The moment Ren Yong saw the calligraphy, he lost his composure a bit, "Where did you get this from?"
"I bought it from someone," Shu Wan said with a slight smile, "You wrote this two months ago, right? I heard you’re quite proud of this piece, boasting about it several times in class. Just ask your students, and they’ll tell you."
As soon as Shu Wan finished speaking, her classmates corroborated her claim, "Yes, yes, just now in class, the teacher showed us a picture, saying this was his proudest work."
Now that the students had testified, there was nothing Ren Yong could say that would make a difference. He stared at Shu Wan, "So?"
"Let’s compare then."
Shu Wan placed Ren Yong’s piece of calligraphy next to the one she had just written and then took a photo of them together right in front of Ren Yong.
Watching Shu Wan’s actions, Ren Yong wanted to stop her several times, but they were in a classroom, in front of so many students—to react like a hooligan would be utterly embarrassing.
In the end, Ren Yong, with a face as grim as iron, could only let Shu Wan proceed.
After taking the photo, Shu Wan casually tossed Ren Yong’s work back onto the table, "There you go. Everyone knows who won and who lost. I’m leaving."
Having said that, Shu Wan walked straight out of the classroom.
Compared to Shu Wan’s serene departure, Ren Yong’s face had turned as black as coal.
["Although Shu Wan is pretty arrogant, her calligraphy is really badass!!!! Anyone understand? This is what our teacher talks about, the unity of form and spirit, naturally soaring in the writing. So cool, I’m swooning."]
["She’s so cool. I’m totally smitten. Sorry, but I underestimated Shu Wan’s badassery. Anyone with real talent is just overwhelmingly cool acting this way."]
["I don’t know calligraphy, but just from their expressions, I can pretty much guess who won. I never expected it, really. What window to heaven did Shu Wan close?"]
While everyone was buzzing in the live stream, Shu Wan updated her Weibo with a new post.
She posted the photo taken in the classroom and then tagged a whole bunch of accounts, more than forty.
At first, people didn’t catch on until someone realized that these were all the calligraphy masters and academic professors who had spoken up for Ren Yong.
["Dang, I thought Shu Wan was already tough, but she’s gone even further. This is outright face-slapping, she’s so badass I adore it. Mommy, don’t let me die from how cool this is."]
["I’m tired of saying ’hubby,’ but it’s just so sexy. I just asked our professor to evaluate Shu Wan’s calligraphy, and he only said two words, ’Celestial quality.’ You get what that means."]
["Ahhh, I’m about to cry from how cool Shu Wan is. I never thought she could really write like that. Beautiful, capable, and so darn cool. I hereby declare her to be my ’hubby’!!!"]
With the post on Weibo, netizens were abuzz with discussion. Those experts who had initially said Shu Wan could never have produced that kind of writing were conspicuously absent.
Because only those who knew the craft understood that Shu Wan’s calligraphy was genuinely good.
Even if they favored Ren Yong deep down, they couldn’t betray their conscience and say Shu Wan lost.
That silence from over forty accounts now hung over Shu Wan’s Weibo, never before having felt so humiliated.
Shu Wan’s fans, however, were exultant; after all, Shu Wan had been harshly criticized before, and now she had finally turned the tables. They relentlessly mocked Ren Yong’s account.
Ren Yong had hoped to cash in on this opportunity, but instead, he crashed once more, almost losing his job at the school.
As for Shu Wan, who was at the center of the storm, she had already put that matter behind her. Her concern was that her illness had actually healed, but Fu Siyu’s care for her seemed only to have increased???
"I’ll come pick you up for lunch. I know a great restaurant; I’ll take you there."
Fu Siyu handed Shu Wan the thermos, then very naturally adjusted her scarf.
The gesture of fixing the scarf was intimate, but Fu Siyu didn’t overstep any boundaries, his hands not even touching Shu Wan. Even if she found it odd, she couldn’t find a reason to refuse.
"Won’t you always picking me up interfere with your work?"
Ever since Shu Wan fell ill, Fu Siyu had been consistent in driving her to and from work. But now she had recovered.
"Work isn’t as important as you are."
Fu Siyu gave Shu Wan a smile, "Taking care of you when you’re sick, after all, is much harder than going to work."
Facing the depths of Fu Siyu’s eyes, Shu Wan felt a warmth on her cheeks, "I know it’s been hard for you, thanks."