Chapter 55: A Brilliant High School Period p2
When the homeroom teacher, Xu Lei, came to inform them to go to the rehearsal, he saw a few people with a black plastic bag in their hands. Inside were the performance costumes.
Kong Xiaoxu had taken leave at noon to get them according to their height.
Xu Lei followed behind.
There were only three teachers in charge of the programs. Wu Junfeng handed over the cassette.
With the uplifting music, the few of them started at the same time, with a deep shout…
After the performance, Kong Xiaoxu ran over, covered in sweat, and took out the performance costumes from the black plastic bag. “Teacher, these are our performance costumes. We’re afraid of getting them dirty, so we want to wear them on the day of the performance.”
After watching, Xu Lei couldn’t help but let out a sharp breath, his eyes filled with surprise and excitement.
The three teachers said to Xu Lei that their class’s program could be the finale. It was particularly good, and they were looking forward to the effect on the day of the performance.
On the day of the school’s New Year’s party, they saw the school setting up a stage in the morning. The rostrum was grandly decorated, and all the sound equipment had been brought over.
At lunch, they saw a master from the school drawing circles on the ground with white chalk. The seating for each class.
Yun Jingya and three other students were the hosts this time, two boys and two girls. They had gone over to rehearse early.
After the lunch break, the students of each class moved their chairs and gathered downstairs, preparing to go to their designated spots to sit down. The campus was noisy everywhere. Although it was chaotic, it was all a relaxed and happy sound.
The classes entered in order.
The school was very thoughtful. They had borrowed a prop from the sports equipment room and had temporarily set up a men’s and a women’s changing room.
After all the students had sat down, all the sound equipment was OK, and all the school leaders, directors, and teachers had arrived, the principal went up and said a few words, then sat down.
Then the four lavishly dressed hosts came up.
Although Yun Jingya was standing to the side, she was the most dazzling. In this weather, she was wearing a dress, and she was very graceful. Her hair had also been styled high, and her forehead was exposed, making her look elegant and very classy.
The atmosphere was enthusiastic, and the applause was constant.
The first to perform was a skit imitation from Class Seven. The props and costumes were very well-done. Even though they had seen it on TV, the laughter on site was constant.
The second program was a girls’ dance from Class Four. The six girls were of the same height, and they were dressed very lightly. They even had light makeup on. They posed on stage, and with the music, they immediately started to dance.
The boys in the back row of all the classes basically all stood up to watch, applauding and cheering.
There were also classes that performed a three-and-a-half-sentence crosstalk, a two-person crosstalk, and a single song medley.
There were also original sitcoms. There were many types of programs, and each one was very exciting.
Yun Jingya was announcing. The moment she mentioned First Year, Class Three, she was drowned out by the voices below. The students of First Year, Class Three even all stood up to applaud and shout. The neighboring Class Four also clapped hard, helping to create a momentum.
The enthusiastic atmosphere even made the distant third year of high school stand up and look over.
Yun Jingya lifted her skirt and went down the stage, her heart filled with an indescribable excitement. She didn’t feel cold anymore. All she saw was the few people who had already changed into their performance costumes, breathing in and out. The homeroom teacher, Xu Lei, was helping to hold their things on the side.
Each of them was wearing a Chinese-style mask. This was what they had said before about not showing their faces. But even with the masks, you could still see the nervousness and the trembling legs.
Only the one standing in the first place was as straight as a pine, with his head held high. He was wearing a Chinese-style white satin kung fu uniform with a sash. The belt was a golden auspicious cloud, and there was a layer of red on his ankles and wrists.
The others did not have red.
The others went up and stood in their designated positions. When the last one went up, Yun Jingya clenched her fists and shouted, “Go, Wanfeng!”
A formation of three in the front and four in the back. At first, only the First Year, Class Three side was shouting the loudest. But when the last person did a series of backflips and stood in the main position at the very front, the scene immediately ignited, and the applause was instantly enthusiastic.
Lu Qing from First Year, Class Six stood up and stepped on his chair. He was about to shout “Zhou Wanfeng,” but he suddenly felt embarrassed and held it back.
With the uplifting drum beat,
the few people on the stage punched, stepped, and shouted with each punch. Their movements were neat and decisive, open and unrestrained, beautiful and graceful, and they shouted in unison.
All they saw was that below the rostrum, especially the students in the back, they all stood up from south to north, from north to south, from back to front.
Like rising mountain peaks, they stood up row by row.
Some in the back who couldn’t see even ran to the very front and squatted down, or sat down.
“Ha!”
“He!”
The students in the line were watching with unblinking eyes, getting excited with the music. In their minds, they all became kung fu boys and kung fu girls, riding horses and holding spears, galloping on the battlefield.
Their hearts were pounding, and they wished they could show off their skills.
“What kind of boxing is this?”
“Didn’t you hear the announcement? This is Southern Fist.”
Every move on the stage was very powerful, with full force, and the shouts were deafening.
Especially the one in the front. It was impossible to look away. You couldn’t see their face, you couldn’t see their eyes, but you could feel the sharp and murderous aura between their moves.
“Damn, that’s so cool.”
Everyone in First Year, Class Three knew that the first one was Zhou Wanfeng. That heroic and valiant presence could only be her.
“Good, First Year, Class Three!”
“First Year, Class Three, you’ve really been hiding it. When we asked you what you were performing, you all just shook your heads and said you didn’t know. So you were hiding it here.”
The people of First Year, Class Three couldn’t see enough, and their hands were not idle. They would have been willing to break their hands clapping.
“The people of Class Three are really tight-lipped.”
“Don’t talk. Watch the show,” the class next door said, annoyed by the noise. After shouting, they immediately turned their heads to watch the performance.
The school leaders and teachers who were sitting in the very front were also watching with smiles on their faces, and were asking the teacher who had organized the activity.
After the performance, the few people on the stage were panting. When they were on stage, their hands and feet were not trembling or weak. After the performance, their whole bodies were weak, and they even felt like they were stuttering when they spoke.
The applause was enthusiastic. All the boys in the back row of all the classes stood up. Even after the program was over, they did not sit down for a long time. The feeling of boiling blood was still surging in their bodies. Strangely, they didn’t feel cold at all at this moment. In fact, they wanted to run a couple of laps around the playground. It was so exciting.
By the time the next program was performed, the atmosphere of the scene had not dissipated for a long time.
When they were changing, Kong Xiaoxu’s voice was so excited he was almost crying. “Don’t laugh at me. My hands and feet are as limp as noodles right now. My mind was a blank on stage. I just felt like I was standing on a big prairie, surrounded by wolves. I just felt like I was fighting for my life with my bare hands. I felt invincible.”
The few of them changed their clothes and went back to their class. All the way, people were clapping and giving them a thumbs-up. “Class Three, you’re awesome!”
“Damn, who chose the music? It was so awesome! The fighting was so good! My palms were all sweaty.”
Zhou Wanfeng returned to her seat in the class. The people of First Year, Class Four all knew Zhou Wanfeng. Their eyes were filled with admiration when they looked at her. It was just that they felt that they were not on the same level as her.
She was too formidable.
The martial arts performance of First Year, Class Three was really inspiring. The homeroom teacher, Xu Lei, was even praised by the other teachers.
It was a universally acknowledged good.
“I feel like it would be wrong not to give you the special prize. The performance was too good.”
Xu Lei was modest. “I didn’t even know. They rehearsed it themselves,” Wu Junfeng said. It was Zhou Wanfeng who had taught them, breaking down the movements and helping them to complete them. They all felt that it was incredible after they had learned it themselves.
By the time the performance was over, the performance of Young and Promising by First Year, Class Three was still being discussed in all the classes. Some boys were even imitating the moves in their class.
In the evening, it was the class’s New Year’s Day party.
When they returned to the class, the desks were pulled against the wall, and they started to decorate.
The sound systems of all the classes were turned up to the max. Yun Jingya opened the class party with a dance.
The tables were filled with melon seeds and oranges. The homeroom teacher, Xu Lei, invited all the other subject teachers to play a small game, passing the flower to the beat of a drum. The one who was caught would have to go up and perform a program.
Of course, if a class had an outstanding program, the other classes would come and invite them, giving them plenty of candy and fruit.
The windows and the front and back doors of First Year, Class Three were surrounded by many people from the other classes, all waiting for Young and Promising to be performed again.
But Zhou Wanfeng was cracking melon seeds with her hand, her gaze occasionally falling on Yun Jingya, who was hosting in the front. She saw her smile brightly, not at all annoyed even when she was interrupted.
The whole class was so noisy that you had to shout to talk to the person next to you.
But Zhou Wanfeng did not have a headache. She watched as the male students in the class were fooling around and making jokes in the front. A few of the class officers were constantly bringing out melon seeds and oranges.
Zhou Wanfeng’s desk had the most. Everyone was blatantly biased.
It felt like the honor of First Year, Class Three today belonged to her. The moment that sense of collective honor exploded, and she heard the praise from all directions, her mood was very pleasant.
“Zhou Wanfeng, this song is for you. Even if we’re in different classes after the arts and science split, I still think you’re the most formidable one in First Year, Class Three.”
With that, the class started to bang on their desks. “Zhou Wanfeng, you’re the most special person I’ve ever met. I’ll remember you for the rest of my life.”
With the music, the boy started to sing.
When Lu Qing arrived at First Year, Class Three, he looked at the students who were surrounding the front and back doors. He couldn’t squeeze in at all.
“Jiang Xiaochen.”
The sound of the music and the talking were mixed together. Jiang Chen vaguely heard someone call him. He looked at the window and saw Lu Qing with his head sticking out, waving at him.
Jiang Chen looked at the situation. How was he supposed to get out? He could only slowly move to the side of the window. “Sir, you see how crowded it is here. Do you have something important?”
Lu Qing couldn’t get in. He could only pass a plastic bag over their heads.
Jiang Chen reached out and took it. He thought it was an orange, but it was hard. “An orange? Your class is so extravagant? You actually bought oranges?”
“I went with them to buy it. I bought it myself.”
Jiang Chen was instantly moved. “Lu Qing, thank you. You’re still thinking of me at a time like this.”
“It’s not for you. It’s for Zhou Wanfeng. You go and give it to her now.”
Lu Qing pointed at Zhou Wanfeng, who was cracking melon seeds. The way she ate melon seeds was different from others. She didn’t crack them with her teeth, but pressed and ground them with her thumb and forefinger, and then removed the shell.
The moment Jiang Chen heard this, his emotion immediately vanished. He looked at the two golden oranges and roared, “Both of them?”
“Yeah.”
“You didn’t bring one for me?”
Lu Qing said impatiently, “I have one for you, I have one for you! I forgot to bring it! I’ll go back and get it for you! You give the two to Zhou Wanfeng first!” He was thirsty from eating too many melon seeds.
Jiang Chen cursed in his heart and slowly went over. When he got to Zhou Wanfeng, he put the two oranges directly in front of her, pointed at the window, and saw half of Lu Qing’s profile.
Zhou Wanfeng picked up the orange and waved it, as if to say thank you, then looked away.
Lu Qing had just raised his hand to wave when he saw her turn away. He immediately went back to his classroom in a huff.
Yun Jingya took a break and immediately hid in front of Zhou Wanfeng and sat down. “Oh, my throat hurts from shouting.”
Zhou Wanfeng pushed the orange in front of her.
“Where did this come from?” Yun Jingya sniffed it. The orange smelled very good.
“Lu Qing gave it to me.”
Jiang Chen was still standing behind, not having left. He bent down and said, “Lu Qing just brought two over for Zhou Wanfeng. He’s never been so stingy before.”
In Yun Jingya’s impression, Lu Qing was not like that either. He seemed to be the same to everyone. If there was a difference, it would be for those he didn’t like or who annoyed him.
She looked down at the orange in her hand, her gaze falling on Wanfeng’s cold face.
Yun Jingya’s eyes suddenly widened. She subconsciously looked at Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen was also staring with wide, round eyes, his mouth agape. He slowly raised his hand to cover his mouth. At this moment, the two of them were on the same wavelength.
Zhou Wanfeng’s high school life seemed to have taken a different path by mistake. A long, long time later, during a boring period of her life, she would often recall the events of her high school period, and she was also glad that her high school had been so bright and brilliant.
It was just that she didn’t know it yet.
After the New Year’s Day party, they entered a state of intense study. It was time for the final exams. And with exams came grades and rankings, and even more so, comparisons.
High school students were all very clear about their life goals. After a brief period of indulgence, they would immediately focus their minds. The New Year’s Day performance of First Year, Class Three had, without a doubt, won the special prize.
The homeroom teacher, Xu Lei, had heavily praised Zhou Wanfeng, Wu Junfeng, and the others who had participated in the performance.
After the final exams, it was the winter vacation, and then the New Year.
After the vacation started, Yun Jingya would only occasionally go back to South Lake Mansion. The rest of the time, she would stay at the rented house.
Until Yang Yijun personally came to find her.
It was the first time Zhou Wanfeng and Yang Yijun had met since they had parted on bad terms in the Go room. Yang Yijun had a lot more white hair. Seeing Zhou Wanfeng, her expression was a little unnatural. She lowered her head and took out a maroon passbook from her bag and handed it to Zhou Wanfeng.
Zhou Wanfeng took it casually, opened it, and looked at it. Her eyes were filled with contempt. She sneered and threw the passbook back. “Keep it for yourself.”
“This is for your New Year’s expenses,” Yang Yijun said, picking it up and putting it on the table.
Zhou Wanfeng’s eyes darkened. She glanced in the direction of the bedroom and lowered her voice. “If you don’t want to live a good life now, I can instantly make you fall into hell. I want Zhou Zhiru’s company, and I will never let you touch it again. Do you want to try?”
Yang Yijun took a deep breath and shouted towards the bedroom, “Jingya, Grandma is waiting for you in the car.” She then turned and went out. She had only come today to take Jingya back. She didn’t want to get on Zhou Wanfeng’s bad side, and she was even afraid of provoking her.
Yun Jingya reluctantly followed Yang Yijun back. “Wanfeng, I’ll be back in a couple of days.”
“No need. I won’t be here during the New Year,” she said. She was planning to take the opportunity to go and see her university. After seeing so many photos that Sun Mulan had mailed, she wanted to go and experience it for herself.