Chapter 71: I Say They’re Trash
The class monitor from the Measurement and Control Faculty, Zhao Shijie, replied in a serious tone, “Ruoran, I’m only telling you this since I know you. You girls are really not suited to singing ‘Yellow River.’ No matter how hard you practice, you just can’t bring out the song’s true essence.”
“What do you mean? It sounds like you’re purposely finding fault with us.”
“The competition hasn’t even started, so it’s too early for you to be this cocky.”
“Exactly, you never know what will happen. We might end up ranking higher than you! When that happens, we’ll see who gets the last laugh!”
Girls were generally conservative, and these girls, who were majoring in English, all heavily criticized Zhao Shijie when they heard his comments.
Zhao Shijie felt awkward. Although he had experience making jokes in English, he thought that he had been sincere with his comments. After all, the Measurement and Control Faculty was filled with guys, so he often felt like he was in a monastery. If he could get along well with the girls from the English Department, he’d be able to help many of the guys in this major hook up, including himself!
He wouldn’t dare dream of winning the heart of the campus belle, Chu Yue. However, he was confident that he could score with the class monitor, Huang Ruoran.
“Hey, beauties, I’m serious. I really want to help you girls out. How about this. Since you all insist on singing ‘Yellow River,’ I can get Qiu Liang, a member of the Literature and Art Committee who’s in our class to coach you? He is a singing prodigy and was the main vocalist in a band that he formed back in high school. If I get him to coach you, then I’m sure you’ll master ‘Yellow River’ in no time.”
Suspicion was written all over the girls’ faces. The Measurement and Control Department was their Department’s rival, and they found it odd that the boys were offering to help them.
“Your name is Zhao Shijie, right? Just what is it exactly that you’re trying to sell us?” Chu Yue couldn’t help but ask.
She was wearing a white t-shirt and tight blue jeans that showed off her long, slender legs. Her bright and refined face, curly eyelashes, delicate nose, and tiny lips were simply unreal.
Not knowing whether to laugh or cry when she said his name, Zhao Shijie answered, “Princess Yue, I’m not selling you anything. I simply want to help you.”
Every student at Huaye knew who Chu Yue was and addressed her as ‘Princess Yue.’
“Why would you be so kind-hearted?” Chu Yue demanded, glaring at him.
“To be honest, it is pretty normal for a guy to help a girl. Besides, I am friends with Ruoran, so helping all of you is as good as helping her,” Zhao Shijie said with his arms spread wide.
Huang Ruoran thought about this for a second then replied, “Alright, ask Qiu Liang to come. If he can solve our singing problems, then I, Huang Ruoran, will owe you a favor.”
“Consider it done. Hehe…”
Zhao Shijie was exhilarated. He had finally seized an opportunity. The mere thought of the delicate girls from the English Department triggered his inner beast, causing passion to heat up his blood. He signaled to his peers and shouted, “Qiu Liang, get over here!”
A rather handsome guy walked over. His overall appearance gave off a sense of coziness. The only downside to his looks was that he appeared rather snobbish. Looking at him, one felt like he would act all high and mighty.
As soon as Qiu Liang came over, he spoke as if he were a senior teacher. “I heard you girls singing ‘Yellow River’ from over there. You’re awful. Your tone is either too high or too low, and you’re entirely out of sync. Pardon me for being straightforward, but you’re all just a bunch of untalented muggles.”
Hearing these words angered the girls from the English Department, but they held it in. After all, their singing was not really up to standard, and they needed all the help they could get.
“I’ll assist each one of you in improving your singing right now. We’ll start with you.”
Qui Liang stood next to An Huanhuan, who was in at the far-right corner, and commanded, “Sing ‘Yellow River’ from start to finish.”
“Sing?” An Huanhuan blinked hesitantly.
“Yes, sing,” Qiu Liang replied.
An Huanhuan didn’t want to be a burden, so she bit the bullet and began singing: “The wind is roaring, the horses are shouting. Yellow…”
“Stop! Your pitch is too high. Lower it,” Qiu Liang instructed, interrupting.
An Huanhuan adjusted her tone and sang on: “The wind is roaring…”
“Still too high! Try again!” Qiu Liang interrupted again.
An Huanhuan was furious, but for the sake of the department’s reputation, she held it in, cleared her throat, and sang again.
After six tries, she finally met Qiu Liang’s expectations.
“We all took music lessons from Elementary to High School, so what went wrong with you? Did your Physical Fitness teacher teach you to sing or something?” Qiu Liang remarked snidely.
“You…”
An Huanhuan’s face was red with anger. She gritted her teeth and glared at Qiu Liang.
“Huanhuan!”
Huang Ruoran called out, telling her not to start a fight with Qiu Liang. Though An Huanhuan was angry, she decided to restrain herself.
“That’s too low. What do you think you are? A subwoofer?”
“What are you singing? Is that how you are supposed to sing this line?”
“You are one of the worst female singers I’ve ever come across! Are you singing or just memorizing lyrics?”
Qiu Liang criticized every girl in the English faculty until all their faces went red with anger. Everyone began having their doubts and wondered if their singing was really that bad.
Zhao Shijie looked at the cocky Qiu Liang. His eyebrows began to furrow. In his heart, he was secretly scolding his peer: Qiu Liang, do you still want to find a girlfriend from the English Department? Just flaunt your skills a little, and that’s it! Right now, you’re going totally overboard and insulting all the ladies. Are you a fool?
Zhao Shijie coughed a couple of times in an attempt to signal as much to Qiu Liang.
However, Qiu Liang was wholly oblivious and high on his musical superiority and might. He was sure that he looked really cool and that he had attained the status of a male god in the eyes of these girls. Then, all of a sudden, he realized there were three empty seats. Pointing at the three vacant chairs, he exclaimed, “What’s going on here?”
“Those seats belong to the three guys in our class,” Huang Ruoran explained. For the sake of increasing her department’s singing standards, this was the third time she checked her anger at Qiu Liang.
“Why aren’t they here?” Qiu Liang asked in a roaring voice.
“Don’t you know that the male dorms are quite a long way from here? Surely, it takes them more time to get here,” Huanhuan shot back, crossing her arms on her hips.
Qiu Liang crooned, “Is that a valid reason? No wonder your singing standards are so low. If you can’t even get everyone here on time, then how can you expect to sing well?”
Seeing the girls glaring at him, Qiu Liang finally realized he had gone overboard. It was time for him to backtrack and curry favor. Hence, in a reverent tone, he said, “Actually, you girls sang fine. These three black sheep are the ones who lack any sort of responsibility and honor. I say that they are the real trash and rat sh*t here. Does anyone disagree?”
He was afraid to offend the girls but could care less about the guys.
After hearing this, all the girls were shocked. They were all thinking: Is Qiu Liang from Mars? Doesn’t he realize that he’s referring to the Hero Luo Trio and calling them trash and rat sh*t? Is he asking for a free one-way ticket to hell?
“Class Monitor, we’re here!”
Just then, Zhu Xiaofei’s voice rang out in the distance.