38 Chapter 38
◎Who wants to sign up for the arts festival◎
Before afternoon classes started, the class was still in a relaxed state after their trip, and the classroom was noisy.
Dai Yun walked up to the podium with a form in hand and cleared her throat: "Everyone, please be quiet for a moment. There's something we need to tally up. The school arts festival is in a few weeks, and we're currently collecting entries. Does anyone want to sign up?"
Everyone in the classroom was still talking to themselves, no one responded, and not many people even glanced at her. Only Zhan Xinyue suddenly raised her head.
Dai Yun looked somewhat helpless. For the high school students, especially experimental classes like Class 10, they might be interested in attending an arts festival performance, but when it came to the program itself, everyone avoided it like the plague. After all, rehearsals take a lot of time, and few people are willing to spend that time.
"No? Anyone with singing or dancing skills is welcome. You can sign up individually or as a group." Dai Yun glanced around the classroom and noticed Zhan Xinyue looking over. She immediately gave her a look of surprise and approval.
Zhan Xinyue noticed her gaze, snapped out of her reverie, and gently shook her head.
Dai Yun was a little disappointed: "Okay, it's fine if our class doesn't put on a performance, but the student council needs to put on an opening dance, and each class has to send one person. Is there anyone willing to volunteer?"
This time, not only did no one respond, but many people also lowered their heads deeply.
"It won't take too long. They said we only need to rehearse for half a class period each day during activity time. It's a good way for everyone to take some time to practice," Dai Yun tried to persuade. "I know everyone's busy, but there are quotas set..."
After a brief standoff, the preparatory bell rang, and Old Zhou walked in; it was his class next period.
Dai Yun had no choice but to put away the form and walk off the stage.
"What are you doing?" Old Zhou looked at Dai Yun, who stopped and explained briefly.
"You need someone, right?" Old Zhou asked casually, not taking it seriously. "Is there anyone in our class who wants to go? Feel free to sign up."
Unfortunately, the situation was exactly the same as before, and the classroom remained completely silent.
"Since no one has signed up, let's just draw one randomly," said Lao Zhou. "Class monitor, you draw one, just pick any student number."
“This…” Dai Yun looked around the classroom, her face showing difficulty.
"Is it really that hard to draw a student ID number?" Old Zhou frowned.
Dai Yun hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "How about I go?"
The teacher was clearly dissatisfied with her reaction. "Don't think that just because you're the class monitor you should do it. If the class monitor has to do everything that no one else wants to do, what kind of person is the class monitor then!"
Dai Yun pursed her lips and lowered her head.
Their class monitor is great in every way, except he's a bit too soft-hearted and afraid of offending people. Old Zhou softened his tone and glanced around the classroom. "How about this, if you're too shy to draw, I'll draw. Anyway, I don't remember your student numbers, so it'll be fair."
No one responded; everyone in the classroom fell silent, afraid that his gaze would fall upon them.
"Then..."
Zhan Xinyue's eyes were calm as she quietly looked at the book in front of her.
"Then let's go with number 23. Who is it? Stand up so I can see."
The classroom was completely silent. No one stood up. Only those who hadn't been called on secretly breathed a sigh of relief and glanced around, wondering who the unlucky one would be.
"Stand up and don't waste time." The teacher tapped the lectern impatiently.
Zhan Xinyue kept her eyes down as she turned the page of her textbook.
Finally, in the middle of the classroom, Xie Wanzhi stood up hesitantly, her face full of disbelief.
She looked around, receiving only approving glances, but still stubbornly tried to struggle: "Teacher Zhou, I..."
Old Zhou didn't give her a chance and said unhappily, "When it's your turn, just stand up straight. Why are you dawdling for so long? You're wasting everyone's time by just one minute, and this whole class has been delayed by forty minutes." He waved his hand and said, "Alright, class monitor, you can transfer her over later. Let's start class now."
Xie Wanzhi: "..."
Zhan Xinyue didn't even glance in that direction.
Almost as soon as class ended, Xie Wanzhi approached him, fuming. Just as she did, Shi Ziqian got up to leave. She glanced at him and whispered to Zhan Xinyue, "What happened to his hand?"
Shi Ziqian's finger was wrapped in gauze, from when his wound was treated at the hospital yesterday. Zhan Xinyue recalled how, when the doctor cleaned his wound yesterday, she couldn't help but turn her head away, but he didn't utter a sound.
This young master, as others describe him, is really not spoiled at all.
"How would I know? Maybe she got hurt somewhere," she said.
"Tsk, what's wrong with our class lately? Everyone's getting injured, first you, then... Could it be bad feng shui?"
“I don’t know about other people’s feng shui, but I know that your feng shui must be bad today,” Xin Wenhua said to her with a grin.
Xie Wanzhi finally remembered what she was going to say and wailed, "Yeah! Why am I so unlucky today? Out of so many people, I was the one who got picked!"
“I told you you shouldn’t have come back today. Look, you’ve got a great opportunity! Your teacher has good taste. I’m already looking forward to seeing your graceful dance.” Xin Wenhua said.
Xie Wanzhi rolled her eyes at him, "If you keep talking so rudely, believe me, I'll go find the old teacher right now and tell him that you volunteered to go in my place."
"What am I, a man, supposed to dance for? Don't try to drag me into this." Xin Wenhua immediately turned back as if fleeing.
"Why can't guys dance! Our teacher didn't say it was only girls who got punished." Xie Wanzhi gave Xin Wenhua the middle finger as she watched him leave, then joined Zhan Xinyue in complaining, "Is the student council crazy? How can they force every class to send people like this? And what's with the dance choreography? Do they think we're all that free? Old Zhou too, I've had a feeling he has a problem with me for a long time, he's definitely targeting me on purpose!"
Zhan Xinyue had no intention of undermining him, and simply stated the facts: "He probably doesn't remember your student ID number."
“That’s not necessarily true…” Xie Wanzhi continued to complain, “Anyway, he’s really annoying! And why did he have to draw dancing? If it were singing, it would be fine, but I really don’t know anything about dancing.”
At this point, she changed the subject, looking at Zhan Xinyue with a pitiful expression. "What should I do, Yueyue? I really don't want to go. I've never learned to dance, and I'll definitely embarrass myself to death."
"Then go talk to your old teacher, maybe he'll let you off the hook," Zhan Xinyue said calmly.
"Don't you have some misunderstanding about him? How could he be so understanding?" Xie Wanzhi exclaimed. "He wouldn't care whether I live or die. He might even think I'm making a fuss, unless..." She hesitated.
Zhan Xinyue pretended not to understand her implied meaning and didn't respond.
“Unless…” she looked at Zhan Xinyue with hopeful eyes, “Yueyue, can you go in my place? As long as the problem can be solved, the old teacher won’t ask any more questions. As long as someone goes, he won’t care who it is.”
Zhan Xinyue: "Why? I've never learned to dance."
"But you'll definitely learn the moves much faster than me, you know that. Last semester in PE class, I learned Tai Chi, and I still couldn't remember the moves. Besides, look how pretty you are, you'd be perfect for dancing! You'd absolutely stun everyone, really!" She shook Zhan Xinyue's arm. "Please, Yueyue, this dance choreography will definitely take up a lot of time. I'm almost at the bottom of the class, how can I have time for all this? You have good grades, so please help me out."
Zhan Xinyue listened quietly. In her past life, she must have felt extremely embarrassed to be asked such a thing by others, but now she just wanted to laugh.
Seeing that she remained silent, Xie Wanzhi, sensing that her attitude had softened, leaned over the edge of the table, rested her chin on her hand, and looked at her pitifully: "Yueyue, please help me, can you bear to see me being tortured? Please, you're the best..."
The same thing happened in the previous life. In fact, the person Old Zhou originally planned to go dancing was Xie Wanzhi, but she refused to go no matter what and begged Zhan Xinyue to go in her place.
Zhan Xinyue didn't have much talent for dancing, but she was always soft-hearted and couldn't bear to see others begging her so humbly, so she finally agreed.
She memorizes movements very slowly. In her previous life, when she went to rehearse, most of the others had some basic skills and could remember a move after learning it a few times, but Zhan Xinyue was different. For this performance, she practiced alone for a long time almost every day.
Xie Wanzhi continued to use various methods to coax and beg her, while Zhan Xinyue seemed to be listening, but in reality, she was lost in thought.
In his past life, Xu Shen fell in love with her because of a chance encounter while practicing dance, but Xie Wanzhi was the one who was supposed to go dancing. In the end, they still ended up together; could this be considered a kind of destiny?
Perhaps they were originally meant to be, so why did fate have to push her into this situation, leading her to this predicament?
Zhan Xinyue suddenly laughed, startling Xie Wanzhi, who stared at her for a long time: "What are you doing? Are you possessed?"
Zhan Xinyue was still smiling. She reached out and tugged at Xie Wanzhi's sleeve, mimicking her gentle tone from before, and said, "Good Wanwan, what about you? Can you bear to see me suffer? I can't dance at all, and I'll inevitably embarrass myself if I go. We're such good friends, you wouldn't want to see me make a fool of myself on stage, would you?"
Xin Wenhua chuckled in front of him, then quickly suppressed her laughter, her body trembling.
Xie Wanzhi was taken aback by Zhan Xinyue's words and, unsure how to respond, vented her anger on Xin Wenhua: "Xin Wenhua, what's wrong with you now! What are you laughing at!"
Xin Wenhua didn't turn around and said, "I'm laughing. Is this the legendary use of magic to defeat magic?"
"Screw you." Xie Wanzhi punched him, glanced at Zhan Xinyue, said "Fine, if you don't want to, then leave with a pout."
Zhan Xinyue glanced at her back, and although she wanted to laugh, she didn't.
There was no need to go to the art festival anymore, and she and Xu Shen would never have any connection again in this life. She should have breathed a sigh of relief, but at this moment, instead of feeling relieved, she felt a strange unease that lingered in her heart, and she couldn't explain why.
That night, for some reason, Zhan Xinyue had another nightmare.
In her dream, Xu Shen held her hand, and the two walked along a path that seemed to have no end. On both sides were golden ears of wheat, and the sky was filled with the glow of the setting sun. The two walked on and on without saying a word.
She walked for an unknown amount of time until the sun set and dusk gradually descended. She wanted to ask Xu Shen if he wanted to rest for a while, but when she turned around, Xu Shen was gone.
She was all alone, surrounded by an endless expanse of wilderness under the vast sky. Turning back, the path they had walked along bore only her footprints.
She searched anxiously everywhere, until it was pitch black, but to no avail. Finally, she reached a low house at the end of the field and knocked on the door, asking for lodging. The door opened, and out came Xu Shen, whom she had been searching for, with a strange smile on his face.
Just as she was about to laugh along, Xu Shen presented her with a swaddled baby: "Xinyue, this is my son. How about I let him recognize you as his godmother?"
She retreated hastily, only to see Xie Wanzhi standing in the shadows behind him, her face bearing the same strange smile as his.
When she woke up, the night outside the window was deep and dark, with no end in sight. Zhan Xinyue couldn't breathe and could only sit up, gasping for air like a dying person.
She couldn't fall asleep again in the latter half of the night, sitting on the bed with her knees drawn up to her chest, lost in thought. Finally, as dawn broke, she rubbed her temples and simply got out of bed.
When I arrived at school, it was just past six o'clock. The sky was barely light, and the campus was deserted and shrouded in silence.
She rarely saw such a spacious and quiet campus. She walked alone through the large, somewhat empty front square, feeling dazed, like the trees lining the road, half-awake.
The stairwell, which is always crowded during the day, was just as empty. As Zhan Xinyue stepped onto the stairs, the entire building was still asleep, so quiet that even her soft footsteps could be clearly heard.
In a daze, she suddenly heard a low humming sound. It was a very old English song, coming from high up in the stairwell, clear and ethereal.
As if she were trapped back in the dream from the night before, she vaguely felt that she was hearing Xu Shen's voice.
Zhan Xinyue stood there stunned for a long time, her hand trembling slightly as she gripped the escalator, but she still pursed her lips and climbed up the steps one by one.
The sound grew clearer and clearer. The person humming the song probably hadn't expected anyone to be in the teaching building at this hour. Casually switching between melodies, the clear, youthful voice echoed softly in the empty stairwell, layer upon layer.
She finally realized that it wasn't her imagination; she really did hear Xu Shen's voice.
Halfway up the stairs, Xu Shen sat cross-legged on the ground, twirling a ballpoint pen leisurely in his hand. He was reading a book, occasionally pausing to think, then relaxing once he had an idea and humming a few lines.
Many people have said that Xu Shen is smart, that he can do everything with ease, and that he is academically excellent and multi-talented. But in reality, Xu Shen is extremely persistent and persevering. He will work hard to study things that interest him, and this is also true of his studies. Throughout his three years of high school, he was always the first one to arrive at the teaching building.
If she remembered that, she would never have come to the teaching building so early.
Half a flight of stairs away from the source of the song, Zhan Xinyue didn't go any further. She slowly squatted down and sat on the stairs.
The lingering emotions from last night's bizarre dream coalesced into a tangible pain at this moment. She suddenly realized that even though she had resolved not to attend the art festival and to never have anything to do with Xu Shen again in this life, she could not escape the pain of the past. The trauma Xu Shen had inflicted on her had left a deep mark on her soul.
Zhan Xinyue couldn't help but wonder, when she was in so much pain that her heart bled, when she was helplessly trapped in her dream... what about Xu Shen? He was oblivious, still living a leisurely life, humming a song with ease and enjoying his vibrant youth.
My heart was filled with a mixture of pain and confusion, and that indescribable discomfort seemed to have intensified.
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