Chapter 67: Astonishment

"Hehehe~"

Standing underneath the tree, Professor Tong wore a warm, melting maternal smile. Young people in love these days were truly so sweet!

That hand-in-hand moment looked as if they were entrusting their entire futures to one another!

"Ahem, ahem, ahem, ahem..."

Beside him, Yang Shu'an recalled something, and his expression turned somewhat gloomy.

Good grief!

Flaunting their affection right in front of two old folks, huh?

At this moment, Yang Shu'an's eyes were filled with resentment. Why was the Sichuan-Chongqing woman in his life never this gentle...

Envious, jealous, and hateful!

...

Meanwhile, a girl with a seductive, fox-like face walked by nearby, her gaze suddenly sweeping across the four figures standing beneath the tree in the distance.

Hu Yanzhang looked closely, her eyes nearly popping out of her head in disbelief as she thought, "How is that possible?"

A tumultuous storm suddenly surged in her heart, leaving her deeply shaken.

She never imagined that the young man wearing a hat down in the audience earlier was actually Liu Xiaoli's partner, Cheng Kaiyan?

Doesn't that mean this whole selection process for singing was nothing more than a sham?

A show put on exclusively for Liu Xiaoli?

"Well, I'll be damned!"

Hu Yanzhang uttered a rare, fierce local curse, a whirlpool of complicated emotions churning in her chest.

Just what makes this Cheng Kaiyan so extraordinary?

She was so curious!

-----------------

Eleven-thirty in the morning.

The School of Foreign Languages and Literatures building at Wuhan University was nestled near the picturesque East Lake.

In the French department office, An Shaokang hummed a little tune, leaning back cozily in his chair to while away the time. He raised his gaze to look out the window, where a few potted flowers on the windowsill swayed recklessly in the chilly lake breeze.

In the distance, East Lake resembled a quiet and elegant painting.

The sunlight spilled gently over the lake's surface; though no longer as blazing hot as in midsummer, it still managed to bring a touch of warmth to people's hearts.

Along the lakeshore, the leaves of the trees had already fallen, leaving only bare branches stretching toward the sky in various postures.

On the lake, a few ducks or waterbirds occasionally swam about, plunging into the water and popping their heads back up in quick succession, breaking the lake's tranquility while adding a dash of vivid liveliness.

"So sweet, my smile is so sweet..."

An Shaokang's singing echoed through the office, catching the attention of a colleague who asked with a smile, "Shaokang, what's got you in such high spirits today? You're beaming from ear to ear!"

"Hehe, I'm going on a blind date this noon," An Shaokang said with a restrained smile and a clear voice.

The mere thought of sharing a lunch this noon with the beautiful and moving comrade Liu Xiaoli made it hard for him to suppress the excitement in his heart.

A couple of days ago, he had pulled some strings to secure a table at a state-owned Western restaurant on Poyang Street.

Hankou's Poyang Street was formerly part of the foreign concessions. This state-owned Western restaurant, Banko, was a Russian-style establishment with a long history. Founded in 1930, it boasted a history of fifty years.

It had been established by a White Russian aristocrat named Banko. After liberation in the 1950s, the White Russian aristocrat returned to his home country, handing the restaurant over to an assistant chef. By now, it had been reorganized into a state-owned Western dining establishment.

"A blind date? Shaokang, didn't you always advocate for free love? Why are you suddenly going on a blind date? Has your family been hounding you that badly?"

His friend asked jokingly. In truth, university professors like them in Wuhan had a relatively easy time finding partners, and there was no shortage of good prospects, but young intellectuals of this era universally yearned for free love.

They held a rather complicated attitude toward arranged marriages and blind dates.

Essentially, it was a mutual contradiction between social and familial ties and personal ideological pursuits.

Otherwise, this era wouldn't have seen so many educated youth getting married in the countryside, while arranged marriages were regarded as feudal, backward thinking.

"Going on a blind date with someone you actually like is still free love. The blind date is merely a medium, a formality," An Shaokang replied. He tidied up his things, gave a wave, and then floated out gracefully.

"A blind date with someone you like? Could it be with Liu Xiaoli from the Wuhan Song and Dance Theatre? Not bad at all!"

His friend pondered and guessed.

Leaving the university campus, An Shaokang took a vehicle without stopping and headed toward Poyang Street.

Passing by a supply and marketing cooperative along the way, An Shaokang stopped, went inside, and bought a silk scarf as a gift.

Teeming with expectation and nervous excitement, he stepped into Banko Restaurant. Through the window, he spotted Zhou Xiaomin, and sitting deeper inside was a young girl whose face was obscured from his angle.

He took a few deep breaths to relax his emotions, walked up with a smile, and said, "Aunt Zhou, you're so early. Comrade Liu Xiaoli... uh?"

To his astonishment, the person sitting by the window wasn't his heart's desire, Comrade Liu Xiaoli, but rather a somewhat familiar face.

It was Hu Yanzhang, who also enjoyed a small measure of fame at the Wuhan Song and Dance Theatre.

"Comrade Hu Yanzhang, why are you here?"

An ominous premonition rose in An Shaokang's heart, and Zhou Xiaomin's words quickly confirmed it.

"Liu Xiaoli refused your blind date. Yanzhang and I came here precisely to tell you this."

Zhou Xiaomin's expression was not very pleasant. She had thought this matter was as good as settled, only for things to go awry.

Furthermore, failing to stop Liu Xiaoli from participating in the song recording today had left her even more displeased.

"Sigh... Alright, I understand. Let's eat first."

A whirlwind of thoughts spun through An Shaokang's mind. His arm dropped, his fists clenched tightly, and gripping the lightweight silk scarf, he took a few deep breaths to calm his emotions, saying with a nonchalant expression on his face.

Seeing that An Shaokang maintained a fair degree of restraint, Zhou Xiaomin let out a sigh of relief.

With a fine man like Shaokang, why wouldn't she choose him? In her opinion, this Liu Xiaoli would regret it sooner or later!

The three of them sat around a small round table and ordered a few dishes.

"You were right last time; that fellow surnamed Cheng is indeed her partner. That short-sighted, yellow-haired girl would rather choose that good-for-nothing punk than come to meet you—she's simply blind.

Shaokang, you don't need to feel too depressed; this isn't your fault.

Your qualifications are exceptional, your family background is good, and your personal merits far surpass those of that fellow surnamed Cheng.

There are plenty of fish in the sea, why obsess over a single blossom, right?"

Taking advantage of the lull while waiting for the food, Zhou Xiaomin offered words of comfort while recounting the sequence of events, including how the leadership had selected people from the dance troupe earlier today to assist with the recording.

Hearing this, Hu Yanzhang rolled her eyes and couldn't help chiming in,

"It's not that he lacks ability; I'm afraid he has quite a bit of pull. Otherwise, why would they go out of their way to let Liu Xiaoli, a dancer, participate in recording a song?

They even made up an excuse to come to our dance troupe to pick people—it was blatantly a stunt pulled exclusively for Liu Xiaoli."

"What? How is that possible? How could a fellow like Cheng that have that kind of clout? And how do you know about this, Yanzhang?"

Zhou Xiaomin was utterly shocked upon hearing this. She simply refused to believe it; after all, this was an assignment arranged by high-ranking superiors!

How could this Cheng Kaiyan possibly manipulate the leadership's arrangements?

Impossible!

"What's this all about?"

An Shaokang looked at her in astonishment as well. Cheng Kaiyan was merely a teaching assistant, and an outsider at that—how could he possess such connections?

"Just now at the theatre entrance, I saw Cheng Kaiyan and Liu Xiaoli talking together with Professor Tong and Leader Yang, who had come to the dance troupe to select people. The thin, tall guy wearing a hat down in the audience was clearly Cheng Kaiyan," Hu Yanzhang explained.

"There's actually such a thing? Hmph! Big deal, it's just recording a song—what's so extraordinary about that? For all we know, it might sound utterly awful."

Zhou Xiaomin frowned, still unwilling to believe it.

"Cheng Kaiyan... I'd like to see just how remarkable you really are!"

An Shaokang was deeply unwilling to accept this. The performance on the evening of the 5th, was it?

He made up his mind to go and watch the performance in person on the 5th.

However, he did not give Hu Yanzhang and Zhou Xiaomin the cold shoulder because of this. The three of them interacted harmoniously over the meal, like a spring breeze brushing past.

"Shaokang, what do you think of Comrade Yanzhang? Since you're already here anyway, why don't the two of you get to know each other?" Zhou Xiaomin proposed.

"No need."

An Shaokang's expression darkened. No wonder you insisted on bringing Comrade Hu along!

"Since you're here, just get acquainted. What's the matter with you, really?

Besides, our Yanzhang is not a bit inferior to Liu Xiaoli! So what if she was chosen by the leadership to record a song?

Yanzhang, say something! Don't just sit there zoning out! Aunt Zhou is trying to introduce you to a prospective partner!"

Zhou Xiaomin nudged Hu Yanzhang, who had been spacing out.

"Oh, oh... Alright, alright."

Hu Yanzhang hurriedly responded. Although the chance for the musical performance was gone, she needed to be proactive about this golden turtle-in-law, An Shaokang, and make sure she didn't miss out.

"It seems a bit cramped over here, Comrade An Shaokang. May I sit on your side instead?"

Hu Yanzhang stood up, speaking as she walked over.

"Hiss..."

Her footsteps faltered. It appeared she had sprained her ankle, causing her center of gravity to shift entirely as she tumbled straight into An Shaokang's arms.

"Are... are you alright, Comrade Hu Yanzhang?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine... It's just my ankle gave way a bit, it hurts so much."

Sitting opposite them, Zhou Xiaomin watched with dumbfounded eyes. What a seductive vixen!

Splendid, simply splendid!