It was the last supplementary class during winter vacation. The moment the bell rang, the quiet classroom that had been as silent as a graveyard instantly became lively and noisy.
Everyone started moving tables and chairs and decorating the classroom for the party that night.
This was an activity the class monitor had fought for. It was a rare diversion during the intense third year of high school, so everyone cherished it dearly and worked together to decorate the classroom beautifully.
Xu Jia Ning carried his guitar and went to the balcony. He took a deep breath, prepared himself, and then made a video call.
It took a long time before Xiao Qian finally answered the video call. On her side, music was playing and there were noisy people. The background seemed to be a fashion show.
She went to a corner and picked up the video. In a singing tone she asked, "Kid, don't you have class?"
"Supplementary classes are over," Xu Jia Ning said. "Can I video call you like this from now on?"
"Even if I say no, will you listen?"
"I will. I'll change to calling you on the phone, sister." Xu Jia Ning looked at the girl's exquisite and delicate face on the screen, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up slightly. "I'll do whatever you ask."
This was also Xiao Qian's first time encountering such a clingy suitor. She had rejected aggressive and tacky guys cruelly before. But Xu Jia Ning was so young, and had a youthful impatience and naivety that made it hard for her to say anything to hurt him.
"You're wearing so little," she said.
On the video, Xiao Qian seemed to only be wearing a strapless dress on her upper body, revealing her snow white shoulders and collarbones.
Noticing the boy's burning gaze, Xiao Qian immediately tilted the camera upwards, only showing her face.
It was rare for someone to still look good on a close-up video, but Xiao Qian didn't lose her looks at all. The soft lighting around her lit up her face. Her nose was red from the cold. Her makeup was also quite thick, and her curled eyelashes were upturned. Her features were bright and vivid.
Xu Jia Ning greedily gazed at her, not stinting on words of praise. "Clouds vie for beauty, flowers vie for splendor; the spring breeze caresses the railing, dew glistens on the luxuriant foliage."
"Are you saying I'm fat?"
"Of course not."
"Then why did you use a poem describing Yang Guifei to describe me?"
"You know about that too?"
"Xu Jia Ning, just because you're the top student doesn't mean others who haven't been to college don't deserve literary knowledge too."
"I didn't mean it that way."
"Alright kid, I'm very busy. Don't bother me randomly again in the future. I'm hanging up."
"Wait a moment," Xu Jia Ning quickly said, "Do you have heating over there indoors?"
"Yes."
"Don't catch a cold. It's cold outside. Wear a coat before you go on stage."
Xiao Qian looked at him. He had a pair of narrow, passionate eyes. With such handsome and romantic features, it was hard to give off a dedicated vibe.
Yet every word showed a sincerity and simplicity.
Xiao Qian murmured, "Hanging up."
"I'll sing for you in a bit and send you a video," Xu Jia Ning said.
She didn't respond and quickly hung up the video.
Xu Jia Ning put down his phone and heard a commotion behind him. He turned around to see Lu Tian Bai hugging a gift box that had overturned, and the small gifts and snacks scattered all over the floor.
She was hurriedly and nervously picking them up, her hands trembling slightly.
Xu Jia Ning immediately walked over and squatted down to help pick up the items.
"Tha...thank you, Jia Ning," Lu Tian Bai stammered.
"It's nothing. Do you need any help? I've got nothing to do now."
"You're tall. Can you help me put up the window stickers?"
"Sure."
Lu Tian Bai put down the gift box and took out stickers from it, handing them to Xu Jia Ning.
Xu Jia Ning peeled off the double-sided tape and stuck the stickers on the window. "Here?"
Lu Tian Bai seemed to be lost in thought and didn't respond, as if she had something on her mind.
He asked again, "Stick them here?"
"Wherever you think is suitable is fine."
Xu Jia Ning carefully and conscientiously stuck on the stickers. Lu Tian Bai suddenly said, "You were laughing very happily just now."
"Hmm?"
He looked down at the little girl beside him. She had put double-sided tape on the stickers. "Jia Ning, I really...hope you get what you wish for."
After saying that, she handed the stickers to Xu Jia Ning and smiled sweetly, "The first day I saw you, I felt...you didn't actually seem very happy. Back then I was wondering, why does this boy who looks like he's always smiling have so much unhappiness in his eyes?"
Xu Jia Ning blankly took the stickers from her and didn't say anything. He couldn't say anything either, he could only listen silently.
"Later I heard from Chu Chu, your dad may not have treated you very well, and your mom left you very early, so I understood."
Lu Tian Bai lowered her head and gently said, "Now you've met someone who can make you laugh, I'm really happy. Although I also really wanted to be that person but..."
"Xiao Bai, thanks, I'm sorry."
"What are you apologizing for? I should be the one thanking you." Lu Tian Bai earnestly said, "Thank you for not rejecting me coldly like you do with other girls. I'm...very thin-skinned. If you treated me like that, I'd definitely have cried to death."
Xu Jia Ning twisted the stickers in his hand and tore them.
Lu Tian Bai quickly took the stickers from him and gave him a new one. "Thank you for treating me so gently. I'll always remember it. I hope you get the girl you're chasing!"
"Mm."
Lu Tian Bai turned and left breezily.
The moment she turned, her eyes were already brimming red.
Lu Chi, Zhang Cheng Yu, Lin Chu Sui and the others had been eavesdropping by the door all along. Seeing her come over, the boys fled together.
Lu Tian Bai called for them, "Are you all so free? If you're so free, go help stick window stickers!"
"Going, going, going!"
"Stick stickers! Stick stick stick!"
Lu Chi and Zhang Cheng Yu went to Xu Jia Ning's sides, flanking him on both sides as they stuck on stickers together.
Lin Chu Sui walked up to Lu Tian Bai and gave her a big hug.
Lu Tian Bai rested her chin on the girl's slender shoulder and said, "Don't comfort me no matter what, if you do I'll really start crying, how embarrassing would that be."
"Mm," Lin Chu Sui gently hugged her, "You will...get what you wish for too."
That night, for the performance, Lu Tian Bai had specially arranged Xiao Yan's act after the song and dance, to cleanse the palate of the students.
Mainly because...his act was too unique.
The emcee stood at the podium and announced in clear, standard Mandarin:
"Next up, we have Xiao Yan performing!"
This rare aloof genius who seldom took part in group activities had actually volunteered to perform. The whole class eagerly looked towards him.
He calmly walked up to the podium and stood facing the students for a few seconds before saying, "Next, I will demonstrate solving trigonometric functions barehanded in three minutes."
Everyone: ????
What did you just say you're going to do?
Xiao Yan had already picked up the chalk and written a complicated trigonometric function question on the blackboard. As he wrote, he said, "I want the first prize, and hope everyone will vote for me."
Everyone: ......
The classroom was strangely quiet, with only the "swish swish" sound of chalk quickly meeting the blackboard audible. The atmosphere on site was strangely awkward for a moment.
Lu Chi whispered to Lin Chu Sui, "He'd have been better off performing writing Linjiang Xian with his left hand and Shijing with his right hand."
Lin Chu Sui seriously copied Xiao Yan's workings and said, "I feel Xiao's performance is very entertaining."
"How is it entertaining!"
Lin Chu Sui pursed her lips. "Look at his butt, isn't it perky?"
Lu Chi: ......
As expected, Xiao Yan finished the three methods of solving the trigonometric function in three minutes. He turned back and looked at the dumbstruck students in the classroom.
"Thank you."
The classroom was strangely quiet for a few seconds before Lin Chu Sui led the applause. "Great! The genius' performance is so good to watch!"
"So good to watch!" Lu Chi and Zhang Cheng Yu also cooperated to stir things up. "I'm so touched I'm about to cry!"
"First time seeing such a refreshing and natural talent performance!"
...
The students followed and applauded, although still confused.
Xiao Yan said, "Since everyone likes my performance so much, please vote for me."
Xu Jia Ning, with a guitar in his arms as a professional stage-wrecker with a hundred years of experience, sneered coldly, "Just a pre-prepared math question, and you want first prize?"
Xiao Yan looked at Xu Jia Ning, "Second prize. If you're not convinced, you can challenge me."
"Eternal Number Two" Xu Jia Ning couldn't stand being called "second place." He stood up and said, "Come on, I'll come up with a question on the spot, and you have to solve it within three minutes. Then I'll vote for you first."
"Okay."
Xu Jia Ning's challenge instantly lifted the gloom in the classroom.
They looked at Xu Jia Ning expectantly as he walked up to the podium and picked up a piece of chalk. He swiftly wrote down a trigonometry problem, but...
It was in English!
The entire question, including the coordinate system, was presented in English!
After finishing writing, Xu Jia Ning arrogantly threw down the chalk: "Scholar, go ahead."
Xiao Yan looked at him. His eyes were full of provocation.
"The first prize is mine. Just like as long as I'm around, you'll always be second place."
After speaking, Xiao Yan picked up the chalk and rapidly started writing the solution on the board.
What amazed the rest of the class was that Xiao Yan's solution was also entirely in English. He easily solved the problem in less than three minutes.
Of course, most of the students couldn't understand what he had written. But from the sullen look on Xu Jia Ning's face, they knew Xiao Yan's answer was completely correct.
"Damn, awesome!"
"You'll always be the scholar!"
"For the first prize, the scholar really went all out!"
Even Lu Chi and Zhang Cheng Yu, who had been heckling earlier, now prostrated themselves before Xiao Yan in admiration.
Xiao Yan put down the chalk. The whole class burst into thunderous applause.
Lin Chu Sui looked at him with utmost admiration, her eyes...seeming ready to pounce and devour him at any moment.
Xiao Yan said, "Please vote for me, I want the first prize."
"Vote, vote!"
Out of 59 students in the class, 58 raised their hands to vote.
The remaining Xu Jia Ning gritted his teeth reluctantly but could only raise his hand too, making it unanimous.
Lu Tian Bai took out a tube of Baby's Breath hand cream from the box and handed it to Xiao Yan: "Congrats, scholar!"
"Thank you."
Xiao Yan took the hand cream and sat back down in his seat.
"Are you even human?" Lin Chu Sui grabbed his sleeve excitedly, "Why are you so awesome? You're too amazing! Are you going to be the king of the world in the future?"
"I don't want to be king of the world." Xiao Yan quickly unwrapped the hand cream, twisted open the cap, then grabbed her hand, swollen like a pig's trotter from chilblains, "I just want to be your dad."
Lin Chu Sui stared at him. His eyes were lowered, with a tranquil gleam in the dark depths.
The smooth hand cream gently applied over her hands, fingers, and palms, carrying his warmth and the ineffable tenderness in his rough palms.
That empty space in her heart was gradually being filled...
80% full.
Inspired by Xiao Yan's "trigonometry solving" performance, a bunch of students driven mad by studying eagerly signed up to demonstrate their own "skills."
Some wanted to show off breath holding, some book tearing, and some brought tools to disassemble the classroom computers barehanded...
The classroom descended into chaos.
The class teacher Old Qin, having received complaints, angrily approached the classroom and scolded, "I'm taking huge risks agreeing to let you idiots hold this damn party. Show some proper performances! Any more nonsense and the party ends immediately!"
The morons instantly calmed down and obediently returned to their seats. Eager for a rare night of revelry, they certainly didn't want it cut short prematurely.
And so Xu Jia Ning took the stage with his guitar.
With a guitar in his arms, Xu Jia Ning fully embodied an artistic vibe. He asked Lu Chi to turn off the lights, then told everyone to use their phone flashlights.
The girls enthusiastically complied, instantly lighting up their phone flashes pointed at him.
He found the most handsome angle for himself, set up a stand, and started recording himself.
His hands were slender and beautiful as they strummed the strings, playing out melodious, touching tunes—
"ifellinlovewithyouwatchingcasablanca,backrowofthedriven-inshowintheflickeringlight."
The Casablanca melody, interpreted through his gentle, delicate voice, took on a different quiet, lonely flavor.
The girls in class gazed at Xu Jia Ning, enraptured.
At this moment, the strumming and crooning boy used his great charm to transport everyone to another world.
That world had a light night breeze, streetlights dimly glowing, a woman in an evening gown walking alone...
He completely ignored the girls' enraptured looks, only gazing into the phone camera, occasionally smiling gently, focusing all his tenderness into the lens.
Lu Tian Bai looked away, threw down her pen, bent to pick it up, and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
In the dim crowd, Lin Chu Sui grabbed and firmly squeezed Lu Tian Bai's hand.
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