Zhen Yu has always been a person of action!
So as soon as she decided to teach Bai Xue the guqin, after dinner and back at the dormitory, she immediately got in touch with Su Xuan!
"Su Su! I have a favor to ask, I hope you can help me!"
Su Xuan: "Oh? What can I do for you? Tell me quickly!"
"It’s ! I want to teach a female friend to learn guqin, but this instrument isn’t easy to buy around here. So, could you please buy one for me? Just a beginner’s one will do!"
Su Xuan: "I wondered why you were being so formal! It turns out it’s just a shopping errand, of course, I can do that."
"Thank you! It’s okay if the price is a bit high! Shall I pay you later with gold and silver?"
Su Xuan: "How can a gift for a friend be measured with gold and silver items?! Why don’t we barter instead?"
"Of course, that would be great! But, Su Su, if there’s anything you need in the future, just ask me directly!"
Su Xuan: "Sister Zhen really knows what’s up. Xuan’er was a bit shy to ask for favors before. But since you’ve taken the initiative to ask me, then I’ll shamelessly ask a favor of you too!"
"Tell me what you want!"
Su Xuan: "Well, the glass tea set you gave me last time, my father and brother liked it very much, and... anyway, my mother hopes you can get a few more sets for future use."
"That’s easy! Just the tea sets?"
Su Xuan: "If there’s anything else that’s suitable for here, please help me with it too!"
"Alright! I’ll contact you once everything is ready!"
Su Xuan: "Sister Zhen, goodbye."
After hanging up with Su Xuan, Zhen Yu swiftly connected with He Baihe.
He Baihe: "Are you done with military training? If there’s nothing the matter, let’s start with a ten-dollar chat!"
"...I’ve got something to ask! Are you free to go shopping tomorrow?"
He Baihe: "You’re asking me to go shopping?! Then I absolutely must make time!"
"...No! I just wanted to ask you to help me buy the same kind of glass tea set! And if there are other glass products suitable for ancient use, please get some for me too!"
He Baihe: "Do you think I’m an online shopping agent?! Not going!"
"Sister He! Guo’er..."
He Baihe: "Ah fine, fine! You’re too much, girl! Any latest news about him?"
"Nothing for the moment! You know my place is a bit behind the times! Luckily, after enduring another year my brother will be in the Capital! I promise I’ll gather more info for you then!! The modern dramas he’s in are really good too! Super good!"
He Baihe: "Sigh... I’ve watched ’The Moonlight Saber’ three times already! And keep rewatching ’The Return of the Condor Heroes’ too..."
The comforting-inept Zhen Yu: "..."
He Baihe: "I’ll look for it tomorrow! But you’re always buying things for that ancient person, how come you never think to buy something for Sister He?"
"If you want something just tell me! How would I know if you don’t say?! I couldn’t possibly, if I don’t know,"
He Baihe: "You stop right there! I’ve noticed you’re getting cheekier! Wait and let me think about what nice things there are from ancient times! Get me a couple of things from there too! You can’t always be the middle-person with me just giving and not getting anything back!"
"Hehehe... Sure! Whatever you say! Can I trouble you to go shopping tomorrow then?"
He Baihe: "Okay then! Haha... Are you really done with the military training..."
Chatting with He Baihe until 5:50 am, Zhen Yu left their dormitory amidst several glances of envy and admiration and went downstairs to find Bai Xue.
Yet Hu Xi and Li Mengting had already left together much earlier.
At 6 am, all the selected boys and girls had arrived, and Teacher Zhang was already waiting in the corner of the auditorium! Standing beside her was a tall, long-legged boy.
"Let me introduce him! This is Hong Ruixiang from Qi University’s dance department, a sophomore! Let’s welcome him!!"
Faced with the somewhat handsome senior, the applause from the girls was sincere, while that from the boys was more perfunctory.
"This group dance is mainly to showcase the valiant and unyielding spirit of the flood-fighting soldiers! So, during the actual performance, we will wear camouflage! Because the moves of this dance are quite extensive, everyone should ideally wear sportswear during rehearsal! Did everyone get that?!"
After a chorus of responses, Teacher Zhang nodded and continued, "The male and female lead dancers won’t be soloing the whole time, there’s just a short solo section in the middle! The rest of the time you two will dance with the group!" Teacher Zhang suddenly pointed at Hong Ruixiang and Gu Qing, "So you, and you! You must practice the group dance with everyone! Then find time to practice the solo parts on your own, clear?!"
"Clear!" Both a male and a female voice spoke almost simultaneously.
Teacher Zhang, seeing everyone so obedient, immediately felt that this task wasn’t so difficult after all! Her smile widened a few notches, "Now, I’ll arrange the initial onstage positions and then set the time for rehearsal on the weekend, and we can dismiss."
After Teacher Zhang had set the formation and schedule, Zhen Yu and Bai Xue talked about the timing to learn guqin while walking out of the auditorium.
"We don’t have much spare time at noon or in the evening, I think only early morning is relaxed enough!"
Bai Xue suddenly had a premonition of impending doom, yet she had no choice but to jump in!
"How early is early in the morning?"
Zhen Yu: "I usually go out for a morning run at five."
Before she could finish her sentence, the corners of Bai Xue’s mouth started to twitch.
"Five, five o’clock?"
But the bigger blow was still waiting for her!
"No! Four o’clock! To teach you guqin, I can wake up an hour earlier."
Bai Xue’s face instantly turned as colorful as a palette, but she still clenched her teeth and agreed.
"Four o’clock then! For learning a special skill! I’m all in!!"
Seeing her put on such a brave face, Zhen Yu leisurely added fuel to the fire!
"Don’t think four o’clock is too early, top students are already up studying books around four or five in the morning. If you don’t take the path of a specialty student, you might have to get up at two in the middle of the night to keep up with their pace!"
Bai Xue’s look at Zhen Yu immediately became pitiful!
She thought: "That hits home, bro!"
However, Zhen Yu unrelentingly continued: "Daylight saving time is approaching! The nights will be long and days short, why sleep so much?! Don’t you know life is short?!"
Bai Xue protested with enormous grievance: "How much do I even sleep! I’ve already been living with short nights and long days!"
Zhen Yu’s expression plainly read—I don’t believe you one bit!
Changing the subject, she went on: "It’s definitely not manageable to practice the guqin in the dorm! Let’s see if we can talk to the music teacher later on about moving your guqin to the music classroom! That way, you can also practice there during the noon and evening!"