Chapter 65: Chapter 62 The Gift of the Magi i
Translator: 549690339
Lin Yuan’s answer momentarily shattered Huang Benyu’s long-standing beliefs, but considering there was still an even more monstrous talent like Gu Xi at school, he suddenly felt somewhat relieved.
This is a good thing.
It shows how talented our school is.
Actually, without Huang Benyu’s professional ears, it was impossible to discern just how mature Lin Yuan’s skills really were. The class could only make a general conclusion—
Lin Yuan was very good at playing piano.
But after Lin Yuan showed off with a tune, Huang Benyu no longer made comments like “I’m not targeting anyone, I’m saying all of you here are such and such,” which were broad and indiscriminate attacks.
In the following piano lessons, Huang Benyu’s comments took on a routine prefix:
“Except for Lin Yuan, everyone remember this knowledge point.”
“Except for Lin Yuan, I believe no one else would understand why we do this here.”
“Except for Lin Yuan, ail of you need to practice this piece after class, especially the last section.”
!!..
“Except for Lin Yuan…”
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In any case, by the end of a piano lesson, “Except for Lin Yuan” became almost like a catchphrase for Huang Benyu.
Perhaps in Huang Benyu’s mind, he hoped that Lin Yuan would be like Gu Xi, to stop attending piano lessons.
He was willing to give out grades!
However, Lin Yuan’s calm school life didn’t change just because he showed off a bit in piano class.
If there were any changes, it was that he became more popular in his class.
True.
A poor physical condition, good character, handsome looks, diligent study, and excellent piano skills, it’s hard for anyone to dislike such an excellent and good-tempered student.
Actually.
When Lin Yuan first transferred to the composition department, his classmates initially thought he was very aloof, but after getting in touch with him, no one felt that Lin Yuan was aloof anymore—
Being quiet and being aloof are two different concepts, this boy just didn’t like to talk.
In the following days.
Lin Yuan continued to be as reticent as always, and just as diligent in his studies. His grades in his major kept up with the pace, no longer affected by his sudden change in major in his sophomore year.
March came quietly in these calm days.
In that still chilly warmth, the weather in March was still cold enough to make one not want to get out of bed so easily.
The festive atmosphere was gradually fading away now.
The latest issue of “King of the Net” still had an good run of sales.
Also released on March 1st and published in “Fun Reads” magazine was Chu Kuang’s new work—
The short story “The Gift of the Magi”.
On this day, Lin Yuan received a few sets of sample issues, sent free of charge by Silver Blue Books.
When an author’s works are published, it is an obligation for the publishing house to provide free copies of publications that contain the author’s work, which are called samples.
Receiving the sample issue of “Fun Reads”.
Lin Yuan saw “The Gift of the Magi” was placed in the most eye-catching promotional position on the magazine cover. The four big words “Chu Kuang’s New Works” immediately caught his eye.
This represented the editors’ high expectations of this story.
However, the promotional effect of “Chu Kuang’s New Works” was not that great, because there was not much overlap between the users who favorite buying “Fun Reads” magazine and those who like youth fantasy novels.
Chu Kuang became famous largely through youth fantasy novels.
If they are not interested in youth fantasy novels, some buyers of “Fun Reads” might not even know who Chu Kuang is. But seeing the cover, many people would expect an interesting story being promoted there.
Han Jimei was the manager of the Tribe Literature section, and her future goal and work task was to build the Tribe Literature section into a regular base for fragmented reading in leisure time for users.
As a woman who loves reading, she really liked her job, and she had the habit of subscribing to some magazines every month.
All the bestselling magazines published in Qin Continent are of very high quality.
They always publish numerous excellent short stories.
It is not that Han Jimei does not like long stories, it’s just that for a working woman as busy as her, the time needed for reading long stories truly is indulgent, whereas short stories, due to their short length, do not take up too much time.
Today was the beginning of March.
The day when various books were updated, so this month Han Jimei bought a total of six magazines, but what first attracted her attention was the latest issue of the bestselling magazine “Fun Reads”.
Not that she particularly liked “Fun Reads”.
But because the cover of this magazine was actually promoting Chu Kuang’s new work.
Please bear in mind that last month Chu Kuang wrote a well-received short story on Tribe Literature.
That story called “Artificial Beauty” had a very clever plot, it was a rare masterpiece.
Han Jimei was originally hoping that Chu Kuang could write some new short stories for the literature section on Tribe, but surprisingly, Chu Kuang has completely shifted his base and started serializing on “Fun Reads”.
“Let’s see what you’ve written this time.”
Although she felt it was a pity that Chu Kuang no longer selected Tribe as his publishing platform, Han Jimei was still very curious about what Chu Kuang had written in his new work.
She skipped the first few short stories.
Han Jimei decided to read “The Gift of the Magi” first.
Many people might not understand what “The Gift of the Magi” means, they might even think that the protagonist of the story is called Magi, but as a well-read reader, Han Jimei knew that most likely the protagonist is not called Magi—
This is related to the Christmas legend in Wei Continent.
Qin continent also has Christmas, but Christmas is not a mainstream holiday in Qin Continent, not even a vacation. The people of Qin continent see this festival as more of a jest.
It’s different in Wei Continent.
They have a custom for celebrating Christmas and many people believe in Christ. The legend goes they started the tradition of exchanging gifts at Christmas because when Jesus was born, three wise men brought gifts. This should be the origin of the title.
At this moment, Han Jimei started reading: “Tomorrow is Christmas, and Madam A has only three dollars and eighty cents to buy her husband a gift. Despite saving for several months, she could only save this small sum.”
Is she called Madam A?
Chu Kuang really is lazy when it comes to naming characters.
Despite this, Han Jimei understood the meaning expressed in the opening of the story.
This is a woman who is financially strained. She is carefully counting the meager amount of change in her hand, worried about what to give her husband for Christmas tomorrow.
The story’s background must be many years ago.
At that time, the value of currency was still very high.
However, three dollars and eighty cents were clearly not enough.
“She suddenly turned away from the window and stood in front of the mirror, looking at herself. Her eyes were bright and clear at this moment, but her face lost its color within twenty seconds. She quickly untied her hair and let it flow down.”
What is she going to do?
Han Jimei was guessing at Madam A’s intentions.
As an experienced reader, she even made some exaggerated conjectures, such as Madam A selling her body for money, and the first customer she encountered was her husband.
It’s not that Han Jimei’s thoughts are unhealthy.
In some special ages, it is not uncommon for people to sell their bodies for survival. Chu Kuang may want to depict the cruel side of that era. But if it’s just for a Christmas gift…
Isn’t the reason a bit far-fetched?