Chapter 36: Who in the World Does Not Know You

Li Lianfeng opened Weibo and immediately wondered if his eyes were failing him.

Including "As If in a Dream—Last Night the Rain Was Sparse and the Wind Fierce" among contemporary middle school extracurricular readings, and noting the concluding line added by Xu Ze to this lyric?

Xu Ze was just a sophomore—what right or ability did he have to deserve such recognition?

Li Lianfeng was nearly beside himself with frustration.

But when he discovered that it was He Xingbin, the leader of the Chinese extracurricular reading group, who had made this suggestion, his anger instantly dissipated.

He Xingbin’s status far surpassed his own; even if their president stood before him, it would be of little consequence.

He Xingbin, as group leader, actually had the authority to make recommendations to the committee responsible for middle school Chinese textbooks.

A few years prior, several newly added articles in the national standard textbooks had been suggested by He Xingbin himself.

In literary circles, he was one of the rare figures with genuine influence.

Faced with someone like that, even a hundred times braver, Li Lianfeng would never dare to object.

But now, wasn’t he being roasted over the coals?

Everyone already agreed that Xu Ze’s lyric was excellent; Li Lianfeng had tried to ride the wave by attacking Xu Ze, taking a contrarian stance and focusing on Xu Ze’s arrogance.

Yet now, Xu Ze’s supplementary line had received official endorsement—did that not make Li Lianfeng look like a mere clown?

And at this moment, he had no way to fight back.

Trembling, Li Lianfeng clicked into the comments, only to find they were all tagging him, demanding his response.

A few mischievous netizens even egged him on, urging him to criticize the Chinese extracurricular reading group.

“You’re really trying to get me killed!” Li Lianfeng’s face was dark with worry, and he began to waver about whether he should delete his own post.

If he didn’t, his Weibo post would stand as a mark of disgrace, nailed there for all to see, and his reputation might plummet.

But if he did delete it, his follower count would stagnate, and he’d lose many fans.

He’d only just tasted the sweet fruit of fame—how could he willingly let it slip away?

Just then, the official Weibo account of the Ancient Poetry Association reposted the reading group’s message, commenting beneath it:

“Xu Ze’s supplementary lyric possesses high literary merit. The Ancient Poetry Association is delighted to see masterpieces like ‘As If in a Dream’ enter middle school extracurricular readings. Kudos to Xu Ze!”

With this post, netizens began to tease in the comments:

“The Ancient Poetry Association is happy, but maybe their vice president isn’t.”

“Why say such obvious truths?”

“Do you think Li Lianfeng is a fake vice president? The Association’s official stance is clear.”

“How could he be fake? Check the Association’s official website—they state plainly that Li Lianfeng is the vice president.”

“So does that mean Li Lianfeng doesn’t represent the Ancient Poetry Association?”

“Of course not—the Association has plenty of members. Didn’t you notice that Li Lianfeng’s post ended by saying it was ‘just his personal opinion’?”

“Oh, I missed that line—I thought his words represented the Association.”

“Me too.”

“Ah, so we were fooled. I even followed him; better unfollow quickly before my classmates see and laugh at me.”

“I’m unfollowing too!”

…

In just a few minutes, Li Lianfeng’s follower count dropped by 200,000, and the numbers kept falling.

Then, Qingbei University’s official account surprisingly reposted the Chinese extracurricular reading group’s message, commenting:

“Vast is the culture of China; Song lyrics are among its brightest stars. Li Qingzhao, a lyricist of the Song Dynasty, is celebrated as history’s foremost female talent. ‘Do you know? Should be lush green and fading red.’ These words are from Xu Ze, a student in our Department of Chinese Language and Literature, supplementing ‘As If in a Dream—Last Night the Rain Was Sparse and the Wind Fierce.’

Their literary and artistic value has received high praise from our faculty, and on unanimous recommendation from our department, Group Leader He Xingbin accepted our proposal to include them in middle school extracurricular readings, filling a gap in contemporary education.

China’s cultural legacy is rich with talent; Xu Ze, a modern university student, may you continue to forge ahead on your literary journey. Qingbei University is proud of you!”

As soon as the post went up, Qingbei students were first to comment.

“Is this the aloof official account I remember? Actually posting for Xu Ze.”

“So it was the school that submitted Xu Ze’s lyric to the extracurricular reading group.”

“Xu Ze again? I love his songs—cheers for our fellow student!”

“Xu’s lyrics are top-notch; the literature department has struck gold!”

“Passing by as a fan of good looks—why didn’t the school post a handsome photo of Xu Ze?”

“Please be restrained, classmate—aren’t there enough photos of him on the forums?”

…

As the premier university of China, Qingbei’s official account boasted over five million followers.

Beyond current students and peer institutions, many alumni, now leaders in various fields, also followed.

After allied schools joined in liking and reposting, alumni began to post as well.

CEO of China Electronics Technology: “Cheers for our junior!”

Medical professor at Capital People’s Hospital: “Cheers for our junior!”

Chief attorney at China Top Elite Law Firm: “Cheers for our junior!”

…

Seeing all this, netizens grew even more excited.

“Wow, Qingbei University actually posted!”

“Our school’s official account reposted too.”

“So did ours.”

“So the CEO of China Electronics is from Qingbei—and he posted too.”

…

Thus, Xu Ze’s popularity exploded across the internet.

Meanwhile, Li Lianfeng was utterly slumped in front of his computer, eyes vacant.

When he saw Qingbei University's official account post, he knew he was finished.

This incident would forever be a mark of shame.

“Damn Luo Haisheng—as head of their literature department, he must have led the effort to submit Xu Ze’s lyric.”

Li Lianfeng opened his Weibo dashboard, watching as his follower count plummeted from 1.5 million to below 800,000; he felt as if he'd aged ten years in an instant.

Earlier that day, before posting, he had 900,000 followers—now even his longtime fans were gone.

And the number kept dropping; he dared not refresh again, fearing his heart couldn't take it.

“Delete it, just delete it,” Li Lianfeng muttered to himself.

He clicked his post and chose to delete it.

Then he deleted all his posts related to "As If in a Dream."

He regretted it deeply; perhaps he should have listened to the president’s advice and deleted the post when he called.

But now, it was too late for regrets.

Meanwhile, Xu Ze and Fatty had finished their CS duel—score: 20 to 1, a complete defeat for Fatty.

Fatty suddenly shouted, “Grandpa, you’re amazing!”

Xu Ze nodded calmly, “My marksmanship is still rusty, let you get one point.”

“No, I’m not talking about your shooting skills,” Fatty was now fully convinced, “I mean your supplementary lyric—it got included in middle school extracurricular readings, even the school’s official account reposted it. The internet’s full of praise for you!”

“Oh?” Xu Ze then checked Weibo. After a while, he sighed.

“I didn’t expect ‘As If in a Dream’ would still not make it into the world’s textbooks, but entering extracurricular readings is a kind of recognition.”

Ten minutes later, Xu Ze quietly updated his Weibo:

“Fear not the road ahead, for there are friends everywhere; who in the world does not know you!”