The World Cup has ended, but its repercussions have not.
First and foremost, Chinese fans can scarcely describe their current excitement in words.
As the match concluded at 4:00 AM, a time when all of China should have been immersed in the quiet of night, an extremely rare scene of brightly lit streets unfolded.
Countless people flooded the streets, shoulder to shoulder, singing loud, clear songs that seemed to pierce the heavens. Then came the innumerable fireworks, erupting from apartment buildings and the tops of high-rises.
Regardless of any existing bans, everyone who had fireworks hidden at home cast their precious stores into the air.
Large fireworks soared into the sky, while smaller ones were held aloft. The entire city was a spectacle of light and swirling smoke.
But the most impressive displays came from fireworks companies. Many simply brought out their entire stock, found an open space, and launched them into the sky, instantly illuminating the heavens with a dazzling brilliance.
However, Jiangnan Group outshone them all.
It is said that Jiangnan Group had pre-purchased fireworks worth 1 billion yuan and equipped all their stores and businesses with pyrotechnics costing tens of thousands or even tens of millions of yuan.
Regardless of the final outcome, be it championship or runner-up, Jiangnan Group was set to ignite these fireworks to celebrate a great victory for their own children.
Furthermore, Jiangnan Group had allegedly prepared an additional 2 billion yuan. This sum was specifically earmarked for fines, yet, miraculously, not a single ticket was ever issued to Jiangnan Group.
This situation was mirrored nationwide.
It was as if the heavens themselves were celebrating. Even with such an extravagant display, consuming almost half a year's worth of fireworks in a single night, there were miraculously no fires. Everything was filled with an atmosphere of beauty and joy.
Meanwhile, many national football team players watched the sky in bewilderment.
Logically, these fireworks should have been partly for them, as they were all national team players. Yet, they understood deeply that these fireworks had nothing to do with them. In fact, the brighter the fireworks, the more their own disgrace seemed to stand out.
At this moment, how they wished these fireworks were for them, but it was ultimately a laughable thought.
"Forget it, I've made my money!" these players consoled themselves, then buried themselves back under their blankets, wishing they couldn't hear the fireworks outside.
Putting aside the boundless joy of Chinese fans, the international scene also erupted.
This tournament had created unprecedented history: the World Cup trophy had landed in a country outside of Europe and the Americas for the first time.
Prior to this, only eight countries had won the World Cup: Brazil, Germany, England, France, Italy, Spain, Argentina, and Uruguay.
Now, the total number of winning nations had reached nine, and the number of continents involved had increased to three. This was the first World Cup for the entire continent of Asia, a truly groundbreaking achievement. It proved that Asians were not incapable of winning the World Cup; they simply lacked systematic training.
While countries outside Asia were merely shocked that Asians had won the first World Cup, Asians were excitedly discovering that they were not, as some claimed, inherently disadvantaged in physique or racially inferior to certain "superior races." They, too, were capable of winning the World Cup.
Other Asian countries, though not as euphoric as China, and some even displaying outright displeasure, like Fusang, where the entire nation seemed immersed in sadness, the majority of Asian nations were jubilant.
Almost all national football associations immediately sent congratulations to A.
The reasons for their celebration were simple. Firstly, the South Korean team had been eliminated. China's next opponent was England, who had defeated South Korea, with a score of 1:0.
Therefore, they reasoned that if England could defeat Team A by a larger margin, it would mean South Korea was stronger than Team A. Thus, they celebrated Team A's victory, hoping that their defeat by England would prove South Korea's superiority.
We all know this logic is utterly absurd, but some South Korean fans believed it. They also hoped England would defeat Team A, but as we know, the outcome was different.
However, some Koreans clearly disagreed. They believed that the South Korean team had first exhausted the English team, thereby giving Team A the opportunity to defeat England.
These Koreans even meticulously prepared a video, using various data to prove that England's running and other physical data during their match against Team A were lower than in their match against South Korea. This, they argued, indicated that England's stamina had been significantly depleted by South Korea, ultimately leading to their loss against Team A.
Many Koreans believed this explanation without question. Some Korean netizens even took to Chinese social media, demanding that Chinese fans express their gratitude to the Korean fans for South Korea's efforts.
This notion then quickly evolved into the claim that South Korea deserved half the credit for Team A's victory, implying that South Korea had also defeated England and reached the World Cup semifinals.
Such logic would likely leave people worldwide bewildered, but more incredulous claims were yet to come.
Because Team A defeated South Korea, they secured first place in their group.
Therefore, Koreans believed that if Team A had not used some "despicable means" – whatever those means might be, the point was that Team A had used them – they would not have been able to defeat South Korea.
In essence, Team A used despicable means to snatch South Korea's group first place. Otherwise, if Team A and South Korea had swapped group positions, Team A would have faced a fully triumphant England first and suffered a crushing defeat.
Consequently, South Korea would have faced a weakened England and smoothly advanced to the semifinals. Therefore, it was as if Team A had stolen South Korea's semifinal spot.
This kind of logic, it's safe to say, is comprehensible only to Koreans, as no other nationality can truly grasp it. Yet, Koreans proudly initiated a topic on their own social media: "Team A's victory over England owes its most significant credit to South Korea; the Chinese stole our victory!"
When Boss Huang read this report, he couldn't help but start cursing. But even more absurd things were to follow.
As Team A continued their journey and defeated Brazil to reach the World Cup final, even Koreans must have realized the impossibility of proving their team's superiority through England.
But Koreans were not ones to admit defeat. Thus, Korean netizens began frantically searching through various texts and materials, desperately seeking any reason to prove South Korea's superiority.
Then, a Korean netizen joyfully discovered that Wang Fanfan was Korean!
Indeed, after extensive and detailed research, a Korean netizen presented a classic argument that Wang Fanfan was Korean.
And their evidence was quite substantial. It wasn't a trace back to thousands of years ago when written records were non-existent. This was from just over a hundred years ago, during World War II.
At that time, a provisional government was established in Shanghai by Koreans. One of its members, a councilman surnamed Wang, later settled in Shanghai and never returned to Korea.
Since then, there has been no further news about this councilman surnamed Wang, whether he lived or died remaining unknown.
Concurrently, Wang Fanfan's publicly available personal information indicated that he was born and raised in Shanghai. His father's name was Wang Qingkong, and his mother's name was Han Ruo. His parents' residence was approximately three blocks away from the former Chinese Provisional Government.
This Korean netizen then concluded that Wang Fanfan's great-grandfather was that missing councilman surnamed Wang. As that councilman once lived on the same street, it could be definitively stated that Wang Fanfan was a descendant of this councilman.
And then there was nothing more.
Yes, that was all the evidence this Korean netizen possessed, yet he confidently proclaimed on Korean networks that this was irrefutable proof.
Other Korean netizens not only showed no doubt but readily accepted this assertion without any resistance. It spread like wildfire, and many Korean experts even began to weigh in.
Surely, Korean experts could easily discern the truth?
No, instead, they produced even more concrete evidence. For instance, they analyzed that Wang Fanfan's mother was named Han Nuo. The character "Han" in her name, they argued, signified her yearning for her motherland, serving as the best proof of her Korean identity.
Indeed, Leng Zhiruo had chosen this name because "Leng" and "Han" had similar meanings. As there was no surname "Han," she changed it to "Han" (Korean). Who could have imagined it would be used in this way by Koreans?
Later, a so-called plastic surgery expert also stepped forward. He meticulously compared a single black-and-white photograph of the councilman surnamed Wang with Wang Fanfan's skeletal structure, concluding that Wang Fanfan was indeed a descendant of the councilman surnamed Wang.
This was because skeletal structures are hereditary, and this trait cannot be altered!
Even bone shaving surgery wouldn't change it!