Chapter 66

Chapter 66

When you're young, you shouldn't meet too many amazing people, because if you do, you'll feel uneasy and anxious.

This is how Ye Chuyang saw Shen Qingyuan when he was a teenager. In his eyes, the girl was like an insurmountable mountain, looking down on all others with her stunning talent and beauty. He admired her wholeheartedly.

She is intelligent, beautiful, and completely goal-oriented; she knows what she wants and understands what she is doing. Not everyone understands this; for example, Ye Chuyang is confused and tentatively explores the future step by step.

People tend to apply a glittering filter to those they like, at least for a certain period of time.

Ye Chuyang saw Shen Qingyuan as someone who shone with golden light. It's no exaggeration to say that he felt he had been "enlightened."

So during the three months he prepared for the art exam, he was full of energy, focused, and seemed to have divine assistance.

The art teachers liked him very much. Yu Miaomiao would privately give him pronunciation pointers, and Lu Tong even gave him extra tutoring. Ye Chuyang, who had never gained much confidence in his studies, began to feel a sense of accomplishment after changing his direction.

If you want to study acting, you definitely need to have some understanding of film and television works. Luckily, there was a DVD player at home, so Ye Chuyang borrowed a few classic movie discs and spent the weekend watching them repeatedly in the living room.

He was quite engrossed in watching it. It reminded me of when he was little, watching "The Legend of the White Snake" and wearing a white mosquito net to act out the role of the White Snake. And then there were the Qiong Yao dramas; I watched them with my mom when I was little, and I'd even shed tears when they were sad—I was completely absorbed.

Believe it or not, this might have been his first encounter with acting, even before he consciously categorized it as "a passion".

A positive mindset means believing that everything that happens will benefit me, and putting this into practice.

Lately, Ye Chuyang has been studying the basics of arts and literature with a positive attitude. He doesn't get bogged down in internal conflicts and hasn't considered the possibility of failing the art exam or not meeting the minimum score in the academic subjects.

Now that you've set a goal, do your best to achieve it. After all, he has a good role model right there for him.

In return, he gave his good role model small gifts, such as chocolates, candies, beef jerky, and fruit. Before evening self-study, he would buy them at a supermarket near the school and then quietly put them in Shen Qingyuan's desk drawer during his break.

When they first released the gift, they left a small thank-you note to identify themselves.

This is still necessary; I doubt anyone would dare eat food of unknown origin.

Shen Qingyuan initially accepted the gifts gladly. But as the small gifts kept pouring in, she became a little annoyed. Was it really necessary to make such a fuss over something as simple as a few words?

She hadn't yet interpreted his actions as a "show of affection." Shen Qingyuan also left a note in the drawer to express her gratitude and to tell him not to spend money on her again. Later, she discovered the note was gone, but the food and drinks continued to appear in the drawer.

Song Ting, on the other hand, seemed quite happy eating and drinking along. Why not take advantage of it? They're all classmates, no need to be polite.

Perhaps because she felt indebted to others, she couldn't refuse their help when asked for it years later.

The countdown to the college entrance exam on the blackboard dwindles day by day. Everyone is working feverishly for their future. Occasionally, they glance up at the numbers, but they're all numb to it.

Once that string is stretched too tight, after a while, you get used to it and think, "Whatever."

Ye Chuyang truly felt nervous during the unified exam in December.

For the first time, he realized that so many people in his small town of Chenyang were taking the path of art exams. The men and women all looked energetic, intelligent, and beautiful.

He's a complete novice, having only prepared for three months before being thrown into the fray. His theoretical knowledge is pieced together haphazardly; I wonder if it'll be enough to pass the exam.

Once you're on the battlefield, it's too late to sharpen your sword.

So I forced myself to recite and sing, and improvise based on the topics given by the teacher. The whole day was chaotic, and I don't even know how I got through it.

On the day he checked his grades online, Ye Chuyang felt dizzy and unsteady. The internet speed at the internet cafe near the school wasn't very good, and while waiting for the webpage to refresh, Ye Chuyang felt his hands shaking.

The provincial exam cutoff scores have been released, and those in the art class with connections know this, which has already reached Ye Chuyang's ears. As long as your score on the unified exam exceeds the cutoff, you're considered qualified.

Then, he saw his results.

It's over! It's over! It's over!

-

The people Ye Chuyang most wanted to share good news with were not her parents or her teachers.

If we're talking about talent scouts, he thinks Shen Qingyuan is the one.

That day, at the door of the homeroom teacher's office, she said, "Ye Chuyang, don't be impulsive."

She added, "Do what you want to do. Don't worry about what others say."

Her words still echoed in his ears, soothing him like a feather. Her tone of voice, her gaze, were both firm and tender. If someone is always a saint, then her tenderness is not particularly special.

But the occasional, rare display of tenderness and encouragement from the aloof and arrogant Shen Qingyuan is all the more precious.

He was filled with great excitement and wanted to find a suitable time to share this good news with Shen Qingyuan alone.

However, it happened to be New Year's Day, and the school gave them an unprecedented two-day holiday. As soon as school was over in the afternoon, everyone scattered in a flash. Before Ye Chuyang could stop Shen Qingyuan, she had already disappeared from her seat.

It's strange, I've never seen Shen Qingyuan so eager before.

As a result, most of the students returned to class one after another after dinner. Shen Qingyuan also returned.

It turned out that everyone had decided to continue studying in the classroom during the evening self-study session, regardless of whether there was a holiday or not. Studying for an extra hour was always a good thing, and diligent people could always squeeze out more time.

Because it was a holiday, there was a rare sense of relaxation in the atmosphere. Evening self-study was not as tense and serious as before, and several couples in the back row were whispering to each other.

Ye Chuyang was figuring out how to talk to Shen Qingyuan in front of everyone, and how to arrange to meet her in a secluded place, such as the playground, so they could talk alone.

A voice came from the doorway: "Which one of you is Shen Qingyuan?"

To get attention, the person even knocked on the open classroom door.

Ye Chuyang looked up. At the doorway stood a tall, muscular male student with a smiling, fox-like eye. His face was unfamiliar; he couldn't recall seeing him somewhere before. Ye Chuyang scrutinized his school uniform; it didn't look like that of Chenyang No. 2 Middle School.

Shen Qingyuan was still engrossed in her workbook, completely absorbed in it, and clearly did not hear the sound.

The male student sitting by the door shouted in support: "Shen Qingyuan, someone's looking for you!"

With a shout and a call, everyone's attention was drawn to it, wondering who was at the door and what they wanted with Shen Qingyuan.

Shen Qingyuan was startled and frowned slightly when she looked up.

She sized up the boy at the door, and after more than ten seconds, asked疑惑地问道, "Who are you? What do you need me for?"

The person walked casually into the classroom and took a few steps closer to Shen Qingyuan's seat.

"Even though it's the holidays, everyone is still studying so hard!"

He didn't rush to answer Shen Qingyuan's question, but smiled and looked around. Then, his gaze fell on Shen Qingyuan.

He scrutinized her, his eyes gleaming, and he slightly raised his eyebrows.

"I heard that the top science student in the senior class of Chenyang No. 2 High School is named Shen Qingyuan, so I was a little curious and came to see for myself. I'm sorry I didn't tell you beforehand."

His posture wasn't just one of curiosity; it was more like he was just taking a leisurely stroll. He didn't seem to care at all about disturbing others' evening study sessions.

"By the way, you may not know me. My name is Guo Dingkun. I'm from Chenyang No.1 Middle School and I'm also the top science student in my grade."

The students in the class exclaimed in unison, all surprised and feeling honored.

Chenyang No. 1 Middle School and No. 2 Middle School are the best key high schools in the city. When the top science students meet, it's like a duel between masters, vying for the title of martial arts champion.

"So you're Guo Dingkun! I've heard of you. You're quite famous at Chenyang No. 1 High School." Zhang Chi, the class's know-it-all, immediately ran up to him and tried to curry favor.

The students who had been engrossed in their books or exercises looked up and stared at Guo Dingkun. They wanted to see what the top student from another school looked like, and whether he was a prodigy with extraordinary features.

The first-place winner came to see the other first-place winner on New Year's Day. What a wonderful story!

Guo Dingkun smiled slightly, nodded to Zhang Chi, and smugly enjoyed the envious, awe-inspiring, or curious gazes of the crowd, as if it were commonplace.

He turned to Shen Qingyuan and extended his right hand: "Let's be friends, Shen Qingyuan. Maybe we can meet again in Jicheng in six months!"

The best science university in the country is in Jicheng. He said that as if it were already his for the taking. He might be bragging, but he has the ability to do so.

The crowd thought to themselves: "He must be a good student to be so confident!"

Some people found Guo Dingkun utterly unpleasant to look at, too arrogant, and made them want to beat him up. Ye Chuyang was one of the latter.

Out of a male's instincts during courtship, he really disliked this Guo Dingkun. He just didn't like his appearance and he inexplicably showed up and started spouting a bunch of nonsense.

Does Shen Qingyuan want to get to know you?

Go to the university in Jicheng and make a promise to meet Shen Qingyuan again. Hey, don't be so confident!

Then, Ye Chuyang immediately felt dejected. "Sigh, I certainly have the right to be number one in the grade. If I can maintain a consistent performance..."

Ye Chuyang suddenly recalled a scene from his junior high school biology textbook: two sika deer with huge, forked antlers, antlers facing each other, fierce and ready to fight to the death. All this was for the female deer nearby.

If he also had antlers, Ye Chuyang felt that he would speed up and rush towards the Guo boy!

Alas, it's a pity that human society doesn't rely solely on force when it comes to courtship, at least not in modern civilized society.

After a while, Shen Qingyuan gave a soft "oh". Her voice was not loud, but everyone was holding their breath and paying attention to Shen Qingyuan's reaction, so it was just loud enough for them to hear.

Shen Qingyuan stood up from her seat and said calmly, "Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you."

She didn't shake hands with Guo Dingkun. She said "It's a pleasure to meet you," but her tone was cold.

Young girls are always shy. Guo Dingkun thought to himself, a slight smile playing on his lips, as he withdrew his hand, not feeling embarrassed at all.

I had only heard that there was a Shen Qingyuan at Chenyang No. 2 Middle School, who was the top student in science and not only had excellent grades, but was also a great beauty.

He thought, "How could a girl possibly be good at science? Most science subjects are men." But since she was a beautiful woman, he figured it was worth checking out.

Upon closer inspection, he was not disappointed at all. She was well-proportioned, had a cool and aloof demeanor, and suited his taste perfectly.

Guo Dingkun, suppressing his excitement, smiled and said with narrowed eyes, "I'm even happier to know you. If it's convenient, let's add each other as friends!"

Back then, mobile phones started to become popular. Although schools didn't allow students to bring cell phones, they still secretly brought them to chat and make friends.

In front of dozens of people, for a boy to openly ask a girl to join his party is not just ordinary confidence, it must be at the level of a king.