First Battlefield Commander! - Chapter 88
Chapter 88: Calligraphy
Zhou Shirui was puzzled. He looked at the messages in front of him again and said, "I don't have time. I have class."
Elder Brother: "Lian Sheng is already here!"
Zhou Shirui: "She went to your studio? What's she doing there?"
Elder Brother: "Making money."
Zhou Shirui: "She doesn't need money. Her mother is a colonel and a key researcher at the institute. Just the bonuses and subsidies alone are substantial."
Elder Brother: "What? You even investigated her mother!"
Zhou Shirui: "..."
Better just block him.
Elder Brother: "Just kidding. Seriously, come over. There'll be selection matches next semester. You're a sophomore now—it's not unprecedented. Register under my name here, and your chances of being selected will be higher."
This kind of registration was too perfunctory—clearly fishy at first glance.
Elder Brother: "The important thing is to build a good relationship with Lian Sheng so she invites you. I think she really has potential—she might even make it past the preliminaries. Oh, does she have teammates yet? Your Brother Liang said those students who fought for the company commander position with her were pretty good too. Do you know them? If not, Lian Sheng can introduce you."
Elder Brother: "Little brother! I've already pulled strings for you. You'd better prepare early!"
Zhou Shirui: "..."
Lian Sheng read through the contract for a while.
His contract was something else—just a few sentences in total, and he'd already explained most of it earlier. No traps, surprisingly free of restrictions.
The base salary column read: "TBD (starting at 2,000)."
Lian Sheng nodded. What a great job.
Having convinced his junior, Hundred Meter Flying Dagger checked the backend to see Lian Sheng's status.
Piaoqi Great General had already signed the contract and sent it back.
Piaoqi Great General asked: "When will Bright Bulb be back?"
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger: "At least a week. But don't worry—once he's back, we'll make up for the current wages. I'll register your name under my studio for now."
Piaoqi Great General: "Oh."
"Also, be gentler with clients. Don't act like you did earlier," Hundred Meter Flying Dagger lectured seriously. "Go easy on them, give them some confidence. If nothing else, just make them do physical training to stall. Our bottom line is: no refunds under any circumstances!"
Piaoqi Great General: "...Is this a scam?"
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger said, "A shop that doesn't give refunds is a shop with integrity—it means 100% customer satisfaction."
Piaoqi Great General: "...Oh."
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger: "I'll go drum up business. You're free to do whatever. I'll call you when Bulb gets back."
Lian Sheng closed his private messages and logged back into the bounty board.
The OP was frantically sending friend requests. Lian Sheng accepted, and the other party immediately said: "Great General! Great General! I'll pay 1,600—fight me again and analyze my performance!"
Lian Sheng: "Let's go."
Through this OP's referrals, Lian Sheng ended up doing technical analyses for several others. Since she hardly refused anyone and charged extremely low rates, business was booming.
Every path led to wealth—this place was truly wonderful.
Lian Sheng now had nearly 8,000 points remaining.
She bought another cheap mech, stocked up on enough ammunition and energy, then invested everything into opening another arena.
When bored, she'd go grind points. When tired of that, she'd come out to mentor newcomers. She kept this rhythm up for several days.
One day, returning from training outside, she found her three roommates sitting in the living room, fully dressed.
Roommate C stood up when she saw her return and said, "You've seemed really busy lately. Do you have time this afternoon?"
"What's up?" Lian Sheng said. "You're mistaken—I've actually been very free these past few days."
Roommate C smiled. "The semester's almost over. Let's have one last gathering. I took on a project with my professor—my treat."
Only then did Lian Sheng remember—it was already December.
"I'll treat," Lian Sheng said. "I have money."
Roommate C cheered, "So soon? I'm about to freeload off my hubby. How embarrassing~"
Roommates A and B: "..."
When fans stopped caring about face, it was truly terrifying.
Lian Sheng first went to take a shower, changed clothes, then went out with them.
She and Roommate C walked side by side at the back. Along the way, people kept sneaking glances at her.
Lian Sheng kept her eyes forward, already somewhat used to it. Roommate C pulled up her hood to hide her face but still felt awkward.
Lian Sheng's hearing was still sharp—the whispers behind them never faded.
"I heard our school's Military Academy has a really impressive girl."
"A girl in the Military Academy?"
"Yeah, after that match at the gymnasium, she became famous. And she's just a freshman."
"What does she look like?"
"The one up ahead. Go take a look yourself!"
Lian Sheng: "..."
Lian Sheng suddenly turned around sharply, glaring at the girls creeping up behind them.
The two girls yelped, forced a smile, and scurried past.
Seeing this, Roommate C laughed. "You're really famous now. You know, the two most badass guys at our school are the sports major and the military major—they both know you. They've been singing your praises everywhere. Even neighboring universities have heard of you. After all, girls in those two departments are way too—rare!"
Lian Sheng: "...What an honor."
They picked a decently decorated restaurant near campus and chose their seats.
A little girl with a ponytail and flushed cheeks stood at the front desk, not even half Lian Sheng's height.
Lian Sheng stood with her hands in her pockets, staring back at her.
The little girl dropped her candy, turned around, and wailed to the owner: "Mom... I'm scared!"
Lian Sheng: "..."
The three roommates: "..."
Lian Sheng rubbed her chin.
Back in the day, she could make children cry on command. Her skills had dulled somewhat. What a shame.
Roommate A said, "Commander Lian Sheng, shouldn't you demonstrate some gentleness and delicacy?"
Lian Sheng: "Such as?"
Roommate A: "Such as not emphasizing the first word when you say 'such as.'"
Lian Sheng nodded: "I didn't even say anything just now, and she still cried."
Roommate B got their number and led them to a table inside.
Roommate C asked, "Have you been to art appreciation class? I remember you signed up."
Lian Sheng said, "Went once."
It was an elective she'd chosen last semester. Once a week, quietly sitting in her schedule.
This was the most baffling class she'd ever taken. No textbooks, no materials. During the first class, the professor just showed them a few pictures and started explaining their beauty.
...She hadn't felt anything. From then on, she never went back.
Roommate C said, "Then go a few more times. It's absolutely the most edifying class. If you can stay awake until the very end, it's an extreme test of patience!"
Roommate A said, "Because art appreciation class moves... so... slowly... Every student who's taken it ends up feeling life is meaningless. All aggression and irritability—gone. It's one of our Alliance University's newly minted top ten legendary courses."
Lian Sheng: "..."
Roommate C shuddered all over and said, "Let's go to class together. Now that you mention it, I suddenly want to go. The legendary class!"
Art appreciation class was every Friday—just in time to catch it.
When Friday came, her roommates decided to go with her to broaden their horizons.
Entering the classroom, they found the seats already packed, with people even standing in the back. There were still over ten minutes until class started.
Lian Sheng said in surprise, "Why so many people?"
The first time she'd attended, less than half the classroom had been filled.
"They're probably all here for reference material. It's that time again—the New Year's Eve party is coming up. Our school's parties are notoriously brutal," Roommate A said. "Every year around this time, all art-related courses are packed."
Roommate B took a few steps forward: "Let's stand in the back. At least there's a wall to lean on."
They chatted briefly before the professor entered. A student followed behind him, carrying the Four Treasures of the Study.
This was a relatively young lecturer. Probably a recent graduate, which was why he was only assigned an unimportant interest course.
"Today, we'll appreciate calligraphy," the professor said, pacing at the front. "Not many people write good calligraphy these days. In such a fast-paced life, few can calm their hearts to study brush writing."
Forget calligraphy—paper, brushes, and ink were rarely used anymore.
"Legend says Wang Xizhi's calligraphy was powerful, with strokes that could 'enter wood three-tenths of an inch'..."
He then began explaining the history of calligraphy before analyzing and praising a few characters stroke by stroke.
To make matters worse, his class was two periods back-to-back with no break.
Lian Sheng raised a hand and vigorously rubbed her face.
Roommate A asked, "How is it? Feeling that despair yet?"
"Heh." Lian Sheng said with half-lidded eyes, "I feel life struggling in its death throes."
An hour later, the class finally neared its end.
The professor asked, "Would anyone like to come up and give it a try?"
Lian Sheng raised her hand high and even jumped slightly.
The professor scanned the room, then pointed at Lian Sheng: "This student, you come."
Her roommates all looked at her in surprise. Since when was she so proactive?
Roommate C tugged her sleeve. Lian Sheng rolled up her sleeves as she walked to the front. She first bowed slightly to the professor, then stood at the center of the table.
She lifted the brush with her right hand, dipped it in ink, then examined the tip before tapping it lightly on the inkstone.
The professor stood to the side and said, "Write down your thoughts about my class or about calligraphy—one word to describe it."
Lian Sheng turned her head: "Really?"
The professor said, "Really. It doesn't need to be profound—the most direct, simplest word will do."
Lian Sheng raised the brush and wrote in one fluid motion.
She started with the character "I."
The professor inhaled sharply, astonished.
The strokes were vigorous, lively, and elegant. Bold yet graceful, with remarkable presence.
This was clearly the work of an expert!
The professor watched intently as she finished three characters.
"Am"
"Very"
"Sleepy"
Lian Sheng set the brush back on the inkstone and took a step back, nodding.
"You..." The professor was speechless for a long moment before finally asking: "Are you here to challenge the establishment?"
Lian Sheng: "..."
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