Chapter Ten (8)

  Qian Rong didn't know that once a girl falls in love, this kind of talk should be minimized, and it's better to keep it to oneself. A woman's wisdom and love are relative, the more love there is, the less wisdom there is. This is why Athena, the goddess of wisdom in ancient Greek mythology, doesn't talk about romance - with less wisdom, one can't think as deeply as Qian Rong.

  Finally, Yao Shuqin was fed up with Yan Rong's boasting and had a big argument with him. At that time, Yan Rong was still bragging, Yao Shuqin slammed the table: "What do you count as me? What are you talking about these things to me?"

  Qian Rong was unable to explain himself in front of everyone, and his English was useless, so he just stared at her. Yao Shuqin had not finished scolding him, but she was already standing up and couldn't sit down again to make another outburst, so all she could do was slam her hand on the table and shout: "Are you trying to drive me crazy!" As soon as she finished speaking, it seemed like she had really died, and she slumped down in her seat, waving her hand and saying: "You're always talking about this every day, aren't you tired of it? I'm tired of it! You're always mentioning them, if you care so much, go be good to them!" Then she desperately tried to hold back tears.

  Qian Rong was stunned and at a loss, realizing he was a public figure and the impact wouldn't be good, so he just wanted to end this argument as soon as possible. He put on a sad face and said: "Okay, sorry, I'm wrong, I made you unhappy, it's over."

  Lin Yuxiang watched from the side, holding back his applause. He thought that this dog couple was finally going to break up, and it seemed that Yao Shuqin was still going to make a scene, making a big fuss! Just like that, making a big fuss! Making such a big fuss that the whole school would know about it, all the way to the school administration office! So he changed his posture to watch the show, preparing for a feast for both eyes and ears. Unexpectedly, Yao Shuqin just lay on the table, crying or laughing, and Qian Rong'an comforted her a few times before leaving. Yuxiang was even more heartbroken than the two people involved, feeling like the astronomy enthusiasts' mood after watching the Leonid meteor shower on November 18th. But there was still some happiness in it, after this incident, the couple's relationship might not have broken up, but at least it had been strained.

  However, Yu Xiang was thoroughly disappointed. Qian Rong's abilities were vast and profound, but in just one day, the two of them made up as if nothing had happened - and their reconciliation was even sweeter than before. That evening during self-study, Qian Rong washed a bright red apple for Yao Shuqin, and somehow managed to get several red beans from some farmer uncle, and secretly copied out one of Wang Wei's poems on a piece of sky-blue stationery with a picture of the sea on the back:

  Red bean grows in southern countries

  Spring arrives with a few branches

  May you have many happy gatherings

  This thing is most longing

  Give you an apple

  Willing to unlock the knot in one's heart

  There is one thing I ask of you

  Please forgive me

  Yao Shuqin read it once and burst out laughing, asking: "Did you write this?"

  "It was I who wrote it." Qian Rong's words had an ulterior motive: in case someone exposed him, he could say that the last four sentences were written by him; if no one said anything, then of course that would be best.

  Yu Xiang heard Yao Shuqin recite and almost shouted "copied", but later seeing the two chatting and laughing, he actually felt a pang of sympathy, and forcibly suppressed the words. The words were like someone tied up in a sack, struggling to get out, Yu Xiang wasn't even clear why, it just wouldn't let him say it, and his kindness was almost unbelievable to himself.

  Qian Rong was addicted to Wang Wei's nonsense and recited: "When I walk to the end of the water, I sit and watch the clouds rise." Then he looked at Lin Yuxiang with a strange expression and said, "Lin Yuxiang, next week the school TV station will start broadcasting, I'll be anchoring the news, you must watch it. If there's anything inappropriate, you can correct me, okay?"

  Lin Yuxiang couldn't help but want to say: "I've studied the Five Classics, do you qualify to ask me to correct you?" Unfortunately, he also felt that this boast was too big, stuck in his throat and couldn't come out, and he didn't have confidence in his heart. After all, what kind of car is the "five cars" of the rich? It's possible that it's just five bicycles. Without the capital to be arrogant, he could only laugh and say: "Definitely, definitely will."

  No matter whether it was through sports achievements or not, once they became athletes, daily training was unavoidable. Lin Yuxiang initially couldn't bear running so many laps every day and often made excuses such as having a fever, cramps, and hand injuries to avoid training. Liu Zhizhang approved the first few times, but later thought it was suspicious and didn't believe that Lin Yuxiang had so much bad luck. Every time Lin Yuxiang made an excuse, he would take him to the infirmary. After being exposed once, Lin Yuxiang didn't dare cheat again and trained obediently. This school still had a conscience and allocated a small amount of money for athletes' training fees in addition to making money. Lin Yuxiang received 17 yuan and thought that China's phenomenon of prioritizing brains over physical education was finally solved. After practicing hard for over a month, he didn't just earn this money, but no matter what, it was his own labor, so he put the 17 yuan in his cabinet as a keepsake.

  The weather is getting cooler, and the troubles of athletes have come. Originally, it was convenient for athletes to wash with cold water after training, but now the weather does not allow it. In theory, taking a hot shower in the dormitory is also possible, but washing with hot water consumes a lot of hot water, usually only enough for one person to wash a small area, and taking a bath requires calling all the hot water bottles in the dormitory. The people in the dormitory do not agree, as if each use of the hot water bottle would shorten their lifespan. Even if everyone in the dormitory agrees, the location does not allow it, and baths must be taken in the bathroom. However, the bathroom is actually the most unhygienic place, with dirt all over the floor, making one's feet feel uncomfortable when stepped on. Moreover, the bathroom is shared, and even if one overcomes the discomfort of their feet, they are often interrupted halfway through washing by someone bursting in, causing another wave of discomfort to rise to their ears. Therefore, a rule has been born: no bathing is allowed in the bathroom.

  This rule was set by Qian Rongding, and its target is Lin Yuxiang. Lin Yuxiang did not dare to argue, too lazy to take a bath, not only can't achieve the "new every day" of Shang Tang's poem, but also can't even get a new one in three or four days, making people smell it and have a mouth-watering effect. A girl couldn't stand it and asked Lin Yuxiang how many days he took a bath, Lin Yuxiang was greatly embarrassed, didn't think he had already reached this point. Sweat stench is like the rice grains on the face of someone who just ate, one can't perceive it oneself, but needs others to point it out, and once pointed out, that person will be very embarrassed, self-esteem and confidence plummeting like the price of seasonal goods. Lin Yuxiang's wounded self-esteem couldn't recover for a long time, and when speaking to people, he had to keep a distance, and then shifted his hatred to the school management work, writing a weekly journal to reflect on the situation. That weekly journal was obviously luckier than Lin Yuxiang's, seen by the school leaders, who commented: "Your problem is well-raised, it's our work that has loopholes, we decide to open the bathroom soon." The school leader's pen is more generous than Mei Xuan's, no need to save ink cores, with a big stroke of the pen, a big hook appeared, which was obviously bigger and deeper than before, tearing through three sheets of paper, as vast as the Persian Empire in ancient history, spanning three continents. Lin Yuxiang had never seen such a big hook since entering City South Third Middle School, thinking that even if he tried his best to write a weekly journal to please others, it was only a small hook, but this time, criticizing the school could attract attention, it's really strange, and he was excited for several classes.

  The school's bathhouse finally opened. The bathhouse seemed to have committed a more heinous crime than the hot water faucet, hiding behind the experimental building, and Yu Xiang had a hard time finding it. Before entering the bathhouse, you need to pay two yuan to buy a bath ticket. At such a high price, I thought the facilities inside must be excellent. When I went in, I was greatly disappointed. There were only a few faucets scattered around, and the water in the faucets was not normal either. The hot and cold water seemed like the two major parties in the United States, taking turns ruling, but never able to unite. After adjusting for a long time, the two waters were either you die or I die, and they never became one. Switching to another faucet was even more outrageous. The hot water had been completely eliminated, leaving only cold water "gushing" onto the floor, splashing up and hitting my feet with a chill. Yu Xiang was so scared that he quickly turned it off, then switched to another one, finally realizing where the hot water in the second faucet had gone. His two feet were scalded, and he didn't dare turn it off, leaving it on.

  The fourth one finally made an effort, and there was hot water to shower with. Yu Xiang felt a rare sense of happiness and pride in his heart, the more he wrote, the more pleased he became, never thinking that he would be so important, just one weekly journal could open up a bathroom, and all his previous dissatisfaction with the school was also thrown away - like a grass dog, no matter how deep its hatred for someone, as long as that person threw it a bone, after gnawing on it, it would forget all its hatred. Yu Xiang decided that from now on, he would use critical realism in his weekly journals.

  Qian Rong's first time hosting on TV was a huge success. Yu Xiang secretly made an effort from the bottom, repeatedly shouting in his heart: "Mistake! Mistake!" But still couldn't get what he wanted. The school's first broadcast, inexperienced in filming, but very experienced in news content, with a total of ten news items, more than half of which were meetings held by the school, such as "Nansan Third Middle School's November Work Summary Conference", "Nansan Third Middle School's December Work Outlook Conference", "Seminar on How to Cultivate Students' Learning Interest", "Seminar on How to Carry out Student Spiritual Civilization Construction"... The leaders vied to show their faces, the cameraman was exhausted, and didn't dare miss any meeting, suffering terribly.

  There was also a long-haired girl on the money side, who was nervous for the first time in front of the camera and misread two words. The girl's action couldn't be changed, every time she misread it, she stuck out her tongue and smiled to apologize. Yu Xiang hated the house and the crow, and also looked at the girl with dislike, wishing that her tongue would break off.

  After broadcasting for twenty minutes, they were still in a meeting, and I couldn't help but sigh "Heaven is long and the earth is old, there is an end to it, this meeting has no end". After opening two more meetings, the school finally had no more meetings to open, and the content turned to student campus interviews. The people being interviewed were all stunned, unable to squeeze out a word for half a day, and those who expressed themselves strongly squeezed out a few words that didn't make sense. The audience was secretly laughing, and the reporter was even more nervous than the person being interviewed, shaking hands holding the microphone. Yu Xiang thought, those campus interviews were all edited, they became like this, let alone the original footage.