The two hit it off immediately, and with Chen Xu insisting on going along, the three of them hailed a car and went straight to the Zhonghai Opera House.
The school was over at the peak time, and the taxi was stuck in traffic for nearly half an hour. It was already past seven when the three of them arrived at their destination. The show started at eight o'clock, and after Chen Xu bought a ticket, Pan Liuyi took them to a nearby restaurant with familiarity, and waited until they finished eating and entered the venue.
Jiang Chen had seldom been to such occasions in his three lifetimes. Sitting in the audience and watching the lights on the stage dim was a novel experience.
Chen Xu's ticket was not with them. Only Pan Liuyi was sitting next to him. When the show was announced, she leaned close to his ear and whispered, "My sister doesn't seem to be sitting with us. She's in the front. I don't know how she changed seats. When the show is over, come with me to find her."
Jiang Chen looked forward in the direction of her finger, and his eyes paused, when he unexpectedly saw a familiar figure.
Pan Liuyi thought he hadn't found it, so she whispered, "It's in front, next to the boy with a white neck wearing Chenghua school uniform, the little girl with curly hair, who is very cute. Did you see her?"
Jiang Chen moved his gaze to the right and saw the little girl with a ponytail and wearing the high school uniform sitting next to He Qianmin. She was sitting straight and must be watching the performance very seriously.
His eyes flickered slightly, and he whispered, "I saw it."
Pan Liuyi nodded and sat up straight.
The orchestra on one side of the stage played the familiar Swan Lake. The little swans in ballet costumes entered the stage lively, jumping and dancing to the music. The ballet performance officially began.
Jiang Chen watched the performance on the stage seriously, but he was probably born without artistic talent. After a few minutes, he began to multitask, thinking about the Olympiad questions he had just seen in the exercise book that Pan Liuyi gave him. After solving the few questions on that page, his brows furrowed, because part of the last question was on the next page, and a condition was missing.
He moved his fingers on his knees, wanting to take out the exercise book to read the full question. However, the situation was obviously not suitable, so he could only calm down and search for the solution to the question in his mind based on the existing conditions. He gradually completed the question and knew the solution.
As Jiang Chen came up with the answer in his mind, the atmosphere of the music in his ears changed. He subconsciously looked up and saw a little girl in a black ballet tutu coming to the center of the stage. She jumped and spun in circles to the sound of the strings, with her chin raised high on her slender neck, like an elegant black swan.
She danced to the music and the plot, and Jiang Chen's eyes unconsciously followed her movements. There was a special attraction to the little girl, and her every move attracted his attention. Jiang Chen followed her and was drawn into the plot, following her climax and ending. It was not until the end of the play and the applause rang out that he belatedly followed suit and applauded.
When Jiang Chen walked out of the theater, the sense of wonder in his heart had not faded. Before this, even if he wanted to relax, he rarely chose audio-visual entertainment activities. Whether it was popular movies and TV series or less popular concerts and stage plays, for him, it was not as enjoyable as playing a ball game with friends or doing a difficult calculation.
But after today, he realized that it felt good to completely relax his brain that had been working all the time and devote himself to a performance.
"How was Swan Lake just now?"
After finding an open place, Pan Liuyi stood on the highest step, looking for her cousin Li Xiao in the crowd while casually asking Jiang Chen.
"This is my first time watching a ballet performance." Jiang Chen said, "It was unexpected and very interesting."
Pan Liuyi turned around and smiled, "Really? I didn't know this before, but Xiaoxiao's good friend is a member of the Yan City Children's Ballet Troupe. I watched it with her a few times before I fell in love with it. When I'm stressed out by my studies, I'll watch a few ballet performances and feel very relaxed after watching them."
Jiang Chen nodded and smiled, handed the ticket money to Pan Liuyi, pointed to the exercise book in his bag and said, "You have already paid me for your help, so of course I should pay for the ticket myself, and this wonderful performance is worth my money."
Pan Liuyi hesitated for a moment, but still took the money.
The two stood on the steps and looked for a long time, but they couldn't find Li Xiao. Pan Liuyi's eyes kept moving among the crowd. Suddenly, she thought of something, her eyes lit up, and she said to Jiang Chen, "I know! She should have gone backstage to look for her friend! She would occasionally go backstage when her friend was performing before."
Jiang Chen asked: "Do you know where the backstage is?"
"I know!" Pan Liuyi had already jumped down the stairs in a hurry and said, "I've been there once. Go this way."
Pan Liuyi successfully found the backstage of the theater, but outsiders were not allowed to enter or leave the backstage at will, so they were stopped outside the door.
Pan Liuyi sighed and said, "I forgot. I was able to go in before because Xiaoxiao had a family ticket given to her by her friend. Now I can only wait outside." She looked a little apologetic, "I'm sorry, Jiang Chen. It's so late and I still asked you to wait here with me."
Jiang Chen smiled faintly: "It's the same to wait here, and your exercise book is worth it."
Pan Liuyi burst out laughing and blinked, "Jiang Chen, I find that you are different from the rumors."
Jiang Chen was a little surprised: "Rumor?"
"Yes, don't you know? Not only in Yanyi, but even in our affiliated high school, we have heard a lot about you. When I was in the first year of high school, someone in our school forum posted a thread to select the most handsome school idol in Yanshi Middle School, and your number of votes..."
Pan Liuyi was halfway through her speech when Jiang Chen's cell phone rang. He smiled apologetically, walked to a secluded corner, and pressed the answer button.
"Jiang Zi! Why haven't you come yet?" Chen Xu's voice came from the microphone: "Didn't we agree to meet at the cold drink shop on the side of the road?"
"Li Xiao seems to have gone backstage. Pan Liuyi and I are waiting for her outside the backstage. You wait in the cold drink shop for a while. We should be out soon."
"But after I ordered a drink, I realized that I had just spent all my money on the ticket!" Chen Xu lowered his voice, wanting to cry but not tears, and said, "The boss is glaring at me now. He probably thinks I'm going to dine for free. If you don't come, I'll probably be dragged by him to wash the dishes! Brother Jiang! I need you! Come and save me!"
Jiang Chen laughed: "I'll tell Pan Liuyi and come right over."
Pan Liuyi saw Jiang Chen coming back not long after and asked curiously, "What happened?"
"It's Chen Xu." Jiang Chen said helplessly, "He has no money on him, and he can't pay for the drinks he ordered. I'll go and pay for him first. You can bring Li Xiao to the cold drink shop to find us later, okay?"
Pan Liuyi couldn't help but laugh. She waved her hand and said, "Go ahead. We'll meet later."
Jiang Chen nodded, turned around and walked out quickly.
Pan Liuyi smiled and looked away. In the blink of an eye, she saw Li Xiao appear in the corridor. She was delighted and immediately waved her hand and said, "Xiaoxiao! Here!"
Li Xiao was talking to someone. When she heard a familiar voice, she looked up and asked in surprise, "Sister, why are you here?"
"I'm here to take you home." Pan Liuyi held her hand, and then politely greeted everyone else: "Hello, Uncle He and Aunt Yang, Qianyu, your Black Swan is so beautiful this time!"
"Thank you, Sister Liu Yi." He Qianyu smiled with her small white teeth, and the dimples on both sides of her cheeks were obvious: "You are here to watch the show too, why aren't you with Xiaoxiao?"
Pan Liuyi smiled and said, "I came here with other friends and didn't tell Xiaoxiao."
Yang Yun retracted his gaze and said, "The other friend you are talking about is the boy who just left?"
Pan Liuyi didn't expect Yang Yun to interrupt, and was surprised for a moment before answering, "Yes."
"Is he also a student of your school?" Yang Yun asked again.
"No." Pan Liuyi shook her head and said, "He is from Yan No. 1 Middle School. I went to see him because I wanted to..." She glanced at Li Xiao halfway through her speech. Seeing that she didn't notice anything, she breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I have something to do with him. I happened to have two tickets, so I asked him to come along."
"What's the boy's name? How old is he? And..."
"Mom!" He Qianyu interrupted Yang Yun and said, "Sister Liu Yi will be embarrassed if you ask her like this!"
Yang Yun was stunned for a moment, then realized belatedly that her series of questions was very abrupt. But for some reason, the moment the boy's profile accidentally came into her sight, she arose a very strange feeling in her heart, causing her to unconsciously quicken her pace, wanting to see the boy's appearance more clearly.
But just after she took a few steps, the boy disappeared from her sight, so when she heard that Pan Liuyi knew the boy, she asked so many questions unconsciously.
"Sorry." Yang Yun smiled apologetically, suppressing the strangeness in her heart and said, "Auntie just asked too many questions, I hope you don't mind."
"It's okay." Pan Liuyi didn't take it to heart and said with a smile: "Auntie, you don't have to apologize."
He Yanfeng put his arm around Yang Yun's waist and asked gently, "Xiao Pan, how are you and Xiao Xiao going back? Do you want your uncle to take you back?"
"No need." Pan Liuyi said, "My friends are still waiting for me outside. Xiaoxiao and I will meet up with them later and then go back together."
"Okay then, be careful."
"Okay." Pan Liuyi and Li Xiao said goodbye together: "Goodbye uncle and aunt, goodbye Qianyu."
After walking out of the He family's sight, Li Xiao pulled Pan Liuyi and asked, "Sister, why did you come to watch the performance with the people from Yan No. 1 Middle School?"
Pan Liuyi froze for a moment, and said vaguely, "It's just... I had something to do with him, and then it happened that I had two tickets you gave me, so I brought him along."
"Really?" Li Xiao was surprised. "But I never heard that you had any friends in Yan No. 1 Middle School before."
Pan Liuyi laughed twice to hide her guilty conscience: "I am so beautiful, so naturally I have a lot of popularity. It's not strange to have a friend from Yanyi Middle School."
"So what's your friend's name?"
"You'll know when you get there and see it."
Li Xiao didn't ask any more questions. After a while, she whispered, "Sister, do you think Aunt Yang was a little strange just now?"
Pan Liuyi was fully focused on preventing Li Xiao from guessing her purpose. Hearing this, she said casually, "What's strange about that? I don't find it strange."
"Although Aunt Yang was very gentle before, she rarely asked about other people's affairs. Qianyu and I have been playing together since we were young. Even when Qianyu brought a boy home, I never saw her ask him questions like this. But she just asked you so many questions, and it's obvious that you two are not familiar with each other. Isn't this strange?"
"What's so strange about that?" Pan Liuyi didn't care much: "It's just two or three questions. Most parents will ask a few more questions when they see boys and girls of our age standing together. It's normal."
Li Xiao was skeptical: "Really?"
"real."
He Qianyu also had the same doubts as Li Xiao.
As soon as they got into the car, He Qianyu said to He Qianmin, who had just gone to the bathroom and didn't see the scene, "Brother, you didn't see it just now, but mom was very curious about the friends that Sister Liu Yi brought, and asked a lot of questions!"
He Qianmin leaned lazily, playing with his phone while casually answering, "Oh, what did you ask?"
"What's the boy's name? How old is he? I've never asked anyone this before." He Qianyu emphasized, "Even when I saw you leaving school with a girl, I never asked!"
"The friend she brought is a boy?" He Qianmin was a little surprised, but still didn't look up: "What's his name?"
"I don't know." He Qianyu was distressed and worried: "Is that boy Sister Liu Yi's boyfriend? Brother, why does Sister Liu Yi have a boyfriend, but you don't have a girlfriend? Is it because you have a bad personality and no girl wants you?"
He Qianmin pinched her nose: "Why do you care about me?"
"Humph." He Qianyu dodged his hand: "Your personality is definitely not as good as Sister Liu Yi's boyfriend, and you are definitely not as good-looking as Sister Liu Yi's boyfriend, and your grades may not be as good as his, so these are the reasons why you can't find a girlfriend."
"I won't treat you well if I find a girlfriend." He Qianmin threatened her: "Don't drag me to cry when the time comes."
He Qianyu made a face: "You are not nice to me now."
As the car drove out of the garage and waited to change lanes, He Yanfeng took the time to glance at his wife. Seeing that she was staring out the window in a daze, not knowing what she was thinking about, he couldn't help but ask, "Wife, what are you thinking about?"
Yang Yun was immersed in her own thoughts and didn't say anything until He Yanfeng asked her again.
"Nothing." Yang Yun said thoughtfully, "I just don't know why, but I'm a little concerned about the boy I just saw."
"Liu Yi's friend?" He Yanfeng was puzzled: "I only saw his back, not his face. What's so strange about him?"
"No..." Yang Yun shook his head: "It's just that I have an indescribable feeling."
He Yanfeng: "What's the feeling?"
Yang Yun rolled her eyes at him and said, "I've already said it, it's an indescribable feeling."
He Yanfeng shrugged and tactfully stopped asking questions.
He Qianmin, however, became somewhat interested and asked, "Mom, what does that guy look like? Tell me, I have a lot of friends in the affiliated middle school, maybe he has seen him and has an impression of him."
"That's not the affiliated middle school!" He Qianyu said, "Sister Liu Yi said that brother is from Yan City No. 1 Middle School."
"Yanyi Middle School?" He Qianmin said with a sigh, "Then I don't know. I only know one person in Yanyi Middle School."
He Qianyu was curious: "Who is it?"
He Qianmin lowered his head to play with his phone and said lazily: "I won't tell you."
When the He family's car drove towards the first traffic light intersection, Pan Liuyi took Li Xiao into the cold drink shop.
Jiang Chen and Shen Xu were the only two people in the cold drink shop. Li Xiao saw them at a glance. She looked between them curiously, "Sister, didn't you say you only had one friend? Why are there two of you here?"
"There are two people." Pan Liuyi pulled Li Xiao to sit down at the two seats opposite, looked at the two people opposite and introduced: "This is Chen Xu, this is Jiang Chen, the one Aunt Yang saw just now is Jiang Chen, Chen Xu is waiting for us here."
Shen Xu waved and said hello. Jiang Chen raised his eyes, met Li Xiao's gaze, smiled and said, "Hello, I'm Jiang Chen."
Li Xiao was stunned, turned to look at Pan Liuyi, and then turned back to the opposite side: "Are you Jiang Chen? Jiang Chen who ranked first in this joint exam?"
Jiang Chen pursed his lips and smiled, "Nice to meet you."
Li Xiao nodded and said hello, then turned to Pan Liuyi and asked, "Sister, why didn't I know you knew Jiang Chen? How did you know him?"
"It's just..." Pan Liuyi said vaguely: "Friends met friends, and then they got to know each other."
"But why didn't I know this before?"
"There are many things you don't know." Pan Liuyi rubbed her head, not forgetting the purpose of this meeting: "What do you feel when you see him?"
Li Xiao was puzzled: "What's the feeling?"
"It's just... He's older than you, and it doesn't matter that he beat you in the test. You don't have to feel lost about it."
Li Xiao shook his head: "I'm not disappointed. It's normal that he beat me because I will definitely beat him next time."
Chen Xu applauded and gave Li Xiao a thumbs up: "You have great ambition!" Jiang Chen also laughed.
Pan Liuyi was at a loss for several seconds: "Then why are you unhappy these past two days? You frown like an old man every day."
"I'm not unhappy." Li Xiao lowered his head and took a sip of milk tea: "I'm just thinking about something, something very strange."
Pan Liuyi: "What's the matter?"
"That's... Qianyu's brother." Li Xiao frowned: "He's a little weird."
Pan Liuyi: "Strange? Are you talking about He Qianmin or He Qianjian?"
"He Qianjian."
"What's so strange about him?"
"The results are very strange." Li Xiao recalled and said slowly: "I went to Qianyu's house to play before, and accidentally entered Qianjian's room. I saw the competition exercises on his desk. One of them was an Olympiad tutorial. I couldn't help but flip through it and found that he only wrote the first few pages, and he didn't write any questions in the other books..."
Jiang Chen suddenly raised his eyes.
"What's so strange about this?" Pan Liuyi was puzzled.
"That's very strange." Li Xiao looked at Jiang Chen and said, "Brother Jiang Chen, you should understand what I mean."
Under the curious gazes of Pan Liuyi and Shen Xu, he nodded and said, "Olympiad Mathematics Tutorial is an entry-level competition question, usually used in the first year of high school."
"Yes." Li Xiao said: "What's even more strange is that his thinking is a mess. It doesn't look like the problem solved by a student in a competition. He can't even compare with students with better math grades..."
She poked the pearls in the milk tea with a straw. "Actually, I didn't think much about it at the time. I thought it might be Brother Qian Jian who gave the test book to Brother Qian Min. But later, when I went to Qian Yu's room, I happened to hear Brother Qian Min explaining the test questions to Qian Yu. At that time, I knew that Brother Qian Min couldn't have done the test book. To be sure, I deliberately asked Brother Qian Min a question, and his answer further confirmed my guess."
Chen Xu didn't understand: "You can see this? How can you see this?"
Li Xiao explained: "Although there is only one standard answer to a math problem, just like everyone has different ways of solving the problem, a person's mathematical thinking can be seen from the problems he solves, especially when solving advanced math problems."
Pan Liuyi was still puzzled: "But even if those questions were done by He Qianjian, it doesn't mean anything. It's normal to be biased in one subject. This at most proves that he is not suitable for math competitions, so this may be the reason why he didn't go to the competition class in his first year of high school. But these don't affect his being the top student in Chenghua. After all, the college entrance examination is not just about one subject."
"This is the weird part." Li Xiao paused, a little embarrassed, "Later, because I was so curious, I ran to He Qianjian's room again and secretly found his previous test papers. I didn't expect to see something even weirder."
Li Xiao's progressive narration aroused the curiosity of Shen Xu and Pan Liuyi, and they hurriedly asked: "What's even stranger?"
"The way of solving problems in He Qianjian's papers in each period is different, not just in mathematics. I also looked at his Chinese reading comprehension and his previous essays." Li Xiao paused and said, "Those answers don't seem to change the way of solving problems over time. Instead, they seem like... papers done by different people."
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