The Strong Female Lead Versus The Most Miserable Male Lead - Chapter 269

Chapter 269: Chapter 267: Poetry Contest 3

Plum blossom?

After the ninth contestant finished posing the question, he kept staring at contestant number twenty at Earth Bar, noticing the hesitation.

The ninth contestant had a tense joy on his face. Had he just hit her weak spot?

Nian Shutong did indeed hesitate. She was pondering which of the myriad plum blossom poems she had memorized to use.

They all felt so well written!

Just as she hesitated, both Mr. Yu, who was constantly observing Earth Bar, and Fu Yunhe, who was in the audience, watched Nian Shutong nervously.

Mr. Yu, “There shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

Fu Yunhe, “With so much prize money, why the hesitation?”

All these were momentary events, magnified by human emotions, appearing particularly slow.

It hadn’t been a minute, and contestant number twenty at Earth Bar began.

Her finger traced letters on the screen. As she wrote each character, it appeared on the central large screen.

“Plum blossoms mark the wall corner, blooming alone against the cold, from afar know they’re not snow, for a hidden fragrance drifts.”

Four lines, twenty characters.

Nian Shutong swiftly finished.

As she inscribed the last character, contestant nine across had a face pale as death but managed a resigned smile.

Lost.

There was no need for judgment; he knew he had lost.

Sure enough, after both poems were submitted, the results were quickly announced: number twenty gained a point, number nine lost a point, and was officially eliminated from the competition.

Fu Yunhe, in the stands, even though he didn’t know much about poetry, felt that Nian Shutong could win.

She was not someone who would let ten million slip away easily.

The competition continued.

The ninth contestant’s challenge, like a signal, led to a series of ongoing challenges for Earth Bar’s contestant number twenty.

A challenge from contestant three, the topic: mountains.

Earth Bar quickly provided their response.

“Faced from the side a ridge, from an angle a peak, far and near, high and low, each different. I do not recognize the true face of Mt. Lu, for I am in it.”

Win.

Contestant seven’s challenge, on the theme of winter.

“A thousand mountains without a bird, ten thousand paths without a footprint. A lone boat, an old man in a straw raincoat, fishing alone in the snowy river.”

Win.

Contestant sixteen’s challenge, the theme: peach blossoms.

“April on earth ends in fragrance, in the mountain temple peach blossoms begin to bloom. Bereft of spring, nowhere can she be found, unknowingly, you’ve wandered into this scene.”

Win.

Number nineteen’s challenge, win.

Number two’s challenge, win.

…

Nian Shutong was just defending her position, undefeated in any round and smoothly accumulating ten points, advancing to the finals.

The final four advancing were Zhao Cheng, Miss Zhe Liu, Li Xian, and Earth Bar.

At this point at the arena, only four stages remained, each located in different directions.

Mr. Yu entered the arena and announced the final rule.

“The final round will be themed on ‘madness.’ Every audience member here has one vote, which they can give to their favorite poem. Each judge’s vote counts as fifty, with the totals included in the final count.”

After announcing the rules, Mr. Yu stepped back first, leaving the four competitors time to create.

The four individuals, Zhao Cheng was pondering with his eyes shut, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

Miss Zhe Liu maintained her smile persona, airily elegant as if from ancient times. She had given up inside, certain she would be last today.

Making it this far was good enough for some time in her livestream.

So, she wasn’t worried at all, and the relaxed expression on her face wasn’t feigned.

Li Xian, maintaining his perfect smile, beamed confidently upon hearing the topic.

He actually began to write.

The fans in the stands, all biting their lips excitedly, their young master was too incredible!

The judges, however, knew a bit more; there was indeed something special about it, and it must be said, luck is also a form of strength.

By that time, Li Xian had already penned his poem.

Pondering upon Zhang Jian at the gate, bracing death momentarily for Du Gen. I myself brandish my sword towards the heavens and laugh, leaving my courage and loyalty between the two Kunlun Mountains.

In the first two sentences, everyone was still a bit puzzled, what did it mean?

But when the last two sentences were revealed, the stroke of genius was clear.

The people at the judges’ table, with a higher cultural heritage, understood a bit more; this poem was likely to win.

Mr. Yu was also somewhat shaken, but he still harbored some hope for Earth Bar.

Li Xian was a person Mr. Yu had never particularly liked, but if there truly was no poetry to surpass this piece, he couldn’t unjustly criticize.

Meanwhile, two people in the field had slightly different thoughts.

Miss Zhe Liu: Should we give up?

Nian Shutong/Earth Bar: I’ve memorized this poem before.

Feeling insecure, Nian Shutong asked Daodao to check if the poetry she planned to recite was already on Star Network. After reconfirming several times it wasn’t, she still felt a bit uneasy.

Li Xian, who had finished writing, was however relaxed and even held a confident conviction that he had the winning ticket.

This poem, naturally, wasn’t his work; he had happened upon an ancient book that was presumably a notebook containing three poems. He had used the previous two for another competition and secured a place at the interstellar university.

The last one was used here, hoping to make his name more renowned.

He himself felt fortunate; luck was on his side.

There wasn’t much time left for the remaining three individuals; Miss Zhe Liu was the first to give up, apologizing with an ancient bow before quietly stepping down.

People around her didn’t blame her and instead showed understanding.

After all, who could spontaneously come up with so many poems?

Another, Zhao Cheng, after much deliberation and upon seeing Li Xian’s poem, also decided to withdraw.

“Zhao Cheng knows he is no match and chooses not to embarrass himself any further.”

Zhao Cheng also withdrew.

Suddenly, all eyes were on Earth Bar; would you withdraw too?

Nian Shutong couldn’t care less about others’ stares; she just wanted to ensure that the poem she would bring out hadn’t been used before.

After making sure, Nian Shutong began to write.

“The roc rises with the wind in one day, soaring directly up ninety thousand miles…”

“Even the eldest Xuan fears the younger generation; no man can remain young forever.”

Li Bai comes out, other immortals retreat.

In terms of the word ‘madness’, who could surpass the true immortal poet, Li Bai?

With this poem, the superiority was established instantly.

The live voting began.

Li Xian’s face held a grotesque grimace, how could this be happening?

No matter, there was still a chance, his fan base was the largest after all.

He thought so not without reason, his fan count was indeed the highest.

But he overlooked one thing, and that was the fan count of Little River Live was even larger.

Little River Live, Earth Bar, Text Mover’s fans, the combined forces of these three, all supported Earth Bar.

Additionally, there were some at the scene, whose temporary defections and always-neutral stand added up to no small number of votes for Earth Bar.

When the final vote count was completed, Mr. Yu, holding the data, began to announce.

“Li Xian, the final vote count, 37,892,637 votes.”

This number was undeniably high.

Li Xian’s face began to show a modest smile, and upon close inspection, one could see his pride.

But the next words from Mr. Yu, made his smile freeze on his face.

“Earth Bar, 72,839,764 votes.”

“Impossible!”