Rebirth: The Time-locked Girl
Chapter 540 Young Master Yan’s romance, pupil earthquake! 【2 more】

Chapter 540: 540 Young Master Yan’s romance, pupil earthquake! 【2 more】

"Some people really don’t think before they speak, do they? This is the final of a calligraphy competition! It’s not something you can just sign up for; it’s a national selection. All the finalists are skilled calligraphers. Who here doesn’t have some tricks up their sleeve?"

"Admit it, geniuses do exist in this world!"

"Place your bets, everyone. I bet Ye Wanlan is the dark horse who will take this year’s calligraphy championship. Any supporters or detractors?"

Soon, a netizen initiated a poll—

"Miss Fu Qiao vs. Ye Wanlan, who will be this year’s champion?"

Miss Fu Qiao’s votes far outnumbered those for Ye Wanlan, with only 5% choosing Ye Wanlan.

Among this 5%, many voted casually and didn’t take it seriously.

Even so, this was enough to infuriate Miss Fu Qiao.

In the realm of calligraphy, Ye Wanlan’s name didn’t even deserve to be mentioned alongside hers!

Miss Fu Qiao contacted the organizers of the calligraphy competition, demanding they remove these topics.

As the leading figure in the youth calligraphy sector, she had this right.

However, the organizers refused.

"Miss Fu Qiao, this is a good thing," the Chairman said with a cheerful smile. "There’s no need to be upset, the internet is always full of various opinions."

"A good thing?" Miss Fu Qiao’s voice sharply rose. "What’s good about it?"

"It’s a great opportunity for publicity," the Chairman was excited. "With Miss Ye’s tremendous popularity, our calligraphy competition can gain more exposure and attract more people to take up calligraphy. It’s a great opportunity, indeed!"

He hadn’t expected this year’s calligraphy competition to attract so much attention.

Indeed, he had received reports that inquiries from parents about calligraphy had increased.

The reason being they saw the top scorer in this year’s national college entrance exam participating in the calligraphy competition and concluded it was worthwhile to learn.

The Chairman was so grateful he wished he could go directly to Ye Wanlan’s house to thank her.

Thinking this, he asked, "Miss Fu Qiao, do you know where Miss Ye lives? I’d like to visit and thank her personally."

These words infuriated Miss Fu Qiao to the point of steaming anger. "Get lost, I don’t know!"

With a loud ’bang,’ she flung her phone away.

What does high popularity count for?

True talent and knowledge are what really matter!

She wanted to see how Ye Wanlan could still smile in tomorrow afternoon’s calligraphy competition!

**

In Shenzhou, it was 8 PM, while in the Northland Capital, it was 3 PM.

Early July in the Northern Lands wasn’t hot, with temperatures around twenty degrees.

But due to his impending illness, Yan Tingfeng was still wrapped up very tightly.

During the days he stayed with the Romanov Family, aside from Gulifia, no one knew what he actually looked like.

"Leaving now?" Elder Rong was dumbstruck. "Isn’t that too soon? Didn’t you still want to ask about some matters?"

"Yeah, I’ve already received the answers I wanted," Yan Tingfeng coughed lightly. "I’ve been out for quite a while; if I don’t return soon, I’ll miss Xiao Wan’s calligraphy competition."

"What do you mean, ’been out for quite a while’?" Upon hearing this, Elder Rong was incredulous. "We’ve only been out for four days! How is that long? At most this is a short trip. It seems to me you are just eager to return to watch Miss Ye’s calligraphy competition!"

Yan Tingfeng smiled slightly and did not respond, implicitly agreeing.

"Alright, alright, I originally planned to stay here a couple more days," Elder Rong murmured. "Their grilled meats and strong liquors really won my heart. Alas, I won’t be able to enjoy them once we’re back."

As they spoke, Sulya approached with the head butler at an unhurried pace.

"Elder Rong." Sulya greeted Elder Rong with a bowed fist, a gesture common among the people of Shenzhou from the Jianghu; she smiled, "Knowing you enjoy meat, I specifically had some prepared for you to take back."

It was more than just some; the head butler, followed by quite a few servants, carried up to a hundred kilograms of marinated ham and more.

Elder Rong didn’t hold back: "Alright, when you visit Shenzhou next time, I’ll definitely prepare some delicacies for you too."

"You are too polite, Elder Rong," Sulya remained respectful. "The white liquor you like, the Romanov Family has also prepared it fully."

"Ah, you are quite polite too," Elder Rong said suspiciously. "Could it be that you have some ulterior motives?"

Sulya kept her smile: "Elder Rong, you’re overthinking it."

Yet her gaze frequently turned towards Yan Tingfeng, barely managing to calm her wildly beating heart.

This time, the Romanov Family had hosted two people from Shenzhou.

The ancient friend spoken of by the ancestors three hundred years ago... Since it wasn’t Elder Rong, it could only be this mysterious young man.

How could she dare to neglect him?

"It’s fine then, I was just worried you might be plotting something sinister," Elder Rong huffed. "We’ll pack up and leave soon."

Sulya said, "Everything is ready."

"What is this?" Old Master Rong suddenly noticed a piece of jade in Yan Tingfeng’s hand, half carved.

Yan Tingfeng replied, "A birthday gift for Xiao Wan."

"A birthday gift? So thoughtful," Old Master Rong exclaimed in surprise, "You made this yourself?"

"Mmm," Yan Tingfeng lowered his eyelashes, "Because it’s different from last year."

"What’s different?" Old Master Rong was puzzled, "Isn’t it just a birthday?"

"This year, it’s the first birthday I’m celebrating with her, as someone who likes her."

Old Master Rong was stunned.

After a long moment, he said, "You lad... wow, I didn’t expect you to be so romantic. I’ve underestimated you!"

Yan Tingfeng gently blinked and smiled without a word.

He only hoped that he could spend many more birthdays with her.

**

The next day, at 10 a.m., the new youth calligraphy competition officially began.

In previous years, it was held independently, with no interaction with the outside world.

But this year, thanks to the immense popularity brought by Ye Wanlan, the organizers had virtually set up a live broadcasting room overnight and installed the equipment.

[Here it comes!]

[It’s my first time watching a calligraphy competition; it’s quite novel!]

[Fu Style, Cold Style, Yongning Style... I wonder if the contestants this year can bring any surprises. These three types of script are indeed challenging. Achieving a 70% resemblance is already quite good.]

Eighteen contestants made it to the finals. The competition format went from eighteen to five, then down to two, leaving two to compete for victory.

Such an elimination format also made this year’s calligraphy competition more exciting.

In the first round, each contestant had their own booth, supervised by a teacher from the Calligraphy Association.

The teacher responsible for Ye Wanlan was a woman in her forties who had already gained the title of senior member in the Calligraphy Association years earlier.

From the way Ye Wanlan prepared her ink, she could tell that her calligraphy skills were not low and that she had practiced for a long time.

The female teacher watched earnestly, until Ye Wanlan wrote down three characters.

Breaking Formation Music?

The female teacher’s expression became serious.

Breaking Formation Music is a very common phrase, used by many scholars and poets to create timeless poetry.

She just didn’t know which version of "Breaking Formation Music" Ye Wanlan was going to write.

The female teacher continued watching,

By now, the three characters for Breaking Formation Music were already written, followed by two more characters leaping onto the paper.

Shen, Zhou!

The female teacher’s pupils suddenly constricted, she was shocked.

It was "Breaking Formation·Shen Zhou"?!

Calligraphy not only emphasizes form but also requires a spirit within it.

For example, learning Fu Style alone is not enough; one must also read Fu Guang’s poetry, understanding the meaning and emotions of each poem.

Only by imbuing the characters with emotions can a perfect piece of calligraphy be accomplished.

Grand Ancestor Ning declared the universe at horseback, holding little ink inside.

His "Breaking Formation Music" naturally couldn’t compare with those of real poets.

As the founding Emperor of the Ning Dynasty, ascending from commoner to the highest throne, he perfectly interpreted the phrase "Are kings and nobles born different?"

The bold and unconstrained nature of Grand Ancestor Ning was unparalleled.

In terms of literary value, the poem "Breaking Formation·Shen Zhou" isn’t highly regarded.

But very few could capture the essence of this poem, because it’s difficult to depict the arrogant and bold spirit contained within.

Certainly aware of Ye Wanlan, this year’s top humanities scholar in the national college exam, indicates she’s not yet twenty.

Such a young girl had chosen to write the poem Grand Ancestor Ning composed after founding the Ning Dynasty?

But could she really bring out the spirit of the poem?

The online viewers watching the live broadcast couldn’t see the characters each contestant was writing, but they could see the expression on the responsible teacher’s face.

Obviously, the organizers were also keenly capitalizing on Ye Wanlan’s popularity, allocating more screen time to her.

[I’m dying here. What did Ye Wanlan write? Why would her teacher make such an expression? It’s my first time really understanding what ’pupils dilating’ means.]