Chapter 22-23

Chapter 22-23

SWFM22: We are all good kids

Five minutes later, in the media classroom which had grown even more crowded, there was no 'Start of lesson, stand up', no 'Good afternoon teacher, good afternoon students'. Chalk in hand, Xu Tingsheng began his 'lesson' just like that.

40 minutes, not a second less, not a second more. Control over time was a necessary skill in education competitions in which lessons were conducted, and Xu Tingsheng had long since become proficient in it.

In these 40 minutes, a history lesson which had won first prize in a provincial education competition, <Diplomacy of New China>, was completely and smoothly revealed to everyone.

Xu Tingsheng threw the remaining half of chalk in his hand into the chalk box, patting the chalk dust off his hands.

"Thank you, students and teachers. Today's lesson…interaction ends here. Finally, I wish to say that some students may hear some rumours regarding this interaction session afterwards, but I can completely say from the bottom of my heart that no teacher is a bad guy. My level of improvement is indeed worthy of suspicion."

Xu Tingsheng smiled awkwardly.

"Actually, I did not suddenly improve this greatly. This month's efforts, the right methods, as well as luck were all very important, but there was also the reason that I had not treated examinations seriously before, having fallen asleep in examination grounds several times. What does this mean? What I mean to say is that I actually wasn't that lousy before. You may feel that my improvement was miraculous, but actually, if any of you were willing to flunk your examinations once, your improvement afterwards would be shocking as well."

Knowing laughter resounded from down below. This explanation of Xu Tingsheng's had mostly been because of his guilty conscience as he attempted to create a logical explanation for his sudden explosive improvement. From the looks of it now, it had worked out rather well.

"Finally, with the teachers and vice-chairman giving me as an ordinary student the chance to stand here on this stage and prove my innocence through this interaction session, this itself already makes clear that their hearts are not as narrow as one might think. On the contrary, their hearts are great, and they think truly for the benefit of the students."

"Thank you. I end my words here."

The silence beneath the stage persisted for a while.

"Clap, clap, clap."

Someone stood up and began applauding, and the applause of this person took everyone by surprise, because she was Mrs Zhang Xiuyun.

"Xu Tingsheng, I'm very sorry," Zhang Xiuyun said.

Xu Tingsheng's reply was drowned out by the ensuing applause, with everyone present, Vice-Principal Lou included, standing up and applauding.

In his previous life, having gone for a competition and conducted those lessons in foreign lands, Xu Tingsheng had also heard much applause. At this moment, as applause resounded once more, whether it was out of politeness or following the crowd, even if some of these people were actually reluctant to do so, Xu TIngsheng was already unable to carefully consider this. Currently, innumerable thoughts filled his mind, also pervaded by countless emotions.

Another person whose mind was filled with innumerable thoughts was the new first ranked student in the entire year, Chen Yulun. Today's after-school activity had truly been torturous to him.

Initially, he had been incomparably joyful at the thought of being able to expose Xu Tingsheng as having cheated. From the time Class 7 had entered the media classroom, he had been the most active one. While he had not personally asked any of the numerous tricky questions directed at Xu Tingsheng, many of them had originated from him.

The direction things had proceeded in afterwards had finally still gone against Chen Yulun's wishes. Not only had Xu Tingsheng proven his innocence, he had even stood dazzlingly in the limelight once more.

Chen Yulun's hatred towards Xu Tingsheng stemmed from that previous beating on the roof, even more so stemming from Xu Tingsheng having stolen his limelight.

Clearly, he, Chen Yulun, was the first in the entire year, having achieved this for the first time, being extremely proud of it. However, what had come to pass, in truth, was that no one had noticed this at all. No one had noticed him as the new first ranked student of the entire year, the limelight having been completely stolen away by Xu Tingsheng.

Chen Yulun was ranked first, while Xu Tingsheng was just ranked eleventh, and he believed that his looks were in no way inferior to the latter.

Chen Yulun very much wanted to ask, "Why, just where does the basis for this lie?"

Actually, this logic was very simple. Someone whose results had all along been good achieving first in the entire year for the first time, while being commendable, was also rather ordinary. However, Xu Tingsheng was different. Everything that had happened with him over this period of time could literally be considered a 'legend'.

From singing on the roof of the dormitory in the middle of the night while playing the guitar, acting the hooligan and throwing a wine bottle towards the girl's dormitory, to leaving behind the phrase that was emotionally deep to death 'This world is so wide, I wish to experience it', and unrestrainedly and coolly skipping classes for five days.

Next leading to heated discussion by letting out the words of getting into the top 20 of the entire year, not knowing the immensity of the heavens and the boundlessness of the earth.

Next having heat rush over to his head over a girl, clashing with Bao Ming and his bunch of infamous hooligans, taking down three people on his lonesome.

Next having been sent to the podium as a negative example, asked to reflect on himself.

Next carrying a few big boxes of isatis root and white vinegar that everyone was fighting over to purchase as he brought them into the school to give around.

Next having been the target of unquantifiable mockery having scored 62 marks on his Mathematics mock examinations, yet having two beauties consecutively stand up for him, leading to heated discussions once more.

Next having achieved a supreme turnaround and ranked 11th in the entire year, first in the entire city for Combined Humanities, his form teacher personally brewing tea for him, slapping the faces of all those who had mocked him.

Next having been suspected of cheating, yet slaying encroaching enemies all round with an interaction lesson that was incomparably splendid, causing Mrs Zhang to bow her head and apologise on her own accord, with a frenzied slapping of faces once more…

This was a 'legend'.

Chen Yulin was unresigned but also helpless. While the arrogance within his heart could let him not jot down a single line of notes at all, pretending to be completely uninterested in the entire lesson, when everyone stood up and applauded, he could only follow their actions, perfunctorily clapping his hands a few times.

"Shouldn't the applause be given to the first in the entire year?"

"Could it be that good results and good looks are insufficient for the girls? Why is it that there are no girls fighting over me, and even Song Ni, having liked me for 6 whole years, now completely ignores me?"

"…"

No one noticed Chen Yulun's unhappiness.

"Talk about other subjects next."

"Right, more."

As someone shouted such, similar responses increased greatly. However, Xu Tingsheng could not do so. Were it other subjects, he would only be revealing his relative ignorance. He still understood the principle of leaving things while they were at their best.

Xu Tingsheng smiled apologetically, saying awkwardly, "Even mealtime is over. I've already taken up too much of everyone's precious time; I really can't go on any further."

"The heck, acting like a big shot now?" Huang Yaming yelled ill-naturedly.

Xu Tingsheng shot him a furious glare before he substantiated, "If you have time, you can interact with me after your lessons. Today, I really don't dare to take up any more of your time."

"After-class interaction is the welfare of the female students; I estimate that there'll not be any time for the rest of us," Huang Yaming continued stirring things up loudly.

"That's right. So many people from Class 10 came to show you own support; you really can't account for it just like this. How about you treat the entire class to a meal?" Fu Cheng followed.

"I just tricked a meal out of the two of you; is there such great an enmity?" Xu Tingsheng felt greatly headached. It was only he himself who knew that it was not that he was unwilling to teach them further, but that if he were to speak on other subjects, it would only be adding feet to the painting of a snake, smashing his own great reputation.

However, the situation had already begun spiralling out of his control, as those of Class 10 began chanting collectively, "Meal, meal."

Treat the entire class to a meal?

Xu Tingsheng couldn't bear to fork out that money, also not wanting to make turn things into a celebration. That would be the death of him-death by embarrassment.

However, an ending phase definitely had to play out today, someone now shouting from beneath the stage, "How about you sing a song for everyone? Singing here would at least definitely be better than climbing to the roof and singing in the middle of the night, right?"

Reminded of Xu Tingsheng's 'glorious' feat, laughter erupted beneath the stage as the students agreed with this proposal.

Helpless, Xu Tingsheng inhaled, "…, I'll sing then."

Applause rained down, before the area fell silent, waiting for Xu Tingsheng to begin.

What would he sing? Xu Tingsheng sifted through his mind, before thinking of a sentence that came very much in line with today's situation: we are all good kids.

You say that we of Class 10 cheated? Let me tell you this-we are all good kids.

"The name of the song I will be singing for everyone is…we are all good kids. This is something I want to say to everyone on behalf of our Class 10, led by our good person leader, Old Zhou. We are all good kids, we are all in the process of striving diligently."

Everyone of Class 10 responded happily in unison. The name of this song was really too alleviating. Haven't you always said that Class 10 is lousy? Could it be that even when we improve, you will feel that it is because we cheated?

Actually, we are all good kids.

Sung by Xu Tingsheng in his slightly hoarse voice, the song which had originally been sung by a woman held a flavour of its own.

"Pushing open the window, looking at the white bird on the horizon

Thinking of your mint-flavoured smile

You were running on the school fields back then

Yelling loudly, I love you, do you know…"

There was no accompanying melody, but with the first stanza, the atmosphere here changed, becoming warm and ambiguous.

"This…is talking about school romance?" Some thought, "Your mint-flavoured smile, you were running on the school fields…isn't this speaking of matters that occurred in school?"

Goethe said: Which young man does not love; which young woman is not smitten?

In one's youth, how would there not be feelings of romance?

Many had already fallen into emotions of this kind. Correspondingly, Xu Tingsheng's singing voice that could not be considered very outstanding grew to sound moving in their ears.

Wu Yuewei and Yao Jing both perhaps fell in a little deeper. Their faces were red, yet they were smiling blissfully, each feeling as though Xu Tingsheng on the stage was only singing to her and her alone, expressing of his feelings.

And while he was singing, Xu Tingsheng just had to individually glance very unnaturally a few times at the both of them.

It would be strange if they didn't have wild thoughts with this.

Actually, Xu Tingsheng had also discovered that the situation was not right. He had initially chosen this song due to its name. However, when the initial lyrics emerged, he himself had first been rendered dazed. This completely wasn't what he had wanted to express at all.

However, there was no way about it. He could only harden his mind and continue singing it. Luckily, a few lines that fit did appear in the lyrics:

"We were afraid of nothing then…

Just like this, forever never parting…

We are all good kids

Kids who believe in the inconceivable utmost

Believing that love, can be forever

We are all good kids

The most most kind-hearted kids

Thinking back on, what hurt us…"

The youthful times in which one believes in the inconceivable utmost-can we forever never part? Sooner or later, there will come a day of remembrance, thinking back on what once hurt us.

The atmosphere of graduation descended prematurely due to Xu Tingsheng's song. Graduation-it is not just your lover from whom you may part, but also your treasured teacher and classmates, even those whom you had once hated and quarrelled with, even those whom you had hurt and been hurt by before…

Just as the eyes of some present had already begun reddening, Xu Tingsheng didn't go on with the next part of the song, hastily bringing an end to it before turning and dashing madly away, leaving behind a panicked, fleeing back.

Chapter 23: Shall we drink a little wine in secret?

The hardest thing for a 31-year-old soul stuffed back into a 19-year-old body was that resultant state of mind. Many things done naturally and without a thought by those teenagers in their prime were instead felt by Xu Tingsheng to be embarrassing.

Consequently, with regards to Xu Tingsheng's physical appearance, other than once again possessing a youthful body brimming with vitality, there was one major change-his smile.

Now, when Xu Tingsheng smiled, a feeling of awkwardness could often be detected within, thereby giving others the feeling of him being embarrassed. In the eyes of the girls, fierce and tyrannical, yet for some reason also easily embarrassed, he was a really interesting and really cute guy together in one.

Who could know that this was actually because he was really old!

A girl he had never seen before walked over to him and asked, "Xu Tingsheng, I won a bet with my roommates. I bet that you would enter the top 20 ranks, and now they each owe me a meal. Say…would you like to eat together with us?"

Xu Tingsheng scratched his head, replying, "Next time, perhaps. I am already meeting my friends today."

The girl nodded, "Alright then. But do remember, okay? Also, do keep it up!"

The girl brandished her small fist, and Xu Tingsheng nodded, smiling awkwardly.

A gangster-like girl walked over and asked, "Senior Xu Tingsheng, do you accept godsisters?"

"Looks like I've really been taken as a gangster," Xu Tingsheng thought helplessly as he replied, "I have a real sister."

"Huh, that's different," The unrefined girl cast a seductive glance at him, protesting flirtatiously, "Godsisters are different, it can't be that senior doesn't know this?"

"I don't. I'm gonna eat now, bye," Xu Tingsheng fled panickedly once more.

In his previous life, Xu Tingsheng had had experience with such matters before. Yet, now that he had returned to the identity of a virgin male, with a pubescent body and senses highly cognisant of the smell of fresh pickings, he was left particularly susceptible to his impulses.

This kind of gangster-like girl was easy for him to resist, but what about other scenarios?

"These little lasses still so young…how many tough, sleepless nights does this entail!" Xu Tingsheng was really afraid that he might not be able to hold out against such a major issue, "To guard my body as I would precious jade, or? …This is a problem that one can literally die over."

Xu Tingsheng was ultimately unable escape this dinner, wherein while he did not have to treat an entire class's worth of people to a meal, many more people were present this time than during lunch earlier. Fingering the 3000 dollars in his pocket, his portion of the proceeds from before, Xu Tingsheng felt that he might as well get a private room with a round table that could seat more than ten people.

All these people had been invited by Huang Yaming. Other than the original five from lunch, having been additionally invited by him were Tan Qingling, Song Ni and a few other classmates whom they were relatively closer with. On Wu Yuewei's side, out of concern that she might be lonely, her friend who had been with her at the time had also been invited.

Wu Yuewei sat with her tablemate whom she was on the best terms with, whispering to her from time to time. Wu Yuewei had come in the spirit of bringing her confidante to meet her sweetheart. She was shy yet happy, while her tablemate had her heart fully set on observing firsthand all the charm of this Senior Xu Tingsheng.

Xu Tingsheng ordered the dishes by the window. As he was about to return to the private room, someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"Xu Tingsheng."

"Hi, Ms Fang."

Fang Yunyao stood behind Xu Tingsheng, pretending to angrily grind her teeth as she said, "Xu Tingsheng, you're really too much."

Xu Tingsheng asked in puzzlement, "Ms Fang, what is it?"

"After you gave that lesson, how on earth am I supposed to continue teaching your class next time?" Ms Fang sighed.

While her anger was feigned, Fang Yunyao's words were not entirely false. At the very least, she had truly been moved. Xu Tingsheng's interaction lesson had stirred up many emotions in her, and the pressure it had given her was equally great. While Fang Yunyao was also a rather outstanding teacher herself, Xu Tingsheng's education philosophy that was ten years ahead of its time, his identity as a student and also the fact that that had been a lesson that had been polished countless times and won first prize in a provincial competition had together had an incomparably great impact on her that could only be imagined.

Xu Tingsheng had not considered this beforehand, and thinking about it now, it truly had caused Ms Fang a bit of trouble, also not being something that could be undone at that.

He smiled guiltily, "I feel that we students definitely still enjoy Ms Fang's classes more, myself included."

"Oh, right. Are you eating alone, Ms Fang? Would you like to eat together? I've invited a few others, and I'd like to use this chance to express to you my sincerest apologies as well."

Xu Tingsheng brought Fang Yunyao to the private room, leading to much nervousness amongst the people inside. For instance, Huang Yaming, who was at the moment stealthily reaching for Tan Qingling's hand under the table. For instance, Fu Cheng.

"Ms Fang, please sit there," Xu Tingsheng pointed at the empty seat beside Fu Cheng.

He then chided Fu Cheng, "Why're you just sitting dumbly there? Hurry up and pull out Ms Fang's stool for her! Be a little more gentlemanly, can't you?"

Only now did Fu Cheng recover his wits, hurriedly arranging Ms Fang's stool for her as he appeared nervous to the point of not knowing what to do at all.

"Don't be nervous; just treat me as you would a classmate." As Fang Yunyao noticed Fu Cheng's overwhelming nervousness, thinking that it was due to her status as a teacher, she smiled, trying to put him at ease.

"Don't be nervous, don't be nervous," Fu Cheng buried his head and muttered.

Greatly amused, Xu Tingsheng did not continue teasing him as he turned and asked everyone, "The food has been ordered; what do you guys want to drink?"

Seeing that her entrance had resulted in a somewhat heavy atmosphere, Fang Yunyao proposed, "Didn't you say it was a celebration? Why don't we drink a little wine in secret? At any rate, we are in a private room and won't be seen."

"Great," Fu Cheng was the first to express his agreement, for if he didn't have some wine now, he really had no idea how he might be able to tide through this meal.

Following this, everyone else successively agreed to this proposal as well.

Seeing that Wu Yuewei too had agreed, Xu Tingsheng eyed her rather worriedly, "You can't drink, right? Are you sure?"

"It's my first time drinking; I'll try," Wu Yuewei replied, smiling.

"As I thought," Xu Tingsheng suddenly recalled that wedding in his previous life.

Wu Yuewei had been by the side of the groom and his best men who had been helping to 'block' the wine, making toasts from table to table. As she was a woman, no one had really made things difficult for her, and she had drunk fruit juice all the way.

When they arrived at Xu Tingsheng's table, the groom had introduced the table's guests to her.

"This is my cousin," the groom had said.

Xu Tingsheng had raised his head, and Wu Yuewei had been stunned for a while. Xu Tingsheng had been mentally prepared beforehand to see her once again after so many years, but it had not been so for Wu Yuewei. She had not known that Xu Tingsheng would be appearing at her wedding under such an identity.

Wu Yuewei had sorted out her thoughts, saying softly, "Hi, senior."

In response, Xu Tingsheng had raised his wine glass, "I wish you…happiness in matrimony, living a long and blissful life."

"Thank you," Wu Yuewei had said, "I will have a glass in senior's honour."

Wu Yuewei had then raised the little glass in her hand, and the best man by her side had been about to pour her some fruit juice when she had moved her glass and pointed at the white wine someone else was carrying, "I'll have that."

Her voice had not been loud, but this had drawn the attention of the entire hall, everyone looking at this bride who had previously kept saying that she had never drunk wine before. This different treatment was really much too obtrusive.

Back then, Wu Yuewei took no notice of those gazes, raising her glass of wine and saying to Xu Tingsheng, "Thank you, senior, for attending my wedding."

"It should be cousin," the groom suggested by the side.

"Senior, I am downing it now, in gratitude for senior attending my wedding," Wu Yuewei then raised her head and swallowed all the white wine in one go, the spicy and pungent aroma causing her to frown.

Xu Tingsheng could only raise his glass and drain it in in a single go.

"It turns out that the bride is so good at drinking! That won't do, I want a toast here too!" Someone hollered.

"Over here as well!"

The rowdiness increased in volume, and just as the groom and the best men were agonising over the spot they had been put in, Wu Yuewei's body went limp all of a sudden. The groom quickly grabbed her, drunk…collapsed with a single glass.

Xu Tingsheng stopped thinking about all that, gently saying to Wu Yuewei, "Well, you can have just a little then."

Xu Tingsheng's tone and the concern in his words was noticed by every person in the room.

Wu Yuewei nodded blissfully.

They ate the food and drank the wine, and the atmosphere soon became lively once more. Wine is just like that, capable of livening up originally gloomy people. If there is someone beside you who becomes gloomier the more he drinks, perhaps that which burdens his heart really is too great.

Xu Tingsheng drank quite a bit, for essentially everyone at the table had toasted him, even Ms Fang. Then there was also Yao Jing, whose expression Xu Tingsheng saw was a little desolate. He looked from her to Wu Yuewei and felt quite helpless, only able to pour a few more glasses of wine for himself.

"Yao Jing, will you consider joining our Mount Liang study group?" Xu Tingsheng asked her.

In his mind, this was the biggest compensation that he was able to offer her, for the reason of the feelings that he had for her.

Yao Jing stubbornly shook her head, "I don't want to."

Xu Tingsheng knew she might really have been hurt, for his earlier intimacy and concern for Wu Yuewei had indeed been too much like a boy favoring, indulging and caring for his little girlfriend.

From Xu Tingsheng's perspective, his brief relationship with Yao Jing in his previous life had been completely ordinary. It had simply become apparent that they were not well suited for each other, and the breakup had been amicable. This all happened within a month, during which other than having held hands once, they had not even kissed or hugged. This went to say that there was no reason for Xu Tingsheng to feel guilt towards Yao Jing. Wu Yuewei though, was a different matter. What had originally just been a betrayal of her hopes amidst his insensibility of youth had grown heavy with that final glass of wine. Xu Tingsheng had not thought that she might have remembered this for so long, to the extent that she was still deeply unable to forget about it so many years later. Thus, deep in his heart, Xu Tingsheng had thereafter felt like he had let down Wu Yuewei somewhat.

Fang Yunyao noticed the strange mood hanging about the table as well. Being rather young herself, she was not as opposed to these youthful affections as some other teachers were.

She looked at Xu Tingsheng, then glanced at Wu Yuewei and Yao Jing, after which she poured a glass of wine for Xu Tingsheng, chiding, "You idiot, calling your study group Mount Liang study group, yet still daring to invite girls in? What're you seeing our Yao Jing as? Hurry up and punish yourself with a glass."

Xu Tingsheng hastily downed the glass, shooting Ms Fang a grateful look.

The atmosphere around the table finally became lively once more. Fu Cheng, who had been more subdued all this while, suddenly asked Xu Tingsheng about the origins of that song <<We are all good kids>>.

"Oh yes, is this song newly released? We've never heard it before," The others asked Xu Tingsheng as well.

"The song hasn't been released yet? Dang," Xu Tingsheng actually did not know when this song had been released, having gone along with the heat of the moment and not thought about things, only now realising from everyone's reaction that this should probably be the case.

Well, what to do?

Xu Tingsheng could only ambiguously attempt to bury the issue, "It's a secret."

Through a half-opened mouth, Fu Cheng uttered in a burst of inspiration, "Could it be an original work by the person who played the guitar?"

The person who played the guitar. That time when Xu Tingsheng had sung on the roof at midnight and the person who had played the guitar back then was brought up once more. Before this, Xu Tingsheng had almost already forgotten about it.

"What person who played a guitar? This song was written by him?… How talented," Fang Yunyao asked Fu Cheng.

With Fang Yunyao asking him a question, Fu Cheng naturally hid nothing, bursting out with all that he knew thoroughly and in great detail.

Now, everyone's gazes turned towards Xu Tingsheng, the eyes bursting with curiosity.

Xu Tingsheng had absolutely no way of answering this. He didn't know about this matter at all, and even even if he did know the one who had written the song, he still wouldn't have been able to reveal it.

"This is also a secret," Xu Tingsheng said.