Another bold statement sent shockwaves through the hall.
Everyone was stunned by Tosaki Naohara’s audacity—
“Is he… questioning the judge?”
“From ‘who’s better or worse’ to ‘just because you say so?’—does this guy not think before he speaks?”
“I’m really curious, where does his confidence come from?”
“From Liang Jingru?”
“That’s courage, thank you.”
“…Oh.”
“Look—Mr. White’s face is already dark.”
“Normally, players who question the referee are thrown out of the game.”
“Heh, get your popcorn. Let’s watch.”
“By the way, is the technique Sister Yue used really that so-called lost… Magical-whatever?”
“Thousand-Hand Bodhi.”
“Right! That thing. What does it even mean? Mr. White said so much, I didn’t understand a word.”
Huo Fanjin said, “You don’t need to understand. Just know—it’s bad*ss. Uniquely bad*ss.”
“Right!”
That person finally let it go. But Huo Fanjin secretly took out his phone, opened Qiandu (search engine), and after one glance, his brain looped on two words—
Holy. Cr*p.
Jiang Fuyue must be a living encyclopedia. She knows everything—and not just knows, but masters it.
That really stings.
…
White’s brow furrowed at being questioned; his expression grew solemn.
The representative of R Country immediately recognized the danger of offending someone of White’s status in the international music world and shot Naohara a warning look.
Unfortunately, the latter—young and inexperienced—didn’t pick up on it. All he saw was the win-or-lose outcome. He didn’t think he was in the wrong.
He believed he was raising a reasonable question, under reasonable circumstances.
Was that so wrong?
“Mr. White, if you can’t prove it, then it means Jiang Fuyue made a mistake—she lost!”
The R Country rep nearly passed out from his rudeness and hastily forced a smile: “Mr. White, please forgive him. He didn’t mean—”
But before he could finish, White raised a hand to stop him.
Without acknowledging the R Country rep, White’s serious gaze locked directly on Naohara.
“Proof, is it?” he nodded. “Very well.”
He pulled out his phone, tapped a few times, then held the microphone to it. A musical recording began to play—resonating through the mic and the speakers, filling the hall.
“Huh? Sounds like a suona too, but the piece isn’t ‘Hundred Birds Facing the Phoenix.’”
“That’s ‘Six-Character Opening’—another suona classic, like ‘Hundred Birds.’”
“Sounds really good…”
“Why is Mr. White playing this?”
“Shh! Listen closely. ‘Six-Character Opening’ and ‘Hundred Birds’ are both energetic, expressive pieces, with a lot of mimicry. Their moods and techniques have a lot in common.”
Ling Xuan added, “If I’m right, this recording should be a performance by that Qitan Yingyue—the one White mentioned earlier.”
Yici rubbed his chin: “So what he’s trying to do is—”
“—find the shared techniques between Jiang Fuyue’s ‘Hundred Birds’ and this ‘Six-Character Opening,’ especially the ‘Thousand-Hand Bodhi’ fingering technique, to prove she didn’t make a mistake. On the contrary, she used a legendary, lost method!”
Zhong Ziang picked up where he left off. “That’s what he’s doing, right?”
Ling Xuan nodded. “That’s the gist of it.”
Yici: “…D*mn it! You stole my line!”
Zhong Ziang: “Heh heh.” Yup, stole it. What of it?
“!” Shameless dog.
The audio wasn’t long—only two or three minutes.
The first half used breath-glide and breath-pressing techniques to simulate human laughter, achieving spontaneous modulations and beautiful melodies. The second half featured single and double tonguing to create crisp, elastic plucks like a sanxian, used to achieve raised semitone modulation.
Together, the two sections fully showcased the two core traits of Thousand-Hand Bodhi.
It was obvious that the techniques and fingerings were in the same lineage as Jiang Fuyue’s performance!
Naohara’s face grew increasingly grim. He wasn’t ignorant—he could tell the shared elements between the two pieces immediately.
“What a ‘Thousand-Hand Bodhi,’” he took a half-step back. “I concede.”
Jiang Fuyue’s smile never changed. She showed not the slightest surprise or excitement at the incoming victory.
Turns out—she was the calmest one on stage all along.
As if to her, winning or losing made no difference.
White picked up the mic and officially announced:
“Jiang Fuyue is the winner. Congratulations to Huaxia! She is a genius—an extraordinary rising star in wind instrument performance, a beacon of national pride!”
Applause thundered across the hall. Cheers erupted, many jumped to their feet, shouting aloud—
“Sister Yue is the best!”
“Genius star! Pride of the nation!”
“Sister Yue soars, and we’ll follow forever!”
“Sister Yue forever! I’ll admire you till I’m old!”
“Jiang Fuyue yyds (eternal god-tier)!”
“Sister Yue, wait for me to come back from T Country and I’ll marry—no wait, I’ll marry you!”
“Talk about a slap in the face—this is it!”
“Isn’t Tosaki gonna dance again? Why so quiet now? Try hopping one more time and Sister Yue will stomp you!”
Onstage, Jiang Fuyue extended her hand toward Naohara and smiled, “Thanks for the match.”
The calm and composure of a victor radiated from her effortlessly.
Naohara smiled bitterly and took her hand, “Congratulations. But this is just the beginning—there are still three events left.”
“Thanks for the reminder,” Jiang Fuyue’s eyes glanced at the shamisen in his arms. “I didn’t expect you to be a musical performer on top of being a chess master. I assume you know the origins of the shamisen?”
His brows furrowed: “What are you trying to say?”
Jiang Fuyue retracted her hand: “In 1560, Huaxia’s three-string instrument was introduced to R Country via Rope Island. After continuous modification by R Country artists, the shamisen as we know it today was born. So your so-called traditional instrument is actually an offshoot of an ancient Huaxia one. Tell me—who’s superior now?”
Naohara’s expression darkened—but he had no retort.
Because it was fact.
Jiang Fuyue continued: “Your Chinese isn’t bad, so you probably know Huaxia history too. There’s a phrase in Zuo Zhuan—‘forgetting one’s ancestors while counting their gifts.’ Take it to heart.”
She turned and walked off the stage, smiling as she welcomed the applause and cheers.
Leaving Naohara standing frozen, stiff as a statue, his smile unable to hold.
Due to time constraints, the chess event couldn’t proceed today. Both Huaxia and R Country agreed to meet at the same time and place tomorrow to finish the remaining events: Chess, Calligraphy, and Painting.
Conveniently, there were experts in all three fields within the delegation who could serve as judges. It was practically tailor-made for this Huaxia–R Country Cultural Exchange Gala.
“What type of chess?” someone asked.
Jiang Fuyue replied: “Any is fine.”
At that, Naohara raised his eyes and looked at her.
Everyone was shocked—
“No way! That guy’s a chess master. Sister Yue giving up the right to choose—what if he picks chess?”
“He holds the world record in international chess! He’s got a natural advantage—it’d be too unfair for us!”
“But Sister Yue already said it. She can’t take it back now.”
“If Sister Yue said it, I’m sure she has a reason. Don’t panic. Let’s wait and see.”
In the end, Naohara didn’t choose chess.
He chose Go.
Jiang Fuyue wasn’t surprised and accepted the challenge with ease.
“I swear, if Sister Yue had a few more fans, she could cosplay as Zhuge Liang on the spot.”
“For real. Feels like everything’s in her calculations.”
“But why didn’t Naohara pick chess?”
“Afraid people would say he’s bullying someone weaker?”
“What’s so big about him!”
“Ahem… Watch your words. So why then?”
Liu Bowen thought for a moment:
“If he wins, people will just say, ‘Well yeah, he’s world number one.’ And even if Sister Yue loses, no one would blame her—she’s not the champ. So it wouldn’t be a crushing defeat. But if he picks Go, it puts them on equal footing. If she loses, it’s because her skills weren’t good enough—not because she was overpowered. That way, the blow lands much harder.”
“D*mn… that’s cold and calculated!”
Ling Xuan added: “There’s another reason. The most important one. R Country’s team wouldn’t allow him to pick chess.”
“Huh? Why not?”
