Chapter 29.2

As Duan Xiaoying was thinking about which student to remove, Xu Fen had already reached the playground at the entrance of the Family Residential Compound. She was bragging to a few military wives: “As soon as I walked into the office, Teacher Duan told me that Xiaoming is not only good-looking but can sing well. The class’s choral program really needs him.”

The military wives exchanged glances upon hearing this.

As for how well Li Xiaoming could sing, they weren’t sure. But as for his looks… well, he was sturdy, but with small eyes and a big nose, his features were far from being handsome. One could only say he was average-looking.

And for Xu Fen to boast like this just because her child was going to perform on stage—it made her come off as petty and small-minded. It was really quite unpleasant to witness.

Chen Shaomei said: “I remember the performers for the party have already been decided, right? He Yan is in the same class as your Xiaoming. He confirmed he would be on stage over a week ago. Why is your Xiaoming only being chosen now?”

Xu Fen felt a bit guilty when asked, but then she remembered that Duan Xiaoying had just told her to say that her son had been chosen by Duan Xiaoying if anyone asked about it.

Since the two of them were involved, how would anyone else know the actual situation? And besides, she had already boasted about it… Xu Fen quickly regained her composure, a smug look appearing on her face as she said: “What do you know! Teacher Duan wants my son on stage because she wants to give everyone a surprise. Anyway, my son sings well, so even if he only practices for a week or two later than the others, it won’t be a problem!”

As soon as Xu Fen finished boasting, she spotted Su Ting slowly walking toward them from the open area. She quickly raised her hand and waved at her, causing Su Ting to stop in her tracks from a distance, puzzled, thinking:

Is Xu Fen waving at her?

And, were they that close?

Su Ting’s confusion was quickly explained when she reached the playground. Xu Fen, with great excitement, said: “My son is going to participate in the choral program too. On Children’s Day, he will perform with your Xiao Yan.”

He Yan was part of the choral program, with more than a dozen performers, making up a third of the class. Su Ting couldn’t understand why Xu Fen seemed so thrilled.

Maybe it was because her child was performing on stage for the first time?

Thinking this, Su Ting hesitated and said: “Congratulations?”

“Same to you!” Xu Fen responded cheerfully before quickly changing the topic. “But our Xiaoming’s situation is different from He Yan’s. Because he sings well, Teacher Duan was worried it might affect the confidence of the other students, so she just told me today that she wants my son to join the program.”

Su Ting felt that the logic didn’t quite add up. Although this was just a children’s party, the leaders of the Military Unit would be attending, and the school leaders and teachers certainly hoped the performance would be the best it could be.

To sacrifice the quality of the performance for the sake of other students’ confidence, making it worse, was that really reasonable?

Xu Fen continued to boast: “Although he’s practicing a week later than the others, I’m sure my son will lead the other students and make this performance the most popular one at the party.”

Su Ting simply replied: “…As long as you’re happy.”

…

Although Su Ting found Xu Fen’s behavior of boasting for no reason quite tiresome, it did make her pay more attention to He Yan’s performance at the party.

While having lunch, she suddenly asked: “How’s the practice going lately?”

“What?” He Yan was momentarily stunned.

“The performance for Children’s Day, are your rehearsals going smoothly? Have you memorized the lyrics? Can you sing them?” 

He Yan immediately perked up and said confidently: “Of course I’ve memorized the lyrics! I was the first one in our class to memorize them! And Teacher Wang even praised me yesterday, saying I’m the best singer in our class. She even asked if I wanted to stand at the front and lead the singing.”

“Wow, you’re that good?” Su Ting asked, surprised. “Did you agree to lead the singing?”

Standing in the front of the row would be very eye-catching, so why wouldn’t he agree? He Yan nodded enthusiastically. “When we go on stage, Mom and Dad, you’ll be able to see me right away!”

Su Ting had already noticed that although He Yan didn’t say much, he liked to be in the spotlight and was very willing to perform. For example, with the lead singer role, when she thought about how everyone would be looking at her on stage, it made her feel uncomfortable. But He Yan seemed to enjoy that attention.

In modern terms, He Yan’s personality could be described as a typical case of “social butterfly syndrome”—he wasn’t afraid of anything.

Thinking about it this way, the little guy in front of her gradually matched the image of a classic overachiever. Although the original story always said He Yan was humble and didn’t like to stand out, how could an overachiever truly be humble? No matter where he stood, he would always be the center of attention.

Su Ting, supporting him, said: “I’ll bring a sign to cheer you on.”

“What’s cheering on?” He Yan asked.

“It means…” Su Ting thought for a moment and said: “To encourage you! When you’re singing on stage, I’ll be holding a sign below to cheer for you. The cheering words will say, ‘San Huo San Huo, will definitely be fire.’” ^[1]Will definitely fire is the literal translation but, it can also translated as, will definitely be popular.

He Yan nodded, understanding, then paused and asked: “Why ‘San Huo’?”

“Your name is He Yan, and the character ‘Yan’ can be split into three fire characters. So, ‘San Huo’ is you!” Su Ting said seriously. “The cheering words need to rhyme, so they sound smooth, and they need to have power. When you say them, don’t they sound catchy and powerful?” ^[2] The fire Character is like this “火” while the “Yan” in He Yan’s name is like this “焱”

“San Huo San Huo, will definitely be fire!” He Yan repeated the cheer, tilting his head and saying: “It does seem to sound good.”

Su Ting smiled and said: “Right? We’ll do it like this then. I’ll have your dad find a board and write the cheer on it to support you. I guarantee you’ll be the brightest star in the school that day!”

He Yan imagined the scene and nodded eagerly. “Mm-hmm!”

What to do? He was already looking forward to the performance.

…

Because his playtime was being shortened so much, He Yan had begun to regret joining the chorus, but after chatting with Su Ting today, he reignited his passion for it.

It wasn’t even the end of the school day yet, and He Yan was already humming the song that they were going to perform at the event. Though his voice wasn’t loud, it caught the attention of his deskmate, Zhang Xiaokai.

Zhang Xiaokai lowered his voice and asked: “What are you doing?”

He Yan, who had been humming intently, was startled and almost missed the beat. After a brief pause, he answered: “I’m singing. Next week, we’re going to perform the program on stage.”

“I know, but didn’t you guys only start practicing after school?” Zhang Xiaokai asked, confused. “Why are you singing now?”

The reason was, of course, because he was excited. But He Yan hadn’t decided whether to tell Zhang Xiaokai about his mom and dad cheering for him, so he came up with another reason, saying: “Teacher Wang said she wants me to lead the singing, so I’m practicing more.”

“What’s leading the singing?” Zhang Xiaokai asked, since he wasn’t on the performance list and didn’t understand what it meant.

“It’s the person who stands in the front and starts singing first.” He Yan replied, then tilted his head and gave a smug “I’m awesome” expression.

Zhang Xiaokai exaggeratedly opened his mouth wide. “Wow, that’s awesome!”

He Yan immediately felt delighted, grinning from ear to ear.

However, just as he was enjoying the moment, the teacher sitting at the podium caught them. She shouted loudly: “He Yan! Zhang Xiaokai, what are you two doing?”

He Yan’s face instantly dropped. He and Zhang Xiaokai, in perfect synchrony, lowered their heads, pretending to be quail.

…

“Ding ling ling—”

As the bell for the end of school rang, the classroom became lively again. The students stood up one after another, with the slower ones packing up their things while the faster ones had already exited the classroom.

Zhang Xiaokai didn’t need to practice, so he packed his books into his bag, waved goodbye to He Yan, and left.

After all the classmates without a program, like Zhang Xiaokai, had left the classroom, those who were participating in the chorus remained. Feng Li didn’t need to stay behind for rehearsal because her mom worked in an arts troupe.

But after meeting up with the larger group, He Yan noticed someone new. There was also a classmate asking: “Why is Li Xiaoming here? Didn’t he say he wasn’t participating in the program?”

The person being asked shook his head, indicating they didn’t know why.

Although everyone was confused, they didn’t say much and gathered in groups, heading toward the empty classroom where they had practiced before.

But just as they reached the area outside the teacher’s office, they ran into Duan Xiaoying, who was coming out of the classroom. Everyone immediately stopped and greeted: “Hello, Teacher!”

“Going to rehearse?” Duan Xiaoying asked with a smile, glancing at the others, her eyes briefly resting on Li Xiaoming before quickly shifting to He Yan, who was walking in the middle. “Xiao Yan, come here for a moment. I need to talk to you.”

Children often have a natural fear of teachers, and He Yan, because of his poor grades—though his parents thought his midterm exam scores weren’t bad, he ranked near the bottom of the class—also tended to feel intimidated in front of teachers.

When Duan Xiaoying called him, his first reaction was to wonder if he had gotten into trouble recently. Rubbing his head, he hesitated and said: “B-but I still need to go rehearse.”

“It’s fine, I’ve already spoken to Teacher Wang. We’ll chat for a moment first.”

Although Duan Xiaoying’s tone was gentle, she turned and entered the office without giving He Yan a chance to refuse. He stood still for a moment, then said to the other classmates: “I’ll go talk to Teacher Duan first.” and waved as he walked into the teacher’s office.

Because of the upcoming Children’s Day celebration, the teachers had been very busy lately. After school, they were either rushing home or preoccupied with the performances for the event, and no one stayed in the office.

So when He Yan entered the office, he immediately looked up and saw Duan Xiaoying sitting at the desk in the back, her expression serious. He instinctively slowed his pace, walking while wondering what mistake he might have made recently, and why the teacher had called him in.

But by the time he reached Duan Xiaoying’s desk, he still couldn’t figure it out. Meanwhile, Duan Xiaoying had adjusted her expression, smiling gently as she asked: “How’s the rehearsal going lately?”

When she mentioned the performance, He Yan let out a sigh of relief, smiling brightly as he said: “I’ve already learned the song. I’ve memorized all the lyrics.”

Seeing the smile on his face, Duan Xiaoying paused for a moment, surprised. At first, He Yan hadn’t seemed very interested in performing, so even though Teacher Wang had praised He Yan’s voice and musical talent, she still thought he might be disinterested in the whole thing.

She hadn’t expected that when He Yan talked about it, his eyes would shine with excitement.

Duan Xiaoying lowered her gaze, thinking for a moment before coaxing gently: “Xiao Yan, I’m your teacher. You don’t need to lie to me. You can tell me what you really think. Even if you don’t want to continue with the performance, it’s okay, you know?”

He Yan didn’t quite understand her meaning. He shook his head and said: “I don’t not want to participate. I already told Mom and Dad to come watch my performance on the day of the event.”

“Why would you want to participate in the performance? When I first mentioned it to you, you weren’t willing, right?” Duan Xiaoying asked. “At that time, there weren’t enough people, so I had no choice but to have you fill in for a while. But now there are other classmates willing to participate, so I’ve decided not to force you to perform. What do you think?”

He Yan wasn’t stupid—he could tell from Duan Xiaoying’s words what she meant. He stared at her for a while, then asked: “Teacher, you don’t want me to participate in the performance, do you?”

“It’s not that I don’t want you to participate.” Duan Xiaoying replied: “but after careful consideration, I think performing on stage should be something the student is willing to do. Since you weren’t willing before, and now other classmates are willing to participate, I don’t want to force you to do something you don’t like. Do you understand?”

He Yan tried to defend himself: “But I now want to…”

Although at first he found the rehearsals troublesome and felt they took away from his playtime, he really enjoyed singing with his classmates, and when the teacher praised him, it made him happy.

Moreover, his mom had already promised to bring a sign to cheer for him at the performance, and she even came up with the cheer slogan.

But before he could finish his sentence, Duan Xiaoying interrupted him sternly. “Enough. This decision has been made! Li Xiaoming will start rehearsing today. There’s no extra space for you now. Xiao Yan, you’re a good child and won’t make things difficult for the teacher, right?”

“I…” He Yan began, but was cut off.

“He Yan, you need to understand something. It was you who didn’t want to perform in the beginning, so I asked someone else to fill in for you. Now that I’ve made arrangements with the new classmate, and you’re changing your mind, do you think that’s fair?” Duan Xiaoying looked at He Yan seriously and said: “You need to understand, opportunities are for those who are prepared.”

He Yan, still young, was quickly wrapped up in her words and began to believe that being replaced was his own fault. He lowered his head in silence.

Seeing his pitiful expression, Duan Xiaoying didn’t feel the slightest bit of sympathy. The past two years of being humble had made her understand just how annoying children could be.

She sympathized with He Yan, but who would sympathize with her?

Moreover, if it weren’t for He Yan showing off on his kick scooter these past few days, Han Bowen wouldn’t have gotten jealous, and Han Bin wouldn’t have wasted money, and she wouldn’t have been so angry that she couldn’t sleep last night.

If she had slept well, she wouldn’t have been so groggy when facing Xu Fen this morning, allowing others to manipulate her, and wouldn’t have been troubled about asking someone to drop out of the program.

After all, it was just about not performing on stage. What was the big deal? She certainly didn’t feel sorry for He Yan.

With this thought, Duan Xiaoying shifted her gaze away from He Yan, lowered her head as if she were busy, and spoke in a calm, slightly dismissive tone: “I’ve already spoken with Teacher Wang. Starting today, you don’t need to attend rehearsals. You can go home early.”