Chapter 50: Power Outage
During evening self-study, Jiang Rong was working on problems when suddenly everything went dark. If not for the entire building erupting in cheers and screams, she might have thought she’d suddenly gone blind.
“The power’s out!” “Yes! No more homework!” “Look, someone’s face is glowing!” “…”
Those with forbidden items quickly put them away, afraid of being caught by teachers.
In the darkness, someone gently touched Jiang Rong. As she wondered who it was, she heard Xu Si’s voice: “Scared, little prude?”
“No,” Jiang Rong said, but the tremor in her voice betrayed her. She was actually afraid.
No matter how composed she appeared, she had bad memories of darkness. It was a very cold winter when she was just five years old. Both Jiang Zhien and Tian Ling were home then. They were fighting fiercely that day, and Jiang Rong was scared, sitting on the ground crying loudly. Jiang Zhien found her crying annoying and locked her in the storage room. By the time they finished arguing and remembered they had a daughter, Jiang Rong had been locked in for two or three hours. The storage room was dark and cold. She cried until she couldn’t cry anymore, her hurt replaced by an inexplicable fear. Since then, she’d been afraid of very dark places.
A small flame suddenly appeared before Jiang Rong. She stared at the dancing flame, stunned.
The firelight illuminated the young man’s profile. Xu Si’s voice was low as he turned to look at her: “This is all I have.”
Jiang Rong felt warmth in her heart: “Thank you.”
Someone in class found their desk lamp and turned it on, bringing some light to the darkness.
Fang Zixin came in with his phone, using the flashlight: “There’s a problem with the school’s electrical system. They’ve called repair workers, but we don’t know when they’ll arrive.”
“Teacher Fang, can we go back to the dorms?”
Fang Zixin shook his head: “Not yet. The school just announced students can’t leave.”
Yang Shikun knew without thinking that only He Guoshi would make such an announcement.
“Teacher Fang, it’s too dark to study, we can’t go back to the dorms or home, what should we do?”
Fang Zixin thought for a moment, then smiled: “How about we play a game?”
“What game?”
Fang Zixin took an empty water bottle from the podium: “I played this during university team building. Whoever gets the bottle has to perform something. Want to play?”
“Of course!” “This is exciting!” “I’ll turn off my flashlight now, and those with desk lamps turn them off too. I’ll give this bottle to the first student, and when I say stop and turn on the flashlight, whoever has the bottle performs.”
He handed the bottle to a boy in the front row.
“Pass it quickly!” “Here, take it, I don’t want it!”
The bottle passed through several hands until Fang Zixin called stop, landing with a girl.
Fang Zixin turned on his flashlight: “Come up, you can do anything – tell jokes, sing, whatever.”
The girl walked to the podium: “I’ll sing a song.”
Her voice was sweet, singing a youthful song. When she finished, the class applauded.
The second time, the bottle landed with Wu Wei. As soon as he got on stage, people started shouting.
“Have mercy!” “We’ve heard enough in the dorm!” “Brothers, on three, cover your ears – that’s the most respect we can show Wu Wei.” “Just get lost!”
Wu Wei looked at his dormmates: “Who said I was going to sing? Let me tell a joke. Once there was a match that felt itchy. It kept scratching and scratching, and guess what happened?”
“It caught fire.” “That joke’s so cold I’m freezing in summer.” “Come on, can’t you guys let me finish?”
Wu Wei continued: “My performance is done.”
Fang Zixin: “Let’s continue.”
The bottle landed with Yang Shikun. He asked: “Teacher, can I have a partner?”
“Sure, choose someone.”
Yang Shikun pulled Hao Ming on stage: “We’ll sing ‘Actor’ by Xue Zhiqian.”
Fang Zixin: “Let me find the accompaniment.”
He turned his phone volume up and played the music.
“Keep it simple, speak simply…”
As Yang Shikun started singing, the class cheered. Truth be told, despite his usual goofing around, he sang well.
After they finished, Yang Shikun and Hao Ming bowed together.
Fang Zixin: “Where’s the bottle? Continue!”
Yang Shikun threw the bottle to someone nearby. When Fang Zixin called stop, it landed with Jiang Rong.
Before she could react, someone took the bottle from her hands.
As Fang Zixin’s phone light shone over, Xu Si stood up: “It’s with me.”
Jiang Rong watched him go on stage, stunned.
“Brother Si, sing! Sing!” Yang Shikun cheered enthusiastically.
Jiang Rong watched the young man on stage.
Xu Si smiled: “Alright, I’ll sing.”
He sang a love song. The young man’s voice was deep and pleasant.
Jiang Rong met his eyes and felt her heart racing.
When Xu Si came down, Yang Shikun nearly clapped his hands raw. If it had been anyone else, the class would have urged for another song, but since it was Xu Si, no one dared.
Xu Si sat beside Jiang Rong.
After hesitating, she asked: “Just now… it was in my hands, why did you take my place?”
Xu Si replied casually: “Your voice was trembling earlier when you said you weren’t scared.”
Then he leaned back in his chair, arms crossed.
Jiang Rong spoke very softly: “Thank you.”
Xu Si turned to look at her: “The little prude is so stubborn.”
He stared at her for a moment: “How about now?”
Jiang Rong took a moment to realize he was asking if she was still scared. She shook her head: “Not scared now.”
Xu Si smiled: “At least you’re honest this time.”
Leave a Reply