Chapter 87: The Pendant: Qin Yun

“Mr. Qin, our hotel offers the highest-tier service for this room—just pick up the phone and state your request.”

Qin Yun felt it was a waste to have such a large room all to himself, but since it was a rare experience, he accepted it calmly.

“Thank you—I never thought I’d one day stay in a Hilton presidential suite, hahaha.”

Zhong Li smiled: “Mr. Qin, you’re always joking. Uh… could I take a photo with you?”

“Of course, no problem.”

Upon hearing this, Zhong Li immediately handed her phone to Xia Xing: “Xing, take a photo of me with Mr. Qin.”

Then she walked over to Qin Yun’s side, leaning against him like a tiny bird seeking shelter.

At her height, Zhong Li usually stood out in any photo—but right beside Qin Yun, she was completely overshadowed.

Xia Xing rarely saw her cousin act this way and wondered: Could Brother Qin be a top Douyin streamer? Why have I never heard of him? I’ll definitely ask her later.

After taking the photo, Xia Xing and Zhong Li exited the room.

“Big Brother Qin, I need to go visit my grandfather’s place—I’ll come back for lunch and wait for you, okay?”

Qin Yun thought for a moment; he had no plans, so he nodded: “Alright, see you at noon.”

After Qin Yun closed the door, the two sisters walked down the hallway toward the elevator.

Xia Xing couldn’t wait to ask: “Sis, what kind of streamer is Big Brother Qin? Why do you call him Mr. Qin?”

Zhong Li shot him a sideways glance and rubbed his head hard: “You dare spend the night with someone you don’t even know? How bold you are—no wonder Auntie won’t let you wander alone.”

“Oh no, you messed up my hair! Stop it, tell me already!”

Xia Xing tried to wriggle free from Zhong Li’s grasp, but had no way to escape.

Zhong Li sighed, pulled out her phone, opened Qin Yun’s homepage, and handed it over: “Take a look yourself.”

When she took the phone and saw Qin Yun’s follower count, she was stunned.

“Over twenty million… this…”

She used Douyin too, though she had only a few thousand followers—yet she knew exactly what twenty million meant: he was unquestionably among the platform’s top tier.

Zhong Li chuckled softly: “Mr. Qin went from zero to over twenty million followers in less than a month.”

“Gulp!”

Xia Xing was shocked—she scrolled down and saw there were barely any videos, fewer than ten.

She opened the earliest one:

“Hello everyone, I’m Qin Yun, an outdoor adventure enthusiast skilled in instrument repair, vehicle maintenance, photography, and rock climbing. Today, I’ll attempt free solo climbing of Shanzi Cliff—with no safety gear whatsoever…”

As she listened to Qin Yun’s introduction, Xia Xing’s mouth stayed wide open.

On his end, Qin Yun took a selfie of the Qujiang River and posted it to his Moments, then wandered lazily around the room.

Honestly, the 300-square-meter space was truly enormous—its sensation was unprecedented.

Visually, there was no sense of confinement; dozens of people could gather or move about freely without any constraint. The interior design was even more impressive—luxurious materials, curated art pieces, custom furniture, every detail exuding refined opulence.

Plus, being on the top floor offered an unbeatable view, overlooking the entire Qujiang River.

Still, despite how great it was, Qin Yun remained indifferent to penthouses—he preferred standalone villas.

If money weren’t an issue, buying a villa would be quite nice.

After the novelty wore off, Qin Yun simply lay down on the floor-to-ceiling window’s lazy sofa, basking in the sun as he idly scrolled through his phone.

But soon after, Su Huan sent him a WeChat message.

“DJI’s been settled—a one-year contract: 200,000 for live streams, 150,000 for videos.”

Qin Yun instantly perked up: “Impressive—you got a one-year deal?”

Su Huan: “Of course—don’t forget who you’re talking to.”

Qin Yun: “No surprise—you’re still the top student, Su.”

“Why are you still in Quzhou? Didn’t you say you were going to Jingdezhen today?”

Qin Yun explained: “Yesterday I met someone who told me there’s a Lankeshan Poetry Conference in Quzhou tomorrow—I’m interested, so I’ll stay a few more days and leave the day after tomorrow.”

“Is it a beautiful girl?”

“Actually, she’s only slightly less stunning than you.”

Upon reading this, Su Huan couldn’t suppress a smile.

Just as she was about to reply, someone called from afar: “Su Huan, Room 4-2—General Yang wants you.”

Su Huan nodded: “Got it, I’m on my way.”

After replying to Qin Yun—“I’m going to a meeting”—she stood and headed toward the conference room.

After she left, some people in the office began whispering.

“Do you think HR called Su Huan for a reason?”

“Obviously—they think her work performance has been off lately.”

“But why would HR call her? Could she be getting fired?”

“Hmm… unlikely, right?”

“Don’t forget Hu Bo—he’s close to upper management.”

At the office door, Su Huan took a deep breath and walked in. When she saw the figures inside, her heart sank.

Besides HR General Yang, there were her direct superior and the head of the entire department—this wasn’t good.

…

Near noon, a knock came at the door.

Qin Yun let Xia Xing in, but Zhong Li wasn’t there—running such a large hotel must keep her busy.

“Mr. Qin.”

Xia Xing’s first words made Qin Yun smile wryly.

“Just call me Big Brother Qin—why ‘Mr. Qin’?”

“Hehe,” Xia Xing giggled. “I think so too, but Big Brother Qin, you showed such incredible feats in your videos—how could you be so bold, climbing barehanded?”

Qin Yun had heard this so many times, it no longer affected him.

“Nothing special—just practice.”

Xia Xing had changed clothes after returning—her outfit had shifted from cartoon-cute to vintage-soft.

She wore a deep-brown off-shoulder knit top revealing her delicate collarbones, paired with a plaid pleated long skirt, her fair calves half-visible—elegant, retro, yet sweetly gentle.

Though short in stature, the ensemble reduced her cuteness and amplified her grace.

“Big Brother Qin, when are you going live? I’ll send you gifts,” Xia Xing declared with a bold air, as if she intended to become his top supporter.

“I don’t know—I have no live-streaming plans for now,” Qin Yun replied. He’d grown increasingly cautious about streaming; since he’d built his reputation on outdoor adventures, he needed to push toward extremes.

He wasn’t against chatting casually with netizens—but he’d definitely disable gift channels, as it violated his principles.

If all goes as expected, his next stream will be climbing Yaomei Peak.

Though his goal was to help Han Wei, she could never reach the summit—even with his help.

Humans have limits; when those limits are reached, one must transcend them—or death will come.

Once he starts streaming, unless conditions forbid it, he will attempt to summit Yaomei Peak.

Hearing this, Xia Xing felt a small disappointment.

“Big Brother Qin, shall we go get lunch? Or you can eat here—just call and have them deliver.”

Qin Yun thought: “Then call. Haven’t you eaten yet?”

“Got it, I’ll call!”

Xia Xing eagerly rushed to the phone and began listing dishes.

After a minute, she still hadn’t finished. Qin Yun couldn’t take it anymore.

“Hey Xia Xing, are you ordering all this for just the two of us?”

Xia Xing gave him a calm look and added four or five more dishes before stopping.

She hung up and said: “Big Brother Qin, don’t worry—the portions are tiny—I’m afraid you won’t get full.”

When the server rolled in the cart and placed each dish down, Qin Yun finally understood—each portion was only one-fifth the normal size. Elegant, yes—but extremely small.

The advantage? He could sample many different dishes.

After they finished eating, Xia Xing volunteered to take him to explore Quzhou’s ancient city. Since Qin Yun had nothing else to do, he agreed.

…

The Tianyuan Dojo was packed, cheers echoing endlessly.

“What follows ‘I asked the boy under the pine’?”

This was the ninth group of contestants; the previous four had each answered only one question correctly in the first round—“Poetry Sea Contest”—and were eliminated.

Qin Yun, unsure of the answer, quietly looked toward Xia Xing.

Xia Xing smiled confidently: “He went to gather herbs.”

The host nodded: “Correct. Next question: if you answer this one right, you advance to the second round. Listen carefully.”

“What follows ‘The drizzle on the imperial street moistens like grease’?”

Qin Yun vaguely remembered this, but couldn’t recall it immediately—still, as a sidekick, he knew his role.

“The grass looks green from afar, but vanishes up close,” Xia Xing replied instantly.

With both answers correct, advancing to the “Poetry Cauldron Contest” was nearly guaranteed—but final qualification depended on overall scores, so better answers meant better chances.

The host continued: “Third question, still related to Lankeshan: what follows ‘Wang Zhi returned from the rotten axe’?”

“The mountains and rivers have seen many autumns.”

“Correct! Congratulations—you’ve advanced to the Poetry Cauldron Contest. Please wait in your seats.”

Qin Yun and Xia Xiaoxing returned to their seats and exchanged a smile.

Qin Yun whispered in praise: “Impressive. I only vaguely remember ‘The drizzle on the imperial street moistens like grease.’”

“Hehe, my knowledge in this area is rich,” Xia Xiaoxing said without a hint of modesty, gladly accepting Qin Yun’s compliment.

More than thirty teams competed in the semifinals; some were solo, others like theirs had two members—the competition was quite interesting.

Unfortunately, Qin Yun knew very little about poetry; what he’d learned in middle and high school had long been returned to his teachers.

In the end, twenty-four teams advanced from the first round of the semifinals.

The so-called “Poetry Cauldron Contest for Top Rank” was simply a poetry knowledge quiz: each team faced five questions, and answering three correctly advanced them to the third semifinal round—“Pearls Strung with Jade,” where they had to link phrases into a poem, which was even harder.

This time, Xia Xiaoxing and Qin Yun were placed in the fifth group, since the first four teams had been eliminated.

Soon, the first three of the preceding four groups were stumped by the host and eliminated.

“Welcome contestant number nine, Xia Xiaoxing—let’s give him a round of applause.”

After the applause, Qin Yun and Xia Xiaoxing stood before the answer desk.

“Question one: Who wrote ‘Carrying wine up Ke Mountain, the chess path blends flat with the clouds’?”

Qin Yun was baffled, his mind blank. He might have recognized Du Fu or Li Bai, but this was so obscure he could only turn his gaze to Xia Xiaoxing.

Xia Xiaoxing didn’t hesitate: “Zhu Xi.”

Qin Yun suddenly understood—he knew Zhu Xi, but when had he written this poem?

“Congratulations. Second question: Which of the following lines has nothing to do with Go? A: ‘We made an appointment, but he didn’t come till midnight; idly tapping chess pieces, they fell like petals on the lamp.’ B: ‘On the board, idle battles rage; people judge right from wrong.’ C: ‘Spring wind again greens the southern riverbank—when will the bright moon shine on my return?’”