Rebirth: The Time-locked Girl
Chapter 542 Cold Style and Fu Style, there’s nothing she doesn’t know [2 more updates]

Chapter 542: 542 Cold Style and Fu Style, there’s nothing she doesn’t know [2 more updates]

Among her peers, Miss Fu Qiao was confident that no one’s Fu Style could compare to hers.

Moreover, no one could claim to have been personally taught by Old Master Fu as she had been.

But even if Ye Wanlan had scored higher than her in the first round, it didn’t matter.

Because in that round, she had simply written casually and hadn’t yet shown her true skills.

What harm was there in letting Ye Wanlan win a round?

With this thought in mind, Miss Fu Qiao finally calmed down and watched indifferently as the judges whispered to each other.

"I give this piece a 9.8, it is very well written."

"Mm, but there’s still room for improvement, we can’t give too high a score..."

Soon, the scores of all ten judges were revealed.

The final tally was—

96.40 points!

In an instant, the screen refreshed with the new score.

[Such a high score! This is Ye Wanlan’s first time competing, right? To get such a high score on her first competition]

[Still not surpassing Miss Fu Qiao, though, who easily scored nearly perfect.]

[Everyone really put forth their true skills in the first round. They had to give it their all or they wouldn’t make it to the next round, and that would be terrible.]

[Ye Wanlan’s score is really quite impressive, but it seems she may not plan to specialize in calligraphy going forward?]

"Huh?" Xie Linyuan stared at the screen, slightly puzzled, "Little Junior Sister’s writing is far from what she usually produces during practice."

Aside from practicing swordsmanship and drinking, Zither, Go, Calligraphy, and Painting were his few other hobbies.

As a connoisseur, he could naturally see the gap between this piece and the usual writing Ye Wanlan practiced.

Practice pieces were already written with ease, and in Xie Linyuan’s eyes, this piece seemed even more casual.

"How come, Sword Saint, who has countless enemies in Jianghu, doesn’t know to keep one’s cards close to one’s chest?" Hua Yingyue raised her eyebrows, "If one can win easily without going all out, then there’s no need to go all out, is there?"

Xie Linyuan helplessly replied, "I thought that principle only applied to martial arts."

"No, it applies to everything," Hua Yingyue said, her gaze intense, "After all, Ah Lan scored top marks and became the literature champion of the national college entrance examination, she’s a target for many. It’s not wrong to possess a jade, but it can bring calamity; have you forgotten about the Global Center?"

Hearing this, Xie Linyuan’s expression grew serious.

Long accustomed to wandering the Jianghu, he knew all too well that murder and robbery happened all the time.

Indeed, the emergence of geniuses would attract attention from all sides.

But many other geniuses were already wiped out during their growth.

Such overt and covert fights led to a period when martial arts prodigies in Jianghu were scarce.

"Did Miss Ye not use her full strength?" Xiang Shaoyu also asked, "Look, the last six characters of the couplet ’grasping the long reign, shackling the azure clouds,’ are clearly too casual."

The points were likely deducted because of this line.

Yan Tingfeng glanced over and noncommittally said, "You certainly have a sharp eye."

"Naturally," Xiang Shaoyu said, twirling his fan, "I have quite a collection of Fu Guang’s genuine works. For me, the basics from the Calligraphy and Painting Room are essential and must be learned."

Huo Yunyi hesitated for a moment, "Does that mean Miss Ye held back her strength?"

"A mere practice piece," Yan Tingfeng said with a slight smile, "Let’s continue watching."

Miss Fu Qiao was the happiest person there.

She too believed that all the competitors would put forth their full strength in the first round; since Ye Wanlan scored lower than her, she would always be trailing behind.

Miss Fu Qiao stood tall, knowing that Old Mr. Fu was watching today’s competition from his box. She would prove that she was the rightful heir to all he had!

Unquestionably, both Miss Fu Qiao and Ye Wanlan advanced to the second round, the third person was a girl who wrote in the Cold Style.

Though Su Xubai had scored more than 90 points, he was still eliminated.

He left the stage in a daze, so out of sorts that he failed to respond when Madam Su called out to him from the waiting area.

"Xubai, don’t be disheartened, your competitors were too strong this time," Madam Su consoled him, "Miss Fu Qiao is Old Master Fu’s granddaughter after all, it’s normal not to surpass her."

Su Xubai didn’t respond.

Madam Su paused and then asked, "Xubai, you know Miss Ye, right?"

Hearing Madam Su ask this, Su Xubai was momentarily dazed.

In the beginning, Ye Wanlan was just a transfer student at Jiangcheng No.7 Middle School who got in through connections, but in just one year’s time, even his mother had started to respectfully address her as "Miss Ye".

How could there be such a huge change?

It was completely earthshaking.

"Xubai?" Madam Su called out again, "Are you listening?"

Su Xubai forced himself to snap back to reality, lowering his head, "Yes, Mom, we are both at Jiangcheng No.7 Middle School."

"Why have I hardly heard you mention Miss Ye?" Madam Su looked at him with a hint of reproach, "What did Mom tell you? People like her should be befriended early on, otherwise it will be very difficult later on."

Su Xubai pursed his lips, his expression embarrassed.

Of course, he dared not say that he and Xue Yiwei had once publicly ostracized Ye Wanlan, and he had always believed that she was just showing off, trying to compete in every field.

"You and your father have no talent for medicine. In your generation, it’s still okay; we can provide resources for you, but what about later?" Madam Su prattled on, "You must get to know people like Miss Ye to pave a wider path for yourself. You’re in the same school, after all. After the competition is over, I will accompany you to invite Miss Ye to our house."

"Mom, no!" Su Xubai blurted out.

Seeing his unusual demeanor, Madam Su narrowed her eyes, "Xubai, are you hiding something from me?"

"I..." Su Xubai’s voice was weak, and he quickly changed the subject, "Mom, I saw Su Xueqing yesterday."

"Su Xueqing?" Madam Su’s expression changed, "Are you sure she’s shown up in Yunjing?"

"Yes." Su Xubai lowered his head, "I persuaded her to leave, but she didn’t listen."

"Good, you no longer need to deal with this," Madam Su’s eyes gleamed with calculation, "Mom will take care of it."

**

The second round of the competition was about to begin, and Ye Wanlan was waiting in the holding area.

"Ye Wanlan, you can’t beat me," Miss Fu Qiao stepped forward, her voice a low, cold laugh, "The bond between my grandfather and me cannot be sabotaged by you."

Ye Wanlan turned her head, "Did you eat garlic today?"

Miss Fu Qiao was taken aback, "What?"

Her expression blanked for an instant, clearly not understanding why Ye Wanlan would suddenly come out with such a statement.

"You’ve got quite the nerve," Ye Wanlan said indifferently, "Stay away from me."

"Ye Wanlan, you..." Miss Fu Qiao was so angry she stomped her foot.

Just as she was about to unleash a torrent of abuse, the ringing of a bell signaled the start of the second round.

"Wait and see!" Miss Fu Qiao glared at her resentfully, "The vanquished!"

The second round required participants to use a different font from the first round, a substantial challenge for the contestants.

Miss Fu Qiao had only mastered the Fu Style, and another female contestant had mastered the Cold Style.

Both chose characters that were not among the three major fonts, a very safe move.

Ye Wanlan picked up the brush without any hesitation, dipped it in ink, and started writing on the rice paper.

This time, what she wrote was the blood-written message left by Emperor Yongshun Xiang Chen on the city walls before his death in the year 1723 of the Shenzhou Calendar—

"With no face left to meet my royal ancestors, I exchange my dying body for the well-being of my people..."

These few sentences were somewhat difficult for Ye Wanlan to write.

After slowly exhaling a breath, she finally wrote down the last eight characters—

"The sun and moon above, may they eternally shine upon Shenzhou."

Ye Wanlan put down the brush, slowly calming the tumultuous emotions within her heart.

Miss Fu Qiao glanced at her and snorted disdainfully.

It was just writing a few characters, and her breathing was this labored—clearly, her skills were lacking.

When the time was up, the three pieces of writing were displayed in front of the judges and the live broadcast screen.

The first thing the majority of the audience saw was Ye Wanlan’s calligraphy, for her font was truly exceptional.

[Wait, isn’t that the Cold Style?!]

[She knows Fu Style and Cold Style? Is she a freak?]