The next day.
Fang Yongkang came in through the back door of the classroom, carrying two bean-paste buns, and headed for his seat. Two male classmates immediately rushed over and stared at him in surprise. "Were you really the one who sang that song yesterday?"
"Yeah!" He smiled shyly.
"No way! I was waiting in line for food in the cafeteria when I heard you singing. I was totally stunned!" one of the boys said, his eyes shining.
Fang Yongkang rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "I actually don't know why they suddenly played my song."
"Huh? You don't know?" Other students gathered around them, too.
Fu Panxue came over, propped her chin in her hands, and grinned. "I had no idea you could sing so well!"
She said I sing well?
"You like it?" Fang Yongkang asked excitedly.
She flashed a lovely smile. "Yeah, I really like that song. I was wondering why they didn't play the original, but your version was good, too."
There was nothing better than having the girl he liked compliment him.
"If you like listening, I can sing for you anytime!" he said with a smile.
"Really? I especially like Xue Zhiqian's 'Half.'" Fu Panxue gazed at him expectantly.
Fang Yongkang's eyes lit up. He had practiced that song, too. Nodding earnestly, he said, "Sure, I know that one."
"Great! I want to hear it."
"Then I'll sing it for you. Um... after school?"
"Sounds good!"
After school? Did that count as a date?
For the first time, Fang Yongkang felt his heart flutter like a startled deer.
The morning study bell rang. The homeroom teacher walked in, and the Chinese class representative took out a book, ready to lead everyone in their morning reading.
The teacher entered, swept a cold glance over Fang Yongkang, then said, "Let's put morning reading on hold. One of our classmates has gone astray, and I need to say a few words about it."
Everyone turned to look at the teacher...
Fang Yongkang swallowed. Gone astray? Was the teacher talking about him?
"Yesterday, I heard from the class next door that one of our students actually went to see some Master Shen for a fortune reading. What's more, he even advertised for him online. It's ridiculous!"
"Your generation should have long since moved past superstition. How could anyone do something so foolish?" The teacher fixed his eyes on Fang Yongkang and continued, "Fortunately, this incident hasn't attracted too much attention. Otherwise, the school leadership would have gotten involved. The country is cracking down on superstition, after all. If a student receiving compulsory education can't even recognize such an obvious mistake, that's just absurd."
"I'll handle this matter. Don't discuss it among yourselves. It's nothing to be proud of, and we don't want rumors spreading everywhere," the teacher cautioned them.
Just then, a girl raised her hand and asked, "Teacher, are you talking about Fang Yongkang?"
The teacher frowned. What was wrong with this kid? He'd deliberately avoided saying Fang Yongkang's name, and she had to go and call him out.
"That's the matter. I've already asked him to call his parents in. If students from other classes come asking, just tell them you don't know anything."
A student said in surprise, "Huh? You have to call your parents just because you sing well?"
The student beside him shot him a look and whispered, "You idiot. The teacher's talking about going to Master Shen for a fortune reading, not the singing."
"Oh, right!" the first student replied with an awkward grin.
"Singing?" The teacher paused. He glanced at Fang Yongkang again, figuring the boy couldn't possibly be any good at singing. Otherwise, he would have performed in one of the school's talent shows over the past two years.
"You can't take what those fortune tellers say seriously. Singing? Having a hobby is a good thing, but you should stay grounded. Don't get carried away with unrealistic ambitions. Right now, your top priority should be the college entrance exam."
Worried Fang Yongkang might actually believe the things Jianghu con artists said, he added pointedly, "Understand? You can't trust fortune telling Masters. They're all scammers. They say nice things just to trick you out of your money."
Everyone was completely bewildered. What was going on?
The teacher was saying Master Shen was a scammer?
Everyone looked astonished. That didn't make sense! Fang Yongkang really could sing!
"Um, teacher? Did you not hear the school broadcast after school yesterday?" one student asked quietly.
The teacher froze. "No. Something came up at home yesterday, so I left early."
Everyone immediately looked enlightened. So that was why the teacher didn't know. Yesterday, the whole school had heard Fang Yongkang's song.
"The school broadcast yesterday? What did they say?" the teacher muttered. The broadcast was run by students. If anything important had happened, surely he would have heard about it in advance.
Fu Panxue smiled. "They didn't say anything. They just played a song."
"Right, a Xue Zhiqian song, 'A Few Miles Around.' Fang Yongkang did a cover, and it was really good," said a boy sitting at the front.
What???
The teacher shuddered. "What did you say? You said Fang Yongkang did the cover?" He stared at the boy in shock.
Now everyone was looking at him with amusement. The atmosphere turned incredibly awkward, because no one had the heart to tell the teacher he was wrong!
He'd been lecturing Fang Yongkang about going astray, while the boy's cover had already spread all over campus. He was the only one who didn't know.
Fang Yongkang awkwardly lowered his head, not daring to look at the teacher. He was just as surprised himself.
The teacher's old face turned red. He'd made a huge mistake. He'd earnestly advised Fang Yongkang not to take Master Shen's words to heart, but the boy really did have talent. And the worst part was, everyone knew about it except him. It was mortifying.
And there was something even more awkward: he'd called Fang Yongkang's parents in, ready to give the boy a thorough lecture, only to make a complete blunder.
The teacher felt his face burning. He was too embarrassed to stay in the classroom, so he forced a bitter smile and said, "I really didn't know about this. I'll go ask in the office." Then he hurried out.
"Hahahaha!"
"The teacher's hilarious."
"Yeah! But if it hadn't been for yesterday's school broadcast, we wouldn't have known Fang Yongkang was so talented."
"You can't blame the teacher. Fang Yongkang hid it too well."
As soon as the teacher left, the students started chatting excitedly. "I can't believe Master Shen really is amazing! He uncovered Fang Yongkang's talent just like that."
"Right! I followed Master Shen on Weibo during evening study yesterday, too. The comments from netizens are hilarious."
"I bet someone from the broadcasting club saw Master Shen's ad and that's how they discovered Fang Yongkang's song. They must've liked it and decided to play it for us."
"Yeah, yeah. But apparently it's really hard to book an appointment with Master Shen. Otherwise, I'd give it a try, too. Maybe I've got some hidden talent!" one student said with a laugh.
The chubby boy beside him laughed. "Keep dreaming. It's not that easy."
Just then, Xu Ruifeng, an art teacher at the school, happened to walk by. He heard the students talking and suddenly raised his eyebrows, breaking into a smile. "I've got it!"
In recent years, the school's art students had been getting into higher education at lower and lower rates, and Xu Ruifeng's presence at school had diminished accordingly. But that wasn't the point. For a teacher who liked making money by tutoring students privately, this directly affected his income.
If you all believe in this Master Shen, why not make use of that?
The more he thought about it, the more promising it seemed. Grinning broadly, he headed for the office...
Before you continue