74 Chapter 74
◎But it's really embarrassing◎
As usual, Lao Fang would stand at the bottom of the stairs on the first floor at this time, ready to catch any late students who hadn't returned to the classroom by the time the evening self-study bell rang.
When he heard the announcement over the loudspeaker, Lao Fang was initially just as bewildered as everyone else. He was only the dean of students, and he couldn't oversee every aspect of the high school's affairs. Many tasks were handled by specialists, so he wasn't sure whether this was a program arranged by the school or by any particular organization.
A young teacher happened to walk by, and Lao Fang waved him over: "Who's that voice on the loudspeaker?"
The teacher happened to recognize Xu Shen and heard his voice, so he answered honestly.
Old Fang vaguely remembered that Xu Shen was the minister of the student union's cultural and sports department, and that their department seemed to be in charge of the broadcasting room, so he just nodded and remained silent for the time being.
After hearing Xu Shen's earlier remarks, he thought they were quite good, and his impression of Xu Shen improved somewhat. As for the song he sang, although it had some educational value, Lao Fang felt it lacked a bit of momentum. If he were in charge of arranging it, he should at least arrange something like "The Sun Always Shines After the Rain" or "A Child's Heart Chases Dreams," which would be more effective in boosting morale!
However, none of this mattered much, and he didn't pay much attention to it. But when the song ended, Xu Shen inexplicably added a line, and then when he heard everyone in the teaching building suddenly shouting like crazy, Lao Fang finally understood what was going on.
There's a problem, a very big problem!
Old Fang immediately disregarded the discipline of each class and stormed angrily towards the broadcasting room. The broadcasting room was on the top floor, and by the time he climbed up, he was panting heavily. When he looked around, the broadcasting room was deserted, and even the door was locked, as if no one had ever been there.
Old Fang was so angry that his nose was crooked. When he heard that the classrooms in the building were still noisy and bustling, he naturally wouldn't let Xu Shen off so easily. He made a phone call to the homeroom teacher of Class 10.
"Where's Xu Shen from your class? Tell him to get to my office right now!" He took a breath, then roared, "And you! How did you manage this class? Come along too!"
Xu Shen calmly entered the classroom. The classroom, which had just quieted down, immediately became lively again, with everyone shouting and cheering as if they had seen a great hero.
"Awesome, Brother Shen!"
"That's so romantic of you, but aren't you afraid Lao Fang will mess with you?"
Someone near the door grabbed a pen and stepped forward, blocking Xu Shen's path: "Brother Shen, we'd like to interview you. Who's that special classmate?"
"Quiet down, we can talk after class!" A young teacher was on the podium, trying hard to quiet everyone down, but to little avail; he couldn't calm them down at all.
Most people were filled with enthusiasm for watching the spectacle. During their high school years, when their meal and bedtimes were strictly regulated, everyone was constrained by ubiquitous rules and regulations, both tangible and intangible. With such monotonous studying and high-pressure management, how could they possibly miss out on this amusement? They were eager to join in the commotion and relax, and if they could see Old Fang turn green with anger, that would be even better.
The teacher was in a dilemma when he suddenly saw Old Zhou appear at the classroom door with a livid face, and he immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Old Zhou, his face full of anger, shouted at the classroom: "What are you all arguing about! If you don't want to attend class, then get out here and stand up!"
When Lao Zhou appeared, the noisy classroom immediately quieted down, and those who weren't in their seats quickly scurried back to their places.
Xu Shen, who had just been blocked by them and was standing by the classroom, now clearly knew that Lao Zhou was bound to cause him trouble, so he simply stood there without moving. Sure enough, after glaring at the classroom for a while, Lao Zhou turned his gaze to him: "You, come out with me."
After Xu Shen left with Lao Zhou, the classroom finally calmed down a bit, though whispers still lingered. Many students chatted while glancing back at Zhan Xinyue. Clearly, no one doubted that the person Xu Shen was referring to was Zhan Xinyue.
Zhan Xinyue didn't look up, just sat there in a daze, not even noticing when Shi Ziqian had returned beside her.
In his past life, Xu Shen had done the same thing for her, though not because of an exam, but for another reason. At that time, her deskmate was Xie Wanzhi. Amidst the teasing of others and Xie Wanzhi's taunts, Zhan Xinyue's face burned for the entire class that day, so shy that she almost buried her face in the desk.
Xu Shen didn't even bother with any preamble; he simply said, "I have a song I want to dedicate to a classmate who isn't feeling too happy today, hoping it will cheer her up."
To everyone else, Xu Shen's actions were tantamount to a public confession. Zhan Xinyue never imagined he could be so audacious; she was both shocked and flustered, but she couldn't deny the flutter in her heart when she heard Xu Shen's voice on the radio.
During the tender years of adolescence, no one can remain unmoved by such a bold and straightforward declaration.
When Zhan Xinyue recalled those feelings, she felt as if it were a distant memory, like something from a past life. Upon further reflection, she realized it wasn't just a distant memory; it truly was a past life.
Hearing this now, I don't know how to feel.
Although Shi Ziqian returned very late, he happened to have overheard the entire conversation in the hallway. He glanced at Zhan Xinyue's absent-minded appearance, then silently looked away at the worksheet spread out on the table, but he didn't pick up a pen. Instead, his fingers unconsciously rubbed the scar on his knuckle.
When Xu Shen followed Lao Zhou to the office, besides Lao Fang, there was also a teacher from the Youth League Committee who was usually in charge of student union-related matters.
This teacher usually had a good relationship with Xu Shen. When he was alone with Lao Fang just now, he tried to cover for him for a long time, saying that his actions were an arrangement that had been reported to the student council. But no matter what, Xu Shen's last sentence was outrageous and could not be concealed.
So in the end, Lao Fang, Lao Zhou, and the teacher who gave Xu Shen a look that said "good luck to you" stood in the formation of a tribunal and began to interrogate Xu Shen about who the person he was talking about was.
Facing the three people, Xu Shen showed no intention of resisting and spoke without much thought.
"Yu Bai".
Old Zhou looked bewildered: "...Who?"
Xu Shen: "He's from Class One, my friend."
Old Fang vaguely remembered this person; he knew he was a boy with decent grades. But he instinctively felt something was off about the answer, so he glared at him and said, "Are you kidding me? Are you crazy to sing to a boy?"
“It’s true, Director Wang. He didn’t do as well as me in this exam, and he’s very upset.” Xu Shen’s expression was very sincere. “So as his good friend, I feel it’s my responsibility to comfort him.”
“However, he was unaware of this. I didn’t discuss it with him; it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing,” Xu Shen added. “It wasn’t sung specifically for him. It just so happened that I suddenly thought of him in that situation, and I blurted out an extra line. I now know I was wrong.”
After causing such a commotion, Xu Shen now describes it as nothing more than a minor accident, infuriating Old Fang. He has doubts about Xu Shen's explanation but can't find any evidence.
Regardless of who he ultimately implicated, the impact on the grade was real, and Lao Fang would never let him off easily.
Finally, Lao Fang berated Xu Shen for most of the class, accusing him of abusing his power for personal gain. Still furious, he said, "With your willful and reckless behavior, you can forget about being the student council minister! And you don't need to go back to class tonight; just stand in my office and reflect on your actions!"
After saying that, he felt it wasn't enough and changed his words, saying, "No, you stand outside the office so everyone can see you, as a warning to others!"
Ever since the students heard that Xu Shen was standing outside Lao Fang's office, some nosy classmates started forming groups to go and watch him. Naturally, they would come back to Zhan Xinyue to gossip about it. Zhan Xinyue simply hid outside during several breaks, but no matter which direction she went, she could hear people in the corridor discussing this matter enthusiastically.
The lively atmosphere lasted until the end of evening classes before temporarily dissipating. Zhan Xinyue waited until almost everyone had left before standing up from her seat and walking outside.
There weren't many people left in the corridor; only a few were walking back to their dormitories. Zhan Xinyue walked against their direction and hadn't gone far when she ran into Xu Shen, who had finally been released.
"Hey!" Xu Shen greeted her in a relaxed tone, seemingly unaffected by standing at the office door all night.
"You seem to be in a good mood, so nothing should be wrong," Zhan Xinyue said.
Xu Shen's eyes crinkled into a smile. He had been standing all night and had to endure occasional scoldings from Lao Fang, but none of this had affected his mood. He was quite happy at the moment.
"I'm fine, don't worry," Xu Shen said. "How about you? Are you feeling better now?"
Zhan Xinyue didn't answer, but asked instead, "Why did you do this today?"
The corridor lights were motion-activated, and the two spoke softly. When the lights dimmed, Zhan Xinyue's face also darkened as the light disappeared, making it impossible to see her expression.
“There’s no particular reason. I just noticed you were in a bad mood today, and I suddenly felt like doing this.” Xu Shen coughed lightly and turned the lights back on. “Besides, you didn’t hear the song I gave you at the last arts festival, right? I was thinking then that I would sing it for you again sometime.”
Zhan Xinyue lowered her head, rubbed her temples, and when she looked up again, her eyes were a little tired: "Xu Shen, do you think you look handsome like this?"
Xu Shen was taken aback: "I didn't, I just..."
Zhan Xinyue interrupted him: "You're not young anymore, can you please stop doing such childish things? It's really immature and boring."
Xu Shen's voice lowered: "I'm sorry, I just wanted to cheer you up, I didn't think that much about it. I was just thinking that you weren't there at the last arts festival..."
Zhan Xinyue rubbed her temples: "Why do you think anyone would be happy because of one of your songs? Also, don't mention the arts festival again. I was too embarrassed to say it that time and I held back and went out. I didn't expect you to be so oblivious and bring this up again."
Xu Shen seemed to understand after a long while, and murmured, "So you deliberately missed it, but that's not what you said at the time. I thought..."
"What do you want me to say? Do I have to tell you directly that what you're doing is annoying? Fine, I'll tell you directly then, I really feel ashamed. What you've done makes me feel like I can't even lift my head up," Zhan Xinyue said.
Xu Shen stared at her blankly for a long time, then slowly lowered his head: "Xinyue, what you said is really hurtful... You know perfectly well that I'm only like this because I like you."
Zhan Xinyue was silent for a moment before speaking, word by word: "Xu Shen, thank you for your affection, but could you please stop making me feel ashamed of being liked by you? If you continue like this, I really hope you stop liking me."
When Xu Shen returned to the classroom, there were only a few people left, with only two students on duty cleaning the classroom.
He didn't have the energy to greet them, and silently walked past the back of the classroom with his head down. In the corner of the classroom, a trash can and a dustpan were placed together. The trash can was now overflowing and had tipped over, with a lot of messy crumpled papers scattered on the ground next to it.
His gaze, which was lowered, slid over the top and then paused for a moment.
A black pen was vaguely visible among the messy trash, the gold lettering on the pen slightly faded. He stopped, looked at it for a while, and then picked it up.
After being rummaged through the trash can, the four characters "金榜题名" (meaning "passing the imperial examination with flying colors") on the pen had faded so much that they were almost illegible.
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