Chapter 64

This day's classes were rather uneventful, as the midterm exams were starting tomorrow, so the teachers didn't assign any homework. During free time, most students were reviewing, and even those who went out were just to vote for the programs of the cultural festival evening party. The classroom was less noisy than usual.

The last class was the class meeting, where the homeroom teacher emphasized the importance of this exam. This was the last midterm exam before the senior year subject selection and class division, and the results were very valuable. The subjects for the exam included Chinese, Math, English, Physics, Chemistry, and Politics. After this exam, the school would conduct a preliminary survey of the students' subject preferences and then make arrangements for the senior year class division. In the second half of the year, students would also need to focus on the subjects they would choose for the college entrance exam. The college entrance exam model in Haizhong City had been a special 3+1 model for many years, where the "1" was an elective subject, making the subject selection in senior year particularly important.

Although there would be a final exam later, it was just the end-of-term exam for each subject, which was not as difficult as this midterm exam, so it had less reference value. Therefore, students' choices would basically be set after this exam and would not change.

After saying this, the homeroom teacher announced another piece of news: she would still be the teacher for Class 7 in senior year, and Class 7 would become a physics class. This meant that students who chose chemistry or liberal arts would leave Class 7.

She glanced at Wang Bai, who was reading a book without any reaction, as if he hadn't heard anything.

"Ahem," Xu Wushuang cleared her throat and said, "Let's do a preliminary survey. Raise your hand if you intend to choose physics." Most of the students raised their hands, but Wang Bai didn't move.

Xu Wushuang thought: Oh, you don't want to stay in my class? You're playing the cool guy?

She pretended to scan the room and then nodded, "Raise your hand if you want to choose chemistry." This time, fewer people raised their hands, and Wang Bai still didn't move.

Almost no one chose biology, so Xu Wushuang didn't even bother to ask. She quickly looked around and said, "Raise your hand if you want to choose liberal arts." This time, only five or six people raised their hands, and Wang Bai still didn't move!

What does he mean? Not only was she puzzled, but Jin Xiaoli was also curious. She sat behind Wang Bai and naturally saw that he hadn't raised his hand. She was going to choose liberal arts, and so was Liu Yan. Although they wouldn't force Wang Bai to join the liberal arts class, they were curious about which subject he would choose.

Xu Wushuang couldn't help but call him out directly, her voice stern, "Wang Bai, you haven't raised your hand at all. Did you not hear the teacher? Daydreaming?"

The whole class's attention suddenly focused on him. Wang Bai looked up blankly, "Ah? Do I have to choose? I haven't decided yet. I'll think about it after this exam."

Who isn't thinking that way? The others grumbled inwardly, but with the teacher's insistence, they had no choice. You're really not giving me any face!

Seeing everyone's continued attention, Wang Bai blushed and said, "I don't really care. It's the same wherever I go."

He really didn't care. Choosing a subject and spending ten points to exchange for a skill would ensure good grades, so he wasn't worried at all.

The homeroom teacher was anxious, thinking: Are you playing the cool guy? You said you didn't want to yesterday, right? What's the deal? Do I have to cajole you to make you happy? I'm not going to do that!

"Alright, then it's up to you. Think about it after the exam! Don't be indecisive like this!"

The class burst into laughter, and Wang Bai chuckled in response. Xu Wushuang turned away, annoyed, and shouted, "Study time!" before leaving the classroom.

After the teacher left, Jin Xiaoli poked Wang Bai's back and asked, "Do you really not care? Are you going to the liberal arts class? Liu Yan and I are choosing liberal arts."

He thought for a moment and said, "Let's see. I really haven't decided yet. I need to think about it more."

Jin Xiaoli pouted in disappointment and said, "Oh..." Then she started to think about how to persuade him to join the liberal arts class... Maybe seduction? No! It would be too easy to let him get his way just for choosing a subject. At least he should get into the same university, right? Jin Xiaoli was bargaining with herself.

Yu Jia, sitting in the front row, asked her desk mate Lu Lu, "Is it because he saw you didn't choose, so he didn't choose either?"

There was another student who hadn't raised their hand, and that was the top student, Lu Lu. She excelled in all subjects, so she was a target for the teachers. Both the physics and chemistry teachers were trying to persuade her to choose a subject, but she hadn't decided yet.

She said calmly, "How could that be? Choosing a subject is about one's future. Do you think it's a game?"

"Then he's mediocre in all subjects, so he really doesn't care," Yu Jia said with a frown, "Following you would be fine."

Hearing this, Lu Lu became a bit suspicious: Is it really because of me that he didn't choose? This guy is stubborn. Auntie asked him to take care of me, so he might really do it!

She couldn't help but want to ask Wang Bai what he was thinking.

So many people were concerned about him, but Wang Bai hadn't even considered the issue. He was thinking about whether to go to the dance club classroom that evening.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Wang Bai immediately called Qi Jueying. After the call connected, he asked, "Do you have any club activities today?"

"The cultural festival is over, and the midterm exams start tomorrow, so there are no club activities today," Qi Jueying replied, then asked, "What's up? Do you want to practice?"

He wanted to master the duet as quickly as possible, so he said, "Yes, if it's convenient for you, let's practice tonight."

"No problem," Qi Jueying agreed, "But have you prepared your dance shoes?"

"Um... not yet." Wang Bai had indeed overlooked it. He had no experience in this area and hadn't thought about it, so he asked, "Can I wear canvas shoes?" He had worn canvas shoes during the cultural festival performance.

"Canvas shoes? No way!" Qi Jueying exclaimed, "Luckily, I prepared a pair for you. Meet at the usual time in the dance classroom."

Wang Bai hurried home for dinner and then went out. His parents asked him, "You just ate, and you're going out?" He replied, "Ah, I'm going to get extra tutoring from Ms. Xu. It might take a while." His parents naturally let him go.

When he arrived at the dance classroom, it was not yet six o'clock, but Qi Jueying was already there. Her long hair was tied up, and she was wearing a pink tank top that slightly exposed her shoulder straps, with a fitted gray practice suit over it. She was doing some stretching exercises in the classroom.

Seeing Wang Bai, she called out, "Come in. Your shoes are on the shoe rack. Put them on and close the door." Wang Bai saw a pair of black practice shoes with soft soles on the shoe rack, which looked like they were for dancing. He tried them on and found they fit perfectly, so he asked curiously, "How did you know my shoe size?"

She stretched her arms behind her head and answered, "I observed your feet when you came last time. How do they fit?"

Wang Bai nodded, saying they fit well, and he was impressed by her attention to detail. Seeing him standing there, she said, "Follow me and do some stretching to avoid injuries."

He nodded and started doing the stretches. Qi Jueying noticed that he wasn't awkwardly imitating her but was doing the stretches systematically, which made her curious, "Senior, have you learned dancing before?"

"A little bit." After exchanging the skill, his dance skills were equivalent to a professional graduate, so he was familiar with the warm-up exercises.

"That's good. I thought you had no dance background," Qi Jueying seemed pleased, "If everything goes well, I can make the choreography more complex, which will look better."

"The original choreography is good enough," Wang Bai said while stretching, "Too much can be overwhelming. Let's focus on mastering the original choreography first."

"No problem. Even if I modify it, it will still be based on the original, so the impact won't be significant." She smiled, "Senior, you always surprise me."

After the warm-up, Qi Jueying stood up and said, "Let's start. Follow me through the movements. It's okay if you can't remember them all. Take it slowly and watch the mirror."

The first time through the movements, there was no music. Qi Jueying intentionally slowed down the rhythm. To her surprise, Wang Bai easily followed her movements and performed them beautifully.

After one round, she was astonished, "Did you practice at home?" "Yes," he replied, "I said I would do it well if I do it."

Her eyes lit up, "Do you remember all the movements? Can you do them on your own?" Wang Bai quickly reviewed the movements in his mind and nodded, "I'll give it a try." He then practiced the movements on his own, but the pace was fast since he was just going through the motions.

After finishing, he asked, "Did I do anything wrong?" She smiled and shook her head, "You're amazing. You're better than anyone else in our club. You remembered the movements after one look and could perform them after two looks."

She then went to the sound system to prepare the music, "I thought it would be good if you could remember the movements tonight, but I didn't expect you to practice them so well. You keep surprising me."

The music started, and she walked to the center of the room, "Let's go through it again. Follow the rhythm and try to remember it." She started dancing, and Wang Bai followed her for the third time. Qi Jueying watched him through the mirror and was even more impressed by his precise rhythm.

After finishing, she turned off the music and thought for a moment, "Senior, you seem like a professional dancer. Have you really only learned a little bit? If that's true, you must be a genius. It would be a waste not to pursue dancing."

"Just treat me as a genius," he said, "But I'm not really interested in dancing. I'm just doing this to fulfill a promise."

Talented people are often strange... Qi Jueying thought with a bitter smile. She didn't continue to persuade him and started practicing the duet with him without music, going through the movements twice.

Wang Bai noticed she was sweating and suggested a break. They sat on the floor, and Qi Jueying handed him a bottle of water, "With your help, I can realize many of my ideas. I'm sure this duet will be a success."

After a moment of silence, she couldn't help but think about new movements, gesturing with her hands. Seeing her seriousness, Wang Bai, who had already made significant progress, said, "Why don't we stop here for today? Think about how to modify the choreography, and I'll come back next time. It's best to finalize the movements quickly. I can't spend too much time on this."

"Okay," she smiled, "Thank you for sacrificing your study time to practice. I'll finalize the choreography as soon as possible and notify you for the next practice."

He put on his shoes and was about to leave when Qi Jueying called out, "By the way, Senior, thank you for what you did last time!"

Wang Bai waved his hand without turning around and left. Qi Jueying muttered, "He's really cold." Today, he had acted like a professional dancer, practicing methodically without any unnecessary words. Even during the duet, his expression didn't change, unlike the other boys who would giggle uncontrollably when close to her.

She shook her head and didn't think too much about it, continuing to focus on the choreography.