Chapter Ninety-Four: So You Were Here Too

Liu Ying turned to glance at Leng Yue. The two of them turned their backs and exchanged a few words. Then Liu Ying smiled and said to everyone, “You’re right. We all made this money together, so let’s split it. Today we earned a total of seven hundred and twenty yuan. Subtract my two hundred and thirty yuan in start-up money, plus Tian Tian’s old tape player worth a little over eighty yuan—let’s give her ninety to cover travel. Then Lao Wu’s thirty-seven bracelets, counted at one yuan each, makes thirty-seven; add the shipping money you spent on the goods, and give you forty. As for the rest, we’ll divide it equally. Let me work it out: seven hundred and twenty minus two hundred and thirty minus one hundred and thirty equals three hundred and sixty. Three hundred and sixty divided by eight is forty, with forty left over. So each person gets forty, and the rest—we’ll use it to go out for dinner tonight, all right?”

Li Hui was overjoyed when she heard this, repeating at once, “Third, you’re really something! Let’s do it that way.”

“Then let’s split the money. I’ve never made money before, so this time I have to keep it safe and take it home to show my parents,” Xiao Han said, equally excited.

Li Hui clutched the forty yuan in her hand, her face alight with thrill. “I never imagined making money could be this easy. Tomorrow let’s get some more stuff and do it again!”

Dong Yanyan said nothing for a moment, then spoke with rare seriousness. “Sisters, you really don’t understand how serious this is. Doing this once is enough to get our capital back. Today we may not count as fraud, but at the very least we’re operating without a license. We were only lucky today. If the business bureau or the city inspectors had caught us, a fine of three or five thousand would be light. And if the school found out, we’d all be done for. Didn’t you see me spending the whole afternoon standing lookout for you? I was nearly scared to death!”

At her words, the whole dorm fell silent.

After a long pause, Liu Ying asked, still shaken, “But we didn’t know either. Fifth, what if someone reports us later?”

Dong Yanyan smiled. “Don’t worry, Sister. It’s all over now. If anyone asks in the future, we’ll just insist we were doing part-time work. Say we were working for someone else, and if they keep pressing, we’ll just say we didn’t know anything about it and didn’t understand, all right?”

“Exactly. If we weren’t caught on the spot, it doesn’t count. Sister, I’m hungry already. Let’s go eat,” Tian Tian said, tugging at Liu Ying’s arm with a laugh.

“I know a restaurant that’s especially affordable. Let’s go there! Forty yuan is enough for two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes!” Xiao Han said with a grin.

“Right, let’s go eat. I’m hungry too!” Leng Yue laughed as well.

“Oh my, earning money feels so good!” Li Hui said as she dressed, unable to stop smiling.

The others were just as excited. The girls left in high spirits and went out for a proper meal. If Tian Tian hadn’t still had class activities that evening, they would have stayed chatting and cracking sunflower seeds a while longer.

“What activity do we have tonight? How come I didn’t know about it?” Dong Yanyan asked.

“I only heard from Leng Haoyang. Their class committee organized a weekend sing-along in the class. One boy picks a girl to sing with, then that girl picks a boy to sing with, then that boy picks another girl to sing a duet with, and so on. It sounds pretty interesting—kind of like what the broadcast studies class does,” Tian Tian said with a smile.

“It does sound interesting,” Dong Yanyan said. She truly had not expected Lin Feng to have such talent as a matchmaker. He had everyone paired off like this—clearly, he was arranging couples for them. She had no idea where Teacher Chen had been looking when he chose him as class monitor. On one side he was busily breaking up little mandarin ducks, and on the other he was busily matching them together.

What a divine combination.

As soon as Gu Xiaohan heard there would be singing, she was immediately energized. She slung on her backpack and hurried everyone back to school.

When they returned to the classroom, the desks and chairs had already been arranged along both sides of the room, with the rest piled at the back and an open space left in the middle. Lin Feng and Yang Lili were standing in the center, trying to coax Jiang Fan and Liu Siying into singing.

Dong Yanyan turned to Liu Ying and smiled. “Teacher Chen really ought to see this scene. Just look at what his class monitor and cultural secretary are doing!”

“Sing that song, The More I Love You! The two of you—one plays and one sings, perfect! So romantic!” she said loudly to Liu Siying.

With that remark, the others joined in the teasing.

Jiang Fan turned his head with calm composure and smiled at Liu Siying.

“Liu Qiang should be the one singing that. We’d better choose another song,” Liu Siying said with an even smile.

“I just want to see what Liu Qiang will sing after this,” Dong Yanyan said, laughing too.

Gu Xiaohan secretly tugged at her sleeve and whispered, “I know what Liu Qiang will sing. He’ll sing The Foolish Old Man Moves Mountains.”

As she spoke, out of the corner of her eye she caught a flirtatious glance from Liu Qiang coming their way. Dong Yanyan quickly leaned back. Light travels in a straight line; if she stood in the way, how hard would it be for it to get through? She reclined against the back of her chair and tilted her head to look up at the multicolored fluorescent tubes wrapped above them.

Jiang Fan held a guitar and sang Firewood Heaven with Liu Siying. Then Liu Siying sang a duet with Lin Feng, Good People, Good Dreams. After Lin Feng finished, he glanced toward Yang Lili. Yang Lili quietly pointed at Yang Ruining, and so Lin Feng walked straight up to her.

Leng Haoyang nearly sprang out of his seat, and Zhang Lei threw an arm around his neck and shoved him back down.

“Lin Feng, you dare go after my girl? Just you wait! You just wait!” Leng Haoyang shouted, half amused and half exasperated.

Yang Ruining’s lovely face was blooming with laughter. Seeing it from below, Leng Haoyang felt a chill run through him. When Yang Ruining finished her song and her gaze wandered around the room, he suddenly sensed disaster.

“If you dare pick Song Mingcheng, I’ll skin you alive!” he shouted.

“Song Mingcheng, what are you waiting for? Go on!” Zhang Lei yelled, pounding the desk as he laughed.

“You dare? If you touch my girl, I’ll cripple you!” Leng Haoyang shouted, pointing at Song Mingcheng. Song Mingcheng only smiled calmly, then walked straight toward Yang Ruining. Delighted, Yang Ruining took his hand and spun around with him several times.

Zhang Lei and Liu Qiang were doubled over on their desks, while Yang Lili and Du Xinmeng were laughing themselves nearly apart. Dong Yanyan could not help laughing as well. What was the matter with everyone today? Why did they all seem determined to go against Leng Haoyang? She had never realized he could be so dryly funny.

“Damn it! You’re all deliberately making life miserable for me! This shameless wife of mine is no longer fit to keep,” Leng Haoyang roared.

“When I hear that mournful melody, it stirs up old wounds of memory... When I see the pale moonlight, I think of your face... Knowing I should not think of it, cannot think of it, and yet I am lost in confusion. Who is it that makes my heart ache, that makes me long so? It is you—”

Song Mingcheng was singing Xie Zhe’s Faith. Dong Yanyan looked at him with fresh admiration. She had not expected this guy to be able to sing, much less sing so well. Who was he trying to charm to death? She had to admit that his deep, resonant voice was truly suited to this kind of sorrowful love song. He did forget some of the lyrics, but he had been born with the face of a romantic leading man, and with that look of deep affection on top of it, he was practically unbeatable.

When the song ended, Leng Haoyang dragged Yang Ruining out of the classroom, half pulling and half hauling her along. Even as he left, he turned back to wave at everyone. “We’re leaving first, not staying to keep you company~~ We’re going~~”

Song Mingcheng stood there as if it had nothing to do with him, one hand in his pocket, a cool smile on his face.

If she had had a phone, Dong Yanyan would have snapped a picture of that expression and posted it online for everyone to see.

Song Mingcheng’s eyes swept across the classroom, then he picked up the microphone and said with a low laugh, “Next I’m going to sing a song for someone. If she can understand it, I’d like her to sing along with me.”

“So affectionate,” Gu Xiaohan said, blinking her big, beautiful eyes, her hands clasped together in delight.

“So cool,” Yu Xia said, her eyes shining with little stars.

“So melodramatic. Who is this guy trying to seduce? Why don’t I remember?” Dong Yanyan thought.

He began to sing: “I place you in the palms of my hands, reverently burning incense, cutting a sliver of candlelight to illuminate the scriptures. I ask not for an earth-shaking love, only for one romance... I will devote my whole life to cherishing you, hoping only that your wandering gaze will come to rest. Grant me the power to love and be loved without limit, so that beneath the Bodhi tree I may quietly contemplate...”

Song Mingcheng sang it quite beautifully, with a perfect emotional touch. Back then, she herself had preferred the male version of this song. The version by Yang Mi was indeed very fairy-like, but the one sung by Pig-Nose Brother was more tender and heartfelt. She had even used this song as her ringtone for a long time. At the time, it had been everywhere, so overplayed it had practically saturated every street and alley, but she had still loved it...

Then, all at once, a thought struck her like a spark. Her mind heated in an instant, as if all the blood in her body had rushed to her head. Wait. This was a song from 2010. How could he know it? She had never heard anyone sing this song more than ten years ago. There was no way the original writer could have borrowed it with such impossible shamelessness and supernatural reach, could there? Then what was he? Was he also—

Her mind went blank.

She stood up in a daze and stared at Song Mingcheng in shock as he walked toward her. He was looking into her eyes too, with a trace of testing uncertainty beneath an effort at composure. The young face before her seemed to overlap with the one from more than a decade later, and for a moment she was completely lost.

“Fifth, what are you doing?” Liu Ying, beside her, hurriedly tried to pull her back down. Dong Yanyan reflexively started to sit, but Song Mingcheng took her hand. She followed him around the table and stood beside him.

She could hardly think. Looking up at him in confusion, she suddenly saw a flicker of uncertainty cross his face and a faint awkwardness in his expression. Then she smiled, letting herself relax, and sang with him in perfect harmony:

“I place you in my heart, fold my hands together, and silently pray to heaven to guide my way. I ask not for forever, only to remain by your side...”

I will devote my whole life to cherishing you. There are too many sorrows in this world to forget. Drifting in the sea of suffering, I see your old appearance. Only when I look back do I realize I have already stepped out of the vast red dust of the mortal world...

The last trace of doubt in Song Mingcheng’s eyes finally vanished. It was as if clouds had suddenly parted and the moon had shone through. He smiled with genuine delight. Dong Yanyan held his hand tightly. His palm was hot, carrying a slight dampness, so real and yet so unreal. His smile bore the weariness of one who has finally set down a burden. Those were the eyes of a mature man—how had she only just noticed today? A wave of relief washed over her, and suddenly she felt like crying.

“How do you know this song?” she asked softly.

“It was your ringtone. Of course I remember. Do you still remember the Pig-Nose Brother by Daming Lake?” Song Mingcheng looked down at her and asked with a smile.

Dong Yanyan rolled her eyes at him and asked back, “Do you still remember Qingchuan by Daming Lake?”

“I still remember Lulu,” he said softly.