Chapter Forty-six

  They say familiarity breeds contempt, and for the peculiar Shi Chengyu, his classmates in Class 3 of Grade 2 had already become quite indifferent. This included Yu Cai, who wouldn't have even noticed Shi's existence if it weren't for his father - just like the countless other students in their class whom she had ignored before.

  So when the familiar melody sounded, Yu Zai reflexively looked back at He Qi's position, completely ignoring Shi Chengyu beside her.

  "When you were born, I had not yet been born; when I was born, you were already old..."

  Yu Zai suddenly realized that the ringing sound was coming from Shi Chengyu's drawer, and the culprit was still staring at the blackboard as usual, without any reaction. Poor Yu Zai had to hurriedly take out his phone to turn off the ringtone, and forced a smile on his face in response to the ambiguous smile of Teacher Hua.

  "When you were born, I was not yet born; when I was born, you were already old." The lovely and respected Teacher Hua still had her usual smiling face, "Does Shi Chengyu student like this poem?"

  Seeing that weirdo didn't react at all, he couldn't bear to see his favorite teacher, a pitiful person, get embarrassed again. "Teacher, I was the one who helped him with this song, and it's me who likes it."

  "Oh? Yu Cai——" Teacher Hua walked over, picked up the book on Yu Cai's desk, "It's really rare, today Yu Cai is actually listening to class seriously."

  You've always been lenient with me, so why are you picking on me now?

  The classmates burst out laughing, with He Qi's laughter being the most hearty. Her pale face began to flush red.

  "But now there's even a popular song that says 'you were born for me before I was born', it's quite strange, come on, play it from start to finish and let me listen."

  Yu Cai struggled to calm down and started searching for the phone, but after a long time, she still couldn't find it. The culprit didn't even offer any help. Just as Yu Cai was getting frustrated, He Qi classmate stood up and said, "Yu Cai, I have one in my phone, let me put it on."

  When the song was over, Teacher Hua smiled with a somewhat ambiguous meaning, "This song has never been played on TV before, and yet half of our class can sing it?"

  A girl shouted, "Teacher, this is the title song of 'Unrequited Love', sung by two first-year high school boys. Teacher, go to the bookstore and take a look, it's everywhere."

  "High school boy?"

  "Yes, Zuō Cǎi, who wrote 'The Unfinished Song of Yuè Yáng', was also a high school freshman and only 15 years old."

  Because there were too many whispers, Teacher Hua didn't hear clearly and repeated it once more, "Cooking?"

  Everyone burst into laughter, with He Qi's classmate laughing the most. Yu Cai's face turned green with regret - how could she have carelessly chosen a pen name that was homophonous with "cooking"?

  "It's left picking!" a girl shouted angrily, "It's water caltrop, picked on the left side of the stem!"

  Teacher Hua waved her hand and the class gradually quieted down, "What's 'Flower Season Rain Season' 'Threefold Gate', I've heard of those, but this 'Unfinished Song of Parting'..."

  Ok, Yucai is going to hit the wall.

  "Come on, tell me, why do you like this song? Don't all speak at once, appoint a representative to speak."

  As soon as this was said, the classroom, which had just been noisy, suddenly became quiet. He Qi continued to stare at Yu Cai, but found that the latter was unmoved. So he stood up and said, "Teacher, I think this song, although it's only sung by an amateur singer, is very well done in terms of lyrics and singing skills. This song also has a matching animation, which is very good. Teacher, you must take some time to watch it."

  Well, He Qi should be called Wang Po instead.

  Teacher Hua raised an eyebrow, "Is that all? I'm sure the author had a deeper meaning when writing this song."

  "What's wrong with your head?" "This is a question of Yu Cai."

  Yu Cai

  The poor Yucai classmate had no choice but to stand up, and in her heart, she despised a certain someone a hundred times. "I think this song is too immature and green, whether it's the lyrics or the singing skills, but its value lies in the emotions it conveys. 'You were born before I was, and by the time I was born, you were already old' is a kind of helplessness. The power of human beings is too small, and things that don't go as planned often happen. 'You were born before I was, and by the time I was born, you were already old' is a kind of helplessness. Returning the bright pearl with tears in your eyes, regretting not meeting before marriage is a kind of helplessness. In this world, how can we get both? Not betraying each other is a kind of helplessness. The fallen flower has the intention to follow the flowing water, but the flowing water has no heart to love the fallen flower is a kind of helplessness. When facing these kinds of helplessness, how should we deal with it? Should we let so-called fate and life knock us down, or should we persist in resisting bravely? 'The Unfinished Song' praises a kind of persistence, but at the same time, it also praises a kind of abandonment. Between taking and giving up, it reveals the broad-mindedness of a gentleman and the tender feelings of a heroic husband."

  Miss Hua was taken aback for a moment, then slowly began to applaud, and with that, the whole class followed suit.

  After the applause subsided, Teacher Hua smiled and said, "The so-called 'tongue as brilliant as a lotus flower' is nothing more than this. When I get back, I'll definitely find a copy of 'Unfinished Song' to take a good look."

  A girl spoke up positively, "Teacher, I have it right here, you don't need to look for it, this book is really good..."

  Yu Cai's face was burning with embarrassment due to a heated debate, and as soon as she lowered her head, she felt a cold gaze on herself. She looked up in surprise, only to find that it was Qi Shi Cheng Yu, who had been absent-minded for the past month.

  "Take it off."

  What's going on?

  "Take it off."

  "What's going on?"

  Shi Chengyu's patience had worn thin, his right hand reached behind Yu Zai's head, and Yu Zai subconsciously dodged, but was caught by his other hand gripping his shoulder. After a brief stinging sensation on his scalp, the ribbon tied to his hair was already in Shi Chengyu's hand. Then, with a flick of his wrist, the ribbon floated out of the window.

  Yu Cai was thoroughly angry, "What do you mean?"

  Shi Chengyu reverted to his usual expressionless face, staring blankly at the blackboard with a pale complexion, as if he would collapse like the ribbon that had just fallen outside the window. Yu Zai's remaining words were stuck in her throat, unable to be spoken. She gritted her teeth, adjusted her hair, and listened attentively to the lesson without saying another word.

  Yu Cai's little movement was not noticed by others, but He Qi, who had been intentionally or unintentionally paying attention to Yu Cai, saw it clearly. He barely held on until the end of class, and as soon as the teacher left the door, he rushed to the two people and said, "Shi Chengyu, I warn you, don't bully Yu Cai!"

  Shi Chengyu still didn't react, this fell into He Qi's eyes that was thorough contempt and disregard. So classmate He Qi thoroughly got angry, "You come out, let's practice!"

  Yu Cai looked around and saw classmates peeking out, so she stood up and nudged He Qi, "Forget it, come with me to pick up my hair clip, Uncle gave it to me as a gift, I'd be in trouble if I lose it".

  He was pushed out of the classroom by Yucai, still feeling uncomfortable and huffing, "What's so great about Shi Chengyu? The head teacher doesn't know what he's thinking, letting you be his deskmate! I'll go back and have my mom call the head teacher to ask him to change your seat."

  Yu Cai originally wanted to stop him, but after thinking for a moment, he nodded and said, "Then I'll trouble you. You don't know how much pressure it is to sit with a handsome guy. Originally, after class, I could sleep and copy notes, now it's all used to deal with those girls who are not interested in wine."

  "What's even more ridiculous is that that little kid can also be called a handsome guy? One day, I'll get Ah Shi to come to our class and let those country bumpkins take a good look!"

  Yu Cai lost her smile, "Then I'll wait and see if you have what it takes to make Ah Shi be appreciated by others!"

  He glared at her with extreme dissatisfaction, "Whose side are you on?"

  "Alright, don't forget what I told you, but whatever you do, don't disturb my uncle, and also, don't say it was me who urged you to ask your mom."

  "What's wrong with you? Do I look like a fool?"

  Yu Cai had no choice but to humble herself and lower her head, "Alright, now that this matter is settled, how about I treat you to a meal?"

  "Please have three meals."

  "Good," Yu Cai replied crisply.