diymy Chapter 66 Fair Competition?
Chapter 66 Fair Competition?
Lin Hanjiang and Zhang Ye finished their joint rehearsal in the General Political Department Song and Dance Troupe's rehearsal hall.
When I stepped out of the building, it was completely dark.
Only the streetlights cast yellow circles in the humid summer night air.
Lin Hanjiang and Zhang Ye finished rehearsing the two songs for the first time, and it was already 11 p.m.
The continuous high-intensity rehearsals left both of them visibly exhausted.
The song itself is quite challenging, and it requires repeated coordination with the band, lighting, and stage management to achieve a perfect balance between precision and emotional expression.
The two originally thought they would just take a taxi home, since it was so late and they were so tired, they should go home and rest early.
Unexpectedly, Li Shuangjiang, driving a Shanghai Volkswagen Santana, saw them.
Let them hitch a ride and give them a ride.
Li Shuangjiang drove them back to school, saying very little along the way, only repeatedly reminding them to get a good rest that night and be well-rested.
"Hanjiang, Zhang Ye, go back and don't think about anything, just go to sleep."
Li Shuangjiang stopped his black Santana in front of the music academy and turned to speak to the two people in the back seat with concern.
"Don't overthink things on stage. Just practice when you need to practice, and rest when you need to rest. Having plenty of energy is better than anything else."
"Thank you, Teacher Li. You should get some rest too."
Lin Hanjiang and Zhang Ye quickly thanked him and watched the car's taillights disappear around the street corner after getting out of the car.
As they parted, Zhang looked at Lin Hanjiang and couldn't help but say, "Hanjiang, when you get back, don't stay up all night working on those pop songs anymore. Rest is the most important thing."
"Okay, senior sister, I'll go back to sleep."
Lin Hanjiang waved his hand and smiled.
That's what I said, but the thought of preparing to go south to Guangzhou was always on my mind.
Back in the dorm, my body felt like it was falling apart. I had planned to work on the song I would use on my trip south that night, but now I didn't even have the strength to open the sheet music.
After a quick wash, I threw myself onto the bed and fell asleep almost instantly.
Over the next few days, life entered a peculiar rhythm.
During the day, having regained some energy, he leaned against the dormitory window, holding sheet music, humming and revising it softly.
In the evening, I would meet up with Zhang Ye on time and head to the General Political Department Song and Dance Troupe to practice choral songs and make a final sprint rehearsal for the high-profile gala.
Tired, but fulfilled.
Time flew by, and it was June 15th, the day of the gala.
In the morning, Lin Hanjiang thought that the evening's performance was of utmost importance, and his image could not be taken lightly.
He found the gray suit that Zhang had given him a few days ago.
The material is good, and the style fits well, but it's a bit wrinkled.
He put the suit into a cloth bag and went out to find a familiar tailor to have it ironed.
In mid-June, the afternoon sun in Beijing was already quite intense.
The locust tree leaves on both sides of the street were a little wilted from the sun, and the cicadas' chirping grew louder and louder.
Lin Hanjiang took a shortcut through a small street not far from the school. There weren't many shops there, and most of the residents were long-time residents.
Just as I turned a corner, a discordant cacophony of noise entered my ears.
Not far ahead, under the shade of a tree, several young people formed a semi-circle, with a petite figure in a light blue dress and a ponytail in the center.
It was none other than her junior sister, Zu Hai.
She kept her head down, her hands gripping the straps of her schoolbag tightly, her shoulders trembling slightly.
Surrounding her were three men and three women, all around the same age as Zu Hai, about sixteen or seventeen years old.
He dressed more fashionably than the average student and had a slightly superior air about him.
"Hey, isn't this Zu Hai, the little nightingale from our affiliated high school? What are you doing here all alone?"
A girl with slightly wavy short hair, wearing a bright red dress, crossed her arms and spoke in a sharp voice.
"It's really different now that you've climbed up the social ladder; you don't even look at people when you walk anymore?"
"Lili, you can't say that."
A boy in a white shirt with slicked-back hair next to them pretended to offer advice, but his eyes were equally hostile.
"He's a promising student personally mentored by Professor Jin Tielin, so it's normal for him to be arrogant. He wouldn't even look at us ordinary students."
"What kind of promising young talents?"
Another girl with short hair scoffed.
"So what if she's good at sucking up? I heard she went to the homeroom teacher's office countless times to get that solo performance spot at the graduation party, didn't she? She even managed to get Xiaolan's performance, which she had been preparing for half a year, replaced. She's really capable!"
The girl called Xiaolan stood slightly at the back.
She wore a pure white dress, had her hair neatly styled in a princess style, and had delicate features.
But at this moment, his lips were tightly pursed, and his eyes were looking elsewhere, as if he was somewhat reluctant, yet he did not speak to stop his companion.
A tall boy next to her immediately chimed in, "Exactly! How long did Xiaolan practice 'Beautiful Taihu Lake'? In what way did she sing worse than you? Just because Professor Jin praised you a couple of times, the homeroom teacher rushed to flatter you and gave you the spot? What's this? Using connections to bully people?"
"You'd better be smart and go to your homeroom teacher yourself, say you're not capable enough, and voluntarily withdraw from the graduation party performance."
Lili stepped forward, almost poking Zu Hai's nose.
"Otherwise, you can forget about having a good time at the affiliated high school!"
Zu Hai suddenly raised his head, his eyes already red, but his little face was taut, and his voice was trembling with tears as he tried to remain calm:
"I didn't! The spots were decided by the teachers based on a comprehensive evaluation. I didn't curry favor with anyone. Wang Xiaolan, your performance was very good, but the teachers said I was more suitable for the overall arrangement of the gala. We competed fairly, and you can't do this."
"fair play?"
The tall boy raised his voice.
"Everyone knows you have a senior who just won the gold medal in the CCTV Young Singers Competition and is riding high right now, right? Who knows if he said something to your homeroom teacher on your behalf? Isn't that the biggest injustice?"
"You...you're talking nonsense!"
Zu Hai was so angry that tears finally fell, but he didn't know how to refute such a morally offensive argument.
"Who's talking nonsense?"
A cold, clear voice suddenly broke in.
The group of people were startled and turned around in unison.
Lin Hanjiang was seen standing behind them, carrying a cloth bag.
He overheard the whole thing and was furious.
Such blatant blocking and verbal bullying on campus.
Especially since it was targeting the gentle and mild-mannered Zu Hai, he absolutely could not stand idly by.
"Lin Hanjiang?"
The tall man clearly recognized him, and his imposing manner instantly diminished, but he still refused to back down verbally.
"Hmph, who do we have here? It's that Lin, the senior student who's been all the rage on TV lately. What, here to stand up for your junior sister?"
Lin Hanjiang ignored him and walked straight to Zu Hai's side, gently shielding her behind him.
His gaze swept over the six young men and women in front of him.
"I'll ask you one more time, what are you all trying to do, surrounding my junior sister?"
His voice wasn't loud, but the aura he exuded after being tempered by society, along with his undisguised anger, made several students involuntarily take a half-step back.