Rebirth: The Time-locked Girl
Chapter 539 Could it be that Ye Wanlan is a genius? 【1 more】

Chapter 539: 539 Could it be that Ye Wanlan is a genius? 【1 more】

Fu Qiao always knew that Old Mr. Fu had collected many treasures of calligraphy as well as tools like brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, most of which were ancient antiques with extremely high collection value and historical significance.

She was the sole heir to Old Mr. Fu, so after Old Mr. Fu’s expected lifespan of a hundred years, all those things would be left to her.

Fu Qiao already disliked Ye Wanlan extremely and felt a severe hostility toward her, how could she tolerate Old Mr. Fu giving such precious antiques to Ye Wanlan?

"Fu Qiao!" Even Old Mr. Fu, a man known for his good temperament, instantly darkened his face at this moment, "Put it down!"

"Grandfather!" Fu Qiao felt unjustly accused, "I’m not wrong, these brush, ink, paper, and inkstone are very precious. You haven’t even donated them to the Yunjing Museum, so how can you just casually give them to someone else?"

Old Mr. Fu struggled to suppress his anger: "Fu Qiao, I’ll say it again, put it down!"

Fu Qiao still clutched the box tightly, refusing to let go.

"It’s truly astonishing. Old Mr. Fu is standing here in good health, yet someone has already begun coveting his belongings," Su Xueqing said with her arms folded, speaking leisurely. "The brush, ink, paper, and inkstone belong to Old Mr. Fu; he can give them to whomever he wants. Why are you in such a hurry?"

"What did you say?" Fu Qiao’s face turned gloomy instantly, "Who are you talking about?"

"Whoever is in a hurry is who I’m talking about," Su Xueqing said, resting her hand on Ye Wanlan’s shoulder with a smiling face.

"You..." Fu Qiao was fuming, her expression as if she had just eaten a dead fly.

Just as she was about to retort to Su Xueqing, she heard a heavy thud.

Old Mr. Fu completely stopped laughing and struck the table: "For the third time, put it down."

"Grandfather! I..." Seeing that Old Mr. Fu was truly angered, Fu Qiao suddenly panicked.

She looked reluctantly at the box in her hands and could only put it down unwillingly.

"My apologies for the scene, Friend Ye," Old Mr. Fu said, smiling again. "Even the most valuable items can only show their true use and meaning in the hands of the right person. Do not refuse this, Ye. It is a token of my esteem."

Ye Wanlan hesitated for a moment but accepted: "I owe Elder Fu a favor."

"Ah, what’s this about owing favor? I’m already old, and now is the time for you young people," Old Mr. Fu said, stroking his beard with a beaming smile. "I’m very pleased."

Watching Old Mr. Fu chatting amicably with Ye Wanlan, Fu Qiao curled her lip, her resentment growing even stronger.

These things should all be hers!

Otherwise, why had she devoted herself to practicing the Fu Style all these years and tried so hard to please Old Mr. Fu?

"It’s getting late," Old Mr. Fu glanced at the sky. "Friend Ye must have many things to attend to; I won’t keep you any longer. When you have time, you can come to the Book Cottage and play a few rounds of chess with me."

"Certainly," Ye Wanlan responded with great respect, "I will surely visit when I have the opportunity."

She bid farewell to Old Mr. Fu and left the back courtyard.

"That granddaughter of Elder Fu seems to have been spoiled, lacking any manners," Su Xueqing snorted coldly. "I think she has already intended to pocket everything for herself—Ah Lan, you should remind Elder Fu to be careful."

"Mhm," Ye Wanlan murmured, narrowing her eyes slightly. "The last time our program crew went to the Book Cottage to record, she drove us out."

Su Xueqing shook her head: "Being spoiled and willful is one thing, but she clearly considers all of Old Mr. Fu’s belongings as her own already."

Old Mr. Fu enjoyed a high reputation in the Calligraphy World; he is one of the "three great mountains," representing the "Fu Style."

His position in the Calligraphy World was comparable to that of Yan Tingyue in the Kunqu Opera World, both immensely revered.

Su Xueqing, even though she had not been in contact with calligraphy, knew of Old Mr. Fu and that he had dedicated his life to his craft without marrying or having children, adopting only a granddaughter.

As the two of them walked out, passing by the check-in area, the staff greeted them warmly, "Miss Ye, have you seen Old Mr. Fu?"

"I have," Ye Wanlan nodded slightly, "Thank you for your efforts."

Su Xubai, who was signing the registration form, twitched his hand and dragged the character "Bai" out longer.

Old Mr. Fu?

Who else could it be but the owner of the Book Cottage?!

Su Xubai abruptly looked up, his eyes full of shock: "You... know Elder Fu?"

While others might find it difficult to even meet Old Mr. Fu, Ye Wanlan had formed a connection with him?

Years earlier, Mr. Su and Madam Su had wanted to send him to study under Old Mr. Fu, but unfortunately, they returned without success.

Ye Wanlan did not answer him; she left with Su Xueqing.

Su Xubai stood motionless, lost in thought.

"Su? Su!" The staff called out to him several times, reminding him, "You haven’t finished signing your name."

"Ah? Oh." Su Xubai snapped back to reality, his mind a swirl of emotions as he finished signing his name.

**

The news that Ye Wanlan would participate in the calligraphy competition had both Hua Yingyue and Xie Linyuan looking forward to it.

"I’ve never seen you take part in such a contest before." Hua Yingyue bubbled with enthusiasm, "But your calligraphy has been recognized by the Imperial Tutor, no need for anyone to worry."

"Little Junior Sister certainly can’t use her previous style, if she were recognized, that would be terrible," Xie Linyuan raised an eyebrow, "But with Little Junior Sister’s caution, she had already changed to a new style when she returned to Shenzhou."

Ye Wanlan’s brows also raised, "Big Senior Brother does understand me quite well."

She spread out the list of finalists for the calligraphy competition, a total of eighteen people, each with their preferred style noted behind their names.

"Fu Style, Cold Style... Oh? There’s also Yongning Body?" Hua Yingyue scanned through them, "What is Ah Lan planning to write?"

"Fu Style, I suppose." Ye Wanlan said with a light smile, "I’m quite fond of Fu Guang’s writing."

Xie Linyuan mused, "I remember Fu Guang was also a close friend of yours?"

"Mm." Ye Wanlan said softly, "At first, I was commanded by Father Emperor to go to her mountain retreat to invite her to leave seclusion and take office, her talent so impressed Father Emperor, believing she would greatly benefit the people if she served the Ning Dynasty."

However, Fu Guang was born to roam free, and would never allow herself to be confined to a corner of the Imperial Court.

So even though she went to invite Fu Guang seven times, she still failed to persuade her.

Although Fu Guang never took official office, she had helped her a lot.

"If it were me, by the third request, I’d probably have shown my whip," sighed Hua Yingyue, "Indeed, such things can only be done by you."

Ye Wanlan smiled lightly, "Then you are mistaken, my temper isn’t that good."

She was just adept at controlling her emotions.

And many many things did not require her to invest too much emotion.

"Fu Guang Poem, Master of Melody’s lyrics, both are now courses that students must learn." Xie Linyuan’s eyes held satisfaction, "The bones of scholars have not ceased, they shall be passed on from generation to generation."

"What are you planning to write at the final competition tomorrow?" asked Hua Yingyue.

Ye Wanlan’s smile was faint, "I plan to write the poem that Grand Ancestor wrote back in the day."

It was time for the Grand Ancestor’s legacy to reemerge in Shenzhou.

**

In the afternoon, a new trending topic appeared on social media platforms.

#YouthCalligraphyFinals

#YeWanlanCalligraphy

The Youth Calligraphy Finals had never garnered as much attention as they did this year, usually only those within the Calligraphy World cared, often not even making the news trend.

Yet this year’s continual presence in the trending searches was undoubtedly due to the variable that was Ye Wanlan.

Someone took a screenshot of the current competition’s participant list from the official website and posted it on Weibo.

"I know Fu Qiao! She was the champion of the last calligraphy contest, her forte is Fu Style! So young yet with such skillful writing, who wouldn’t praise her talent?"

In addition to effort, talent is extremely important for a calligraphy master.

Without talent, no matter how diligent and hardworking one is, it’s useless.

"Wait? Who did I see? Ye Wanlan? Oh my god, she can do calligraphy too?!"

The heat from the top-scorer of the college entrance exam wasn’t over yet, and it still was a hot topic of conversation among people.

Now seeing Ye Wanlan’s name appear in the Youth Calligraphy Finals sparked a new wave of shock among netizens.

"Could she be a genius? Good at writing essays, good at calligraphy, and able to take first in physics competitions, I ask you, what can’t she do!"

"As everyone knows, college entrance exam scores have nothing to do with calligraphy, even if you’re a top-scorer in liberal arts, doesn’t mean you can also be outstanding in calligraphy, right?"

"I think Ye Wanlan just wants to enter the scene to create hype and earn popularity money! She probably has no understanding of calligraphy, not even knowing how difficult Cold Tendons with Bones is to learn!"

"Being skilled is useless, the champion will still surely be Fu Qiao. Fu Qiao has practiced calligraphy for more than a decade, focusing only on this one thing, not just anyone can compare."