Chapter 7 (6)

  "There's no not farting, it's the body's internal gas, how can there be a reason for not letting it out?" Lin Yuxiang revised a poem to explain: "Farting is the body's internal gas, how can there be a reason for not releasing it? Those who fart are joyful and happy, those who eat farts hang their heads in shame." It's a great poem, unfortunately, there's no place to publish it.

  "It's so cold outside, you're only wearing this little bit, aren't you freezing?"

  Yǔ Xiáng glanced at the few clothes hanging on his body and said, "Not cold at all." It meant that a certain part of his body was not cold, while the rest were.

  Lin Yuxiang remembered that he wrote a poem last night after drinking:

  Dear, drink up this cup of wine for you

  After getting drunk, I won't have sorrow

  Anything can be said

  Just don't say you used to have it

  That is the excuse of a coward to deceive himself

  Dear

  Don't say I don't want it

  Don't even mention breaking up

  Extend your little finger and we'll make a deal

  Don't say I love you in this life

  In the next life, I won't meet you

  In the next life, I will love someone else

  Loving you in this life is enough

  This poem was written by Lin Yuxiang in one breath, and the strong wine really gave him inspiration. Thinking about it later, he quickly took it out to show Susan. Susan took out a small flashlight, read it after finishing, and asked: "Did you write this?"

  "No, it was written by Xu Zhimo."

  "How come I've never seen it before?"

  "Oh, it seems like it was written by Dai Wangshu or Liu Yazi, how's the writing?"

  "Awesome!"

  Lin Yuxiang was filled with regret, thinking that he should have said it was his own writing from the start. Now, his hard work had added color to someone else's life, which wasn't worth it.

  Susan returned the poem to Lin Yuxiang and asked: "Is it getting sentimental?"

  "Uh-huh."

  "I recall my former Chinese teacher, a young woman who had just graduated from the teachers' college. She was our school's youngest teacher and left a deep impression on me. In her first lesson, she told us not to focus solely on textbooks and introduced us to Gao Xiaosong, the creator of campus songs. She sang 'Youth Without Regret' for us, telling us not to be satisfied with just passing exams, but to enrich ourselves outside of school so that we wouldn't regret our youth. She recommended books by Whitman, Kobayashi Takiji, and one on knowledge economy, as well as 'Digital Survival'. We went to the library together too. However, she was transferred later because our class's Chinese scores were the lowest in the entire grade level, despite having high abilities but poor grades. The principal said she wasn't suitable for teaching due to her unconventional methods that didn't align with the current quality education standards, which emphasized thorough understanding of textbooks and grasping the main ideas of each passage. When she left, she cried, feeling wronged, saying that education had really failed. She sang 'Youth Without Regret' again before leaving. In reality, China's poor education system isn't entirely the fault of teachers or schools; it's a systemic issue. To this day, whenever I hear 'Youth Without Regret', I think of that teacher and feel a deep sense of regret."

  Lin Yuxiang was so indignant that he wished to jump off the car and fight with the people from the Education Bureau in Ling Zhi's car. "Where is that rational person?"

  "Hmm - a rational person would analyze every sentence in 'Youth Without Regret' as subject-predicate, and then come up with questions like whether adding or deleting this word is okay."

  "That makes sense. Who sang that song called 'Youth Without Regret'?"

  "Lao Lang and Ye Bei, lyrics and music by Gao Xiaosong."

  "Sing something for me to hear?"

  "Hmm, now there are some people resting in the car, it's not very good, I'll show you the lyrics, um, here."

  Lin Yuxiang read the lyrics under the swaying lamp light. The lyrics were indeed well-written:

  The beginning of our singing

  In the end, it's just us walking away

  The dearest you is like a landscape in a dream

  After waking up from the dream, you will go where I believe

  A carefree face is my youth

  Unwavering eyes await the passage of time

  The most familiar street of yours and mine has become a place where people have gone with the sunset slanting down

  People say goodbye to each other on the street corner again.

  You said your youth is without regret including our love affair

  Time will change the promise of lifelong companionship

  Say goodbye to dear

  Turned youthful face

  Smiling tearful unchanged eyes

  Whose voice is singing our song

  Whose zither string plucked my heart string

  The street after you left

  Still having the song of youth

  There is always someone constantly replaying our affairs

  They say youth is without regret including all love affairs

  They were all still making vows of lifelong commitment to each other.