Shuangling: Braving the Rapids

Winter solstice has arrived in the blink of an eye, and Yanghe No. 1 High School held a math Olympiad warm-up competition. As is customary, the top ten students will represent the school in a higher-level competition at the provincial level.

Yue Chuan made a preliminary attempt and achieved an impressive eleventh place. Although he didn't make it into the semi-finals, it caused quite a stir in the school. It's worth noting that among the top twenty math Olympiad experts, all of them except him were senior high school students, which shows just how profound his mathematical foundation was.

Zhou Wenyao was very satisfied with his last apprentice, Yue Chuan. This achievement was well worth the pressure he had put in to ensure Yue Chuan's enrollment in school. The old teacher publicly praised Yue Chuan in class and encouraged everyone to emulate his beloved student. This favoritism made the students extremely envious.

"Qin Xiaochuan, you're already this good? At this rate, once this batch of senior high school students graduate, you'll definitely be able to join the provincial team next year. If you win a medal, you might even be able to get into a top university without taking the entrance exam!" During her free time, Li Baihui chatted with Yue Chuan. Although she was far less talented than Yue Chuan in math, physics, and chemistry, the girl genuinely admired her classmate.

For some reason, Yue Chuan's face suddenly turned red, which amused Li Baihui.

The girl smiled, revealing her dimples. "Okay, okay! I won't tease you anymore. Now that you have some free time, can you help me with something?"

Without waiting for Yue Chuan's reply, Li Baihui had already taken out an imported language repeater from her desk. She first put it on and adjusted the volume, then gently inserted the left earpiece into her deskmate's ear.

As a soothing classic English song played, Yue Chuan's expression relaxed, and he asked softly, "What do you want me to... advise on?"

"It's almost New Year's Day, and my teacher is drafting people to perform. Listen to the songs on this cassette tape and help me pick the best one!"

Li Baihui suffered from decision paralysis; she had too many pieces to practice regularly and couldn't make up her mind.

"I don't know much about music either, but you can listen to it first." Yue Chuan has no musical talent, so he can't give any meaningful advice. He's just listening to music to relax for now.

"Wedding in a Dream" and "Yesterday Once More" are tunes that Li Baihui often hums, and Yue Chuan was already very familiar with them. The other hit songs were new, but they were just so-so, and didn't resonate with him much.

"These tapes are all played by that guy named Li... Li something-de?" Yue Chuan asked, scratching his head.

"It's Richard Kleiman!" Li Baihui glared at him irritably, and seeing that he really wasn't interested, she simply changed to another cassette tape.

After a lot of fast-forwarding and rewinding, the ethereal new melody finally flowed out.

"You're such an old-fashioned person, I might as well let you listen to some classical music..."

Li Baihui muttered softly, but Yue Chuan didn't hear her at all. He was completely captivated by the unfamiliar melody. As soon as the last note faded, he hurriedly took off his headphones and asked with a big smile, "What's the name of this song? It's so beautiful!"

"Scarborough Fair" is translated into Chinese as 斯卡布罗集市 (Scarborough Market).

Without a second thought, Li Baihui blurted out, slapping her treasured lyric book into the other person's hand, "This is a medieval Scottish folk song. Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme represent sweetness, strength, loyalty, and courage, respectively..."

Born into a scholarly family, Li Baihui's appreciation of music was far beyond that of ordinary people. She wanted to have a good discussion with her deskmate about the meaning of the lyrics and music, but Yue Chuan slammed the lyric book shut and immediately said, "No wonder you always do better than me in English. You can even memorize lyrics of this difficulty! Never mind, I'd better start memorizing the vocabulary for next class."

How should we evaluate Yue Chuan? To put it kindly, he's simple-minded; to put it bluntly, he's a blockhead. No matter what the conversation is about, this guy can always bring it back to studying. Hey! He really is a natural conversation killer.

Seeing that her deskmate ignored her and offered no advice, Li Baihui got a little angry. She puffed out her cheeks, snatched back her notebook, and said irritably, "Hey! Aren't you so boring? I asked you to talk about your musical insights, but you're comparing grades! All you ever think about is studying, aren't you afraid of damaging your brain..."

A week later, Yanghe No.1 High School held a New Year's Day cultural performance.

Of all the performers, Li Baihui was the most dazzling. The girl was as composed as a TV star, leading the opening dance and performing a piano solo in the finale. She alone elevated the quality of the entire performance by several levels.

The new principal, Li Nianda, repeatedly led the applause for Li Baihui. For him, no celebration party or welcome banquet could compare to the performance of his own daughter.

After the performance, Class 1 of Grade 1 held another party. The students arranged their desks in a circle, leaving the empty space in the middle for the students with talents.

Peanuts and melon seeds were scattered all over the table. Everyone ate and watched the show, how wonderful!

Halfway through the party, the teachers of the three main subjects also interacted with the students.

The Chinese teacher recited "A Moonlit Night on the Spring River," showcasing the beauty of classical literature; the English teacher sang "Sound of Silence" a captivating and melodious song; and finally, the homeroom teacher and math teacher, Zhou Wenyao, a middle-aged man with a deep and powerful voice, brought the party to a climax with his rendition of "The Sound of Waves Remains the Same."

When the teachers moved to the next classroom, the students completely let loose, and all sorts of "heroes" took to the stage to perform. Whether they sang well or not was secondary; as long as they could make everyone laugh, they were already considered successful.

Finally, Zhao Aying appeared on stage. She wore two high buns, red lipstick, and blush on her high cheekbones. This comical girl's appearance on stage instantly ignited the entire audience.

The students burst into laughter, pointing at A-Ying's brightly colored, tight-fitting outfit and slapping their thighs. A-Ying, however, remained unmoved. Imitating the homeroom teacher's gesture, she made a few empty hand gestures and said, "As the most beautiful girl in the class, I'm going to sing a song for everyone!"

"As far as we're concerned" is the homeroom teacher Zhou Wenyao's catchphrase. Now, Aying has grasped the essence and learned it perfectly. As soon as she says it, it makes the students burst into laughter.

After warming up the crowd, A-Ying, in a high-pitched, incredibly captivating voice, began to sing:

I wanted to steal a glance at him.

Pretend to admire a vase of flowers

I can only peek at him secretly.

It's like browsing a painting...

A simple and cheerful song, "Heart's Desire," was sung by A-Ying in a convoluted and exaggerated manner, accompanied by exaggerated facial expressions, turning the love song into a comedy sketch.

For a moment, there was a cacophony of people banging on tables, stomping their feet, and whistling; someone who didn't know better would have thought it was a concert.

"Ah Ying! You sang well! Give us another verse!"

"Sister Ying sang absolutely amazingly today!"

……

Aying wasn't a top student, nor was she particularly pretty, but at that moment, she was definitely the most outstanding person in the class. The female students covered their mouths and giggled, while the male students were all teasing her, insisting that she perform another act.

At this moment, Aying bent down slightly, casually put her hands behind her back, coughed a few times, and imitated Zhou Wenyao's accent, shouting, "Hehe! I'm talking to you guys! You all look so energetic, have you finished your homework yet?!"

If the impersonation act during the warm-up was intentional, then this is Ah Ying's impromptu joke.

Unexpectedly, unexpectedly! This seemingly unremarkable girl has a talent for comedy. Everyone was amused by her impersonations. Several people laughed so hard they slid off their chairs, clutching their stomachs and groaning. Others even slammed their fists on the table, shouting that they wanted to see Aying's next performance...

Good-looking skins are the same, and interesting souls are one in a thousand.

Since the "gatekeeper conflict" incident, Zhao Aying has become a different person. She no longer avoids talking about her family of origin and will openly help out at her mother's snack stall on weekends.

Having shed her vanity, A-Ying's confusion and worries disappeared, and she became sunny and cheerful. Now she and Li Baihui are close friends, always chatting and laughing, and getting along very well.

Why did Ah Ying change so much?

In truth, she already knew the answer in her heart. She was grateful to the boy who stood up for her mother and to him for reminding her of her own problems. Meeting such a role model during the most confusing time of her adolescence, Aying felt very lucky. She saw the boy as a ray of light in her life, and this song, "Heart's Desire," was the girl's most sincere and purest confession.

At this time, Yue Chuan did not understand A Ying's feelings, and did not even know that she was Zhao Sumei's daughter!

Yue Chuan didn't particularly like A Ying's show. Her exaggerated costumes, nonsensical imitations, and the subtle flirting gestures she made made him feel uncomfortable. In comparison, Yue Chuan preferred the song "Scarborough Fair" that Li Baihui had played for him.

Yue Chuan probably never imagined that his emotional entanglement with A Ying would begin with this song and continue until he graduated from university and entered the workforce.

At a class reunion many years later, everyone still laughed as happily as they did today when they talked about Ah Ying's wonderful performance. But that's another story...