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

What does it mean to be a beautiful story even after thousands of years?

Uncle-in-law, just how far can your eyes see?

Good news! The true value of "The Song of the Pipa" has been discovered.

But Lu Ran never expected that her uncle's interpretation would go so far as to completely distort the truth!

This is understandable, given the vastly different historical context.

Good works often have universal significance that transcends time and have a vitality that allows people to empathize with them regardless of their location.

Even in the 21st century, it still shines brightly and is not outdated at all.

Lu Ran was a little annoyed, realizing that he had "confessed" again.

This time it's even more outrageous; the object of his confession is a pipa player he's never even met before...

Unaware netizens exclaimed upon hearing this: "Wow, Lu Ran is quite the charming and talented man!"

The murmurs in the classroom gradually subsided.

Huang Haitang smiled and said:

"Lu Ran's 'Pipa Ballad' is a song lyric, but it has high artistic value and has brought music to its ultimate level."

"If 'When You Are Old' is a romantic model of modern poetry, then 'The Song of the Pipa' is a representative of Chinese tragic aesthetics."

"Especially the description of a beautiful woman's white hair and fleeting youth, which is similar in spirit, expresses the poet's sincere pursuit of beautiful love, hahaha."

Huang Haitang couldn't resist making a joke about Lu Ran, who lamented that he had no daughter, only a good-for-nothing son.

Immediately, Teacher Huang said seriously:

"I'm showing this video to everyone not because I admire Lu Ran's talent."

"Instead, we hope that everyone can experience the charm of words through top-notch literary works, improve their appreciation and aesthetic abilities, and thus better understand life and its meaning."

"This is also the meaning of our learning Chinese. Let's encourage each other."

After saying this, Huang Haitang took her thermos and quickly strolled over to Class 7 next door.

The classroom remained quiet for several minutes.

Someone said, "Silence speaks louder than words," and everyone laughed in unison.

"Hahaha, so prosperous!"

At this moment, Zhou Jiahao returned to the classroom with a long face, his complexion alternating between pale and flushed.

He was just severely scolded by the principal and made to give a self-criticism on stage at a school-wide assembly.

Hearing the laughter of the whole class, it felt like the whole world was mocking him, and his long fingernails dug into his flesh.

In my imagination, I am the clown.

In reality, nobody cared.

Everyone is talking about Lu Ran's gossip.

"Haha, how many girls has Lu Ran been pursuing already?"

"Zhao Yishuang, Zuo Hanzhi, and this time the mysterious pipa player."

"By the way, who is Miss Pipa?"

"I don't know, I haven't even seen Lu Ran yet, hahaha!"

"Lu Ran, the god of concepts, can produce top-notch works as soon as he confesses his feelings."

"Pfft... This is hilarious! Don't you think this is the closest I've ever come to being a poet saint?"

"Of course, if Lu Ran were born in ancient times, the place he lived in would be called his former residence."

"Mom, I've made it big! I've dined with a great poet!"

"So what? I've slept with him!"

Everyone turned to look at Zheng Yue, who was beaming with pride, basking in the envious glances of the crowd.

Although Lu Ran is popular in class, generous, and helpful.

But he didn't talk much and was unconventional.

In the eyes of most students, he was still quite aloof and withdrawn.

If some students didn't take "When You Are Old" seriously at the time...

But now that "The Song of the Pipa" has been published, it has directly added a halo of a poet saint to Lu Ran, making him a figure of utmost respect and admiration.

Meng Lu turned to look at Lu Ran and stammered, "Great Poet Lu..."

Lu Ran chuckled: "No need to be so reserved, I'm not a three-headed, six-armed being."

The poem "Pipa Xing" was a poem that emerged from his dream. Although it was internalized as a poetic technique and imagery, he was not so arrogant as to think that he could create such a timeless masterpiece.

No matter how skilled one is, top-notch poetry relies solely on a flash of inspiration and innate talent.

Lu Ran was still as kind as before.

Meng Lu chuckled coquettishly, "Haha, I'm just curious if King of Glory will release a hero named Lu Ran."

"Then let's not." Lu Ran's lips twitched slightly.

Yuan Binbin pondered for a moment and asked, "Brother Ran, is it too late for me to go to Thailand now?"

"Get lost." Lu Ran saw that Zheng Yue was about to speak as well, "Shut up."

Seeing that the classroom was still noisy, he simply took his flute, slipped out of the classroom through the back door, and went downstairs to the Boya Building across the street.

I'm taking advantage of the morning self-study period to practice my xiao (vertical bamboo flute).

I couldn't help but think of playing another tune with the person who played the pipa—it must be a pretty young lady, right?

Although Lu Ran is not a looks-obsessed person, he prefers girls with a cool and aloof appearance.

That is, fair skin with delicate features, thin eyebrows and long eyes, double or single eyelids, cherry lips and a delicate nose, a black ponytail with a few loose strands of hair, and a tall, slender and graceful figure.

It's hard to imagine that a slightly chubby girl weighing 200 pounds could give off an ethereal feeling.

Lu Ran practiced until the rally under the national flag, but it didn't happen, but he didn't lose heart.

"The Song of the Pipa" has become a hit...

She'll probably see it.

……

The Ballad of the Pipa has indeed become a hit.

After two or three days of fermentation, it has become a global phenomenon in Chinese-language communities.

Every Chinese person feels as if this poem should be ingrained in their blood, and the missing piece of the puzzle is now complete.

"The video interpreting the 'Pipa Xing' has reached 80 million views!"

It was noon that day, in the pavilion on campus.

Li Xingping's mother brought over some home-cooked meals. Her mother is from Changsha and has excellent cooking skills. Her pickled pork, green beans, salt, and chili are especially delicious and go perfectly with rice.

Xingping invited her two best friends to eat together.

The three girls ate and chatted.

Xia Liang held back her complaints: "Why? The original video of our Pipa Ballad only has five million views. I should have had Lu Ran say 'GG' in the lyrics."

"No." Zuo Hanzhi glared at Xia Liang warily and warningly.

"...I was just saying." Xia Liang was speechless.

Zuo Hanzhi is extremely intolerant of any imperfections, so Lu Ran's artworks must never be tainted with any commercialism.

So these past two days, Xia Liang suggested that Lu Ran write a few more poems to promote the magazine, but Zuo Hanzhi, who was breathing heavily, stopped her.

In her words, "No one is allowed to interfere with Lu Ran's divine inspiration."

Fortunately, the sales of the second issue of "Huaizhong Pictorial" were quite good.

Xia Liang thoroughly investigated all the surrounding outlets this time, and the daily sales were around 150 copies. At this rate, they would definitely sell out within a week.

Great success!

In short, it relies on three main authors: Xia Liang's *Light Dies in Summer*, Lu Ran's *Living*, and Zhao Yishuang's *A Love Letter from an Unknown Woman*. (Note: 12)

Add a pair of wings—the band performance and the popularity of "Pipa Xing".

This has made "Huaizhong Pictorial" a household name in Huaicheng. With time, it is expected to return to, or even surpass, its former glory!

Xia Liang shared the good news in the group chat and also sent out the back payment for the previous issue's article, feeling quite pleased with herself.

Our goal is the stars and the sea!

……

at the same time.

Lu Ran ushered in a sales boom for "White Night Walk" overseas, with multiple reprints and stockouts.

The Japanese have a very high opinion of "Journey Under the Midnight Sun," so much so that the president of the Japanese Literature Association personally invited Lu Ran to Japan for a book signing event.

Lu Ran didn't like the notebook, but he felt obligated to make money from it, so he said he would come when he had time during the summer vacation.

While I'm at it, I'll also go to Tokyo to gather some material.

He'll definitely be making some major changes to the Dragon Raja series when he writes about it later; how can he do that without doing some on-site research?

Maybe... I'll meet a cherry blossom girl like Erii.

After school that day, Lu Ran was in a hurry to go home.

The stereo system he bought was flown in from Germany, and a professional designer accompanied him to transform his bedroom into a listening room.

In addition, the Hasselblad and mountain bikes have arrived, so I must hurry home and try them out.

The afterglow of the setting sun was faint, students walked in groups, red clouds hung idly in the sky, and the summer breeze was neither hot nor dry.

Lu Ran and Zheng Yue came out of the school gate.

This kid heard that Lu Ran bought a Dragon Star mountain bike and insisted on going with him to see it.

After turning onto Sheng'an Street, near the Taihu subway station, the two chatted and laughed.

Suddenly, a girl blocked their way. She was wearing a loose red school uniform top and figure-hugging jeans that accentuated her full legs, and sneakers.

Judging from their school uniforms, they are students from the neighboring Yande High School.

She was about 1.6 meters tall, with regular features and a slightly chubby face. She appeared to be wearing light makeup.

"Here we go again." Zheng Yue pouted. "How many has that been this week..."

Since the interpretation of "Pipa Xing" went viral online, even Dan Ding (Note: 13), one of the few remaining poets in the poetry world, spoke out for the first time in ten years, publicly praising Lu Ran's poetic achievements, calling him a young poet saint, and establishing his status as a top poet in China.

In a short time, numerous professional interpretations of "The Song of the Pipa" emerged from the academic community.

Lu Ran's life was also slightly affected:

When get out of class ended, a crowd of students gathered at the classroom door to watch; his account received countless harassing messages and private messages; some even traveled long distances to wait for him at the school gate, asking for autographs or calligraphy/paintings...

Lu Ran was extremely annoyed. He thought to himself, "The last chess master is more famous than me. Why don't I go and confront him?"

There are countless other instances where someone is stopped by one or more girls.

"Brother Ran, hurry up and finish this." Zheng Yue ran to the flower bed and squatted down.

"Lu Ran?" The girl from Yande Middle School looked at Lu Ran, shook her head, walked up to Zheng Yue, and said, "...I came to find you."

"Looking for... looking for me?" Zheng Yue was bewildered.

"Little Yueyue, don't you recognize me?" The girl laughed heartily, revealing her white teeth. "I'm Zhu Yishu."

Zheng Yue stared in disbelief: "Aren't you Old Fatty?"

Lu Ran found it amusing to watch from the side.

Zheng Yue is still so eloquent; she's a real talent.

"I'll hit you, I'll hit you." Zhu Yishu patted Zheng Yue's arm, laughing like a summer plum soup. "I used to be very fat, so I've been exercising and lost more than ten pounds... You're still the same as before, you haven't changed much."

Zheng Yue chuckled sheepishly and scratched her head.

Lu Ran stopped laughing.

-

Note 12: Adapted from Stefan Zweig's "Letter from an Unknown Woman".

Note 13: Fictional character, based on the poet Mu Dan.