The judges gave a signal, signaling the start of the competition. The girl immediately became serious, ready for the competition.
Because it was the finals, a topic was drawn for each competition. The topic for the final competition was "Flowers." The topic for the calligraphy competition was the same as that for the Chinese painting competition.
When Luo Yu saw this question, he saw a glint of light flash in his opponent's blond handsome eyes. It seemed that this question was something he was good at. The contestants from National Tsing Hua University also breathed a sigh of relief.
After half an hour of painting time, a sophomore named Luo Yun competed against the foreign blonde girl and a senior from Tsinghua University. The bell for the competition rang.
The competition was hushed, the audience breathing lightly, afraid to disturb the six players. Zhang Wenchuan clenched his fists, feeling more nervous than ever. This final match wasn't just about the school's honor; it was about the nation's honor. If they lost, they would be savaged when the match was broadcast on television, and even next year's enrollment would be affected.
“Ding ding ding…”
The countdown ended, and all six of them put down their pens. For the final match, out of caution, the two judges who had been sitting on the panel stepped down and personally went to the contestants' seats to grade their scores.
Although both judges are Chinese, no one would think that they would favor the Chinese, because this is a competition, so it must be conducted according to the rules of the competition. Moreover, under the watchful eyes of the public, it is even more impossible for the judges to favor the Chinese.
The first works to be judged were calligraphy by two young women and a young man. The judges first looked at the works of the National Tsing Hua University contestants. Because the score differences in Chinese painting are larger than those in calligraphy, National Tsing Hua University now placed all its hopes on this final calligraphy competition.
"The writing is strong, but too strong, lacking the gracefulness of the flowers. Although it is lacking, it is still very good. 80 points."
This score was a devastating blow to National Tsing Hua University, effectively ending their hopes of winning the championship. An 80-point score was far too low for today's competition, much like the score for the traditional Chinese painting in the first round. Despite their despair, they didn't question the judges. While the judges were grading, the National Tsing Hua University contestant's artwork would appear on the big screen, allowing everyone present to see it. They knew the contestant's work did have a number of flaws, and that an 80-point score from the judges was considered high.
Next, it’s the Indran blonde girl’s.
"Well, this calligraphy is really well written, graceful and elegant. It is indeed a good piece of calligraphy. I give it a score of 87 points."
The calligraphy judges gave their scores, surprising many. Considering the scores were already very high for today's competition, Zhang Wenchuan frowned upon hearing them. He had assumed that Indland had already sent their top performers in the second round, but he hadn't expected the calligraphy skills of the young woman in the final round to be so high, even surpassing the second round's competitor. This meant that Indland might have saved their true masters for last, which was a problem. All he could do now was pray that Luo Yun and Luo Yu would perform exceptionally well.
Finally, the judges came to Luo Yun. When they saw her work, their eyes lit up, and they smiled and clapped their hands, saying, "Excellent! This calligraphy is not only beautiful in style and varied in style, but also vivid in spirit. I can say that this is the piece of calligraphy I am most satisfied with after today's competition. I give it 89 points."
Luo Yun's face was filled with surprise; she hadn't expected to receive such a high score. This was actually just good luck. This poem depicting peach blossoms was one she practiced daily. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect, so when it came to writing this poem, she naturally wanted to do better than the others. And today, she had just happened to draw the topic "Flowers," so her victory today was entirely due to luck. If she had chosen a different topic, she might not have been able to beat the blonde girl.
"Won?" Zhang Wenchuan was a little surprised. In fact, he didn't have much hope for Luo Yun and Luo Yu, especially after seeing the strength of those students from Yingdelan School. Now, in a blink of an eye, Luo Yun actually won the calligraphy competition. He was a little overwhelmed by this victory and couldn't react for a while.
"Great! Luo Yun is truly amazing! She's completely outperforming herself!"
"I think it's just good luck. Look at the poem she wrote. Isn't it the one she practices the most?"
"That's true, but I think Luo Yun's exceptional performance also played a role. Although she practiced that poem frequently, didn't you notice that the handwriting she wrote on the spot was much better than when she practiced? Besides, even if it's because she's practiced, that's still her ability."
"That's true."
For these students from Kyoto University, no matter what the reason, as long as Luo Yun wins, it is enough.
Compared to the jubilation of the Beijing University students, the people in Yingdelan were a little depressed. It was only one point away, just that one point. However, the people in Yingdelan would not doubt that the judges gave Luo Yun a high score, because they also admitted that Luo Yun's calligraphy was indeed the best in the entire calligraphy competition today.
After the calligraphy competition concluded, the Chinese painting competition was next. When it came time for the Chinese painting competition, the National Tsing Hua University team expressed a look of dejection. They knew that even if they scored 100 points in this final Chinese painting competition, they couldn't possibly win. The gap between them had been so wide in the first round. Unless both Kyoto University and Indland University suddenly blundered, there was no hope at all. But the chances were so slim, they simply didn't even consider it.
The contestant from National Tsing Hua University painted a scene of peonies in full bloom. The peonies in the courtyard are enchanting and unrestrained, the lotus flowers in the pond are pure and sentimental, but only the peony truly represents the national beauty, its bloom enchanting the capital. Since ancient times, the peony has been hailed as China's national flower. It's safe to say that anyone skilled in traditional Chinese painting in China has painted numerous peony paintings. However, because there are so many paintings of peonies, it's easy for less accomplished ones to be overshadowed.
However, this contestant from National Tsing Hua University quickly produced a stunning peony painting. He boldly used three different colors to create a vibrant, vibrant painting of peonies. The vibrant blossoms of the three different hues create a refreshing and eye-opening experience. The painting received a score of 88, the same as the highest score in the second round of the Indran competition and arguably the highest score in the Chinese painting competition to date. While a high score, the significant disparity in scores for Chinese paintings renders it meaningless for National Tsing Hua University.
Next was the Chinese painting from Yingdelan, but just when the judges approached the blond handsome guy, he suddenly made a request.
"I hope to temporarily turn off all the lights in the venue, because only in this way can I see the true appearance of my work."
The translator translated his words to the judges. When they heard this request, the judges just frowned slightly, then nodded and agreed. After all, this was a competition, and maybe this foreign player had used some unusual tricks.
Because the adult competition was held in an indoor studio, the lights were turned off, leaving only the camera lights. With all lights off, the room was plunged into darkness. Then, the blond handsome man picked up his painting and raised it with both hands, causing an uproar in the room.
The painting depicted bursts of fireworks, gleaming brightly in the darkness, astonishing not only the audience but also the judges. It was no wonder the foreign contestant had made such a request. He had added fluorescent powder to his colored ink and created a painting of fireworks. When the lights were turned off, his painting would instantly become the center of attention.
This is not only creative, but also very deliberate. You know, because this painting has such a great impact on the people in the dark, if the next work cannot achieve a very shocking or amazing effect, it will easily be affected by the impact of this painting, thus affecting the judgment of the audience and judges.
After the lights turned on, the audience seemed to have not yet recovered from the shock of the initial show. They were all whispering to each other, discussing the stunning scene that had just occurred. Meanwhile, the blond handsome man from Indland gave Luo Yu a provocative look, his face full of confidence.
The title is flowers, and fireworks are also a kind of flowers, so the blond handsome guy did not deviate from the theme.
"90 points." As expected, the judges gave the highest score so far.
While the difference between 89 and 90 points is only a single point, it's actually a stark difference. Remember, a work that scores 90 or above is considered a master's level. So the judges were implicitly acknowledging that the blond handsome man had reached the master level of traditional Chinese painting, albeit at the entry-level level.
"That's incredible, Teacher Zhang! What should we do? We're definitely losing this time." Several students from Peking University who had been hoping for a lucky break were now overcome with despair. 90 points! That was already a huge six-point difference. Now that this score was out, it meant Luo Yu's work had to score 96 or higher to win. 96 points was simply an astronomical number for them.
"It's over. This time, we are definitely going to lose to India and these foreigners in Chinese painting."
"This time we have really brought shame abroad."
"I believe that once this game starts, we will be bombarded with public opinion."
…
The Chinese audience, recovering from their shock, also pondered this question. With such a high score for this foreigner, wouldn't China necessarily lose? How could this be possible? Although somewhat unwilling, the audience had to admit in their hearts that the foreigner's painting skills were indeed superior to those of the students from these prestigious Chinese schools.
"We're definitely losing. I think we can leave now because the result is obvious."
"There's a 96-point difference. How can we catch up with such a huge score? And since the start of this calligraphy and painting competition, the highest-scoring painting has only been 96 points, right? And that's the score from the adult group. That's a score won by a famous Chinese painting master. How can a college student like me compete with him?"
"I don't even want to watch any more."
"Losing to a foreigner in what you're best at is just too embarrassing, isn't it?"
"Tsing Hua University and Kyoto University are so-called prestigious universities, but their calligraphy and painting are just so-so. They can't even compare to some foreigners."
…
Is it really a lost cause? Is there really no way back?
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