Chapter 27 The Mysterious Man Is a Coward!
“Humph!”
Qi Kaiwen stifled down the urge to get violent, let out a disgruntled snort and strode away.
“Once he puts on that damn face, it means he won’t provide others with anything valuable.”
“But this time I sure got some valuable information from him—there is truly a guy on this campus whose super memory can rival my junior fellow apprentice’s.”
“I wonder if that guy is exactly that student named Fang Qiu.”
On the other side.
After finishing the morning classes, Fang Qiu, who was on his way to the canteen, suddenly received a call from Jiang Miaoyu. With the teasing eyes of his three roommates fixed on him, Fang Qiu answer the call.
“Developing fellowship! Developing fellowship!”
Among all the disturbances caused by the constant urging and prompting words of the three, Fang Qiu finally heard what Jiang Miaoyu said.
She already picked the song for their performance.
And she called to ask if he had classes in the evening. If he was available, they could rehearse the song after dinner.
Fang Qiu happened to have no class this evening. All he needed to attend were the two sessions of Marxism in the afternoon. Except for that, he was free.
After they agreed on the place to meet, in the bitter gaze of his three roommates, Fang Qiu hung up.
“About developing fellowship?”
Zhou Xiaotian asked Fang Qiu grumpily.
“... Didn’t mention it.”
The three ignored Fang Qiu unanimously and headed for the canteen together, leaving Fang Qiu alone.
After attending the afternoon classes and having dinner, Fang Qiu came to the agreed place to meet Jiang Miaoyu, which was in the garden opposite the teaching building.
Behind a window of the teaching building, Zhu Benzheng, Sun Hao, and Zhou Xiaotian were crowding together, peeking down at Fang Qiu furtively.
They had no interest in Fang Qiu and Jiang Miaoyu.
What they did care was whether Jiang Miaoyu’s roommates would come with her!
“As we’ve agreed, once Jiang Miaoyu’s roommates come, we’ll go down there and develop a compulsive fellowship with them. As to the rehearsal of the youngest and our campus belle, it will just be a performance to liven things up for us.”
Said Sun Hao hopefully.
Zhu Benzheng and Zhou Xiaotian both nodded feverishly.
At half past six, Jiang Miaoyu turned up in the garden on time.
But to their great disappointment, Jiang Miaoyu arrived at the garden all alone, unaccompanied by any of her roommates that the three had long since looked forward to meeting.
“Oh, well!”
The three sighed simultaneously.
“Don’t be discouraged!”
Just as Zhu Benzheng and Zhou Xiaotian turned away from the window, Sun Hao suddenly spoke loudly before giving a wicked smile, “Don’t forget that the youngest and the campus belle must need someone to watch they perform and give some advice after they’ve done with the rehearsal between themselves. When that time comes, we will propose to watch the performance with the roommates of our campus belle. I assume they won’t say no.”
At those words, Zhu Benzheng and Zhou Xiaotian’s eyes were lightened up.
“Right!”
They still got their chance. The three looked at each other and giggled.
On the other side.
Fang Qiu spotted Jiang Miaoyu the moment she appeared and swiftly walked towards her.
At the sight of Fang Qiu, Jiang Miaoyu instantly wanted to thank him for curing her sprained ankle the day before yesterday. But before she opened her mouth to speak, Fang Qiu suddenly said, “Don’t move.”
Jiang Miaoyu immediately halted, staring curiously at Fang Qiu.
Fang Qiu reached out and tenderly took a petal off from Jiang Miaoyu’s hair.
This gesture instantly made Jiang Miaoyu a bit blush.
Fang Qiu did not overthink it. He asked with a bit concern, “How are your feet now? Already healed?”
“They’re a lot better now.”
Jiang Miaoyu hurriedly recovered her normal expression and expressed her gratitude. “Thank you so much. This is the third time you’ve helped me.”
“It’s nothing. And I have to thank you for trusting me.”
Replied Fang Qiu with a smile.
Then, the two met each other’s eyes and smiled.
At this moment, no words were necessary.
They dropped this topic in synchronization and turned to discuss the song for the Start-of-Term Ceremony.
“Which song did you pick?”
Asked Fang Qiu curiously.
“Li Keqin’s Start-of-Term Gift.”
Jiang Miaoyu answered beamingly. Then, she explained, “At first, I was thinking about picking an arousing ancient-style song.”
“After all, we are in a Chinese Medicine college. But when I took a look at the show list, a girl from music major has already selected the song Bringing in the Wine. Therefore, I eventually settled on a lively song that will be appropriate for occasions like the Start-of-Term Ceremony. Have you listened to it?”
“Start-of-Term Gift?”
After giving it a thought, Fang Qiu shook his head.
He sure had never listened to that song.
“Haven’t?”
At the sight of Fang Qiu’s expression when he was musing, Jiang Miaoyu could not help but give a smile. She said, “It was you who let me pick any song. Due to the limited time we have, we can’t change the song now. Thus, I hope you can put more effort into practicing it!”
After saying so, a trace of cunning flitted through her eyes.
The song was quite old. Probably many had not listened to it.
Fang Qiu smile a bit awkwardly and asked, “May I listen to it first?”
“Yes.”
Jiang Miaoyu took out her smartphone and played the song Start-of-Term Gift.
When the first line came out, Fang Qiu went petrified.
“Cantonese?”
“Well...”
At the sight of Fang Qiu’s appalled looks, Jiang Miaoyu’s smile grew broader.
“You gave me such a big promise that you could do with whatever song I picked. How are you feeling now?”
Then, she decided to fan the flames.
“Fang Qiu, this song is a Cantonese song. If you change it into Chinese, you’ll ruin the rhyme it has. However, if you don’t, perhaps no student can understand what you’re singing. So, now that we will perform in antiphonal style, one of us can sing in Cantonese, the other in Chinese. And you...”
At this point, Jiang Miaoyu broke off, gazing at Fang Qiu with a playful look.
“And I will sing in Cantonese, am I right?”
Fang Qiu completed the sentence in resignation.
“Correct answer!”
Jiang Miaoyu waved her pink fists in front of Fang Qiu and said encouragingly, “Fang Qiu, I believe you certainly can do it.”
Staring at Jiang Miaoyu’s peerlessly gorgeous face, the more Fang Qiu contemplated it, the more convinced he became that the mean girl was getting back at him.
Because he did not offer any help in preparing for the Start-of-Term Ceremony.
“However, could she really revenge on me by doing this?”
“It’s just Cantonese, big deal?”
“I won’t be baffled by it!”
He listened carefully from the beginning to the end. Although he had no idea what the lyrics meant, it still sounded beautiful.
“What do you think, Fang Qiu?”
Jiang Miaoyu looked at Fang Qiu expectantly.
“Sound beautiful!”
Replied Fang Qiu.
“Great. From today, we’ll start to rehearse this song. Now, let’s go through the lyrics first. As to the Cantonese pronunciation, please go back and practice more.”
Jiang Miaoyu retrieved the lyrics on her smartphone and they began to read.
After reading the lyrics and comparing the song he just heard, Fang Qiu felt that it would not be easy to sing even if he changed this song into a Chinese one.
It seemed that this performance was a challenge for both of them.
Meanwhile, flocks of students had gathered on the sports ground of the university.
A lot of them stood on the platform. Some were wearing Taekwondo clothes, some were wearing wrestling uniforms, and some were wearing nothing but big boxer shorts with two boxing gloves on their fists.
Both those standing off and on the platform had only one target.
That was precisely the mysterious man!
Everyone was standing on their toes, wondering whether the mysterious man would come or not.
As it approached the designated time, the atmosphere on the scene grew increasingly tense.
“Mysterious man, quickly come!”
“By the way, today there are some people on the sports ground preparing to challenge the mysterious man. You don’t want to have a look?”
Jiang Miaoyu took a look at her watch. Seeing it was already 7:20 p.m., the thought suddenly struck her, so she immediately asked Fang Qiu.
But Fang Qiu just shook his head and went back to listen to the song.
“You’re not interested in the mysterious man? Don’t you want to know who on earth the mysterious man is and what he looks like?”
Jiang Miaoyu gawked at Fang Qiu, astonished.
“There is a man who has no interest in the mysterious man?”
In the past few days, she read a lot about the mysterious man on the BBS and was continuously bombarded by her roommates’ worship towards the mysterious man, which even triggered her curiosity about the mysterious man as well.
“I am a man, and so is he. We’re the same, so nothing to be curious about.”
Said Fang Qiu.
Jiang Miaoyu sniffled as if she had smelled something, and then said, “Why have I smelled a whiff of inexplicable jealousy and resentment?”
Fang Qiu laughed involuntarily, and then asked, “You’re interested in the mysterious man?”
Jiang Miaoyu answered, “Of course, the whole university is interested in him.”
“I beg you restrain yourself a little, please. You’re the campus belle. If you show your interest in the mysterious man, how can all the other guys go on with their lives?”
Uttered Fang Qiu.
“But you’re doing just fine, aren’t you?”
Jiang Miaoyu’s innocent large eyes bored into Fang Qiu’s.
That question made Fang Qiu swallow back everything he wanted to say. All he could do was continue to play the song.
At this, Jiang Miaoyu gave a tiny smile.
Just at this point, Li Qingshi strolled towards the garden from a distance. With a careless glance, he caught sight of a pretty figure. He instantly came to a halt. But when he rested his eyes on the person next to the pretty figure, his face grew glum.
“Why are they staying together again?”
Li Qingshi’s eyebrows knitted tightly. He gazed from a distance at Fang Qiu and Jiang Miaoyu who were standing beside a dim streetlight, feeling a rush of indisposition.
Watching the two holding a smartphone while listening to something, a possible explanation suddenly occurred to him.
“Start-of-Term Ceremony?”
“Are the two going to do a performance at the Start-of-Term Ceremony together?”
With that thought in mind, Li Qingshi scurried towards the office of the university student union.
He borrowed the show list from the office of the university student union and took a look. Sure enough, he saw Fang Qiu and Jiang Miaoyu were going to sing a certain song together, but the song had not been settled.
Scenes of the fabulous performance at the Mid-Autumn Festival gala of the School of Chinese Medicine surfaced in his mind.
His expression turned nasty.
“No! I must stop the two from sharing a stage again!”
Thought Li Qingshi ruthlessly.
On the other side.
After Fang Qiu and Jiang Miaoyu went through the lyrics and divided which parts they would sing in respective, they parted. They had agreed to try the song together for the first time at the same time tomorrow.
After getting back to his dormitory, Fang Qiu played the song Start-of-Term Gift over and over again, trying to remember the Cantonese pronunciation of every word.
Ten minutes later, Fang Qiu was already able to sing the song proficiently.
Then, he put the song back to this mind and went on studying.
He completely forgot the challenge targeting the mysterious man on the sports ground.
However, those on the sports ground felt like they had just fallen from heaven to earth.
They came to the sports ground with joy and hope, assuming the mysterious man would show up.
But after a long period of waiting, the mysterious man still did not reveal himself.
When it was just about the agreed time, everyone was looking forward to seeing the mysterious man suddenly appear on the roof of the rostrum like the last time.
Accordingly, a quite bizarre scene appeared in front of the rostrum.
Everybody was looking up at the forty-five degrees angle, eyes rounded, body motionless.
Even when the wind blew and caused them to tear up, they still kept themselves motionless.
However, their persistence did not move the mysterious man. Their disappointment became as great as expectations.
It was 7:20 p.m.
The roof was still empty.
“The mysterious man didn’t come!”
The scene instantly went out of control. Everyone swiftly lowered their heads and closed their eyes with bitter tears trickling down their cheeks, as they scolded the mysterious man as a coward.
“Mysterious man, you coward, didn’t dare to show up!”
Chen Cong quietly walked away from the scene.
This infuriating affair was uploaded to the campus BBS in no time.
All sorts of posts flocked in, and they share the same theme—criticizing the mysterious man for being a coward who did not dare to show up!
Now, the fans of the mysterious man were enraged.
They all wrote on the BBS to vehemently denounce those who scolded the mysterious man.