Jiang Fuyue retraced her steps, and when she was less than 20 meters from the main group, she suddenly heard a commotion, including some Chinese being spoken.
Her eyes narrowed, and she quickened her pace, pushing through the crowd. She saw Fang Canyang’s left palm had been cut, blood streaming out, while Huo Fanjin stood protectively in front of him, confronting several Asian boys coldly.
Yan Zhenfeng and Qin Libin were nowhere to be seen, nor were Ling Xuan and Lin Shumo.
Huo Fanjin, though alone, stood tall and unyielding, her presence strikingly beautiful.
“I demand you apologize to my teammate right now!” she said in Chinese first, then repeated in English.
Her words were clear and forceful.
“Hah? Apologize? Chinese men can’t even walk straight, no wonder they’re called the ‘Sick Man of East Asia’. They’re sick! Hahaha…”
The heavy accent revealed the speaker was from Country R.
Jiang Fuyue stepped forward, standing beside Huo Fanjin, and calmly asked, “What happened?”
Seeing her, Huo Fanjin’s tough demeanor crumbled like a child finally seeing their parent after a fight, her fierce expression turning to one of grievance.
Her eyes reddened as she loudly complained—
“These stinking jerks from Country R bullied Fang Canyang!”
It turned out this wasn’t the main group; Yan Zhenfeng and the others had already moved ahead.
Fang Canyang and Huo Fanjin had fallen behind and encountered several contestants from Country R. There was no physical contact, yet the Country R people claimed Fang Canyang had bumped into them and demanded he apologize.
Fang Canyang naturally refused.
The demands escalated—they insisted on an apology and a ninety-degree bow for one minute before letting them go.
Despite being timid and a bit fearful, Fang Canyang had pride. He wouldn’t bow for something that wasn’t his fault, especially not in front of Country R people!
Huo Fanjin, not one to be trifled with, unleashed her sharp tongue, further angering the four Country R individuals.
In the ensuing clash, Fang Canyang was pushed to the ground, his hand scraping against a stone, resulting in a bleeding wound.
Huo Fanjin screamed loudly, drawing a crowd.
Yet, no one stepped forward to intervene or stop the fight.
Who said only Chinese people love to watch the spectacle?
People worldwide are the same—detached if it doesn’t concern them.
“…Fang Canyang was injured, yet they still demanded an apology, threatening to show us the ‘power of Country R’ if we didn’t comply!”
Under Jiang Fuyue’s gaze, Huo Fanjin recounted the incident in English.
The crowd understood the general situation and began pointing fingers at the Country R individuals.
“It’s shocking that this is happening in 0502.”
“These people are behaving like thugs.”
“They sound like they’re from Country R.”
“Country R and China, oh, that’s crazy.”
“I think this should be resolved by the leaders of the two countries. As we know, conflicts solve nothing.”
“…”
The Country R quartet pretended not to hear, still demanding Fang Canyang apologize: “If you refuse, don’t blame us for being rude!”
“Oh?” Jiang Fuyue stood in front of the two, “And how do you plan to be rude?”
“Of course, by beating you! Just like Country R did to China back then! Making you bow down and submit.”
“That’s nonsense,” Huo Fanjin retorted, “It was Country R that was beaten by China, forced to surrender! Your textbooks must have been rewritten in such a laughable way, it’s pathetic!”
“Shut up! You are the pathetic ones. Country R is powerful, China can’t compare!”
“Hahaha… Country R is powerful? Just a lackey, eating leftovers! Even your master wouldn’t dare say such things, how dare you?”
“D*mn it!” The burliest of the Country R group cursed, raising his hand to hit Huo Fanjin.
She froze, unable to react. Seeing the impending strike, she shut her eyes tightly.
But the expected pain never came. She fluttered her lashes open to see Jiang Fuyue gripping the man’s hand mid-air. He struggled to break free, using all his strength but to no avail.
The Chinese girl remained unmoved, her expression calm. If it weren’t for the pain in his wrist, he would have doubted she was exerting any effort.
Huo Fanjin laughed loudly, “Weren’t you tough? Now who’s the sick man? You stink fish and rotten shrimp, can’t talk so you resort to violence. Who gave you the nerve? Bow and apologize? Let me tell you—”
“Chinese people don’t bend! The backbone of China never bows!”
“Well said!” A voice from an African friend came, “China is our friend, we support China!”
Then more voices from brown-skinned individuals chimed in, “Support China!”
Soon, even white-skinned individuals joined in, “Honestly, the Country R contestants are clearly provoking and causing trouble.”
Jiang Fuyue twisted the man’s hand behind him, pushing him down. He stumbled and fell, scraping his hand on the ground, revealing raw flesh.
“Look—she hit him! She did!” The remaining three Country R boys shouted.
“Yes, everyone saw it.”
“We’ll report this to the committee and have them disqualified!”
The onlookers began shaking their heads and criticizing—
“NO, it was self-defense!”
“You attacked first!”
“Country R people are shameless.”
“They’re distorting the truth, hiding the facts.”
“…”
The scene grew increasingly chaotic, the crowd’s emotions rising.
Amidst the confusion, the Country R individuals tried to attack Jiang Fuyue and Huo Fanjin, but the two girls deftly avoided them, with the crowd capturing everything on their phones.
Huo Fanjin whispered, “Shouldn’t we fight back?”
Jiang Fuyue responded, “Defend first, don’t attack yet.”
“?” Huo Fanjin didn’t understand but complied.
Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted—
“The committee secretary is here!”
Order was quickly restored, the Country R individuals were separated, and a distance was kept between them and Jiang Fuyue’s group, who remained calm.
Even Fang Canyang, despite his injury, was composed.
The secretary began questioning both sides and gathering witness accounts, restoring the truth.
When it came to the fighting, the crowd provided videos showing Jiang Fuyue and Huo Fanjin being chased by the Country R men.
The Secretary was furious: “This is simply ridiculous! Completely ungentlemanly, utterly shameless!”
It was then that Huo Fanjin understood the true meaning of Jiang Fuyue’s words “focus on defense.”
Brilliant!
They hadn’t suffered any loss; just a few screams and a bit of running away, and the entire public opinion had shifted completely.
The Secretary-General, a middle-aged man with gray hair and glasses, looked cultured and elegant.
He walked up to Jiang Fuyue and her two companions, bowing deeply.
His expression was sincere, and his tone earnest: “I apologize to the three young friends from China for the management’s negligence and the failure to stop such heinous behavior in time. I hope you can forgive the organizing committee’s dereliction of duty.”
The three of them replied in unison: It’s okay.
They knew that the organizing committee’s apology was just the appetizer; the real main course was the disciplinary action against the four R Country participants.
The Secretary-General straightened up, “Thank you for your magnanimity. The four participants from R Country are suspected of intentional harm. According to D Country’s law, you have the right to pursue legal action. Shall we hand them over to the authorities and initiate legal proceedings?”
Huo Fanjin and Fang Canyang exchanged glances, then simultaneously turned their questioning eyes to Jiang Fuyue.
The Secretary-General also looked at this excessively beautiful Eastern girl.
So she was the backbone of the Chinese team. No wonder she had remained calm and composed throughout, just like the impression China gives the world.
In an instant, everyone’s eyes focused on her, including those of the four people from R Country and the hastily arriving Yan Zhenfeng, Qin Libin, Ling Xuan, and Lin Shumo.
At that moment, it was not an exaggeration to say that all eyes were on her.
Jiang Fuyue remained as calm as ever, as if no amount of attention could make her nervous or fearful.
Her clear eyes slowly swept over everyone, finally landing on the four people from R Country.
She then spoke slowly…
