Chapter 32: The Party (2)

After a brief opening speech, the host announced the first performance, a choir song brought by the students of Class 2, Year 1—The East is Red.

As the host finished speaking, a group of about ten children, dressed in white shirts and black pants, with red scarves and red dots painted on their foreheads, walked onto the stage.

Among the children, He Yan was not very tall, but he stood in the front row, making him easily noticeable.

Once people saw him, they were struck by how strikingly handsome he was.

He Yan not only had fair skin, but his facial features were also remarkable. With thick eyebrows, big eyes, red lips, and white teeth, especially the red dot on his forehead, it was the perfect finishing touch.

He was utterly adorable!

That was the feeling Su Ting had inside her. She quickly threw the sign at He Dongchuan, and as he raised it, she grabbed his elbow and squealed: “Xiao Yan looks so handsome today! Who drew the red dot on his forehead? It looks amazing!”

He Dongchuan, the reluctant sign-holder, thought expressionlessly to himself, Doesn’t he think he’s more handsome than his son? Why hasn’t his wife ever squealed at him like this?

It’s just a red dot on the forehead. If she wants to see it, I guess he could… Actually, no, he couldn’t. He can’t even imagine himself with a red dot on his forehead.

As he was lost in thought, the performance began.

The first line was He Yan’s solo. As he opened his mouth, his clear and bright voice filled the school: “The East is Red, the sun rises…”

Su Ting instantly got excited, raising her hand to clap loudly, drawing everyone’s attention. With a bright red face, she explained: “That’s my son, the lead singer! It’s my son!”

The group of military wives around her, of course, knew that He Yan was Su Ting’s son, but hearing her explanation, no one thought it was too odd. It was a solo performance to start the show. If it were their children, they would surely be even more excited than Su Ting.

With Su Ting leading the way, the others weren’t shy with their applause either. In fact, many of the applause from the parents of other children were even louder than Su Ting’s.

General Lu, sitting in the front, heard the applause, turned around to glance at the back, and whispered to the side: “Everyone’s reaction is quite enthusiastic.”

Principal Jiang didn’t take all the credit, smiling lightly as he said: “It’s rare to have such an event at the Military Base.”

General Lu nodded after hearing this. Pingchuan Island was far from the city, and entertainment activities were always scarce, so it was no wonder everyone was so excited.

It had already been a year since the General Department sent the art troupe for a performance. Perhaps it was time to contact them again and ask them to arrange another performance, to enrich the soldiers’ entertainment life.

There had also been a suggestion recently from the subordinates about building a basketball court, which could be brought up for further discussion as well.

Of course, whether it was arranging for the art troupe to perform again or building the basketball court, those were matters for the future. For now, he still sat in the audience of the Children’s Day Celebration held by the Military Primary School.

General Lu looked at the stage, his attention quickly drawn to He Yan, who stood at the very front.

This child was full of life.

Even a child as bold as six or seven years old, no matter how prepared they were mentally, would still feel nervous when they saw so many people after stepping on stage.

Like the other children on stage, many of them were looking around while singing, unable to look down at the audience. Those who fared better still hardly dared to show any big expressions, their nervousness palpable.

But the lead singer was different. His eyes were lively, his spirit soaring. Especially when he looked in a certain direction, his eyes became especially bright.

General Lu followed He Yan’s gaze and saw He Dongchuan holding up a sign, while a young woman beside him also stretched out her arm, swaying it from side to side.

General Lu chuckled lightly, turned his head to the right, and whispered: “The lead singer, is he Xiao He’s son?”

“That’s him, He Yan.” Principal Jiang replied with a smile.

“San Huo Yan?”

“You know him?”

General Lu smiled softly: “It’s written on the sign Xiao He is holding up. It’s hard not to know.”

Principal Jiang was momentarily stunned, then turned to look back.

When she did, she couldn’t help but laugh. “No need to think about it. The idea for holding up the sign must have come from Comrade Su.”

General Lu nodded: “I also don’t think this is Xiao He’s idea.”

As they spoke, the choir performance was coming to an end, and once again, thunderous applause filled the playground, with some women’s cheers mixed in: “San Huo, San Huo, will definitely be fire!”

On stage, He Yan also heard his mother’s voice. As he sang the last lines, he mimicked Su Ting by raising his hand and swaying it from side to side.

The gesture seemed simple, but it was incredibly infectious. The audience below, seeing He Yan’s actions, raised their hands and swayed their bodies in unison, singing along with him.

Meanwhile, the other children on stage were left puzzled. Why was everyone doing this? Was there a segment for this in the program? Also, since everyone was waving their hands, should they also follow along and wave their hands too?

But before they could figure it out, the song ended in a grand chorus.

The children could only walk off the stage, filled with confusion, whispering to each other as they walked to the back: “What just happened? Why were we waving our hands?”

It wasn’t just the classmates who were puzzled—Teacher Wang was also confused. Knowing that He Yan had been the second person to wave his hand, she went directly to ask him.

He Yan, when asked, was equally confused. After a brief hesitation, he said: “I saw Mom waving at me, so I waved back. Is that not okay?”

Classmates: “…”

Teacher Wang rubbed her forehead. She had never expected that the motion of He Yan leading the entire audience in waving their hands was simply meant as a greeting to his parents.

Though it had been an unintended gesture, it had, in a way, achieved something unexpected.

—

After the opening choir performance, the atmosphere at the celebration gradually calmed. There were still some good performances throughout the event, each drawing applause, but none of the songs could evoke the same energy as the opening choir, where the entire audience waved their hands in unison, turning the performance into a grand sing-along.

Thus, after the successful conclusion of the celebration, The East is Red unsurprisingly became the most popular performance, and He Yan became the standout performer of the event!

So much so that, on the way back to the Family Residential Compound after the event, when people ran into the family of three, they didn’t immediately greet Su Ting and her husband. Instead, they turned to He Yan and asked: “San Huo, you’re back?”

“San Huo, you sang so well today!”

“San Huo…”

He Yan, flattered by the praise, couldn’t help but feel elated, though he didn’t forget to correct them: “My name is He Yan, not San Huo!”

The crowd chuckled and responded: “Alright, we know, San Huo.”

He Yan: “…”

—

After the celebration, the matter of exchanging the sewing machine ticket finally came to fruition.

The person willing to exchange the ticket with them was a military wife living in the same Family Residential Compound. Before following her husband, she had worked at a garment factory and was quite skilled with needlework.

When they got married, they had bought a sewing machine and used it for many years, until they had to sell it when they moved due to not being able to bring it along. Since coming to the island, she had been wanting to buy a sewing machine but didn’t have the ticket for it and had never accumulated enough industrial tickets. The matter had been delayed.

It was through her husband’s acquaintance with He Dongchuan that she heard he was looking to exchange his sewing machine ticket, so she took the initiative to approach him. After comparing their tickets, they finally exchanged the sewing machine ticket for two industrial tickets and one electric fan ticket.

After obtaining the electric fan ticket, He Dongchuan returned home and began discussing a trip to the city with Su Ting.

As June arrived, the temperature began to rise noticeably. He Yan couldn’t stand the heat at night and kept trying to crawl into the cooler Master’s Bedroom to sleep. If they didn’t move the electric fan back soon, and if He Yan got used to sleeping with Mom and Dad, this situation was going to be unbearable.

Therefore, He Dongchuan said: “Better sooner than later. Let’s go on Sunday. I have the day off, and isn’t your comic book you submitted supposed to be published soon?”

Su Ting almost forgot about it. She slapped her forehead and said: “Oh, right! The Publishing House said they’re starting the serialization from this month’s issue.”

“Perfect. On Sunday, we’ll make a trip to Xinhua Bookstore and buy a few more copies of the magazine.”

Su Ting replied: “One copy should be enough. I’m not giving them to anyone.” She didn’t plan to make a big deal out of it.

“Then we’ll buy four copies—one for keeps, and the other three for our family to read.” He Dongchuan said, then pretended to casually ask: “Do you think I need to buy some new clothes?”

Su Ting was about to say that buying one for keeps and one for the family to share was fine, but He Dongchuan’s question suddenly shifted her attention. “Didn’t you just get a new military uniform?” she asked.

“I’m not talking about the military uniform.”

“Do you want to buy clothes for regular wear? Alright.” Su Ting mentally calculated the number of industrial tickets they had and figured it would be enough to get He Dongchuan two sets of clothes. She generously asked: “What kind of clothes do you want? A jacket? You probably don’t need one since summer’s coming.”

“No jacket, just a shirt and a pair of pants.”

“A shirt? Didn’t you used to wear shirts every day?” The spring and autumn military uniform was a three-piece set: a shirt, military pants, and a jacket. He Dongchuan had practically lived in shirts; why would he need to buy one?

“I don’t want a military shirt, just a white one, and black pants.”

When Su Ting heard this, she finally realized that He Dongchuan had already decided what he wanted to buy. But… She turned to him and asked: “Why do you suddenly want to buy different clothes?”

She had mentioned buying clothes for him before when they went shopping at the department store, but each time, he had said no, that his clothes were fine. She had assumed he didn’t like wearing anything other than military uniforms.

As she was thinking about this, she saw He Dongchuan turn to face her, his gaze deep and steady as he said: “Don’t you like seeing other people wear white shirts?”

Su Ting’s heart skipped a beat. She laughed awkwardly and said: “When have I ever liked looking at other people wearing them?”

He Dongchuan didn’t answer. He simply continued to gaze at her intently.

His gaze wasn’t burning, but it felt as though it could see through her heart. The longer he looked at her, the more guilty Su Ting felt. She raised her finger, gesturing awkwardly, and said: “Fine, maybe I do like it a little, but really just a little bit.”

She had once been attracted to a boy in a white shirt with a warm smile. It had indeed been her type, and she had been moved by it. But the truth was, she had learned that men couldn’t be judged only by their looks, and her heart had been calm for many years now.

Moreover, He Dongchuan in a white shirt was probably, maybe… well, he should still look handsome.

Su Ting had to admit that, despite her past experiences, her attraction to good looks hadn’t completely changed over the years. She had just become more selective beyond just physical appearance.

But this also implied that He Dongchuan was quite good-looking. With his height and long legs, he looked good in anything, especially in military attire, and she found it very pleasing.

Thinking about this, Su Ting quickly added: “I also really like how you look in military uniform.”

He Dongchuan glanced at her, his expression neutral as he asked: “Really?”

Seeing his expression, Su Ting finally noticed something was off. The way he looked… why did he seem like he was jealous?

But wait, that couldn’t be. All the men in the Family Residential Compound were married, and she had never once secretly looked at anyone else. Besides, all the military officers there were rough men in uniforms. It was far better to look at He Dongchuan himself than to look at them. Why would he be jealous?

Confused in her mind, Su Ting said: “Of course, why would I lie to you?”

“When I wear military uniforms, how come you never compliment me?”

“Didn’t I compliment you?” Su Ting asked, her mind working quickly. Had she recently complimented anyone?

She didn’t think so… Wait, actually, she had.

Su Ting’s eyes widened, looking at He Dongchuan in disbelief: “You can’t be serious. Are you jealous of our son?”

He Dongchuan didn’t feel ashamed at all. His expression was calm as he said: “The issue isn’t who gets the compliment, but the fact that you haven’t given me one.”

Su Ting was stunned for a long moment, then couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “… You’re so childish.”