Chapter 66: How Embarrassing

Chapter 66: Chapter 66: How Embarrassing

Li Beixing was astonished. "This handwriting... it’s so much better than mine!"

To put it mildly, it was better than the handwriting of most people she had ever met. For instance, her father, in an attempt to appear cultured, had once commissioned a calligraphy piece that read "Heaven Rewards the Diligent" to hang in his office. It was supposedly written by the vice president of some local association, but it honestly looked just average.

He had even paid tens of thousands of yuan for it. If it hadn’t been her own father, she would have called him out for having more money than brains.

Chen Jingle’s work gave off a completely different vibe. It was exceptionally pleasing to the eye and could easily be considered true calligraphy art. However, her professional knowledge was limited, so she couldn’t further analyze or evaluate Chen Jingle’s calligraphy. Therefore, she saved the two images and forwarded them to her own calligraphy teacher.

"Teacher Xie, what do you think of these two pieces?"

Xie Nanyan was Li Beixing’s first calligraphy teacher. Their names seemed to share a serendipitous connection—one meaning ’southbound wild goose’ and the other ’northern star’—which was partly why Xie Nanyan had originally agreed to teach her. However, Xie Nanyan wasn’t a professional calligrapher. Her main field was Chinese language research, and she was a retired professor from Huashi. Back then, Li Beixing would travel to the provincial capital every summer and winter vacation to study calligraphy under her.

While they had a normal teacher-student dynamic rather than a formal master-apprentice bond, they were still very close.

Mrs. Xie was seventy-three this year, yet she remained as vigorous and sharp as ever. With her short, slightly curled gray hair and round, gold-rimmed glasses, she dressed like a classic elderly female intellectual and exuded elegance. Despite her age, she navigated a smartphone more smoothly than many young people.

Upon seeing the images Li Beixing sent, she zoomed in and examined them a few times. Astounded, she transferred the photos to her tablet for a closer look. It was quite a while before she sent a voice message back to Li Beixing.

"Both images display very distinct styles," Mrs. Xie said. "The first one models after Mi Fu, showing a profound understanding of Mi Fu’s structural form and brushstroke feel. The second leans more toward Zhao Mengfu. Both pieces follow a very orthodox approach, clearly demonstrating a solid foundation in ancient copybooks. Furthermore, there are traces of other famous masters, as well as personal writing habits. The brushwork is seasoned, yet the spirit of the strokes doesn’t feel like the work of an older person. It’s quite interesting.

"For a calligrapher who has already begun to form a unique personal style like this, judging by their overall brush strength and stylistic approach, if they are under forty-five years old, they can be considered quite excellent among the younger generation. If they were to prepare for an exhibition or competition, the provincial level shouldn’t be a problem."

"Only the provincial level?" Li Beixing asked in surprise.

To be completely honest, she felt this was better than the work of many members in the national calligraphy association.

Xie Nanyan chuckled. "Girl, reaching the provincial level is already incredibly impressive! I’m talking about participating in an exhibition based on raw, hard skill, not coasting in on somebody else’s coattails! Some people write for their entire lives and only ever reach the municipal exhibition level."

Li Beixing pondered this and concluded it was indeed quite impressive. At the end of the day, the domestic population was just too massive, meaning there was an abundance of geniuses. Even if they were one in ten thousand, there would still be over a hundred thousand of them. This was something those smaller countries could hardly imagine.

"You still haven’t mentioned whose esteemed student the author is," Xie Nanyan noted with a hint of curiosity.

"I don’t know." Li Beixing quickly confessed, "A friend of mine posted it on his WeChat Friends Circle. He’s quite young, and I’ve never heard him mention practicing calligraphy before. It’s highly likely he’s self-taught."

Xie Nanyan mused over this for a few seconds. "Being self-taught isn’t impossible. However, without someone to guide the way, reaching this level solely by tracing ancient copybooks means their talent must be absolutely extraordinary."

A sudden desire to nurture this talent welled up within her. She hurriedly added, "Please ask him for me. If he really doesn’t have a teacher, I can help make some introductions."

She had cultivated her craft in the literary field for many years. Although she didn’t specialize in calligraphy, she knew quite a few famous contemporary calligraphers. Not to mention, right on the Huashi campus, there were contemporary calligraphy masters who studied Mi Fu and Zhao Mengfu—the kind who were inducted into contemporary halls of fame.

It was often said that a great master was hard to find, but an outstanding disciple was equally rare. For those standing near the very pinnacle of contemporary literature and arts, the importance of passing on their legacy had already surpassed mere innovation. This legacy wasn’t just about a single family or lineage; it was viewed from the perspective of the entire national culture.

They pinned their hopes on the next generation.

"Then I’ll ask him."

Li Beixing agreed, though she felt a bit guilty. It seemed a bit presumptuous to ask so directly. But after much thought, she couldn’t come up with a good icebreaker, so she could only bite the bullet and go straight to the point.

"Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, Mr. Chen. Your handwriting is truly excellent, much better than mine. Even my teacher praised it."

Chen Jingle was a bit surprised when he saw Li Beixing’s message. He had a pretty good impression of Chen Qiyun’s Chinese teacher. At a glance, she seemed like the kind of girl who came from a well-off family and hadn’t yet suffered the harsh beatings of society. While people like her could be a bit naive at times, they were easy to get along with.

Out of curiosity, he replied, "Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to you too, Teacher Li. May I ask who your teacher is...?"

"A retired old professor from Huashi. I studied calligraphy with her for a while in the past," Li Beixing answered.

Chen Jingle realized what was going on. "Oh, please thank the elderly lady for her praise. I was just writing for fun; it’s probably not as good as yours."

Even though he didn’t know the status or position of this retired old professor, he was still very happy to hear such a compliment.

She wondered, "Just writing for fun?"

Li Beixing’s expression turned a bit strange. Was this the disparity in natural talent between people?

"May I ask who you studied calligraphy under?"

"Nobody. I just practice blindly on my own."

"Are you serious? I feel like your level is high enough to participate in the national association’s exhibitions." Upon confirming this, Li Beixing was dealt another blow. Feeling somewhat depressed, she couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

Comparisons really were odious.

Chen Jingle replied, "You flatter me. How could I possibly compare with the national team? I just write casually; as long as it makes me happy to look at it, that’s enough."

He had no intention of pursuing any great heights in calligraphy. Whether it was floral gardening, cooking, or calligraphy, his goal was always the same: to enrich his knowledge while making himself happy.

Being happy was all that mattered. You only live once, and you don’t live for others. How others viewed him was their business, but his own happiness was intimately tied to his well-being.

It was only then that Li Beixing revealed her true purpose. "Actually, I wanted to ask on behalf of my teacher: do you need a teacher? She can help introduce you to someone."

Introductions?

Chen Jingle paused for a moment. After thinking for a few seconds, he chose to politely decline. "Thank you for the kind offer, but calligraphy is just a hobby for me. I don’t plan on making a living off it, so I’ll pass on taking up an apprenticeship."

If it came down to teachers, the system was his absolute best teacher. He didn’t want to find some old master who would stare over his shoulder all day, making endless demands of him. That would be too exhausting!

"Alright then, I was just asking for someone else."

Li Beixing wasn’t entirely surprised by his rejection. For some reason, she felt that this man simply didn’t like being bound by various rules and restrictions. She paused for a moment before adding, "By the way, I really love your handwriting. Could you write a piece for me?"

Chen Jingle was just trying to figure out how to tactfully refuse when she sent another message.

"I can pay a commission fee."

He thought, "Ah, well... how could I possibly refuse?"