"The characters are too complicated. I can’t read them."

"Oh, right. You haven’t learned to read or write yet, have you? Don’t worry, I’ll copy it for you after I’m done," Qian Zhuye said with a cheerful laugh.

"So loyal! I like that."

Sang Zhi paused his brush and looked up. "I’ll teach you."

"Teach me? I’d rather you just copy it for me."

"If others do the work for you, when will you ever learn to recognize these? You must understand that you should learn for your own benefit. One studies for oneself, not for others," Sang Zhi said.

"Don’t start lecturing like a tutor at your age. I understand the principles, and I know the characters. It’s just that *these* characters aren’t the ones I know." Ye Qianning had a photographic memory and was fluent in ten languages; when it came to knowledge, no one could surpass her.

The only thing was, she’d never encountered traditional characters before.

Sang Zhi frowned, completely baffled. "The ones you know?"

"Here, look. This character for ’study’ is so complicated. It should be written like this." As she spoke, Ye Qianning picked up a brush and wrote a much simpler version of the character on the xuan paper.

Sang Zhi’s little face darkened. "Cutting corners."

"Why do you sound just like Old Man Gu?" Ye Qianning was speechless.

"You know, he really does," Qian Zhuye said with a laugh.

"It’s not that they’re similar; they *are* the same character. What you’re seeing is the traditional form, while what I know is the simplified form."

Sang Zhi frowned.

Qian Fanji asked curiously, "What’s a simplified form?"

"The simplified form is the evolved version. It’s easier for students to recognize and learn, and it’s not as troublesome to write," Ye Qianning explained.

Qian Fanji seemed to only half-understand. "Do all these characters have a simplified form?" 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Yes. Recite the first few lines of the *Standards for a Good Pupil* for me, and I’ll write them down." Ye Qianning decided to show off a little.

Qian Fanji grew even more curious and began reciting the *Standards for a Good Pupil*.

Ye Qianning’s brush moved quickly, keeping pace perfectly. In a flash, she had written more than a dozen lines.

At first, Sang Zhi thought she was just messing around. But he was surprised to see her writing with incredible speed. Each character, though simplified, clearly corresponded to the ones in the book; it didn’t look like something she was making up on the spot.

Even if she were just improvising, she would have needed to look at the original characters to copy them. But she wasn’t looking at the book at all, writing fluidly in one smooth motion.

’He’d been dismissive before, but now he was genuinely curious.’

"See? You can basically understand it, right?" Ye Qianning put down her brush and pushed the xuan paper toward them.

Qian Zhuye examined it closely, his eyes wide with surprise. "They really are similar! If all the characters were like this, wouldn’t it be so much easier for us to copy them?"

"If you copy it like that, I’m afraid no one will be able to recognize it," Sang Zhi said.

"For a six-year-old, this is already excellent writing," Qian Zhuye chimed in supportively. Of course, he genuinely thought it was well-written.

"If your foundation in learning is unstable, you will never amount to anything great." Sang Zhi remained unconvinced. "If you use characters like these, no one will recognize them. You should just stick to the proper way."

"Times have to change. People might not recognize it now, but it’ll be common in the future. How about I teach you guys?" Ye Qianning decided it was time to brainwash them a little.

"Okay, okay!" Qian Zhuye was more than happy to agree.

"The script passed down from ancient times is the way it is for a reason. Your version is just a lazy shortcut, full of mistakes."

"How is it full of mistakes? Look at it! Isn’t it better-looking than the other ones?"

Sang Zhi’s little face was stern.

"If you don’t want to learn, I don’t want to teach you anyway. In the future, when I have the power, I’ll change all the characters to their simplified forms. I’ll teach it to everyone and make things convenient for them all."

Although Qian Zhuye didn’t know many characters himself, he felt a surge of excitement listening to her declaration.

"Count me in!"

Sang Zhi: "..."

"Alright. Seeing as you’re so enthusiastic, you’ll be my number one trainee." For once, Ye Qianning felt a spark of interest.