“Shocking! Famous singer Qin Yunxuan actually showed up at the Poetry Conference!”
“Talented woman Zhao Qinghui’s poetic couplet challenge was actually answered by a singer, and she matched ten couplets in a row!”
“Idol singer or poetry prodigy? What is Qin Yunxuan’s true identity after all?”
……
Right as Qin Lang agreed to Zhao Qinghui’s request, the media outside had already released the news of Qin Lang attending the Poetry Conference.
When fans and netizens first saw this news, their immediate reaction was…
Who made up this fake news!
This is so half-hearted. A singer going to a Poetry Conference?
Does she have nothing better to do!
But when they saw the videos and photos in the news, every single one of them couldn’t stay calm.
That person surrounded in the crowd… could it really be Qin Yunxuan?
She’s a singer, why isn’t she singing properly? Why is she attending some Poetry Conference!
Especially Qin Yunxuan’s fans – she still owes them a song.
“This Qin Yunxuan isn’t writing songs properly, why is she going to some Poetry Conference!”
“Exactly, this is simply neglecting her real job! When will she pay back the song she owes us!”
“Is Qin Yunxuan trying to gain some presence? With her level of skill, attending a Poetry Conference? Isn’t that just asking to be laughed at?”
“But the news said Qin Yunxuan matched ten couplets in a row, and they were the upper couplets Zhao Qinghui created!”
“I know Zhao Qinghui, she’s called the number one female poet of the younger generation. Her depth of knowledge isn’t something Qin Yunxuan can compare to!”
“It must be a publicity stunt by Qin Yunxuan’s company. It’s really disgusting. She hasn’t even been famous that long, and she’s already shifting to the poetry field?”
“Qin Yunxuan, please don’t ruin our poetry, okay?”
……
Sure enough, just as President Sun had anticipated.
The news of Qin Yunxuan appearing at the Poetry Conference site, once released online, instantly sparked heated discussions among countless netizens.
A singer attending a Poetry Conference?
That’s quite a crossover.
Even Qin Yunxuan’s own fans thought she was just there for the excitement, to boost her popularity!
Not to mention the haters who disliked Qin Yunxuan.
For a moment, the internet was ablaze with all sorts of doubts, sarcasm, and online battles from all sides.
And the result of all this was… the originally niche event, the Poetry Conference, instantly came into the spotlight for countless people.
Many people learned for the first time that there was actually an event called the Poetry Conference in this world.
Right in the middle of all the heated arguments, another voice appeared online.
“I was actually at the Poetry Conference site. You keyboard warriors don’t understand anything. Qin Yunxuan really did match ten couplets in a row. Everyone at the scene was shocked! Even President Sun of the Poetry Association came out personally to welcome her!”
Below that was a video of President Sun beaming at Qin Lang.
“Qin Yunxuan’s depth of knowledge far exceeds your imagination. I’m just a neutral bystander, but I can’t stand seeing these boring online fights. Instead of wasting time typing on your keyboards, why not go to the scene and see for yourselves!”
Go to the scene and see?
That was an eye-opener.
Qin Yunxuan is currently at the Poetry Conference site, meaning… Qin Yunxuan is at the Shuangzi Hotel in Jiuyang City?
Countless netizens in Jiuyang City expressed their intention to go to Shuangzi Hotel and check things out.
But at this moment, Qin Yunxuan had no idea what was happening outside. He was sitting next to Zhao Qinghui, listening attentively as she explained the rules of the Poetry Conference.
The so-called Poetry Conference was simply members of the Poetry Association getting together to recite poems and compose couplets, showing off to each other!
Finally, a few respected senior figures would set a topic, and everyone would compose poems according to that topic, picking the best one as the champion.
Apart from a bit of anticipation at the very end, the rest of the conference was extremely dull!
Qin Lang was very surprised. How could such a boring conference have run for eight sessions already?
And there was even the possibility of it continuing.
“So, the thing I need to do is just comment on the poems they write, right?”
After Qin Lang had heard everything Zhao Qinghui had to say, he came to this conclusion.
Zhao Qinghui thought for a moment, then nodded: “Yes, that’s basically it!”
Qin Lang breathed a sigh of relief. He finally had a handle on things.
Given the nature of this kind of conference, it was clearly just a bunch of intellectuals indulging in self-amusement and mutual back-patting!
When it was his turn to comment, he could just say something like ‘brilliant’, ‘profound meaning’, ‘magnificent phrasing’, and he’d be able to get by, right?
Thinking this, Qin Lang felt relieved.
Having him compose poems and couplets was just too difficult for an academic slacker like him.
He couldn’t exactly count on that stroke of dumb luck happening again, could he?
As for plagiarizing ancient poems… that was even more unreliable.
Poetry is the embodiment of culture. Many poems only shine brightly within the artistic conception of traditional Chinese culture!
Lines like ‘Chang’e would regret stealing the elixir’!
Or ‘sending plum blossoms, fish deliver silk handkerchiefs’!
Or ‘riding the wind and waves, hoisting the sail straight across the sea’!
Or ‘once experiencing the vast sea, water elsewhere seems scarce; apart from the Wushan mountains, clouds elsewhere are not clouds’!
These things simply don’t exist in this world. Even if he copied them, he wouldn’t be able to explain them properly.
So, Qin Lang still thought being a guest was best!
Saying nice things doesn’t cost anything, a round of mutual flattery, everyone’s happy!
Plus, he could gain some attention. Thinking about it, it was a win-win situation.
With this in mind, Qin Lang’s mind was clear, and a smile appeared in his eyes.
Not to mention there were fruit platters and pastries in front of him, and a beautiful woman by his side. He could just treat it as a change of scenery, which was nice too!
While Qin Lang was chatting animatedly with Zhao Qinghui, the Poetry Conference had already begun.
“The Ninth Jiuzhou Poetry Conference is now officially convened!”
On stage, President Sun said with a radiant face: “For this Poetry Conference, we have invited Professor Yun Haifeng from the Jiuzhou Institute of Ancient Literature Studies, Professor Lin Yue from the Poetry Association, Dean Zhang Luan from the Ancient Poetry College of Hanhai University…”
First came a long, drawn-out introduction of various people. With each introduction, everyone applauded in unison, full of bureaucratic and formal atmosphere.
Qin Lang, being part of it, had to put on a fake smile and clap along.
“But… this is so boring!”
It took a full twenty minutes for President Sun to finish introducing all the titans of the poetry world.
“Finally, for this edition of the Poetry Conference, we have also invited a special guest, that is the famous young singer, Miss Qin Yunxuan. Everyone, welcome!”
Famous young singer? Qin Lang’s face felt a bit warm. He had only just risen to third-tier status, that was still a bit far from being ‘famous’, right?
But… he did enjoy being praised like this.
Sure enough, human nature is inherently hypocritical!
He himself didn’t really like this kind of behavior, but when the praise was directed at him, he still felt happy!
Enthusiastic applause broke out, and surprisingly, it was accompanied by some whistles from younger people.
This applause was much more enthusiastic than before.
It was clear that a young, beautiful female singer was much more appealing than the elderly professors.
It’s just that…
The faces of those elderly professors… showed a hint of displeasure.
