JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL SECRET AGENT - Season 9 Episode 55

“Can we start?” Yun Jian’s nonchalant voice rang.

Standing in front of the panel of judges with the attention of teachers and students poured on her, Yun Jian did not look slightly intimidated or shy. On the contrary, she stood with her arms crossed in front of her chest, her relaxed stance making the audience gasp.

Was Yun Jian not afraid of going against Ji Xuetang who had the title of “foreign languages prodigy”? Was she confident that she could win?

“Huh? Mm… Yes—yes, we can start.” The fat judge was flustered by Yun Jian as well but caught up to the reality quickly.

“I hereby announce that… the competition officially begins!” the judge hollered loudly once he reacted.

“You can start the conversation in any way you want. Even if you’ve switched to another language halfway through the conversation, you’ll have to answer your opponent’s previous question,” the judge told Yun Jian and Ji Xuetang.

Other than Ji Xuetang, there were plenty of teachers seated in the venue who knew other foreign languages as well. The reason Ji Xuetang stood out was mainly because she was only 16 years old—she was young.

“Jianjian! You got this!” Yun Jian suddenly heard Ning Lanlan’s cheer from the crowd.

One could still make loud noises before the start of the competition.

Yun Jian turned around, capturing where Ning Lanlan’s voice came from and spotting the girl who sat among the crowd right away. She smiled back at her.

“I’ll start first.” Ji Xuetang scowled at their interaction and started off in English.

With the girl starting her first sentence in English, hushed praises and cheers came from the audience.

Ji Xuetang was already looking at Yun Jian with a raised chin and elongated neck like a proud swan as she asked Yun Jian in English with a provocative tone, “What do you like doing during the weekends?”

It was usually simple conversations in foreign languages but everyone who was watching felt their heart lurching nervously.

“I run during the weekends as a way to stay fit and healthy,” Yun Jian replied fluently in English and asked Ji Xuetang swiftly, “What do you usually like to purchase?”

…

The next three minutes that followed were evidence that Yun Jian and Ji Xuetang’s English speaking skills were parallel in level.

Yun Jian had to admit that Ji Xuetang’s English was not too bad. Although her accent was far from a native’s, she could answer her question within three seconds each time.

While both of them continued talking in English without missing a beat, Ji Xuetang actually felt sweat dotting her forehead. She felt like she was nearing her end—she had to hurry up and end this round!

She smirked.

“If you have the chance to travel, where’d you choose to go and why?” Yun Jian looked up with her arms crossed; her laidback demeanor looked like she completely disregarded Ji Xuetang.

“I’ll go to France because it’s the city of love.” Ji Xuetang answered in English. It was now her turn to ask Yun Jian a question. With a smirk, she spoke in Japanese that was slightly inaccurate in pronunciation, “Where do you usually go to during the weekends?”

When Ji Xuetang raised her question in Japanese all of a sudden, it took the audience by surprise. There it was! This was Ji Xuetang—someone who knew three foreign languages!

The audience was already certain that Yun Jian was going to lose this time when Ji Xuetang asked her question in Japanese. This was because no one there understood what the girl was saying.

Yun Jian probably did not understand Japanese as well. In that case, how could she answer Ji Xuetang?

Ji Xuetang looked at Yun Jian out of the corner of her eye with an uppity tilt of her head. She was already counting down right now. Three… two… she was going to lose…

While everyone thought the same, Yun Jian’s intonation changed as she answered in Japanese that sounded more native than Ji Xuetang’s, “I usually stay home. I don’t go out much.”