Chapter Eighty-Six: You Came to Perform, Didn’t You? (Please Subscribe)

The next day, Wang Mo boarded the plane from Demon Capital to the Imperial Capital, accompanied only by Yuan Xiong.

On this trip, Wang Mo seemed far less excited than before, taking everything as it came.

Yuan Xiong, however, showed an unusual degree of nerves.

Wang Mo found it amusing. “Brother Xiong, you’ve been in show business for decades. How can you get so tense just going to meet a university professor?”

“You know nothing,” Yuan Xiong said irritably. “You’re fearless because you’re ignorant. Anyone with a shred of sense knows that, no matter how huge a celebrity’s status in entertainment may be, compared with someone like Old Master He, a titan of letters, they’re nothing.”

“A diva, a movie king—shining on the surface, with tens of millions, even over a hundred million fans—are still just small figures controlled by capital.

“But a literary master? Setting aside his own influence, just through teaching alone he’s trained god knows how many students in his lifetime, and the network behind that reaches beyond anything you can imagine. They may not flaunt themselves in ordinary times, but if you talk about real influence, a mere flick of the hand from them can wipe out a top-tier star.”

“That’s exactly why both the company and I are taking this trip to the Imperial Capital extremely seriously.

“If you can win Old Master He’s regard and build a long-term connection, it will be enough to benefit you for the rest of your life. At the very least, once you return to the entertainment world, no one will dare target you lightly again.”

“Oh.”

Wang Mo nodded.

At the same time, a thought began to stir in his mind. Since men of letters wield such power, it seems he should increase his investment in literature a little in the future.

He still had the collection of one hundred modern poems he had obtained. So far, he had only released one of them; there were ninety-nine left.

Might as well use them all.

If he didn’t, he’d be letting himself down.

...

The Imperial Capital.

Both Wang Mo and Yuan Xiong had been there many times, so they knew their way around.

But going to North-South University was a first.

Yuan Xiong said, “I’m not going in with you. The rest is up to you. Just remember what I told you: when facing a senior like He Zhihang, never put on a self-important front. The best approach is to show your own character while still remaining properly humble and respectful.”

“Got it.”

Wang Mo looked at the fussing, motherly Yuan Xiong. Though he seemed to find the other man long-winded on the surface, warmth still welled in his heart.

It would indeed be inappropriate for Yuan Xiong to accompany him on this visit to He Zhihang.

So Wang Mo had to go alone.

After entering the North-South campus, Wang Mo’s first impression was: huge.

He walked for nearly half an hour and had only crossed a small corner of the campus.

The campus was steeped in student life.

More than ninety percent of the students rode bicycles to and from class.

Wang Mo was not wearing a mask, nor had he deliberately disguised his appearance with makeup. Yet as he walked through campus, hardly anyone paid him any mind. Aside from one or two girls who were drawn by his handsome looks and stole a few extra glances, most of the students treated him as a complete stranger.

“This is the proper spirit of modern university students,” Wang Mo thought with admiration.

No blind chasing after celebrities.

No decadence.

Positive, energetic, full of passion, immersed in the sea of knowledge, constantly improving themselves.

After asking for directions seven or eight times, Wang Mo finally found Victory Garden.

Every building here carried the scent of age: simple, quiet, lush with green.

He arrived at the address He Zhihang had given him and rang the doorbell.

Not long after, the door opened.

He Zhihang, seeing Wang Mo, broke into a radiant smile. “You’re here? Come in and sit down.”

While changing his shoes, Wang Mo handed over the gift bag. “Old Master He, I didn’t bring anything much. There’s just a little tea in here. Please don’t mind it.”

He Zhihang did not take it. “No, no, no. I told you not to bring anything. Take it back.”

Wang Mo smiled. “Please keep it, Old Master He. This is good stuff. The company spent quite a bit of effort getting genuine Da Hong Pao. You can’t even buy it on the market. Since the company paid for it, it would be foolish not to accept it. If you make me take it back, I won’t even be able to appreciate its value, and the tea will just go to waste.”

That was the truth. In preparing a gift for He Zhihang, Yuan Xiong had truly gone to great lengths.

In the end, after hearing that He Zhihang liked tea, he had mobilized the company’s resources and finally managed to buy half a jin of Da Hong Pao.

Yuan Xiong had hinted at its value: six figures or more.

“Fine.”

Seeing Wang Mo insist, He Zhihang no longer pretended and accepted the tea.

Wang Mo glanced around and realized there was no one else. “Old Master He, are you the only one at home?”

He Zhihang smiled. “That’s right. The others all had matters to attend to and went out.”

Wang Mo muttered inwardly.

So this was the visit to meet your granddaughter, and not even a shadow of the granddaughter was here?

Damn it.

He had even prepared several sets of autographed photo prints before coming, thinking he might build some rapport with He Zhihang’s granddaughter. And now he could not even meet the person herself.

All that effort for nothing.

At home, He Zhihang was far more easygoing than he had been the last time Wang Mo saw him. He did not ask Wang Mo about literature, but instead chatted warmly about everyday matters.

As they talked, Wang Mo suddenly remembered something. He quickly took a folder out of his bag. “Old Master He, during my livestream last time, a young man said he hoped to become your student. But since you no longer take students, he wanted me to serve as an intermediary and asked if you would look at his academic achievements. If they meet your standards, please give him a chance.

“I looked over his background. His name is Zhou Ming, and he’s a master’s student at the Imperial Capital’s Fudan University. Since junior high, he has often published literary work in major newspapers and magazines, and several of his articles have won awards. He seems to have a rather solid literary foundation...”

This was the matter Wang Mo had agreed to during the last livestream.

At last, he brought it up.

He Zhihang let out an exclamation and took the folder, putting on his reading glasses to examine it carefully.

He read for a full half hour.

Only at the end did he close the folder, admiration showing on his face. “This Zhou Ming is indeed quite excellent. He would more than qualify even as my student. But I’ve already stopped taking students for three years. How about this... I’ll keep this material for now, and in a couple of days I’ll show it to a few other old fellows in the literature department. If they’re willing to take Tang Ming in, that would be fine too.”

“Okay.”

Wang Mo nodded.

With that outcome, he had fulfilled his promise.

He Zhihang looked at him with a smile. “Come to think of it, you’re helping someone else come ask me to take on a student. Why didn’t you think of yourself? If you want to become my student, I can make an exception for you once.

“But if you become my student, you can’t stay in entertainment anymore. You’d have to leave your current company, and devote all your energy to literary study.”

When he heard the first half of the sentence, Wang Mo’s heart thudded violently.

To become He Zhihang’s student?

That was absolutely like a pie falling from the sky.

But after hearing the second half, Wang Mo could only smile bitterly. “Old Master He, you should know my situation. It’s impossible for me to leave the entertainment industry. First, there are the company contracts; second, even if there were no contract to bind me, my personality wouldn’t allow me to spend decades buried in literary research.”

He Zhihang stared at Wang Mo’s face. After a long while, he sighed. “Every person has their own ambitions, so I won’t press you. The reason I invited you to the Imperial Capital this time was to ask whether you had any intention of further study in literature. If you did, I could help you resolve the contract with your company. You would only need to nod. But now it seems unlikely.”

Wang Mo hurriedly said, “I’ve disappointed you, Old Master He.”

At the same time, he was secretly astonished.

It seemed Yuan Xiong had been right. Someone like He Zhihang, a towering figure of immense stature, had connections that were terrifying beyond measure.

Merely with a nod from Wang Mo, he could help resolve the contract issue.

What kind of influence was that?

Just thinking about it was unbelievable.

“Heh!”

He Zhihang patted his shoulder. “What disappointment? As the saying goes, every trade has its master. Your heart is in entertainment, and if you walk the straight path and stand firm, guiding your fans onto the right road, the positive effect and influence you create in society may well be far greater than if you went into literary research.”

Wang Mo listened attentively.

He Zhihang continued, “Besides, for an entertainment star like you, understanding literature means you can use your influence to promote literature more effectively. Take the poem you wrote last time, Facing the Sea, with Spring Blossoms. Without the effect of the livestream, it would have been far too difficult to create such a huge impact. Even we would not be able to do it. So to some extent, I am very willing for you to stay in entertainment.”

The two of them chatted like this for a while.

Wang Mo said little and listened more.

It was not until a little after one in the afternoon that He Zhihang stood up, changed into a formal Zhongshan suit, and said, “Better lucky than early. Come on, Wang Mo. This afternoon I’m taking you to a literary exchange.”

“A literary exchange?”

Wang Mo asked in surprise. “I... am I really suitable?”

He Zhihang said, “It’s a literary event jointly hosted by several major Imperial Capital universities. Events like this happen almost daily at North-South. Nothing special. I’m taking you so you can experience the cultural atmosphere of this circle, and incidentally I’ll introduce a few of my students to you.”

Only then did Wang Mo let out a breath of relief.

If it was just such a small exchange, then it would be fine for him to attend.

Half an hour later, He Zhihang led Wang Mo to a large lecture hall.

A banner hung at the entrance: Joint Literary Exchange of the Five Major Universities of the Imperial Capital.

Two students were seated by the door, handling sign-ins.

What surprised Wang Mo was that in the adjacent lecture hall, an event was also being held. Its banner read: November Music and Arts Day.

“So this is the daily life of North-South students? Different events every day.”

Wang Mo admired it inwardly.

Just as he was about to follow He Zhihang into the lecture hall, He Zhihang seemed to spot an acquaintance and hurried forward.

That left Wang Mo standing alone at the sign-in desk, awkward beyond words.

After waiting a while,

while Wang Mo stood bored and counting sheep,

a female student suddenly came out of the literary exchange hall. She glanced at Wang Mo, her eyes lighting up with surprise, then looked at his long, elegant fingers and quickly said, “You’re the one here to play the piano today, right? Hurry, come in. We’ve been waiting for you for ages. The literary exchange is about to begin, so before that, just play a few pieces to warm up the atmosphere...”

As she spoke,

she dragged him into the classroom.

At many exchanges and events, someone usually plays the piano before the opening to liven things up. But Wang Mo had never expected the girl before him to mistake him for the pianist.

“I... uh...”

Wang Mo did not react in time.

“There’s no time, so I won’t say much. I’ll leave this to you first. I need to go handle something else...”

The girl acted briskly and decisively, bringing Wang Mo to a piano, giving him a brief instruction or two, and then leaving in a hurry.

That left Wang Mo alone, completely adrift in the wind.

After standing there for a moment, he noticed that everyone else was busy, while he alone stood there dazed.

Moreover, he had no idea where He Zhihang had gone.

Wang Mo’s gaze gradually settled on the piano before him, and then he slowly sat down on the bench, muttering, “Since I’ve got nothing better to do... how about I play a few notes?”