No wonder even a fool like Gao Yan praised the second line of the couplet.
Gao Yan and Zhou Zheng were stunned. Gao Yan glared angrily at Zhou Zheng and roared, "Damn it! Didn't you say you couldn't come up with this couplet? How the hell did he come up with it?"
"I... I just didn't think he'd seen this couplet before! Brother Yan, don't worry, watch me. He probably only saw this one occasionally, he wouldn't have seen the others. I remember a lot of them. Watch me!" Zhou Zheng, covered in cold sweat, hurriedly assured Gao Yan.
"Damn it! If he says that again, forget BYD, I'll ride you like a horse!" Gao Yan was furious and started speaking recklessly.
Zhao Lihua glanced at the two of them with disdain. What trash! Their language was so vulgar, they were just trying to seduce someone! She should have known better than to come. Disgusting!
"Hey Li! Listen up, if you've got the guts, come up with the matching couplet below!" Zhou Zheng said, glaring angrily at Li Yang with a sinister expression.
Zhao Lihua also widened her beautiful eyes and looked on with interest.
"A thousand bamboo trees stand before the gate!" Zhou Zheng said.
"I have a vast collection of books at home," Li Yang said lazily.
"The door faces a thousand short bamboo trees," Zhou Zheng said with a gloomy expression.
"A family with ten thousand volumes of books is too long." Li Yang curled his lip in disdain. Too simple.
“A thousand bamboo trees stand before the gate, but none are tall enough!” Zhou Zheng’s face turned ashen.
"A collection of ten thousand books will last forever." Li Yang felt even more bored.
"You... damn it! Even an ox can't outrun a donkey!" Zhou Zheng was getting a little anxious and started cursing.
"Chickens and ducks fly by, but they can't compare to eagles." Li Yang remained calm and composed.
"You...I...a reed on the wall, top-heavy and shallow-rooted!" Zhou Zheng was at a loss for words.
"Damn, everyone seems to know this. 'Bamboo shoots in the mountains, sharp-mouthed, thick-skinned, and hollow inside.' Have you run out of ideas?" Li Yang teased Zhou Zheng after answering.
"You're awesome! Even a monkey can saw through a tree like that!" Zhou Zheng couldn't take it anymore and started cursing. And he did curse quite elegantly.
"Damn it! A horse is stuck in the mud, how can this beast get its hoof out? You son of a bitch, have the guts to argue again?" Li Yang stopped eating his noodles and glared angrily at Zhou Zheng with his temper flaring up.
Zhao Lihua, who had been watching the spectacle with a chuckle, finally laughed, her bright eyes sparkling as she stared at Li Yang.
"Damn it!" Zhou Zheng yelled, then plopped down on the ground, too ashamed to say another word.
"Get the hell up! You piece of trash! Get up and kill him!" Gao Yan felt utterly humiliated, his face turning ashen with rage, his lungs practically bursting. He glared venomously at Li Yang, thinking, "You little brat, just you wait. You dare make me look bad in front of the school beauty? I'll show you what I'm made of!"
Li Yang scoffed dismissively and sat down to continue eating his noodles. Damn, the noodles were all soggy.
"Excuse me, you must be Li Yang from Class 3, Grade 11. I'm Zhao Lihua from Class 1, Grade 11. Judging from the couplet you just composed, you clearly have a deep understanding and knowledge of couplets. How about I give you a couplet and you explain its meaning?" Zhao Lihua said with a smile to Li Yang.
Gao Yan was taken aback, but then his mood improved. He thought to himself, "It seems that Zhou Zheng isn't entirely useless. The beauty is already on my side and has stood up for me, isn't she?"
Looking at Zhao Lihua's smiling face, Li Yang had to admit that this girl had the potential to become a vixen who could bring ruin to the country. Even now, at seventeen or eighteen years old, her smile gave Li Yang a sense of disorientation.
However, Li Yang instantly sobered up, curled his lip in disdain, and thought to himself, "Even the best flower will be worse than dog poop if it's mixed with dog poop."
"Just come out." Li Yang simply put down his chopsticks. Anyway, he was in good health, so even if he missed a meal or two, it probably wouldn't be a big deal.
Zhao Lihua saw Li Yang's disdain as arrogance, but she didn't care much. After all, scholars are all aloof, and scholars with real talent are even more aloof.
“Listen carefully, the first line is: two, three, four, five; the second line is: six, seven, eight, nine. The horizontal scroll reads: North and South!” Zhao Lihua pursed her red lips and looked at Li Yang with a hint of smugness.
"Did you hear that, Li Yang! If you can't explain yourself, then kneel down and beg for mercy! Li Hua won't hold it against you!" Gao Yan jumped in to chime in.
"Call me Zhao Lihua." Zhao Lihua glanced at Gao Yan with displeasure.
Chapter 15: The Femme Fatale (Part 2)
Gao Yan felt embarrassed and lost face, but he didn't dare to vent his anger on Zhao Lihua. Instead, he directed his anger at Li Yang.
Li Yang was annoyed. "Damn it, why are you dogs fighting and dragging me into this?"
"If you can remember this couplet, regardless of your purpose, I think you're a decent person. It's clearly a satirical couplet about modern times, expressing pity for the common people, just using a subtle and understated style. The first line is missing one character, and the second line is missing ten, which is precisely a satire of social inequality and the common people's 'lack of food and clothing.' The horizontal scroll reads 'North and South,' meaning 'nothing.' This couplet is indeed very relevant to reality. I wonder if my interpretation is acceptable?"
Li Yang still considered Zhao Lihua to be on the same side as Gao Yan and his group. It was just that Zhao Lihua couldn't stand Li Yang defeating her side, so she stood up for him.
Little did they know that Zhao Lihua was only giving them a perfunctory response because of the literary society's funding issues; she was not one of them and actually disliked them intensely.
The reason they challenged each other to a duel was simply on a whim, driven by a desire to test their skills against Li Yang. However, neither of them clearly understood the other's meaning.
Zhao Lihua's beautiful eyes brightened even more, and she clapped her hands and smiled, "Wonderful! Excellent! A very good explanation. I never imagined that there was such a talented person in our No. 1 High School. I'm really not doing a good job as the president of the literary society. I wonder if Li Yang would be interested in becoming a member of the literary society in the future?"
Gao Ya was stunned. Damn, what the hell does Li Yang know? He just knows a few couplets! And you treat him like this? Damn it, what happened to all those thousands of dollars I sponsored?!
Li Yang had no idea that Zhao Lihua genuinely wanted to recruit him into the literary society. Besides, he disliked these privileged children, especially Gao Yan and his group, and thought Zhao Lihua was just giving them a way out.
I won't do it!
"Sorry! I don't have that kind of talent! I'm not into pretentious writing! But I do have a couplet, I wonder if any of you dare to take it off?" Li Yang was also a little angry. Damn it, even a meal can turn into such a mess. Being kept questioning by these people, I have to fight back.
Zhao Lihua's expression changed slightly. To be honest, the fact that she could maintain such excellent academic performance while also running the literary society so successfully was a testament to her ambition and pride. Furthermore, due to her noble birth and unparalleled beauty, countless outstanding boys pursued her, eager to catch her eye. Today, for the first time, she took the initiative to invite a boy to join the literary society—something that had previously required countless schemes and tricks to obtain her approval.
I never expected that my first attempt to ask for help would be rejected.
Zhao Lihua, as expected of Zhao Lihua, had seen many such situations. She was only slightly taken aback before calmly smiling and saying, "Of course. You can pay."
"Alright! With hands it's twist, without hands it's ugly. Remove the twisted hand, add 'woman' and it's 'girl'. In Longzhong there are ugly girls, you can't find a girl like that in a hundred miles. Haha... You eat and drink well, I'm leaving!" Li Yang said, throwing down the money and walking out of the restaurant.
Gao Yan and the others were left trembling with anger. Gao Yan was about to smash the table and benches in his rage when he turned around and saw Zhao Lihua's face was pale, her brows were furrowed, and her expression was extremely unpleasant.
He hurriedly asked with concern, "Li... Zhao Lihua, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"