Chapter 53

Zuo Heng appears to be a carefree and easygoing person, but in fact, he is much more astute than most people his age.

Since the first time he met Bian Xuedao at a dinner table, Zuo Heng had a feeling of encountering a natural enemy, a subtle intuition rooted in biological instinct.

Later, after being beaten up by Bian Xuedao in public, Zuo Heng tried several times to seek revenge, but each time he backed down just as the idea formed. He felt weak and cowardly, but he really did not want to see Bian Xuedao again, from the bottom of his heart.

Especially recently, when Zuo Heng's father was reported, it took a lot of effort, many connections, and a lot of money to extricate himself and avoid a setback in his career.

It was also because of this report that Zuo Heng's family influenced the school to not punish him for the fight with Bian Xuedao. Not to mention, that day Zuo Heng was driving an Audi, in broad daylight, with many people watching. If the matter had been blown out of proportion, the Audi would have been enough to cause even more trouble for Zuo Heng's father.

Zuo Heng was well aware that everything he had today was due to his father's power. No matter how big the grudge or how great the humiliation, he could not betray his father at this critical moment.

Even if he spent money to hire someone to deal with Bian Xuedao, the open conflict between them would not be hard to trace back to him. Revenge might feel good, but it would only be temporary. If he really betrayed his father, his life would be over.

Although he couldn't directly take revenge now, it didn't mean he wouldn't. Zuo Heng still had his ways.

Zuo Heng's information channels were much more extensive than those of the average student. He quickly found out who Bian Xuedao was waiting for in front of 11A. In the process, he also learned about Xu Shangxiu's boyfriend, Tao Qing. Zuo Heng didn't want to confront Bian Xuedao face-to-face, but he was very willing to trip him up.

When he saw Xu Shangxiu, Zuo Heng had some thoughts, but he quickly dismissed them.

Thinking about Bian Xuedao's knee, Zuo Heng still felt a twinge of pain. Since Bian Xuedao had guarded this girl for two months, he decided not to get involved. Any bad move he made now would be countered by Tao Qing, which was a good thing!

After moving, Bian Xuedao planned to take Dan Rao out for dinner, but Dan Rao said she had something to do in the evening, so they went to the "Xuefeng" cold drink hall on campus.

Sitting in a private room, Dan Rao brought up the topic of the guitar again. Bian Xuedao said he would play for her when he had the chance, so she could judge his skill.

Looking at the graffiti on the wall, left by countless couples over the years, with phrases that seemed to express deep love, Dan Rao asked Bian Xuedao, "Do you think how many of these couples will get married and stay together for life?"

Bian Xuedao said, "I can't guess, but the percentage is definitely very low."

Dan Rao asked, "Why?"

Bian Xuedao said, "It's a feeling. And I definitely won't write anything here."

Dan Rao asked, "Why?"

Bian Xuedao said, "It's childish."

In the first two weeks of the semester, Yang Hao didn't attend any classes, and almost every teacher noted his name.

The teacher of "Political Economy" was particularly dissatisfied, believing that a student who didn't show up for the first class had a very bad attitude. He announced in class that other students had three chances, but Yang Hao only had two. If he missed one more roll call, he would fail, regardless of his test scores.

At lunch, Li Yu and Bian Xuedao saw Yang Hao alone in the cafeteria. They sat down and ate in silence for a while. Then Li Yu said to Yang Hao, "Do you know why I love singing?"

Yang Hao, with food in his mouth, shook his head.

Li Yu said, "When I was in elementary school, I learned to stutter from TV shows. I couldn't fix it no matter what. Later, I found that I didn't stutter when I sang, so I sang every day, and eventually, I fixed it."

Yang Hao put down his chopsticks and looked at Li Yu.

Li Yu said, "Do you want to try?"

Yang Hao said, "I've tried, but it didn't work. Our situations are different."

Li Yu thought for a moment and said, "It's a bit different, but there's another method."

Yang Hao asked, "What method?"

Li Yu said, "Speak in crowded places, give speeches, sing."

Seeing Yang Hao's skeptical face, Li Yu continued, "Have you seen Li Yang's Crazy English? The one where he raises his arms and shouts." As he spoke, Li Yu raised his hand, which was holding chopsticks, and waved it around, scaring a few girls in the aisle who walked around him.

Yang Hao finally reacted, "I've seen it."

Li Yu said, "Just do that. You don't have to be so intense and strain your voice, just follow the form. It definitely works. I had a classmate who fixed it this way and later became a chatterbox, talking to everyone."

Yang Hao looked up at Bian Xuedao.

Seeing that Li Yu was so enthusiastic, Bian Xuedao couldn't let him down. Besides, Yang Hao was a good person, and if he could fix his problem, his life and career would be smoother. So he said, "It's a method."

Yang Hao was a person who acted once he made up his mind!

Completely beyond Bian Xuedao and Li Yu's expectations, three days after the conversation in the cafeteria, Yang Hao appeared at the entrance of the main building, holding a book and loudly reciting Gorky's "The Seagull."

From that day on, Dongsen University had a new scene. At the entrance of the main building, the new building, the cafeteria, the supermarket, and the bathhouse, wherever there were crowds, Yang Hao would appear at irregular intervals, holding a book and reciting loudly to the flow of students.

If you stood high and looked down, the students streaming out of the teaching buildings like a surging river, and Yang Hao, standing still at the entrance of the main building, reciting loudly, looked like a prominent rock, a stubborn shoal, or a stubborn island in the middle of the river. Looking at his back, you could see a kind of determination.

Yang Hao had three versions of his recitations: one was a self-introduction he wrote, about 800 words; another was Gorky's "The Seagull"; and the third was the "Tao Te Ching."

After reciting on campus for half a month, Yang Hao felt that there weren't enough people and that there were too many familiar faces, which didn't make him nervous enough. So he moved his practice to Songjiang Railway Station.

He chose the ticket hall first.

Yang Hao was very satisfied with the foot traffic here. He found a slightly open space, cleared his throat, and began to recite the "Tao Te Ching" loudly.

"Dao ke dao, fei chang dao; ming ke ming, fei chang ming..." The people queuing to buy tickets, looking at the departure and arrival screens, talking on the phone, carrying large and small bags, wandering around the station to collect empty bottles, and pretending to be deaf-mutes to ask for donations were all startled by Yang Hao's sudden loud voice.

Except for the railway staff and cleaning personnel who were used to all kinds of crazy people, everyone, whether they were mentally ill or not, kept a distance from Yang Hao, who looked like a genuine lunatic.

The crowd rushed by, but Yang Hao stood still.

The crowd was bustling, but Yang Hao recited to himself.

Yang Hao was focused on how to pronounce and recite smoothly, but after a few minutes, he realized that the volume of the announcements in the hall was too high, and he couldn't be heard over them. Moreover, when the announcements were made, people who were listening to them would glare at him.

The looks the passengers gave him were extremely unfriendly. When the seventh middle-aged man joined the group glaring at him, Yang Hao left the ticket hall.

This time, Yang Hao chose the entrance of the station.

Standing between several security machines, Yang Hao continued to recite: "Qu ze quan, wang ze zhi, wa ze ying, bi ze xin, shao ze duo, duo ze huo. Shi yi sheng ren bao yi wei tianxia shi. Bu zi jian, gu ming; bu zi shi, gu zhang; bu zi fa, gu you gong; bu zi jin, gu chang. Fu wei bu zheng, gu tianxia mo neng yu zhi..." Before he could finish, he was taken to the station police station by security guards and plainclothes officers.

At the police station, the officer asked Yang Hao, "Tell me, what do you do?"

Yang Hao said, "I'm a student."

The officer said, "ID."

Yang Hao handed over his student ID.

The officer looked at the ID and asked, "A good student, why are you causing trouble at the railway station?"

Yang Hao said, "I'm practicing my speaking skills."

The officer said, "I think you speak pretty well!"

Yang Hao said, "Sometimes good, sometimes not."

The officer clenched his jaw and said, "I don't care what you're doing, but you can't do it here. Go somewhere else. Remember, if I catch you again, I'll notify your school."

After leaving the police station, Yang Hao thought the square in front of the station was also a good place, but he was interrupted after just two minutes.

A middle-aged woman wearing a hat and a scarf, with only her eyes exposed, came up to him, "Young man, want to stay at a hotel? It's very close, and there are girls!"

A man with a buzz cut and a gold chain came up to him, "Brother, going to the South Station? 50 yuan per person, one more needed."

"Read the newspaper, read the newspaper, morning paper, evening paper, news paper, big yellow dog mysteriously disappears, found later giving birth to a monster with a human face and dog body... Read the newspaper..."

Unable to bear the interruptions, Yang Hao finally went to the entrance of the pedestrian underpass. It was crowded, sheltered from the wind, and had good acoustics, making it an ideal environment.

Yang Hao closed his eyes and recited "The Seagull" with emotion. When he looked down, he found five 1-yuan bills and a few coins on the ground...