Chapter Fifty-Two: One Word from the Girl, and the Young Man’s Heart Is Thrown into Turmoil

Lu You sat in the waiting room, listening to over two hours of howling ghosts and wolf wails. By the time the others had nearly all cleared out, his candidate number was finally called.

He now deeply regretted not bringing his research papers along to read.

Lu You walked over to the door of the large classroom next door, tiptoed, and peeked inside.

A boy was singing on the podium. Three boys and two girls sat in the front row, several sheets of A4 paper placed on the desks before them. They were presumably the preliminary judges.

A few students were scattered across the back rows, all buried in their studies—except for one striking figure clad in bright red, who stood out noticeably.

Lu You raised an eyebrow slightly.

She was a member of the student council as well.

Aside from the final selection of the Top Ten Singers, the campus singing competition was entirely organized by the student council. Although there were faculty advisors, they were mostly figureheads and rarely seen unless an unexpected emergency arose.

At that moment, the boy on the podium finished his song and walked out of the classroom.

"Number 61, please come in. Number 62, please get ready."

It's my turn.

Lu You lowered his head to check his attire. Everything seemed fine, so he stepped into the big classroom.

He walked up to the podium, cast a brief glance at the five judges, and finally focused his attention on the boy sitting in the middle.

The other two boys and two girls nothing out of the ordinary, but the boy in the middle possessed a radiant, cheerful appearance, wearing a warm smile and naturally exuding the aura of someone in charge.

People like this looked amiable and approachable, but dealing with them in reality could be extremely tricky. Lu You guessed that someone of this rank in the student council was most likely the president.

The suspected student council president looked Lu You up and down carefully, nodded, and said, "Not bad, exceptional image. Go ahead and introduce yourself first."

"Hello, judges. I am a student from Class 3, Grade 1, and my name is Lu You."

Afterward, he bowed toward the audience below.

The suspected student council president narrowed his eyes slightly, recognizing who Lu You was.

"I've heard of you. I didn't expect you to have such great looks and top-tier grades, but artistic talents as well."

"Just a hobby, can't really call it an artistic talent."

"Alright, take the stage and perform freely. Three minutes maximum."

"Understood. The song I'd like to sing is 'Rice Field'."

With that, Lu You picked up the microphone from the desk.

Jay Chou's "Rice Field" was a song almost everyone had heard, and it was one of Lu You's personal favorites. During his time studying abroad in his past life, he had spent all those days accompanied by the songs of Jay Chou and a host of other musical greats like Eason Chan, Jason Zhang, and JJ Lin.

Although three minutes wouldn't be enough to finish the entire song, singing halfway through it would be more than enough to pass the preliminary round.

"The sparrows outside the window are chattering away on the utility poles..."
"You said this line felt so much like summer..."
"I continue to write..."
"Writing 'I will love you forever' at the very end of the poem..."
"You are the only understanding I want..."

The song came to an end.

Lu You lowered the microphone and drifted into a momentary daze.

Why hasn't class ended yet? I really want to see my little snowman.

He had sung the entire song of "Rice Field," and the time had long exceeded the three-minute limit. However, no one had interrupted him midway, and he felt too embarrassed to stop on his own accord, so he simply sang it all the way to the end.

Applause broke out inside the large classroom.

"You sang that very well. Even without accompaniment, being able to deliver a performance like that is truly rare."

"Thank you for the compliment."

"Alright, you may return to your classroom and wait for the results. There will be a reply by this weekend, and your head teacher will notify you then."

"Thank you, judges. Goodbye."

Lu You bowed once more, then stepped out of the large classroom.

After he left, the two female judges who had remained silent the entire time excitedly piped up, "Mr. President! That boy is so handsome! Do you know him? Introduce us!"

"Yeah, President! Keep the good resources within our own circle; you might as well just recruit him into the student council."

The boy addressed as the president smiled, shook his head, and said helplessly, "How would I know him? I've only heard others mention that there's a science prodigy in Grade 1 named Lu You, whose test scores are terrifyingly high, which is why I recognized him."

Seeing that the two girls still wanted to talk, he quickly changed the subject.

"All right, tonight's tasks aren't finished yet, stop chatting. Next up, number 62 and number 63, please get ready."

Ye Hongshu watched the two girls' reactions and sighed inwardly in her heart.

People like him were simply absurd—good-looking, multi-talented, and with a solid family background to boot. The heavens really were unfair.

...

In the Class 2 classroom.

Li Yu was currently working on his biology homework while keeping a fraction of his attention focused on the Top Ten Singers preliminary auditions, occasionally taking time to throw in a few sarcastic remarks.

Although the No. 1 Teaching Building and the Art Building were separated by the Biology Building, Chunhua High School was located in a remote area with quiet surroundings and minimal noise. Moreover, the performers were using microphones, so Li Yu could clearly hear the songs being sung during the auditions.

"Oh, that guy's voice just cracked."

"Damn, this 'Hungry Wolf Legend' sounds less like a song and more like howling ghosts. Is this a contest to see who can scream the loudest?"

"That girl's high notes are amazing! I'm certain she's a lock for the Top Ten Singers."

Tang Wan and Xu Nian were also busy writing problems while listening to the songs, occasionally responding to Li Yu's comments.

After a brief stretch of quiet, "Rice Field" drifted into their ears.

Li Yu stopped his right hand from writing. He recognized instantly that this song was being sung by Lu You.

Xu Nian looked somewhat surprised.

"Hey, Wanwan, this one sounds really good."

"Mm, it is nice. She'll probably pass the preliminaries."

"Of course it's good," Li Yu chimed in. "It's not like you guys didn't hear Lu You sing during military training."

Xu Nian had a sudden epiphany. Hearing him say that, she also managed to pick out Lu You's voice.

"It's him! No wonder it sounded so familiar."

Tang Wan put down her pen, concentrated, and perked up her ears to listen carefully.

A few minutes later, the song concluded, and Lu You's clear and crisp voice vanished.

"Listening to that feels like cleansing one's ears with celestial music, right, Wanwan?"

Tang Wan glanced sideways at Xu Nian, picked up her pen to continue her homework, and ignored her.

This wretch was nine times out of ten trying to tease her, so it was better not to pay her any mind.

Li Yu, sitting behind them, responded with a proud expression: "That goes without saying. My brother is just that awesome."

Xu Nian turned around and looked at him with disdain.

"Whose brother are you?"

"Sworn brothers from different fathers and mothers."

"Tsk, look at that smug face of yours, acting like you were the one singing on stage."

"Is there a difference? What belongs to my brother belongs to me."

"Is his wife your wife too?"

"Of course!"

Tang Wan turned around, picked up several books from Li Yu's desk, and hurled them directly at him.

"Shut up!"

Li Yu was hit in a daze and hurriedly raised his hands to protect his vital areas.

"What's the big deal?! What did I say wrong?"

"Hmph!"

Tang Wan glared at him with a look as if she were viewing trash, issuing a cold warning: "Watch your words from now on. If I hear anything similar again, what gets thrown won't be a book bag, but a razor blade."

Li Yu felt his hair stand on end.

"Tang... Goddess Tang, I... I... I'm sorry, I was wrong, I won't dare do it again."

Tang Wan turned back around and resumed her homework.

Li Yu leaned in close to Xu Nian, trembling, and whispered, "What... what did I do wrong?"

"Sigh."

Xu Nian let out a sigh, looked at him with pity, and said earnestly, "Next time you want to say anything concerning Lu You, make sure you use your brain before it comes out of your mouth. After all, girls in love don't have brains."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You don't even get that? Then you might as well just drop dead."

...

Lu You returned to the classroom. By this time, it was already the third self-study period, and everyone was getting ready to pack up and go home.

He simply didn't bother taking out his textbooks, deciding instead to fish for gossip from his desk mate.

Lowering his voice, he asked quietly, "Old Liang, got a minute?"

"What is it?"

"Want to chat."

Yuan Wenliang paused his book-flipping motion, turned his head, and looked at Lu You in surprise.

"That doesn't fit your usual image! Aren't you always holding a book and reading diligently every day?"

"Actually, there's something pent up in my chest that I just have to spit out."

"Feel free to share."

Acting like a stealthy thief, Lu You looked left and right cautiously before speaking: "Old Liang, have you ever... let a girl down?"

"Utter nonsense!"

Yuan Wenliang slammed his palm on the desk in anger, instantly drawing the gaze of the entire class onto the two of them.

Seeing him so agitated, Lu You could only use the excuse of asking an academic question to drag him out into the corridor.

"Don't get so worked up! That was a question, not a statement!"

"How dare you slander an innocent person out of thin air!"

"Sigh."

Lu You felt his heart grow weary.

"Let me rephrase the question then. Do you know Ye Hongshu?"

"Only heard her name, never met her in person. Rumor has it she's a rose-like woman—beautiful yet thorny."

Lu You nodded, feeling a deep sense of agreement.

"Since you don't know her, why does she like you?"

Yuan Wenliang frowned and said righteously, "Do you have concrete evidence? Do not ruin a young woman's reputation."

Lu You rolled his eyes in frustration. There was a reason why he found it exhausting to talk to this guy; it was simply too tiring.

"Relax. She personally asked me to pass a message to you: a girl named Ye Hongshu wants to get to know you."

Yuan Wenliang's frown deepened so much it could have crushed a few flies.

"Could this be... a lost bet in a game of truth or dare? Or perhaps an excuse to get close to you?"

He simply refused to believe that a legendary figure among the students would take a liking to someone as ordinary as himself.

Nor did Lu You believe it, but not because he thought Yuan Wenliang was ordinary. On the contrary, he admired him. Since entering high school, he was the first person who had caught his eye.

As for Tang Wan, she had already moved into his heart and was off the table for discussion. As for Xu Nian, she might potentially become a good buddy, but required no further evaluation.

In Lu You's view, Yuan Wenliang was exceptional. Not because of his grades, but because of his enduring passion for history and the vast amount of time he invested in studying it. The history referred to here wasn't merely chronicles of the past, but historical folkways, political evolutions, cultural changes, and so on.

Much like how Lu You himself loved mathematics—why was it that the two of them dominated the top spots in science and humanities respectively? At their core, it was passion and persistence; innate talent was only secondary.

What Lu You found unbelievable was that Ye Hongshu would dare to make the first move when the two of them didn't even know each other.

"Fine, anyway, I've delivered the message. There's nothing she can do to me. You two can figure out how to get along."

With that, Lu You waved his hand and walked back into the classroom, leaving Yuan Wenliang standing alone in a tangle of inner conflict.

Leaning against the corridor railing, his mind was a tangled mess of porridge.

To say he wasn't happy would be a lie. Having grown up to this point, this was the first time a girl other than his family members wanted to get to know him—let alone Ye Hongshu, the woman rumored to be as dazzling as a blossom.

Yet, a greater sense of panic accompanied it. He was a boy who preferred peace and stability, disliking too many disruptions in his life. Now that a destabilizing factor had appeared, he was truly at his wit's end.

"Sigh, cross that bridge when we come to it, take it one step at a time. It's not like she's going to eat me."