Chapter Thirty-One: The Reincarnation of the Sage of Calligraphy!

"Brother Wei, something's happened, something's happened." At Hearttrace Entertainment, He Wei’s assistant hurried into his lounge, clutching a sheet of paper.

"Clumsy as ever. Why the rush so early in the morning?" He Wei frowned, set down his calligraphy brush, and took a sip of hot tea.

"Out with it—what’s happened?"

"It’s about the calligraphy competition our company co-sponsored with the Calligraphers’ Association. Do you remember?"

"Nonsense, I’m a contestant myself, how could I forget?" He Wei shot his longtime assistant a look of exasperation.

"Oh, my memory," the assistant said, slapping his forehead awkwardly. "I was just going over the list of participants for the training, and guess who I found?"

"Who? Your father? I’m telling you, I won’t have anything to do with nepotism."

"Oh, come on, Brother Wei, I’m not joking. It’s Chen Nian—Chen Nian!"

"Who?" He Wei was stunned. He snatched the list from the assistant’s hands. "It really is Chen Nian. Are you sure it’s him?"

"No mistake. I saw his photo. A pretty handsome young man, hard to be wrong."

"Get lost!" He Wei smacked the assistant on the head. Just hearing Chen Nian’s name irritated him.

Because of Chen Nian, he had managed to offend half the folk and rock circles in the music scene. Now he was effectively sidelined by the company, left trying to scrape together a bit of popularity from a minor calligraphy contest. And this guy had the nerve to praise Chen Nian’s looks in front of him?

"Talk about a narrow escape—who’d have thought I’d run into you at a calligraphy competition. This time, I’ll make sure you have nowhere to hide!" He Wei said with glee.

"Exactly! Brother Wei, you’re a recognized master of wild cursive in the Calligraphers’ Association. Getting rid of a nobody like Chen Nian should be a piece of cake."

They exchanged a sly glance, their intentions clear.

Three days later, the Rongcheng Calligraphy Competition officially began.

Because this was a national-level event, many renowned calligraphers had come to the scene. Amid them stood Chen Nian—a young man, strikingly handsome and aloof—who seemed thoroughly out of place.

"Who’s that?"

"No idea. Isn’t this competition hosted by the Calligraphers’ Association?"

"Those invited should all be established masters or promising new talents with representative works. I don’t know this young man."

"Probably someone the organizers shoved in to give him some exposure."

Hearing the murmurs, He Wei, whose own popularity remained solid, chimed in, "That’s right. Even if you get knocked out in the first round, just showing up at such a prestigious event brings a lot of industry attention."

"Young people these days—no real skill, always looking for shortcuts!"

"Let’s just get started and send this idiot packing. Out of sight, out of mind."

"So, I’m the useless one you’re talking about?" At that moment, a young woman about Chen Nian’s age looked up at the group making snide remarks.

Those who had been putting on a show of magnanimity looked sheepish when they realized who she was.

"Miss Wei Xi, of course we weren’t talking about you. You’re Master Wei Qingyun’s first disciple, the one who wrote 'Viewing the Sea' at such a young age."

"Exactly. How could you be compared with him? You’re the hope of the younger generation in our calligraphy world."

"With Yu Wenqing not competing, Miss Wei is surely the favorite to win this year."

Basking in their flattery, the girl smiled smugly.

Amid the gathering, Chen Nian glanced at He Wei not far away, stifled a yawn at the biting remarks coming from all directions.

Was that the best they could do?

It seemed the calligraphy world was still too refined—even their insults were mild and toothless.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Rongcheng Cup Calligraphy Competition." Dressed in a white robe, Yu Wenqing took the stage as both host and judge.

"Bravo!" For this acknowledged master of modern regular script, the crowd was quick to show respect, applauding enthusiastically.

"I’m sure everyone knows the rules by now, but I’ll repeat them in case anyone missed them. This is an elimination tournament, divided into three rounds. The first round’s theme is wild cursive, the second round is regular script, and the third round is open—contestants may write anything they wish!"

"What? The first round’s theme is wild cursive?"

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"Wild cursive? That’s too much! Starting out with such a high level of difficulty?"

Most of the contestants were thrown for a loop.

Wild cursive is widely considered the most challenging and technically demanding style in calligraphy. Mastery was out of the question—many in the room didn’t even know where to begin with it.

While others wore worried expressions, He Wei smiled smugly.

To utterly defeat Chen Nian, he had specifically asked a friend at Hearttrace Entertainment, who was in charge of the competition, to switch the first round’s theme to wild cursive.

He might not dare claim to be China’s top wild cursive master, but in Rongcheng, if He Wei said he was second, no one would dare claim first.

"Heh, Chen, you’re dead this time!" Seeing Chen Nian’s impassive expression, He Wei thought he’d already been scared witless.

"Each round is limited to two hours. Not to keep your burning enthusiasm waiting, let the competition begin!" With that, Yu Wenqing stepped down from the stage.

"What’s going on? Wasn’t the first round supposed to be regular script? Why is it wild cursive now?" As soon as Yu Wenqing returned backstage, Luo Youdao anxiously asked.

He’d only ever seen Chen Nian write in regular script. Whether Chen Nian could even do wild cursive, he had no idea.

He’d put in considerable effort for this competition. If something went wrong, it wouldn’t ruin him, but it would take a while to recover.

"I don’t know," Yu Wenqing said helplessly, shaking his head. "The higher-ups suddenly changed the theme. There’s nothing I could do."

"Damn!" Luo Youdao cursed under his breath. "Now it’s all up to Chen Nian’s own luck. I just hope he makes it through the first round."

An hour and a half later, most contestants had already submitted their works and were waiting for them to be reviewed.

Wei Xi walked confidently on stage, handing her piece to Yu Wenqing.

"Very good. As expected from the only disciple Master Wei accepted before retiring."

Looking over her work, Yu Wenqing nodded in satisfaction.

"Hehe, thank you, Teacher Yu. My master sends his regards," Wei Xi replied sweetly.

"Thank you. When you go back, please tell Master Wei that I’ll visit Beijing as soon as I have time," Yu Wenqing replied.

"By the way, Teacher Yu, didn’t you say the person who wrote 'The Stele of the Many-Treasure Pagoda' is competing? I haven’t seen anyone like that."

While working on her piece, Wei Xi had kept a close eye on the other contestants’ works. Not only had she not seen anyone capable of producing something on par with 'The Stele of the Many-Treasure Pagoda,' she hadn’t even noticed a single piece that caught her eye.

Yu Wenqing looked awkwardly at Chen Nian in the audience.

In front of Chen Nian, the sheet of paper was still blank—not a single character, not even a signature—pure and untouched.

Seeing this, both Yu Wenqing and Luo Youdao, standing on the stage, felt their hopes collapse entirely.