Chapter 81

Actually, Wen Zhengyou himself was a bit flustered. What was originally not a big deal had escalated to this state, all due to his pride as a male and a trainee. He really hadn't expected Jin Taeyeon's singing skills to be so impressive, and for a moment, he concealed the fact that his vocal cords were in the midst of a change and couldn't produce his full strength.

He felt that admitting this would be somewhat embarrassing. It's like in two scenarios, no matter what you're competing in. If I win the arm wrestling match and then tell you that my hand actually hurts, as if I twisted it yesterday. If we were to have another match, I wouldn't use my full strength, and we could just play around. The losing party, having just lost and witnessed your strength, wouldn't think you were weak. They would also easily believe that your wrist was really twisted.

But if during the arm wrestling match, you realize that his strength is about the same as yours, or even greater, and you tell him that your hand hurts, as if you twisted it yesterday, wouldn't it make the other person feel that you're lacking confidence? Even if your wrist was really twisted? Moreover, if you lose again, you would definitely feel不服气 (unconvinced), and the other person would probably feel that winning wasn't satisfying. This would lose the meaning of the competition.

At the very least, even if your wrist was really injured, you would have to endure it. You would do everything in your power to win the competition and then talk about other things. This was Wen Zhengyou's mindset at the time, very common, not necessarily limited to singing, and could happen to anyone in any environment. But now, it might lead to a僵局 (stalemate).

Wen Zhengyou certainly didn't intend to suppress Jin Taeyeon. It was just a school celebration, why be so serious? I'm just performing on a debut stage, wanting to feel the atmosphere. For the first performance, I just want it to be perfect. Even if you sing a bit lower by two octaves, it wouldn't make your performance fail, right? We're all students, as long as we don't go off-key, no one would notice anything else. It's not a vocal exam, why be so meticulous?

But if it weren't for his vocal cord issues, Wen Zhengyou wouldn't have been so insistent on not letting Jin Taeyeon raise the pitch. He could understand a singer's mindset; when you can achieve 75%, you would aim for 80%, 90%, or even 100%.

But if Jin Taeyeon raised the pitch by two octaves, wouldn't Wen Zhengyou's voice crack or even damage his vocal cords? The stakes were clear in Wen Zhengyou's mind, and it was fair. But Jin Taeyeon didn't know, and she had a rare outburst in front of her senior.

"Let's just perform separately." Wen Zhengyou wanted to quickly resolve the issue. Song Huirin's hostility towards Jin Taeyeon was becoming more obvious. If this continued, Jin Taeyeon wouldn't have an easy time. He had only invited her to perform for the school celebration, but now she would face trouble until her senior graduated. Was it really necessary?

Jin Taeyeon was stunned, looking at Song Huirin and Liu Shangmin's cold faces, she lowered her head and said nothing. Wen Zhengyou spoke to Jin Taeyeon, "You can still sing 'No.1,' and I'll sing 'Love Song'... Let's go back." Jin Taeyeon didn't expect this outcome and ultimately didn't ask for the reason, returning to the initial state.

Performing separately, no longer collaborating. But for some reason, she felt a bit resistant and reluctant. However, she wasn't the only one with this thought; Song Huirin and Liu Shangmin felt the same. Song Huirin pushed aside Wen Zhengyou's hand and stepped forward, looking at Jin Taeyeon, "You and Zhengyou are in the same grade, the same age. You can speak informally. But apart from that, do you know his position in the arts club? And do you know that he is the planner and manager of this school celebration?"

Liu Shangmin crossed her arms and watched coldly. Wen Zhengyou signaled her to step forward and persuade, but she turned her head away. Wen Zhengyou, helpless, stepped forward himself, "Senior..." "Stand aside. When a senior is scolding a junior, do you need to interfere?" Wen Zhengyou paused, stood aside, and lowered his head, saying nothing.

This was why he wanted Liu Shangmin to persuade instead of doing it himself. After all, he was still a junior, surrounded by many second-year students, who were all his juniors. When Song Huirin, as a senior, was scolding a junior, Wen Zhengyou had to stand aside. Frowning and thinking, Wen Zhengyou was not the type to do nothing.

Suddenly, he saw Li Yayuan nearby and signaled her, hoping she would understand his intention. Seeing her pause and then run away, Wen Zhengyou felt a bit relieved. Song Huirin looked at the bowed Jin Taeyeon and frowned, "You don't care how busy he is with the school celebration, do you? Just thinking about your own performance? Dissatisfied, you come and shout at him? Every class has a performance, who is like you?"

Jin Taeyeon bit her lip, her hands fidgeting in front of her. After a while, she bowed slightly, "I'm sorry, Senior, I was wrong." Wen Zhengyou smiled, "Senior, there's no right or wrong. We'll perform separately. In the future, she's her, I'm me, no interference." Liu Shangmin finally spoke, sneering at Wen Zhengyou, "So easy to separate now, but you were inseparable before."

Song Huirin turned to look at Wen Zhengyou coldly, "Do you take the performance lightly? The principal entrusted the school celebration to you. You're the strongest trainee from the entertainment company, and your performance is the most outstanding. Now you can just casually decide to collaborate or separate?" Wen Zhengyou laughed, "What should I do? Why are you angry? Do you want us to collaborate or not?"

Liu Shangmin stepped forward, looking at Wen Zhengyou, "Arguing with a senior? I find that you two are a perfect match, she doesn't respect seniors, and neither do you." Wen Zhengyou paused, pursing his lips, "Senior, I'm the vice president of the arts club. As a junior, I respect you, but as a member of the arts club, shouldn't you respect me?"

Liu Shangmin's face turned sour, about to say something, but Song Huirin suddenly waved her hand, "Continue collaborating, the performance goes on as planned. You've practiced many times, and I've heard it several times. As the president of the arts club, I think it's fine." Pointing at Jin Taeyeon, Song Huirin said, "Do you think you're great because you've learned to sing? Come to the activity room with me. I'll teach you now, explain clearly how Zhengyou is suppressing you and what makes your singing stand out. Otherwise..."

Jin Taeyeon's face changed, glancing at Wen Zhengyou. Wen Zhengyou frowned and looked up, but was blocked by Liu Shangmin. Just as Song Huirin turned to push through the surrounding students and walk forward, Jin Taeyeon had no choice but to follow, Mr. Liu, the teacher in charge of Class 2-3, Wen Zhengyou's class, walked over, "What's going on? Why are you all gathered here?"

Seeing the teacher, the students bowed and dispersed, returning to their classes. Only Song Huirin, Liu Shangmin, Jin Taeyeon, and Wen Zhengyou remained. Song Huirin bowed, "Mr. Liu, I'm handling the performance issue between Zhengyou and this girl, Jin Taeyeon." Mr. Liu frowned and glanced at Wen Zhengyou, who subtly shook his head.

Mr. Liu cleared his throat, "The principal has entrusted the school celebration to Zhengyou. Let him handle it. You can help with other performances, the formal performance is tomorrow, no mistakes, understood?" Song Huirin paused, bowed, "Yes, Mr. Liu." Mr. Liu nodded, "Go back to class. You're quite responsible. The third-year students are upstairs, but you specially came down here."

Song Huirin and Liu Shangmin bowed again, glanced deeply at Jin Taeyeon, and turned to walk upstairs. Wen Zhengyou sighed in relief, turned to Li Yayuan, who was peeking from the side, smiled, and gave her a thumbs up. Li Yayuan blushed, smiling shyly. But at that moment, Jin Taeyeon suddenly bowed to Mr. Liu and turned to walk back to her class without a word.

Wen Zhengyou instinctively reached out, but his head was tapped. Turning around, he saw Mr. Liu looking at him with a half-smile, shaking his head after a while, "Why so complicated? Even to the point of a senior scolding a junior." Wen Zhengyou helplessly shrugged, "I said this is all a misunderstanding, does the teacher believe me?"

Mr. Liu chuckled, rubbing his head and pushing him towards the class, "I don't care about your mess. Perform well, the formal performance starts tomorrow." Wen Zhengyou responded, sitting back in his seat. The surrounding students had already seen what happened outside and were teasing him. Wen Zhengyou ignored them, but after sitting down, he propped his head up and stared out the window, lost in thought.

This situation was really frustrating. As for tomorrow's school celebration, it felt like... it wouldn't be so calm.

(Thank you to kinggao.xi for the seven update votes, very much appreciated. O(∩_∩)O. Thank you to tianxiazhuzhu.xi for the tip. I remember what you said about the ten thousand tip, remember to make me see red. zzang. O(∩_∩)O. Finally, thank you to everyone who votes for recommendations every day. Seeing the votes increase every day makes me happy and gives Han Cuo more passion to write soulful plots. Thank you. O(∩_∩)O)

{Piaotian Literature}