Chapter 90: 088 Arrogant, writing "1 more chapter" in front of everyone

The speaker was none other than Lin Xi.

Lin Xi, now twenty-eight years old, possesses significant artistic talent and accomplishment in calligraphy and painting and is considered a promising young talent.

Since his teacher is a calligraphy master, he naturally received an invitation as well.

He arrived early, and the camera crew followed in behind him.

Lin Xi, full of youthful vigor, hadn’t given any thought or consideration to the consequences when he exposed the matter so directly.

After all, it didn’t have much to do with him.

Lin Xi, in front of the live broadcast camera, pointed to a very faint pattern in the middle of the scroll, “This is Master Wei Hou’s exclusive seal, which laymen can’t recognize.”

“But upon closer inspection, you can see that the pattern forms the character ‘Wei’.”

The teachers from Verdant exchanged looks, inevitably feeling some dissatisfaction.

Fortunately, there weren’t that many people watching the live broadcast at that moment.

The head of the art department snapped out of his shock, raised his hand, and signaled the cameraman to turn off the camera first.

Lin Xi’s expression was cold, “With such an incident, how does your school propose to handle it?”

He had only handed over this piece of writing to Wei Hou two days ago, and now he saw it here.

To claim it wasn’t stolen, he wouldn’t believe it.

“We were unaware of this incident as well, and didn’t expect a student to be so bold,” said the head of the art department without making excuses, “In that case, we’ll issue a criticism notice and expel the student during the opening ceremony.”

Verdant absolutely could not tolerate cheating.

Not to mention, this incident involved Wei Hou.

This time, the school had invited quite a few masters from the art world, including the Chairman of the Shanghai Calligraphy Association.

But Wei Hou is a director of the Hua Country Calligraphy Art Association.

Their statuses and positions were simply incomparable.

Using Wei Hou’s characters without permission, wasn’t this a provocation to the Hua Country Calligraphy Art Association?

The head of the art department looked at the characters on the scroll and frowned deeply.

He had his suspicions before, and now it turned out that Ying Zijin had not written them herself.

Lin Xi’s demeanor finally eased, “Your school’s decision is just, and the punishment indeed needs to be severe.”

No longer interested in watching further, he left the exhibition room and happened to run into Zhong Zhiwan.

“Senior Brother Lin,” Zhong Zhiwan greeted with a smile, “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Zhiwan, I was actually looking for you,” Lin Xi pulled her aside, “Do you know a student named Ying Zijin?”

Zhong Zhiwan was surprised, “Ying Zijin? She’s my cousin, what about her?”

“No wonder,” Lin Xi knew that Zhong Zhiwan had borrowed the scroll to copy it, “She probably saw that it was well written, not knowing who wrote it, then stole it to participate in the art festival.”

Zhong Zhiwan hesitated, “That can’t be, although my cousin is from the countryside, she actually…”

“For money,” Lin Xi scoffed, “I’ve seen many people like her, they don’t truly appreciate calligraphy.”

His teacher is also from the Calligraphy Association, and every year many people want to become his disciples.

But many are just looking to exploit his teacher’s reputation to sell their calligraphy and paintings for more money.

“So—” Zhong Zhiwan paused, “Senior Brother Lin, you discovered she cheated?”

“Yeah, don’t plead on her behalf,” Lin Xi raised his hand, indifferently, “Your school will issue the criticism and expel her shortly.”

Zhong Zhiwan pressed her lips together, holding back a smile, “I understand, Senior Brother Lin.”

**

Below the stage.

In the student area.

The girl leaning back in her chair straightened up, and her half-closed eyes fluttered open.

The sunlight scattered over her long lashes, casting mottled shadows beneath.

“Daddy Ying, you’re not sleeping anymore?” Xiu Yu noticed her movement, “The opening ceremony hasn’t even started.”

Ying Zijin stretched languidly, her voice low and cool, “Something’s come up.”

“Hm?” Xiu Yu was puzzled, “What is it?”

“Nothing much,” Ying Zijin supported her head with her hand, relaxed and casual, “Just something entertaining.”

Xiu Yu scratched his head.

Here it went again, it was just like this.

It made him feel like their Daddy Ying was a fortuneteller.

A few minutes passed, and it was now nine o’clock sharp.

The filming equipment was fully set up to ensure the live broadcast would not be interrupted due to sudden malfunctions.

The stage had also been prepared with chairs and name plates on tables.

Some spots were empty, but most guests had already taken their seats, all leading figures in the art world.

With Lin Xi’s status, he could only sit in the third row.

The live broadcast officially started, and more and more people tuned in.

As a school ranked in the top three nationally, Verdant Middle School had an excellent reputation.

[Phew, made it for the opening ceremony, I want to see how grand Verdant really is.]

[I’m here, I’m here, take a look at the guest seats, there are so many masters indeed.]

[Lin Xi! Isn’t that Lin Xi? Lin Xi really is the pop icon of the art world, so handsome.]

[No, he looks good, but isn’t the art world supposed to be about skill, why focus on his face?]

[Then let me educate you about our art world pop icon, Lin Xi. When he was twelve years old, his calligraphy sold for a high price of five hundred thousand.]

[Awesome, awesome…]

Having such an achievement at twelve, his talent was indeed remarkable.

[Hey, look, why has Lin Xi stood up? What’s he going to do with the microphone?]

[I’m a bit confused; shouldn’t the host give a speech first?]

[Lin Xi doesn’t look too good, must be something big going on, squatting this one.]

Seeing this, The principal, who sat in the first row with the Chairman of the Shanghai Art Association, was also puzzled, “What’s going on?”

The leader of the Art Department hurriedly said, “Principal, there has been an unexpected incident.”

He was explaining in a low voice, and over there Lin Xi had already begun speaking.

“Art is noble and great, it teaches us what beauty is, so I absolutely will not allow anyone to insult it.” Lin Xi’s voice came through the microphone, spreading across the entire field, “Today I am here to appreciate the works of the younger generation and support them, but I didn’t expect such a vile thing to happen!”

“A student actually stole Master Wei Hou’s work to enter the competition!”

Lin Xi coldly stated, “If it wasn’t for Master Wei Hou telling me personally that this piece was written by him, I would have been deceived by this student as well.”

As soon as he said that, not only the students below the stage but also the netizens watching the live broadcast were shocked.

[Holy shit, did I hear that right? They stole Master Wei Hou’s calligraphy to compete?]

[Ah, even someone like me who doesn’t care about calligraphy has heard of Wei Hou. How dare this student?]

[Tsk tsk, this is going to be interesting.]

“Using Wei Hou’s calligraphy in the competition.” Xiu Yu exclaimed, “Daddy Ying, who’s so badass?”

Ying Zijin shifted his posture and sat down, “Hmm, me.”

Xiu Yu was choked up, “…Daddy, stop joking around, I’ve almost developed a heart condition from your antics lately.”

“I can help you remove that, get a mechanical one instead.”

“…”

On the stage.

Lin Xi had already moved aside at this point, and the leader of the Art Department had taken over the microphone.

“Regarding this cheating incident, the school will absolutely not be lenient; after discussion, we are canceling Ying Zijin’s eligibility for the competition and expelling her.”

The apple in Xiu Yu’s hand dropped with a “plop.”

Jiang Ran slowly raised his head, his eyes slightly narrowed.

Whispers surged around.

“Ying Zijin? Why is it her? Does she have a death wish to cheat like this?”

“Probably saw Zhiwan participating, so she thought of joining too. Always trying to compete with Zhiwan, as if she didn’t realize she’s not up to par.”

“She’s truly brought disaster on herself.”

Jiang Ran was annoyed by the comments. He abruptly stood up, his tongue pressing against his teeth, angrily, “What’s all the fuss? Shut up, all of you!”

The students immediately fell silent.

“What kind of punishment is this?” Jiang Ran turned, his eyes glinting with a crimson light, “Do you have evidence? Just expelling like that? What kind of teacher are you?”

[Whoa, who’s this guy, so aggressive?]

[Must be Verdant Middle School’s school tyrant. Bad company leads to bad habits.]

“Of course, there’s evidence.” Lin Xi didn’t recognize Jiang Ran, so naturally, he was unaware of his identity.

He took out the scroll, unfolded it, and projected it onto the large screen, a cold smile on his face, “Look carefully, here is Master Wei Hou’s seal. Ask her, did she write this character?”

“Hmm.” Finally, Ying Zijin spoke up, she glanced at it indifferently, seemingly unbothered, “Indeed, I didn’t write it.”

Jiang Ran frowned.

Xiu Yu pulled him back into his seat, “When Daddy speaks, don’t interrupt.”

Jiang Ran, “…”

Zhong Zhiwan looked taken aback and very surprised.

She hadn’t expected Ying Zijin to admit it so readily.

Did she think admitting fault would lessen the punishment?

Far too naïve.

The comments were full of mockery.

[I’m going to throw up, she actually has the nerve to say she didn’t write it. Then why cheat?]

[Such thick-faced, Verdant is doing it right, such students should be expelled.]

[Slapping her own face, really?]

[I won’t comment, there might be a twist, and you all might be the ones getting slapped in the face later.]

“Did you hear that? She….”

Before Lin Xi could finish his words, he heard the girl’s tone slow and faintly rise.

A sentence tossed off with light elaboration.

“I can’t write something so trashy.”

“…”

Suddenly, the entire place fell silent.

Zhong Zhiwan was shocked.

Did Ying Zijin know what she was saying?

Not even her teacher could produce this calligraphy.

And Ying Zijin dared to call it trashy?

[No way, she even said she couldn’t write something so trashy. Who does she think she is???]

[I’m floored, she’s so arrogant? She knows who Master Wei Hou is and still makes such a comment, who gave her the audacity?]

[LMAO, you can’t write something so trashy, then you write, show us right now how well you can write.]

Lin Xi didn’t expect the girl to not only refuse to acknowledge her mistake but to be so insolent as well.

He was almost amused with anger, commanding coldly, “Set up a table, bring brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, let her write.”