At a quarter past nine, the siblings ended their phone call.
Before hanging up, Little Brother Jiang looked reluctant but obediently said goodbye.
“Sis, make sure you eat well, rest well, and do well on your exams. If you have a tiny bit of free time, remember to think of me, okay?”
“Okay.”
At half past nine, Jiang Fuyue laid down to rest.
Seeing this, Huo Fanjin put down her phone and turned off the light.
In the darkness, neither of them was sleepy yet.
Huo Fanjin softly asked, “Are you asleep?”
“…No.”
“Captain,” the young lady turned over, facing Jiang Fuyue, “do you think online relationships are reliable?”
“What, are you in an online relationship?”
“Cough… not me! It’s a friend of mine!”
“Oh, so it’s you. I understand.”
Huo Fanjin: “…”
Did she have to be so sharp? Couldn’t she leave some face?
“So, what do you think? Is it reliable or not?”
Jiang Fuyue replied, “It depends on the situation. You need to analyze it case by case. You just said online relationship; there’s not enough information to judge.”
Huo Fanjin was silent for a moment. “…It’s an international relationship, with cultural differences. The guy is two years older than the girl, mature, smokes, drinks, and has tattoos, but he’s a genius, a really amazing one…”
Huo Fanjin continued to say a lot intermittently and finally asked, “What do you think?”
Jiang Fuyue responded with steady breathing.
D*mn it!
“Fell asleep? No way… Then I’ll sleep too…”
The first day passed uneventfully.
The next morning, participants from all countries gathered at Mulan University Hall for the opening ceremony.
The team leaders were absent.
Fang Canyang asked, “Where did Professor Yan and Professor Qin go?”
Lin Shumo explained, “The authoritative body of the IPhO is an international committee composed of team leaders and deputy leaders from various countries during the competition period.”
Don’t underestimate this committee. It not only has the authority to propose amendments to the competition rules and syllabus, select and limit the host country’s prepared theoretical questions, but also to suggest modifications to specific questions and scoring standards, and determine the ranking of competition results.
“So, so?”
Ling Xuan twitched his mouth. “Professor Yan and Professor Qin have been called to a leaders’ meeting and probably won’t show up again until the theoretical part starts tomorrow morning.”
Huo Fanjin asked, “Why won’t they show up again?”
Ling Xuan gave her a side glance. “That’s the rule.”
“…”
After the opening ceremony, everyone was sent back to the hotel for lunch.
Jiang Fuyue encountered the blond guy from yesterday again. He and his companions were standing by the long table, their eyes unabashedly fixed on her, and they loudly discussed her in their native language—
“Her figure is fantastic! Slim waist, long legs. Oh, God, I’d love to touch her. I’ve heard Asian women’s skin feels amazing!”
“Oh, Edmond, you’re being sleazy again. That’s not gentlemanly behavior.”
“Screw being a gentleman. I love beauties; it’s natural.”
“Too bad the beauty doesn’t understand what we’re saying and ignores your affection.”
Edmond smirked, “Watch this…”
He straightened his collar and walked up with a smile, “こんにちは (Hello).”
Jiang Fuyue didn’t react.
So, she’s not from R Country.
Edmond continued, “안녕하세요 (Hello).”
Still no reaction, so not from H Country.
“สวัสดีค่ะ (Hello).” Not from Thailand either.
Then it must be…
“Hello?” Edmond tried in awkward Chinese pronunciation.
Jiang Fuyue remained the same but suddenly started speaking a string of gibberish: “@#¥%…”
Edmond: “?”
What was she saying? Which language was that? I don’t understand a word.
Jiang Fuyue raised her chin and continued, “@#¥%……*&”
Then she frowned, looked down, and continued, “*&¥#%…”
She didn’t know what she was saying either, but her expression management was impeccable. She perfectly portrayed a girl’s delight at being noticed, followed by confusion at the boy’s language, and finally full of apologies and regret.
As she walked past, Jiang Fuyue even thought she could apply to a film academy to study acting and might not have a hard time becoming an actress in the entertainment industry.
“Hey, Edmond, what’s wrong? What did the beauty say? You look a bit strange.”
Edmond: “@#¥%……*&”
Companion: “?”
Edmond: “What does it mean?”
“Ah?”
“@#¥%……*& what does it mean?”
“Oh my God, what are you talking about? I don’t understand at all.”
“It sounds like animals fighting in the zoo.”
“Ah~ I guess this must be bird language!”
Edmond: “Don’t you guys know?”
“Oh! God! Why should we know?”
“Are you joking? But actually, this joke is a bit cold, really.”
Edmond frowned, “Then how about this? *&¥#%…”
“Heavens! Have you gone mad?”
“This language is really headache-inducing. Ah, is it even a language?”
Another companion took out his phone and activated the translation function: “Edmond, say it again into the microphone.”
Edmond: “&¥#%……@#¥%……&”
“Let me see the result…”
Five heads crowded together, looking at a string of garbled characters, puzzled.
“Edmond, did you repeat it wrong?”
“Absolutely not.”
“But the translation result is unbelievable.”
Edmond covered his face.
F*k! So which country is she from?
Jiang Fuyue returned to the dining area, smiling.
Huo Fanjin asked, “Why did it take you so long again? Lin Shumo has finished eating and left.”
“Oh, I ran into those F-country pigs again.”
“Huh?”
“Just played with them for a while.”
Huo Fanjin: “?”
Jiang Fuyue started cutting her steak.
“Why aren’t you eating?”
“It’s not good.”
“Cough… it does taste a bit raw, like the rice is undercooked. But if you eat steak every day, aren’t you afraid of gaining weight?”
“A normal intake of necessary nutrients won’t make you fat.”
“Really?” Huo Fanjin swallowed her saliva. “Then I’ll get a piece too. Eat slowly! Wait for me!”
Jiang Fuyue continued eating.
In the afternoon, all the participants were led by the host country to tour Mulan University, while the team leaders went to the auditorium for the official meeting of the International Committee, collectively discussing the theoretical exam questions for the next day.
Yan Zhenfeng and Qin Libin were among them.
After taking their seats, they whispered to each other—
“This year, D Country is still sending Little Frank. This kid took the first place in the individual overall score last year. He will be even harder to deal with this year.”
“I heard there’s a genius boy named Edmond in the F Country team, with a strong memory, capable of eidetic memory. He’s a hot candidate for the gold medal.”
Yan Zhenfeng sighed, “Last year, our team’s overall score was beyond the top five, and we only got one gold medal, nothing else. It was the worst performance in history.”
“That’s why the higher-ups have given us a strict order. If we get fewer than three individual gold medals, neither of us will be able to explain it.”
Qin Libin wasn’t worried, “With Jiang Fuyue here, what are we afraid of? Everyone has seen her strength. Has she ever missed a single question? Has she ever scored less than full marks in exams?”
“That’s true, but the competition is like a battlefield, ever-changing. What if she doesn’t perform well…”
“Jiang Fuyue’s strength isn’t just in solving problems; she also excels in adaptability and inference. You worry too much.”
“Tsk, Old Qin, I’ve never seen you so cocky before?” Yan Zhenfeng glared, arms crossed.
“Cocky? I’m not cocky; I’m confident! We’ve led the team for so many years; you should know Jiang Fuyue’s level better than I do. Frank and Edmond are no match!”
“We’ve met Frank before, so at least we have some idea about him. But this Edmond…” Yan Zhenfeng frowned, “It’s hard to say.”
“Alright, alright, you’re worried before it even starts. What’s wrong with you?”
Soon, the meeting began.
The host country representative spoke, unsurprisingly, as this person was the executive chairman of this year’s organizing committee.
Then, the host country distributed the German versions of the three theoretical questions, their solutions, and the scoring standards to the team leaders.
An hour later, a representative from the question-setting team explained the thoughts behind the questions and the solutions in English.
Then the committee discussed whether any changes were necessary.
If one of the three questions was rejected, the committee would reveal the fourth backup question.
Usually, there were no objections, as the questions had already been refined and were impeccable.
As expected, no one suggested any changes.
The schedule refers to the actual IPhO process, with slight modifications in details, no need to be overly meticulous.