Chapter 79 - 78: These Legendary Historical Figures Are All Her People
Chapter 79: Chapter 78: These Legendary Historical Figures Are All Her People
The secretary was quite surprised to discover that the person who saved Lu Qingyuan was a senior at Jianghuai High School.
But since she was just a student, she had likely never seen such a large sum of money. Handing out hush money was standard operating procedure for Xingyi. If the other party still refused to read the room, they would have no choice but to take other measures.
Shi Changying didn’t take the check. She raised an eyebrow. "An accident?"
"Of course it was an accident. Xingyi takes Teacher Lu’s safety very seriously, and we are well aware of her fear of water," the secretary stressed again. "But there are always people who like to spread unfounded rumors, which puts the company in a difficult position."
Shi Changying narrowed her eyes at those words, her chin lifting slightly. Being naturally tall, she swept her gaze down over the secretary.
Her condescending scrutiny sent shivers down his spine. He felt as if he had been sliced open, leaving all his hidden, despicable thoughts with nowhere to hide. He could barely stand steady, a layer of cold sweat breaking out on his back. Having followed President Fan to numerous grand occasions, the secretary had naturally visited the Mingjing Gu Family. Where on earth did the imposing aura of the girl standing in front of him come from?
Shi Changying suddenly smiled and said unhurriedly, "Then you must keep your promise. I will not speak out, so whatever happens online will have nothing to do with me."
"Of course." The secretary wiped his sweat, breathing a sigh of relief, and smiled. "You are a private citizen. We won’t expose the privacy of an ordinary individual."
Only then did Shi Changying reach out. As the secretary handed the check to her, he felt that something was off, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
Shi Changying pocketed the check and returned to the classroom.
"Yingying, where did you go just now?" Lu Mi handed her a packet of cookies. "You left the cafeteria so early today; you definitely didn’t eat enough."
Shi Changying leaned back lazily in her chair. "I just made a cool million."
Lu Mi’s jaw practically dropped to the floor. "H-how did you make that much?"
Shi Changying replied, "A fool gave it to me."
Lu Mi was speechless.
She looked a bit dazed. Even when the first Chinese class of the afternoon started, she was still wondering what kind of fool would just casually give away a million yuan.
Teacher Bei had the Chinese class representative hand out a set of test papers. "Class, today we are going to go over a mock exam paper from last year. The classical Chinese reading comprehension on this paper is exceptionally well-written. Please turn your papers to page four."
Shi Changying turned the page, her gaze suddenly pausing.
"An excerpt from Cui Jinghan’s *Sorrow of Nine States*?" Song Qingmu read the author’s background introduction aloud. "Cui Jinghan was a great literary master at the end of the Xuan Dynasty, known for his semi-cursive script. This piece, *Sorrow of Nine States*, is hailed as the ’World’s Greatest Semi-cursive Script,’ and was written when the Hong Clan breached Jiang Province."
"Classmate Changying, could you please help write the last paragraph of *Sorrow of Nine States* on the blackboard?" Teacher Bei asked with a smile. "Your handwriting is very beautiful, and I want the class to learn from it."
Shi Changying didn’t move. She stared at the line, "A useless scholar, with no path to take up arms, and no way to avenge his family’s blood feud, leaving behind an eternal sorrow," and remained silent.
"Classmate Changying?" Teacher Bei called out again.
Shi Changying finally snapped back to reality. She gripped the test paper tightly and replied in a low voice, "Okay."
Shaoyuan’s brow twitched slightly. He stared at her back, his thoughts unreadable.
Standing in front of the blackboard with a piece of chalk, Shi Changying transcribed the *Sorrow of Nine States* while recalling memories from many years ago.
"Your Majesty, Mr. Cui has written quite a few more pieces." Zhuge Mingyue delivered Cui Jinghan’s newly written articles to her desk and smiled. "He truly has ambition and drive. He is absolutely obsessed with writing a semi-cursive script that surpasses his predecessors, determined to claim the title of the world’s greatest semi-cursive script."
Although she couldn’t fully understand some of the things he wrote, she still remembered what Cui Jinghan had said to her: "I must show everyone the prosperity of our Da Xuan."
At that time, he was only twenty-two years old—high-spirited, writing with bold, sweeping strokes, his inspiration flowing like a spring. He was on the rise, having not yet reached his peak.
It was a pity that she never got to see it in the end, because when she died, Cui Jinghan still hadn’t won the title of the greatest semi-cursive script.
So he did achieve it eventually after all.
Shi Changying finished writing the last character and returned to her seat.
"Thank you for writing that, Classmate Changying." Teacher Bei brought up another slide. "The original work of *Sorrow of Nine States* is currently housed in the Nanling Museum. Everyone, please take a look."
Shi Changying quietly looked at the image on the projection screen. There was blood on the silk; it was written using blood as ink, a shocking and dreadful sight.
It made sense. When the country was destroyed, families were ruined, and all paths led to a dead end, even finding food was a problem. Where would he get high-quality ink?
She thought, "But Cui Jinghan, if you knew that the world’s greatest semi-cursive script would turn out to be the swan song of a fallen nation, would you still want this title or not?"
Shi Changying didn’t pay much attention during the second half of the class. Her gaze wandered aimlessly out the window. It was a beautiful, sunny day with a gentle breeze. The sunlight danced on the windowsill, so idyllic that it felt somewhat surreal.
After class, Shaoyuan suddenly spoke up. "You’re in a bad mood."
Shi Changying turned her head away, avoiding his gaze. "I’m not."
Shaoyuan said evenly, "History needs to be remembered, but what’s more important is the present, isn’t it?"
"I know." Shi Changying paused, then murmured, "It just makes me sad to see it, that’s all."
Shaoyuan’s eyes flickered. At this moment, it was as if she had shed all her youthful spirit, becoming cold and desolate.
Just then, the Chinese class representative shouted from the doorway, "Classmate Shi, Teacher Bei wants you to go see her. It’s urgent!"
Shi Changying massaged her temples and headed to the senior year Chinese department office.
When she walked in, the Chinese teacher for Class 1 of the freshman year was instructing Xu Shuyu about something. Xu Shuyu agreed, turned, and walked out, turning a blind eye to Shi Changying.
"Changying, come here." Teacher Bei waved her over. "Are you interested in participating in the Youth Calligraphy Competition?"
Xu Shuyu paused in her steps and finally glanced at Shi Changying.
Shi Changying gave a decisive, one-word reply: "No."
Teacher Bei choked on her words. She hadn’t expected to be shut down before she could even offer a second sentence of persuasion.
"Changying, a teacher naturally wants to see her students continue to develop their talents," Teacher Bei said earnestly. "If you can win a prize in the calligraphy competition, it will open up another path for your future. Although the prize money isn’t that high—only thirty thousand for first place—but..."
Shi Changying immediately changed her tune. "Okay."
Teacher Bei choked again. Her usually quick wits were completely useless when it came to Shi Changying. "Then... then go ahead and fill out the registration form."
Shi Changying took the registration form and walked out.
Behind her, Xu Shuyu said coolly, "If you’re just pretending to be cultured to please our grandparents, then there’s no need to participate in the calligraphy competition. That is my advice and my warning."