The verbal battle between the two just now is still ringing in my ears.
Although Cheng Ran's subsequent explanation seemed a bit misleading, no one delved into it. Most people tend to choose to believe what they want to believe. His sudden abnormality at this time made it hard to believe that he really had such a large vocabulary, so the matter could only be left unresolved.
This result was indeed hard for them to accept. In front of Cheng Ran and Jiang Hongshao, they could not get in the way at all. It was a contest of two completely different levels. In comparison, everyone else was eclipsed. Everyone present had the mentality of a teenager. At least it was hard for them to accept that Cheng Ran, who usually had poor grades, actually surpassed them in this aspect.
However, there was no way to start over. Even if she avoided the "B-letters that Cheng Ran had just memorized", she would probably be no match for Jiang Hongshao in terms of vocabulary. The outcome was no suspense at all, and there was no need to try again.
Liu Ying was quite frustrated, because of the influence of her family, she looked down on Cheng Ran from the bottom of her heart. She even accepted her father's words, "Look at that Cheng Ran, his grades are mediocre, his IQ is not high enough, don't play with him anymore!" But now Cheng Ran, who she always believed was "not very smart", has made a breakthrough in this regard, and she is not even as good as him, what is going on
It can be seen that many people present are still in the afterglow of what happened just now, and some girls' eyes changed when they looked at Cheng Ran.
The atmosphere suddenly became much more awkward. Liu Yingcai suddenly remembered something and hurriedly said in a serious manner imitating the news broadcast, "Then, let's get into the formal stage and start this week's poetry exchange! And Hong Shao, I borrowed a few poetry and novels from you last time. I'll go get them back!"
Liu Ying then brought out a pile of books from the study, all of which were novels and poetry collections. Everyone immediately became serious, as this was today's "main course".
The girls in the compound have a colorful life. Some of them would make phone calls every day to communicate in English, or visit other people's homes and talk in English to improve their English. Some would find time every weekend to hold poetry exchange meetings. Basically, as long as there is a call, they will organize a meeting without fail.
At this time, Liu Ying's reminder opened the conversation about poetry and literature again.
Nowadays, people generally still have a strong sentiment for literature. In an era without mobile phones and the information explosion of later generations, friends in different places would communicate in the form of letters. So life was slow in the past, with late days and slow traffic. You had to wait for many days to get a letter from the person you longed for, and a lifetime was only enough to love one person.
At this time, both men and women had the habit of taking notes. Sometimes when they saw a good sentence or a good article, they would take out a notebook and write it down.
Poetry and literature were also very popular. Cheng Ran remembered a story in the preface of a book called “The Jianghu Around Us”, which basically said that the gangsters of that era were also very high-class. They would kick down anyone they didn’t like, and the person on the ground would get up and bow, “Brother, you are so good at fighting, I’m sure you can write a good poem too!” They would write poems whenever they disagreed with something.
Even his own parents, Cheng Feiyang and Xu Lan, Cheng Ran had found one or two handwritten copies at home, which were filled with prose in a style similar to How the Steel Was Tempered, and the words were filled with traces of the magnificent passion of the struggling years.
In fact, this is how Liu Ying established a friendship with Jiang Hongshao in class. At that time, Jiang Hongshao was also considered an artistic girl, but she was low-key. Many people in the class also claimed that they were distant from her and difficult to approach. But one time, Liu Ying happened to see Jiang Hongshao hand-copying a poem by Wilde, which was also a work that Liu Ying loved very much. Unable to bear the desire to confide in her heart, she couldn't help but start chatting with Jiang Hongshao.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Hongshao, with whom she could find common topics, no longer kept a distance from her like she did with other people. Later, Liu Ying learned that Jiang Hongshao had a wide range of hobbies, including calligraphy, painting, and she could even play the guqin and piano... Literature was just one of them. Her home had a wide range of books, so she would borrow books from her from time to time, read the books she recommended, and then discuss their thoughts with each other. So they came together because of the common topic of literature.
Most of the current literary and artistic young people also like to write poems and essays to express some feelings, but most of them imitate the Tang and Song poems to force sorrow in their new words. Without the hardships and accumulation of life experienced by those authors, there is always a feeling of gorgeous robes supported by thin poles. They look decent on the outside, but on the inside they are always pretentious and empty.
As soon as Liu Ying mentioned the start of the poetry reading, some people took out their notebooks. Cheng Ran was stunned. No one had told him before... After all, everyone came prepared! In fact, when Liu Ying made an appointment with Jiang Hongshao today, she had actually mentioned that there was a poetry reading and asked her to come.
However, this kind of exchange meeting does not require everyone to recite a poem. If anyone wants to recite a poem to win praise, they can do so at this time.
Yao Beibei said, "I wrote a poem while climbing a mountain last week. Let me read it to you!"
Yao Beibei stood up, looked around at everyone, and coughed twice. Her expression was very prominent, which caused everyone to laugh, and then her voice rang out.
"I was walking on the road, wanting to go up the mountain. I was riding on the bus, wanting to go up the mountain. I was in the classroom, and my mind was also flying to the mountain. But when I got to the mountain and looked back, I saw the city below the mountain, with our little life, colorful in the starry night!"
After Yao Beibei finished reading, people were stunned for a moment, and then one after another, it won a lot of praise. This is Yao Beibei's character of being rough on the outside but delicate on the inside. The beginning of this poem is very sloppy, but in fact the ending is very warm. It is much better than many poems that deliberately force the artistic conception to be elevated.
Seeing that even Jiang Hongshao was applauding, Yao Beibei felt proud. This is the significance of the poetry exchange meeting, which not only expresses one's feelings and gives a breakthrough to one's emotions, but also gets recognition from partners. This sense of achievement is no less than the admiration aroused by the game Carry who swept the field in the future.
Then Yang Xia also recited a prepared poem amid the crowd's cheers.
"White egrets stand in the green willow pavilion, ducks on the sandbank carry green grass in their beaks, a person in the shadow of the moon, drinking alone, how sweet it is.
"The gauze clothes of the south, the north wind blows away the light dust, the desolate sand covers the ancient road, and the lonely city stands alone in the night."
Yang Xia was wearing a light blue dress, and she looked tall and graceful today. This ancient poem immediately brought to life the girl's fairy-like mood and lonely feelings. This kind of poem is a pure reflection of the good attainments in language, and it really shows that the poet has a delicate and thoughtful mind.
It is easy to have a favorable impression of the author when a poem is well written. Yang Xia's poem completely fits her image. The young men in the compound who already liked her became more interested in her. Outsiders like Sun Jichao, Wang Yuran, and Zhou Bin also had a better impression of her. Who doesn't love a goddess of literature and art
Jiang Hongshao clapped her slender hands constantly and blinked her long eyelashes as she savored the charm of the poem. It was obvious that she was very happy with the poem.
Yang Xia sat back on the stool with dignity. Only at this moment did she feel that she had won the English game.
Wang Yuran and Zhou Bin were pulled here by Sun Jichao and were not prepared. The others, on the other hand, recited their poems one after another, and most of them were quite standard.
But from beginning to end, Sun Jichao remained calm and was not eager to show off. Liu Ying suddenly showed everyone a mysterious smile and said, "Do you remember the poem called "Autumn" in the last issue of the school magazine? That was written by Sun Jichao!"
Everyone looked towards Sun Jichao. Liu Ying picked up the thin book of campus literature at hand, opened it, and said with a smile, "Let me read it to you all."
Then she read out in an exaggerated tone: "Like a sad look, I love autumn. On foggy and quiet days, I often walk into the woods, where I sit and look at the white sky and the dark treetops of the pine forest. I love chewing sour leaves, lying on the grass with a lazy smile, listening to the sharp calls of woodpeckers, and thinking of all kinds of strange fantasies in my heart. The green grass is all withered, and a layer of cold and quiet light floats above it. My whole heart is immersed in the sadness of happiness and freedom..."
When Liu Ying finished reading, Yao Beibei laughed out loud and said to Yang Xia, "So he is the author of this poem, 'Thinking of the Wanderer'! Sun Jichao is 'Thinking of the Wanderer'! We even copied this poem together..."
Yao Beibei was outspoken and said it right away.
Although quoting these is nothing special, it feels a little different when Yao Beibei hears Yang Xia do this.
Everyone looked at the two of them meaningfully.
A girl said, "Although this poem is full of descriptions of woods and birds, the basic tone is sad..." This girl emphasized the basic tone and did not say that she actually felt the sadness. In fact, it does not mean that a poem can make people feel the same just because it literally contains sadness. This poem is not bad, but it does seem to deliberately exaggerate the sadness.
But this is already very good. Many people nodded to Sun Jichao and thought he was really amazing.
Yang Xia was secretly annoyed at Yao Beibei's quick words, but there was nothing she could do at this time. Her face turned slightly red. She didn't look at Sun Jichao, and for some reason, she subconsciously looked in the direction of Cheng Ran.
Sun Jichao waved his hands to show humility, but his eyes were quite complacent. He saw Jiang Hongshao smiling and nodding at him, and he felt relieved, as if he had received great encouragement.
However, Cheng Ran got goosebumps all over his body when he heard it. Actually, this poem was okay, but it was mainly because of the recitation tone when Liu Ying was reading it, which was really unacceptable to him. Cheng Ran estimated that if he continued like this, he would be embarrassed, so he might as well go back and read a book. He stood up and said, "Everyone's poems, um, are all good... I have something else to do, so I'll leave first, you guys continue, don't worry about me..."
Everyone watched Cheng Ran say goodbye and leave. From beginning to end, no one tried to keep him.
When the door slammed shut, everyone's eyes were focused on Yang Xia at the same time.
The atmosphere was suddenly quiet.
Because most people knew that Cheng Ran had a crush on Yang Xia, in their opinion, it was probably because Yang Xia quoted Sun Jichao's poems, and Cheng Ran pale in comparison. His young mentality couldn't stand it, so he left in anger. How much unspeakable love-hate and anger and shame were implied in this? His last sentence, "Don't worry about me", was so sad... The people present had already imagined a big drama in their minds.
When Yang Xia saw Cheng Ran leaving, her eyes flickered, but she said nothing in the end.
Liu Ying said, "Forget it, Cheng Ran can't write any poems anyway..."
However, what no one saw was that Yu Xiao was now curled up in the corner, with an expression of extreme anger and unwillingness on his face. It was a kind of resentment that came from empathizing with the humiliation suffered by his brother, as if a raging wave was about to break through the prison bars, eager to vent and burst out.
Looking at the smiles on the faces of the people around him, Yu Xiao's lips trembled.
Then he heard his own voice ringing out, "Who said Cheng Ran can't write!"
Originally, Cheng Ran's departure was just a minor incident, and Liu Ying was still preparing to continue to liven up the atmosphere. However, Yu Xiao suddenly spoke up, and the atmosphere suddenly became awkward. It seemed that the undercurrent that everyone had seen but not spoken about before had been torn apart here, and then became clear, and the scene began to become extremely ugly...
When Yu Xiao said this, he was shocked himself, but looking at everyone's eyes, he decided to just go for it.
Liu Ying was not someone Yu Xiao could challenge. She just smiled, half-smiled and said, "Of course anyone can write poetry, but not everyone can write well. Did you watch Guo Ran write it, or did he write it when you were playing together?"
"Yes! I have what he wrote!" Yu Xiao finally took out the crumpled newspaper that he had been holding in his pocket.
Some people burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of the scene.
What? Is there anyone who writes poetry using newspapers? Is this a drawing of a turtle? If you want to help Cheng Ran, you should at least look handsome.
But Yu Xiao still spread out the crumpled newspaper with his hands, and his expression was even a little pious...
"When I went to his house today, I saw what he had written when he was practicing calligraphy."
Liu Ying said with an exaggerated expression, "Huo, it's true. Why don't we let everyone hear what his poems are like?"
Sun Jichao said, "Let's just forget it..."
"Sun Jichao, you are just too kind. You think it would be embarrassing that your poem that was published in the school magazine has just been published, and the next one is the poem written by the so-called Cheng Ran... You really are thinking about him!" Loudmouth Yao Beibei yelled, "Oh, you don't need to smooth things over. If he wants to embarrass himself, then let him embarrass himself!"
Sun Jichao's eyes flashed with cunning, and he actually wanted to achieve this effect. But when he looked away, he suddenly saw Jiang Hongshao looking at him. With just one glance, Sun Jichao felt as if he was seen through, and his heart sank.
"Come, come, come... He's going to read..."
"Read it, Yu Xiao, why aren't you reading it yet..." This is really a big deal.
Yang Xia said, "Yu Xiao, that's enough, stop joking!" She actually wanted to see what poem Cheng Ran wrote in Yu Xiao's newspaper, but she could read it in private. If Yu Xiao read it out now, she would be embarrassed based on her understanding of Cheng Ran. And it was in front of the school magazine poem Sun Jichao had just thrown out, so the difference was obvious. Add to that the chatter of the people around him, and she didn't know how Cheng Ran would be criticized in the end. Yu Xiao was just foolishly digging a hole to bury her buddy.
Some people had already caught a glimpse of Yu Xiao unfolding the newspaper to reveal the font on it, but then they were stunned. That flying handwriting like a dragon or a snake, was it written by Cheng Ran
Yu Xiao turned a deaf ear to all this and picked up the newspaper. On the back of the newspaper was still the page of "Shanhai Metropolis Daily". His voice was not pleasant, but it was rhythmic.
As he recited the poem, everyone first smiled in disbelief, but after a moment, the smile gradually disappeared, and everyone's face showed varying degrees of concentration and seriousness.
“[Note 1]One cup to the morning sun, one cup to the moonlight.
The morning sun awakens my yearning, and the moonlight softens the cold window.
One cup to my hometown, one cup to the distant place.
My hometown protects my kindness, and the distant place urges me to grow.
A toast to tomorrow, a toast to the past.
Tomorrow we will fly against the wind, the past has made our arms heavy.
One toast to freedom, one toast to death.
Freedom forgives the ordinariness of my life, and death dispels my fear and confusion.
Why not regret the passage of time
How can I be worthy of the hustle and bustle of this world
In the storm
And before being torn to pieces
Fearless of life or death! "
[Note 1: Adapted from Mao Buyi's song "Xiaochou"]