Chapter 151: The Deskmate of Yours

With the momentum built and the pitch adjusted, Jiang Xiwen did not say another word before starting to play and sing. It began with a pleasant chord progression, followed by a slightly husky voice that drifted into everyone's ears.

These past few years, alone
Through wind and rain, I walked on
There were tears, there were mistakes
What we once held onto is no more
Just a word, a lifetime

Aside from "Wind and Rain Without Regret," Jiang Xiwen had not practiced any other songs; he had merely looked at some guitar tabs. Relying on his memory and his familiarity with the tune, he managed to play it.

Since this song had not yet been released and would likely take about two years to come out, no one had ever heard it before. Even less could anyone notice Jiang Xiwen's occasional mistakes in strumming; they only thought it sounded wonderful and deeply moving.

When the song ended, Jiang Xiwen continued to strum a graceful melody and said softly into the microphone, "This song is dedicated to the graduating classmates, especially my best friends, Gong Xiang and Ning Yan..."

The entire class listened, completely mesmerized. Against the backdrop of the lovely melody, Jiang Xiwen took a different approach from Li Huanwen; he placed his speech after the performance, which, accompanied by the guitar strings, carried a unique charm.

Hearing her name mentioned by Jiang Xiwen, and thinking of how she was about to leave Yangjiang with her father, Ning Yan felt a tightness in her chest, and her tears finally broke through, falling patter by patter.

Not just her, many students listening to this touching melody and Jiang Xiwen's emotional words were deeply moved. Quite a few were shedding tears just like Ning Yan.

Zhang Ya's name was not mentioned among Jiang Xiwen's friends, which left her feeling somewhat lost and a little angry. But very soon, she was captivated by Jiang Xiwen's singing. This voice imbued with genuine emotion bypassed the need for technique, yet it could still strike straight at people's hearts.

Up on the stage, Li Huanwen was furious and anxious. He made a gesture to the classmate operating the lights, who caught on quickly, swiftly swapped the cassette in the player for a backing track, and turned the music on. The player was connected to the speakers.

The intro of another Hacken Lee song, "Wild Cat Romance," suddenly blasted through the classroom. Just like "Legend of the Fierce Wolf," this track was high-energy, both being from the same album by the same artist.

As the music surged, Li Huanwen began to clap and dance along, shouting loudly once more, "A gathering on the eve of graduation, everyone dance with me..."

Yet this time, it had none of the effect that "Legend of the Fierce Wolf" had produced. Everyone was still immersed in the lingering mood of Jiang Xiwen's "Friends" when they were suddenly jolted by such wild music. They all turned their heads to look at Li Huanwen, but not a single person made a sound, evidently somewhat stunned by this abrupt disruption.

After a long moment, the students snapped back to their senses. The previous lyrical and sentimental atmosphere had been completely ruined by the howling of the "wild cat." Gong Xiang immediately stepped in, calling out, "Senior, why don't you sing later? Your song isn't quite suited for right now..."

"Exactly, who wants a romance with a cat..." chimed in another boy known for his distinct personality.

Soon, voices mocking Li Huanwen began to rise from all around, some even shifting into direct reproaches. When a person's emotions are immersed in nostalgia, being abruptly interrupted in such a manner is just as infuriating as being suddenly woken up right after falling asleep from exhaustion.

Not only did the plan to humiliate Jiang Xiwen fail completely, but it also allowed Jiang Xiwen to steal the spotlight entirely. Driven by humiliation and rage, Li Huanwen lost his composure, forgetting his usual stage experience. Impulsively believing that his voice and looks alone could salvage everything, he had made such a foolish move.

"Senior, you sang very well, I..." Even though the freckled girl had her sentimental mood interrupted by Li Huanwen as well, seeing her idol looking so awkward on stage instinctively made her want to show support.

Yet before she could finish, another girl beside her tugged at her sleeve, and her voice immediately tapered off until it vanished completely.

Unwilling to accept defeat, Li Huanwen hurriedly waved at the lighting student, signaling him to cut the music for "Wild Cat Romance." Composing himself, he said, "Dear classmates, since everyone isn't fond of this tune, I will sing 'Childhood' for you all. Let's return to our youth and reminisce about those happy childhood days. Xiwen, would you mind handing me the guitar? Thank you..."

While saying this, Li Huanwen's expression remained completely natural, maintaining his usual smile as he casually smoothed back his hair—though he was forcefully suppressing the anger inside.

Throughout the entire process, Jiang Xiwen had not stopped strumming the strings. The moment the loud, booming music from the speakers ceased, the simple acoustic chord accompaniment returned to everyone's ears, lingering in every student's heart. Their emotions quickly settled down, though Li Huanwen's chatter made many wish he would just shut up. No one paid any attention to "Childhood." Sensing the moment, Gong Xiang voiced what the students were currently thinking: "Jiang Xiwen, play another one!"

Soon, the majority of the students joined in the chorus. Li Huanwen stood stranded on the stage in even greater embarrassment; not only had he failed to make Jiang Xiwen look foolish, but he had made a complete fool of himself.

Normally, such an incident might just be embarrassing for an ordinary person, but for Li Huanwen—who had always fancied himself the Singing God of Number Two High and had long been pampered on a pedestal—it was simply unacceptable. At that moment, his mind went blank; he didn't even have the capacity to hate Jiang Xiwen anymore, standing there stupidly, unsure of what to do.

After finishing the chord progression, Jiang Xiwen gave the strings a light strum and said, "Classmates, please quiet down. Senior Huanwen sings much better than I do. Senior, how about we sing 'Childhood' together as a duet? You can play the accompaniment, what do you think?"

Hearing Jiang Xiwen suggest this, Li Huanwen's female fans felt a wave of gratitude. That same freckled girl was the first to stand up and say, "Yes! If Xiwen and Senior sing this together, it will sound amazing."

"Yeah, let's sing it together..." A few others began to echo the sentiment. The annoyance of being woken from a peaceful state was only temporary; once they cleared their heads and time passed, it faded away, especially since Li Huanwen genuinely possessed a decent singing voice.

Faced with Li Huanwen's repeated provocations, Jiang Xiwen had merely offered mild counterattacks. Li Huanwen was completely different from Fang Sixiang, Gao Jie, and the rest; he was just a student with a strong vanity and a lack of real setbacks. Moreover, he was someone Teacher Tan Yutou wanted to help. To take a step back, Jiang Xiwen simply didn't want to bicker with such a petty provocateur, so a minor lesson was more than enough.

On stage, Li Huanwen had been lost in a daze, but upon hearing Jiang Xiwen's words, he instantly snapped back to reality. In a flash, he vented all his accumulated rage onto Jiang Xiwen, snapping angrily, "A duet? You're not worthy!"

Clearly, he did not appreciate Jiang Xiwen's gesture. He had completely lost his sanity, voluntarily giving up an opportunity that could not only have salvaged his face but also rehabilitated his image.

The moment he finished speaking, Li Huanwen rushed over to Jiang Xiwen, snatched the guitar away with a forceful yank, and barked at the lighting student, "Let's go! Is there any point in staying with these people?!"

Seeing him act this way, Jiang Xiwen made no attempt to stop him. Since the man was determined to dig his own grave, there was nothing he could do.

"Boo..." A chorus of jeers erupted from the boys. It was clear that everyone utterly detested such petty behavior.

Li Huanwen strode angrily out of the classroom. Mid-performance, Tan Yutou had been called home by his wife because of a plumbing issue. He had only just finished fixing it and rushed back right at this moment, nearly colliding with Li Huanwen in the hallway.

"What's wrong, Huanwen?!" Tan Yutou asked in astonishment, seeing him in such a rush.

"Teacher Tan, I have something to come up and leave for!" Li Huanwen's face was dark as he bypassed Tan Yutou and bolted.

Without asking further, Tan Yutou could easily guess that this fellow must have tried to cause trouble for Jiang Xiwen during today's graduation event and ended up embarrassing himself instead.

As for the specific details, Tan Yutou didn't care to know. He only hoped that through this experience, Li Huanwen would shake off his arrogant habits and realize that not everyone in this world would pander to him.

When Tan Yutou stepped back into the classroom, he heard Jiang Xiwen's slightly husky voice coming through the microphone and speakers: "Senior had to leave for an emergency. Without the accompaniment, I won't be able to sing either."

"Xiwen, there are a lot of backing tracks here. Why don't you pick one? I'm sure there's something you know how to sing," Zhang Ya whispered from behind, offering a suggestion.

Jiang Xiwen knew his own vocal limitations. Aside from "Wind and Rain Without Regret," he had to rely on unfamiliar yet contextually fitting songs to move the students' emotions. Those cassette tapes were all oldies; half-way through, he might lose the beat or speed up without realizing it.

"Xiwen, there's a guitar in the next classroom. We didn't know Li Huanwen was bringing one, so we prepared it just in case someone among you could play. It'll come in handy now," Tan Yutou said with a smile as he walked into the classroom. He never could have imagined that Jiang Xiwen had used a guitar performance to drive Li Huanwen away. This Jiang Xiwen truly was a genius; he excelled at everything. Of course, Tan Yutou didn't realize that Jiang Xiwen's guitar skills were actually quite mediocre—his only advantage was the sheer novelty of the song.

"Xiwen, we want to hear you sing more! Whose song was that just now? I listen to pop music all the time, but I've never heard that tune before," Gong Xiang shouted from the audience.

"The song is called 'Friends,' by Wakin Chau. A relative of mine is in the music industry and has connections in Taiwan. It's an internal track that hasn't been released yet, the tune was just composed recently," Jiang Xiwen chuckled, hurriedly offering an explanation.

Just as he had previously attributed his knowledge of computer programming to a nonexistent uncle at Modu University, this time Jiang Xiwen casually pinned his foreknowledge of the new song on a relative.

"Awesome, impressive!" The students broke into a chorus of praise. Ning Yan still had traces of tears on her face, but a clear smile curved the corners of her mouth. She felt proud of Jiang Xiwen, and the earlier sorrow had gradually been suppressed over the past few moments.

A student sitting near the door quickly stood up, sprinted to the adjacent classroom, and returned in less than a minute with a guitar, handing it to Jiang Xiwen on the stage.

Accepting the guitar, Jiang Xiwen expressed his thanks, and with a sudden thought, asked, "Can someone help me move a set of desks and chairs? I'll need them for my next performance."

Several students quickly bolted out of the classroom, eagerly volunteering as movers.

Taking advantage of the moment, Jiang Xiwen said, "Who wants to participate in my upcoming performance? One boy and one girl, good at acting—I'll improvise the script."

Gong Xiang laughed and said, "Me! Who else could it be? Which girl is willing to volunteer?" Though usually low-profile, Gong Xiang was undeniably more handsome than Li Huanwen, and quite a few girls held a secret crush on him. Several hands shot up immediately to volunteer.

Jiang Xiwen greeted the crowd and said, "Everyone feel free to perform your own acts for now. A few of us are going to the next room to map things out. Teacher Tan, I'll need your help with this performance as well."

Tan Yutou was naturally more than willing and cheerfully accompanied them to the neighboring classroom. Class 4 of Junior Grade 3 was being hosted by Zhang Ya; several outgoing students had taken the stage to sing or tell jokes, creating a warm and harmonious atmosphere.

Ten minutes or so later, Jiang Xiwen and the others returned to the classroom.

The class quickly quieted down. Tan Yutou acted as the temporary lighting engineer, and all the lights were turned off. Jiang Xiwen took his seat back on the antique chair on the stage.

A few students swiftly placed the retrieved desks and chairs in the center of the stage. Gong Xiang and the chosen girl, Zhu Xiaochan, sat down just like they would during a regular class.

Jiang Xiwen strummed the strings to gather everyone's attention and then spoke: "The following song will be performed in collaboration with two classmates, kind of like a musical short play.

It won't take long, but the effect should be quite good. You probably haven't heard this song yet; it's estimated to be released sometime this month—a brand new track by a campus singer, and it's exceptionally pleasant. I only heard it myself not too long ago, and it's called 'My Deskmate'..."