Chapter 35: The Team Leader

At this moment, the onlookers on Weibo were split into two camps.

One camp agreed with Lianfeng Li, believing that Ze Xu was arrogant and self-important, exploiting the works of the ancients to boost his own popularity.

The other camp felt that Ze Xu’s lyric was indeed on par with the original, so his claim to stand shoulder to shoulder with the original was not unfounded. A significant portion of these supporters had been won over after listening to Ze Xu’s song “Do You Know, Do You Know,” completely captivated by its artistry.

At first, the two sides were evenly matched, but as a flood of marketing accounts began to intervene, voices supporting Ze Xu gradually got drowned out.

It was then that a man named Xingbin He posted on his microblog:

“For a long time, Li Qingzhao’s ‘To the Tune of Dreaming: Last Night the Rains Were Sparse, the Winds Fierce’ has remained absent from our middle school textbooks due to ongoing debates over whether its final line is lost. This is a real pity.

“Yet perhaps that regret is about to end. Yesterday, Ze Xu from Qingbei University supplied a final line to this poem.

“‘Do you know, do you know, it should be when the green is lush and the red is fading.’

“The first time I heard this line, I was truly shaken.

“The repetition of the words ‘do you know’ is exquisite, and the phrase ‘when the green is lush and the red is fading’ is a stroke of brilliance. These four seemingly simple words, when combined, become so vivid and colorful, so strikingly alive—their linguistic creativity is simply breathtaking.

“If ‘To the Tune of Dreaming’ is missing a final line, then this must be it.

“If this is not a miracle, then what should we call it?

“My suggestion: include ‘To the Tune of Dreaming: Last Night the Rains Were Sparse, the Winds Fierce’ in middle school extracurricular reading, with a note crediting Ze Xu for supplying the final line.”

...

Netizens who saw Xingbin He’s post began to comment:

“Who is this guy? Only 100,000 followers and talking so big.”

“I think his analysis is excellent, but suggesting it be included in extracurricular reading—your suggestion probably won’t make any difference.”

“I think I’ve seen this name somewhere before.”

“Wait, isn’t Xingbin He the head of the middle school Chinese extracurricular reading committee?”

“Are you serious?”

“Looks like it’s true! I just searched, and the committee head really is Xingbin He!”

“Wow, is this guy really such a big shot?”

“Greetings, Mr. Committee Head!”

“Mr. Committee Head, could you please assign fewer extracurricular readings? I can’t even finish my homework and still have to read these books.”

“+1”

“To the people above, why are you still on Weibo? Go do your homework!”

Gradually, the comments multiplied, and many students started sharing Xingbin He’s post.

In just a short while, it shot to the top of the trending list:

#MiddleSchoolExtracurricularReadingHeadSupportsZeXu#
#XingbinHeSuggestsIncludingDoYouKnowDoYouKnowAsExtracurricularReading#

Everyone seeing these trending tags was stunned.

What’s going on? Weren’t people just criticizing Ze Xu? How did things flip so suddenly to suggesting his lyric be added to middle school reading lists?

Previously, supporters of Lianfeng Li began leaving comments:

“This must be fake—how could he be the head of the extracurricular reading committee?”

“I agree it’s fake. Maybe Ze Xu got someone to impersonate him for more attention!”

“Exactly. What kind of committee head only has 100,000 followers? Lianfeng Li has a million!”

“Can the real committee head please show up and set the record straight!”

In the dormitory.

Fatty, holding his phone, looked suspiciously at Ze Xu. “Ze Xu, do you know Xingbin He?”

“Who?” Ze Xu replied without looking up.

“Xingbin He! The head of the middle school Chinese extracurricular reading committee—the guy in charge of picking what we read!”

“Never heard of him.” Ze Xu frowned. “Who cares what his name is. I’m asking you: one-on-one in CS, loser calls the winner ‘Dad.’”

“You’re on! If I lose, I’ll call you Grandpa!”

“Let’s go! Bring it on!”

...

Meanwhile, on Weibo, as people were still debating whether Xingbin He was an impostor, the official account of the Middle School Chinese Extracurricular Reading Committee suddenly reposted Xingbin He’s message and gave it a like.

“What is happening?”

“Did I just see this? The official account just shared it!”

“Oh my god, does this mean he’s the real deal?”

“Isn’t it obvious? That’s definitely the real committee head!”

“So the committee head is really going to include Ze Xu’s lyric together with ‘To the Tune of Dreaming’?”

“Is ‘Do You Know, Do You Know’ really that impressive?”

“Ze Xu’s lyric is incredible, but isn’t it a bit hasty for the committee head to immediately suggest adding it to the reading list?”

“It’s just a suggestion, probably his personal opinion.”

At that moment, the official committee account posted another message:

“On the recommendation of committee head Xingbin He, and with unanimous approval from all members, ‘To the Tune of Dreaming: Last Night the Rains Were Sparse, the Winds Fierce’ will be included in the contemporary middle school extracurricular reading list, with a note crediting Ze Xu for supplying the final line.”

As soon as this was posted, the trending list exploded.

#ZeXu’sSupplementaryLyricOfficiallyRecognized#
#ToTheTuneOfDreamingIncludedInReadingList,DoYouKnowDoYouKnowAsFinalLine#

Everyone was shocked.

“Holy crap, Ze Xu just got official recognition?”

“Of course! This is the real official account.”

“Ze Xu is amazing!”

“Who was it that said Ze Xu was arrogant? He really is on par with the original—he said it himself, and now he’s got official backing!”

“It wasn’t me, it was Lianfeng Li!”

“Yeah, it was Lianfeng Li!”

At that moment, Lianfeng Li was still refreshing his Weibo backend, watching his follower count climb to 1.5 million, grinning from ear to ear.

But then his phone started vibrating. The screen showed: President.

Why is the president calling me?

Lianfeng Li was puzzled. Was the president going to advise him to delete his post too? That couldn’t be—after all, the president had always championed free speech. Even though they were in the same association, everyone was free to express their own opinions.

That was why he’d acted so recklessly.

He answered politely, “President? Is there something you need?”

The voice on the other end sounded grave: “Lianfeng Li, you should delete your post.”

Lianfeng Li’s expression froze, then he asked in confusion, “President, haven’t you always advocated for freedom of speech? I was just expressing a personal opinion—why do I need to delete it?”

“Look at the trending topics. If you still have any shame left, you’ll take it down. Otherwise, do as you please.” The president paused, then added, “The Classical Poetry Association will also be posting in support of Ze Xu soon.”

With that, the president hung up.

Lianfeng Li was stunned.

The Classical Poetry Association is going to post in support of Ze Xu?

His face was full of confusion. Had something gone wrong? Why would the association ignore its vice president and choose to back Ze Xu?

He quickly opened the trending topics list. He had been so absorbed in watching his follower count rise that he hadn’t noticed what was happening on the trending board.