Classmates

When Chu Lian arrived at school, she realized she was already late. Unlike the so-called key school she attended before, the learning atmosphere here was very intense, and the students were very self-disciplined, making her feel a bit embarrassed to lay her head on the desk.

She noticed that many students were secretly watching her, their eyes showing expressions of surprise, admiration, or curiosity. These complex looks were something she hadn't seen in their eyes before. It seemed like something had changed.

"Chu Lian, who taught you to play the guzheng? Although I don't learn it myself, I feel like you're really amazing... And who is that lady in red? Is she really your sister? She's so beautiful!" Before the class started, Li Xiuer sneaked over, leaned in front of her face, and asked softly.

"Ah? You watched the video I uploaded on the site? I thought you wouldn't see it." Chu Lian was a bit surprised. If they went to the site, some of them would have seen her video, but yesterday, apart from Cai Ya admitting it under pressure, she hadn't seen anyone else indicating that they had watched it.

"Of course we go on there. In fact, not only that site, but we also watch videos on Youku, Tencent Video, and others. Our schoolmates often upload their works too, so we especially choose sites that are relatively friendly. By the way, you still haven't told me who taught you the guzheng..." Li Xiuer wrinkled her little nose and spoke in a low voice.

"The guzheng? I taught myself. Actually, I can play other classical instruments too..." Chu Lian, seeing the topic hadn't shifted, blinked and spoke with a bit of pride. It was good if she could make Li Xiuer forget about asking who the lady in red was; answering other questions was no problem.

"Wow, Chu Lian, you're amazing..." Li Xiuer, who was inexperienced and still very naive, had no doubts and believed her.

"Oh, I know how they found out about you. Your previous two videos seem to have been uploaded to Youku. Those who usually hang out on that video site just saw them. I..."

Li Xiuer glanced at Chu Lian before continuing, "I didn't watch your first video before because I wasn't interested in those kinds of cute videos. This time I clicked on it because it was a guzheng performance..."

Li Xiuer didn't hide anything about this matter, and indeed, the online buzz caused by Chu Lian's videos kept growing. The appearance of the new video was like a ladle of water dropped into a hot oil pan, splashing up countless waves, but she was unaware of all this.

This was also Chu Lian's fault. She kept reminding herself to check the video situation, but each time she got busy with other things and selectively forgot about it. As a result, she only knew the various data of her video on the site and nothing else.

If Li Xiuer hadn't brought it up this time, she might still think that her video was only a hit on the site. She hadn't expected it to be reposted on the biggest video site in the country, and it seemed to have caused quite a stir. This made her both happy and worried.

She was happy because it achieved a skyrocketing popularity effect without her needing to promote it, which was certainly a good thing; worried because if she attracted too much attention too early, it might bring a lot of unnecessary, even currently unsolvable, troubles.

But these things she couldn't stop; otherwise, it would harm her foundation. She could only take one step at a time and decided to adopt a "there're always more solutions than problems" approach to any potential problems this wave of attention might bring.

Ayase was lying on her sofa, seemingly asleep but actually observing Chu Lian's response to this matter. Seeing her choose this strategy, she first nodded and then shook her head, indicating that Chu Lian still lacked a bit of the confidence to support her self-assurance.

Wanting to know more about the follow-up developments, Chu Lian chatted with Li Xiuer for a while, parting only when it was almost time for class.

Because of yesterday's class meeting issue, today's first period was also a class meeting. During this class, they would choose the program to represent their class in the performance, something all the students knew about. So when the teacher walked in with a stack of papers, everyone simultaneously turned to look at her.

The teacher was a bit surprised and also pleased. It seemed that this school celebration had truly piqued the interest of these top students, greatly increasing their attention to the program selection.

After all, they thought that if their work could be selected for the performance, it would be a recognition of their abilities.

If they could help the class win the qualification for the study tour, how glorious would that be? Even if they couldn't get a good ranking, being able to perform alongside other excellent programs would also be a good result.

They wouldn't consider the intricate scheming among adults, but only what people of their age should think about. Chu Lian shook her head secretly, having already seen through the situation yesterday.

Therefore, she had a great liking for this teacher standing on the podium, who always faced her students with a self-assured smile no matter what burdens she carried and never complained. Chu Lian did not want her to step down in dismay. So, even if this class performance did not have the incentive of a task, she would still do her utmost.

After the bell rang, the teacher let the students stand and salute before asking them to sit down. She first adjusted her glasses, then said with a bit of seriousness, "Yesterday, I received thirty-three submissions from students. Even though there are still seven students who haven't submitted theirs, I am still very pleased."

"But unfortunately, we can only select the ten most suitable works for this voting round, so some students' works won't be mentioned, which troubles me given your sincerity and efforts. However, it's okay, there will be opportunities in the future. I believe the next time will be yours."

The students were mentally prepared, so there wasn't much dissatisfaction, only some regret as they silently resolved to work harder for the next related activity.

"The works participating in this voting round are: Cai Ya's song 'The Day in the Dream'; Wang Tingsi's stage play 'That Summer'; Li Xiuer's stage play 'Forget-Me-Not'; Liuli Nana's song 'Cicada's Cry'; Lux Lyle's English song 'This Sur'; Duan Yuan's song 'Where the Star Dream Returns'; Zhang Feng's short play 'Never Forget You'; Bai Tiange's short play 'This Dream, for a Long Time'; Liu Yanran's essay recitation 'Ten Fireworks Like Songs, A Farewell After Ten Years', and Chu Lian's song 'Having You In My Life'."

The teacher turned to the blackboard and started writing the names of the works. Meanwhile, some students began distributing the materials related to these ten works, a thick stack that would take at least twenty minutes to read through.

After quickly glancing at the materials in her hands, Chu Lian began to secretly observe the students whose names were called.

Cai Ya's face was tense, but her eyes radiated confidence; Li Xiuer was like a little ostrich with her head down, seemingly lacking confidence; Wang Tingsi? Still ignoring him; Zhang Feng kept fiddling with his glasses, looking very nervous.

Lux Lyle was a very common foreign student in this school. It was said she was from England and seemed to be from an aristocratic family. In this class alone, there were three white students.

-She was the most dazzling among them, beautiful and confident, speaking fluent Chinese.

Her golden hair shone brilliantly in the sunlight as she sat by the window. Chu Lian had noticed this student before and was surprised that she could write a song good enough to enter the selection round, showing her strong abilities.

Liuli Nana, petite and cat-like in personality, had a charm reminiscent of anime characters. She was from Japan, and her parents admired China so much that they chose to work there.

She had considerable musical talent and was also very skilled at drawing. It was normal for her song to be selected, and since the teacher mentioned it was a Chinese song, it was even more impressive. Chu Lian considered her a person not to be underestimated.

Duan Yuan was probably the most goddess-like girl in their class. Though not the prettiest, her graceful manners and cultured demeanor gave her a touch of intelligence. An occasional smile from her was as refreshing as spring water. It was clear she came from a wealthy family and was very well-educated.

Bai Tiange was the least popular boy in the class. He was good-looking but always had an icy demeanor, making him seem unapproachable. If not for his frequent contributions to the class, he might have been forgotten. He was a kind-hearted but socially awkward kid.

Liu Yanran, true to her name, had a classical beauty unusual for her age. If she wore traditional clothes, she could probably rival Chu Lian. Her every smile and frown exuded the gentleness of a classical lady. If she maintained this as she grew and cultivated her inner qualities further, she would truly be like a person from a painting.

Among these people, Chu Lian quickly formed an impression. She liked Liu Yanran the most, followed by the genteel Duan Yuan, then the socially awkward Bai Tiange. She rated the talented Liuli Nana next to last and put the scheming Lux Lyle at the bottom.

These were the students whose works were selected for the class program, and they were probably the best in the class.

This is getting more interesting; it seems quite good this way...

A peculiar glint appeared in Chu Lian's eyes.