Hear this life

In order to welcome this competition, Xinxin Department Store not only added many novel decorations and facilities, but also launched a series of "Flowers of Shanghai" customer appreciation activities. In the evening, when the neon lights came on, the whole building was like a magnificent and beautiful crystal palace. However, when the competition officially kicked off, the scene was not as lively as expected. There were very few spectators, and most of the reporters went to Yifeilin.

When it was Wen Tingli's turn to appear, she quietly glanced at the VIP seats.

Yan Zhenzhen and Zhao Qingluo, along with a group of pragmatic classmates, waved flags on the stage.

On the other side, Huang Yuanshan majestically directed his photographer to take pictures of her on the stage.

Gao Xiaowen wore a wide-brimmed gauze hat and bright red Danqi lipstick, and sat in the most conspicuous position in the first row like a queen.

As soon as she came on stage, Gao Xiaowen blew a kiss to the stage as if no one was around.

In addition, there is Miss Dong Qinfang, the major shareholder of the night, the president of the Shanghai Women's Association, celebrities in the cultural circle, wealthy businessmen, stars, playboys...

The only person I didn’t see was Lu Shicheng.

Her invitation was rejected again, which was expected.

Wen Tingli has always had a good point, which is that she never gets timid or causes trouble for herself. Moreover, once she stands under the spotlight, she will devote herself wholeheartedly to the performance. Although there were few audiences this time, it did not stop her from performing hard.

The program she prepared was a comedy she had carefully designed. During the performance, the audience burst into laughter from time to time, and at the end the applause was extremely enthusiastic. Wen Tingli gladly took her bow, and inadvertently glanced around and found that there were a few more audience members below. Among them was a young man who was handsome and outstanding. It was Meng Qiguang. Everyone else was applauding, but he was the only one looking at the stage leisurely.

Wen Tingli knew that Meng Qiguang was Gao Tingxin's good friend, and he came here most likely with the intention of scouting out the enemy. He seemed very satisfied. After all, judging from the number of people who came to watch the game tonight, Xinxin Department Store not only lost, but also lost quite ugly.

The next day, Wen Tingli took a look at the newspapers. As expected, most of the newspapers were reporting on the Yifeilin competition. Zhu Zihe's elegant figure playing the piano on the stage could be seen on many pages, with descriptions such as "Well-known painter successfully advanced to the Yifeilin beauty pageant finals" below. As for the competition situation on the Xinxin Department Store side, even if a few companies mentioned it, most of them just mentioned it briefly.

Wen Tingli was worried. Judging from the situation, not only did the preliminary competition fail to attract more viewers and advertisers for Xinxin, but even the existing advertisers might be snatched away by Yifeilin. When she came back at noon, Yan Zhenzhen called to comfort her: "It can't be helped. Yifeilin is a newly opened department store. They have put in so much effort in advance. It's normal for people to run over to join in the fun. The comedy you performed last night was wonderful. It's their own loss if they don't come to see it."

This situation continued throughout the day, and in the evening, the situation took an unexpected turn.

The reason was that a certain newspaper was sold out on the same day. The president of the newspaper was an old acquaintance of Dong Qinfang. When most newspapers in Shanghai were vying to introduce the grand occasion of Yifeilin, only this newspaper spent a large space to report the competition of Xinxin Department Store.

The newspaper said: In previous beauty pageants, contestants mostly focused on showing off their talents, and their performances tended to be reserved and traditional. Unexpectedly, this contestant named Wen Tingli, the champion of the "First Youth Drama Competition," came up with a unique idea and put on a farce for everyone.

She played two roles on stage, sometimes a bank clerk who wanted to climb up the social ladder, and sometimes a spoiled and lovely bank lady. When she played the clerk, her behavior was vulgar and her words were frivolous; when she played the lady, she was as beautiful as a peach and plum, and her words were full of wit. In particular, the quarrel between the "two people" across the counter when they were reconciling the accounts made the audience burst into laughter.

The article was accompanied by a series of photos of Wen Tingli performing a farce. The newspaper had good sales, and some people saw the female contestant's appearance and couldn't help but spread it around as a novelty.

People are no strangers to the endless stream of beauty pageants in recent years, but this is the first time they have heard of a beauty pageant contestant performing a comedy on stage without caring about her image. Out of curiosity, they bought a newspaper to take a look, and they couldn't help laughing just by looking at the photos.

Word spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred, and the newspapers were soon sold out.

When Dong Qinfang heard the news, she sent the photos of Wen Tingli in the competition to several other newspapers overnight. Unexpectedly, the sales of several newspapers on the second day were better than when they reported on Yifeilin's competition the day before.

On the third day, audience members called Xinxin one after another to ask if there would be such a comedy performance in the finals.

On the fourth day, several comedy and drama clubs began to inquire about Wen Tingli's performance experience and called to inquire about the price of group tickets for the night of the finals.

On the same day, Huang Yuanshan, director of Golden Pictures, came out to be interviewed as a relative of Wen Tingli. She repeatedly emphasized that Miss Wen was the champion of the last "Shanghai Youth Drama Competition". She also said that Golden Pictures was preparing a play starring Miss Wen and welcomed everyone's continued attention.

With the "promotion" of the famous director, the heat further spread to the literary and art circles and the film industry. Two days later, when Wen Tingli was walking on the street, a little kid arrogantly used one hand to count the abacus in front of her. That was the gesture she made when she played the bad guy on stage that night. This morning, several tabloids used this photo of her as the cover of their entertainment magazines.

That would have been fine, but when she came out of Exelon & Co. in the afternoon after finishing her work, she was blocked at the door by several tabloid reporters.

Afterwards, Wen Tingli called Gao Xiaowen to question her, and Gao Xiaowen generously admitted: "Yes, I told them that you were doing odd jobs in this foreign company. I was helping you and Dong Qinfang with publicity. No matter how new something is, people will forget it in two days. If you don't take this opportunity to expose more information, how can you help Xinxin attract more viewers later?"

Dong Qinfang struck while the iron was hot and began to sell tickets for the finals in the newspaper. The tickets were sold out in just one hour after the announcement. Dong Qinfang also told Wen Tingli that a vanishing cream company was interested in hiring her as their calendar lady, and the remuneration was very reasonable.

Wen Tingli was extremely happy for several days. In fact, the price offered by the vanishing cream company was not high. After all, there was no shortage of new people and new things in Shanghai. Everyone was only interested in her for a while, but it was always worth being happy to make money. She knew that if she performed better in the finals, more businesses would be interested in her.

It’s strange that when luck is bad, bad news comes one after another, and when luck is good, good news also comes one after another.

At noon that day, Zhao Qingluo called Wen Tingli.

"Come to school now."

"what?"

"The joint entrance examination scores are out!"

Wen Tingli ran out like a gust of wind.

When she arrived at the school, many classmates had already arrived. It was late summer, and the campus was full of lush green and the fragrance of flowers. She stepped into the campus amid the lively sound of cicadas, and saw many familiar faces. Each classmate had a different expression. Some were frowning, some were in high spirits, and some were neither sad nor happy, with a look of relief and detachment on their faces.

"Wen Tingli! We are here!" The front of the Quanxue Building was crowded with people. Yan Zhenzhen jumped up from the crowd and greeted Wen Tingli, "Hurry up, you have to sign in person to receive the transcript."

"How did you do in the exam?" Wen Tingli asked nervously. Zhao Qingluo and Yan Zhenzhen kept it a secret and refused to say anything, but they couldn't hide their happiness on their faces.

Wen Tingli ran upstairs with a bang.

"You are Wen Tingli from the Truth-Seeking Class, right?" The dean looked at Wen Tingli with great curiosity.

Wen Tingli just nodded blankly. She was a little afraid to take her report card.

"Come on, just sign here."

She held the report card against her chest and walked down the stairs slowly. Zhao Qingluo and others surrounded her.

"How about it?"

"I never dared to look." Wen Tingli closed her eyes nervously.

Suddenly, Zhao Qingluo screamed. Wen Tingli opened her eyes in a hurry, but Yan Zhenzhen grabbed her head and rubbed it violently.

"God damn it Wen Tingli, are you still not satisfied with such a good score?" Someone screamed again, this time it was Wen Tingli herself.

The transcript clearly stated: Chinese 86 points, English 92 points, and Arithmetic 79 points.

Although the total score was not particularly high, it was better than any other test she had taken before. She was so happy that she ran away like a rabbit, then ran back to hug Yan Zhenzhen and Zhao Qingluo and screamed. "Ahhhhhh."

"I knew she was going to go crazy. With this grade, she can't get into Hujiang and St. John's medical schools, but the rest of the subjects shouldn't be a big problem."

"What?" Wen Tingli suddenly calmed down, "Not good enough to study medicine?"

"Hey, that's enough. There are only five students in the whole school who have been admitted to Hujiang's medical school. One of them is Chen Xiaohong. She ranks first in the grade in every exam. You know the other four, and they are also among the top students in every exam. Seven students have been admitted to St. John's medical preparatory school, but it takes five years to complete the preparatory course. The tuition fees alone are expensive. Didn't you say you didn't plan to consider it?" "Not being able to afford it is one thing." Wen Tingli pouted deliberately, "Not passing the exam is another."

"Damn it." Zhao Qingluo clenched her fists. "No wonder Yan Zhenzhen always wants to beat you up. Now I want to beat you up too. Don't run away. Stand there and take your beating."

Wen Tingli had already run away, and ran to a sweet-scented osmanthus tree. She held the report card in her hands and read it several times in ecstasy, and pressed it against her heart: "I passed the exam, I passed the exam! Mom, did you see it?"

This scene happened to fall into the eyes of two people beside the flower bed.

"Isn't that Miss Wen Tingli?" Zhu Zihe laughed in surprise.

Principal Zou nodded happily: "Today is the day the results are released. It seems that this child did well in the exam. I will go over and ask her."

Zhu Zihe held Principal Zou's arm and said, "Don't forget that we still have important things to do."

"Oh yeah, let's go find Shicheng in the office first."

A few students came running over and dragged Wen Tingli away with laughter, while Principal Zou and Zhu Zihe continued to walk into the small white building along the original route.

As soon as they entered the office, they saw Lu Shicheng standing in front of the coffee table reading a newspaper.

"How long have you been here?" Principal Zou asked lovingly.

Lu Shicheng smiled, he had just arrived.

"Mr. Lu." Zhu Zihe greeted from the side.

Lu Shicheng nodded to her.

"I have an appointment to go to the dentist's office today. Zihe was afraid that I would be bored alone, so she insisted on accompanying me. I will meet you at school, so she had to come along."

Principal Zou picked up the teapot on the table and prepared to make tea. Zhu Zihe took the teapot from Principal Zou and said, "Let me do it."

Zou Zheping shook his head and smiled, "These past few days this kid won't let me do anything. I'm really worried that she won't be used to it after she leaves."

"Then I will stay with you until you get impatient with me." Zhu Zihe said half-coquettishly.

Lu Shicheng took the tea brewed by Zhu Zihe and nodded to her in thanks.

"You're welcome." Zhu Zihe smiled.

Zou Zheping looked at the two of them with pleasure.

"What happened last Sunday?" she asked Lu Shicheng, "You are never late or break an appointment, but you made us wait for half a day in vain. Did something unexpected happen?"

Lu Shicheng glanced at the newspaper on the coffee table. There was a little "accident" and this "accident" was now making faces at him in the newspaper.

He acted as if he didn't know how to answer and naturally avoided the topic.

Principal Zou did not suspect anything, but Zhu Zihe followed Lu Shicheng's gaze and looked at the newspaper on the coffee table. She smiled slightly, picked up the newspaper and said, "I just saw Miss Wen on the road."

Principal Zou laughed as soon as he saw the newspaper.

"Yes, this kid is famous. She's been all over the newspapers these days. She was the one who came up with the idea of ​​performing a burlesque show at a beauty pageant. No wonder Manager Huang from Golden Pictures always says she's a genius. By the way, Shicheng, you also know Wen Tingli, right? She was at the dinner that night. Look at this photo, look at her expression, it's so funny."

Principal Zou was born an optimist, and he couldn't help laughing out loud as he spoke. Lu Shicheng had no choice but to take the newspaper that he had read twice and read it again.

"Don't be so perfunctory." Principal Zou said angrily, "I know you are not interested in this kind of news. Let's talk about serious matters. I plan to open a night school for women in Yangpu District to help the majority of female factory workers--"

At this time, Director Zhu from the Education Department came in holding the transcripts: "Principal, here are the transcripts for this year's graduates."

Principal Zou said excitedly, "Put it on the table. I'm curious about how Wen Tingli did on the exam."

Unexpectedly, just as Director Zhu left, Michelle came in and said, "Principal Zou, Director Chen has something urgent to ask you to come over."

Principal Zou said to the two of them, "I'll go for a while. If there's a call, don't answer it for me. I'll be back soon."

As soon as Principal Zou left, only Zhu Zihe and Lu Shicheng were left in the principal's office.

Zhu Zihe was reserved and elegant, while Lu Shicheng was distant and silent. They drank their own tea. Suddenly, Zhu Zihe broke the silence with a smile: "Excuse me, Mr. Lu looks a lot like your mother when she was young."

Lu Shicheng looked up at Zhu Zihe.

"My mother has collected a lot of school photos. This time she was ill and couldn't come to Shanghai with me. I was afraid that Aunt Zou would be disappointed, so I brought those photo albums. Aunt Zou picked out a lot of photos of Mrs. Lu when she was in school. She said that the three of them were best friends when they were in school, and that Mr. Lu would be happy to see these photos. It's a pity that you didn't come that day, and then I was busy preparing for the competition. I wonder if Mr. Lu is free these days? Otherwise, I'll give you the photo album."

Suddenly, the phone on the windowsill rang. Lu Shicheng seemed to have forgotten Principal Zou's instructions. He walked over and picked up the receiver. But then he seemed to remember that he couldn't speak, so he turned around and asked Zhu Zihe to come over and help answer the phone.

Zhu Zihe was a little surprised. Lu Shicheng really didn't seem like the kind of person who would make such a stupid mistake.

She was a little suspicious that he was trying to interrupt her. After all, she couldn't engage him in a chat when she was busy answering the phone, but she was clearly talking about a topic that interested him.

Could it be that he doesn't like an overly proactive and enthusiastic opening?
No, he clearly intended to push her to the windowsill!

Although she was confused, she could only smile and walk over to take the microphone because he interrupted her in such a polite and natural way.

"Hello, who are you looking for?"

Looking back, I saw Lu Shicheng slowly walking to the side away from the window sill, with one hand in his trouser pocket and the other hand casually flipping through the book on the desk.

Looking closely, he saw that he was flipping through the report card of the current class of students at Shiwu Middle School.

He seemed to be just looking at it casually, but he turned several pages without stopping.

It was not until he turned to a certain page that his fingers suddenly stopped.

After staring for a moment, he turned his eyes to look at the ink cartridge on the table, then looked up at the clock on the wall as if nothing had happened, and then sat back on the sofa naturally.

Before that, at the moment when the transcript was closed again, Zhu Zihe took a quick glance. The name on the page of the transcript he had read was not clear, but the person in the half-length photo of the student was - Wen Tingli.

(End of this chapter)