Hu Xiujie took Dou Sheng away, and the classroom soon became quiet.
The owls were studying at their desks, and occasionally a page would be turned, which made the surroundings even quieter, so quiet that you could hear the hissing of the light bulbs.
Xie Lan poked the little owl doll next to her pencil case and lowered her head to write the ancient poetry reading paper.
He wrote for a while, then put down his pen and glanced at the empty seat next to him. He felt uncomfortable with the absence of someone who came and went.
After a while, the familiar sound of high heels was heard in the corridor.
Just as Xie Lan was about to look up, she heard Hu Xiujie say from behind: "Teacher Ma, please watch the self-study class."
Old Ma's kind voice followed, "I just finished explaining the grades to the students in our class."
Hu Xiujie smiled and said, "Class A did very well in all subjects this time."
"It's OK, it's OK." Old Ma paused, "Have you talked to Dou Sheng? What happened?"
Xie Lan caught the key words and stopped writing with an unhappy look.
In my peripheral vision, the students around me pricked their ears, and the action of turning pages of books stopped in the air.
Hu Xiujie said, "Let him reflect in the office first. I'm going to go to Class 2. By the way, Teacher Ma, I want to discuss something with you. I don't think this kid values this competition class very much. How about letting him go to your class to calm down for two weeks?"
Lao Ma said more sincerely, "Director Hu, we in the Department of General Practice are not junk collectors."
There was silence for a moment, when suddenly there was a burst of laughter from the next class. The sound of banging on the tables could be heard all the way to the corridor. Before Xie Lan could react, there was a sudden uproar here, and the car rang directly into his pencil case.
There was a sound of opening in the corridor, and a boy from the next door shouted, "Come on, let Douzi come over, the whole department of Class 4 welcomes you."
Wen Zisen, who was sitting next to him, also spoke directly, "Don't worry, don't worry, I'll give it to you after our class finishes playing basketball in May!"
The top students from both classes clapped their hands on the tables and made a noise, until Hu Xiujie appeared at the entrance with a stern face.
It was as if the power to the radio speaker suddenly went out and the entire corridor was in silence.
Wen Zisen smiled at her humbly, raised his hand to hold her hand, and slowly, slowly closed it.
The world fell into dead silence until the sound of Hu Xiujie's high heels disappeared at the other end of the corridor.
Finally, the first self-study get out of class was over. Someone shouted in the head that the school year list had been posted, and the whole class rushed out.
Che Ziming patted Xie Lan's desk and said, "Oh, hey, why are you here with your violin on your back?"
"I have to rush to make a video at school this week." Xie Lan put down his pen, "You guys go first, I'll wait."
Xie Lan went out only after everyone had finished their meal.
The office and the toilet were in opposite directions, but they were in line with the school year list bulletin board. Xie Lan looked calm and slowly walked over there.
Dai You came back after looking at the list and said with a smile, "Xie Lan, look at the list."
"Yeah." Xie Lan immediately retracted his gaze and nodded calmly, "Let's take a look at the list."
Dai You smiled at him and left.
Xie Lan felt cold in his heart, and he always felt that Dai You's smile was subtle, and he might have discovered his intention to go to the office to eavesdrop on Dou Sheng's scolding. He could only continue to bite the bullet and go forward.
The two A classes looked at the list very quickly. By now, most of the students had dispersed and all the people standing near the bulletin board were strangers.
Xie Lan was about to pass through the crowd, but he suddenly stopped after two steps and saw a familiar figure.
Chen Ge was wearing an absurdly large school uniform with the front open to reveal a white T-shirt underneath. It looked a little cleaner than the one he wore half a month ago, and his hair wasn't as showy.
He stood at the center of the crowd, looking indifferent, scanning somewhere below the leaderboard.
He put a brown keychain-like thing on the tip of his index finger, and it was spinning around in circles.
Xie Lan subconsciously followed his gaze and immediately saw the name in the first row of a column in the middle of the academic year leaderboard.
Science Class 12, Chen Ge, total score 528, grade ranking 352, promoted 198 places.
Xie Lan was stunned, and then he saw Chen Ge curl his lips and said lightly: "That's it."
He turned around and was about to leave, but his fingertips stopped shaking and he grabbed the thing in his backhand. It was a familiar, fluffy brown little owl, standing next to the "pride" sign.
"Xie Lan?" Chen Ge raised his eyebrows when he saw him, "Look at the list."
Xie Lan came back to his senses and hummed, "Congratulations."
"That's it. Not as good as you. You're pretty good at math and physics." Chen Ge curled his lips casually, "I'm fine."
Xie Lan watched him walk away, and couldn't help but look back at the leaderboard. It had only been more than two weeks since the last incident, and Chen Ge had risen rapidly. If we were to talk about the degree of improvement, he was first, followed by Chen Ge.
For some reason, when he saw Chen Ge rising up the list, he had an illusion that he had caught a glimpse of Dou Sheng in his youth.
But they are not quite the same, and I can’t tell where the difference is.
Xie Lan came to his senses and continued to walk towards the office.
Hu Xiujie's office seemed to have a purification function, and few people passed by within a few meters. Xie Lan walked into the office calmly. The door was half-closed and it was quiet inside.
He stood at the side and peeked inside secretly.
Dou Sheng was indeed there, standing by the windowsill as usual, his eyes fixed casually on the window.
Hu Xiujie took a sip of tea and put it on the table. "Are you planning to waste time with me here? You will only be happy if I take you out of the competition class and put you in another class?"
Dou Sheng sighed softly upon hearing this, turned around and said, "Teacher, let's talk about something current. You can't act so foolishly."
Hu Xiujie's eyes narrowed. "Then what right do you have to make such a fuss? You've been called a genius for two years, and you can't afford to take on a small midterm exam, right?"
“Really not.” Dou Sheng sighed, tapping the ground with his toes and twisting his ankles, “I’ve apologized so many times, my legs are numb from standing.”
"Just break off!" Hu Xiujie cursed immediately.
Dou Sheng was speechless, sighed softly, then turned to look at the window again.
After a while, Hu Xiujie's anger subsided a little and he stared at him steadily.
"Dou Sheng." She lowered her voice, "There must be a reason for not taking the exam. Tell the teacher if it has anything to do with your father's matter?"
Father
Xie Lan froze and subconsciously looked towards Dou Sheng.
Dou Sheng was also stunned for a moment, and he looked away from the window. After a moment of silence, he smiled helplessly, "No way. That's nothing. My mom just said hello when I entered school. You don't have to worry about my dad's death anniversary every year."
Death anniversary.
Xie Lan was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously took out his cell phone, typed "jiri" in pinyin, and copied the first associated word into the dictionary.
The meaning of the words was just as he expected.
His heart sank unexpectedly.
Hu Xiujie probably didn't know about Dou Sheng's father's affair, but it just happened that day and Dou Sheng's mood was affected.
She sighed and said, "I don't worry about it. I thought about it for a whole class, and I couldn't think of any other reason. I just happened to think of this incident. If you count the days, it's tomorrow. You are a child. If you are not happy, talk to your parents and teachers, as well as your friends and netizens. Don't keep your emotions in your heart, and don't joke about your grades, understand?"
"Tomorrow..." Dou Sheng's mind suddenly became distant, as if he was staring at a point in the air in a daze.
His expression was still peaceful, but the fingers hanging by his sides curled up inadvertently.
After a long while, Dou Sheng came back to his senses and smiled nonchalantly as usual, "Forget it, teacher, don't make blind guesses. I'll confess for Xie Lan."
Xie Lan froze suddenly in his seat.
He subconsciously turned around, took a step back from the crack, and leaned his back against the cold wall.
Hu Xiujie asked in surprise, "Xie Lan?"
"Yeah." Dou Sheng put his unconsciously trembling right hand into his trouser pocket and leaned lazily against the window sill. "My mother should have told me that Xie Lan didn't return to China on a whim. In a more realistic way, it means returning to the motherland. It's so pitiful to be a child in a foreign land. The sight of the scene will remind them of some sad things. It's too miserable to be out of class. That's what I thought, and my mother acquiesced."
Hu Xiujie was shocked: "Your mother acquiesced? Your mother acquiesced to you deliberately doing poorly on the test to be with him? You yourself don't care about this kind of big test?"
Dou Sheng nodded.
He paused and then said in a low voice: "I don't have so many miscellaneous thoughts. I just want to accompany him."
He stood up straight, took his hands out of his trouser pockets, bowed his head politely and said sorry.
"I really can't do that anymore, teacher. I'm really sorry."
Xie Lan didn't hear what Hu Xiujie said behind his back. He stood against the wall in silence for a moment, then turned around and walked away quickly after Hu Xiujie let him go.
"Accompany", maybe if Xie Lan heard this sentence a few days later, he would just feel grateful, but once he had thoughts that he shouldn't have, these few understated words were like a small stone, falling lightly, pulling at the boy's heart, like a panicked and unavoidable mountain torrent deep in his heart.
The cold feeling of the wall crawled up along his spine, but it could not suppress the burning heat at the base of his ears. When passing by the gap, Xie Lan saw Dou Sheng talking to Hu Xiujie with a faint smile. The sycamore leaves on the window swayed gently in the night, and Dou Sheng's figure was reflected on the window by the light, so straight and tough.
Dou Sheng came back just before school was over. Che Ziming saw him coming and jokingly asked, "Escaped from the jaws of death?"
Dou Sheng smiled and said, "Luckily I survived."
He returned to his seat, poked the little owl head next to Xie Lan's pencil case with a smile, opened the big white notebook and continued to practice drawing those Digimon, and didn't say anything until after school in the evening.
On the way back to the dormitory after school, Xie Lan was standing next to Dou Sheng, carrying the zither on her back. Dou Sheng then said, "Today I was drawing Digimon, and it reminded me of the time when I watched this movie as a kid. It was full of memories."
When Xie Lan heard him mention his childhood, a trace of uneasiness flashed through her heart, but when she turned her head, she saw him smiling faintly, with no discernible emotion.
After returning from the office, Dou Sheng was indeed different from usual. The feeling was very faint. Perhaps he himself was not aware of it or was trying hard to hide it, but Xie Lan felt it very clearly.
After a long while, Xie Lan asked, "Which one do you like?"
"They're almost the same..." Dou Sheng squinted in the wind, then smiled and said, "Wizardmon, I think he and I have the same spirit. Wizardmon was killed by a blow to the chest in order to protect Tailmon. Tsk, going through fire and water for the most important person, how cool."
Xie Lan nodded, "Then draw wizard beasts in the handwriting as well, and draw a few more."
Dou Sheng nodded.
After returning to the dormitory, Dou Sheng opened his iPad and began to sketch. Xie Lan studied Chinese and biology as usual. When the lights were turned off at 11:30, he collected the materials and climbed into bed. Dai You and Wang Gou were still discussing math problems in their small room on the bed, while Dou Sheng was drawing seriously on his iPad.
The invisible hand held a digital pen and quickly sketched on the lit screen. Simple and clear lines of Digimon were sketched one by one.
The dormitory was dark, and Dou Sheng dimmed the lights. After a while, Xie Lan couldn't help but take out his cell phone and opened the dialog box with Dou Sheng.
-You're sick: You seem a little too quiet tonight. Are you unhappy
Not long after he sent it, he felt something poking his pillow. He looked up and saw that it was Dou Sheng's pen.
Dou Sheng lowered his voice and said, "Didn't someone pick the crack in the office? You're asking even though you know the answer."
Xie Lan was surprised, "You know?"
"I noticed it as soon as you came." Dou Sheng smiled, "Although cats and cats don't have a lot of intimacy, you'll get a feel for them after spending some time with them."
It sounds weird and mysterious.
Xie Lan paused before saying, "Does your father's incident affect you?"
"It's hard to say whether it has any impact."
Dou Sheng sighed, put away his iPad, and lay down on the bed, propping his forearms on the pillow, with his head against Xie Lan's through a few railings. He said softly, "I really can't remember it normally. In previous years, I would just feel a little down on that day. You can't control this kind of thing, you know? But this year is a bit unusual. I had forgotten about it completely this year. It was embarrassing, but Old Hu thought too much and brought it up to me."
He spoke calmly, but when Xie Lan looked at those slightly wavering eyes, he still felt a tearing pain in his heart.
After a long while, he said, "I promised the video about the home dance. Let's dance together. Can it make you happy?"
A little light instantly gathered in the eyes of the man opposite him, and Dou Sheng raised the corner of his lips, "Then I've said it, don't regret it."
"Well, that's enough." Xie Lan sighed, "Is there anything else that can make you happy?"
"I'll be satisfied if you agree to this." Dou Sheng turned over and lay down, paused and said, "The rest is the self-healing part. I decided to wear headphones and listen to two violin pieces. Good night, cats."
"OK, good night."
Xie Lan looked over his head and watched him open the music app, while Dou Sheng tilted his phone slightly, obviously not wanting others to see the playlist.
Xie Lan subconsciously turned over and lay back down, no longer looking at his phone.
But he couldn't help being dazed when he lay down. Dou Sheng rarely hid anything in front of him. He usually checked Weibo and sent private messages in front of him without any reservations.
The work that was afraid of being seen suddenly reminded him of a long time ago. On the night when he accompanied Yu Fei to catch the black cat to see a doctor, Dou Sheng mentioned that he had a friend who played the violin, and "played very well". When asked about his name, he said "I keep it privately and I won't share it with you."
Xie Lan suddenly felt a little weird and subconsciously took out his cell phone.
-Sick: Could the star you like be your friend who plays the violin
The cell phone above his head vibrated, and Dou Sheng paused for a long time before replying.
-Dr. Bean: You got it right. I almost forgot I told you that I have a friend who plays the violin. What's wrong
-Is it sick?: It’s nothing, I just suddenly thought of it.
Xie Lan stuffed his phone back under his pillow, turned over, and suddenly felt a subtle sourness.
Just as Che Ziming said, he turned into a lemon essence, and if you squeezed it, sour lemon juice would flow down his wrist.
Although it was impractical to be an idol chaser, strictly speaking it did not pose any threat to a person like him whose heart was not pure.
But, I still feel very unhappy.
That's a violin. Dou Sheng once told him seriously that someone like you who works for three days and rests for two days can't compare with that guy.
Dou Sheng's righteous tone that day emerged in his memory, and Xie Lan sat up suddenly.
The bed frame creaked.
Dou Sheng was startled, took off his headphones and turned to look at him, "What's wrong?"
Xie Lan stared at him steadily without saying a word.
"What's wrong?" Dou Sheng's expression began to become serious, and he subconsciously stood up, "What did I do wrong?"
"Accompany me to find a place to practice the piano." Xie Lan said.
Dou Sheng was stunned: "... Now?"
The window on the first floor of the dormitory finally came in handy. There was no teacher to catch him tonight, so Xie Lan could easily climb out with his piano on his back.
It was a sunny day during the day and the weather was also nice at night. The night sky was deep blue and there was a gentle breeze blowing in my face. After two breaths, I felt clear from head to toe.
Xie Lan was a little worried when he pushed open the door on the rooftop of the administrative building with Qin on his back. He turned around and asked, "Is there really no security in this building?"
Dou Sheng was laughing so hard that he sat down casually on the side of the building, stretching his legs out from the railing and swinging them gently.
"Yes, there is no security guard. This building is usually empty, and there is no one at night. Now that you are here, you can play the violin without worry."
Xie Lan felt relieved after hearing that. He opened the violin case near the railing not far away, carefully rosined the violin, and placed it under his neck.
Dou Sheng took out his cell phone and said with a smile: "Look, Ermao, I'll be your photographer."
"No need." Xie Lan looked at him and paused before saying, "This is the comforting version of "Butterfly" that I modified. I've never played it for anyone. You're the first audience to listen to it. You'll fall in love with it after listening to it."
Dou Sheng was stunned when he heard this, "Comfort version?"
"Hmm." Xie Lan picked up the bow and said, "Let's try the way Lu thought of playing it."
Dou Sheng was a little dazed for a long time, then his expression softened and he nodded.
"Then I'll concentrate on listening and stop filming."
Xie Lan took a deep breath and put the bow on the string.
Butterfly is originally a passionate melody. This style of music is usually changed to violin to amplify the tragic and emotional flavor, just like hblood from the novel. But there is another way to change it. If the bass is tuned down half a degree, the main melody in the fast-paced section is extracted and re-interpreted, it will become low and gentle. As the main melody progresses, the range is gradually widened, the thickness of the bass is increased, and the memories of childhood will slowly appear in the most gentle posture.
The low and melodious sound of violin music from the roof of the administrative building was carried away by the evening breeze. Dou Sheng sat a few meters away from Xie Lan, gazing at him tenderly.
The wind blew Xie Lan's hair and clothes slightly to one side. His eyes were focused on the strings, calm and focused. In the past, when Xie Lan played the violin, his feet would sway with the melody. Perhaps today's music was too gentle, he stood very steady in the wind, only his right hand, which was pulling the bow, opened and closed slightly, standing or sideways, attracting people's attention.
Dou Sheng remembered that this was indeed a movie that the three of them watched together when they were young. He would never forgive the person who betrayed his family, but occasionally, he would think of his childhood, before the betrayal happened.
He remembered that he had memorized the Chinese lyrics of the song "Butterfly" - I want to turn into a butterfly and fly high in the breeze. Now I just want to meet you as soon as possible, leaving all the worries aside. It doesn't matter if I forget.
When he was a child, he didn't understand why such an exciting song had such strange lyrics, but now, watching Xie Lan playing the violin, it seemed as if everything suddenly made sense.
He raised the corners of his lips slightly at the figure of Xie Lan playing the violin. Xie Lan tilted the bow, and the melody changed to a lingering feeling of sadness, flowing quietly in the evening breeze. Dou Sheng listened for a long time, and couldn't help but turn his head and blinked, suppressing the sour heat in his eyes.
After a while, Xie Lan stopped playing the piano, put away the piano, and sat down next to him.
Xie Lan asked: "How about using this version to hand in the homework to K card?"
Dou Sheng smiled and nodded, "It can't be too late. Qin will arrive tomorrow, and we will come here again in the evening."
"Are you still here?" Xie Lan was a little surprised. "Didn't you say you wanted to take a lunch break on the lawn?"
Dou Sheng shook his head, "That scene just now was even worse."
The young man playing the violin in the soft night may be a scene he will never forget.
Xie Lan hesitated for a while before nodding. After a pause, he said, "No matter how good your favorite celebrity violinist is, he is not popular after all. If you are unhappy, you can only listen to me playing the violin."
Dou Sheng was startled and turned to look at him, "You pulled me here because of this?"
The wind blew Xie Lan's hair into curls. He brushed it back and said calmly, "Not entirely. I just think you look very pitiful. The person you like is so far away. I just want to comfort you on her behalf."
Dou Sheng didn't say anything for a while, and after a long time he turned his head with a low smile.
"I got it then."
Xie Lan sat with him by the railing, swinging his feet in the breeze for a while, and suddenly said, "Oh, right, I suddenly remembered what you said before. Do you really think that person plays the violin much better than me? Are you serious?"
"Huh?" Dou Sheng didn't react for a moment when he said this, and turned his head to look at him.
Xie Lan looked somewhat helpless. "I'm not saying I'm the best. There are definitely many who are better than me. But I think if she is a star, then the violin should only be considered a hobby, right? My level is still considered a hobby among the hobbyists..."
"Pull harder." Dou Sheng interrupted him.
Xie Lan paused, and a hint of youthful smugness instantly welled up in his black eyes, with a hint of pride as if he had known this would happen.
But he quickly turned cold and said, "Don't fool around."
“No messing around.”
Dou Sheng smiled faintly, "No one can play better than you right now."