Hide, it was impossible to bridge the gap in such a short time.
There was still a chance! Perhaps Jiang Min's average score would be lower, and they might overtake him in the final tally!
In a quiet corner of the drawing room, a 24-year-old man with glasses watched the lively scene with a confident smile. But he quickly hid it and resumed staring out the window, lost in thought as usual.
In the middle of the room, surrounded by others, Jiang Min remained humble. His smile was a little awkward, and his eyes drifted toward the corner where the man with glasses was sitting, silently thinking, "Tang Shuping, I wonder how you did? With your skill, you must have finished them all too, right?"
It was as if Tang Shuping could feel someone looking at him. He snapped out of his daze and followed the gaze, eventually locking eyes with Jiang Min. He gave a friendly smile and then turned back to his window-gazing.
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票