Chapter 152: Cuddling? Big Deduction!

“Each of us is born into this world, and our ultimate fate is death. Does that make loving life and enjoying our existence meaningless?”

“I disagree with the other side’s example. We didn’t have a choice to come into this world, but today’s debate topic gives us the right to choose. If the outcome of something is bound to be bad, why waste our limited lives doing something that leads nowhere?”

“I’d like to remind the opposing speaker that the ‘if’ in the topic is a conditional term. By using ‘if,’ it implies the outcome isn’t necessarily bad.”

“Following the affirmative speaker’s logic, a good outcome must be a low probability event. Don’t we need to calculate the chances of success when doing something? If the odds are extremely low, will the affirmative speaker still stubbornly proceed?”

“If we don’t dare try, good outcomes will never exist, and we’ll never witness the beauty along the way.”

After the initial arguments and questioning, both sides had accumulated enough frustration and began engaging in free debate.

This was the crucial stage.

Like bickering market ladies, without previous constraints, the speakers started talking incessantly.

The audience’s emotions were stirred, and they unconsciously sat up straight.

In fact, Jiang Qin had been waiting for this segment.

He felt the affirmative speaker was like a little angel in white robes, with wings and a halo.

While the opposing speaker was like a little demon in black robes with horns on their head.

Just like in cartoons, they kept uttering completely opposite views, directly challenging the intent of the question’s creator.

“The outcome is most important!”

“The process is also beautiful!”

“Choice is greater than effort. We shouldn’t do things with low chances of success when we have options with higher chances.”

“Failure is the mother of success. Those who don’t dare try are cowards. Many things in this world don’t guarantee success, but every failure leads to growth.”

Sitting in the audience, Jiang Qin touched his nose, thinking how the third affirmative speaker was insulting people.

This deserves a deduction, a big deduction!

“I think today’s topic can be illustrated with love. Many campus relationships end after graduation, and I’ve met a senior who deeply regrets his reckless decisions back then.”

“The opposing speaker’s example is good. Most of us here probably have partners, despite knowing that graduation season is breakup season. That shows the process is still worth it!”

“Since campus relationships have extremely low chances of success, why not spend time studying instead?”

“If you truly love someone, how could you give up the present intimacy for an uncertain future? Could you bear that?”

Jiang Qin opened his eyes wide, thinking the affirmative speaker had gone too far. Not only were they insulting others, but they were also using inappropriate innuendos.

What the heck is ‘intimacy’? This deserves a major deduction!

“Persisting without considering the chances of success is irresponsible!”

“Considering the chances of success before trying will only lead to mediocrity forever!”

“If the affirmative side loses today, will you still feel the process was enjoyable?”

“And if the opposing side loses, will you think you shouldn’t have even come today?”

Neither side backed down, and in the blink of an eye, the free debate time was almost up.

In such an evenly matched situation, many debaters would ask provocative questions to break the other side’s composure. For example, a female opposing speaker fixed her gaze on the third affirmative speaker.

“Do you have someone you like?”

“What?”

“If you liked a girl but didn’t consider whether you could give her a future, and only focused on intimacy, that’s not affection… it’s just lust. You gave an extremely inappropriate example.”

The opposing speaker stood up, flicking her braid as she directly pointed at the affirmative speaker who had said “intimacy.”

Stunned by being called lustful, the affirmative speaker was about to retort when the judges rang the bell.

“The free debate segment is over.”

“Next, please proceed with your closing statements.”

An intense battle of words came to an end. Both sides began summarizing, while the judges’ scores were tallied by the scorekeepers.

The audience also snapped out of the intense back-and-forth, letting out a collective breath as they leaned back in their chairs.

After a while, the closing statements ended, and the host announced the final scores. Both sides shook hands, and the atmosphere was harmonious.

“I heard you recommended this debate topic?” Zhang Boiqing suddenly asked.

Jiang Qin nodded, “Yeah, I couldn’t figure some things out myself, so I wanted to crowdsource ideas.”

Zhang Boiqing looked at him, “Are you satisfied with the result?”

“I don’t know.”

“If you think the chances of success are low, my advice is don’t do it. Your forum is doing well enough; no need to spread yourself too thin.”

Zhang Boiqing thought he’d chosen this topic for business reasons, so she kindly advised him.

“Okay, Principal. I’ll consider it carefully,” Jiang Qin replied sincerely, then left the auditorium with Feng Nanshu.

But before they could cross the threshold, sudden exclamations came from outside, as if something unexpected had happened.

Curious, they went out to find a blizzard of goose-down snow falling in the night sky, covering the entire campus in pure white in an instant.

Such heavy snow was rare even in northern cities. The security guard directing traffic instantly became a snowman.

“Jiang Qin, it’s snowing?”

Feng Nanshu held out her hand, catching a snowflake and showing it to Jiang Qin.

Jiang Qin glanced at it, then involuntarily looked up at the swirling snowflakes, his expression somewhat pensive.

He regretted not driving. Why did he insist on walking?

“Let’s call Uncle Gong to pick us up. This snow doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.”

“Okay.”

Feng Nanshu took out her phone and called Uncle Gong.

She really listened to Jiang Qin’s every word, without the slightest hesitation.

At the same time, a figure rushed out from the dispersing crowd, quickly pushing through to stand in front of Jiang Qin.

“Junior, can I publish my serialized novel on your forum?”

Yao Yanling, the domineering senior from the Literature Club, humbly asked in an almost pleading tone.

“Forget it, Senior. I’m just an ordinary person; I don’t understand your high-brow literature.”

“That was just an outburst. I was wrong, I’m sorry.”

“I accept your apology, but as I said before, your novel doesn’t meet our website’s requirements. I’m a businessman, not a literature enthusiast. I need works that can drive traffic.”

Jiang Qin directly rejected her request.

“So Miaomiao’s novel meets your requirements? Her novel is more valuable than mine?” Yao Yanling gritted her teeth.

“That’s not for me to judge. It’s the answer from the entire student body. Look at how popular ‘You are the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World’ is. All the teachers and students love her.”

Yao Yanling took a deep breath, “I can waive the royalties if you give me a chance to prove myself!”

Jiang Qin sighed, “Senior, didn’t you see the debate just now? The opposing side won. If the outcome is bound to be bad, it’s better not to start at all, to avoid setbacks and eternal despair.”

“So what? I’m confident my work is better than Miaomiao’s. If you don’t publish it, I’ll release it myself, and you’ll see everyone fawning over my ‘Lonely City’!”

“That’s great. I look forward to that moment, since your success means profits for me. Work hard and prove it to me, Senior.”

As Jiang Qin finished speaking, a black Bentley pulled up to the auditorium entrance. Uncle Gong rolled down the window and called out, “Young Master, Young Lady.”

Thus, to everyone’s astonishment, Jiang Qin and Feng Nanshu got into the car and slowly drove away into the snowy night, leaving behind a dashing silhouette for those watching the snow.

“Damn, who was that guy leaving in the Bentley just now?”

“Jiang Qin, Linchuan University’s first-ever Academic Star!”

“What’s an Academic Star? I’ve never heard of that.”

“No idea, but it must be impressive.”

“And that girl? So beautiful, I couldn’t see her clearly from inside. She’s heavenly.”

“That’s the lady boss, Feng Nanshu.”

“Whose lady boss?”

“How would I know? I just heard those six words.”

Meanwhile, in the back seat of the Bentley, Jiang Qin leaned against the door, his gaze fixed on the snow-covered outside, remaining silent for a long time.

Feng Nanshu also sat silently, holding her hands together, her aloof expression no different from any other wealthy young lady.

She didn’t know what tonight’s debate meant to Jiang Qin, only sensing his unhappiness, so she felt unhappy too.

After a long while, the slow-moving Bentley finally returned to Linchuan University’s main campus. The heavy snowfall had drawn people out all over, some catching snowflakes, others throwing snowballs.

This was the first snow of ’08, so the university students were understandably excited.

Especially the southerners, like Zhou Chao, who instantly went wild frolicking in the snow in front of the dorms.

“Jiang Ge, over here!”

“Getting this excited over some snow?”

Zhou Chao formed a snowball, “We rarely see it, you know? By the way, where did you go?”

Jiang Qin found a spot not directly under the snow, squatting down and brushing the flakes off his shoulder, “I went to watch a debate.”

“You have those highbrow interests too?”

“The topic was something I’ve been pondering. I couldn’t decide myself, so I wanted to crowdsource an answer,” Jiang Qin’s eyes looked pensive.

Zhou Chao was confused but didn’t ask further, “So do you have an answer now?”

“Yeah, I have an answer.”

“What is it?”

“Debates are all bullshit, can’t be trusted!”