The live chat exploded:
"They're watching chat, I swear 💀"
"Bet 1 bag of chips. NO ONE can read those 4 characters. It's so messy."
"Maybe Xiaoyu can?"
"Li Yu maybe too. He did calligraphy as a kid."
"If Xiaoyu can read THAT then… bronze was actually KING 😂"
"Idc if he's king or not, Li Yu is fine as hell, but next to Xiaoyu, he looks like a background bro"
"The Gut feeling says Xiaoyu can do it."
"Filter too thick, sis."
Li Yu stood close and smiled, "This is too difficult. I don't think any of us can read it. Let's ask Master Qi later."
Liu, the movie king, frowned. He didn't like Li Yu speaking for everyone, even if he himself couldn't read it either. He stared at the plaque for a bit. "Third one looks like 'shu' (book), right?"
Zhao Qingshuang brightened. "Now that you say it — yeah, looks like it."
Li Yu, feeling ignored: "…"
Li Xiang, impatient as always, craned his neck. "I gotta know. Whoever tells me what it says, I'm buying them dinner."
Still craving fish and now well aware of capital city prices, Hu Xiaoyu said, "Brother Li, I think it's 'Only books are treasure.'"
Li Xiang: "... Huh?" He looked at the host for confirmation.
Li Yu blurted, "Impossible, the third character is obviously 'book'."
As soon as he said it, he wanted to slap himself. He'd forgotten that old plaques were often read right-to-left.
The host confirmed Xiaoyu's answer.
The live chat exploded:
"NO WAY I THOUGHT HE WAS CARRYING"
"Knees ready, which direction do we kneel, pls"
"Xiaoyu stans rise, our boy CLEARED it."
"My baby did SO well 😭 Come here, let mama hug u"
"Lit student here (kinda dumb one) — asked a prof I know what Xiaoyu said about the poet's life was like 70% accurate."
"70%???"
"Another 30%of the professor hadn't heard either 💀"
"OKAY, SO HE'S NOT A VASE"
"Is it just me or did Li Yu look kinda salty?"
"he mad he mad he mad 😂"
"He just slipped, stop dragging him."
"nah I smelled jealousy"
The ones who'd been scolded earlier for defending Xiaoyu came back out, chins high — this time there were fewer people attacking them.
Xiaoyu smiled at Li Xiang.
Li Xiang slapped his thigh. "Xiaoyu, right? Name a place. I'm buying."
Movie king Liu and Zhao Qingshuang joined in. No matter how big a star someone was, finding topics on variety shows to gain likability was a professional habit.
Soon, the four of them had a dinner plan.
Zhao casually called over, "Li Yu, join us?"
Li Yu's face was stiff. "No, I've got other schedules."
The live chat exploded:
"Did he just side-eye Xiaoyu??"
"That 'no' was so cold bruh"
"bullying my girl, Qingshuang? not cool"
"Xiaoyu and movie king vibing tho 🥹"
Later, when they met Master Qi Duan, they got another mini-lecture on classical Chinese, then it was time for writing and painting.
Li Xiang was a beginner — he learned how to hold the brush.
Zhao Qingshuang had practiced for roles before — her characters were legible, if not pretty.
Li Yu's calligraphy looked decent. Qi Duan nodded, then shook his head. "You need to keep at it, young man. It's a shame to let it rust."
Li Yu: "…"
He'd grown up being praised. Even in the industry, with his family background and his own smarts, few people ever said something so blunt. He forced a smile.
The viewers caught it right away — someone said he was petty, and the comments flared again. His fans fought back.
When it was Xiaoyu's turn, Li Yu said, all concern, "I heard Xiaoyu only finished middle school. The piece you picked seems a bit advanced. Maybe choose an easier one?"
Xiaoyu: "…"
He glanced at him once, said nothing, and handed his work to Master Qi.
The live chat exploded:
"They barely know each other, right? This level of 'concern' is sus 😭"
"Feels like he's poking at the education thing on purpose."
"Wait… how did Li Yu know what he said in the car if he wasn't there???"
"ohhhh that's creepy actually"
"yikes"
Li Yu blocked the sheet. "You can't hand in a template. You have to write it yourself."
"This is my handwriting," Xiaoyu said.
"Impossible."
The live chat exploded:
"I SAW IT, he wrote it himself."
"jealousy has a smell and I can smell it"
"lemon party over there 🍋🍋🍋"
Qi Duan raised a hand to stop Li Yu. He shook his head at Xiaoyu. "I can't teach you. I can't even critique it."
Li Yu thought: Ha. Got caught. Using a model sheet. No wonder he's angry.
But in the next breath, Qi Duan's gaze turned complicated. "That model you copied… I wrote it. And your brushwork is better than mine. At your age… remarkable."
The live chat exploded:
"MASTER QI SAID THAT???"
"okay I 100% misjudged him"
"So THAT'S what he meant by 'didn't want to study' — he didn't need school 💀"
"dropping out bc you out-leveled the humans, we get it king"
"someone drops his Weibo I'm switching fandoms"
"same"
"+1"
From there, the vibe of the episode went completely off the rails.
Qi Duan, excited, asked if he could paint. When Xiaoyu said he could, the old master kindly asked him to paint on the spot.
Li Yu, once again ignored: "…"
He claimed he wasn't feeling well and quit the shoot.
No one really noticed. Or if they did — not mentioning it was the kinder option.
With the old master watching him so eagerly, Xiaoyu didn't even know what to paint.
He closed his eyes. Among all the flowers, birds, mountains, rivers of the mortal world… none of them were clearer than one person's face.
He'd paint Yu Tan. He'd come here for him anyway.
Ink painting didn't need to be overworked — sometimes, when inspiration was right, it all came out in one breath.
Soon, on the rice paper, a figure appeared: a young man with short hair and a long robe, tall and straight.
Some brushstrokes were only suggested, but everyone watching — including the livestream — could feel it: whoever this was, he was elegant, handsome, with an air of quiet authority.
They could only "feel" it because Xiaoyu hadn't painted the man's features.
He set the brush down, a little apologetic. "That's all for today."
Qi Duan asked, still fascinated, "This person… is a friend of yours?"
In his own field, he was an elder with standing, but he was treating this boy like a peer — even a long-awaited friend.
Xiaoyu nodded. "He's the most important person."
But the Yu Tan from a hundred years ago and the Yu Tan now, though the same soul, had different tempers, different looks — even their expressions were different. Xiaoyu didn't know which face to put on him.
Inside, all was peaceful.
Outside, the internet was roaring.
Three of the top fifty trending searches were about The Light of Heritage. Two of them were about Hu Xiaoyu — one about his painting, the other about Qi Duan's praise.
The third was about Li Yu "suddenly" leaving mid-shoot — netizens were calling him unprofessional.
Meanwhile, in Shencheng—
In the old Yu residence, a man with a dark expression stared at the screen.
On it, the boy was looking at his unfinished painting with a soft, gentle gaze.
The most important person… was who?
The one who taught him ancient literature?
The one who gave him the green jade?
Or were they the same person?
Yu Tan had never experienced jealousy before.
Now it burned through him like fire, making him restless, making every inch of him uncomfortable.
The most important person… huh.