Night Fire Lingering

Chapter 142 Wen Yan felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave, her heart aching terribly.

Nan Zhiyi shook her head decisively and replied with a smile, "She and I are very destined for each other!"

-

The match went very smoothly.

An hour later, Wen Yan delivered her closing statement as the fourth speaker for the opposing side, to thunderous applause from the audience.

Nan Zhiyi sat in the fourth speaker's seat for the affirmative side, her face looking rather unpleasant.

The first three debaters from both teams were almost evenly matched, with the fourth debater being the most outstanding. Nan Zhiyi was more adept at debating than expected, especially skilled at using a strategy of retreat to advance, seizing upon the opponent's weaknesses when they were off guard. However, Wen Yan's victory on the field was overwhelming. She could remember every word spoken by everyone clearly, her logic was clear, and her arguments were concise and to the point.

It's clear that Imperial University, where Wen Yan studies, has a slight edge.

This is not the end. Next, two teams will each select one representative to engage in an impromptu debate, namely Wen Yan and Nan Zhiyi.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Wen Yan will achieve another resounding victory!

Fifteen minutes intermission.

Wen Yan went backstage and turned on her phone, where she saw text messages from Luo Beiqing and Gu Jinzhi. The former congratulated her on winning the championship ahead of schedule, while the latter took a high-definition photo of her giving a speech with a telephoto lens.

Caption: [Beautiful! Want to buy other beautiful photos of you? Professional retouching included!]

Wen Yan chuckled, and when she looked up, she saw Nan Zhiyi on the phone, her eyes filled with grievance, clearly acting like a spoiled child to her family.

Wen Yan didn't want to see this scene, so she went outside for some fresh air.

On my way back, I passed by the office and heard voices coming from inside:

"Principal Chen, as the main sponsor, am I not even allowed to have language requirements for the impromptu competition?"

"Ms. Nan, this is a competition, we can't use this as a pretext for personal gain."

"This is an international competition. Your university is the best in the country. Do you think your contestants don't even know English? My daughter, Zhiyi, grew up in Europe and is participating in your team competition in Mandarin today. Shouldn't you give international languages ​​a chance? Otherwise, who knows if the outcome will be a matter of debating ability or a language barrier?"

Upon hearing the words "my daughter Zhiyi," Wen Yan unconsciously walked to the door.

Two people sat facing each other on the black sofa in the office.

The man in the suit was the person in charge of the event. The woman sitting opposite him was wearing a brown fur coat and a string of jade beads around her neck. The style was very similar to the one Wen Yan had brought back from the auction, but the quality was not as good.

The woman was turned to the side, almost with her back to the door. Wen Yan could barely see her facial features, only a round profile and a slender neck.

There was a light red mark behind her fair ear.

Wen Yan froze on the spot, feeling as if she had fallen into an ice cave.

—Her mother also has a light red mark behind her left ear, a scar left from when she was a child and accidentally got injured while protecting her.

"Ms. Nan, let me be frank with you. Today's contestants are quite impressive. I'm worried that if things get out of hand, it will be awkward for everyone."

"Oh? A troublemaker?" The woman said knowingly, with a hint of disdain. "I don't care what kind of troublemaker you are. If you don't do as I say today, I will not only withdraw the sponsorship immediately, but I will also have other methods to deal with! You should know very well that the choice of language is a point of contention!"

Wen Yan felt as if her heart was being squeezed tightly by a hand, the pain was so intense that she could hardly breathe.

……

After checking her makeup in the mirror and confirming it was perfect, Song Yudie turned around and saw Wen Yan returning looking distracted. She frowned and said with displeasure, "Wen Yan, what are you daydreaming about? We're going on stage soon! We just won the team competition. If we lose to Nan Zhiyi in 1v1, you'll be a disgrace to our school!"

Individual debates are often more exciting than team debates, but they are also more prone to being generalized. If Wen Yan loses to Nan Zhiyi in a duel between the two teams' best debaters, not only will Wen Yan be criticized, but some people will also stir up trouble, saying that Beijing University's victory over the European team was just a fluke.

Wen Yan's face looked terrible, and she was clearly not in good condition. Everyone else looked at Wen Yan as well.

"Miss Wen, what's wrong?" Nan Zhiyi noticed and came over to ask with concern, "...Why are you looking at me like that?"

Wen Yan's eyes were undisguisedly cold, which startled Nan Zhiyi.

"I have some new information to share with everyone!"

Just then, a voice burst in; it was the man from the conference room earlier.

The man glanced at Wen Yan, then at Nan Zhiyi, and said in a grand manner, "Our competition is an international one. Considering the different native languages ​​of the contestants, for the sake of fairness, the next impromptu competition will be conducted in English!"

There was a moment of silence backstage as everyone looked at Wen Yan and Nan Zhiyi.

Nan Zhiyi is of European Chinese descent, and English is her native language, so she clearly has the advantage. To suddenly force Wen Yan to switch to English without prior preparation, especially involving obscure professional terminology, is tantamount to embarrassing Wen Yan in public!

"The competition rules didn't mention this beforehand, so we have the right not to accept it." Jiang Huaixu appeared out of nowhere, his stance of defending Wen Yan very clear.

"Who do you think you are? I didn't ask for your opinion, this is the organizer's notice!" The man, feeling guilty after being rejected, immediately flew into a rage.

Jiang Huaixu glanced at the nameplate on his chest, then took out his phone and sent a few messages.

“English it is.” Wen Yan said this while looking at Nan Zhiyi calmly.

Nan Zhiyi felt a chill creep down her spine for no reason, and forced a smile: "No need, no need, I can speak Mandarin, it's just... it's just that I might not speak it as well as you."

Wen Yan looked listless, but her tone left no room for argument: "Then use the language you're good at."

—Defeat you.

—Leaving her speechless!

Song Yudie glanced at Nan Zhiyi, then at Wen Yan, seemingly lost in thought.

Before the man could even rejoice at Wen Yan's agreement, he received a phone call, and his face instantly turned deathly pale: "Fire me? Why? I didn't do anything wrong! I'm still at the competition venue, I—"

The man's indignant argument came to an abrupt halt, and he looked at Jiang Huaixu in horror.

However, Jiang Huaixu's eyes were completely fixed on Wen Yan, paying no attention to him whatsoever, as if he were an insignificant ant.

"Are you sure it's okay?" Jiang Huaixu asked Wen Yan in a low voice. "Yan Yan, if you don't want to, I can—"

"Senior, it's really no problem!" Wen Yan suppressed the absurdity and bitterness in her heart and told Jiang Huaixu as if it were a secret, "Actually, I learned English and Cantonese first when I was a child, and then learned Mandarin."

—Has that woman already forgotten about this incident, which is why she thought that temporarily changing the rules to be stated in English would suppress her and pave the way for Nan Zhiyi?