Chapter 65: Damn It! He Got to Show Off Again!

Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Damn It! He Got to Show Off Again!

Liang City leaned back on the sofa, holding his daughter’s small hand and watching educational cartoons with her. At the same time, he scrolled through his Friends Circle, checking to see which leaders, colleagues, or friends had posted updates so he could drop them a like.

It was nothing more than the age-old game of mutual ego-stroking.

As for himself, he had stopped posting updates a long time ago. Some things he didn’t want to share, while others he wanted to but couldn’t. Ultimately, it was easier just to stay silent.

"Wait!" Liang City stared at the freshly refreshed screen, momentarily stunned. He squinted for a closer look. "Am I seeing things? Chen Jingle? Posting on his Friends Circle?"

He immediately drew in a sharp breath.

How bizarre! This was honestly rarer than a blue moon. After all, this guy had posted less than twice in the past few years combined. Why the sudden appearance today? Had he drunk some counterfeit liquor?

The caption simply read, "A casual doodle." He clicked on the image to enlarge it.

"Holy crap! Brush calligraphy?!" Liang City was astonished.

Well, it seemed their generation was caught in a strange gap between the ’70s and ’80s kids, and the ’00s and ’10s kids. Growing up, almost no one around them had ever studied calligraphy. Even he had only signed up for a penmanship class later on to pass the civil service exam. That was purely to make his exam papers look presentable; it couldn’t be called true calligraphy by any stretch of the imagination.

Nowadays, brush calligraphy was largely ignored, save for a few parents who enrolled their children in classes to cultivate a hobby, hoping they’d develop good handwriting and elevate their sophistication. Or perhaps the cultural and artistic atmosphere of the Lingnan Region just wasn’t as rich as that of the Jiangnan Region or the Northern Region? Regardless, it was an uncommon sight.

For most people, instead of spending time and money learning that, it was far more practical to just buy a couple extra pounds of ribs. Therefore, seeing Chen Jingle flex his brush calligraphy genuinely shocked Liang City.

"I have to say, brother, you’ve really dropped another bombshell on me," Liang City muttered.

First it was horticulture and floral arrangements, then cooking and culinary arts, and now calligraphy. Just how many hidden talents did he have? If this kept up, it wouldn’t even be surprising if he suddenly flew up to the space station to become an astronaut one day. This was getting ridiculous!

However, after carefully examining the photos of Chen Jingle’s calligraphy a few more times, Liang City couldn’t help but think it actually looked pretty impressive. Even though he didn’t understand calligraphy, he still knew the difference between good and bad handwriting. That was the magic of the art form—even if you couldn’t read the content, the sheer beauty of the Chinese characters leaped right off the paper.

Chen Jingle’s writing didn’t deliberately show off any techniques, nor did it attempt any so-called innovations. It perfectly matched Liang City’s stereotypical impression of calligraphy, as if this was exactly how it was meant to be written. One glance was enough to tell that the calligrapher was highly skilled. What he wrote was legible to the general public, and it made people genuinely appreciate its beauty.

"Beautifully written!" After finishing his careful inspection, Liang City offered heartfelt praise, followed closely by a wave of envy.

If this had been back in their student days—especially during college—such excellent handwriting would have been an absolute killer tool for showing off. Back then, there was a guy in the class next door who won second prize in the provincial college student calligraphy exhibition. For all four years, he was never without a girlfriend. In stark contrast, some people hadn’t even held a girl’s hand by the time they graduated.

"Damn it, he totally nailed this flex!" Liang City smacked his lips.

Sure enough, after a quick refresh, Chen Jingle’s post had instantly racked up a bunch of likes and comments from their old high school classmates. Every single one of them expressed pure shock.

Class Monitor: "Long time no see, Chen Jingle! Did you write this? It looks fantastic!"

Academic Rep: "I don’t know much about calligraphy, but this looks gorgeous. What made you start studying this?"

Class Beauty: "Oh my, you know how to do this too, old man? Write a piece for me when you have time!"

"Take a look at this!" Liang City handed his phone to Zhong Jing, who had just come out of the shower.

"Look at what?" Zhong Jing asked curiously.

"Chen Jingle’s handwriting."

Handwriting? Zhong Jing grew even more puzzled. She took the phone and glanced at the image. A brush? Calligraphy?

She didn’t know much about the subject and could only judge it on a surface level. "It is quite pretty. He actually knows how to do this?"

He really was multi-talented. Liang City shook his head slightly. "I just found out myself. He never mentioned it before. At the very least, it’s lightyears ahead of our boss’s pompous bureaucrat script."

"Oh." Zhong Jing blinked, seemingly struck by a thought.

Liang City took his phone back and sent Chen Jingle a message. "When did you learn brush calligraphy? How come I don’t remember your handwriting being this good back in the day?"

The two of them had just exchanged a few words that afternoon to wish each other a happy holiday. Their usual conversations revolved around current events and politics; if there was no major news, they rarely chatted.

Chen Jingle quickly replied, "When you say ’back in the day’... when exactly do you mean?"

"Uh, high school?"

"Bro, it’s been ten years since high school!"

Liang City scratched his head and let out a sheepish laugh. "Fair enough. I’m just curious, how did you practice to get this good?"

"I just casually copied some ancient copybooks," Chen Jingle texted back.

"Really?"

"What else? Do I get a prize for lying to you?"

"I’m jealous!"

"Jealous of what?"

"Jealous that you have such great handwriting, and jealous that you actually have the time and leisure to practice it."

Chen Jingle smiled. "If you really want to practice, you can always find the time."

Liang City retorted, "Easy for you to say since you don’t have to work every day. Try leaving early and coming home late, exhausted as a dog, and see if you still have the mood to practice. I bet you wouldn’t even have the energy to eat!"

Hmm, he made a fair point.

Compared to physical exhaustion, modern wage earners suffered far more from mental fatigue. When they got home, all they wanted to do was sleep. Without enough mental energy, they would lack the artistic intent needed to properly practice calligraphy.

Liang City added, "Write a piece for me later, so I can hang it up as a decoration in my new house."

"Sure, just remember to remind me when the time comes."

Chen Jingle didn’t refuse. It wasn’t like he was some arrogant master whose words were worth their weight in gold. As long as he wasn’t asked to write some massive mural, it was fine.

Although he had anticipated some reaction, the response to posting those two pieces of calligraphy was much larger than he had imagined. It was one thing for people like Liang City, whom he kept in regular contact with, but many old classmates he hadn’t seen in ages were liking and commenting on his post. Some even messaged him directly to chat and pry into what kind of work he was doing now. This included both men and women.

He certainly didn’t remember being a particularly popular person back then. And, of course, it was inevitable that a few people came asking to borrow money.

Yikes. This was getting ridiculous!

With things turning out like this, the initial desire to share his joy with others completely vanished, leaving behind only a trace of melancholy.

Meanwhile.

Having just set down her chopsticks, Li Beixing also stumbled upon Chen Jingle’s post.

She was quite surprised. "He actually posted a new update on his Friends Circle?"

She clearly remembered the sole existing post on his Friends Circle, complete with those two rather mocking panda reaction images. So, what was going on here?

Driven by curiosity, she clicked on Chen Jingle’s photos.

"Hmm? Calligraphy?"

Judging by the signature, there was no doubt that Chen Jingle had written it himself. However, the quality of the writing was somewhat beyond Li Beixing’s expectations.

She had studied calligraphy herself. Although her talent was only average and she had treated it as a casual hobby, the sheer financial superpower of her family meant that the beginner instructor her parents hired had a highly prestigious background. Over time, through constant exposure, her actual skills hadn’t improved much, but her aesthetic appreciation and discerning eye remained top-notch.