Chapter 84: The Black Hole of Involution

Xiao Sizi walked onto the stage.

The homeroom teacher, Teacher Li, stepped forward, holding a Tablet Computer in her hand.

"Student Mingda."

"Where is your accompaniment music USB drive? I'll play it for you."

Xiao Sizi shook her head. "No instrument is needed." This book is first published on Tiantian Read Novel Library, ttk. t. w, extremely reliable, providing you with error-free chapters and non-misordered chapter reading experience.

"Teacher, please trouble you to get me a table."

"I need paper, I need a brush, I need ink."

Teacher Li paused for a moment. She turned and walked toward the backstage.

Soon, two male teachers carried a long wooden table and placed it in the center of the stage.

They spread a white felt mat. They set out an inkstone, Xuan paper, and a row of brushes.

Xiao Sizi walked behind the table.

She spread her feet, shoulder-width apart.

She crossed her hands, placing them flat on her abdomen, and slightly tucked her chin.

She opened her mouth.

Airflow sank from her chest into her dantian, burst through her throat, and her tongue pressed against the roof of her mouth.

"Vast and boundless is the Taiji, immense and endless are the Nine Provinces."

The moment the first line left her lips, the noisy chatter inside the broadcast hall instantly vanished.

"The Great Unity of the Imperial Academy, the King's transformation knows no bounds. The Four Seas submit, and the Ten Thousand States pay homage..."

Xiao Sizi closed her eyes.

In the early years of the Great Tang.

Emperor Taizong pacified the Four Seas, and the great Confucian scholar Wei Zheng wrote this "Ode to Pacifying the Seas" in Taiji Hall.

The original manuscript is hidden in the Inner Palace Forbidden Pavilion.

In later generations, continuous warfare caused this ode to vanish completely.

Xiao Sizi's voice echoed throughout the broadcast hall.

The parents in the audience did not understand those archaic and obscure words.

But they could understand the awe-inspiring majesty that permeated that tone of voice.

Zhou Na's hand holding the Mobile Phone froze in mid-air, the screen stuck on the recording interface.

Xiao Sizi recited the final line.

She opened her eyes again, her gaze sweeping across the audience below.

Facing the long wooden table.

She lifted a large wolf-hair brush from the brush stand.

The brush tip dipped into the inkstone, soaking up thick ink.

She gently scraped off the excess ink along the edge of the inkstone.

Her left hand held down the edge of the Xuan paper, while her right hand hovered her wrist.

Using the center-tip technique, hiding the start and protecting the end of the stroke.

Between lifting and pressing, the ink seeped into the fibers of the Xuan paper.

Over these two months, Lin Xuan had bought her Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy copies. The Great Tang princess possessed terrifyingly formidable imitation talent, perfectly fusing the bone and structure of the modern-developed Yan Style with her own imperial nobility.

Horizontal lines were level, vertical lines were straight, and the strokes were extremely thick.

The start of the stroke was like a falling stone, the end of the stroke was like a pause.

Four large characters occupied the entire sheet of Xuan paper.

Xiao Sizi put down the brush and stepped back one pace.

The teacher in charge of the camera pointed the lens at the table.

On the huge liquid crystal screen behind the stage, that sheet of Xuan paper appeared simultaneously.

— The Ocean Accepts All Rivers!

A deathly silence fell over the modern broadcast hall.

Everyone was trapped in that immense cultural oppression, forgetting to react.

Zhou Na gritted her teeth, her face turning iron-green.

She suddenly stood up and roared, "What kind of talent is this?"

"Mumbling a bunch of things no one understands."

"Writing a few characters with a brush. In this day and age, even old men setting up stalls by the roadside can write."

"My Zitao studies international art."

Lin Xuan left his seat.

He strode down the aisle toward the front row.

"Then do you know the piece your son played missed three chords, and the pitch was entirely wrong?"

Lin Xuan pointed at the clothes on Wang Zitao.

"Also, a tailcoat is formal evening social attire; wearing a tailcoat on stage at two in the afternoon violates the most basic international dress code etiquette."

Lin Xuan turned his head, looking at those four large characters on the stage screen.

"You spent money, you bought instruments and fabric, but you did not buy upbringing and common sense."

Lin Xuan looked back at Zhou Na, his words sharp as knives.

"True educational foundation is not arrogance piled up with money; it is the inheritance of the nation's backbone."

"That fu on the stage, those characters, carry the cultural backbone of thousands of years."

"Bought with money,

it's a joke."

"Besides, since your child should 【do what he can】, why force him to do things he's neither good at nor likes?"

Hearing this, Zhou Na instinctively looked at Wang Zitao beside her.

That chubby face was indeed filled with embarrassment and grievance.

In the audience, some parent first clapped their hands.

Immediately, the applause was like a boulder hitting water, stirring up a thousand waves.

Thunderous applause exploded inside the broadcast hall.

Teachers and parents, all staring at Xiao Sizi on stage, clapped wildly.

Zhou Na's chest heaved violently, her cheeks red as if bleeding.

She grabbed the Hermes handbag on the chair, grabbed Wang Zitao's arm, and dragged him out forcefully.

"Let's go!"

The two left in a rage.

When the cultural performance ended, as Lin Xuan held Xiao Sizi's hand preparing to leave.

Passing the back door of the broadcast hall, the corridor was dim.

A sharp female voice exploded behind them.

"Stop!"

Zhou Na, wearing high heels, stepped forward and blocked Lin Xuan's path.

She hadn't left directly; she had been waiting for the performance to end, for fewer people, to find Lin Xuan again.

"What classes did you sign her up for?"

"Which national studies master's private tutor? How much per lesson?"

She didn't believe a single man could raise a child with such depth.

He must have spent a fortune to find a reclusive grandmaster.

She needed a price to soothe her shattered sense of superiority.

Lin Xuan spoke slowly: "No classes. Family elders taught by example."

"Impossible!" Zhou Na raised her voice, even cracking, "I checked all the national studies institutions in the city."

"None can teach such a rare, one-of-a-kind ancient fu!"

"What high-and-mighty act is this? How much money did you actually spend?"

Lin Xuan lowered his eyelids, finding the person before him pitiable.

"Cultural depth is the backbone of character, precipitated over generations into the very blood and bones."

"Measuring it with money only reveals your own lack."

Lin Xuan stepped past her and walked on.

Zhou Na froze in place.

Watching Lin Xuan lead the girl away, a lump of air choked her throat, unable to be spat out.

The black sedan merged into the evening rush hour traffic.

Xiao Sizi sat in the passenger seat.

She watched the flashing red taillights outside the window, then turned her head.

"Brother Lin Xuan, why did that fat boy's mother insist on competing?"

Lin Xuan held the steering wheel with both hands, his gaze fixed on the road ahead.

"Because in this era, falling behind means being pushed down. We call this Involution."

Xiao Sizi tilted her head, chewing on those two words.

"In the Great Tang, official posts were mostly recommended by great aristocratic families."

"A commoner's son, farming for a lifetime, his grandson would likely still be farming."

Lin Xuan's tone was calm, yet laced with cruel truth.

"But in the modern age, the state has drawn a line for everyone, called the Gaokao."

"One exam, judging by scores."

"Whoever has the higher score can go to a top-tier academy."

"After graduation, they can enter the best firms and government offices, earning extremely high salaries."

Lin Xuan glanced sideways at Xiao Sizi.

"To win a single point over others in this exam hall, thousands upon thousands of parents will sell their pots and irons."

"Buying a dilapidated house near a good school costs tens of millions."

"Signing children up for various cram schools, studying from morning to night on weekends." "Just like that woman today, spending money to buy a tuxedo and hire a private tutor."

"All to let her son climb higher in the sea of people in the future."

Xiao Sizi's eyes widened.

"Is everyone striving desperately?" she asked softly.

Lin Xuan nodded. "Yes, everyone."

"The lower class wants to cross class barriers; the middle class fears falling to the bottom."

"Ten million people squeezing across a single-log bridge."

"This desire, where everyone is climbing upward, pushes the entire nation to run forward like a madman."

Click to begin the wondrous journey of "The Sickly Little Sizi Knocks on the Door, and I Become the God of Ten Thousand Dynasties."

"Measuring it with money only reveals your scarcity."

Lin Xuan stepped past her and strode forward.

Zhou Na froze in place.

Watching Lin Xuan walk away with the girl, a lump of air choked her throat, impossible to spit out.

The black sedan merged into the evening rush-hour traffic.

Xiao Sizi sat in the passenger seat.

She watched the flashing red taillights outside the window, then turned her head.

"Brother Lin Xuan, why did that fat boy's mother insist on competing to see who was better?"

Lin Xuan gripped the steering wheel with both hands, his gaze fixed straight ahead on the road conditions.

"Because in this era, falling behind means being scrolled down. We call this Involution."

Xiao Sizi tilted her head, chewing on those two words.

"In Great Tang, official positions were mostly recommended by great aristocratic families."

"The commoner's son plows the fields his whole life, and his grandson will most likely still be plowing fields."

Lin Xuan spoke calmly, yet his tone revealed a cruel truth.

"But in the modern age, the state has drawn a line for everyone called the College Entrance Examination."

"One exam, judged by scores."

"Whoever has the higher score can go to a top-tier academy."

"After graduation, they can enter the finest merchant houses or government offices and receive extremely high pay."

Lin Xuan glanced sideways at Xiao Sizi.

"To win just one point over others in this exam hall, thousands upon thousands of parents will sell their pots and irons."

"Buying a dilapidated house near a good school can cost tens of millions."

"Enrolling children in various tutoring classes, studying from morning till night on weekends. Just like that woman today, spending money to buy a tuxedo and hire a private tutor."

"It is all to let her son climb upward in the sea of people in the future."

Xiao Sizi's eyes widened.

"Is everyone striving desperately?" she asked softly.

Lin Xuan nodded. "Yes, everyone."

"The bottom tier wants to cross class barriers; the middle tier fears falling to the bottom."

"Ten million people squeeze onto a single log bridge."

"This desire, where everyone is climbing upward, pushes the entire nation to run forward like a madman."

"Cultural heritage is the backbone precipitated in the bones and blood over several generations."

"Measuring it with money only reveals your scarcity."

Lin Xuan stepped past her and strode forward.

Zhou Na froze in place.

Watching Lin Xuan walk away with the girl, a lump of air choked her throat, impossible to spit out.

The black sedan merged into the evening rush-hour traffic.

Xiao Sizi sat in the passenger seat.

She watched the flashing red taillights outside the window, then turned her head.

"Brother Lin Xuan, why did that fat boy's mother insist on competing to see who was better?"

Lin Xuan gripped the steering wheel with both hands, his gaze fixed straight ahead on the road conditions.

"Because in this era, falling behind means being scrolled down. We call this Involution."

Xiao Sizi tilted her head, chewing on those two words.

"In Great Tang, official positions were mostly recommended by great aristocratic families."

"The commoner's son plows the fields his whole life, and his grandson will most likely still be plowing fields."

Lin Xuan spoke calmly, yet his tone revealed a cruel truth.

"But in the modern age, the state has drawn a line for everyone called the College Entrance Examination."

"One exam, judged by scores."

"Whoever has the higher score can go to a top-tier academy."

"After graduation, they can enter the finest merchant houses or government offices and receive extremely high pay."

Lin Xuan glanced sideways at Xiao Sizi.

"To win just one point over others in this exam hall, thousands upon thousands of parents will sell their pots and irons."

"Buying a dilapidated house near a good school can cost tens of millions."

"Enrolling children in various tutoring classes, studying from morning till night on weekends. Just like that woman today, spending money to buy a tuxedo and hire a private tutor."

"It is all to let her son climb upward in the sea of people in the future."

Xiao Sizi's eyes widened.

"Is everyone striving desperately?" she asked softly.

Lin Xuan nodded. "Yes, everyone."

"The lower strata wish to cross class barriers; the middle strata fear falling to the bottom."

"Ten million people squeeze onto a single log bridge."

"This desire, held by all, to climb upward pushes the entire nation, running forward like a madman."