I'm reborn and I'm an international student again?

The show started with a dance by several girls from the Saeki family. Looking at those pretty girls, Chen Xi secretly gave them a thumbs up.

However, his little movement was caught by Saori on the stage. Looking at the murderous gaze, he could only respond with an awkward smile.

"call out!"

The old flute player's flute sound suddenly changed, like the call of a cuckoo in the mountains, with glissando and melodious lingering notes, filling the entire stage with the breath of spring.

Along with this clear singing, the girls turned around one after another and gently opened the gold-painted cypress fans in their hands, revealing the wheat seeds hidden inside.

The delicate texture of the fan glows with a warm luster under the light, as if it contains the power of new life.

Their sleeves fluttered like clouds and the twenty-four fans slowly pieced together as they danced, eventually revealing a complete "Rice Ear Growth Picture" in the center of the stage.

From the seeds breaking through the soil, the seedlings growing, to the ears of grain hanging down, every detail is cleverly depicted on the fan.

The dancing postures change in accordance with the mood of the painting: when the seedlings break through the soil, the girls bend their waists like the gentle breeze of wheat waves, soft but strong; when the ears of rice are full and drooping, they kneel down again, holding up the imaginary ears of rice in their hands, as pious as farmers harvesting in the fields.

They tapped their toes lightly, splashing the remaining snow water on the table. Tiny water droplets splashed in the swaying light of the lanterns, turning into tiny crystals, reflecting tiny rainbows in the air.

Suddenly, a low drum sound rang out, like spring thunder exploding in the distance.

The dance formation suddenly changed, the girls spun quickly, the seven-layered ribbons in their hands unfolding like a rainbow.

The silks interwoven with navy blue, persimmon, yellow and Sufang are spread out layer by layer, just like the rice fields in different seasons changing in the twilight. Each color carries a strong agricultural flavor.

When the dance reached its climax, the girls used their toes as pens, stepping lightly across the stage covered with barnyard grass. Their red-tipped straw sandals drew out rolling paths on the ground, and the entire stage seemed to have become a corner of the field, full of vitality and poetry.

"Oh, this is similar to our Spring Festival Gala, with all the dance groups. The Japanese must have copied us..." Chen Xi couldn't help but complain as he watched the dance.

To be honest, he didn't like watching this kind of thing. It gave him a strong sense of rurality, even though it was indeed in the countryside...

But the girls are pretty good. The girls in Saeki's family are all pretty good-looking.

"What are you mumbling about?" Qingshui next to him asked curiously.

"Nothing, I just said that the women in the island countries are really good, look at their waists, look at their legs..."

"Don't talk nonsense, or you'll be punished by my clan sister!"

"I'm learning dance, what do you know?"

The two of them are familiar with each other now, and can make any jokes they want.

After watching several performances in a row, Chen Xi found them all boring. It was either wielding samurai swords or singing. The only thing missing was a performance of breaking a stone with the chest.

He has now come to a conclusion: no country’s New Year’s Eve parties are good to watch!

Soon, the program changed again.

This time Chen Xi was quite surprised because the program was actually about reciting poems. And the poems were from ancient China.

"Huh? Doesn't your island country have its own poetry? How come you also know Chinese poetry? And that person even spoke in Chinese. Did he do it on purpose so that I could understand?" Chen Xi looked at Qingshui.

He knew that there were some differences between the poetry of the island country and that of China, with significant differences in three dimensions: formal structure, aesthetic pursuit, and philosophical foundation.

Chinese poetry emphasizes strict adherence to the rhythm of the syllables and the symmetrical beauty of Chinese characters, while Japanese poetry emphasizes loose, stereotyped poetry and the fluidity of kana.

For example, two orioles sing in the green willows and a line of egrets fly in the blue sky.

The island country poem is "古池や青蛙飛び込む水の音", which means the ancient pond where frogs jump into the water and make sounds.

To Chinese people, the poems of the island nation sound a bit strange, just like the poem written by Qianlong: one piece, two pieces, three pieces, four pieces, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten pieces. Thousands and thousands of pieces, countless pieces, fly into the plum blossoms and never disappear.

It sounds very earthy...

Even if Japanese learn Chinese poetry, they still read it in Sakura language, which is the same as reading poetry in Cantonese.

"Chinese poetry is not usually taught systematically in primary and secondary education in island countries, but some schools do. Chinese language classes belong to the category of "classical literature", so many people still learn Chinese classical poetry. Some private schools even force students to take Chinese language classes. However, the pronunciation is very different. For example, "the moonlight before the bed" is pronounced as "しょうぜんにみるつきのひかり", which is pronounced as "xiū zén nǐ mǐ-lù cī-kī nō hī-kǎ-lǐ" in pinyin. "

"What? You also know pinyin? What the hell is this? There are only five words in 'The moonlight shines brightly before the bed', and you made it so long!" Chen Xi looked at the other party in surprise.

"I'll tell you a secret. Some of the elders in the Saeki family can speak a little Chinese. They like calligraphy very much and often create some works..." Shimizu told him some more news.

"Oh, you know that China is profound, but you are too embarrassed to show it, so you can only learn secretly. On the surface, you have to pretend that you don't understand what I say, right?"

"..."

Just as the two were whispering, the person on the stage began to recite the poem again, first once in cherry blossom language and then once in Chinese.

While saying this, he deliberately glanced towards Chen Xi.

"The pine torches shattered the twelfth watch, and the nectar gushed out when it broke the urn. I wanted to count the eight hundred rice grains, but they were already drunk on the nine layers of new straw. This is a poem I created..." A young man finished reading it, and then he made a lot of noises, as if he had created something extraordinary.

Then the second young man recited a poem: "A hundred-tongued bird perches on the string, and sparks of fire fall from my sleeves. I trample on the moon and shatter 30,000 hectares of it, and pick up a pupil of my ancestor."

Chen Xi sprayed rice wine on Qingshui's shoulders: "You call this Chinese poetry?"

"They call this new style of poetry... These two are just idiots. Look at the faces of the elders in the clan..." Qingshui blocked his mouth with a rice cake smeared with mustard, and then looked away.

When the old people in the Saeki family heard what the two read, they all looked defeated.

The third young man saw this and said:

The green fields and the yellow millet are ripe and the granary is full, and the villagers are laughing and celebrating the good new year.

The smoke from the farmer's cooking fires rose, and we drank from a jar of rich wine together."

"This is okay."

"Well, much better than the first two."

The elders of the Saeki family nodded when they heard this.

The young man showed a delighted look on his face, then turned his head to look aside, and said politely with a hint of challenge: "Mr. Chen, you are Chinese, so you must have a deep understanding of Chinese poetry. As an islander who also loves poetry, I am very much looking forward to you reciting a Chinese poem so that we can appreciate its charm together."

"Oh? Then let me sing a song!" Chen Xi picked up the wine glass and staggered onto the stage.

Everyone had different expressions.

Shimizu opened her mouth wide, Saori grabbed her clothes tightly, Ise Sogetsu sneered, and the people from the Saeki family looked curious. Only Saeki Kousuke looked calm.

"You drank so much, can you still recite poetry?" The young man looked at the drunk Chen Xi and couldn't help feeling a little funny.

"Why not? I'll show you a poem written by a drunken swordsman! Bring me the sword!" Chen Xi drank a little too much and stretched out his hands towards the sky.

A few seconds later, a sword really fell from the sky and landed in his hand.

However, everyone burst into laughter.

Chen Xi looked carefully and found a broom in his hand. He glanced at the clear water not far away, and the other party shrugged, indicating that it was the only one.

Forget it, just use a broom!
Chen Xi thought about it and started waving it, chanting: "The iron ox breaks the earth and thunders.

The Big Dipper accompanies me in planting rice.

Who will turn the fruit into jade liquid?
The moon lies drunkenly on the mountain tops. "

"How is it? I drink up the mountains and rivers, and then drink up the sun and the moon. I can't get drunk after a thousand cups. I am the Drunken Swordsman." Chen Xi drank too much and played with the broom in front of the young man.

Seeing this, Saori wanted to laugh but couldn't, so she could only hold it in to maintain her aloof appearance. "The poem is good, and it also has agricultural elements, but what does the iron ox in your poem mean?" An old man from the Saeki family asked in broken Chinese.

"Agriculture, of course, has to incorporate modern elements. Tie Niu is agricultural machinery, and as for Beidou... it refers to our country's satellite navigation! It's talking about navigation precision seeding technology. Now agriculture is all about taking the technological route..." Chen Xi chuckled.

Many foreigners have heard of Beidou. After all, it is a satellite that can compete with GPS. It has been around for more than a decade. The second generation update was just completed this year, so the old people in the Saeki family naturally know about it.

Those in the Saeki family who understood Chinese all nodded in praise.

The young man brought Chen Xi onto the stage. Seeing that the other party was drunk, he wanted to embarrass him, but he ended up making a fool of himself.

The broom just now made him covered in mud, and now his clothes are covered in spots.

Humph, a Japanese person is showing off Chinese poetry in front of me.

Chen Xi sneered in his heart.

"I heard that Chinese people are very good at calligraphy and painting. We Japanese also have high attainments in calligraphy and painting. As the saying goes, a gentleman works with actions rather than words. I won't argue with you. How about we compete in painting?" At this time, another young man from the island came out, holding a pen in his hand, acting like a great painter.

Isn't it true that a gentleman uses words rather than actions? You really know how to change!

Want to draw with me?
Fortunately, you are not competing with me in calligraphy.

Chen Xi breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that.

Although he was forced by Chen Yifeng to learn calligraphy from a master for several years when he was a child, he was rather perfunctory at that time, so he was always scolded by his father for writing like a turtle crawling.

However, he was good at painting. He had participated in competitions and won awards. He was also recommended to participate in painting competitions in school.

When it comes to painting, he is quite talented, and so is Chen Ran. Maybe there is artistic talent in his family.

Chen Yifeng is an all-rounder, proficient in oil painting, splashing color and sketching.

He had seen his father paint a lot before, so he was quite familiar with his paintings. Chen Yifeng was a strict person. Even if you performed well, he would not say anything to praise you. But he rarely praised Chen Xi's paintings, which showed that he had a high talent for painting.

"Okay!" Chen Xi made an OK gesture to the young man.

Not long after, several strong men brought in two tables, on which were placed paper, ink, pens and inkstones.

The young man from the island thought for a while, picked up his brush and started painting, but Chen Xi stood there, swaying, as if he was drunk and a little unconscious.

He waited until the young man had finished half of the painting before he started to paint.

The two of them painted quickly on the stage, while the audience around them whispered.

At this time, Sazhi's palms were full of sweat. She had only seen Chen Xi draw architectural design drawings in high school, and had never seen him draw other works. She just thought that he was not very good at painting.

"Guess what they both painted?"

"What else could it be? It must be something related to celebrations or agriculture. It's probably a harvest picture. Nothing new."

The two old men from the Saeki family started discussing.

"I don't think so. The first person's movements were very wide and big, probably a landscape painting or a harvest painting. But the Chinese guy's movements were very small, I couldn't tell what he was painting..."

"That seems to be true."

"How about we make a bet and guess what he is painting? I'll bet on the jar of wine you treasure."

"Okay, I want your folding fan."

"Okay, I guess he's drawing a woman. He'll be the son-in-law of the Saeki family in the future, so naturally he'll have to draw a picture of a beauty to please Bokakashi. Seeing how small his movements are, he must be sketching a person's face..."

"Hey, I guess he must have drawn some pictures of the streets of China. Think about it, he is the only Chinese here. He was just forced to compete on the stage by us Japanese. He must have drawn some pictures of the bustling scenes of China to suppress our momentum..."

The two old men's discussion became louder and louder, causing Kosuke Saeki next to them to twitch his mouth.

Based on the fact that he has been dealing with Chen Xi for so long, this kid definitely wouldn't draw something normal, and it would most likely not be like what they said.

After a long while, the young man from the island country stopped writing first, picked up his painting and showed it to everyone. After everyone had finished looking at it, he gave it to the senior members of the Saeki family for appreciation.

It was a vivid and infectious picture of harvest, and then.

In the center of the picture is a golden rice field, with heavy rice ears hanging down. The sun shines through the clouds and falls on the rice field. Every grain of rice shines with golden light, and the whole picture is full of warmth and hope.

At the edge of the rice field, several farmers were bending over to harvest, their faces filled with satisfied and happy smiles, sweat running down their cheeks and dripping into the soil.

Behind them are piles of harvested rice, piled up like mountains, indicating that this year's hard work has finally paid off with rich rewards.

In the upper left corner of the picture, there is a simple farmhouse with smoke rising from the chimney, which contrasts beautifully with the blue sky and white clouds in the distance. In front of the farmhouse, several children are playing.

The whole picture is bright in color and smooth in lines, vividly showing the joy of harvest and the hard work of farmers.

"Not bad!"

“It’s a very good painting.”

Everyone in the Saeki family looked at it and nodded.

At this time, Chen Xi also stopped writing.

The young man walked over curiously and looked at the other person's painting, and a strange look appeared on his face.

But he didn't say anything, just stretched out his hand to signal Chen Xi to show it.

The latter did not explain, but handed the painting to the people next to him and asked them to hold it up.

When the painting was lifted up, the whole audience fell silent.

All I saw in the painting was an ancient tower with a white light blooming on the top.

There is a black dog with wings at the foot of the tower, with a crescent mark on its head.

There were a few ferocious little ghosts nearby, sneaking around in front of a house, doing something unknown.

When the painting was delivered to the upper echelons of the Saeki family, one of the two old men who had made the bet asked, "The painting is not bad, but I don't know what it is about! It must convey a meaning."

After seeing it, several people didn't quite understand it, but Chen Xi's painting level was obviously much higher than that of the young man from the island country.

But it’s hard to judge who is good and who is bad.

So, a few people gave the painting to Kosuke Saeki, wanting him to ask some questions.

After reading it, Kosuke Saeki smiled and looked at Chen Xi on the stage: "Explain what you drew."

"This is the 'Moon-gazing and Hunting Spirits' picture!" Chen Xi spoke slowly.

"Huh?" Kosuke Saeki was confused when he heard that.

"Forget it... You can also understand it as the Heavenly Dog stealing the jade!"

Those present who could understand Chinese were all speechless.

The Tengu of this island country is not a dog, but a monster with a long nose, a bird's beak and wings, also known as Crow Tengu.

"Don't worry about these details. This dog has wings!" Seeing what they were thinking, Chen Xi pointed at the painting.

Others can draw a halo on a chicken's head to pretend it's a phoenix, so what if I draw wings on a dog to pretend it's a celestial dog?
"What's the meaning of your painting of the Heavenly Dog stealing the jade? What are this tower, this house, and these little ghosts?" Saeki Hirosuke asked again. (End of this chapter)