It was just a love letter; I'm really no great writer!

"Please watch this video seriously."

As she spoke, Huang Haitang turned on the large screen.

Lu Ran's live stream was shown to the entire class—except for Zhou Jiahao, who had been sent away.

There was no doubt that it was a weekend performance.

Xia Liang's face darkened; she could now understand how Lu Ran felt when he was publicly humiliated by the entire school...

But then, the scene changes.

A refined man with a thick beard appeared and began to speak in a gentle, detailed manner:

"Hello everyone, I'm Li Kangze. I'm sure you've all seen the ancient-style performance by the female high school band these past few days. They've become incredibly popular because of their good looks and talent..."

"However, what I want to talk about is not how well they sing, how beautifully they dance, or how high their instrument playing level is."

"All I want to say is the title of my video:"

"A genius that should not be hidden in a song - a lyric that will be remembered for eternity!"

"Yes, today I will venture to interpret the lyrics of a song, 'The Song of the Pipa'."

In the classroom, the students looked at each other in bewilderment.

Deciphering the lyrics?

Isn't it to watch pretty girls dance?

Xia Liang breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought that Huang Haitang, that old geezer, was neglecting his duties, but he had misunderstood him. His apologies.

Li Xingping was relieved.

Although she aspires to be an actress, she still felt strange when her classmates saw her singing and dancing on stage.

Lu Ran's eyes lit up.

My uncle is so efficient! He finished the video in just one weekend.

It has only 20 views so far, but Li Kangze's account only has a little over a thousand followers, so this is already a minor hit.

They benefited from riding the wave of popularity of traditional Chinese style bands.

This also stems from the video's novel perspective and high-quality interpretation.

"First, let's take a look at the overall content. What is this poem about?"

"The lyricist encountered a pipa player playing on a boat by chance on the riverbank. After listening to her play the pipa, he felt saddened by his own unfulfilled talent. This is the background story."

"Clearly, the lyricist used the technique of referencing the past, using the deeds of ancient people to express his own feelings and aspirations."

"The uploader happens to know the lyricist and is aware of the background of the creation, but we'll leave that aside for now."

Li Kangze kept everyone in suspense for a moment before beginning to analyze each sentence, presenting a passage and then interpreting it, his words filled with passionate fervor and profound melancholy.

"The structure of 'The Song of the Pipa' is clear, and the narrative is straightforward. The first line is the cause: seeing off a guest at night on the Xunyang River."

Then, maple leaves, reeds, and the moon over the river were used to set the tone for this desolate autumn night. Suddenly, the sound of a pipa was heard from the river. So, the boat was moved closer to invite them to meet.

"Although the lyricist used archaic allusions, let's put it in a modern context:"

On a cold autumn night, you are about to say goodbye to your good friends. Perhaps ten years ago you were full of vigor and had a bright future, but half your lives have been full of hardships and you have no hope of promotion. So tonight, you can only drown your sorrows in a roadside stall or karaoke bar in a small city, worrying about the injustice of the world, the unfulfilled ambitions, and the suffering of the people...

"The once-promising talents, who were once the pride of heaven, have in the end turned out to be nothing more than mediocre and unproductive, their edges worn down by society! Thus, they feel bitter, desolate, and unable to find joy..."

"Just then, you hear a beautiful song coming from the next room. It is ethereal and melodious, as if it flows into your heart and soothes all your sorrows. So the lyricist wrote: The host forgets to return and the guest does not depart."

"You followed the sound and asked in secret who was playing the instrument, which led to the second part of the banquet, where wine was added, the lamps were relit, and the feast was reopened."

The lyricist used a timeless and exquisite description here: "After much calling and coaxing, she finally appeared, still holding her pipa, half-concealing her face." This describes both the pipa player's actions and her posture.

"After reading the entire text, we can't help but wonder: Why did the pipa player call out so earnestly? Why did she half-veil her face? Was it inferiority? Shyness? Or the restraint born of hardship?"

"Later, the lyricist used synesthesia to describe the pipa player playing music, which is also the pinnacle of music description in contemporary classical poetry: using scenery to depict sound, using emotion to depict sound, using stillness to depict movement. My literary knowledge is shallow, so I won't offer much of an interpretation, but consider this just a starting point. Here I'll play a clip from the original recording; it's incredibly powerful!"

After listening to Li Kangze's interpretation of the lyrics, the students had a completely different feeling when they watched the performance of the song.

Listen to the gentle plucking and strumming, the repeated picking and strumming, which hints at the hardships in the pipa player's life.

The sound of pearls falling onto a jade plate symbolizes the joyous scenery of a prosperous past.

Listening to the warbling of orioles gliding beneath the flowers, it's as if life has turned from easy to difficult, and the peak is no more.

The silence speaks volumes; filled with grievances and resentment, he has fallen into his lowest point.

The sound of the four strings is like tearing silk; all the grief and indignation accumulated over half a lifetime are released in this pipa melody. The most wonderful part is the last line: "East and west boats are silent, only the autumn moon shines white on the river."

When Zheng Yue uttered the line "The warbling of orioles glides beneath the flowers," some classmates chuckled softly and called out to her from afar.

This is because the name "Jian Guan Ying" sounds like "Guan Yin," and there is another classmate named Luo Di Hua.

Zheng Yue touched her nose: "Why is everyone laughing at me, but not Luo Dihua?"

Lu Ran smiled as well.

Clearly, it will take some students time to understand a work of art as profound as "The Song of the Pipa".

However, Li Kangze's interpretation was already very easy to understand, which drew bursts of laughter from the class.

"The fourth section of the whole piece is the pipa player's self-narration of her life story. She said that she was originally a woman from the capital city, and that she had won countless red silks with her songs. This is like you encountering the white moonlight goddess playing the piano in a small tavern.

"Actually, she came from Beijing's cultural circle. She won a gold medal in youth piano at the age of ten, gave a solo performance in a concert hall at the age of twelve, studied at a top music academy at the age of fourteen, and after entering the music industry at the age of twenty, she received a constant stream of program invitations and was sought after by celebrities and wealthy businessmen. She successfully married a diamond bachelor in a wedding of the century and has no worries about food and clothing..."

"But good times don't last. As she ages and her beauty fades, the woman is neglected by her husband. Alone in her empty room at night, as she dresses before the mirror, recalling her youthful joys, tears stream down her face without her realizing it. The flowers, the applause, and the admiration of all are gone; she wakes only to desolation, and so..."

"In the dead of night, I suddenly dreamt of my youth, and wept in my dream, my tears staining the red railing."

At this point, everyone fell silent.

Including the classmates who joked around before, they are still young and have lofty ambitions—as top students in key high schools, which one doesn't have a bit of arrogance?

But years later, will the student with the best grades achieve the greatest success? Will they be able to realize their dreams? Will they be able to leave without regrets?

Can one accept their mediocrity with a clear conscience?

Only time will tell.

"The lyricist uses a dual narrative technique to blend his own experience of having his talent buried with the pipa player's bumpy fate."

"Two wandering and lonely people share a common pain: We are both wanderers in this world, why should we need to have known each other before we met!"

"The pipa player's self-narration can perhaps only be understood by the lyricist;

"Perhaps the pipa player plays her heart out to ten thousand people, but only the lyricist understands it, and that is enough..."

"Although it's called lyrics, I think 'Pipa Xing' is more like a long poem, a love letter."

"A poet's self-narration, expressing his frustration at having no kindred spirit. The poet can understand the pipa player's heart, and the pipa player can understand the poet's disappointment. They are kindred spirits to each other."

"So in the end, the poet adapted the pipa player's poem into a song, and the pipa player played one last piece for the poet alone—"

"I stood for a long time, moved by my words, but then sat down and urged the strings to play faster."

"The mournful sound was unlike any heard before; all those present wept upon hearing it again."

"Who wept the most among those present? The Jiangzhou Sima, his blue robe soaked with tears."

Who is the Jiangzhou Sima?

Li Kangze said meaningfully, "I believe many viewers have guessed it, it's none other than Lu Ran, the rising star poet who recently made a name for himself on the international poetry scene!"

What the hell is a "confessing poet"?!

"This Pipa Ballad is the poet's most poignant and tender love letter, written in one go after his unrequited love and his extraordinary talent going unseen. Like a true dragon trapped in the school, he wandered outside the music classroom all day long, only to hear the ethereal sound of the pipa.

"According to him, he practiced playing the xiao (vertical flute) alone every morning. It was the sound of the pipa (lute) that echoed his voice from afar that conveyed his sorrow. The two had long been spiritual friends and considered each other kindred spirits. They lost contact before they even met in person."

What kind of things are you imagining?!

"If that girl playing the pipa sees my video, she must contact Lu Ran. A thousand years from now, it will surely be a beautiful story!"

Li Kangze casually inserted a clip about "scooping the moon from the bottom of the sea".

Dear nephew, there's no need to thank me. This is all your uncle can do for you...

"Returning to the beginning of the video, 'Pipa Xing' is undoubtedly a poem that will be remembered for all time. Its literary and artistic value is far more profound and extensive than that of the song."

"And Lu Ran, this poet with extraordinary talent, deserves to be seen by more people. He should not be a protected fledgling eagle, but a true dragon soaring above the nine heavens!"

"That's all for this video. Let's look forward to more poems from Lu Ran. Please follow, like, and share to help Lu Ran find his pipa player!"

Thank you everyone, see you in the next video!

The video ends here.

The room fell silent.

The crowd suddenly realized what was happening and clapped their hands vigorously, feeling a sense of déjà vu as if they were witnessing history.

What? You mean Wang Bo wrote "Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng" when he was twenty-five?

Lu Ran from our class wrote "The Song of the Pipa" when he was sixteen.

Although subconsciously I didn't think Lu Ran could reach that level, the poem was really good; it stuck with me after just one listen.

The phrases "After much anticipation, it finally appears," "Silence speaks louder than words," and "We are all fellow sufferers in this world" are either catchy, profound, or emotionally sincere—they are almost too good to be true.

After all, she spends a lot of time with Lu Ran and is very familiar with him, as seen in the video's comment section.

Because of the distance between them and the public, netizens unconsciously idealize Lu Ran...

They all praised Lu Ran to the skies, saying he was one of the best in the world.

Everyone says that this time, the Celestial Empire has produced a genius poet who has descended to earth like the God of Literature.

Even more outrageous, some have uttered the absurd statement, "I will never let Lu Ran fall in love in this lifetime."

And at this moment...

Lu Ran was speechless with emotion.

"Wait, how did this become a love letter?"