As relatives and friends had mostly arrived and it was past eleven o'clock, with less than an hour before the graduation banquet began, Xu Hui hurried upstairs and knocked on Ding Yun and Li Dedong's door, urging them to come out quickly so they could all go downstairs for the meal at the hotel.
It was one thing for them to not show up earlier.
But they couldn't possibly skip the graduation banquet altogether.
Ding Yun didn't intentionally cause trouble. Upon hearing the knocking and calls, she went out. Li Dedong, however, loudly declared he'd be a moment, needing to finish his current game. He then dawdled for another four or five minutes before impatiently opening the door and heading downstairs.
Following that, everyone drove their respective cars.
They headed to the nearby Ding Long Restaurant.
Upon arrival, because the original host's taciturn nature had already left a deep impression and she wasn't the focus of the day's celebration, she very steadily became an invisible person. No one spoke to her, and she didn't speak to anyone, simply observing quietly.
And after the banquet officially started, she took her seat and began to eat.
Unfortunately, despite Ding Yun's best efforts, she couldn't remain invisible until the very end. Who would have expected that after the banquet went through congratulations for academic achievement, expressions of gratitude to parents, and thanks to teachers, there would still be a segment for siblings to offer blessings? Both Ding Yun and her younger brother disliked this part intensely, but they were ultimately forced to stand up and say a few words of well wishes for the future.
The subsequent casual conversations also frequently touched upon them.
Even if Ding Yun remained silent,
It didn't stop them from chatting amongst themselves.
They would say things like, "Since Xiao Ran is so smart, the other two children definitely aren't dull. If their grades don't match Xiao Ran's, it's simply because they haven't studied hard enough and have slacked off.
"We must not let these promising talents be wasted.
"I know a particularly good tutor.
"Since Xiao Ran's grades are so good, why don't you let her tutor the two children during the summer break? You can also send my child over. Teaching one child is the same as teaching a group, isn't it? We can even pay for tutoring."
"Xiao Yun's grades are so poor. Have you considered whether she should retake the exams or attend a technical school to learn some skills like sewing or cooking?
"It would be good for her marriage prospects in the future."
Although the relatives' words were largely truthful and not intended to deliberately belittle the original host, when one lacks confidence due to their own shortcomings, even truthful statements can feel like an insult.
If the original host had heard these remarks, she would likely have been upset for some time. However, Ding Yun was largely indifferent. After listening for a few sentences, she directly blocked her ears with her spiritual power, eating her lunch without paying attention to the outside world.
What did it matter what they said? They were talking about the original host, after all.
What did it have to do with her?
A little over an hour later, even though the dishes had not all been served, some people found themselves needing to leave.
Some had to go to work, others had to attend cram school, and some who weren't working currently would be working later. Moreover, due to the distance, they needed to leave early, so they bid farewell and departed.
As they left, the crowd immediately thinned by half.
Aside from a few heavy drinkers, most also wanted to head home. However, out of politeness, they lingered for another ten minutes, waiting for the last dish to be served.
After tasting it, they then left.
As for the remaining few heavy drinkers, those who weren't drunk and had family with them were fine and were taken home by their families. Those who were drunk and whose families hadn't arrived had to be booked separate rooms at the restaurant, allowing them to stay there for the night to prevent any accidents for which the establishment might be held responsible.
After all this hustle and bustle, it was already three o'clock in the afternoon.
By the time they arrived home, it was already half past three.
...
As soon as she got home, Ding Yun went directly to her bedroom.
Then, she continued with what she hadn't finished that morning: meticulously reviewing the history books, mythology books, and various online novels and traditional literature from legitimate websites in this world to understand its general historical overview, dynastic changes, and dominant literary circles.
Fortunately, she only needed to grasp the general situation and didn't have to read every single word in detail, so her reading speed was not slow. By around nine o'clock that evening, relying on some prior knowledge from the original host and what she had browsed that day, she had gained a certain understanding of this world's history and literature.
Historically, the development of civilization in this world was not significantly different from other worlds. It progressed from primitive societies to slave societies, and then to feudal societies.
And it had persisted in the feudal system for a long time.
The differences lay merely in who instigated the changes, the vast disparities in classic works, and the significant differences or even complete lack of commonality in historical events and idioms. Furthermore, in the later stages of the feudal era, the Zhao Kingdom, where Ding Yun currently resided, was not overthrown. Instead, it underwent a thorough reform from the top down, implementing a policy of nominal monarchy with actual governance, successfully transitioning to modernity.
Therefore, many historical works.
Could only be published in this world as alternate history.
And the allusions and idioms involved would likely be troublesome, requiring detailed notes or explanations.
As for literature, excluding ancient literature and focusing only on traditional, popular, and web novels,
This world's traditional literature, like in most worlds of similar eras, was in decline.
It belonged to the category of being too esoteric for the general public, with very little outside attention. Only those within cultural circles appreciated such works, while ordinary people were seldom interested in reading them.
The works of a dozen traditional literary authors combined couldn't match the sales volume of a single moderately popular fiction author. Only those traditional literature authors whose works were included in mandatory reading lists for students had somewhat impressive book sales.
Popular literature was the definition in this world.
It mainly referred to various types of novels that catered to the audience. Wuxia and romance were the pillar genres, followed by science fiction and horror, with other genres failing to gain significant traction.
Web novels were even worse off. This world's web novels were still in their nascent stage, with only a few people writing and a few people reading. Most wrote a little out of hobby, and very few persevered. Many would disappear after writing a few thousand or tens of thousands of words, never updating again.
Those few who continued updating would do so weekly,
Or even monthly.
Most of those who possessed talent and wrote well were scouted by editors from publishing houses and signed publication contracts. After that, there would be no further updates, and readers would have to wait for publication.
For them, publishing content online.
Was more like a stepping stone to attract publishers.
Overall, the cultural landscape of this world was in a phase where traditional literature was declining, popular literature was flourishing, and web novels were just beginning to emerge. Whether one chose to enter popular literature or web novels, both were good options.
The difference lay in the fact that the former required competing with many others, while the latter, as a pioneer, would undoubtedly face numerous difficulties.
In short, there were pros and cons to both, and the choice ultimately rested with the individual.