Chapter 125

In this strange atmosphere, the high-speed train arrived in Jingdu.

Tang Huaijin gently nudged Shen Yiqiu and said softly, “Shen-Jie, we’re here.”

Shen Yiqiu had been sleeping soundly. Hearing his words, she slowly woke up, rubbed her slightly sore neck, and gradually withdrew her hand that had been holding his the entire way.

Tang Huaijin’s hand was very warm, making her small hand gradually heat up as well, even sweating a little.

Shen Yiqiu also carried a suitcase, but it wasn’t large, so Tang Huaijin simply pulled both along, following behind her.

At the entrance, they hailed a taxi and arrived at the hotel designated by the event organizers.

It was only when the front desk confirmed their information and asked, “Two king rooms, correct?” that Tang Huaijin finally relaxed. He really was afraid of making a mistake.

Jizhou City wasn’t very far from Jingdu, and the high-speed train only took a few hours, but since they left rather late, it was already past dinner time when they arrived at the hotel.

After putting down their luggage, the two made do with a meal in the hotel restaurant. The national calligraphy exhibition was a rather formal event, with many participants, so the organizers had almost booked out the entire hotel.

Back in his room, Tang Huaijin realized that ever since he had gained master level calligraphy skills, he hadn’t written a single piece yet, always delayed by various things.

This was a good chance to try. Tang Huaijin first video-called his sister to report that he had arrived.

His sister had just finished dinner as well and was lying on the sofa watching TV.

She reminded her brother a few times, like telling him to eat well while away and not to be careless.

If any pretty girls asked for his WeChat, he wasn’t allowed to give it, and she would check when she got back-things like that.

After chatting with her brother for a while, Tang Yaoyao reluctantly hung up.

Tang Huaijin didn’t find his sister naggy; instead, he felt a sense of warmth, because in her seemingly endless words, there was actually a lot of care for him.

Since he was here for the competition, Tang Huaijin naturally brought his brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. After grinding the ink, he prepared to start writing.

With master level calligraphy skills, Tang Huaijin actually didn’t know where to begin-not because he couldn’t write,

but because he knew too much and didn’t know which script to start with.

After hesitating for a moment, he decided to first write a piece in his original best style, running script, then wrote one each in seal, clerical, regular, running, and cursive scripts.

After finishing one of each, he put down his brush and looked at his own writing, his expression extremely satisfied.

Even though he already had plenty of experience, the system’s reward still made him a bit excited. No other way to put it-it was just too awesome.

Every script came easily to him, completely making up for his previous weaknesses, and compared to before, his writing now had an even grander, more timeless aura.

Ding ding~

The doorbell rang. Tang Huaijin walked over and opened the door-it was Shen Yiqiu.

She first glanced lightly into the room, then looked at Tang Huaijin and said softly, “I came to check out your room.”

“Oh… alright.” Hearing her say that, Tang Huaijin could only step aside and let Shen Yiqiu in.

Shen Yiqiu first pretended to look around, but her gaze was quickly drawn to the calligraphy on the desk. After carefully examining a few pieces, she couldn’t hide the surprise in her tone as she said, “Your writing…”

Seeing her expression, Tang Huaijin felt a bit proud and thick-skinnedly said, “It’s alright, I’ve been practicing for a while recently.”

“Great, now there won’t be any problem at all.” Shen Yiqiu muttered to herself, then looked down at Tang Huaijin’s writing for a while longer. In the end, she pointed to the running script and said, “Your style actually suits running script best.”

“Mm.” Tang Huaijin knew this too and nodded slightly, then asked, “What script is the calligraphy exhibition competing in this time?”

“All scripts are included. I signed you up for the running script group,” Shen Yiqiu explained, sighing a bit complicatedly, “Actually, our Shen Family is most famous for running script.”

Tang Huaijin looked at her in surprise. Shen Yiqiu’s achievements in regular script were indeed very high, but as for running script, it was a bit hard to say.

She noticed his confusion, but Shen Yiqiu didn’t intend to explain. Instead, she glanced at his desk and asked, “Where’s your seal? Stamp all these pieces.”

“Seal?” Tang Huaijin was slightly stunned. He certainly knew about seals and that famous calligraphy masters would stamp their works with their own seals.

Shen Yiqiu frowned slightly and asked, “You didn’t prepare one? Didn’t the materials I gave you say that a name seal is required? It’s needed for the competition.”

“Uh, I forgot.” Tang Huaijin recalled the situation at the time. It seemed that because he left in a hurry, he only glanced at the list of things to bring and remembered the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, but didn’t notice he needed to bring a seal.

“Mm, it’s fine.” Shen Yiqiu pursed her lips, glanced at him, and said calmly, “I’ll find someone to make one for you. The competition doesn’t start until the day after tomorrow, so it’s fine.”

“Okay, sorry for the trouble, thank you, Teacher Shen.” Tang Huaijin said gratefully. To be honest, Shen Yiqiu really had nothing to fault-she not only invited him into the calligraphy association, but also nominated him for the national calligraphy exhibition, asking for nothing in return.

Aside from being a bit odd, Teacher Shen really counted as his benefactor.

Shen Yiqiu nodded, stepped closer to him, hesitated for a moment, then took off the jade pendant from her neck. Holding it in her hand, she looked at it with a complicated expression, then looked up at Tang Huaijin and said softly, “Lower your head.”

Tang Huaijin’s eyelid twitched and he quickly waved his hand, “Teacher Shen, this is too precious, I can’t accept it.”

“Consider it a loan. This jade pendant can bring you good luck. I hope you succeed in the competition the day after tomorrow.” Shen Yiqiu snorted lightly. Seeing he wouldn’t lower his head, she stood on tiptoe and gently pulled his neck down, putting the jade pendant on him. Then she said, “It’s not just for you, it’s for me too.”

Looking into Shen Yiqiu’s eyes, Tang Huaijin felt a strange sensation in his heart and couldn’t help but look away, pursing his lips and saying hoarsely, “Alright…”

“Mm, then I’ll go back. Remember to come to the hotel lobby at noon tomorrow to sign in.” Shen Yiqiu’s cheeks were a little red as well. She turned and walked to the door, opened it, then looked back at him and said, “Rest well tonight, don’t run around, and don’t do anything messy.”

Tang Huaijin naturally understood what she meant and replied awkwardly, “How could I?”

Only then did Shen Yiqiu nod, gave him a warning look, and finally left his room.

After Teacher Shen closed the door, Tang Huaijin touched the jade pendant. Thinking that this was Shen Yiqiu’s personal item, his face grew a bit hot. He even felt he could smell a faint, elegant orchid fragrance. The jade was of excellent quality, smooth and moist to the touch, still carrying a trace of warmth. Thinking about where Teacher Shen usually wore it, touching it like this felt like touching…

He didn’t dare think further, quickly stuffed the jade pendant inside his collar, flopped onto the big bed, and buried his head in the pillow.

Tang Huaijin’s mind was a bit muddled now. Unlike the young girls around him, who were beautiful but still immature, Shen Yiqiu was like a ripe peach, exuding fatal charm at every moment. Her usual cold face only made people want to conquer her more.

As the saying goes, the colder she is, the more you want to see her…

No, no, he was supposed to calm down, so why was his mind going further astray?

Tang Huaijin shook his head, ran to the bathroom for a cold shower, finally calmed down, and lay back in bed to sleep.