Chapter 261 215: Chu Style? The Calligraphy Grandmaster Who Founded a School — Chu Bamboo

"No problem," Chu Bamboo said without hesitation. "It would be my honor. Of course, I also hope to receive your help in a certain matter..."

"...Please, be direct." Qian Zai's brow furrowed, and he felt a little troubled. 'What if he asks for something that isn't exactly legal...'

"I hope my parents can move into the military district. Or, to put it another way, receive official protection," Chu Bamboo said earnestly, pointing to his head. "I have many, many more wild ideas in here. Some of them... are worth no less than the Energy Battery. Perhaps even more!"

Chu Bamboo added, his voice heavy with concern, "Under these circumstances, I'm very worried about the future..."

"..." Qian Zai's expression tightened. This was completely beyond his expectations. His first instinct was to try and placate him.

'That's an exaggeration... the situation hasn't gotten that bad yet! But after hearing how confidently Chu Bamboo spoke...'

'Hmm...'

"We'll go back and discuss it!" In the end, Qian Zai didn't dare to refuse. Heaven only knew if this young man, who acted like the Energy Battery was no big deal, truly had something else in his head that could shock the world.

After all, the performance of this battery, once revealed, would be enough to shock the world on its own!

"Then let's go to the office first and sign the cont—" Chu Bamboo's words cut off abruptly. He turned his head, his gaze gradually sharpening.

"?" Puzzled, Qian Zai followed Chu Bamboo's gaze. He saw a tall, blond foreigner in a suit, accompanied by a burly, muscular man who stood nearly six feet tall.

The blond foreigner and Chu Bamboo faced off from a distance, their expressions completely different.

The blond foreigner's gaze occasionally swept over Qian Zai and his companions, a thoughtful and faintly playful, profound look in his eyes.

As for Chu Bamboo's gaze, Qian Zai couldn't quite read it. It was as if it held no emotion at all, yet at the same time, seemed to contain every emotion...

"Mr. Chu!" Howard strode toward them, speaking fluent Mandarin with even a hint of a Beijing accent. The complex emotions in his eyes seemed to vanish, replaced by sheer adoration and delight. "I'm your fan! Your 'Song of God'! I've listened to it fifty times! I can even sing it."

"His God, The Lord of love, Your light..." Howard actually started singing on the spot. Though his voice was raw and there was no musical accompaniment, he was clearly lost in the moment, even gesturing with his hands and feet.

Qian Zai: "...?"

'Oh no,' he thought. 'Earlier, I saw Howard's complex expression and was wondering... what sort of deep-seated grudge or drama is there between him and Chu Bamboo? He's not a spy, is he...?'

'The Energy Battery hasn't even gone into production. They shouldn't have any reason to be watching him, right?'

And then... he witnessed this silly foreigner pull off this series of ridiculous, showy stunts!

But speaking of the song...

"Mr. Chu." Qian Zai glanced thoughtfully at Chu Bamboo, then pulled a CD from his pocket with a smile. "I'm your fan, too! Could I get an autograph?"

"??? Wait, do people still use these? Hold on, if I remember correctly... my song hasn't even been officially released yet..." Chu Bamboo was dumbfounded. He instinctively took the CD, but something felt off.

"? Wait, you didn't authorize it... doesn't that mean this is!" Qian Zai froze for a moment. As the realization dawned, an awkward smile spread across his face. "I happened to hear your song on the way here and couldn't help myself... The shop owner talked me into buying it!"

"..." Chu Bamboo caught on as well, but he held his tongue. 'A bootleg, huh?'

The two stared at each other. For a moment, Qian Zai was already contemplating whether he should launch an anti-piracy crackdown on his way back... Then he saw Chu Bamboo chuckle, accept the bootleg CD without another word, and sign it with a flourish of wild, dancing strokes—an artistic signature that had no legal weight and could only be described as a deliberate display of skill.

"It's fine! I wasn't expecting to make much money anyway." Chu Bamboo was remarkably nonchalant. He mainly understood that for him—a shareholder in both the Z and C corporations, which were about to launch numerous AI projects—money truly was just a number.

"Whoa, that calligraphy!" Li Quanyuan hadn't known whether to laugh or cry. It was a good thing Chu Bamboo didn't seem to mind; otherwise, the situation would have been incredibly awkward. But when he saw the wildly elegant signature that Chu Bamboo had just written... his pupils suddenly dilated.

It was an incredibly fluid and graceful script! It was completely different from any style currently in circulation, yet it was exquisitely beautiful and refined. The sight left Li Quanyuan utterly stunned...

It was like the first time he had laid eyes on Yan Zhenqing's Yan Style, Liu Gongquan's Liu Style, or Ouyang Xun's Ou Style... This script possessed an innate, heaven-sent beauty!

When anything reaches a certain pinnacle, it emanates a brilliance that cannot be concealed. No matter how long human civilization endures... the pursuit of beauty is an eternal constant.

He snatched the CD almost subconsciously.

Qian Zai: "???"

"This... What style is this? I... I've never seen anything like it..." Li Quanyuan instinctively reached out to touch it but pulled his hand back, afraid of smudging the ink. He could only stand there, staring at it, utterly mesmerized.

"...Er, Xu Style?" Chu Bamboo said, sounding a bit uncertain. But when he noticed the principal's death glare, he quickly added, to prevent the follow-up question of 'Which Xu?': "It might also be Chu Style!"

The script from the dream world and the script of the Real World weren't the same. The best you could say is that both were pictographic.

But it was precisely because of this that after inheriting the lifelong learning of a calligraphy saint, even when translating it to the script of the Real World, he had almost instinctively reproduced the unique spirit and style that belonged to Xu Zihong!

This was something only a true Grandmaster—one who had founded their own school of thought—could ever hope to achieve... It was as if the act of writing itself had become pure instinct!

"...You created this?" Li Quanyuan's brow furrowed as he stared at Chu Bamboo. He desperately wanted to deny it, but... the problem was, the young man had written it right in front of his eyes!

It was precisely because Principal Li had practiced calligraphy himself, and even counted several masters of the art as his friends, that he, as a semi-professional, could appreciate the sheer caliber of Chu Bamboo's skill.

Finally, he could only say, "You... just how many more surprises do you have in store for me?"

"...Principal Li." Qian Zai held his tongue for a long moment before finally speaking through a strained smile, "Could I trouble you to... return my CD?"

"I'll buy you a few more bootlegs on the way back!" Li Quanyuan said, clutching the disc as if it were a priceless treasure.

"...Are you serious?" For a moment, Qian Zai didn't know what kind of expression he should be making.

"I don't know how to explain it!" Li Quanyuan hesitated. "I've studied countless calligraphy copybooks, and right now... I feel like this must be some kind of illusion!"

Li Quanyuan subconsciously caressed the disc again. He shot Chu Bamboo a complex look. 'If I'm right about this,' he thought, 'then just how much more of this student's talent is hidden beneath the surface?'

'No, thinking about it now, founding an entirely new school of calligraphy... that should be impossible...'

'But even if I take a step back, even if this is just him copying someone else's style, to reach this level of mastery is the mark of an absolute genius!'

His first, gut reaction was that the calligraphy of his master-level friends... couldn't compare to this...

'And you have to understand, when the difference in skill is so great that it's visible to the naked eye... it means the gap isn't just a point or two! It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it the difference between heaven and earth...'

And this was done with a regular pen!

The more Li Quanyuan thought about it, the more absurd the whole situation seemed, the realization dawning on him belatedly.

Had a calligraphy master on par with Yan Zhenqing really just appeared out of nowhere right in front of him? It was just as suffocating and unbelievable as Chu Bamboo whipping up an Energy Battery from scratch...

"Let's not worry about that now! Please, come in." Chu Bamboo made an inviting gesture. After a slight hesitation, he glanced at Howard, who had stopped his serenade and was now staring at him with pitiful eyes.

Using his Beijing-accented Mandarin, Howard said, "Mr. Chu... I-I'd like an autograph too! Um, are there any English versions of the CD... If I go buy one now, will I be able to find you later? Um..."

Listening to the man's stammering, pathetic voice... Chu Bamboo had the sudden urge to facepalm. This Howard was completely different from what he had imagined.

'Where's your big-villain aura? Where's the gravitas of the future number-two powerhouse of the Raven Clan, second only to James Raven? What about the terrifying power that lets you just drop in as the CEO of Stone Roll Music? Where's the pride of a member of the Golden Dawn, one of the secret rulers of the Europe and America World?'

'How can you be such a goofball?'

In the end, Chu Bamboo could only sigh. "Fine, fine... you too, sir. Please, come in."