It was already eleven o'clock at night. On the second floor of the old street tavern, many talented scholars and beauties had already left. However, Wan Yunting and Gu Luotang, along with Qi Miaomiao, Huang Yaodong and Zhao Yushi, Lin Yushu and Hou Xuesong, and the proprietress Lu Xiaodie, were still drinking.
"Come, Brother Wan, bottoms up."
Lu Xiaodie raised her wine bowl and clinked it against Wan Yunting's. They finished another bowl...
The appetizers on the table had been cleared, replaced by empty wine pots. Gu Luotang, Qi Miaomiao, and Huang Yaodong were mostly drunk. Hou Xuesong had already passed out on the table.
Now, only Wan Yunting and Lu Xiaodie were left drinking. However, Lu Xiaodie was astonished to see Wan Yunting's face was not flushed and his heart was not pounding, as if he were perfectly fine. She, having drunk for so long, was already six parts drunk. "Brother Wan, your capacity is truly immense."
"Sister Lu, you're not bad either."
Wan Yunting ate fava beans while drinking and chatting with Lu Xiaodie. They hit it off immediately, feeling like they had known each other for a long time. They discussed martial arts, leaving Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao no room to interject.
"Alas, I truly admire you, Brother Wan. At such a young age, you are already in the middle stage of Martial Dao Dan Jin. I am thirty years old, yet I am only in the late stage of Hua Jin and have never been able to break through to Dan Jin. I wonder how you broke through to the early stage of Dan Jin. Could you share your experience with me?" Lu Xiaodie, tipsy, gazed at Wan Yunting with slightly hazy eyes and asked.
He smiled bitterly, "If I tell you, Sister Lu, you'll hit me again."
"Hmm, why do you say that?" Lu Xiaodie asked, puzzled.
So, Wan Yunting told her about how he and Gu Luotang were trapped in a cave in Ling Mountain and encountered a large black snake. After drinking the snake's blood and sleeping for two days, he naturally broke through to the early stage of Martial Dao Dan Jin. As expected, Lu Xiaodie gave him a charming white eye. "It's true, comparing oneself to others can drive one mad..."
Wan Yunting smiled and asked, "Sister Lu, how long have you been stuck at the late stage of Hua Jin?"
Lu Xiaodie sighed, "Since I came down the mountain, I've been stuck at the late stage of Hua Jin for five years."
Wan Yunting nodded and smiled, "Then Sister Lu needs an opportunity!"
Lu Xiaodie's slightly flushed pretty face stiffened. She cast a charming sideways glance at him and chuckled, "Is it you?"
"Haha..."
Wan Yunting immediately laughed and said, "That's hard to say..."
"Are you ready to go back?"
Suddenly, Qi Miaomiao, who had been lying down, looked up and said fuzzily.
Wan Yunting looked back at Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao, who were both tipsy and groggy. He then said to Lu Xiaodie, "Sister Lu, it's late. I need to take them back."
"Mm, I've also drunk enough."
Lu Xiaodie swayed as she stood up and smiled at him, "I haven't drunk this happily in a long time. Thank you, Brother Wan, for sharing your martial arts experience."
"Sister Lu, you're too kind. Consider it my payment for the drinks."
Wan Yunting had already helped Gu Luotang up and was pulling Qi Miaomiao. He also woke up Huang Yaodong and the others. They all vaguely came to their senses, got up, and prepared to leave...
Lu Xiaodie giggled twice and said, "However, Brother Wan, I have one more request!"
Wan Yunting looked at her, then at the scroll of calligraphy on the table, knowing Lu Xiaodie had her sights on it. He nodded and smiled, "Sister Lu, you want this calligraphy of mine?"
"Yes."
Lu Xiaodie nodded. Her cheeks were flushed from the alcohol, revealing a hint of allure. She smiled, "I also practice swordplay. Your calligraphy contains powerful sword intent, which might help me break through my realm!"
"Alright, Sister Lu, please take it." Wan Yunting agreed nonchalantly.
"Then I thank you, Brother Wan. But don't worry, I'm borrowing it from you, and I will return it to you in the future." Lu Xiaodie was delighted, not expecting Wan Yunting to be so generous.
"No need, consider it a gift from me to Sister Lu, to make a friend."
Wan Yunting, with one hand supporting Gu Luotang and the other pulling Qi Miaomiao, who couldn't stand steadily and had to lean her head on his arm, smiled at Lu Xiaodie.
"Alright, Sister won't say too much with pleasantries. If you come to the tavern again another day, Sister will treat you to a grand feast." Lu Xiaodie said heartily.
"Okay..."
Huang Yaodong and Lin Yushu shouted drunkenly. Wan Yunting smiled and took Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao downstairs. Lu Xiaodie also asked Xiao Hua and others to call two taxis to come into the ancient street to take them back to the hotel. As they left, they also added each other on WeChat.
It was past midnight when they returned to the hotel. Gu Luotang, who had dozed off in the car, had sobered up a little. She and Wan Yunting helped the drunken and unconscious Qi Miaomiao out of the car and into the hotel lobby. The two hotel receptionists saw him and started pointing and whispering, even secretly taking photos of Wan Yunting and Gu Luotang with their phones...
Just as Gu Luotang and Wan Yunting were helping Qi Miaomiao into the elevator, his phone rang. It was Fang Guowen, WeChatting to ask if he had returned. Wan Yunting replied: "I've arrived at the hotel."
When the elevator doors opened on their floor, Wan Yunting and Gu Luotang helped Qi Miaomiao out. They turned into the corridor and saw Fang Guowen and Hu Tianchi standing by their room door. Seeing Wan Yunting and the others return, they immediately stepped forward. "Little Wan, Luotang, you're back. Hmm, why did you drink so much?"
Wan Yunting smiled, "We had a gathering with Huang Yaodong and the others and had a bit to drink. Uncle Fang, please wait a moment. Luotang and I will take Miaomiao back to our room..."
"Okay, okay..."
Fang Guowen nodded. Wan Yunting helped Qi Miaomiao. Gu Luotang used her room card to open the door and had him help Qi Miaomiao in, directly placing her on the bed. Gu Luotang had also drunk a lot and was very tired. Wan Yunting told them to rest well, then walked out, closing the door. He smiled at Fang Guowen and Hu Tianchi, "Uncle Fang, President Hu, please come in and sit in the room."
He then opened the door to invite the two of them in. Fang Guowen eagerly asked, "Little Wan, how did you meet Elder Fan? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Hu Tianchi looked at him with great surprise and said, "Elder Fan said you helped him catch a thief?"
Wan Yunting took a sip of water before turning to them and nodding with a smile, "Yes, I helped Elder Fan catch a thief."
"Oh, quickly tell us about it..."
Fang Guowen was excited, wanting to hear how he got to know Fan Liren.
So, Wan Yunting briefly recounted how he met Fan Liren with Gu Luotang at the Lu Xun Memorial Hall last time, and how he met Fan Liren again the day before yesterday when he went to the Purple Bamboo Tea Garden with Huang Yaodong and the others, and they even drank together...
Fang Guowen and Hu Tianchi listened with astonishment and laughed, "Little Wan, it's such a coincidence that you met Elder Fan at this time."
"Yes."
Hu Tianchi nodded and smiled, "If Elder Fan hadn't gone to the Cultural Center tonight, Elder Yuan would have truly given this year's Lanting Award first place to his student Huangfu Hongfang."
Wan Yunting was taken aback and asked, "So, it was Elder Fan who reordered the rankings, and I became first place?"
"Mm."
Fang Guowen nodded, but waved his hand, "But it was fair. After all, your work itself is better than Huangfu Hongfang's. We judges could all see it, but Yuan Deyou was the chief judge, and we all had to listen to his opinion."
"Although you know Elder Fan, and we don't know if he appreciated you and thus reordered the rankings, your winning first place is undeniable, and no one objected."
Wan Yunting smiled wryly, not expecting that he had won first place due to Elder Fan's reasons for reordering the rankings. It seemed he would have to treat Elder Fan to a big meal later.
"Alright, Little Wan, it's late. Tomorrow morning at ten o'clock, there will be an awards ceremony for you. You should get some rest early. I'll come to wake you up in the morning." Fang Guowen and Hu Tianchi saw that it was getting late and didn't want to disturb him any further, as they were also exhausted.
"Alright, Uncle Fang, President Hu, you should also get some rest early..."
Wan Yunting got up to see them out. After returning to their room and closing the door, he took out his phone. Tang Boyun had already sent him a WeChat congratulating him on winning first place in the Lanting Award. Wan Yunting replied to him, then put down his phone and went to take a shower...
However, he didn't know that on the Douyin platform, the news of him winning first place in the Lanting Award calligraphy competition had already climbed to the trending list. Numerous official accounts were posting comments, stating that Wan Yunting's calligraphy deserved first place.
Of course, there were a few jealous individuals who commented, mentioning Huangfu Hongfang's name and claiming he was the real first place, but they were then heavily criticized by many netizens...
The next morning at eight-thirty, Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao from the adjacent room finally got up. The two of them had drunk too much last night and were groggy, almost forgetting what had happened last night.
Wan Yunting had already woken up and went downstairs with Fang Guowen and Hu Tianchi for breakfast, also bringing back breakfast for Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao.
By the time the two sisters had finished getting ready, it was already nine-thirty. Since the awards ceremony for the top ten winners was to be held at ten o'clock, the three of them, in a hurry, followed Fang Guowen and Hu Tianchi to the Cultural Center by taxi.
They had expected that there would be no one at the Cultural Center today, as today was only for the awards ceremony. However, to their surprise, there were more spectators than ever, a sea of people, and a buzzing atmosphere.
The awards ceremony was held on the plaza in front of the main entrance of the Cultural Center, on a temporary small stage.
At the same time, Shen He and Liu Shuhuai, the chairmen and vice-chairmen of the Art Association, as well as other judges, were all present, but Yuan Deyou was conspicuously absent!