Cordelia gazed at the stream of comments scrolling across her screen, her expression and detached. âLetâs have a question then,â she said with a hint of challenge.
Sure enough, a question popped up, sent into the chat.
âColor regions A, B, C, and D using five different colors. Each region must have a unique color, and no adjacent regions can share the same color. How many ways can this be done? Note, ABCD represents the four regions of a grid.â
As soon as Cordelia finished reading the question, she declared,â â260 ways.
Seeing it, everyone was shocked, and some accused her of staging a setup with planted questions.
Cordelia frowned slightly, âIf you think these are plants, then you come up with a question.â
The audience got excited:
âFine, just give me a second to crack open my textbook.â
âDamn, I canât stand that smugness. Iâve got to knock her down a peg. Let me find a hard one.â
And so the chat was inundated with all sorts of questions, growing more complex by the minute. Cordeliaâs responses became faster and faster, almost instantaneously after each question appeared. The stream was electric with excitement.
But the chat had its limits, some of the more complex problems couldnât be fully presented there. Someone suggested
âCan we take a photo of the problem and post it in the comments under your first tweet on WhiteLight, then you solve it there?â
Cordelia replied, âSure, but Iâm pressed for time, so Iâll only do the first hundred questions.â
The crowd was stunned. A hundred questions? That would take them hours.
Cordelia opened the comment section, and sure enough, there were photos of problems waiting for her.
The chat was suitable only for simpler textual problems, but with the photos, the questions escalated to challenging calculations.
Cordelia glanced at the first problem, a geometry question, and said leisurely, âThis problem requires an auxiliary line.â
She picked up a pen, pulled out a sheet of paper, and quickly sketched the problem from her phone, drawing the necessary auxiliary lines before reciting the solution, âSince AC is parallel to BD, thereforeâ¦
After explaining one problem after another, the streamâs popularity soared.
WhiteLightâs follower count on social media skyrocketed from forty thousand to a million in no time, and it was still climbing.
âOMG. Respect!â
âMy mom came home and saw me watching the stream. For the first time, I proudly showed my phone, saying I was observing a genius at work. Now sheâs watching with me. I feel so proud.â
âOur teacher told us to come watch what a real genius looks like.â
Amidst the buzz of comments, the staff at StreamRapid finally took notice.
Initially, WhiteLight, just a smallâtime streamer, had been targeted by a more prominent broadcaster, leading to a flood of reports and a ban by the platform.
But now staff members were practically on their knees.
In the chat, amidst the flood of messages, official comments from StreamRapid appeared, âWhiteLight proven to be genuine, the stream ban has been lifted, and an apology statement is now on official homepage
This message had to be posted several times before Merry finally caught it.
There were comments like,
âSorry, I secretly threw in a universityâlevel problem and canât believe the genius got it right. Iâm on my knees.
âI slyly asked a competition question, and the genius answered it correctly.â
This isnât a genius, and this is a deity of learning. Take my respect.â
As the online debate raged, StreamRapid sent Merry a private message, now eager and humble, âWhiteLight, when you have time, could you please record more videos of this genius solving problems?â
Merry replied with feigned indifference, â
that depends on my mood, huh?â
After responding to the message and returning to the stream, Merry saw that a hundred questions had been asked and Cordelia was close to finishing them.
Just then, a unified message spread through the chat,
âWhiteLight, check out what Warrenâs saying
âWarrenâs bashing you, go look at it.â
You are being criticized, hurry and seeâ
Merry was puzzled. She knew of Warren, a contemporary bestselling author and a figure of integrity in the literary world with a significant following. He often criticized social phenomena with piercing words on his blog, but why would Warren insult her?
Merry quickly switched to the blog and discovered that Warren had just published a poem.
Warren @WhiteLight.
In the olden days, true scholars were scarce in halls of power,
Amidst the hustle, to pen works in publican odd hour?
In discussions of science, philosophy, and moral towers,
How can a lowly maid, bereft of virtue, match their prowess?
With tricks as dusty old shoes, seeking public favor,
Tainting the sacred texts with their filthy endeavors.
How can one gather muck at the writing deskâs clover,
Without the stench of flies tainting the gown forever?â
Someone kindly explained the meaning of the poem,
âLet me translate the masterâs profound poem for
you.
âTrue scholars of old were rare in official roles, preferring solitude over public applause. Isnât writing homework. in the public eye just a farce? The accumulated wisdom of science, philosophy, literature, and ethics can a woman of low station and virtue hope to comprehend?
Employing tricks as common as the dirt on oneâs shoes, seeking adoration from the masses. Such actions profane the sacred writings. Itâs like smearing mud on a clean desk, the stench of decay ruining a fine dress
âIâm not a creator of words, just a humble translator. Youâre welcomeâ
Other comments clarified. The master is criticizing WhiteLight, accusing her of turning learning into a
In the amidst the flood of messages, official comments from StreamHapid appeared, âWhiteLight has proven to be genuine, the stream ban has been lifted, and an apology statement is now official homepage.â
This message had to be posted several times before Merry finally caught it.
There were also comments like,
âSorry, I secretly threw in a universityâlevel problem and canât believe the genius got it right. Iâm on my knees
âI slyly asked a competition question, and the genius answered it correctly.â
âThis isnât just a genius, and this is a deity of learning. Take my respect.â
As the online debate raged, StreamRapid sent Merry a private message, now eager and humble, âWhiteLight, when you have time, could you please record more videos of this genius solving problems?â
Merry replied with feigned indifference, âGuess that depends on my mood, huh?â
After responding to the message and returning to the stream, Merry saw that a hundred questions had been asked and Cordelia was close to finishing them.
Just then, a unified message spread through the chat,
âWhiteLight check out what Warrenâs saying.â
âWarrenâs bashing you, go look at it.â
âYou are being criticized, hurry and see.â
Merry was puzzled. She knew of Warren, a contemporary bestselling author and a figure of integrity in the literary world with a significant following. He often criticized social phenomena with piercing words on his blog, but why would Warren insult her?
Merry quickly switched to the blog and discovered that Warren had just published a poem.
Warren @WhiteLight.
In the olden days, true scholars were scarce in halls of power,
Amidst the hustle, to pen works in publican odd hour?
In discussions of science, philosophy, and moral towers,
How can a lowly maid, bereft of virtue match their prowess?
With tricks as dusty as old shoes, seeking public favor,
Tainting the sacred texts with their filthy endeavors.
How can one gather muck at the writing deskâs clover,
Without the stench of flies tainting the gown forever?â
Someone kindly explained the meaning of the poem,
âLet me translate the masterâs profound poem for you.â
âTrue scholars of old were rare in official roles, preferring solitude over public applause. Isnât writing homework in the public eye just a farce? The accumulated wisdom of science, philosophy, literature, and ethics can a woman of low station and virtue hope to comprehend?
Employing tricks as common as the dirt on oneâs shoes, seeking adoration from the masses. Such actions profane the sacred writings. Itâs like smearing mud on a clean desk, the stench of decay ruining a fine dress.â
âIâm not a creator of words, just a humble translator. Youâre welcome.â
Other comments clarified, âThe master is criticizing WhiteLight, accusing her of turning learning into a
spectacle. The current state of the internet is indeed deterioratingâ
âThe master a point. A studentâs duty is to study. Is it appropriate for someone like you to be streaming?â
Shaken to the core, Merry trembled with fear.
The literary titan, a veritable North Star of the Western canon, had set his sights on her, ready to lead the charge of public opinion. The chat in her livestream had slowed to a crawl, and now some parents joined in, their voices ringing with authority. âThe master is right,â they said, âLearners shouldnât be liveâstreaming.â
Merry clenched her fists, a flash of humiliation sparking in her eyes.
She knew all too well that her status didnât quite with the world of live streaming. But beyond this, she
simply couldnât think of another way to make money that was both safe and viable.
If she didnât scream, sheâd starve.
These people didnât understand her at all. Why were they stirring up the masses to berate her?
Lifting her head, her voice strangled by emotional upheaval, she called out,