“The second section, second sentence of the Classic of the Western Mountains reads: ‘A smooth river flows from here and runs west into…’ So, the second character should be — water!”
“But if it’s not the domestic version, and instead the one published by R Nation’s Linsha Fuchang typeface in the 1950s — fourth edition, book ID 6988 — then the order of the volumes in the Classic of Mountains and Seas is reversed from the Chinese versions: Central Mountains, Eastern Mountains, Northern Mountains, Western Mountains, Southern Mountains.”
“Then, the second volume would be the Classic of the Eastern Mountains.”
“In that case, the second section, second sentence reads: ‘On the top there is jade, below there is gold.’ So the second character should be — top!”
Two versions. Two answers.
Jiang Fuyue’s explanation was crystal clear, her logic impeccable.
The entire hall was stunned—
“Seriously, if Sister Yue said she was going to the moon, I’d believe her.”
“Beyond ‘respect’ — I don’t have words.”
“I thought being able to recite the Classic of Mountains and Seas made you a boss. Turns out Sister Yue knows every version? Then what is she — the game dev who wrote the rules?”
“She’s the system admin. She makes the rules.”
At the front of the auditorium—
Even the Chinese team, though already aware of Jiang Fuyue’s talents, was shocked by this godlike display.
“P-Principal Hu, is she…?”
Hu Yongwei already knew what they were about to ask and nodded. “Yes. Photographic memory.”
“There are really people like that in the world?” one Chinese rep murmured blankly. “It’s unbelievable…”
Even the judges were stunned by her phenomenal memory. After a long pause, they finally responded:
“Tosaki-san, is her answer correct?”
Tosaki Naohara snapped out of his daze. His gaze at Jiang Fuyue briefly sharpened— But in the next second, he smoothed his expression, calm once more.
“…Correct.”
Judge: “Then next, Jiang Fuyue, please pose your question.”
The girl smiled faintly, her lips curving into a graceful arc—
“Please tell me, in the preface of Kaifūsō, in the second section, what is the second character of the second sentence?”
She did it on purpose!
The same type of question, just swapped the text. It seemed casually asked, but it subtly showed her confidence and complete control.
“He’s here for a proper match. Sister Yue’s here on vacation.”
“That’s called mental game. If your mindset’s strong, the rest follows.”
“Sister Yue is savage. She asked the same type of question? That’s pure humiliation.”
“Deserved! There’s always a taller mountain.”
“And Sister Yue is the tallest mountain. No objections allowed.”
“Wait, what even is Kaifūsō? A book?”
“How do you write those characters?”
Everyone instinctively turned to look at Ling Xuan — probably the only one on site able to keep up with Sister Yue’s pace.
Ling Xuan explained: “Kaifūsō is the earliest anthology of Chinese poetry composed in R Nation. It was compiled in the third year of Tenpyō-Shōhō, which is 751 AD, and includes 120 poems by 64 authors.”
“So it counts as part of our culture then?”
Ling Xuan shook his head: “Though the poetry mimics Han Dynasty poetic forms from China, all the poets were from R Nation. So strictly speaking, it’s R Nation’s literary work.”
Which is precisely why Jiang Fuyue’s question was fair.
The rule was: questions must relate to the opposing side’s cultural works.
And she had — Kaifūsō is R Nation’s literary work.
But clearly, Tosaki Naohara had never read this book — or more likely, refused to read it.
The poetic style is flowery, deliberately structured, heavily influenced by Chinese Six Dynasties literature. But the actual content is clumsy and immature, showing how R Nation’s writers, unfamiliar with Chinese literary norms, were trying awkwardly to imitate Chinese rhyme and structure. The result was stiff and uninspired.
To put it harshly, Kaifūsō is a failed attempt to imitate Chinese culture — an embarrassing record of R Nation’s literary growing pains.
And someone like Tosaki, who looked down on Chinese culture, would never force himself to read such a book stained with historical humiliation.
Jiang Fuyue had no doubt guessed all this — which is why she dug such a deep trap, waiting for him to fall.
And fall he did — utterly defenseless.
Two minutes later, the judge prompted:
“R Nation, please answer the question.”
“……”
Only silence followed.
“Tosaki Naohara?”
Still no response.
The audience erupted in jeers—
“Tch! I thought he was hot stuff. Turns out he’s scared now.”
“It’s not that he didn’t try. Sister Yue is just too powerful.”
“Others ask questions with words. Sister Yue uses her brain and strategy.”
“It’s a public execution. I bet Tosaki’s toes are curling from the shame.”
“Three losses in a row — how’s that reputation holding up now?”
In the middle school section—
“Um… can I just say I didn’t understand a single word they said on stage?”
“Phew… Finally someone said it. To be honest, me neither.”
“Same.”
“+1”
“+10086”
“……”
Judge:
“Thirty seconds remaining. R Nation, please answer — or it will be considered a forfeit.”
Yes, that’s just how awesome our Sister Yue is~
