Peking University.
The auditorium was packed with people. There were no empty seats.
Zhang Ye came out of the restroom with his pass and entered. The opening speech had already ended. He saw a SARFT Leader put down his microphone and walk down the stage. Following that, two hosts went up. They were people Zhang Ye had never seen before. They were probably students from Peking University.
"Leaders, guests, good day to you all."
"Welcome to the annual Beijing Couplet Competition."
"As a host, I feel very honored. I feel like my body is glowing."
"Are you born in the year of the firefly? I've known you for so many years, and only now do I know you have this ability? "
The lines were clearly pre-arranged. The two hosts ridiculed each other for a while to liven up the atmosphere before announcing the rules of the competition, "Before the opening dance begins, let us first introduce the rules of the finals." He pointed to a long row of seats right below the rostrum. There were about fifty of them, and on the side, there were three judges' seats. They were the three judges for the preliminaries. "This is the contestant's seat, and that is the judge's seat. The finals will be conducted in a race to answer. The three judges will each come up with a question, and then the fifty contestants will each come up with a couplet. The first person to answer and receive the unanimous approval of the three judges will be considered a valid answer, and one point will be awarded. If the contestant does not come up with a couplet after answering … one point will be deducted. It is worth noting that there is a new rule this year. If the contestant's couplet cannot be matched within the allotted time, then that contestant will receive ten points, and the contestants with the highest points will be ranked in the top three."
This year's rules were slightly different from the previous year's, but not by much. The only difference was that there were some adjustments to the points and deductions.
"Next is the opening dance."
"A round of applause to welcome the Beijing Couplet Federation's dancers and teachers!"
An ancient melody sounded. A few dance artists dressed in ancient costumes appeared. Their long sleeves fluttered in the wind. The moment they appeared, they attracted the cheers of the audience!
Zhang Ye bent his back and quickly walked to his seat in the middle of the front row, "Please pass. Thank you."
His ticket was given by Tian Bin. However, as the tickets given to the television stations were concentrated, everyone was next to each other and were in the same area.
When Tian Bin's wife saw Zhang Ye, she asked curiously, "Teacher Zhang, why didn't you go backstage? Didn't the contestants go over? "
Big Sis Zhou asked, "That's right, Little Zhang. What are you doing here?"
Hu Fei, Xiao Lu, and the others also looked over. "The finals are about to begin."
Zhang Ye waved it off and found an empty seat to sit down. "I won't be participating. Let them compete."
Hou Ge exclaimed, "What? Why didn't he participate? You have such a deep foundation in couplets and such a good opportunity, why did you … "
The old leader, Zhao Guozhou, also frowned, "Little Zhang, this isn't your style?"
Xiaofang was even more anxious than Zhang Ye, "Teacher Zhang, you go! Hurry up and go! How can I not go? "
Zhang Ye told the truth, "I was blinded during the preliminaries. It was just a coincidence. I can't do it in the finals. They're all experts, so I won't embarrass myself."
Originally, Zhang Ye had wanted to try his hand at the finals as he wanted to grab this opportunity to make a name for himself. But when he heard the rules of the finals the moment he stepped through the door, he decided not to go up and embarrass himself. He might as well leave a mysterious impression of him showing off his prowess in the preliminaries. Why? Why didn't he even try? It was because there were too many questions. He had never heard of most of the couplets in this world. It wasn't that he couldn't answer 100% of them, but at least 80% of them were unanswered. He couldn't use his world's culture as a foundation. Even if he went and they happened to come up with a few questions that Zhang Ye had heard of before, it would be useless. If he couldn't get into the top three, everything would be for naught. He might as well not go up. It would save him a chance for the Beijing Writers' Association to suppress him. He wouldn't give them an excuse to use the rankings to criticize him!
As for whether giving up would damage his reputation? If not for the preliminaries, he definitely would. However, Zhang Ye had staged an earth-shattering couplet duel with Elder Qian in the preliminaries and had even won. Hence, even if Zhang Ye did not participate in the finals, his reputation would only increase and not decrease.
"Little Zhang!"
"Aiyah, you …"
Many of his old friends and colleagues tried to persuade him.
However, Zhang Ye only shook his head. He was helpless. It was just that others did not understand the situation.
Seeing that Zhang Ye really had no intention of participating, everyone could only feel sorry for him. They did not say anything else.
Opening dance.
Reading of Chinese classics.
Ancient classic couplets written by famous calligraphers.
The performance lasted for a full hour. It was rich and colorful. It was very enjoyable to watch.
At this moment, the entire event was being broadcasted live on the internet. One or two cameras were placed around the podium. There were also two cameras that were suspended. One was above the podium, and the other was behind the audience. Compared to a typical professional television station's live broadcast, this was not considered professional. There were very few cameras, but considering that it was a live broadcast, it was considered pretty good.
At this moment, the performance ended.
A male and female host went on stage.
"Hello everyone. I believe that the performance just now was enough to satisfy many of you. However, what's even more satisfying is yet to come. I hereby announce the start of the finals. Let me first introduce the judges for this Beijing Couplet Competition …" Every time she announced a name, a judge would walk out from backstage. He would take his seat at the judges' table amidst the audience's applause. Following that, the female host continued to announce, "Next, I will announce the names of the contestants who have passed the preliminaries to enter the finals. Lu Fang, Big Thunder, Shen Anbang, Zhou Yan …" The last name, "… Zhang Ye."
Suddenly, it seemed like something had happened.
A staff member with a blue pass on his chest ran out. It was obvious that he was from the Writers' Association. The Writers' Association's pass was blue, while the Couplet Organization's pass was white. It was different for different organizations. Following that, a few staff members from the Couplet Organization and the Writers' Association came out one after another. They surrounded the three judges, as if they were discussing something with them. Following that, someone made a pause gesture to the host onstage, as if to let the host stall for time.
"Eh?"
"What's the matter?"
"Why is the atmosphere so tense?"
"What's the matter? They're even doing a live broadcast. Why aren't they starting the finals? "
The cameras hurriedly moved away, but the audience could see it clearly. They were all engaged in a heated discussion.
The male host reacted quickly, "This year's finals are the focus of everyone's attention. I wonder who will be the champion this year. Last year's champion, Professor Wang, is not feeling well due to his advanced age. Unfortunately, he did not participate in this year's competition. This year, I'm betting on last year's runner-up, Teacher Big Thunder. What about you?"
The female host chuckled, "I'm betting on Teacher Zhang Ye."
"Why?" From the male host's expression, it was clear that he did not know who Zhang Ye was. However, since his partner had said so, he could only pretend that he knew him.
The female host blinked, "There's no reason. It's because I'm Teacher Zhang Ye's fan. Other than 'The Song of the Stormy Petrel', I can memorize every one of his poems."
The male host was amused, "But this is a couplet competition."
"So what? It doesn't hinder me from worshipping my idol!" The female host said matter-of-factly.
"I only just realized that you also chase stars!" The male host was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
The two of them tried to stall for time and change the topic.
Offstage, Xiao Lu giggled, "Look at our Teacher Zhang's popularity! He has fans all over Beijing! "
"That's right. The female host is your fan." Hou Ge nudged Zhang Ye with his elbow, "Teacher Zhang, are you sure you won't be participating? You will disappoint your fans! "
Zhang Ye was thinking that he wanted to go.
Five minutes passed. The audience was already getting impatient.
The host could not drag it on any longer. He looked offstage and said, "Teacher Judges, can we begin?"
Below the stage, a staff member wearing a blue badge saw the situation and quickly stepped onto the stage. He took the microphone and said, "I'm sorry, there's a situation here. Someone just reported that a contestant violated the rules and cheated, so please wait patiently for a moment. We're still discussing it."
"Cheating?"
"Who is it?"
"What cheating?"
The audience began to chatter.
The Beijing Writers' Association employee spoke quickly, "The person who was reported was Zhang Ye."
A few of the judges' faces flashed a hint of sternness, especially Elder Qian. He looked coldly at the Writers' Association employee who had spoken without their approval. The punishment was not out yet. Who allowed you to announce the name of the contestant who was reported? Who allowed you to say it?
The female host was also stunned. She had just mentioned that she thought highly of Teacher Zhang Ye.
However, the Writers' Association employee did not seem to notice the reprimanding gazes of the Couplet Organization's Leader and a few judges. He carried on casually, "Because during the preliminaries, Zhang Ye had been discussing the questions with his friends. Someone even heard his friends giving him advice and helping him solve the questions. After receiving the report, we checked the video recordings and found that there was indeed such a situation!"
Elder Qian was infuriated, "Let him come down! What the heck! "
A few people from the Couplet Organization also had ugly expressions. A Leader from the Couplet Organization immediately said to a Leader from the Writers' Association, "It hasn't even been decided. Who allowed you to say it? Ah? "
The Writers' Association Leader threw up his hands, "I didn't allow him to go."
The woman from the Couplet Organization who was responsible for receiving Zhang Ye said, "Get him down here!" She even used vulgarities!
The Beijing Writers' Association Leader frowned, but he still let his employee come down. However, what needed to be said had been said, so there was no point in coming down!
With the shocking words, this matter blew up!
Whether it was the live audience or the people watching the live broadcast, everyone heard it!
"Zhang Ye?"
"Zhang Ye cheated?"
"Did his friends help him with the preliminaries?"
"Hai, I knew it. How could a person match the second half of such a miraculous couplet in such a short period of time? There must have been someone helping him!"
"Such a person still came to participate?"
"Right, quickly revoke Zhang Ye's spot in the finals!"
"I thought that Zhang Ye was very good, but I never expected that he relied on others to enter the finals!"
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