Senior Sister, Shut Up!

Last chapter of the actual debate.

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Generally speaking, after the free debate, judges already had a basic verdict in mind.

For first-year competitions, where neither side had professional debaters, the fourth speaker’s closing arguments were primarily to organize and summarize.

Debating was a demanding exercise for the mind.

During debates, a debater’s mind would be highly tense. Without long-term training and adaptation, most people in heated exchanges would find themselves with sluggish reactions.

It was like having an argument. Often, only after it was over—when you were home, lying in bed—would you replay the moments, thinking that if you had said this or that, your comebacks might have been more powerful.

Then you would be annoyed at yourself for fumbling for words, wishing you could have been as sharp and confident as you now imagined.

But in the heat of a debate, few people could maintain a high-speed, consistent thought process while handling exposed flaws.

Most people only pieced things together after the debate, realizing how they should have responded or answered cross-examinations differently.

Maintaining clear and stable logic in the moment was already challenging enough.

After Wang Xin stood up, he began delivering his closing arguments, having made some adjustments to his prepared statement based on the exchanges during the debate.

Compared to the initial closing draft, which extensively summarized and expanded on the three opposition arguments, Wang Xin’s closing statement only briefly touched on them, dedicating more time to discussing the distortion of time transactions by capital.

Essentially, it was an expanded version of the last point he had made during the free debate.

“In conclusion, beyond our team’s initial three arguments, what is built on these arguments is the deeper distortion capital inflicts on individuals through the trading of time.

“This leads to three significant consequences.

“First, capital will monopolize time transactions and create a massive reservoir of time under its control.

“Second, the middle and lower classes will face further exploitation by capital, evolving from the exploitation of labor to the direct exploitation of lifespan.

“Third, those who control capital will gain unlimited lifespans and form an absolute and comprehensive monopoly on power.

“Therefore, we strongly believe that this new technology allowing the free trade of lifespan should not be supported.”

At this point, the opposition’s three-minute closing arguments concluded, and Wang Xin’s tense body finally relaxed a bit. After giving a slight bow to the audience, he returned to his seat.

But even after finishing his speech, he couldn’t fully relax. His gaze immediately shifted to Jiang Miao across from him.

At this moment, Jiang Miao’s heart was pounding like a drum. During Wang Xin’s three-minute speech, he had been writing furiously on a piece of paper.

While listening to Wang Xin’s closing arguments to identify any gaps, he was fine-turning the affirmative side’s logical framework.

Although he personally leaned towards the opposition’s stance, he was now representing the affirmative side, and Senior Sister’s sweet reward awaited him.

He had no choice but to push his brain into overdrive, launching a brainstorming session.

For professional debaters, effectively arguing from a stance they didn’t personally believe in was a fundamental skill.

Although Jiang Miao wasn’t a professional debater, the temptation of Senior Sister’s incentive forced him to strive for greater professionalism.

“Thank you to the opposition side’s fourth speaker for the excellent speech. Next, let’s invite the affirmative side’s fourth speaker to present their closing arguments. You have three minutes.”

As soon as the moderator finished speaking, all eyes immediately focused on Jiang Miao.

To be honest, even though the affirmative side had launched a fierce attack during the free debate, it was still difficult to change the audience’s opinion due to the opposition’s strong defense, especially from Wang Xin.

Most people, when faced with such a mind-bending topic, would instinctively lean towards caution when reminded of the potential risks.

Moreover, in his closing arguments, Wang Xin had elevated the dangers of time trading to the level of a shared global fate.

If time itself were lost, allowing the rich to remain eternally untouchable, this was clearly something no one would want to see.

However, in the eyes of the three judges, the opposition already had an inherent advantage, yet during the free debate, they had been constantly pressured by the affirmative side, with little room for counterattack.

This was clearly a misstep on the part of the opposition.

Furthermore, Jiang Miao had cleverly exposed the flaws in the opposition’s first two arguments, essentially dismantling them.

Nevertheless, Wang Xin managed to use the opposition’s inherent advantage to steer the situation back on track, reinforcing their position and pushing the affirmative side’s arguments to their weak points.

At this moment, the performance on the stage was nearing its conclusion.

Jiang Miao stood up with the looming cliff of defeat behind him.

He took a deep breath and glanced at Su Huaizhou in the audience. Seeing Senior Sister clenching her fists in encouragement, he smiled.

The next second, the timer on the screen started ticking down, initiating the three-minute countdown.

All eyes in the room converged, like a spotlight with no blind spots, illuminating the protagonist on stage.

Jiang Miao put down the paper in his hand and raised three fingers. “Next, I will summarize our three points.”

Jiang Miao had no intention of wasting any time and got straight to the point. “First, from the perspective of societal operation.

“Once the transaction price for a month’s worth of time far exceeds the average monthly income of an individual, it will inevitably lead to a mass exodus of young laborers, as the opposing debater mentioned.

“Under such circumstances, labor-intensive industries will be the first to suffer a heavy blow, including mining, forestry, and various related manufacturing sectors. The scope of the impact will be widespread and all-encompassing.

“You have to understand that capital is not a unified community of interests. For example, the high-speed rail in the U.S. can never seem to get off the ground because airport and highway capital interest groups actively oppose it.

“Similarly, once the time trading market severely impacts the labor-intensive industries, it will inevitably force the price of time to fall, prompting a return of labor. Otherwise, the market will fall into a vicious cycle of material shortages and inflation.

“Therefore, we assert that the price of time will not be high. It will be slightly lower than the average monthly income to ensure that the basic workforce structure will not collapse.”

At this point, Jiang Miao paused, signaling that his first point was over.

The two judges, Lin Jingwen and Lu Yu, held their pens and recorded the complete logical chain that Jiang Miao had laid out.

After the free debate, both of them had thought that the outcome of the match was more or less decided.

But they hadn’t expected Jiang Miao to introduce new points.

“Second, from the perspective of the lower and middle-income groups…” Jiang Miao raised two fingers.

“In a scenario where the price of time is lower than the average wage, only middle- and lower-income groups will choose to sell a portion of their time to relieve their financial pressure.

“If they choose to invest this money in themselves, be it developing a career they love or simply upgrading their labor skills, it will be a meaningful step towards progress.

“Even if they use this money solely for consumption, at least it can improve their disadvantaged and difficult living conditions.

“Otherwise, if they can’t trade time, they will only spend more time on meaningless, low-paying, repetitive, and low-end labor with no possibility of progress in exchange for meager survival wages.

“Between the two, it’s clear that supporting this technology is more advantageous.”

At this point, Jiang Miao paused again.

In fact, the first two points were merely a summary and refinement of the affirmative side’s main arguments, further strengthening the logical chain. They did not address the capital monopoly that Wang Xin had raised.

Lin Jingwen and Lu Yu knew this was coming and were eagerly anticipating Jiang Miao’s response.

It was only halfway through the closing arguments, so there was still plenty of time.

Meanwhile, Zhao Lu continued to twirl his pen, quietly waiting for Jiang Miao’s next counterattack.

As for the audience, they had briefly fallen into a whirlwind of intense thought. Jiang Miao’s words were subtly influencing them, causing them to gradually become lost in his logical framework.

It was as if they knew something was wrong, but after hearing Jiang Miao’s arguments, they couldn’t find a clear angle to counter them, leaving them at a loss.

At this moment, Jiang Miao raised three fingers. “Third, let us consider the length and quality of life. We must first know that the peak of a normal male’s body is around the age of twenty-two, after which it remains relatively stable for a while.

“By the time a person reaches their thirties or forties, their bodily functions begin to decline gradually. Even without any major health crises, the human body can only maintain its functions for perhaps a century at most.

“And the new technology being proposed here is the trading of time, not health.

“For example, if a hundred-year-old person buys one more year of life, it won’t rejuvenate them. It will only prolong their aging body, keeping them in a state of mere survival.

“If, as the opposition claims, capitalists gain eternal life, buying a thousand years or even a million years, what real significance would that hold for them?

“It would only result in them lying in a hospital bed, connected to life support, unable to move. Even their consciousness might be hazy, rendering them into a mere vegetative state with nothing but time.

“At that point, life may be extended, but it would completely lose its quality, leaving nothing but an empty shell.

“In this scenario, it’s not so much that capitalists have monopolized time; rather, time has imprisoned the capitalists, and it’s an imprisonment with no end.”

At this point, Jiang Miao looked at the audience and noticed their varied expressions. He could almost feel their astonishment.

For a brief moment, he even enjoyed this trill of delivering his arguments with such force.

“Therefore, in conclusion, this new technology of time trading primarily provides the middle and lower-income groups with the ability to improve their quality of life by exchanging their lifespan for better living conditions.

“And for those purchasing time, they are mostly terminally ill patients. It offers them some additional time to resolve unfinished matters, to avoid leaving the world too abruptly.

“This is a relatively small market, and the dangers it poses are far less severe than what the opposition had suggested.

“Furthermore, we believe that if you always choose to evade due to the fear of monopolization instead of confronting, understanding, researching, and ultimately resolving it, then it is foreseeable that more new technologies will be stifled in their infancy, completely cutting off our potential for further progress.

“In fact, countless new technologies throughout history have faced skepticism, even panic, when they first emerged.

“But humanity has always continued to move forward, never pausing in our journey of progress.

“This is the essence of new technology and the attitude we should adopt when facing it.”

The timer on the screen hit zero.

Jiang Miao flashed a bright smile at the audience. After successfully delivering all his points, he breathed a sigh of relief, feeling more fulfilled than ever before.

At this moment, he felt that even losing the debate wouldn’t matter much.

Wait, no, losing Senior Sister’s kiss will be disappointing…

Thinking of this, Jiang Miao suddenly came back to his senses. After sitting back down, he looked at Su Huaizhou with fervent emotion in his eyes.

Su Huaizhou hadn’t expected that offering such a small reward would ignite such powerful motivation in Junior Brother.

Seeing him looking over, she subtly raised her hand and gave him a thumbs up.

Jiang Miao placed his right hand under the table and made a peace sign at an angle only visible from the first row.

At this moment, the three judges stood up, gathered their notes, and went out to find a quiet place to deliberate on their votes.

Meanwhile, in the mock court classroom, the moderator resumed control of the scene and announced, “The judges have begun their deliberations. The results of the finals will be revealed in ten minutes. Next, we will move to the audience Q&A session.

“If anyone has questions about the debate, you may direct them to either the affirmative or opposition side for answers.

“Alright, does anyone have any questions? Feel free to raise your hand. After you speak, we will give you a small gift~”

In fact, the small gifts weren’t necessary as an incentive. Many girls were already raising their hands excitedly.

The moderator walked off the stage, approached the audience, casually chose a girl, and handed her the microphone.

“Hello, everyone. I’d like to ask the fourth speaker on the affirmative side a question.” The long-haired girl stood up shyly and gathered her courage to speak. “Classmate Jiang Miao, do you truly support the affirmative side’s stance?”

When his name was called, Jiang Miao stood up politely. After hearing the question, he immediately wore a helpless expression.

Not rushing to answer, he smiled and turned to the moderator. “If I say I don’t support it now, it won’t affect the results, right?”

“Of course not.” The moderator smiled. “The judges can’t hear anything from here. Don’t worry.”

“Okay.” Jiang Miao spread his hands. “I certainly won’t support this kind of thing.”

The girl in the audience widened her eyes, not expecting Jiang Miao to say that.

Laughter spread through the room. They suddenly felt that the sharp-tongued Jiang Miao had become more adorable and genuine.

“Alright, thank you, student. Please accept your gift.” The moderator handed a small gift over and then selected the next student.

It was another girl.

“Hello, I’d like to ask Classmate Jiang Miao.” The short-haired girl blushed and asked curiously, “Since you support the opposition in your heart, how would you refute your own closing arguments if you were standing on the opposition side now?”

Jiang Miao: “…”

This really put him in a tough spot…

Speaking from a position he didn’t agree with was already hard enough, but now he had to slap his own face.

Wasn’t this bullying?

However, Jiang Miao replied, “Actually, there were some flaws in my closing arguments.

“The price of time will fall below wages. This was a point I made from the perspective of labor.

“But if we look at it from the perspective of the aging global population, once this technology is introduced, the aging trend in the coming decades will intensify, and it will be far worse than originally expected.

“At that time, all countries will face deficits because of the high cost of pensions, and the elderly population over sixty could make up more than 30%, 40%, or even 50%.

“And as young people sell their time, shortening their lifespans, we’re likely to see a wave of both elderly and young people passing away simultaneously.

“It’s equivalent to the elderly directly exhausting the future time of young people, leading to a collective shortening of human lifespans.

“This will result in a series of serious consequences.”

At this point, Jiang Miao smiled and shrugged. “Of course, this is just one way to approach it, from the perspective of an aging population. There are many other angles to explore, each offering fascinating conclusions.”

Watching Jiang Miao speak so eloquently and confidently on the stage, Su Huaizhou’s eyes brightened.

She had initially thought being able to write the novels she loved made him impressive enough.

But now, she realized that she had unearthed a huge treasure.

What she had dug out so far seemed to be only the tip of the iceberg when it came to Junior Brother.

At least in this moment, the brilliance radiating from Jiang Miao on the debate finals stage was something she had never seen before.

Jiang Miao, Junior Brother, Peach Jam…

Only Jiang Miao remained in Su Huaizhou’s eyes as her mind wandered with curiosity. What else about this boy have I yet to explore?

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Read advanced chapters (30+) @ https://www.patreon.com/c/CharmaineTL