The number of people taking the running script exam was half that of the regular script, which eased the grading pressure considerably.
The papers were graded quickly, and the results were announced on Wednesday morning. This round of exams eliminated 110 people, who were then assigned to D and C classes based on their scores.
The higher the class, the fewer the students, and the more impressive the instructor.
Shen Yusi opened the calligraphy group chat and saw her name prominently displayed on the list of qualifiers. She was also notified to attend the cursive script exam on Thursday.
She felt like jumping out of bed and shouting, “I, the reincarnation of Wang Xizhi from Canaan, bow to no one!”
But Shen Yusi managed to hold back and not show off.
Li Yu just barely scraped into C class, ranked dead last on the class assignment list.
Noticing Li Yu’s low spirits, she let out a long sigh and tried to comfort her. “Don’t be sad. Once the cursive script results come out, I’ll probably be ranked last too.”
Cursive script was different from regular and running scripts. She had practiced for days, but her writing still looked like a ghost’s scribbles.
Xu Yiyi laughed loudly beside them. “A C-class last place and a B-class last place as roommates. You two are quite the pair of dragons and phoenixes!”
Shen Yusi punched her playfully. “Don’t jinx it! What if I do well and get second to last?”
“What’s the difference?” Xu Yiyi laughed again.
Their banter helped Li Yu somewhat recover from the fact that she was dead last.
There were even fewer people taking the cursive script exam than the running script one. There was no need to queue for the rice paper at all. When Fang Chuning saw her, she still offered words of encouragement.
Shen Yusi smiled. She had a good attitude and had slowly come to accept that she’d be last. After all, even if she wrote poorly, she’d still get into B class. Last place was fine.
This time, the test material was Wang Xianzhi’s Autobiography.
Only fifty people had advanced. The classroom suddenly felt very spacious.
After navigating through one hurdle after another, the ones remaining in the final exam were all top-tier running script writers among this year’s Yun University freshmen.
Thirteen of them were this year’s calligraphy majors. Their goal was to get into A class and attend Lin Yunzhi’s lectures. They were candidates who had fought their way through the national art exams; their skills needed no introduction.
The remaining thirty-seven, like Shen Yusi, treated calligraphy as a hobby, but they all had solid foundations, having practiced since childhood.
The vast difference in skill between the two groups meant they were tested together, which resulted in the A and B classes having completely different levels of proficiency.
Shen Yusi intentionally glanced at the people beside her. Her throat tightened.
When the girl beside her lifted her wrist and suspended her elbow, it felt like she carried over a decade of experience. Her brushwork could be described as dragons soaring and clouds rolling.
Shen Yusi looked back at her own characters. In comparison, they looked like withered vines struck by lightning—crooked, twisted, and unbearably ugly.
Shen Yusi’s heart immediately sank.
This is what they mean by a noob stumbling into a high-level match.
She decided to throw caution to the wind. Since she was going to be last anyway, she might as well let her wild cursive run even wilder!
When she submitted her paper, Fang Chuning did her usual quick scan, but the praise she had prepared stuck in her throat.
Every candidate present had practiced calligraphy for many years. While cursive script was difficult, they all had a foundation. Setting aside how good their writing was, it shouldn’t be this… ugly, right?
Fang Chuning was also puzzled. She remembered Shen Yusi’s last running script paper was pretty decent.
But then again, her regular script was also mediocre.
Fang Chuning couldn’t help but wonder: did the calligraphy class she signed up for only teach running script?
Shen Yusi noticed Fang Chuning’s hesitant expression and smiled awkwardly.
Surely she won’t be demoted back to C class just because her writing is too ugly.
Sure enough, Shen Yusi failed the cursive script. While the other papers were still being graded, she had already become the undisputed last place.
During the grading, Li Yan used this as grounds to question whether Shen Yusi’s running script score was inflated, demanding a re-evaluation. He didn’t believe someone who had seriously studied calligraphy could write such awful cursive.
The grading office erupted. Li Yan was essentially accusing the graders of favoritism.
Fang Chuning retrieved Shen Yusi’s previous paper and showed it to everyone. “Her running script is genuinely good. No matter who grades it, or how many times it’s graded, the result will be the same. There’s no foul play.”
Li Yan was not convinced. “If the score isn’t inflated, then she must have cheated on the running script exam. Otherwise, why isn’t her regular and cursive script on the same level?”
Fang Chuning argued vehemently, saying she had personally watched Shen Yusi write.
Li Yan sneered. “Then how do you explain the wildly inconsistent quality of her papers every time she submits them? Even if she had a bad day, the gap shouldn’t be this huge. In all my years studying calligraphy, I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“She’s not a calligraphy major. She doesn’t need to be good at every script type. She likes running script, so she practices it more and writes it well. Is there a problem with that?”
Li Yan was emboldened. “Fine. Since that’s the case, call her in right now to write it again. We’ll see if she actually has the skill, won’t we?”
“It’s the weekend!” Calling someone in for a makeup exam on a weekend, in this noisy environment too—there’s no way the result would be as good as a proper exam.
“That’s exactly why we should call her in on the weekend. If she has nothing to hide, she’ll be willing to come prove herself. Besides, the class assignments are announced on Monday. We can’t postpone it just because of her, can we?”
Fang Chuning didn’t expect him to be so shameless and unreasonable. “So, do you have any evidence she cheated?”
“Have you considered that if she got into B class through cheating, she’s taking the spot of another new student? How many people want this opportunity? The principle of grading is fairness and justice, and we must not let any suspicious case slip through, right?”
Hearing this, those who initially thought Li Yan was out of line began to waver.
Calligraphy class instructors charge hundreds or even thousands per session outside of school. The difference between a C-class and a B-class instructor is enormous. You might not even be able to hire a good one even with money. Who wouldn’t want free guidance from a better teacher?
The school arranged for the Yun University Calligraphy Association to oversee this exam precisely to avoid such situations.
Li Yan’s words were undoubtedly flattering everyone present, making it seem as if disagreeing with him meant being unfair.
“You!” Fang Chuning knew that once Li Yan played this card, she would be the one in the wrong.
When Shen Yusi was notified to return to school to rewrite the “Preface to the Orchid Pavilion,” she was chatting with Xie Sheng in a VIP lounge after shopping.
The message from the person in charge was ambiguous, simply stating that her exam results were in question and she needed to come back to rewrite the running script test as a reference.
Xie Sheng’s reaction was even more intense than Shen Yusi’s. “Does the person in charge of your calligraphy class have a screw loose?!”
Xie Sheng ranted, “Oh, so just because he says so, you have to go rewrite it? Who’s got time for that on a weekend? What a dumbass. Thinks he’s some big shot just because he’s in charge? Ridiculous.”
Shen Yusi, however, was thinking about Fang Chuning. The person in charge of the calligraphy class was her, so the message was likely from her. They didn’t interact much outside of exam times and submitting papers, but Shen Yusi knew this senior was responsible and serious, and she had a good impression of her.
Besides, Shen Yusi knew that her cursive script was exceptionally bad among those forty people, which would inevitably draw the graders’ attention and make them suspicious of her previous scores.
Shen Yusi had realized there was a loophole in the exam system and used a learning strategy similar to Tian Ji’s horse racing to get this far. Regardless, her strategy had worked. She wouldn’t accept being eliminated for this reason.
So, Shen Yusi wasn’t angry about the impromptu makeup exam. Instead, she thought that the graders, worried about a misjudgment due to the large disparity in her scores, had reported it to the person in charge. Fang Chuning calling her in to rewrite the paper was actually giving her a chance to prove herself.
This made sense. Careful grading was responsible to every student.
Shen Yusi breathed a sigh of relief. At least they’re questioning the one I’m best at—the Orchid Pavilion Preface.
No problem then.
She flicked her hair, indicating as much.
Unfortunately, you just can’t avoid scrutiny when you’re this good.
Oh well.
I’ll just smash these doubts with my own hands.
Shen Yusi shared her thoughts with Xie Sheng.
Xie Sheng’s mouth twitched. “I’m starting to think you have a bit of chuunibyou too.”
But after hearing her analysis, Xie Sheng thought it was reasonable. Since Shen Yusi was going back to school anyway after shopping, she might as well do this for the senior’s sake.
Xie Sheng thought for a moment. “Want me to come back with you?”
“Aren’t you going on a date with Su Ze later?”
“It’s fine, I’ll stand him up.”
What boyfriend? Xie Sheng couldn’t be bothered right now. She was furious about this calligraphy class. “Isn’t Lin Yingzhou also responsible for that stupid calligraphy class thing? He’s the one who taught you running script. Shouldn’t he know best whether you’re good or not? Who are these other people to question you?”
Xie Sheng grew angrier as she spoke. “Seriously, he’s just going to let those people treat you like this? For crying out loud, you’re his student. Can’t he say a word in your defense?”
He looks all proper, but when his own student is being bullied, he doesn’t help. Turns out he’s all bark and no bite.
“I don’t know. We haven’t been in touch lately.” Besides, Lin Yingzhou usually didn’t handle the grading for the calligraphy class. He might not even know about this.
Shen Yusi didn’t want Xie Sheng to miss her date because of her. “You two have been so busy since the semester started that you’ve barely seen each other. You finally found some time. I know you’re worried about me, but I’m not that easy to push around. If things get weird, I won’t be so obedient.”
Xie Sheng nodded. “Fine, fine. Call me if anything happens.”
“Okay.”
When Shen Yusi arrived, the calligraphy office was in chaos. On a conference table over ten meters long, cursive script papers were strewn everywhere. Seven or eight graders were seated around it, arguing about the grading standards.
The difficulty of grading cursive script increased exponentially. The bad ones were obvious at a glance, but the good ones required careful study.
As the final hurdle, the results of the cursive script exam had to be submitted to the College of Fine Arts teachers for review. Most of those qualified to grade this round were senior students majoring in calligraphy.
The knock on the door didn’t get their attention. Shen Yusi pushed the door open and raised her voice slightly. “Excuse me?”
The room fell silent, and all heads turned towards the door.
A girl with exquisitely deep features and an aggressively beautiful appearance stood by the doorframe. Her skin seemed to glow white in the evening light, her red hair cascading to one side. She wore a sea-blue spaghetti-strap dress, revealing her elegant neck and shoulder lines.
The people who had been buried in a sea of papers stared blankly at this intruder, who looked as beautiful as a mermaid princess.
Shen Yusi’s hair color was too distinctive, and her face was even harder to ignore. Several female students quickly recognized her—this was the freshman from their College of Fine Arts who had made a name for herself right after the semester started. They were finally seeing her in person.
“I’m here for the makeup exam.”
This announcement broke the silence. Everyone snapped out of it, awkwardly averted their gazes, and murmured “okay” before returning to their papers, though their minds were still elsewhere.
Only Li Yan continued to look her up and down, his gaze filled with scrutiny.
He hadn’t expected Shen Yusi to actually come back for the makeup exam. It seemed he couldn’t use her guilt as a reason to invalidate her scores now.
Her trendy, polished appearance only solidified the thoughts in Li Yan’s mind.
There’s no way she can write well. My suspicions were right.
As long as she performed poorly later, things would be easy.
Li Yan looked at Shen Yusi with disdain, then gestured with his chin towards a small table in the corner, putting on the air of the deputy group leader. “Write there.”
The table was pitifully small. Shen Yusi didn’t need to try it to know she couldn’t even unfold a quarter of the rice paper on it.
“Can I sit here?”
Shen Yusi pointed to a table by the window. It was large and clean, with brushes, ink, paper, and an inkstone neatly arranged, ready to be used.
Apart from the occupied long table in the office, this was the most suitable table for calligraphy.
“No!” Li Yan’s voice was sharp.
Shen Yusi frowned. Since she was on someone else’s turf, she had to follow their arrangements. She sat down and asked, “Are there brushes and rice paper?”
She had been notified to return for the makeup exam on short notice and hadn’t had time to prepare her own tools.
Thinking the calligraphy office would have these supplies, she hadn’t bothered her roommates to bring them over.
“You didn’t bring any?”
Shen Yusi answered honestly. “I was out shopping. I didn’t have time to prepare.”
Li Yan let out a disdainful snort, his expression clearly saying I knew you were that kind of person. His tone was unpleasant. “Just grab any brush. There’s plenty of paper here.”
Shen Yusi frowned. She could clearly feel his hostility, but she didn’t know where it came from.
She had never seen this person before this.
So, Shen Yusi was certain.
Either he had taken the wrong meds, or he was just plain crazy.
Shen Yusi generally didn’t argue with crazy people. She grabbed a sheet of rice paper from the rack and picked a brush that looked decent from the table by the window.
Li Yan suddenly got agitated again. “Who told you you could use his?!”
This was Lin Yingzhou’s desk. The items on it were naturally his as well.
Ever since the promotional period ended, he rarely came to the office. Everyone knew he had severe mysophobia, so no one dared to touch his things.
The one person Li Yan dared not offend in the entire Calligraphy Association was Lin Yingzhou. If this woman messed with his stuff herself, Li Yan wasn’t going to be blamed for letting her.
Shen Yusi looked like she had a bad temper, but she was actually quite easygoing. Most of the people she met were reasonable, so she was reasonable too.
Facing Li Yan’s repeated provocations, Shen Yusi had held her tongue. But that didn’t mean she was someone to be bullied.
“You told me to just grab any brush, and now you’re saying I can’t use this one.” Shen Yusi asked with genuine sincerity, “We’re all normal people here. Why is it so hard to understand what you’re saying?”
Her tone was gentle, not even sounding angry, as if she were earnestly asking for an explanation.
But it somehow carried a heavy dose of sarcasm.
“You!” Li Yan had been chosen as the deputy group leader, and no candidate had ever dared to speak to him like this. He pointed at the door. “With an attitude like that, you don’t deserve a makeup exam. You’re not fit to be in this calligraphy class. Get out!”
Wow~
Such official authority.
Shen Yusi felt like standing up and applauding his speech.
“Are you the one who makes the final decisions?” Seeing him hesitate, Shen Yusi smiled, her voice a little louder. “What gives you the right to send me back?”