Star Entertainment’s response made Wang Zhengming popular all over again, and it also successfully drummed up hype for the Jiuzhou Poetry Conference.
At the same time, Wang Zhengming received an invitation from Mangliu TV, hoping he would host a variety show centered around poetry.
When it comes to riding the wave of popularity, if Mangliu TV claims second place, no one dares claim first.
Faced with an invitation from a top-tier television station, Wang Zhengming was overjoyed and agreed without a moment’s hesitation.
Even though this was clearly a show meant to cash in on the hype, Wang Zhengming didn’t feel the least bit uncomfortable about it.
After all, who could say no to Mangliu TV?
Besides, what is face anyway? How much does it cost per pound?
He had cursed at Qin Yunxuan precisely because he wanted to get famous, right?
Now the buzz was there, he was trending, and he’d landed a variety show invitation—what more could he possibly ask for?
“Dear netizen friends, my new show ‘I Want to Memorize Poetry’ is about to kick off, and soon you’ll all get to see the gap between someone who knows their stuff and someone who doesn’t!”
At the same time, he also tagged Qin Lang.
As soon as this news broke, Qin Yunxuan’s fans grew even more furious.
That smug, gloating attitude of riding on someone else’s coattails was simply too much for all her fans to bear.
Many fans rushed to Wang Zhengming’s Weibo, ready to flood his comment section.
But they found that Wang Zhengming had been foresighted enough to set his Weibo to disable comments entirely.
That really stirred up a hornet’s nest.
How could anyone act like that?
You hurl insults, ride the wave of popularity, and then shut down the comments?
If you’ve got the nerve to leech off someone’s fame, then have the nerve to open up the comments!
That’s just completely against the unwritten rules!
With no outlet for their pent-up anger, the fans had no choice but to flock to Qin Yunxuan’s Weibo instead.
They left message after message, decrying Wang Zhengming’s shameless behavior and hoping Qin Yunxuan would step up and have a proper showdown with him.
Even Qin Lang was stunned by Wang Zhengming’s sheer lack of shame.
This guy—even if he’s shearing sheep, he can’t just keep shearing the same one over and over, right?
But then again… if he actually fought back directly, it wouldn’t fit his public image at all.
And besides, wouldn’t that just hand Wang Zhengming exactly what he wanted?
After thinking it over, Qin Lang decided he still needed to respond. If he stayed silent, he wouldn’t be able to face his fans either.
Soon enough, Qin Lang’s response came through.
“Gripping the green mountain, it never lets go, its roots struck deep in the fractured rock. Through a thousand blows and a million strikes, it remains firm and strong, no matter which way the wind blows—east, west, south, or north.”
This poem, “Bamboo and Rock” by Zheng Banqiao, had always been one of Qin Lang’s favorites.
Though its words are simple, its spirit soars high and wide, making it the perfect response to Wang Zhengming in this situation.
Sure enough, as soon as the poem was posted, Qin Yunxuan’s fans burst into excitement.
“Holy crap, holy crap—this poem is absolutely incredible! Xuanxuan is just dropping poetry left and right without even trying now!”
“Let alone whether Xuanxuan has what it takes to make a good show, just her mastery of poetry alone puts her way above a petty man like Wang Zhengming!”
“Exactly! Our Xuanxuan doesn’t even have Wang Zhengming on her radar. All our anger is just giving him more attention instead—let’s drop it, everyone!”
“Right, Wang Zhengming can’t even begin to compare with our Xuanxuan. But speaking of which, Xuanxuan’s got a variety show and new songs coming up—she promised us an album, so she better not flake out on that!”
“Plus one—I’m all ready. This is Xuanxuan’s very first album, and I’m definitely buying it to keep as a collector’s item!”
“I can’t wait anymore…”
…
Even the countless onlookers who had been following this “battle” were taken aback.
Quite a few people had previously questioned Qin Yunxuan’s “smoke locks the willow pond” line, because in everyone’s memory, she was just a singer.
And not long ago, she was a singer who barely knew her craft!
For someone like that, the general impression was always… unlearned, lazy, lacking drive…
But no one expected Qin Yunxuan to turn out to be a hidden genius in poetry.
With this elegant reply using “Bamboo and Rock,” the public’s perception of Qin Yunxuan shifted yet another notch.
Of course, the person most shaken by all this wasn’t from the entertainment world or the poetry circle.
It was Dean Chen of the Jiuyang Research Institute!
Although he’d said outwardly that he wouldn’t interfere with Qin Yunxuan’s activities in the entertainment industry, he’d been keeping a close eye on her.
Because in his view, Qin Yunxuan was a genius—she belonged in the research field, making full use of her talents!
But now it seemed she was more than just a genius in science and technology—she was a genius in music, and a genius in poetry too!
So now he felt both proud and regretful at the same time.
Proud, because his newest protégé was clearly no ordinary person.
Regretful, because the more she excelled in other fields, the less she could focus on the scientific realm.
“Gripping the green mountain, it never lets go, its roots struck deep in the fractured rock. Through a thousand blows and a million strikes, it remains firm and strong, no matter which way the wind blows—east, west, south, or north. What a line—’no matter which way the wind blows’!”
Dean Chen recited Qin Lang’s verse, his face beaming with exhilaration.
“Old Chen, since when did you get into reciting poetry? That’s not your usual style at all!”
A man around sixty years old walked in, looking at Dean Chen with a cheerful grin.
“None of your business!”
Dean Chen shot back grumpily: “Old Sun, what brings you here? It’s probably nothing good, right?”
Old Sun retorted with mock offense: “Old Chen, what do you mean ‘nothing good’? I came to see you this time with some truly great news!”
“What is it? Is the state giving our Jiuyang Institute another round of funding?”
“Ahem, well… let’s talk about funding later. You’re a research institute—how did you get so fixated on money? Don’t you have any scholarly pride left?”
“Nonsense. Can pride be eaten? Do you have any idea how many research projects we’ve had to shut down every year because of tight budgets? Unless you’re bringing me a big chunk of funding, I don’t see what could possibly count as good news!”
Old Sun rolled his eyes: “Fine, fine! The news I’m talking about actually does have… a little something to do with research funding. If we play our cards right, we might just get a nice pile of money coming in!”
At that, Dean Chen’s ears perked up.
The Jiuyang Institute’s research funding normally came from three main sources.
The lion’s share came from state research grants, while the other two sources were providing technical support to corporations and accepting outside charitable donations.
Although the total annual funding wasn’t small, research was an enormous money sink—and worst of all, you could burn through a mountain of cash and still have little to show for it in terms of results!
That was the real reason the institute was always strapped for cash.
Because of this, the institute could only keep about seven or eight major projects running each year, while all the others had to be put on hold until money freed up again.
Otherwise, Dean Chen wouldn’t be losing so much sleep worrying about funds.
