“Alright, let's go.”
Seeing him agree, Fan Shuyuan tugged Gu Sinou towards the small car she had driven. Wan Yunting's expression flickered, and he asked, "Aren't we competing here?"
Fan Shuyuan turned back, her peach blossom eyes giving him a glare. "Since we're competing, it should naturally be in a public setting with witnesses. I want everyone in the world to know how you lost to me!"
"Got it."
Wan Yunting smiled, nodded, and handed the medicine box in his hand to an auntie from the Gu residence to take back. He unceremoniously pulled open the car door and sat in the back. Gu Sinou naturally took the front passenger seat. Fan Shuyuan drove, made a U-turn, and headed towards the main road...
The Cultural and Creative Hall in Beijing's Beihai Park is a gathering place for modern literati and scholars. The ancient architectural complex forms a continuous, staggered, and overlapping whole. Facing Beihai Lake and backed by Yong'an Temple, the Cultural and Creative Hall is deeply favored by contemporary literary talents and beauties.
Today, Beijing is twelve degrees below zero, and small snowflakes are drifting down from the sky. Beihai Lake has already frozen over, and many adults are seen bringing their children to play on the ice, ice skating and pushing ice carts...
Some young ladies dressed in Hanfu are also frolicking on the frozen lake. Inside the pavilions and towers of the Cultural and Creative Hall, however, it's a different scene, one of literati and scholars. Some elderly scholars lean in the corridors by the frozen lake, setting up desks, boiling water for tea, and gathering with a few friends to chat. Even in the biting cold wind, it's quite pleasant.
Within the pavilions and towers of the Cultural and Creative Hall, many literati and scholars are also gathered. They congregate in groups of three to five, all dressed in long robes or overcoats, with their hands tucked into their sleeves, exhaling white steam from their mouths. Unmindful of the cold, they chat animatedly with their friends.
Today marks the annual exchange event for Beijing's literati. Simply put, it brings together the younger generation of literary talents and beauties from Beijing for exchanges, showcasing their skills in Qin, Go, calligraphy, and painting, as well as their poetry and songs.
Therefore, most of the people seen at the Cultural and Creative Hall today are from the younger generation of talents and beauties. Many are Hanfu enthusiasts, and the majority have come dressed in Hanfu to participate. Some have even come purely out of their love for Hanfu to join the fun. They even saw Yang Jinghan and Chen Shuyu, along with Xu Wenhao and a few other young Hanfu enthusiasts, whom they had met at the Hanfu event in Huadu City. They were chatting with several Beijing talents and beauties about Hanfu, laughing and talking, likely discussing their Hanfu cultural and creative brand.
Despite the gathering of thousands of talents and beauties, those with true literary depth are probably only a handful. The majority are superficial, essentially illiterate individuals who are just here to mingle and observe.
Consequently, many young ladies and gentlemen are seen on-site, dressed in magnificent Hanfu, holding selfie sticks with their phones, currently live-streaming. They are filming those who are truly talented, those who are painting, practicing calligraphy, playing the Qin, or discussing poetry, all to increase their own traffic.
And these talented individuals seem to enjoy listening to this flattery, as a look of proud self-importance can be seen on their faces. Some are even arrogant enough to presume to comment on the poems, calligraphy, and paintings left behind by ancient masters...
"Look quickly, it's Huang Yaodong, the great calligrapher! They've arrived too!"
Suddenly, someone spotted a few people dressed in Hanfu, draped in cloaks. Particularly a young man holding a folding fan, his face radiating confidence. It was Huang Yaodong, along with Zhao Yushi, Lin Yushu, and Hou Xuesong. They were accompanied by a few unfamiliar young men and women, and as they ascended, laughing and chatting, they immediately drew the attention of those around them, who pointed and began to discuss.
"Huang Yaodong, the fourth place winner of the Lanting Award for Calligraphy, is indeed a great talent!"
"Isn't he? Although he only got fourth place, Huang Yaodong is most famous for his paintings!"
"Alas, who wouldn't be famous with such a good grandfather..."
"With Huang Yaodong here, won't the first-place winner, Wan Yunting, also come?"
"No way. Didn't that Wan Yunting publicly claim he wouldn't mingle in our art circles? How could he possibly attend our Cultural and Creative Hall exchange event!"
"Whether he comes or not is irrelevant, as long as the fairy Gu Luotang comes!"
As one young man mentioned Gu Luotang, his face was filled with infatuation, causing others to shake their heads and laugh. The young man was displeased, "A fair lady is a gentleman's pursuit. Why are you all laughing?"
"Hey, Lin Shan, that's rather crude of you."
Another young man, unhappy with Lin Shan's words, rolled his eyes.
"Hmph."
Lin Shan flicked his sleeve and turned to leave, too lazy to argue with these people.
Huang Yaodong, Zhao Yushi, Lin Yushu, and Hou Xuesong stood outside the pavilion, their gaze fixed on the scene of children playing on the frozen lake. They chatted and laughed. Then Lin Yushu said, "It would be great if Luotang and Miaomiao were here!"
Hou Xuesong's eyes lit up. "I heard from Luotang that Brother Wan is in the capital. Why don't we call him over to hang out?"
"Forget it."
Huang Yaodong waved his hand. "Luotang said Brother Wan is in the capital to attend some national traditional Chinese medicine conference and to see patients. He also doesn't like these kinds of gatherings. We shouldn't disturb him."
"That's right."
Lin Yushu gently fanned himself with his folding fan and smiled, "Brother Wan disdains mingling in art circles. Our paths are different, and our realms are naturally different. Of course, I'm not being sour; this is just a fact."
"Haha, Old Lin, you do have some self-awareness," Hou Xuesong chuckled.
Lin Yushu shook his folding fan and said, "We are not on the same level as Brother Wan. We can just have a drink together occasionally. If we want to deepen our friendship, I admit I don't have the caliber for it."
"Yes."
Huang Yaodong and Zhao Yushi also nodded.
During their trip to Shaoxing and the Lanting Award for Calligraphy competition, Wan Yunting's astonishing calligraphy and his interactions with the art world's grandmaster Fan Liren had earned Huang Yaodong and Zhao Yushi immense admiration.
They were convinced that if Wan Yunting had entered the art circles, he would undoubtedly become the next grandmaster-level figure.
"Brother Wan's calligraphy work fetched an astonishing price of 450 million yuan. Such a feat is something even Mr. Fan could not achieve, and it's likely no one will break it in a hundred years!" Lin Yushu said with emotion.
Hou Xuesong and Zhao Yushi nodded. The group then changed the topic, discussing the Cultural and Creative Hall's exchange event. "I heard Mr. Fan's granddaughter is also here?"
"Fan Shuyuan."
Zhao Yushi glanced around, not seeing Mr. Fan's granddaughter. She said, "I heard Mr. Fan's granddaughter is a talented prodigy, stunningly beautiful and incredibly talented. Her calligraphy and painting skills have inherited Mr. Fan's legacy. In Beijing's art circles, she is as renowned as Shangguan Wenshan and is known as a representative figure among the younger generation of talents and beauties in Beijing!"
"Look, it's Shangguan Wenshan!"
As soon as the words fell, cheers were heard from ahead. Huang Yaodong, Zhao Yushi, Lin Yushu, and Hou Xuesong all turned their heads towards the staircase. A young man dressed in a light blue ancient-style robe, draped in a blue cloak, holding a folding fan, with a face like jade and handsome features, exuding an extraordinary aura, made the men present feel inferior the moment he appeared.
Because this young man was so handsome, the elegant demeanor that emanated from his very bones instantly made the beauties present show signs of infatuation. They couldn't help but surround him, especially the young ladies holding their fans or brushes, rushing forward: "Talented Wenshan, please give me an autograph, won't you..."
Shangguan Wenshan was already accustomed to the admiration of these infatuated beauties. He smiled with elegant gentleness, nodded, and then signed the fans for these ladies with his brush...
"As expected of Shangguan Wenshan, his popularity is truly enviable."
Lin Yushu looked ahead at the scene of the young man surrounded by beauties, like a flower being vied for by bees, a sight that truly made his male peers envious and feel inferior.
"With Shangguan Wenshan here, it means that Mr. Fan's granddaughter, the talented Miss Fan, will also be arriving soon!" someone behind said.
Indeed, below, Fan Shuyuan and Gu Sinou were seen approaching the pavilion filled with talents and beauties, with Wan Yunting following behind them. His gaze was fixed on the children playing on the frozen lake. Wan Yunting found it quite amusing and wanted to try it out, as he was from the south and had never experienced such winter fun.
"Hey, hurry up! What are you dawdling behind for?"
Fan Shuyuan saw Wan Yunting lagging behind and glanced back at him, calling out in a sweet voice.
Wan Yunting looked back at Fan Shuyuan, finding her quite overbearing. He didn't know whose daughter she was and was too lazy to speak, quickly following behind.
"Wow, it's the talented Miss Fan, she's here, she's really here!"
On the pavilion, someone saw Fan Shuyuan and Gu Sinou approaching and immediately exclaimed excitedly.
"And Gu Sinou! She is also a talented young woman in Beijing's younger generation, as famous as the talented Miss Fan. They are known as the talented sisters!"
"Wow, talented Miss Gu is so beautiful, and her demeanor is amazing..."
A group of young men and women, watching Fan Shuyuan and Gu Sinou ascend, were so engrossed in their admiration and exclamations that they completely failed to notice Wan Yunting following behind them. Perhaps because the talents and beauties present had never seen him, they paid him little attention and thus did not recognize him.
"Sinou, Shuyuan, you're here."
Shangguan Wenshan and a few other equally elegant and handsome young men stepped forward to greet them. Shangguan Wenshan's gaze fell on Gu Sinou, revealing an unconcealed affection.
"Wenshan, Zhu Rong, you two are quite early."
Fan Shuyuan entered the pavilion. The room wasn't very cold, so she took off her down jacket, revealing the white ancient-style Hanfu dress she was wearing. Gu Sinou tidied her hair, letting it cascade smoothly over her fragrant shoulders and back. She stood gracefully, and with a turn, she was as agile and beautiful as a butterfly.
"We came without having lunch."
A young man named Zhu Rong, also wearing an ancient-style Hanfu, naturally stepped forward to take Fan Shuyuan's down jacket.
It was evident that these few people were very familiar with each other.
"Brother Wan!"
From a distance, Huang Yaodong and Lin Yushu saw Wan Yunting emerge from behind the crowd. Their expressions were astonished, and they immediately hurried forward, exclaiming, "Why are you here?"