The regular script exam arrived as scheduled. Shen Yusi and Li Yu went to the examination venue according to the group notification.
The public calligraphy welfare class was a project strongly supported by the university. The previous term had even made the news for effectively promoting Chinese culture. Participants not only got a free year of classes, but the teaching instructors were also members of the Chinese Calligraphers Association.
These various selling points led to a continuously increasing number of applicants. Three exam rooms were prepared, and even that barely held everyone.
A long line of dozens of people snaked out from the entrance, waiting to receive their xuan paper.
The exam content had been announced long ago. It was the first fifty characters of Yan Zhenqing’s Pagoda of Many Treasures Stele. To prevent people from writing the essay beforehand and submitting it, the students were required to use xuan paper stamped with a vermillion seal.
The line moved quickly. Two CCA members were standing at the lectern, distributing the paper.
Fang Chuning handed out the pre-folded xuan paper. When she looked up and saw the person in front of her, her eyes lit up. “You’re here!”
Shen Yusi was a little surprised she remembered her. “Yes, I’m here for the exam.”
“Mm. Do your best.”
Shen Yusi felt her spirits lift because of the girl’s inexplicable kindness. She smiled. “Thank you, Senior.”
Li Yu, who was behind her, leaned in after receiving her paper and asked, “Do you know that senior?”
“I met her while filling out the registration form on the first day.”
“Ah, I see.”
After all the paper was distributed, Fang Chuning gave some instructions from the lectern, and the exam began shortly after.
Regular script wasn’t difficult for Shen Yusi. She finished writing and handed in her paper, waiting for Li Yu at their seats. When she was done, the two of them returned to the dormitory together.
For the first exam, there were 320 participants. Shen Yusi heard that after the exam, all members of the Yun University Calligraphy Association were called to the teaching and research office for several days to grade the papers.
In the end, only half the people were qualified to take the next exam. Those who didn’t advance were assigned to the basic E and F classes, taught by excellent juniors and seniors from the calligraphy department. Classes would start next week.
Both Shen Yusi and Li Yu qualified for the second exam.
She immediately sent a message to Z: [I passed! I passed! Celebrate for me!]
Z: [Passed what?]
Island: [It’s that calligraphy welfare class I mentioned. I passed the initial exam.]
Z: [I thought you said you didn’t want to go?]
Island: [But now I want to go.]
Shen Yusi added: [Because I found out that the teacher in Class B is really, really handsome!]
She then forwarded the video of Lin Yingzhou doing Tai Chi from the opening ceremony to Z: [See? Isn’t he incredibly handsome!]
Seeing that Z hadn’t replied, Shen Yusi pressed the voice message button. “Teacher Z, talk to me. He’s really handsome, don’t you think?”
Lin Yingzhou stared silently at the string of messages on his screen. When Shen Yusi’s voice message came in, he hesitated for a moment, turned down the volume, and pressed his fingertip.
The girl’s honeyed voice splashed onto the inkstone’s edge. “Teacher Z, talk to me～ He’s really handsome～ Don’t you think～”
A vein jumped in Lin Yingzhou’s temple.
He thought, This person is truly superficial.
Z: [No, I don’t think so.]
Shen Yusi felt like laughing.
Ever since she suspected Z might be Lin Yingzhou, her messages to him had been laced with teasing.
This ‘no, I don’t think so’ was just hilarious.
Was Z going against his own conscience and saying he wasn’t handsome?
Or was he going against his conscience and saying the handsome guy she was praising wasn’t handsome?
Either way, Shen Yusi found it amusing.
Knowing the running script exam topic, Li Yu had already started practicing. Her goal was Class C.
Shen Yusi had researched the exam mechanics long ago. She knew that as long as she passed the running script exam, even if her cursive script was as bad as mud, she was guaranteed a spot in Class B.
But…
She couldn’t go in ranked dead last, could she?
At least…
Second to last!
After thinking it over, Shen Yusi sent Z another message: [When can we start learning cursive script?]
Z: [You want to learn cursive?]
Shen Yusi had originally only said she wanted to learn running script. But being dead last sounded so bad.
Island: [After running script, there’s the cursive script exam. I don’t want to be last.]
Cursive script had no specific formula. Its form varied greatly, emphasizing spirit and artistic conception. It was a completely different system from the regular and running scripts she had learned, and the key points were hard to grasp in a short time.
Lin Yingzhou wanted to tell her that cramming cursive now was useless. Even if Lin Yunzhi came to teach her personally, it wouldn’t change the fact that she was about to fail.
However, Lin Yingzhou had decided long ago that he would use encouraging teaching methods.
So, he said: [Wait for me to send you a file tomorrow.]
Shen Yusi typed a message of thanks, ready to send it.
Then she thought for a second and added seven characters and a tilde at the end.
[You’re the best, Teacher Z. I like Teacher Z the most～]
In the white light of the screen, that tilde was like a fine spiderweb, wrapping around Lin Yingzhou’s retinal nerves and creeping into his chest.
He could feel the rhythm of his heartbeat quickening.
After a few seconds, Lin Yingzhou threw his phone onto the felt mat.
Not only was this person superficial…
She was also fickle.
Looking at his own furrowed brow reflected in the dark screen, Lin Yingzhou was struck by a sense of absurdity.
Was he angry?
What was he angry about?
It couldn’t be that he was angry about Shen Yusi casually saying such things to a stranger of the opposite sex, could it?
Even if that stranger was himself.
Even if the person she was praising in the first place was also himself.
Suddenly, there was a hurried knock on the door.
Lin Yingzhou put his phone away. “Come in.”
Tang Suhe pushed the door open, leaned against the frame with her arms crossed, then pulled over a swivel chair and sat down opposite him.
Lin Yingzhou looked up. “What are you doing here?”
“I was visiting Wanxia-jie. I just happened to pass by.”
Lin Wanxia lived in the South Building. His West Building was not on the way. “Do you need something?”
“I was going to ask you the same thing. Who did you get that medicine for last time?”
God knows how shocked she was when she got Lin Yingzhou’s call that night.
Lin Yingzhou!
Lin Yingzhou!
He was asking her for medicine for period cramps!
Tang Suhe had suspected she was hallucinating. She thought Lin Yingzhou had been body-snatched. She even considered that he was the one with cramps. She never once imagined he was in love.
Finally finding some free time, Tang Suhe rushed over to ask.
“A friend.”
“A girlfriend.”
“…Take the word ‘girl’ out.”
Shen Yusi did like him. Whether he was Lin Yingzhou or Z, she liked him a lot.
But he had never thought about accepting her feelings and being with her.
So, talking about a girlfriend was simply laughable.
“Fine. Don’t talk tough. Let me do a reading.” Tang Suhe grabbed a piece of xuan paper from his desk, used a brush to draw nine squares on it, and wrote the Heavenly Stems Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, and Gui.
This was a Qimen Dunjia time plate. She would know at a glance if Lin Yingzhou was lying.
Tang Suhe bit her nails, muttering something to herself, then smacked the brush down on the desk. “Huh? It really isn’t a girlfriend.”
Lin Yingzhou couldn’t be bothered with her.
“But this is very strange. Yi Wood is entangled with Bing Fire entering Dui Palace.” Tang Suhe pointed at one of the squares. “And Du Men meets Xuan Wu. This is a Fan Yin configuration…”
Tang Suhe’s tone suddenly became serious. “Lin Yingzhou, did you lie to a young lady?”
Lin Yingzhou finally looked up.
Tang Suhe grinned, leaning in. “Oh, did I hit the nail on the head?”
“…”
“And, it seems you’re about to be found out. I suggest you confess quickly.” Tang Suhe rubbed her chin, then a look of condemnation appeared on her face. She didn’t know the specifics, but lying to a woman was wrong.
“I can’t believe you did something like this!”
Lin Yingzhou said flatly, “Are you done?”
“Yes. A reading doesn’t go empty. Transfer 8888 to me on WeChat. Thank you.” Tang Suhe pulled out her payment QR code, ready to name her price on the spot.
Lin Yingzhou’s eyelid twitched. “Did I ask for a reading?”
Tang Suhe didn’t see the problem. After all, she only pulled this kind of forced sale on people she knew well. “So, tell me, was I right or not? Was the advice good or not?”
Lin Yingzhou didn’t want to argue with her. He quickly transferred the money to her. “Alright, you can go now.”
Satisfied, Tang Suhe remembered the main point. “When you have time, bring her to see me. A little acupuncture and massage, and following the doctor’s advice, period cramps are very treatable.”
Tang Suhe was from a family of mystics. Her grandfather and Lin Yingzhou’s grandfather were old friends. She specialized in Chinese medicine and fate calculation, especially women’s ailments. She was the best at it.
“We’ll see. It’s not convenient right now.”
Tang Suhe scoffed. “Well, I won’t have time forever. I’m leaving for Jingchuan soon.”
“What for?”
Tang Suhe raised an eyebrow. “To find my true love.”
That wasn’t entirely true. She was mainly going there for an exchange program.
Lin Yingzhou just gave a slight twitch of his mouth. “You have too much free time.”
“Mind your own business.” Tang Suhe didn’t want to waste any more words. She scavenged a few rare ancient books from his study, waved her hand, and said, “Bye. I’ll come back to raid your collection next time.”
These things were nothing to someone like him. Lin Yingzhou didn’t even look up.
After Tang Suhe left, he put down his book and began to ponder what she had said.
Deception?
Maybe it was.
If Shen Yusi found out the truth, would she hate him?
Would she stop liking Lin Yingzhou, and stop liking Z?
But how was he supposed to say it? Would he have to tell her, “Island, I am Z”?
—
The scent of turpentine lingered in the studio. Shen Yusi’s fingertips were stained with paint as she worked on the assignment the teacher had given them that day.
Her phone vibrated silently beside her palette. She quickly wiped her fingertips on a tissue.
“Auntie Shu?” She answered the phone, wedging it between her ear and shoulder, her eyes still on her unfinished assignment.
“The photos from last time were great. I’m coming back from my business trip in a few days. I plan to invite Dean Lin and your calligraphy teacher out for a meal. It’ll be this weekend. You should come too.”