Chapter 84: You Really Dare to Read Anything
"I like you because a simple message from you turns my whole day around."
(I like you because even a few words from you can completely change my mood for the entire day.)
"I like you because you are creative, you have a way with words, and you have brought out a side of me that I thought was long lost."
(I like you because you're creative, you have a unique way with words, and you bring out a side of me that I thought had long been hidden.)
...
The longer they listened, the stranger their expressions became.
Something wasn't right with this English audio...
How was this any different from a lonely guy and girl watching television together to ease the awkwardness, only for a passionate romance scene to suddenly come on?
Awkward.
They only wanted to practice English sentences.
Not stare into a metaphorical mirror.
"Maybe... we should stop listening?"
Pu Tong pulled off his earbud, his scalp tingling with embarrassment.
"G-good idea."
Yu Wanwan coughed awkwardly to cover up her embarrassment.
Pu Tong was the one who found this recording...
Surely he didn't do this on purpose...?
"Actually, those last two sentences did contain some important vocabulary," Pu Tong immediately shifted into study mode to hide the awkward atmosphere.
"'Turn around' means to improve or change for the better. 'Have a way with' means to be good at handling something..."
"Did you catch them?"
"Of course."
"And 'brought out' is in the past tense."
"The base form is 'bring out,' meaning to publish or reveal."
"Exactly."
"And it uses the present perfect tense—'have' plus a past participle."
The two rambled on about grammar for quite a while.
By mutual agreement...
The previous incident had officially never happened.
After a brief pause, Yu Wanwan spoke again.
"Ahem... um..."
"If you like listening to English..."
"I could recommend some English songs."
"English songs..."
Pu Tong didn't remember many English songs from his previous life.
The ones he did know were all famous classics that nearly everyone had heard.
To be honest, he wasn't particularly familiar with the singers.
Nor was he interested in copying English songs into this world.
Seeing that he wasn't interested, Yu Wanwan didn't continue the topic.
Instead, she turned her attention back to the sports field they had neglected for quite some time.
"Look!"
"It's the girls' 100-meter dash!"
She suddenly remembered...
Her own leg in the 4×100 relay would also be about that distance.
"I don't know any of them."
"What's there to watch?"
"Checking out pretty girls?"
"Where?"
At those words, the Japanese girl immediately became excited.
"Where are my binoculars?"
Girls also liked looking at beautiful girls.
It was simply pleasing to the eyes.
Besides...
At the heart of anime culture, everyone appreciates cute and beautiful girls.
That wasn't something limited to either gender.
At a school sports meet...
Beautiful girls were often one of the biggest attractions.
That was exactly how the legendary "white moonlight" came into being.
The popular students at school were, in one way or another, someone's unforgettable first love.
Outside of school...
They might simply be attractive young women.
But wrapped in the glow of youth and campus life...
They became the pure and radiant school beauties that represented youth itself.
"If you really wanted to look..."
"You probably could."
Yu Wanwan smiled lightly.
Her expression, however, was somewhat unnatural.
"So what if I look?"
"Do they become mine?"
"Will the government assign them to me?"
"It's pointless."
Pu Tong curled his lips.
He found the whole idea rather boring.
Besides...
He'd already seen plenty of beautiful women.
Not even counting someone on Mu Nan's level...
Just the three young celebrities sitting beside him were already prettier than the vast majority of ordinary people.
"I found one!"
"At your two o'clock!"
"Over at the 100-meter track!"
"Contestant number three!"
Following Yi Zhi Xuenai's finger, Pu Tong looked over.
All he could make out was a vague silhouette.
Short hair.
Tall.
Good posture.
"See?"
"Willow-shaped eyebrows."
"A high nose bridge..."
Yi Zhi Xuenai described the girl vividly.
Pu Tong couldn't help feeling puzzled.
Could she really see all that?
Did this girl come with an eight-times zoom scope whenever she looked at pretty girls?
"So?"
"Is she pretty?"
Yu Wanwan's voice drifted into his right ear like a chilly breeze.
"I can't see clearly."
Pu Tong didn't dare answer carelessly.
"Now comes the real test of a phone camera!"
Lin Yuxi proudly raised her phone.
"I'll take a picture and send it to the group chat!"
"You too?"
"I didn't expect someone as upright-looking as you to enjoy this."
"Wrong!"
"I'm just showing off my new phone."
She raised it and tried focusing for quite a while.
Finally...
She sighed in disappointment and lowered it.
"Why won't she turn this way?"
"How am I supposed to take a picture?"
"You're secretly photographing someone and you're still complaining?"
Although taking pictures of pretty girls during school sports meets wasn't exactly uncommon...
It still wasn't very appropriate.
Especially nowadays, after short-video platforms had become wildly popular.
Some people seemed to think photographing strangers in public was perfectly justified.
That wasn't really a good habit.
While Pu Tong was pondering whether this reflected modern people's lack of awareness regarding privacy and the law...
A rather unusual cheer message echoed through the school's loudspeakers.
"Contribution from Chen Yu of Senior Class 7:"
"I only wish to become a fallen leaf, decorating the golden autumn.
I only wish to become a distant star, adorning the brilliant galaxy.
I only wish to sit beside the field and share your joy.
Jiang Xuyu, whether it's the 100-meter race before you, or the college entrance examination that's soon to come...
Work hard. Fight with everything you've got.
No matter when, no matter where...
I will always be by your side."
That...
Had already crossed into confession territory.
Normally, every cheering message had to be reviewed by the student announcers before being read aloud.
After all...
The submissions came from the entire school.
Who knew what kind of things people might send in?
Surely they couldn't just broadcast everything without checking.
The official submission requirements were:
Positive and uplifting content.
Proper formatting.
Clear handwriting with no spelling mistakes.
Preferably original and not copied.
The author's name and the person being cheered for must be included.
Strictly speaking...
This submission met every requirement.
There really wasn't anything inappropriate about reading it aloud.
"That voice sounds familiar."
"That's Chen Siqing reading it!"
Xie Mu suddenly spoke up.
"That guy really dares to read anything!"
"Has he gone stupid or what?"
Right.
Chen Siqing was one of today's student announcers.
That explained everything.
Pu Tong didn't believe Chen Siqing lacked the judgment to recognize what kind of submission this was.
Yet...
He had still chosen to read it.
As for why...
Pu Tong couldn't quite figure it out.
Was it to create a memorable moment for the variety show?
Simply reading announcements seriously was rather dull.
It was difficult to become popular that way.
But if he managed to create a viral moment...
Getting attention would become much easier.
The entire spectator stand erupted into discussion.
Everyone was talking about Chen Yu—wondering who could be bold enough to confess so publicly.
Ironically...
Almost nobody discussed the announcer who had actually read it.
Meanwhile, everything remained perfectly normal on the central platform.
Apparently...
The school authorities didn't think much of it either.
The sports meet continued as usual.
Nothing particularly special happened because of the confession.
However...
Now that someone had broken the ice...
The newly submitted cheering messages gradually became much bolder and far more creative.
Pu Tong couldn't help worrying.
If this continued...
The entire cheering-message tradition was going to be completely ruined.
"I've discovered something..."
Yi Zhi Xuenai suddenly whispered mysteriously.
"The pretty girl who refused to turn around earlier..."
"The moment she heard the name Jiang Xuyu during the announcement..."
"She turned around with a shocked expression!"
"Combined with the clue that she was competing in the 100-meter race..."
"I think she's Jiang Xuyu."
The other three nodded.
Her deduction sounded reasonable enough.
The entire incident had absolutely nothing to do with them.
But...
That was exactly what made gossip so entertaining.
Although none of them knew how the story would end...
Thanks to that rather unusual cheering message...
The entire sports meet had suddenly become much more interesting.
(End of Chapter)
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