Chapter 6 Thorn
Chapter Summary: Truly a promising young man!
Fu Xianyin didn't even need to look to feel the hostile gaze from Song Yaoge.
But in this situation, she couldn't say anything, so she could only open her speech and start familiarizing herself with the script.
The poem was called "Ode to Youth," and it wasn't long; Fu Xianyin glanced at it and got the gist of it. She sat listlessly on the stool, swinging her legs, when suddenly someone poked her shoulder.
It was Gu Linzhao.
He bent down and said, "The director needs to see me. You can cover for me during the rehearsal later."
"Oh, okay."
Fu Xianyin nodded, holding the thin piece of paper, somewhat regretting not bringing her phone with her.
There's nothing special about it; I'm just sitting here blankly, and it's really getting a bit boring.
"Okay, let's go through the process formally."
Music teacher Chen Yan tapped the pointer to signal everyone to get ready.
The rehearsal didn't follow the order; Song Yaoge's solo dance was the first performance. Song Yaoge glanced at the audience with a hint of disappointment; Gu Linzhao hadn't returned yet.
She hadn't been paying attention to this matter to begin with, and by the time she was ready, the music had already started playing.
She met Chen Yan's displeased face and hurriedly got into position, but in her panic, she slipped and staggered several steps.
The accompaniment was cut off by Chen Yan, and Song Yaoge's face turned pale.
Chen Yan has high expectations for her dancing. With the arts performance approaching, she still made mistakes like not being able to stand steadily and not being able to keep up with the accompaniment. The teacher certainly wouldn't let her off easily.
Sure enough, Chen Yan's somewhat stern voice rang out: "Song Yaoge, your program was approved a long time ago. I told you to go back and improve it, but where has your improvement gone?"
Song Yaoge lowered her head and remained silent, only grateful that Gu Linzhao was not there and had not seen her in such a disheveled state.
Chen Yan disregarded her feelings and continued, "The training camp is about to start. With your current level, have you thought about your future?"
Tears welled in her eyes. Being criticized in front of so many people made Song Yaoge lose face. Her throat tightened, and she was about to speak when a bright voice suddenly rang out:
"Teacher, Song Yaoge sprained her ankle during PE class this morning, and it hasn't fully healed yet."
It is Fu's string sound.
Chen Yan turned her head to look at the owner of the voice. Fu Xianyin's gaze did not waver for a moment, and she continued, "It's true, teacher. I bumped into her this morning. She wasn't injured as badly as me, just a minor sprain, and she'll be fine in a couple of days."
She washed her pants briefly at noon today, removing the mud and bloodstains from the knees, but the tear hadn't been sewn up yet.
Chen Yan glanced at it and said to Song Yaoge, "Go back and spray some Yunnan Baiyao on it, and let it rest well for the next few days."
Judging from their posture, they didn't seem to care about Song Yaoge's mistake earlier.
Song Yaoge nodded and slowly walked off the stage.
She only bumped her ankle; it wasn't serious at all. Her mistake wasn't due to an ankle injury, but rather because she lost focus.
She glanced at Fu Xianyin, who had her injured leg resting on the armrest of a nearby chair as she continued reading her speech.
Song Yaoge pursed her lips, said nothing, and sat down two empty seats to the left of Fu Xianyin.
All the programs have been rehearsed almost completely, except for the impromptu duet recitation by Fu Xianyin and Gu Linzhao.
The moment Fu Xianyin had made a splash left a deep impression on Chen Yan. Now that the show had finished, she turned to Fu Xianyin and asked:
What kind of program are you on?
Fu Xianyin stood up and waved the speech in her hand: "I was temporarily recruited by the director from Class 15 during the break. It's a duet recitation with the class monitor."
Chen Yan nodded and added a note to the program.
Chen Yan announced loudly, "The rest of you, go back to training. The final rehearsal will be held next Wednesday evening during self-study. The performance is next Friday night, so prepare well."
She said to Fu Xianyin, "Stay here for a moment, I'll arrange your program."
Fu Xianyin obediently agreed, then walked around the seats and onto the stage.
The director didn't know what to say to Gu Linzhao, who hadn't arrived yet. Fu Xianyin was writing and drawing on her speech, including Gu Linzhao's copy.
"That's about it. You two can work out the choreography. Remember to wear formal attire for the performance, and make sure your colors match your partner's. Also, remember to do your makeup and make it look formal."
Chen Yan added another instruction, then looked at the girl in front of her and felt that her last sentence was somewhat superfluous.
She's so beautiful, whether she wears makeup or not doesn't matter.
Gu Linzhao didn't return until Chen Yan had left, only after that, through the back door.
Fu Xianyin sat on the edge of the stage, her legs dangling down and swinging back and forth. Hearing the sound, she stretched and jumped off the stage.
Fu Xianyin only realized she had an injury when a sharp pain shot through her knee.
She clicked her tongue, suddenly feeling a bit irritated.
"The teacher just talked to me about the program. I wrote down the speech. You can copy it when you get back to the classroom." Fu Xianyin handed the speech to Gu Linzhao and then said, "Oh, she also said to wear a dress, something in a similar color. What color is your dress? I'll go buy one in the same color family this weekend."
Gu Linzhao: "Either way, it's up to you."
"What do you think of me?" Fu Xianyin scoffed. "Do you think you can turn your dress green just because I said I wanted green?"
Fu Xianyin realized her words were a bit harsh after she finished speaking. She took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry, that's not what I meant."
Gu Linzhao didn't say anything. Just as Fu Xianyin was about to find another topic to ask Gu Linzhao why he hadn't come back for so long, the boy suddenly handed her a cell phone.
It was her own phone.
"Sorry for taking your things," Gu Linzhao said. "I ran into Sister Gao when I went to find the director, and then I went back to the classroom."
He paused for a moment, then said, "Your phone kept ringing, so I took it out."
"I turned it on silent." Fu Xianyin frowned, beginning to wonder if her memory was faulty.
“It’s vibration,” Gu Linzhao said succinctly. “It’s placed in the desk drawer without any padding underneath, and the vibration is quite loud.”
Fu Xianyin exclaimed "Ah!" and took the phone, which displayed a string of missed calls.
Half of it came from Chen Huimei, and the other half came from an unknown number.
Fu Xianyin almost immediately collapsed.
Her thin shoulders suddenly slumped, and her fingers gripping the phone so tightly they turned white.
Gu Linzhao noticed that something was wrong with her and spoke up at the right time: "I'll go back first."
Fu Xianyin opened her phone and first tapped on the unfamiliar number.
It's one of Fu Dongyuan's mistresses, the third, fourth, or fifth mistress; they've even called her.
Just then, a clean and crisp young voice came from the phone: "Hello?"
Fu Xianyin paused for a moment, then said a beat late, "...Hello?"
The boy over there seemed to recognize her: "Are you Sister Xianyin?"
Fu Xianyin frowned: "You are..."
"This is Fu Yeyang. This is my mother's phone number. I'm sorry, Sister Xianyin, please block this number and don't answer it again next time."
Fu Xianyin's throat felt a little dry. She took a sip of water and said softly, "Okay."
Fu Yeyang is Fu Dongyuan's illegitimate son.
Chen Huimei took over when Fu Xianyin was in the fourth grade. Before that, Fu Yeyang and Fu Xianyin had a childhood friendship because of their similar backgrounds and mothers.
After Chen Huimei took over, Fu Yeyang's mother and Chen Huimei started a new round of struggle, and the two children gradually lost contact with each other.
Fu Xianyin didn't dislike Fu Yeyang. In fact, for a long time, Fu Yeyang was one of the few people she could confide in, and could be considered a half-friend.
When Fu Yeyang heard that Fu Xianyin hadn't spoken for a while, he took the initiative to start a conversation: "Sister Xianyin, did you transfer to Beichuan to study? We can have a meal together sometime."
Fu Xianyin smiled and said, "Okay."
She knew that Fu Yeyang was also in Beichuan City, at the Affiliated High School of Beichuan University, a key high school similar to Beichuan No. 1 High School.
Fu Yeyang was very proactive: "Is this weekend okay? I'm off this weekend, so I can leave the school. By the way, Sister Xianyin, could you send me your WeChat ID? Let's add each other on WeChat."
"Just search this phone number," Fu Xianyin said. She glanced at the time and said softly, "I have to go back to class now."
Fu Xuanyin had initially thought she was going to get entangled with Fu Dongyuan's mistress, but instead it was Fu Yeyang, which briefly improved her mood. She waited until her emotions had improved considerably before calling Chen Huimei again.
The call connected, and Fu Xianyin said first, "I'm in class. Don't call me during class. It really affects my study efficiency."
Chen Huimei seemed taken aback by those words. After a few seconds, she said in a hoarse voice, "Li Chan has come to see Fu Dongyuan again."
Li Chan is Fu Yeyang's mother, another Chen Huimei.
Fu Xianyin said in a low voice, "I know, she called me."
Chen Huimei didn't care at all whether Li Chan had come to Fu Xianyin to cause trouble. She raised her voice eight octaves: "You study every day, but can you get such high grades as Fu Yeyang? Fu Yeyang is first in his grade and will be working for Fu Dongyuan's company in the future. Why don't you transfer to Fu Yeyang's school and push him down, push him down hard!"
Her sharp voice suddenly became tearful: "Yinyin, can't you make your mother proud? You're all I have left."
Fu Xianyin calmly said, "Didn't you already know whether I could get into Fu Dongyuan's company?"
She knew perfectly well that Chen Huimei would then pin all the blame on her, but she couldn't help continuing, speaking as viciously and hysterically as Chen Huimei:
"You already knew I'm a girl, didn't you? You also already knew Fu Dongyuan wouldn't give the Fu family business to a girl, didn't you? So what do you expect from me? What do you expect me to do?"
By the end, she was almost roaring, as if she wanted to express all the attitudes Chen Huimei had shown her over the past ten years.
If you don't care about me, what do you expect from me?
Every word Chen Huimei said afterward was exactly what Fu Xianyin expected. Fu Xianyin held the phone away until Chen Huimei finished venting before gently saying, "I've known for a long time that I'm a girl. You've been watching me for over ten years, how come you still don't know?"
After she finished speaking, she listened to Chen Huimei's murmurs and then heard Chen Huimei hang up the phone.
With only a dozen minutes left before the end of the last class, Fu Xianyin didn't want to go back to the classroom. She dawdled down the stairs, feeling somewhat absent-minded.
She felt that she couldn't continue like this.
Chen Huimei has been mentally unstable for over a decade, and now she even seems to be in a mentally unstable state. She cannot expect Chen Huimei to get better.
And every confrontation with Chen Huimei ended the same way: Chen Huimei couldn't get better, but she couldn't. She had to get better.
Thinking this, Fu Xianyin slowly returned to the classroom. People were already leaving one after another. Fu Xianyin waited at the door until everyone had left before returning to her seat.
She lay on the table, staring blankly at the blackboard.
When she was little, she saw Chen Huimei was sad and wondered why she wasn't a boy.
That way, Mom won't be sad, and Dad won't change his mind.
Later, as she grew older, she gradually discovered...
Being a girl isn't wrong, she's not wrong. The ones who are wrong are Chen Huimei, who doesn't know how to control herself, and Fu Dongyuan, who can't control himself.
But the thought of "why isn't it a boy?" would still occasionally slip into Fu Xianyin's mind and then swagger around in circles.
She drifted off to sleep, when suddenly someone nudged her elbow.
It was Gu Linzhao.
He held up a bowl of dry noodles and asked Fu Xianyin, "Have you eaten?"
Fu Xianyin shook her head: "No."
Gu Linzhao was not surprised by the answer. He handed the dry noodles to Fu Xianyin: "Eat some. There are still ten minutes before evening self-study starts. If you eat quickly, you can finish it."
He also placed a cup of mango pomelo sago on Fu Xianyin's table.
Fu Xianyin inserted a straw. The dry noodles in front of her smelled delicious, and the mango pomelo sago beside her was at room temperature, without ice.
Fu Xianyin took a sip of mango pomelo sago and suddenly laughed, her voice still a little hoarse: "You added crunchy boba."
She watched as Gu Linzhao pulled out the speech manuscript that had been covered by noodles, then took out his own from the folder and began copying the notes he had taken that afternoon.
Fu Xianyin smiled, her eyes crinkling: "You're truly a promising student."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com