Chapter11.6| Then We Hug

On the Saturday before the school sports day, Class 2 decided to conduct a full rehearsal in the indoor sports hall. 

Upon entering the hall, Yin was escorted by Kai and Hai to the audience seats. 

"Meng Yin, is the rehearsal for the cheerleading squad going smoothly?" Kai inquired. 

"It's going quite smoothly," Yin responded, surprised by the success. 

"And how about your team?" Yin asked in return. 

As a guide, Yin's main role was to lead the relevant classes along the designated entrance route and coordinate the pace of entry for the performances. She was particularly fond of the concept of "Then We Hug" and longed to be part of it, but with her current commitments, Yin was eagerly anticipating everyone's performance at the sports day. 

Hai took a step forward and sat in the front row, placing his thumb on the top joint of his index finger, "Yin, we need a small favour from you." 

"A small favour?" Staring at his face, Yin suddenly thought of the phrase "conspiracies and hidden agendas." 

Kai continued, "We would like to invite you to join us for the final ending segment." 

Pointing at herself, Yin asked, "Me?" 

Kai replied, "We have considered many ending options, but we believe that without your guidance, it would not be complete."

Yin was puzzled by their request. 

The school sports day was scheduled to officially commence the following Wednesday, with Monday being the final class rehearsal and Tuesday being the school-wide rehearsal. However, on this fourth day of the countdown, Yin was surprised to be asked to join the final ending of "Then We Hug," a performance she had never seen in its entirety. It was definitely not April Fools' Day, so this joke was not amusing at all. 

"Let me explain to you..." Before Yin could fully comprehend the situation, Hai and Kai presented their ending proposal on a tablet, discussing the significance of the final ending and her involvement. 

This unexpected turn of events was a somewhat understandable subplot. Together, they devised four ending options, with the third one receiving unanimous praise based on audience appeal and performance impact. However, this ending required the guide to participate at the end and perform a solo dance. 

Yin and Zhiyi would need to cooperate for this dance segment. There was a moment of hesitation from Xu Zhiyi, leaving Kai puzzled. 

After much deliberation, Kai decided to convince Meng Yin first, given the limited time they had.

Hai kept his eyes on the entrance, and when Xu Zhiyi walked in casually, he gestured towards Yin with a prayerful expression, "We're leaving, Meng Yin, everything is in your hands!"

As Xu Zhiyi entered, he noticed three people sitting together in the audience seats. 

He walked towards the audience section, and Yin descended the stairs. The two locked eyes across the audience railing, a few steps apart. Yin already had a clear answer in her heart. 

"Xu Zhiyi," she spoke first, getting straight to the point, "Did you not have time to tell me?"

Zhiyi knew from Hai and Kai what she might have been told. 

"No," he answered straightforwardly, then asked, "Do you remember the rumours in the middle school?" It seemed like an illogical unwritten rule that at a certain age, if a boy and a girl were close, they would inevitably be labelled as having an inappropriate relationship. Even though there were four people together, only rumours about Meng Yin and Xu Zhiyi circulated. 

Yin was fully focused on the high school entrance exam at that time, though she was somewhat aware of the rumours. The baseless gossip didn't last long, but it coincided with the exam period, and Zhiyi still didn't know if her poor performance was related to the rumours. Yin's eyes provided the answer, but she still asked him, "Did my behaviour during the opening speech bother you?"

"No," he replied. 

Yin smiled knowingly and asked, "Xu Zhiyi, what are you afraid of?" then added, "Haven't you already publicly stated on the forum that we are classmates and friends?"

Faced with her open gaze, Zhiyi questioned himself internally. Xu Zhiyi, what are you afraid of? It wasn't the gossip that he feared, but rather the impact it might have on her. 

Lost in his thoughts, he forgot that Yin was not afraid of such baseless things, or perhaps they no longer affected her. A relaxed smile played on Zhiyi's lips as he let out an imperceptible sigh. 

"What did those two troublemakers tell you?"

" Zang Kai said, 'A dream we dream alone is only a dream, a dream we dream together is reality,'' Yin leaned on the railing with an air of confidence, "He said if I, as the guide, didn't come to help with the final touches, the program planned and organized by their eldest brother would be incomplete."

Zhiyi licked his upper lip and remarked, "Yoko Ono's words are not entirely wrong."

During the formal rehearsal, the energetic and playful sounds of youth almost seemed to lift the roof off the sports arena. 

As Yin visited each section, she could feel the essence of "Then We Hug" in the phrase "love above all." Each person here, every individual in the world, is unique and passionate, which is why they can embrace it in the end. 

This applies to others as well as to oneself.

Still reeling from the intense excitement and emotion, Yin was shown the final version of the ending choreography by Xu Zhiyi. 

"Is it that grand?" Yin held her breath, exhaling deeply in her chest. 

Unlike the plan shown by Hai, this was the complete presentation after the arrangement. These two could be completely different things. Zhiyi simply responded with a calm "Hmm." Yin took another deep breath silently, her face relaxed with a hint of mischief, "Then let's do it, please troublemaker Xu to help me with last-minute cramming for a few days, so that our Class 2 of Senior Three will forever be forever young." 

She raised her hands in a victorious pose. 

"Wow!" The onlookers who gathered closer clapped and cheered. "We'll help you with last-minute cramming together!!!" 

Someone started to cheer. Then someone else shouted, "Class 2 of Senior Three is the most awesome!"

The entire choreography of the entrance was arranged by Xu Qing and Zeng Na. After the other actors finished their rehearsals, they led Yin through the familiar ending movements. With experience from cheerleading rehearsals, Yin found it not too difficult to pick up. 

In just half an hour, she was able to connect all the movements. The supporting actors had mostly left, leaving only Zhiyi sitting in the basketball resting area. "Xu Zhiyi," Qing waved towards the resting area and shouted, "We'll leave the rest to you two for quick coordination, we'll go first." 

He gestured and then got up to walk towards Yin. The distance between the two was not more than a hundred meters, yet Yin watched Zhiyi step by step approach her. Since stepping into this gym, it seemed like there was a big screen in front of her, playing a trailer of their intersecting and parallel lives with Xu Zhiyi over the years. At this moment, she realized that Zhiyi was not just her light; they had always been comrades, in their own lives and on the common battlefield. 

Yin's face was covered with a thin layer of mist, with fuzziness appearing and disappearing. Zhiyi handed over a bottle of mineral water he was holding, "Have some water." 

She took the mineral water, didn't open it immediately, looked into his eyes, and said, "Xu Zhiyi, let me tell you a story first, then we'll rehearse." 

Sensing what she wanted to tell him, Xu Zhiyi agreed.