Chapter 149: Legend of the Hungry Wolf

"You really are a sly fox, still trying to probe like that!" Tan Yutou gave a wry smile. Sometimes, he wished Jiang Xiwen would put away this cleverness so he wouldn't see through so much and feel uncomfortable. "I'm leaving. You guys carry on with your discussion," Jiang Xiwen said softly, then stepped out of the classroom.

Ever since the beginning, Zhang Ya had been captivated by Jiang Xiwen's witty and resourceful defense. She didn't come to her senses until he stepped out of the door, whereupon she hurriedly followed after him, calling out, "Jiang Xiwen, wait..."

Li Huanwen's jealous and resentful gaze appeared for the third time. Tan Yutou saw it clearly and thought to himself, "Fine, let the kids figure out children's business among themselves. This Li Huanwen won't stop making trouble for Jiang Xiwen, but taking a hit here is better than suffering out in society later."

By the time Zhang Ya caught up with Jiang Xiwen, they were already outside the teaching building.

"Class Monitor, what's the matter?" Jiang Xiwen flashed his grinning expression again, completely different from the poised and dignified demeanor he had when arguing with Li Huanwen in the classroom just now.

"Why is it that every time you face me, you never act serious?!" Zhang Ya pressed her lips together.

Hearing this, Jiang Xiwen immediately put on a solemn look and said, "Tell me, Monitor. Whatever it is, I'll definitely get it done."

Seeing Jiang Xiwen change his expression so quickly, Zhang Ya helplessly pursed her lips and said, "Alright, you win. I came to ask if you have any good suggestions. Judging by everything you said just now, you must have your own ideas about how to decorate the venue."

"This..." Jiang Xiwen dragged out his tone. Seeing Zhang Ya's earnest and expectant look, he also thought about it seriously and said, "If possible, we can decorate the classroom with a stronger cultural atmosphere—something that combines both scholarly charm and youthful vigor. For instance, the vibe of the Republic of China era, that feeling of 'studying for the rise of China.' It fits the mood perfectly. It's both unique and captivating. The theme of the graduation party could be called *Ah, Those Student Days*."

"That's fantastic, Xiwen. I knew you'd have plenty of ideas." Zhang Ya clearly approved of Jiang Xiwen's suggestion. She giggled and said, "I'm heading back. I'll share this idea with Tan Yutou, and of course, I won't tell Li Huanwen. Don't worry..."

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhang Ya excitedly ran back into the teaching building, looking very much like a little girl picking mushrooms with a large bamboo basket on her back.

The graduation party proceeded as scheduled. The overall style followed Jiang Xiwen's suggestion: the desks and chairs in the classroom were moved out, and the entire space was arranged like pavilions and terraces. The classmates were seated around several artificial rockery formations, carrying a strong scholarly flavor of ancient literati. Various props like foam and wood were borrowed by Zhang Ya from her mother's cultural troupe; they looked professional and therefore very realistic.

As for the part representing youthful vigor, Li Huanwen had suggested replacing it with modern audio equipment so that he could fully showcase his talents and steal the spotlight.

The students arrived at the classroom one after another. Following the customary celebration of every New Year's Day, the class committee had bought plenty of candies and handed out a large gift bag to every student in attendance.

Almost as soon as they sat down, the students began asking around about who had thought of this style of decoration, because not a single one of them had written it in their proposals.

Faced with a classroom like this, everyone was captivated. Every one of them lost the urge to crack melon seeds as they usually did during New Year parties, because without exception, they felt that the litter of shells all over the floor would ruin the atmosphere of the venue.

Jiang Xiwen sat together with Gong Xiang, chatting and laughing. Zhang Ya wanted to sit next to Jiang Xiwen, but Li Huanwen pulled her into the group of class cadres under the banner of the organizing committee, making her sit collectively by an artificial rockery.

Ning Yan chose to sit alone in a corner. Her eyes looked coldly at Jiang Xiwen, though this coldness seemed mixed with grievance, tenderness, and a touch of reluctance.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, the graduation party started on time. Immersed in such an environment, Tan Yutou had many mixed feelings and felt quite wonderful. With his hands clasped behind his back, he imagined himself wearing the long gown of an ancient scholar, ready to deliver a high-flown discourse on the theme of *Ah, Those Student Days*.

"Fellow students, you are all about to advance to higher education and leave me far behind..."

Although many students didn't fully understand, they didn't show the usual annoyance at the old pedant's rambling. Firstly, over the past half semester, through the medium of *The Legend of Misty Mountains*, their views of Tan Yutou had changed drastically; they all felt that this old fellow's true inner self, just like everyone else's, was very childlike. Secondly, the on-site decoration, paired with Tan Yutou's cadence and tone, made it feel particularly interesting.

When Tan Yutou finished his opening remarks, a burst of enthusiastic applause erupted from the crowd—not for his semi-ancient, semi-modern speech, but out of genuine respect for him.

Next, the performance acts began one by one. The neighboring classroom had been borrowed for Tan Yutou as a temporary preparation room for the young performers. Dances, songs, and skits followed one after another.

By the middle of the show, Gong Xiang brought a few classmates onto the stage. Their ten-minute short play was exceptionally brilliant, blending the story of the White Snake and Xu Xian into the lives of contemporary students. It had romance, friendship, and plenty of comedic elements.

After receiving a full house of applause, Gong Xiang bounded down happily, grinned at Jiang Xiwen, and said, "Bro, thanks to your creativity, this stuff is really a blast."

Such divergent-thinking skits were relatively common in student variety shows at film and television academies. Jiang Xiwen hadn't known about them originally, but in the era of his past life, the development of internet media allowed exam showcases from many colleges to spread online. When Jiang Xiwen first saw them, he also found them fresh and interesting. Bringing them to this era to inspire Gong Xiang would not only greatly help the path Gong Xiang would take in the future, but also make this class graduation party all the more spectacular.

Following Gong Xiang's program, there were two more song-and-dance acts, and the evening party quickly approached its finale. The lights suddenly dimmed, and it was Li Huanwen's turn to take the stage. He had intentionally arranged himself for the last slot to create a sensational effect.

Moreover, he had already picked his foil: Jiang Xiwen! In a moment, he would use his words to pressure this bastard into coming on stage to sing and make a fool of himself, and then he would finish the final song himself to move all the students.

Using this method of comparison to make Jiang Xiwen look foolish would bring Li Huanwen supreme pleasure, because he loved nothing more than showing off.

Li Huanwen employed the revolving floor lights borrowed from a dance hall. The fast-paced music of *Legend of the Hungry Wolf* began to play along with the swaying lights, transforming the entire environment from an elegant scholarly vibe into a wildly popular modern feel.

"Fellow students, follow my rhythm, stir up your passion, step away from the books that leave you spellbound, and come to the place where young people belong! Follow me and let every inch of your skin, every single cell, get high..."

Originally, he had designed a heart-wrenching, tear-jerking theme for the graduation party, and the song he prepared was about the sorrow of parting. However, he had accidentally overheard Zhang Ya and Tan Yutou discussing the matter and learned that the venue decoration was Jiang Xiwen's idea. A surge of jealousy made him determined to go head-to-head with Jiang Xiwen.

Yet his stage presence was truly superb. With just a few words, he made the students accept a song rhythm that conflicted with the current environment and completely immersed them in it.

He understood the restless nature of young students; after staying in books for too long, they easily craved to have their spirits stirred up and dive into such an intense environment.

Jiang Xiwen still greatly praised Li Huanwen's skill in this regard. He told Gong Xiang beside him, "The path you take in the future will inevitably involve performing on stage. You might not be able to control the order of the programs, but you can design different remarks based on your own performance style to stir up the audience's emotions. Look at how well Li Huanwen is doing."

"Bro, what's wrong with you? Doesn't that guy oppose you at every turn? We've all heard about it."

"Even an enemy has merits. If you can learn an enemy's strengths, you get one step closer to success." Jiang Xiwen's expression was solemn and grave.

Gong Xiang punched him in the arm and admired, "Damn, bro, you can even spout philosophy like that now. But it really does make a lot of sense."

"Hahaha!" Jiang Xiwen grinned broadly. "I just put on the expression of a great thinker, philosopher, and sage, and you're already this impressed..."

"Screw you, kid..." Gong Xiang raised his hand to hit him again, but Jiang Xiwen suddenly pointed toward the middle of the classroom and said, "It's starting. Listen, our school's singing god really sings quite well."

The volume of the song grew louder, and the flashing rock lights also drew Gong Xiang's attention back. He smiled and said, "This kid really knows how to put on a show."

Outbursts of screams from the girls pushed the atmosphere at the scene to its absolute peak.

There were only two people in the entire class who did not cast their gaze toward Li Huanwen. One of them was Zhang Ya; not only did she dislike Li Huanwen, but she actually despised him thoroughly. Therefore, she preferred staring at the already-completed program list rather than looking at Li Huanwen's performance, which only seemed more pretentious the longer she watched.