We ordinary people also need to fall in love.

"You're back? How are you feeling?"

I even felt like stabbing you in the face.

Li Mubai pulled out a chair and sat down, then took out his homework for the day.

"What's wrong? Are you angry?"

Chen Qiuhe smiled gently and said, "Don't be angry. Here, take this as an apology."

She took out an iron box and placed it on Li Mubai's table.

Oh well, what's done is done.

Li Mubai put the tin box away and said, "Don't do this kind of thing again next time."

"Yes, sir!" Chen Qiuhe said, holding up three fingers.

"So how's the practice going?"

"It's alright. Deng Yi said she'll choreograph a simple new routine for the two of us boys."

"That's good. Practice hard, and I'll film you and post it on Douyin to make you famous."

"No."

Li Mubai refused; he didn't want any of his relatives to see his dancing videos.

"Did you bring your phone?" he asked.

"I can only bring it next week, but Teacher Wu arranged for the remaining people who didn't participate to be the class recorder."

After saying that, Chen Qiuhe pulled a camera out of the table: "Look at this camera, I'm going to be a photographer from now on, hehe."

"Does the camera belong to the teacher?"

"yes."

"oh."

"Let's compare eggplant shapes."

……

"We'll continue practicing during the last evening study session, trying to memorize the first ten movements."

"it is good."

Li Mubai and Wang Rui found a place to sit down, while Chen Qiuhe wandered around aimlessly with a camera in her arms.

"Li Mubai, Wang Rui," Deng Yi said as she walked over.

"What are the arrangements?"

"Okay, Zhang Qian and I have choreographed your moves. Go find Xie Shu, she'll explain them to you."

…"OK."

Xie Shu has finished practicing and is resting in a corner of the dance studio.

"Squad leader, Deng Yi asked us to come and practice with you."

With other people present, Li Mubai's words and actions became unfamiliar.

"Yes, I know."

Xie Shu paused for a moment, then said, "I will use a calligraphy brush to imitate the action of painting, and you and he will take a hollowed-out scroll and follow my direction."

This is good, this action is simple.

"When you switch to the next move, you can put away the scroll, step back to the sides and jump with everyone, and then unfold the scroll again in the last twenty-one seconds."

"OK."

"Practice the following movements first."

Xie Shu turned his back and slowly raised his arm.

Li Mubai and Wang Rui followed suit.

"Li Mubai, your body is too stiff. You don't need to strive for the same flexibility as a woman. Just stay natural," Xie Shu said, looking at the mirror in front of him without turning around.

"Okay, okay."

Why not mention Wang Rui? He was quite stiff too.

Li Mubai adjusted his movements and felt less awkward.

"Okay, next up is the next move."

……

"Li Mubai, raise your arm a little higher."

……

"Li Mubai, spread your arms."

……

Is this dance really for boys? He started to question his life, especially since Chen Qiuhe would come over every now and then to take pictures. He wondered if there were any unflattering photos of him.

"Let's stop practicing here for today."

"Okay, thank you, class monitor."

"Hmm," Xie Shu responded softly, and then fell silent.

Evening self-study ended, and Li Mubai and Wang Rui packed their bags and left to return to their dormitory.

"Why does Xie Shu seem quite strict with you?" Wang Rui pondered.

"No, the class monitor treats all students equally."

Li Mubai paused, then added, "Perhaps I did perform worse than you."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, I feel like several of my movements are unnatural, and no matter how I adjust them, it doesn't help."

"Me too, this dance is so professional, guys without a dance background can't dance it well at all."

……

"Deng Yi, must Li Mubai jump?"

"What's wrong, Shu?"

"Nothing much, I just don't think he's suited for such gentle dances. Are there any simpler moves?"

"You want it to be even simpler?"

"Um."

"Okay, then Zhang Qian and I will discuss it again."

After Deng Yi finished speaking, she gave a teasing smile: "Why are you so concerned about him?"

"This is what a friend should do."

"Friends? I feel like you're strangers."

Indeed, were they friends? It seemed not. He never treated her the way he treated Chen Qiuhe, nor did he joke with her.

They always fell silent when they were together, with nothing to talk about, as if they were just familiar classmates.

"Shu, I'm telling you the truth, please don't be angry."

"Okay, go ahead and say it."

Deng Yi let out a long breath, made up her mind, and said, "I think it's best for you two to stop at the current stage of your relationship."

Why?

"First, dating really interferes with your studies, and I'm afraid it will affect your grades; second, apart from being a little handsome, he doesn't seem to have any other redeeming qualities. For example, in fairy tales, princesses are paired with princes, or at the very least, knights. There are no stories of ordinary people and princesses."

…He is not ordinary; his excellence is simply hidden.

Seeing that Xie Shu remained silent, Deng Yi also stopped speaking.

The moon was slowly climbing to its zenith, its light partially obscured by clouds.

"Buzz!"

Yan Shu: "You are excellent."

Li Mubai was completely bewildered. Why did he send such a message out of the blue?

After confirming that "excellent" didn't mean "show-off," he replied with a question mark.

Yan Shu: "It's alright, have you finished writing your half-month's lessons?"

It turns out they're urging me to finish the manuscript, but I can't help it. I've been "forced into service" recently, so I can only write on weekends when I have time.

Li Bubai: Not yet, things have been slow lately, you know, the sports meet is coming up soon.

Yan Shu: "Hmm."

Li Bubai: "Are you finished writing?"

Yan Shu: "No, there isn't either."

Li Bubai: "Then why are you urging me? I thought you had finished writing."

Heh... (chuckles softly)

The saying goes: "To supervise and encourage each other."

Li Bubai: "Okay, okay, I understand."

Yan Shu: "I've been reading a book recently, and there's a question I don't quite understand."

Li Bubai: "You still have time to read books? Doesn't your class need to prepare for the sports meet?"

Yan Shu: "What I want is that I don't need to be involved."

Li Bubai: "That's great."

Yan Shu: "Do you need to prepare?"

Hmm—Li Mubai hesitated for a moment, but still poured out his grievances to Yan Shu, though he concealed some specific information.

Yan Shu: "That's terrible, but things will probably get better."

Li Bubai: "Thank you for your kind words."

Yan Shu: "Okay, first answer my question: does a lone level tone generally only appear in rhyming sentences?"

Li Bubai: "Yes, the pattern '仄仄仄平仄' doesn't count. There's only one case for '孤平' (isolated level tone), which is '仄平仄仄平' (oblique level tone oblique oblique level tone), and..."

Yan Shu: "Okay, thank you."

Li Bubai: "Don't be so polite."

You always thank me.

Yan Shu: "I'm going to sleep. You should rest early too. Goodnight."

Li Bubai: "Goodnight." (The other party retracted a message due to a typo.)

Li Mubai was too quick; he sent another moon emoji.

These past few days I've neglected my book, but it's still early tonight, so I can read a little. Li Mubai took out "Loneliness is a Gift of Life" from under his pillow, his fingertips tracing the page to page 157:

"In the long river of time, each encounter is an exploration of diverse lives. Each exploration presents a different aspect of life, whether it is darkness or light, and ultimately gives us a mirror to learn from our life experiences."