Chapter 73: Stay ③
Nie Qiu looked at Nie Aifang, who smiled and nodded at Nie Qiu. Nie Qiu took the box handed over by Wang Chao Lei and said with a smile, “Thank you, Wang Chao Lei.”
Wang Chao Lei smiled, “No, it should be me thanking you. You don’t hold a grudge against me for how I treated you before, and you patiently taught us who are practically zero foundation students. I… thank you, Nie Qiu.”
Peng Yu Yang stepped forward and handed over his gift, “Nie Qiu, this is a gift to thank you. You must accept it!”
Huang Yan also came forward, holding over thirty notebooks, and placed them in front of Nie Qiu. “These are notebooks I haven’t used from first year junior high to third year junior high. I don’t have any gifts to give you. A few days ago, I heard you say you didn’t have notebooks at home, so I’ll give them all to you! When you go to Class 1, you’ll definitely have more homework than our class, and you’ll probably need a lot of notebooks!”
“What about you?” Nie Qiu picked up the notebooks and asked Huang Yan.
Huang Yan smiled and said, “I’ve kept a lot! It’s definitely enough for me to use this year.”
After accepting gifts from the three, others also came forward one after another to give their gifts, some were paper and pens, some were reference books, and some girls gave hair clips and necklaces.
After giving gifts, everyone started performing programs. They basically stood in the middle of the classroom and sang their favorite pop songs. There was no sound system, so they sang a cappella. Everyone sang very seriously.
After the last person finished singing, other classmates gradually walked out from their seats and stood behind the last singer, quietly starting to sing in chorus.
“In my heart, there was once a dream
To make you forget all the pain with my singing
In the starry sky, who is the true hero
Ordinary people move me the most
No more hate, no more pain
May love’s traces be everywhere in the world
With our songs, let’s exchange your sincere smile
Wishing your life is extraordinary from now on…”
Nie Qiu stood up, walked into the crowd, and sang with them, “Seize every minute of your life
Go all out for the dreams in our hearts
Without experiencing wind and rain, how can you see a rainbow?
No one can succeed casually
Seize every moving moment in your life
Embrace your beloved friends with enthusiasm
Let sincere words and happy tears
Flow in our hearts.”
At this moment, it felt as if she had returned to her junior high school days. During graduation, this song was the most popular. After taking their graduation photos, they stood on the sports field, singing this song over and over again, singing about the future, about reluctance to part, about friends.
This song contained so much. Yes! Without experiencing wind and rain, how can you see a rainbow? Yes! No one can succeed casually.
For Nie Qiu, today felt like a dream. During this hour from six to seven o’clock, she finally understood that she… was truly sixteen years old! An ordinary junior high school girl. She was not the renowned Professor Nie Qiu; she was just an ordinary junior high school girl, enjoying studying, enjoying youth, enjoying shy encounters. This was true youth.
The youth she had lost, the youth she had not enjoyed. The youth she possessed, yet had not possessed. She… had returned!
Nie Aifang sat on the desk and stool placed on the lectern, smiling as she watched the children singing 《 True Hero 》. She hadn’t read much, but she knew that for everyone, this age, this campus time, though fleeting, was the most worth cherishing.
The bell for morning self-study rang. Students from other classes had already started arriving at school one after another. As they passed by Class 10, they heard the singing from inside and couldn’t help but look through the windows. The group of people standing in the classroom singing earnestly, and the completely renovated Class 10 classroom, surprised everyone who passed by.
Even more surprised were Luo Sheng and Li Shubai, who were standing outside the classroom. After returning home last night, one watched his son leave home, and the other learned from the nanny that his son had gone to Luo Xu’s house. For fathers, a daughter staying out all night would definitely be a cause for concern, but a son staying out all night was not a big deal, especially when staying at a familiar person’s house.
However, when Luo Sheng finished washing up and was preparing to sleep, and called Li Shubai to chat about that girl, Li Shubai asked Luo Sheng if Li Kai had slept over at his house. At that moment, Luo Sheng knew he had been tricked by his own child!
They weren’t worried. It was fine for boys to go out and play at night. But they unexpectedly discovered that both children were constantly withdrawing money from their cards. They rarely managed how much money they spent, and thinking that they had performed well on their exams and made a lot of progress, they decided to let them be.
They knew that Class 10 had morning reading every morning at six o’clock. Worried that the children would play too late at night, both fathers got up early and rushed to the school.
Standing outside the classroom, they watched the entire farewell party from beginning to end. Only then did they truly understand what Nie Qiu meant to these children.
Zhang Haiyang looked at Nie Qiu. Seeing that Nie Qiu seemed to really enjoy the feeling of singing in chorus, he smiled and asked, “Nie Qiu, what other songs do you like? We’ll sing them for you.”
Nie Qiu thought for a moment and smiled, “I want to hear 《 Dimple Smile 》.”
“《 Dimple Smile 》?” Hearing Nie Qiu’s words, everyone present looked at each other, not knowing the song or having heard of it.
Ma Xin took out his mobile phone, searched for it, and then played it. As soon as the music started, the classmates in the classroom all burst into laughter.
The old music, the old songs, had a unique flavor, but they made people want to laugh. One person led another, and everyone started laughing. They laughed happily, joyfully, and heartily.
As they laughed, everyone fell silent. Two girls started crying loudly. Huang Yan stepped forward, took Nie Qiu’s hand, wiped away tears, and said with a tearful smile, “Nie Qiu, when you go to Class 1, remember to come back and visit us often. If there’s anything we don’t understand and are too embarrassed to ask the teacher, you can come and explain it to us.”
“Nie Qiu, when you go to Class 1, tell us what you learn and what’s fun, so we can experience what it’s like to study in the fast class.”
“Nie Qiu, if anyone bullies you in Class 1, if anyone looks down on you, tell us, and we’ll stand up for you, don’t worry!”
Nie Qiu smiled, and a tear couldn’t help but fall. She wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, nodded with a smile, and said, “Okay, I know, I… I will work even harder! Everyone… everyone also needs to work harder. I… I’ll be waiting for everyone in Class 1. There are five monthly exams in a semester! There are still two left this semester, so everyone needs to keep trying.”
“Let’s go!” Wang Chao Lei clenched his fist and shouted loudly.
“Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!” Their blood was boiling, filled with determination, filled with vows. Filled with all their passion.
Li Kai looked at the classmates in the classroom and suddenly smiled. Much later, Li Kai recalled this scene and said, “What’s the most memorable thing from junior high? Perhaps it was that day! I saw many people crying, and I also saw many people not crying. I knew that perhaps they were all crying inside, because I was also so sad. I felt like everyone was crying, except me.”
“I remember we kept singing, singing 《 True Hero 》, over and over again. I still remember the lyrics, ‘Without experiencing wind and rain, how can you see a rainbow?’ From that day on, I started to feel that studying was different. It wasn’t just carrying our dreams, but also our youth, our feelings.”
What he said was simple, but his feelings were much more complex than that. He couldn’t find more adjectives. He just knew that on this day of this year, they were together! So many people, so many dreams.
