Zhu Wuxin smiled and interjected, "Young Master, the Academy's victory this time owed more than anything to Miss's leadership as captain. All of Heaven Dou City is talking about her brilliance."
"On such a joyous occasion, shouldn't you compose a poem for Miss as well, to add to the festivities?"
Chen Xiaojun trembled slightly at her words.
Sister Wuxin, you're doing this on purpose, aren't you? What happened to being gentle and sweet?
He immediately put on a solemn expression. "Ah, Sister Wuxin is absolutely right. With moonlight shining high above and laurels plucked from the lunar palace, Big Sister's radiance is positively dazzling. A poem is an absolute must. Of course, of course."
He pondered briefly, inspiration flashing in his eyes as though he already had a draft in mind. "As it happens, I once felt moved to compose a little poem for Big Sister. Wouldn't it suit this very scene tonight?"
Zhu Wuxin, Yun Yingluo, and the others beside her all brightened. They had not expected him to actually have one.
Delighted, Zhu Wuxin said, "Oh? Is that so? Then we're in for a treat tonight. Please, Young Master. We're all ears."
Chen Xiaojun cleared his throat, looked toward Chen Yanwu, whose peerless beauty shone beneath the moonlight, and recited in a ringing voice, "In the north there dwells a beauty, standing alone, apart from the world.
One smile topples a city; another topples a kingdom!"
Four lines, twenty characters-every word a pearl.
"Ah!" Yun Yingluo was the first to lose control, letting out an excited shriek that instantly drew the attention of quite a few people nearby.
Only then did she realize she had lost her composure. Her cheeks flushed crimson, and she shyly lowered her head.
Yet she could not resist looking up again, overflowing with