407: Zhou Wenhao's rant: Damn, this is really a ghost! Who is this guy?

Originally, after getting the contact information for the Green Lotus Layman on the other side, Zhou Wenhao thought that even if he couldn't know the specific details, he should at least know the gender!

After all, Zhou Wenhao was aware of the discussions among the netizens on the Social Media Platform regarding 'What is the gender of the Green Lotus Layman'.

But when he dialed the number the other party provided, Chairman Zhou was completely stunned.

Because judging solely by the voice on the other end, he couldn't tell if the person was male or female!

At first listen, the Green Lotus Layman speaking seemed to be male, and Zhou Wenhao subjectively felt it should be a man.

But after listening to a few more sentences, he felt something was off again; the voice sounded like a woman's.

And the longer the conversation lasted, the deeper Zhou Wenhao's confusion grew.

"What the hell is going on? Is this guy a man or a woman? Why does the voice sound sometimes male and sometimes female?"

Zhou Wenhao complained internally.

Unfortunately, he couldn't determine any useful information until the call ended.

Moreover, thinking back now, the content of the conversation seemed to be nothing but nonsense.

In fact, this was a very normal outcome.

After all, the person chatting with Zhou Wenhao just now was not the real Green Lotus Layman, but merely a thread split off from the Artificial Intelligence housekeeper jervis.

Xu Lu asked jervis to create a voice whose gender was indistinguishable, and jervis did just that.

Since he hadn't given jervis specific instructions on how to chat with Zhou Wenhao, the conversation naturally consisted of idle chatter.

"Damn it, I really ran into a ghost!"

Hanging up the phone, Zhou Wenhao, who was completely unaware of the truth, cursed under his breath.

However, he quickly noticed the new update posted by the Green Lotus Layman.

Zhou Wenhao's expression was a mix of envy and frustration:

"Who the hell is this guy? Is writing poetry really as easy as drinking water for him?"

As the President of the Modern Poetry Association, while Zhou Wenhao's own skill level wasn't top-tier, his appreciation level certainly was.

Upon seeing this poem, he felt that he could absolutely not write it himself.

Furthermore, this poem deepened the confusion in his heart.

Because he found himself completely muddled regarding the Green Lotus Layman's gender issue.

"Forget it! I don't care if they're a man or a woman, as long as I can use them.

In a few more days, I can use this newly recruited Green Lotus Layman to deal with my lifelong enemy!"

Thinking that the Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching, Zhou Wenhao felt a secret delight.

Because there would be a large Mid-Autumn Poetry Gathering this year, and that would be the time for revenge... "This Green Lotus Layman is truly too impressive. It's no exaggeration to call them a 'genius'.

Initially, I thought the two works they submitted for the competition were polished over a long period.

But judging from the continuous Social Media Platform updates they've been posting, I highly suspect these poems were written on the spot."

On the other side, Shen Zizhen, a famous modern poet, spoke up.

In fact.

Ever since he recommended the Green Lotus Layman's work to the Grand Judges Group Chat, he had been following this contributor closely.

When he learned that the person had opened a Social Media Platform account, Shen Zizhen immediately followed it.

On the day he followed, he saw the person write the lines, 'I am the Madman of Chu...'

This greatly shocked Shen Zizhen.

He was actually quite curious about the gender of the Green Lotus Layman, even participating in the poll like everyone else.

Logging into the Social Media Platform today, Shen Zizhen wanted to see the results of the public poll and if the Green Lotus Layman had responded.

However, what he didn't expect was this.

The Green Lotus Layman didn't directly respond to the question; instead, they wrote another poem.

As a professional, Shen Zizhen naturally understood the quality of the poem 'I say you are the human world...'.

It could be said that although it wasn't as good as the flying bird and fish that won the championship for the Green Lotus Layman, it was on the same level as ode to the oak tree.

"Old Zhang, what do you think of this poem?"

Thinking this, Shen Zizhen turned and asked Zhang Xi, who was beside him.

Zhang Xi pursed his lips in slight exasperation and replied:

"Old Shen, I'm an essayist. How could I have such high appreciation for modern poetry as you do?

Of course I think the poem is well-written, but exactly how good it is, I can't say."

Shen Zizhen didn't get angry upon hearing this, just chuckled and said:

"If only we could meet this Green Lotus Layman. By the way, the netizens on the Social Media Platform still haven't guessed whether they are male or female!"

"Then do you hope the Green Lotus Layman is a talented man, or a talented woman?"

Zhang Xi suddenly asked.

Shen Zizhen smiled and said:

"Unlike others, I don't need to guess. I think there's a very high probability that the Green Lotus Layman is a talented man."

Hearing this, Zhang Xi became curious and said:

"No one else can guess it, but you can? And the Green Lotus Layman has written several poems with different styles."

Shen Zizhen didn't keep him in suspense and immediately pointed out the basis for his judgment, saying:

"Old Zhang, it's actually not difficult to guess. If we look past the surface to the essence, we can find some clues.

Tell me, if it were a woman, would she really choose a pen name like 'Green Lotus Layman'?"

Zhang Xi was stunned, then suddenly showed a look of realization, saying:

"Oh? Now that you mention it, that really seems to be the case. Putting aside the poems they wrote, the name 'Green Lotus Layman' itself is very masculine.

Moreover, when they entered the competition, they were already using 'Green Lotus Layman' as their pen name for submissions!"

Shen Zizhen nodded, but quickly added:

"This is also what I admire most about the Green Lotus Layman—even though he is clearly a man, he can write gentle verses like ode to the oak tree and April..."

Zhang Xi suddenly offered a wild guess:

"Uh... Old Shen, do you think there's a possibility that there are actually two poets behind the Green Lotus Layman?

One male, who writes things like flying bird and fish, and one female, who writes things like ode to the oak tree."

Hearing this, Shen Zizhen looked at him strangely and retorted irritably:

"You might as well say that the 'Green Lotus Layman' is actually composed of many individuals, with each one writing a single poem.

If you want a man, there's a man; if you want a woman, there's a woman; if you want someone young, there's someone young; if you want someone old, there's someone old..."

"Haha, I was just saying, since this guy is so mysterious!"

Zhang Xi smiled awkwardly, then added:

"By the way, I wonder if your President Zhou will pull this Green Lotus Layman into the Modern Poetry Association.

If they join the Modern Poetry Association, then whether they are male or female will naturally become clear, and we won't have to guess blindly here."

"That's true!"

Shen Zizhen nodded... But what these two poets and the essayist didn't realize was that their wild guess was actually very close to the truth.

Although the person behind the Green Lotus Layman alias was Xu Lu, the poems truly came from many different people.

What they didn't realize even more was that although Chairman Zhou had already invited the Green Lotus Layman to join the association, he hadn't figured anything out either.