Chapter 39 The Female Lead Who Went Mad (Two Chapters Combined)
Li Mengxin got up early the next morning. When she got up, Gu Yin was still sleeping. In order not to make any noise, she took her shoes and walked barefoot to the door. She put on her shoes after she went outside.
Gu Yin was awakened by a fragrant aroma. When she opened her eyes, she saw Li Mengxin placing breakfast on the table.
"Mom? You've already bought breakfast? Why are you up so early?" Gu Yin got up, rubbed her eyes, and looked at the clock on the wall. It was exactly eight o'clock.
Seeing that she was awake, Li Mengxin stopped being careful while walking and said with a smile, "It's getting late, hurry up and get up, get dressed, wash your face and brush your teeth, then come and have breakfast! After you eat and rest for a bit, you can go to the site."
After Gu Yin got out of bed and washed up, she took the rice noodle rolls that Li Mengxin handed her.
"It has meat, eggs, mushrooms, and vegetables. How much is a serving of rice noodle roll? It smells so good!"
Li Mengxin poured her a glass of warm water and placed it on the table: "Two yuan and fifty cents a serving, that's a good deal!"
Gu Yin nodded. She had eaten this a few times when she was filming on the coast in her previous life. It cost 13 yuan. Prices have risen too fast!
After eating and resting for a while, Gu Qinglang came over. He and Grandpa Gu went back to their dormitory to rest last night. He got up at six o'clock and busied himself for a while before bringing Grandpa Gu and Gu Qingming over. The three of them came specifically to cheer Gu Yin on.
At 9:30, the five arrived at the cultural center. Teacher Cai Yu was already waiting at the entrance. After giving them the tickets, she led them into the auditorium, took the parents to the front row, and instructed them: "Parents can sit here and wait. Gu has to go backstage to prepare. He will be giving a speech here later."
Grandpa Gu nodded repeatedly: "Alright, alright, we'll sit here and wait. Teacher, please take Ayin there! We won't wander off!"
After settling the parents in, Cai Yu took Gu Yin backstage and explained the rules to her along the way: "Your order of going on stage will be determined by drawing lots. There will be four judges. The highest and lowest scores will be removed, and then the average score of the remaining two will be taken. I think this is the best way and most advantageous for you."
Gu Yin understood.
When the two arrived backstage, no one was there yet, so Cai Yu waited with her.
At the front desk, Grandpa Gu turned to look around and exclaimed, "If it weren't for Ah Yin's success, we would never have had the chance to come into a place like this in our entire lives! Look at that big light on the ceiling, wow, it's so big and so bright!"
Gu Qinglang nodded: "It's even more luxurious than the assembly hall in town where I used to hold meetings!"
Just as he finished speaking, three people walked over: two adults and a boy.
The newcomer had overheard their conversation. Although he didn't say anything, Gu Qinglang could still see the disdain in his eyes.
Gu Qinglang stopped speaking, and so did Grandpa Gu. He had originally thought that these were also children and parents participating in the competition, and he wanted to greet them, but seeing their attitude, he decided against it.
The man patted the boy on the shoulder: "Xiao Bao, you and your mom go backstage to draw lots. Dad will wait for you here. Don't be nervous. Teacher Winnie said you should just perform normally. You've practiced a lot at home, and your parents think you're doing great. Go ahead."
The boy lowered his head and followed the woman backstage.
After everyone disappeared, the man turned around and looked at the Gu family. He frowned when he saw that they had already taken all the good seats, and then sat down on the other side of the aisle.
Li Mengxin happened to be sitting next to the aisle. Seeing this, she turned her head and glanced at Gu Qinglang. Gu Qinglang patted her hand, and the group started chatting quietly again.
As the time drew closer, more and more people arrived, and once all the seats were filled, the match began.
Backstage, after Cai Yu left, Gu Yin found a seat and sat down. Several people arrived one after another, but no one greeted them. Clearly, they were all rivals and had nothing to say to each other.
The later ones, however, seemed to know each other and started chatting together.
Once everyone had arrived, the host brought out a cardboard box containing 20 ping-pong balls. There were 20 participants in this competition.
The host looked at the students and smiled, "Draw lots, then tell me your numbers so I can register them. After that, wait for my number to be called. After the speech, you can watch from the audience or come here. Just don't make a fuss. No headphones, hair clips, brooches, necklaces, or anything like that are allowed. If you are caught wearing them, your score will be invalid."
Cai Yu and Gu Yin had explained these rules, and I believe everyone who participated knows them. No one brought them. When everyone went on stage, Gu Yin drew number 5, which was neither at the beginning nor the end, so she was quite lucky.
After registering, Gu Yin returned to her original seat. The first person to go on stage was a girl who kept drinking water, clearly very nervous. The second person was a boy who was doing small jumps in the corner, as if to relieve the pressure of going on stage soon.
"I don't understand these people. Why are they so nervous to even come to the competition?" A male voice came from the side. Gu Yin turned her head and saw that it was the boy who came on stage number 3. Gu Yin didn't say anything and continued to look at the stage in the distance. The host had already started announcing the start of the competition and was introducing the judges.
"What else could it be? Of course, we come to the competition for honor. Do you think we're here to play around? You're not here to play around, are you? You don't care about the certificate?" The girl in front of the boy rolled her eyes and said directly.
The boy was so embarrassed by the rebuttal that he didn't know what to say. It would be too fake to say that he wasn't doing it for honor.
Gu Yin wasn't interested in their argument. At this moment, Number One had already been called up. Gu Yin didn't know the strength of these people yet, so this was a good opportunity to observe them.
When Number One went up, his hands trembling, he took out the manuscript, bowed to the front, and then stammered out a few words before tears started falling. After that, he couldn't continue.
The host went up to her and asked if she could continue. When she shook her head, the host helped her backstage.
Everyone remained silent, watching quietly, but Gu Yin could clearly feel the atmosphere becoming increasingly tense.
Number 2 took a deep breath, got ready, and went on stage. Gu Yin saw him walk out and look down at the audience, and then he walked to the center of the stage with his hands and feet moving in unison.
Are there a lot of people downstairs? Gu Yin touched her chin, but it didn't matter. Thanks to her acting experience in her previous life, social anxiety was something she didn't have.
Number 2 also took out his manuscript. He was obviously much better than Number 1. He could not only speak, but also finish his entire speech. However, he lacked emotion and was too stiff. After he came down, he was also frustrated and kept sighing.
Before going up, number 3 glanced disdainfully at the two people in front of him, then tidied his hair, which he had sprayed with hair mask that morning. Seeing that there was no problem, he went up.
He was clearly much calmer than the previous two. He went on stage, took out his notes, and spoke fluent English without pausing or showing any nervousness.
Gu Yin listened carefully to what he said. He talked about scenes and stories he had seen abroad, and finally expressed his desire to study abroad and his purpose for participating in the competition. Well, the purpose was very official, saying that it was to make more friends, etc. After he finished speaking, Gu Yin heard a female judge in the audience ask, "Did you make any friends this time? What are their names?"
As a result, contestant number 3 hesitated and ultimately couldn't say a name. The judge smiled and said, "It's okay. I hope you can make good friends after you leave the stage."
Number 3 nodded, said nothing, and left the stage. The judges in the audience shook their heads, and the host continued to call out numbers.
"Brother Yan, what are you doing here? Why don't you go watch Tian Tian practice dancing?" Xia Tian didn't see Chu Yan outside the dance studio, so she came out and looked around and found him with his arms crossed, leaning against the entrance of the auditorium and looking inside.
Xia Tian glanced inside and saw a boy giving a speech on a stage in the distance. She looked at Chu Yan with a puzzled expression and asked, "Do you know him?"
Chu Yan shook his head: "I don't know him."
Why are you looking at it so intently if you don't even recognize it?
Xia Tian looked at the person carefully and found that he was not from their school, so she didn't pay attention to him. She turned to Chu Yan and said, "If we don't wait for Tian Tian there, her aunt will complain to your grandpa again, and you'll be nagged again."
Chu Yan scoffed, "What's it to me?"
He came out today just to avoid seeing that old woman. He happened to remember there was a speech contest here, so he came to see who Ye Tiantian was.
Ye Tiantian's maternal grandmother and great-aunt were sisters, both surnamed Ye. To ensure the continuation of the Ye family line, Ye Tiantian's maternal grandmother married a man who would marry into the family. After that, Ye Tiantian's mother was born. For the sake of the family, Ye's great-aunt did not remarry and stayed at home to support the Ye family. After Ye Tiantian's mother married and had Ye Tiantian, Ye's great-aunt even came to take care of Ye Tiantian for a period of time until Ye Tiantian went to school and no longer needed her. Then, she went to work as a nanny in the city. Because she did a really good job, she was introduced to Chu Yan's maternal grandfather's house.
Chu Yan's maternal grandfather was a university professor. His wife passed away from illness when their daughter was in college. Even after his daughter got married and his grandson was in school, Professor Yao had no intention of remarrying. Later, Aunt Ye came to live with him and took good care of him in every way. For some reason, he wanted a companion. After asking Aunt Ye, she had no objection, so the two of them lived together and became companions in their old age.
Chu Yan's mother did not object to their being together. She would often come back to visit them with expensive gifts, medicinal herbs, and tonics. Although Professor Yao was not short of money, Chu Yan's mother still transferred money to their accounts every month. Yes, Chu Yan's mother also transferred living expenses to Aunt Ye's account every month. She took the two of them to have medical check-ups every year, and she also paid for all their clothes.
Once, when Professor Yao was hospitalized, Chu Yan's father was away on a business trip abroad, and young Chu Yan came back with her mother to visit her grandfather. After being discharged, the old man was weak, so Mrs. Chu thought of preparing some precious medicinal herbs to nourish him. However, when she opened the cabinet, not only were the herbs gone, but even the milk powder she had bought for the elderly was empty. Mrs. Chu asked Old Mrs. Ye if they had been put somewhere else, saying that the stove was on and she should take it out, and that she would buy more later. But the old lady remained silent. When she pressed further, she burst into tears. The Chu family was one of the four most powerful families in Beijing; what methods hadn't she seen? Seeing Old Mrs. Ye like this, Mrs. Chu went directly to ask Professor Yao, but he didn't know either. He had never paid attention to these things; Old Mrs. Ye arranged everything for him, and he hadn't asked any further questions.
Mrs. Chu remained silent, staring intently at Old Mrs. Ye. Having been a boss for so long and being a wealthy lady, her gaze intimidated Old Mrs. Ye, making her tremble. In the end, Old Mrs. Ye had no choice but to speak up, saying that the items had all been taken back to the Ye family. She explained that they were just sitting there anyway, and since the two of them didn't need them, they could simply ask the Chu family to buy more, since the Chu family was wealthy.
Mrs. Chu didn't say anything. That day, she arranged for a young nanny to come over and bought some things for the old man to use. She told the nanny to tell her if anyone touched anything else. When Mrs. Ye saw that she was really angry, she didn't dare to do anything extra.
When Chu Yan came to visit his maternal grandfather during the summer vacation, Grandma Ye brought Ye Tiantian's family along. At that time, Ye Tiantian's surname was not Ye but Zhong. Ye Tiantian was domineering and unruly. She had the princess's attitude but not the princess's life. I don't know if she was instructed by the adults, but she always falsely accused Chu Yan of bullying and hitting her. At that time, Chu Yan was still young and was spoiled at home. He was very arrogant and could not stand such grievances. He pushed her down and was scolded by Grandpa Yao. After that, he was so angry that he never came again.
When Chu Yan entered junior high school and grew up, he stopped being angry with the old man.
When I came back during the summer vacation, I saw that Ye Tiantian was living in the Yao family and had changed her surname to Ye. Her father, Mr. Zhong, would visit Grandma Ye from time to time, and when he returned, he would be carrying big bags and small bags, as if Grandma Ye was his biological mother and Grandpa Yao was his biological father.
Ye Tiantian became increasingly domineering, completely treating the Yao family as her own home and their belongings as her own. She even moved into Mrs. Chu's house. When Chu Yan saw this, he immediately flew into a rage and threw all of her things out. Seeing his grandson acting like this, Old Master Yao didn't dare to say anything. Even if Old Madam Ye wanted to do something, she couldn't, and could only silently shed tears.
In the past two years, Old Master Yao's health has been deteriorating. The Chu family needs Mrs. Chu's help, so Chu Yan brought the Chu family's housekeeper to transfer schools here to take care of Old Master Yao. However, upon arriving, they discovered that Mr. Zhong, who had only graduated from elementary school, had already been assigned to the school where Professor Yao worked as a dormitory supervisor. Ye Tiantian's mother had also been assigned to work as a librarian at the university, and Ye Tiantian had transferred from a school in the town to a school in the city.
Chu Yan asked his grandfather if he knew about these things. Professor Yao said he didn't know at first. Later, when his students came to visit him, they saw Mr. Zhong and Ms. Ye there and greeted them. That's when Professor Yao found out that the two of them were using his name to make connections and had arrangements made. He wanted to be angry, but Mrs. Ye kept crying and even fainted, so he couldn't reprimand her.
Seeing his grandfather like this, Chu Yan didn't know what to say, but from then on, he became increasingly dissatisfied with Old Madam Ye and her family. Once, when Mr. Chu returned from a business trip, he and Mrs. Chu came back to visit the old man. After Mr. Zhong learned about the Chu family's background, they became even more obsequious to Chu Yan. Moreover, Ye Tiantian also began to change her domineering personality and instead became very clingy to Chu Yan and Mrs. Chu. Chu Yan was, after all, a scion of a wealthy family. What kind of sycophants hadn't he seen? Did he not know what the Ye family and Ye Tiantian were thinking? He had never taken Ye Tiantian seriously; she was just a clown.
Gu Yin straightened her cotton-padded coat and walked onto the stage with a smile on her face.
When I saw the densely packed crowd sitting below the stage, I finally understood why the contestants were so nervous; there were at least several hundred people there.
With a smile on her face, Gu Yin stood in the designated position, bowed, then stood up and adjusted the height of the microphone. After confirming that there were no problems, she stood tall and calmly led everyone on a time-travel journey from her own perspective.
A fluent and sexy British accent flowed from Gu Yin's mouth, and her slow, serious tone and rhythm of speech provided an ultimate enjoyment.
"Wow, this girl speaks very well! Is she using the Queen's accent, RP? I didn't expect someone here to speak the old British accent instead of American. Amazing!" Xia Tian was surprised when he heard the voice coming from the stage.
As Chu Yan watched the girl on stage, who was sometimes mysterious, sometimes serious, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and sometimes excited as she spoke, he felt as if he were looking at a light, so bright that it was dazzling, yet it made him want to pursue it!
Chu Yan's lips curled up, his eyes full of admiration. He was truly impressive, his performance was so vivid and expressive. If he wasn't number one, the judges must be blind!
After Gu Yin finished her speech, the audience erupted in enthusiastic applause. The judges were all impressed. This contestant not only had no accent, but spoke with the most authentic British accent, and her story was also captivating! She transported the audience to solemn dynasties, ancient battlefields, prosperous times, times of national collapse, and eras of struggle. It was truly brilliant. More importantly, she delivered her speech extemporaneously!
A female judge in the audience picked up the microphone and looked at Gu Yin: "How long did you prepare? Did you write the script yourself? Who taught you English?"
Gu Yin knew that the judge was the head of the English group at Jiangshi High School. She smiled and replied politely, "I learned from one of my teachers. My Chinese is no worse than my English, so I wrote the script. Of course, it was easier to memorize. I have been preparing ever since I knew about the competition. I memorize whenever I have free time."
"I heard you used a lot of technical terms in your story. These are words you learn in college. How did you learn them?" another judge, who was also the training instructor, asked.
"I asked my teacher, checked the dictionary, and even looked it up online. Many words have multiple meanings, and I couldn't figure out which one to use. But luckily, I'm good at Chinese. When I saw the translation and the context in which the word should be used, I chose the word that I thought was right. Judging from the teacher's reaction, it seems that I used it correctly?" Gu Yin said gracefully, and even gave a playful smile at the end.
The audience laughed, and the judges had no questions for the time being, so they began to score.
The other three judges all gave it 100 points, but the teacher from the training course only gave it 95 points.
"I gave you 95 points because of your attire. Look at the other students, they are all wearing school uniforms, but you are the exception. Wearing casual clothes to an important occasion gives me the feeling that you are not respecting this competition. Although you are very good, attitude is also very important."
Gu Yin wasn't angry. She smiled and nodded, "My grandma knew I was coming to the competition, so she took out some fabric she'd been saving for a long time and made me a cotton-padded jacket. If she knew we'd lose points because of this, I think she'd be very sad. After all, she didn't know that this fabric could be worn by my dad to school and to meetings at the county government, but not by me for the competition. If she knew we needed to wear school uniforms, I think my principal would have gone to great lengths to borrow one for me from a school in the county or city. After all, school uniforms represent attitude. Unfortunately, they didn't know, and neither did I. Here, I'd like to offer the organizers a sincere suggestion: next time there's a dress code, please make sure to write it down clearly. After all, we children in the mountains haven't yet achieved freedom in terms of clothing. Thank you!"
After Gu Yin finished speaking, the applause from the audience grew even louder, especially from the judges. The two judges from the Publicity Department and the Organization Department were particularly excited: "Well said! Why can't ordinary people wear these clothes? We're still wearing these, so why can't the contestants wear them!"
Gu Yin was wearing a cotton-padded jacket made of blue fabric without any patterns. The buttons were Chinese knot buttons, giving her a look reminiscent of a student from the Republican era. This type of fabric is usually used to make Zhongshan suits.
The teacher blushed with embarrassment and could only awkwardly clapp while forcing a smile.
Gu Yin's final score was calculated by removing the highest score of 100 and the lowest score of 95, and the average score of the remaining score was still 100, so she got a perfect score!
Chu Yan watched the eloquent and articulate girl on stage, his admiring gaze lingering even after she stepped off the stage.
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