Chapter 48#
Program Broadcast#
Du Minsheng threw the candy into his mouth, and Mo Xuzhi also had one to alleviate the bitterness in his mouth.
A light mint fragrance bloomed in his mouth.
“Recommended by a friend. The taste isn’t stimulating; you can chew it for fun usually.”
The two walked toward the backstage while chewing the candy, and the candy happened to be finished by the time they reached the backstage.
Zhou Xiaoxiao, acting as staff, handed the microphones to the two, and then rubbed her hands, looking even more nervous than they were.
Then, strangely, Mo Xuzhi and Du Minsheng, the two who were about to go on stage, stood in the corner comforting the overly nervous Zhou Xiaoxiao.
Not until someone notified them to go on stage did they wave goodbye, not forgetting to tell her not to be nervous at the end.
The stage was in darkness, and glow sticks flashed below, forming a sea of stars.
Du Minsheng walked to the very center and stood, while Mo Xuzhi supported the piano and slowly sat down.
As the piano sound rang out, the light in the center of the stage shone brightly.
The people below hadn’t reacted yet, and Du Minsheng gave them no buffer time.
The low yet not sad tune was very simple, but it easily stirred the deepest emotions in one’s heart.
Bitter and suppressed, but not showing desolation.
Wild wind emerges from the wilderness, its origin unknown, its destination unasked, nowhere to belong, violently pressing over everything, finding a way out in destruction, exhausting strength while finding a way out, and gradually disappearing.
The human voice and piano sound vanished together.
The lights all went out, and the auditorium was in darkness.
But I will return to the wilderness Regardless of everything—
Without any musical instrument accompaniment, two different yet characteristic voices rang out together, strange yet harmonious.
A vigorous, soul-shaking vitality and determination burst forth instantly.
A shock from the bottom of the heart arose spontaneously.
The lights shone brightly, and the entire stage was bright, even so bright it was a bit dazzling.
Mo Xuzhi turned his head and met Du Minsheng’s gaze exactly.
In an instant, screams flooded the entire auditorium.
“Holy shit!!! Senior!!”
“Brother Du is handsome!!”
“Brother Du actually came!!”
“Senior loves you aaaaaah—”
“Oh my god!”
While others were screaming, the people from the Academy of Sciences were also startled quite a bit. Someone was rummaging through their pockets looking for glasses, trying to see more clearly.
They said they hadn’t seen Team Leader Mo all day today; so he had actually come here.
Although the people in Group One had heard him say he was accompanying a friend today, they hadn’t expected this kind of accompaniment.
And how did a scientific researcher like Team Leader Mo get involved with a big star like Du Minsheng?
“I’ve realized it; finally know why the Team Leader said he couldn’t participate on behalf of the Academy of Sciences.”
Someone had a face full of sorrow and said, “This affection was ultimately misplaced. The Team Leader has never sung for us.”
The others sighed together, “Sigh.”
While sighing, someone also peeked at Wang Zhifeng’s expression.
Wang Zhifeng had no expression, at least completely unlike the lonely, desolate, and sad appearance they had imagined.
He watched Mo Xuzhi on the stage seriously, not moving his gaze at all.
He completely ignored Du Minsheng’s existence and only watched the person playing the piano seriously.
Every time he thought he understood Mo Xuzhi a bit more, Mo Xuzhi would always refresh his perception again.
He could never see through him.
But the more it was like this, the deeper he fell, until he gave up on himself and allowed himself to sink.
The performance on stage was still continuing.
Mo Xuzhi and Du Minsheng cooperated very well, at least the screams from below never stopped.
The wild wind finally dissipated.
The end of one journey is the beginning of another.
The boundless wilderness began to nurture a more intense and unrestrained life again.
The audience below hadn’t reacted yet when Mo Xuzhi stood up, bowed together with Du Minsheng, then coughed and left.
Du Minsheng stood on the stage facing the audience who had finally reacted.
“This song is called ‘Wild Wind’…”
Turning the corner, all the noisy sounds disappeared.
Mo Xuzhi leaned against the wall and gasped for a few breaths, then happened to encounter Zhou Xiaoxiao. After saying a few words to her, he slipped back into the audience seats amidst the chaos.
He didn’t return to his previous seat but found his way to the edge of where the Academy of Sciences was. Du Minsheng had also exited. Now the host was saying something on the stage, the light was concentrated on them, the audience seats were in darkness, and no one noticed someone had quietly made their way to their side.
The sound of clothes rubbing came from beside him. Wang Zhifeng turned his head and saw a sneaky figure moving slowly, trying to sit next to him.
Whose phone light swept across, illuminating the youth’s excessively beautiful features.
Sensing he had been discovered, Mo Xuzhi took the initiative, handing a candy to Wang Zhifeng before he could speak, and then sat down beside him naturally.
“It sounded very good.”
Surprisingly, Wang Zhifeng’s first sentence was to praise him. Mo Xuzhi’s brow rose, and just as he was about to speak, he heard Wang Zhifeng continue, “Not accompanying your friend anymore?”
Mo Xuzhi’s heart skipped a beat, and that inexplicable sense of guilt popped up again.
During previous school anniversaries, he and Wang Zhifeng would both finish their work in advance, then go out to relax, having lunch and dinner at the home-style restaurant in the ancient town. It had always been like this from before until now.
As a result, he had been accompanying Du Minsheng all day today, and his phone was also left in his room. He hadn’t had time to tell Wang Zhifeng yet, and didn’t know if he had eaten lunch.
He tried to explain: “At noon today…”
“I heard from the people in the group,” Wang Zhifeng peeled off the candy wrapper and said, “It’s good that you ate; don’t have irregular meals like before.”
He glanced at the time and said, “Your friend should be out soon. There’s still some time today; you can take him around the school. It’s not too late to have our meal next time.”
He said, “Once the closed experiments start, it will be hard to meet. Cherish whatever time you have.”
His tone was very normal, and although his expression couldn’t be seen, it could be guessed to be perfectly calm.
Mo Xuzhi stuffed another candy into Wang Zhifeng’s hand, smiled and said, “Not accompanying him anymore; Teacher Wang is more important. I’ve already asked someone to bring a message to him.”
“In a while, we’ll quietly slip out; no one should see.” Mo Xuzhi leaned his head over and asked softly, “Are we still going to the old place?”
A very faint fragrance mixed with the bitter smell of medicine came from the tip of his nose. Wang Zhifeng lowered his head and could only see a blurred outline of a neck.
He lowered his head and gave a soft “Mhm.”
Estimating the program was almost over, Mo Xuzhi led Wang Zhifeng from the other side of the seats into the staff-only passage and exited the Grand Auditorium.
Outside the Grand Auditorium was still brightly lit, with people coming and going.
Some invited outstanding alumni were very busy and had to leave after the process was finished. Others, though unable to enter the Grand Auditorium, could watch the situation inside through a giant electronic screen on one side; many took small stools and sat there watching with great interest.
There was also a reporter holding a microphone with the CCTV logo interviewing alumni. Mo Xuzhi saw them and led Wang Zhifeng around them, not facing them.
The two smoothly exited the school gate and strolled leisurely to the home-style restaurant.
The restaurant owners already knew they were coming today and had prepared the ingredients, just waiting for them to arrive to start cooking.
Mo Xuzhi and Wang Zhifeng had dinner with the restaurant owners, and after eating, they were in no hurry to leave, being kept by the owners to chat about family matters.
the lady boss was a bit regretful, saying her daughter had run off to Jingda to see the school anniversary and couldn’t be called back, otherwise they could have gathered at one table for a meal.
Wang Zhifeng was talking with them. Mo Xuzhi was silent for a while, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the side of his phone.
The lady boss was observant and noticed his small movement, asking with concern: “Xuzhi, is something wrong?”
Wang Zhifeng also looked at him.
Mo Xuzhi’s eyelashes moved, and then he said: “Teacher Wang and I are going on a business trip. If it’s short, two or three years; if it’s long… I can’t say for sure. That place is very, very far away; we probably won’t be back for a while.”
“Can we take a photo together?”
Mo Xuzhi looked up and smiled, “Keep it as a voucher. If our looks have changed by the time we return and you don’t recognize us, I’ll at least have some evidence.”
The restaurant owners were first surprised, asking why they were going for so long. Mo Xuzhi said Wang Zhifeng taught well and was going abroad to spread traditional culture, and he was going along as well.
Although reluctant, from other perspectives it was also a good thing. The restaurant owners happily agreed.
Mo Xuzhi had never taken photos of people. He was okay when taking landscape photos, but when taking photos of people, his skill couldn’t be called exquisite, only barely recognizable. After a four-person photo was taken, the restaurant owners and Wang Zhifeng beside him were all suppressing their laughter.
Mo Xuzhi realized his lack of skill and originally wanted to ask Wang Zhifeng to retake it, but seeing their expressions, he raised an eyebrow and settled it right there, sending the photo to the three of them, leaving no room for change.
The lady boss looked at the photo on her phone for a long time and then inexplicably found it more and more pleasing to the eye, deciding to have it developed and hung on the photo wall in the house later.
Mo Xuzhi was still chatting about family matters with Wang Zhifeng and the restaurant owners in the restaurant when a tall thread rose on a certain forum.
[Jingda Tieba]
[Comparison of the most explosive scenes in past school anniversaries! Click to watch quickly!]
[1L: Leave the first floor to me, let me do it. The class rep is here! [Link #23rd Anniversary High-Energy Edit] [Link #27th Anniversary High-Energy Edit] [Link #Jingda Internal Livestream URL (Livestreaming now)]]
[Kswl!!! How can Senior Mo be so! well! matched! with whoever he is paired with! (Multi-photo warning)]
[1L: It’s like this. When I was an undergraduate, I happened to encounter two legendary seniors performing together, and my heart was shamefully moved, and then the two of them had a BE. Then after I became a graduate student, I shipped them again, and then another BE. Today, I’ve stepped onto the road of no return again [Image] [Image] [Image]…]
They chatted until nearly ten o’clock. The restaurant owners still hadn’t had enough and wanted the two to stay and play mahjong for a while, but they were declined with smiles.
The two returned to the school together.
The next day, Mo Xuzhi was woken up by the constant ringing of phone notifications.
His eyes were still a bit blurry when he woke up. He reached for the glasses on the bedside table and looked down to skim through various messages.
There were many calls. The one who called the most was his manager, with over fifty calls. There were also some people he had spoken to a few times and considered familiar. The rest were unknown numbers from people who had somehow obtained his number.
There were as many as a hundred.
A thought flashed through his mind instantly. Mo Xuzhi’s brain cleared up quite a bit. He ignored all messages with one click and opened Weibo.
It took a few minutes of response time, but he finally logged into Weibo.
The program had started airing, and the effect was exactly as he had thought.