Courir partout et jouer des rôles mineurs

Chapitre 50

The students from the surrounding provincial capital primary schools were immediately excited, some indignant and some curious. Sun Yihan was no less shallow than them, and she didn't care about Changsheng's less-than-friendly attitude. She crossed the silent dividing line drawn by the students on both sides and extended her hand in a friendly manner: "Hello, my name is Sun Yihan. I saw you make a cameo appearance on TV before. You acted very well."

Changsheng did not accept her hand of friendship. Instead, he picked up the rosin and used it to apply and tune Shanglin's erhu, casually saying, "Hmm, I've seen you on TV."

He went to the TV station several times, but each time he came and went in a hurry, and saying that he had seen him on TV was just a polite way of putting it.

Sun Yihan felt a little embarrassed. She was the darling of the school, the center of attention, and the sudden lack of concern from others made her somewhat unhappy. However, she was experienced and knowledgeable, unlike most elementary school students, so she politely said, "I hope we can have the opportunity to cooperate sometime."

Changsheng then raised his head and looked at her seriously: "Okay. Thank you."

He then lowered his head, clearly not wanting to be disturbed.

Sun Yihan left awkwardly. Shang Lin sighed and admonished in a low voice, "Manners, Changsheng, the other party is a beautiful young lady. How could you not have any gentlemanly manners!"

Changsheng wouldn't even deign to look at her. Gentlemanly manners? Food or drink provided?

She even wanted to shake my hand—but was my hand really that easy to shake? In his understanding, shaking hands meant a contest of strength, and he was afraid that the little girl would be blown away by the wind and he would cripple her.

My fingers accidentally brushed against Shang Lin's palm. I frowned. Her hands were covered in calluses! I rummaged through her bag, looking everywhere for hand cream.

Just then, another person walked over, wearing a black suit and tie, with his hair neatly combed back. What should have been a comical outfit looked rather stylish on him. He said in a friendly manner:

"Qiu Shanglin?"

Shanglin was surprised, nodded, and stood up without paying attention to the hand cream that had fallen on the ground.

He smiled and said, "Hello, I'm Gu Zhiyuan."

At first, he was taken aback, but then his mind raced. Ah, Gu Zhiyuan—Shang Lin smiled knowingly: "Without tranquility, one cannot achieve far-reaching goals; without detachment, one cannot clarify one's ambitions."

Gu Zhiyuan laughed and said, "My family has two trees. One is above us and is called Shanglin, and the other is below us and is called Xialin. Shanglin governs Xialin, and Xialin listens to Shanglin."

Upon hearing the familiar words, Shanglin couldn't help but exchange a silent glance and burst into laughter.

Gu Zhiyuan's grandfather, Gu Cheng, was the deputy secretary of the provincial party committee and was rumored to be the next provincial party secretary. Gu Zhiyuan's father, Gu Junjie, was the director of the Huaiqiao City Administration for Industry and Commerce and maintained friendly relations with Mocha Cat Company.

Shang Lin intentionally concealed her true identity, but while she could fool others, she couldn't fool the director of the Industry and Commerce Bureau. He was very interested in this young girl who owned her own company. Through Hua Qianshan's introduction, they had a meal together. During the meal, the topic of Shang Lin's family and the origin of her name came up. Shang Lin jokingly said that her and her brother's names came from the woods in the village. Gu Junjie mentioned his son's name and said he wanted to test the prodigy. Without hesitation, Shang Lin recited a famous quote from Zhuge Liang.

When Gu Junjie got home, he told his son about Qiu Shanglin, praising her highly. Gu Zhiyuan took notice of the rumored child prodigy and, as one of the male hosts, naturally wanted to meet her after hearing that she was coming with her school to participate in the performance.

The two hit it off immediately, much to the annoyance of the girls at the Experimental Primary School.

Gu Zhiyuan is currently in the fifth grade. At twelve years old, he has entered the puberty stage of boys. His family is well-off and he lives a wealthy life, which has naturally cultivated his unique temperament. He has not yet developed a hoarse voice, and his clear and bright voice is top-notch even in the prestigious Experimental Primary School. He and Li Changsheng are completely different types.

He is a truly well-mannered and handsome young man, the object of admiration for countless young girls.

The two had barely exchanged a few words when someone called out to him, "Gu Zhiyuan, get ready to begin."

Gu Zhiyuan took a few steps, then turned back to Shang Lin and said, "Do you have time after the performance? My mother has been wanting to meet you."

Shanglin said apologetically, "I'm afraid it's not possible for me to participate in group activities with everyone."

He didn't take it to heart at all, and instead became even more amiable: "Then when you have the chance, you must come to my house for a meal."

As he left, the music started, the host came on stage, and the same old opening remarks began, marking the start of the performance. Those at the front of the line were scrambling, while those at the back were also quite nervous. Li Changsheng, who was several positions ahead of Shang Lin, showed none of the others' nervousness. He calmly squeezed out the hand cream he had just picked up and applied it to Shang Lin's hands.

The music teacher was already calling, "Li Changsheng, where did Li Changsheng go?"

Pocket money

"On this day of refreshing autumn breezes and fragrant osmanthus blossoms, in this joyous harvest season, the whole of China rejoices, and the land of China cheers with delight. To celebrate this great day, the National Day celebration performance jointly organized by Experimental Primary School and Zifang Town Central Primary School begins amidst the melodious music!"

Her lips moved as she quietly recited the same monotonous opening remarks after the host. Sun Yihan lived up to her reputation as a junior host on the provincial TV station; she was poised and confident, with a clear and bright voice.

Next up is Gu Zhiyuan:

Ah, back in the day...

Pan Ling sidled up to him, secretly checking if the music teacher was nearby, and whispered to Shang Lin, who was swaying and shaking his head absently, "Shang Lin, are you nervous?"

Shanglin opened his eyes and saw a person painted as a ghost.

He chuckled and playfully patted her rosy cheek: "Oh, where did this country bumpkin come from?"

Pan Ling rolled her eyes: "Ugh, I'm so nervous, and you're still making a fuss!"

Many people crowded behind the curtain to watch the performance on stage. The students from Experimental Primary School were more composed and open-minded than the students from Zifang Town. Pan Ling looked at them with envy.

"That's great, they don't seem nervous at all."

Shang Lin smiled and said, "Shall I tell you a joke?"

Pan Ling forced herself to cheer up, "Great! Great! There's a joke to hear!" Soon, several close classmates gathered around her.

Shanglin cleared his throat: "Let me tell you about a student named Xiaoming. He was very nervous while waiting to perform on stage. His mother told him, 'Good boy, don't be nervous. Come on, tell your mother, 'I'm not nervous, I'm not nervous, I'm not nervous.' Xiaoming recited this as he went on stage."

The judge asked him, "What's your name?"

Xiao Ming said, "My name is Not Nervous!"

Seeing Pan Ling's focused expression, he smiled mischievously and asked, "Pan Ling, what's your name?"

Pan Ling was mentally trying to calm herself down by saying "I'm not nervous!" when she heard this and blurted out, "I'm not nervous!"

This caused everyone to burst into laughter. She then angrily punched Shanglin, demanding an apology.

Shang Lin laughed and dodged away, comforting her: "Okay, don't be afraid when you're on stage. Think of the audience as ants or rag dolls. Would you be nervous performing for your rag dolls or ants at home?"

After her comforting words, although he wasn't completely free of tension, his anxiety was somewhat relieved.

Pan Ling skipped off to the choir to share her secrets.

Halfway through the program, it was Li Changsheng's turn to appear. Shanglin, standing behind the curtain in the best viewing position, smiled and asked:

Are you nervous?

Chang Sheng glanced at her, pursed her lips, and walked onto the stage with the sword she was using for the performance.

He first performed a set of boxing moves, then wielded a sword. Despite his small stature, he possessed considerable explosive power, earning cheers and applause from the boys in the audience.

After stepping off the stage, Shanglin grinned mischievously and touched his shirt. Tsk, it was soaked through—and he still said he wasn't nervous!

As usual, I received a disdainful look.

After almost all of her performances had finished, leaving only the chorus, it was finally her turn for her erhu solo. Sun Yihan announced:

"The next program is: Zifang Town Central Primary School, Erhu solo, Guest from Afar, please stay, performer - Qiu Shanglin."

Unnoticed, she paused slightly when she read Qiu Shanglin's name.

As soon as Shang Lin stepped onto the stage with his erhu, he heard a round of applause from the audience. His beautiful eyes swept around and wondered who else could it be but Hua Qianshan?

He sat in the front row with the other leaders, and when he started clapping, how could the others not follow suit? If the leaders were clapping, how could the teachers not lead the students in clapping?

Before it even started, applause erupted.

Shang Lin was filled with hatred and wished he could slap him. Looking at his mocking gaze, he suppressed the urge to grit his teeth, bowed, sat down, and started a tune.

The entire room fell silent.