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Chapter 401 - 402

Chapter 401: 402

"Young Gu, President Duan’s intention is to have you also write a pair of couplets to make a perfect set with Li Changlin’s. So, just write two of them, but make sure they’re original!" After greeting everyone, Elder Gu spoke, repeating Duan Jiahao’s message.

"Is this appropriate?" Upon hearing Elder Gu’s words, Gu Maoxue was actually quite tempted.

However, he was aware of the rules of the Spring Festival couplet selection activity organized by the literature association and therefore hesitated a bit.

After all, just receiving a winning prize was already in breach of the event’s rules. Now, both the organizers and co-organizers were asking him to write another two couplets, which was quite a bit of pressure for him.

Gu Maoxue wasn’t a fool; he knew that Elder Gu and the others were doing this all because of his grandfather’s face.

"Of course it’s appropriate. This has nothing to do with the competition. It’s an invitation from the company to you," Duan Jiahao chimed in, "And you can rest assured, we will differentiate between the couplets you write and those of Li Changlin. The publicity for both of you will be set at a ratio of 8:2."

Having heard Duan Jiahao explain it this way, Gu Maoxue finally relaxed.

As long as it wasn’t against any principles, it shouldn’t be a problem.

So, after pondering for a moment, he picked up his brush and wrote two couplets.

"The east wind unveils a thousand mountains green, spring rain refreshes the world anew; thousands of trees flourish with the spring water, hundreds of flowers vie to bloom brightly in the sun. Not bad at all; the imagery is excellent. This is what couplets for the spring should be like. They’re much easier to understand than those by Li Changlin," commented Duan Jiahao, shaking his head as he critiqued the couplets. In truth, he didn’t have a clue about couplets and had no basis for judging which were better or worse.

Given Gu Maoxue’s status, Elder Gu and the others couldn’t really say that Li Changlin’s eight couplets were classics, and indeed, on a higher level than Gu Maoxue’s two.

Therefore, they simply played dumb, acting as if they hadn’t clearly heard what Duan Jiahao had said, and quickly moved on from the topic.

With the couplets settled, the event truly came to an end.

By this time, audience members and participants had mostly left the scene.

Duan Jiahao turned to look, then immediately gestured for the staff to come up and clean up. Afterward, he bid farewell to the few judges with cupped hands. There were arrangements for a celebration dinner on the company’s behalf that evening, but he wasn’t going to attend such functions.

Taking the ten couplets with him, Duan Jiahao greeted Luo Tianyi, and the two of them stepped down from the stage together.

"Cousin, are you really going to promote that Li Changlin? He’s really awful!" Luo Tianyi was also quite annoyed by what Li Changlin had said earlier.

She believed her cousin would never say those frivolous things and had no doubts about his orientation.

After all, she now had a beautiful cousin-in-law, and Duan Jiahao also had an adorable daughter.

If her cousin really had orientation issues, how could he have...?

It was too embarrassing to think further. Luo Tianyi dared not let her thoughts wander.

It’s all Li Changlin’s fault for being so despicable!

Thinking this, Luo Tianyi’s view of Li Changlin dropped even more; she had no good impression of him left.

"Promotion is necessary. After all, it’s the rule of the literary association, and I dare not blatantly disregard it," Duan Jiahao replied with a suggestive smile upon hearing Luo Tianyi’s words, "Didn’t I say earlier? I will differentiate between Li Changlin’s and Gu Maoxue’s couplets, setting their promotion at an 8:2 ratio."

"Cousin, what do you mean?" Luo Tianyi was briefly stunned but quickly caught on to something.

"That’s right, I’ll set Li Changlin as number two, and Gu Maoxue as number eight," Duan Jiahao said with a secretive smile, "and what’s more, I’ll link Li Changlin’s door with an introduction to Gu Maoxue. So let’s see what kind of reputation Li Changlin will get then!"

"In this way, not only will Li Changlin not gain any fame, but because the information on those couplets is all about Gu Maoxue, everyone will think that Gu Maoxue wrote them." Luo Tianyi, clever as always, quickly pinpointed the most crucial aspect.

Upon hearing this, Duan Jiahao immediately burst into a smug laugh.

It’s such a thrilling feeling, eh, this Li asshole actually dares to mess with me, this time I’m going to play him like a fiddle.

Hmph, couplets are just the beginning, I’m going to completely ruin his future!

Speaking of which, Duan Jiahao was quite frustrated today.

Firstly, his plans to hit on Qian Ziwei at the jewelry store were destroyed by Li Changlin’s showing off; secondly, his carefully placed pawn in Sky Horse Records had become useless; and thirdly, he had just been thoroughly tricked by Li Changlin, so naturally, Duan Jiahao was not in a good mood.

But now, thinking about how he had also deeply trapped Li Changlin, his mood improved significantly.

Especially when Duan Jiahao thought about the scene when Li Changlin would be eliminated from the Xuanyuan Voice audition, he believed that guy would be utterly desperate!

Thinking about all this, Duan Jiahao’s mood was even better.

Unaware of Duan Jiahao’s scheming, Li Changlin had no idea.

After he and Qian Ziwei returned to their room, Bai Zicong and Chen Zhengxin had still not come back.

"These two guys, they really are taking their leisure too far!" Li Changlin shook his head as he walked into the bathroom to run water.

After washing his hands and coming out, Qian Ziwei also went to the bathroom, and then Li Changlin discussed going to dinner with her.

It was already about five-thirty, and since Bai Zicong and Chen Zhengxin had not returned, they probably had sorted out their own meals.

Qian Ziwei had no objections, so the two of them headed for the restaurant.

While in the elevator, Li Changlin’s cell phone rang.

He felt annoyed, worrying it might be Yang Kun calling to boast again.

But fortunately, the call was from Feng Yongrui. Li Changlin immediately pressed the answer button.

Feng Yongrui had called to report that he had followed the instructions to inform the media to be ready for a press conference the next day.

Recently, Sky Horse Records had continuously been plagued by various negative news, especially since they were sued by a former artist just a few days before, drawing even more attention.

This time, as he sent out media invitations announcing the press conference for the next day, many media outlets had promised to send reporters.

In doing so, Li Changlin’s plan had already successfully taken a step forward.

Then, changing the subject, Feng Yongrui mentioned that there would be a small concert at Xuyang Opera House that evening, and he had two extra tickets, suggesting he would like to give them to Li Changlin.