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With a silent sigh, when will we finally be able to stop worrying about these two things?

The math teacher pointed: "Qiu Xia Lin, Li Chang Sheng."

Without further ado, they both stood up, straightened their clothes, and went to stand at the back as punishment.

It's automatic and proactive, ensuring that teachers can save themselves a lot of breath.

The math teacher nodded in satisfaction and elegantly patted the chalk dust off his hands: "You two will continue to stand for tomorrow's class."

Their gazes met Qiu Shanglin's, and the two exchanged a smile, their unspoken understanding evident.

Their friendship began on a certain day in first grade.

The math teacher blushed as soon as he stepped onto the podium, and he couldn't change it even after half a year. He was also often made red-faced by the naughty children, and he cried and ran away several times.

Qiu Shanglin deliberately asked her questions, and when the topic turned to the education of her younger brother, the teacher was very curious about how she usually disciplined Qiu Xialin. This mischievous boy, who never learned his lesson, was obedient to her, who was only one year younger than him, and treated her with great respect.

Shang Lin said casually, "Oh, I'll pretend he's a cow."

The teacher stared wide-eyed at the young man.

"What wouldn't I dare to do when facing a cow?"

She seemed to be deep in thought, and had grasped something.

Shanglin patiently and persuasively said, "When the teacher is teaching, he pretends that there are a herd of cows sitting below. What's there to be afraid of if you're playing the lute to cows?"

The math teacher suddenly realized, his eyes lighting up with joy. He blinked and exclaimed, "Hey, they're cows. What about you?"

She saw through the teacher's metaphor and smiled confidently: "Even if I'm an ox, I'm a smart ox with high intelligence!"

The teacher smiled, but had to admit that she was indeed smart.

The bell rang, and Qiu Xialin rushed to the front, saying impatiently, "Sister, I'm telling the truth! I guarantee the source is accurate!"

Shang Lin neither confirmed nor denied: "Teacher Lin knows that I don't like participating in group activities, so she won't force me."

He hurriedly explained, "But this time is different. We're performing with elementary schools in the provincial capital, and I heard the principal personally requested you to go."

“What am I supposed to do? Perform counting money, recite multiplication tables, or recite ancient poems? Oh, right, I’m best at teaching you a lesson!” she joked.

Qiu Xia Lin pouted: "Don't believe me if you don't want to!" She walked away and whispered to her brother.

Pan Ling leaned closer, holding her newly issued geography book, her face full of fascination: "Shanglin, Shanglin, the book says that America is on the other side of us, does that mean it's right under our feet?"

Shang Lin nodded casually.

"Wow, so tell me, if we dig a hole from the classroom, could it lead all the way to the other side of America? I wonder if there's an elementary school on the other side too? Do elementary school students in America learn language arts and math?"

Touching my chin, hmm, what kind of answer do you want?

Before she could think it through, Pan Ling asked herself, "No, no, you said they speak English and not Chinese—but that's so strange, how can they understand English?" She felt that people all over the world should be able to understand Chinese.

Touch your ears. I think you should read "100,000 Whys".

Surrounded by a crowd, including close female and male friends, they all chimed in, "Americans are amazing! They can walk upside down! Don't they get dizzy?"

"Does America have a sun and a moon too? But the sun is here, so we can't see it when it sets, right?"

"Do Americans also like to eat chili peppers? Just like Li Changsheng!" Li Changsheng, who grew up in Sichuan, is the person they have met from the farthest away.

Chang Sheng, with his sharp ears, glared at him.

Shanglin was getting a headache from all the noise. The class monitor of Class Two knocked on the door and called out, "Qiu Shanglin, Teacher Lin wants you to go to his office!"

She quickly escaped and asked him, "Xiao west, what did Teacher Lin want to see me about?"

Su Xiaoxi is a handsome boy. Everyone says that in the third grade, only his skin can rival Qiu Shanglin's—it's fair and tender. He's also good at studying, handsome, and seems to come from a good family. He's very pampered.

The only downside is that she blushes easily.

He blushes every time he meets Qiu Shanglin, and Shanglin has told him several times, but it doesn't work.

Look, it's popular again now.

He hesitated, his voice barely audible, "I don't know either, it seems to be a variety show."

Shanglin was concentrating intently but couldn't hear clearly, only that he said he didn't know.

She was puzzled. Why did Teacher Lin choose someone from Class Two to call her? He and Qiao Liang, the homeroom teacher of Class Two, had always been at odds. When she arrived at the office, she understood.

Qiu Xia Lin truly lived up to his reputation as a gossip; Lin Tongmao sought out Qiu Shang Lin for the National Day cultural performance.

Faced with Shanglin's firm rejection, he gave a wry smile.

Of course I know you don't like to stand out, and you hate being in the limelight even more, but this is a big event for the school, a joint performance with primary schools in the provincial capital, and provincial leaders will be watching!

There are only a few outstanding students in the school, and Qiu Shanglin is exceptional in terms of academics, family background, and appearance. How could he possibly escape? The principal personally called on him, and Qiu Shanglin had to put on a performance.

Qiao Liang watched Qiu Shanglin and Lin Tongmao haggling with cold eyes, a sneer running through his mind.

Why don't you just snatch it? Even if you get it, you'll still be a troublemaker, and you'll bring two more problems along with you. It's true that she has good grades, but it's common for third-grade students to get perfect scores on tests. She refuses to attend extra tutoring sessions, doesn't participate in math competitions, and ignores all kinds of knowledge competitions. So what if you snatch it? You won't be particularly glamorous or dazzling.

Lin Tongmao was unaware of Qiao Liang's inner thoughts, but he could see the schadenfreude in his eyes, and he felt somewhat powerless. He had never seen such a petty person. It had been two years, and he was still jealous of him for taking Qiu Shanglin away. Not only was he constantly making things difficult for him, but he was also constantly causing trouble for Qiu Shanglin.

Shanglin was busy with many things and sometimes didn't come to class. He complained to the principal's office, saying that without rules, there can be no order. So what if he was a child prodigy? There is no national policy that says a child prodigy can disregard school rules and regulations.

Okay, even if Qiu Shanglin was in the wrong, she attends classes on time and absolutely abides by the school rules.

He then nitpicked that Qiu Shanglin wasn't doing his homework.

They even criticized Qiu Shanglin for not paying attention in class.

Lin Tongmao couldn't help but question him several times: "Even if you're an international policeman, you don't need to meddle so much with my students, do you?"

Many years later, a saying became very popular: when Lin Tongmao recalled the current situation, he suddenly realized that Qiao Liang's family lived by the sea.

I reluctantly explained the principal's request and finally got Qiu Shanglin's consent.

But then the two of them were stumped about what to perform.

Li Changsheng has already been confirmed for the martial arts performance. Qiu Xialin will perform a crosstalk routine with a group of senior students, and Pan Ling will also participate as the lead singer in the group chorus, along with Li Wenwen from Class Two and students from several other grades.

The principal's point is that Qiu Shanglin has been sitting on the sidelines for three years, and it's time for her to contribute to the school. He hopes she will put on a solo show.

Don't expect her to sing; it's not that her voice is bad, it's just that there are too many people who can sing.

Poetry recitation? Nothing new, and she has no interest in those formulaic, celebratory poems.

Dancing? Over the past few years, in order to improve her physique, she has intermittently learned folk dance, ballet, waltz, Latin dance... she even brought back belly dance videos from abroad and practiced them. In short, she learned whatever came to mind, but she only studied sporadically and never mastered anything.

Li Changsheng said that if you could put one-tenth of the effort you put into reading into dancing, you would definitely become a dancer in the future.

Shang Lin really wanted to perform magic, but Lin Tongmao said that with provincial leaders present, it might not be grand enough. At that time, magic was far from the popular phenomenon it would become in later generations; in people's eyes, magic was not respectable and was considered mere acrobatics.

A large chorus? A skit? A short drama?

One idea after another was proposed, and one by one they were rejected.

Shang Lin suggested that he sing a segment of Peking Opera, since the provincial leaders were all elderly and loved listening to Peking Opera.

Lin Tongmao scoffed, "You're singing Peking Opera at a primary school students' performance? Are you asking for trouble?"

She was troubled: "I've learned the guzheng bit by bit, but I'm not good at it, and I'm too embarrassed to show it off."

The two men spent an entire class period agonizing over the matter in the office, but couldn't come to a conclusion. Left with no other option, Lin Tongmao accepted Shanglin's suggestion and went to the principal to see if he could be relieved of this arduous task.

Qiu Shanglin returned to the classroom satisfied. When her classmates saw that she had been gone for a whole class period, they all crowded around to ask what had happened.

Actually, many people already knew about the joint performance, but Qiu Shanglin, who has always been oblivious to what was going on, only realized it later.

"What did Teacher Lin say?" Pan Ling was the first to crowd around.

"I'm not going," Shanglin said confidently.