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It is already April, and the weather has warmed up significantly. Some students who are not afraid of the cold have started wearing beautiful spring outfits, while others enjoy seeing pretty girls in short skirts. With the bulky winter clothes gone, the students seem to be in much better spirits.
Following the recent incident, the school has decided to demolish the old laboratory and build a new five-story building in its place. Construction is currently underway, and to ensure student safety, the area has been cordoned off, with workers required to complete the project within two months.
Due to the recent events at school, many curious students, unaware of the details, disregarded school rules and intruded on the construction site to see if they would uncover ancient people's tombs or large quantities of human bones as described in stories. Despite clear regulations prohibiting student access to the construction site, many students gathered around to watch. Su Jin'er was once dragged by Ruan Hongmei to take a look but never returned after realizing nothing had been found.
As time passed, the incident gradually faded from the students' minds. The annual Singing Competition became a hot topic for after-school conversations, with everyone eager to participate. The school announced that the new building would eventually serve as a concert hall, dance classroom, and music classroom, which excited the students greatly.
“Jin'er, I haven't seen Zuo Yi and Chu Feifan around for a long time. I wonder what they are busy with every day?” Ruan Hongmei said indistinctly while sitting at her desk and popping a hawthorn candy into her mouth.
“They're probably busy with student council matters,” Su Jin'er replied seriously without looking up from her book.
“How boring! Nothing exciting is happening,” she continued to mumble.
Su Jin'er looked up at her: “I really don't want anything exciting to happen anymore. It's nice to live a calm life.”
She didn't want any more thrilling events; she feared her fragile heart couldn't handle it.
Ruan Hongmei slumped over her desk but suddenly seemed to remember something and exclaimed excitedly, “I know what they are busy with!”
“What?” Su Jin'er turned a page in her book and asked softly.
“The Singing Competition! How could I forget?”
“Singing Competition? Does our school have that event?”
“Hmph! Of course you wouldn't know. You spend all your time either in class or hiding in your dorm reading books. You don't care about what's happening at school at all; it's so boring!”
Su Jin'er paused; she indeed didn't know about any Singing Competition at school. Although Chu Feifan had mentioned he might be busy for a while and wouldn't have much time to spend with her, she hadn't paid much attention or asked why. She clearly remembered that her curiosity had led to the tragic loss of her best friend in the last incident, so this time she resolved not to concern herself with whatever was happening.
"I think it's quite good," she said, lowering her head to continue reading. After all, she couldn't sing, and there was no need to mention participating in the competition.
"Don't you want to participate? The Student Council Chairman is your boyfriend; he will definitely make you the champion."
Su Jin'er looked at Ruan Hongmei with amusement and said, "Do you really think the judges would let someone tone-deaf who can't sing at all become the champion?"
"You can't sing?" Ruan Hongmei asked in surprise.
"Yeah! And I don't think I've ever said I could sing!"
Ruan Hongmei fell silent, resting her head on the table. After a while, she suddenly lifted her head and said, "Jin'er, will you accompany me to participate?"
"You can sing? How come I've never heard you sing a single note?"
As if touched by a painful memory, she actually started to cry.
Su Jin'er put down her book and moved to sit beside her, asking with concern, "What’s wrong?"
"It's not that I don't want to sing; it's that I can't."
Su Jin'er frowned. "Why not?"
"When I was little, my grandmother once asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I happily said I wanted to be a star. For the first time, my grandmother hit me. I was too young to understand why, and my grandmother just cried without telling me the reason. When I grew up, I forgot about it. So in middle school, I participated in a Singing Competition held by the school, and it almost caused my grandmother's death. Since then, I've never sung again. It wasn't until I was a bit older that my mother told me everything."
It turned out that when Hongmei's grandmother was still a child, her mother—Hongmei's maternal grandmother—was a singer in a dance hall. At that time, society was tumultuous, and her grandmother had no choice but to become a singer for survival. She was constantly scolded and bullied by others. Finally, when her grandmother was eight years old, she couldn't bear the societal gossip any longer and chose to commit suicide on stage. This incident left a deep shadow on Hongmei's grandmother. Although singing has become an acceptable profession in today's society, the deeply ingrained beliefs made it difficult for her grandmother to accept singing as a career.
After hearing this, Su Jin'er patted her shoulder and said, "It's okay; if you love singing, just go ahead and sing! We're at school now; your grandmother won't find out. Although it feels wrong to do this behind her back, you have the right to pursue your hobbies! As long as you keep it a secret from them."
Su Jin'er stuck out her tongue at her.
Ruan Hongmei wiped her tears and nodded vigorously with a smile, then let out a giggle, looking as cute as a child.
"But you have to promise me one thing."
"What is it?"
"You can't cheat. Just because we have a good relationship with the Student Council Chairman doesn't mean we should take shortcuts. I really dislike taking shortcuts."
"Okay, I promise you."
The campus playground was crowded with people, and the registration point for the Singing Competition was especially bustling. The Student Council had set up several additional registration points, but they were all packed with students. At that moment, Su Jin'er and Ruan Hongmei were standing at the very end of the line, in front of them was an endless queue. In fact, they could have easily registered, but for the sake of fairness, they chose to do it themselves.
Soon, a long line formed behind them as well.
"I didn't expect so many students to sign up!" Ruan Hongmei said as she stood on her tiptoes to look ahead.
"Yeah, our school has at least thirty thousand students, so naturally there will be a lot of participants." Actually, after hearing Ruan Hongmei's story earlier, she thought of her grandmother. She had promised to visit her recently but had been delayed.
"Jin'er, will you participate too?"
"Me?" She pointed to herself and said, "Don't joke around. I would just embarrass myself; I can't sing a single note correctly."
She was very aware of her own limitations. When she was younger, if she hummed a couple of lines from a song, her parents would tease her, saying that she would never be able to sing when she grew up. Because singing for others costs money, while singing for her could cost her life.
Since then, she had never sung again; she only listened to music when she had nothing else to do.
"Is it really that exaggerated?" Ruan Hongmei looked at her in disbelief.
"Of course it's true! Do you think any parent would mock their own child?"
During their conversation, the people in front of them were quickly decreasing, and they could now see the registration table.
"We'll be up soon," Ruan Hongmei said, her voice trembling slightly with excitement.
"It's just registration; there's no need to be that nervous."
"I'm not nervous; I'm excited."
"Alright! But to ensure you don't scare the audience to death when you get on stage, you have to sing for me tonight first," Su Jin'er said, resting her chin on Ruan Hongmei's shoulder.
"Okay, then you can be my judge tonight!"
As the two girls joked, they reached the front of the line, only to find that the person in charge of this location was Zuo Yi.
Looking at them with a furrowed brow, Zuo Yi said, "What are you two doing here?"
"I want to register too," Ruan Hongmei said as she leaned on the table.
"Can you sing? Don't scare away the audience," Zuo Yi replied without looking up. Ever since Linyuan died, he seemed like a different person—his face tense and silent even when he was with them. He often stared blankly at the sky, not speaking or smiling.
"Of course! I sing really well!"
Zuo Yi looked up at her and then wrote Ruan Hongmei's name in his notebook. He then glanced at Su Jin'er, silently asking if she wanted to participate as well.
Su Jin'er waved her hand dismissively.
As they finished registering and were about to leave, Zuo Yi's cold voice came from behind: "I hope you don't scare the audience to death."
Ruan Hongmei stuck her tongue out at him and then linked arms with Su Jin'er as they walked away.
"Zuo Yi has really changed a lot," Su Jin'er said softly while walking back to the dormitory.
"Although I don't know what he was like before, from what you all say about him and Linyuan, I can guess that he must have been someone who loved to have fun."
"Yes, he used to be very happy. No matter what happened, he always had a cheerful demeanor. He and Linyuan were supposed to be an enviable couple, but now they are separated by death," Su Jin'er said sadly, momentarily forgetting that this girl beside her was Zuo Yi's betrothed.
"Indeed, it's quite unfortunate. However, if Xiaoyuan were still alive, I would definitely bless them."
Su Jin'er looked at her in surprise.
"Finding someone you truly love is really not easy. The thing I hate most in this life is being a third party. In my opinion, a love that can be broken by a third party isn't true love, and if there's a third party, there might as well be a fourth."
Ruan Hongmei's words suddenly amused Su Jin'er, and she laughed, saying, "I didn't expect our thoughts to be the same!"
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