The principal walked over and shook Song Shi'an's hand. "Welcome back to our alma mater for the 40th anniversary celebration, Song."
Song Shi'an politely returned the handshake, "Hello, Principal, it's my pleasure."
As they walked inside, a group of people introduced Song Shi'an to the changes that had taken place at the school over the past two years.
The principal pointed to the building in front and said, "Do you remember that third floor? That was your classroom in high school, and it's still one of the best classrooms."
The first and second-year high school students, who were in class, couldn't concentrate on their lessons at all because of the noise outside.
Because of the large number of people, the school only allowed senior high school students to participate in this anniversary celebration, which made them extremely envious.
The teacher sighed as she looked at the eager students below. "Did Teacher Wang go overtime by ten minutes last class? You have ten minutes to rest and go to the restroom. Keep your voices down and don't disturb the other classes."
The whole class screamed silently and rushed out without stopping.
The teacher followed behind and bumped into the teacher of the next class. They smiled at each other, and the other teacher shrugged helplessly.
As the principal was speaking, he suddenly saw that the entire hallway of the building was filled with students, who were waving frantically in his direction.
"Didn't they attend this school anniversary celebration?" Song Shi'an turned to look at the principal.
"The school is only so big. We were worried about accidents if there were too many students, so we only allowed the senior students to participate." The principal said somewhat apologetically.
Song Shi'an nodded understandingly, then smiled and waved to the students in the hallway, "The hallway isn't safe, go back to class! See you again after the school anniversary celebration!"
The students cheered and reluctantly returned to their classrooms.
The principal didn't quite understand the meaning of his words and continued walking towards the auditorium with his group.
Before even entering, Song Shi'an could hear the noisy conversation inside; he could hear it clearly even through the door.
The moment the auditorium doors opened, the noise stopped abruptly, as if someone had pressed a pause button.
The principal, along with a group of directors and Song Shi'an, walked into the auditorium. The next second, the entire hall erupted in screams and applause, almost lifting the roof off.
Looking at the many energetic students below the stage, Song Shi'an felt a pang of emotion. He suddenly missed himself two years ago, when he sat below listening to outstanding alumni speak.
He smiled and waved to his classmates, then followed the school leaders to sit in the middle of the first row.
As soon as I sat down, a hand reached out to me. "Long time no see, Shi'an."
Song Shi'an extended his hand and gave it a light handshake. "Hello, long time no see."
Who is this person? Do you know him? Use your brain, you blockhead!!! He frantically searched his memory for this face, but couldn't recall it at all.
"You've changed a lot in the two years I haven't seen you," Zhou Man said with a smile.
"It's alright," Song Shi'an replied with a smile.
Zhou Man looked him up and down. "Indeed, many people from our class are still here after the anniversary celebration, discussing a get-together. Do you want to come?"
"I'm so sorry," Song Shi'an said with an apologetic expression, "I'll definitely do it next time when I have time."
Zhou Man didn't say anything, nodded, and turned back to look at the stage.
After the principal finished his speech with a triumphant expression, the host took the microphone and said a lot of polite words.
Song Shi'an's eyelids were drooping from listening, and he only came to his senses when the girl next to him stood up.
"Words can transcend mountains and seas, and dreams begin their journey from this campus." The host's voice became clear and bright.
"The girl who once sat in the classroom writing has now become a household name as a writer. Today, she returns to her alma mater to share her growth with us. Let's welcome our outstanding alumna Zhou Man, with applause!"
Thunderous applause erupted from the audience, Song Shi'an overheard students whispering among themselves behind him.
"My goddess! The graduating class of '24 is just amazing! Shi'an and Zhou Man are both top-tier!"
Are they in the same class?
"I don't know, I just saw them shake hands!"
Song Shi'an looked at Zhou Man, who was speaking calmly on the stage, and his gaze fell on the covers of several of her representative works on the big screen.
He vaguely remembered " The Wind Crosses the Old Summer," which became a dark horse after its release last year and reportedly sold several million copies.
Although he doesn't enjoy reading novels, he has read quite a few screenplays, and the fact that he can sell this many copies shows that he truly has talent.
After Zhou Man finished speaking, Song Shi'an and everyone else applauded.
The camera was pointed directly at their row, and his face was stiff from smiling so much, as if he was afraid that if he gave a cold look, he would be caught on camera and the next day's trending topics would say he was acting like a diva.
When the host read out the names of the final performers from the script, his tone became noticeably excited. "A fellow pride of Ninghe No. 2 High School, the top science student of 2014 and 2015, currently a student majoring in Energy Storage Science and Engineering at Jingchen University, and also an outstanding actor who has been active on screen in recent years, let's welcome Mr. Song Shi'an to the stage! Please!"
Song Shi'an stood up and politely bowed to the students behind him, the sound of which almost lifted the roof off the auditorium.
He walked onto the stage and looked down; the room was packed with heads, which triggered his trypophobia.
"We are honored to have Teacher Song attend the 40th anniversary celebration of Ninghe No. 2 High School."
The host, beaming, handed over the microphone, "As the top science student of the 2024 cohort and a high-achieving student at Jingchen University, is there anything you'd like to say to your juniors?"
Song Shi'an took the microphone, looked at the students below the stage with their youthful smiles, and began his ten-minute speech, "Hello, juniors... I look forward to seeing you again! Good luck on the college entrance exam!"
The audience erupted in applause, interspersed with shouts of "Goodbye Jingchen!"
Just as Song Shi'an was about to put down the microphone, he heard the shout and looked up again, smiling in the direction of the voice, "Okay, goodbye Jingchen."
The girl who had called out never expected Song Shi'an to respond, and tears welled up uncontrollably in her eyes.
She bit her lip and nodded vigorously, and her deskmate next to her handed her a tissue.
Song Shi'an stepped down from the stage and sat back down. Zhou Man turned her head and said, "Your speech was very inspiring. You're completely different from before."
Hearing this, Song Shi'an felt incredibly guilty, but he remained outwardly calm. "People change; they don't stay in the same place forever."
Zhou Man lowered her eyes, her voice so soft it was almost a whisper to herself, "Is that so? That's fine too."
A sudden burst of loud music filled the auditorium. Song Shi'an didn't hear the rest of her sentence clearly, turned around, and exclaimed, "Ah!"
Zhou Man gently shook her head. "It's nothing."
Song Shi'an simply said "oh" without asking any further questions, and turned back to watch the performance.
On stage, several students were breakdancing. Although their movements were a bit clumsy, the atmosphere was very energetic, and I found it much more interesting than listening to the leader's speech earlier.
Song Shi'an got up to leave an hour early. He stood up and waved to the students behind him, and there was another round of reluctant shouts in the auditorium.
Goodbye, senior!
"See you in Jingchen! See you in Jingchen!"
Song Shi'an turned around, smiled, and waved his hand before walking out of the auditorium under the escort of security personnel.