Chapter 303: , Jane Eyre, colliding with the damp (Please subscribe!)

Actually, at this stage, he is more inclined toward Xiao Han's scarf; it could be considered using a bit of strategy and military tactics.

Currently, based on the level of difficulty, Xiao Han is greater than Song Yu, who is greater than Zijin.

Or to put it another way, if he wore Song Yu's white scarf to the Spring Festival Gala, he wouldn't be able to maximize the progress; even if he could win her favor for a moment, he still wouldn't be able to catch up to her.

Regarding Song Yu, he is committed to a war of attrition; don't think that just because she is moved, she will go to bed with you—if she did that, she wouldn't be Song Yu. Sometimes, she is terrifyingly rational.

Xiao Han is different; she is dark-bellied, but to a certain extent, she is more romantic and more emotional. Wearing her scarf to the Spring Festival Gala could greatly enhance the relationship between the two. As for what realm it can reach, that will have to wait until returning home for the Spring Festival to see.

Wearing Zijin's would have been fine too; this wife has always been selfless toward him, and Li Heng also dotes on her, but she is a knot in the hearts of Xiao Han and Song Yu.

Song Yu is hesitant because of her.

Xiao Han is jealous and loves to fight because of her.

Because on the surface, in the hearts of Song Yu and Xiao Han, Chen Zijin is his woman—a woman he has slept with. This thorn is something the two women don't usually mention, but in reality, it is what they mind the most.

Song Yu also minds that he came to Fudan and not Peking University, but she never mentions the matter of him sleeping with Zijin. Firstly, it is hard to speak of, and secondly, no matter how much she cares, she is powerless to change anything. And being the clever person she is, she naturally wouldn't nag Li Heng about this.

Seeing him gazing at the night sky, silent for a long time, Yu Shuheng folded her hands together, leaned against the doorframe, and asked him:

"Is the next target mainly to break through Xiao Han? Is Song Yu left for last?"

Li Heng looked back at her and muttered: "Teacher, don't be so interested in a student's love life. The last one who was like this is already in the pit."

Yu Shuheng's gaze scanned him from head to toe like a radar, and she asked with a sly smile:

"Little boy, has anyone ever told you that you are arrogant and ignorant?"

Li Heng smacked his lips and replied: "That's not it, you misunderstood me. Have you read *Robinson Crusoe*? Do you know why Robinson developed feelings for a volleyball?"

A trace of danger flashed in Yu Shuheng's deep gaze: "Are you saying that I've been empty for too long, and that I would develop feelings even for a piece of wood?"

The meaning was indeed that, but how could Li Heng admit it? He waved his right hand toward the night sky and said: "Your vision must be long-term and broad; don't just limit yourself to a man at the bottom of a well."

Yu Shuheng was so angry she laughed.

In the past, she had used the "frog at the bottom of the well" to persuade Wang Runwen, saying that the boy in front of her was a frog at the bottom of a well and that there were better ones outside. She didn't expect that not much time had passed before he turned around and applied that vocabulary to her.

Yu Shuheng didn't argue with him. After her gaze drifted in the night sky for a while, she picked up her black umbrella, stepped into the alley, and under his gaze, opened the door and entered the small building at No. 25.

Before long, the lights on the second floor opposite turned on, and after a while, the lights went out again.

Not long after, Yu Laoshi reappeared in his line of sight, coming through the rain.

"Here! A book for you." Yu Shuheng closed her umbrella and handed him a book she was holding.

Li Heng wondered what it could be.

When he took it and looked, it was a copy of *Jane Eyre*!

He flipped through dozens of pages with his thumb and asked curiously: "Teacher, what's the meaning behind this book?"

*Jane Eyre* was a gift Shen Xin gave her daughter the day before yesterday, accompanied by a sentence from the book: Love is a game of chess; we must always remain evenly matched and equal to the other party in order to embrace and cherish each other for a long time. Because a too-strong opponent is exhausting, and a too-weak opponent is tiresome.

Shen Xin's meaning was very simple: to urge her daughter to put away her arrogance, calm down, and try to get along with Li Heng on equal footing. Otherwise, it would be easy to scare the other party, making them afraid to get close.

Yu Shuheng naturally wouldn't mention her mother; she just said expressionlessly: "There is no meaning. Tell me what you gain after you finish reading it."

Li Heng asked: "You haven't read it?"

Yu Shuheng said: "I read it once during university, and I flipped through it again the year before last."

Li Heng asked: "Then what is your realization after reading it twice?"

Yu Shuheng glanced sideways: "Frog at the bottom of the well!"

Li Heng laughed out loud; this teacher was quite the grudge-holder.

Zhou Shihe came out of the kitchen. The two people at the door didn't delay any longer, closed the main gate, and sat together at the dining table.

Because the food was so delicious, Li Heng ate half a bowl of rice before he had time to ask:

"Comrade Shihe, this food is so much to my taste. At what age did you start entering the kitchen?"

Yu Shuheng was quite curious, as her own cooking was very average.

Zhou Shihe smiled faintly and recalled: "I don't remember exactly when. It seems I was occasionally taught by my grandmother and mother when I was young. Later, when I grew up, I didn't spend too much time on it; my energy was mainly on the piano and my studies."

Li Heng and Yu Shuheng looked at each other across the table, and a word appeared in their minds simultaneously: Talent!

Yu Shuheng asked: "When do you plan to participate in the International Piano Competition?"

Zhou Shihe was concise: "Sophomore or junior year."

Seeing that this young lady didn't seem to want to talk too much about the piano competition, Li Heng and Yu Shuheng tactfully didn't ask any more.

But both of them understood one thing: Chen Siya had once won a ranking in the International Piano Competition, and although the ranking wasn't high, it proved her strength.

But anyone who understands music could hear that Chen Siya's piano level couldn't compare to Zhou Shihe's; the gap wasn't just a little bit, it was like a chasm in between.

And this chasm couldn't be filled by hard work; it especially required talent!

Clearly, Zhou Shihe's piano talent was far, far stronger than Chen Siya's!

Sometimes, Li Heng also envied the families they were born into. As long as they showed some talent from a young age, their families would immediately hire top industry masters for one-on-one teaching and one-on-one tutoring.

The reason Zhou Shihe had such a high level at a young age, besides her awesome talent, also had to do with the Zhou family being willing to spend money and energy on her cultivation.

Dinner was spent in plain conversation.

After the meal, the two women returned to their respective small buildings to take showers and change clothes, leaving Li Heng alone to wash the dishes and chopsticks.

He hated doing this work, but after glancing at Yu Laoshi and then at Zhou Gu Niang, he finally had to sigh and do it himself. He owed the former a mountain of debt; he couldn't afford to provoke her.

As for Zhou Gu Niang, such a beautiful woman, her main profession was the piano, and she was here to help him; being able to cook was already a huge favor, so how could he have the nerve to ask for more?

It took half an hour to finish the housework. Just after washing up and sitting on the sofa without even having time to catch his breath, Yu Laoshi came over.

She came, and he didn't find it strange.

The problem was, today's Yu Laoshi was different—dressed in pure white like the Chang'e fairy of the Guanghan Palace, cold, ethereal, and strangely beautiful!

She held a bottle of red wine in her left hand and a bag containing three red wine glasses in her right.

Seeing him staring straight at her, the corners of Yu Shuheng's eyes lifted imperceptibly, and then she sat elegantly opposite him, took out a red wine glass on her own, poured a glass of red wine, and began to savor it slowly.

She didn't say a word the whole time, acting very familiar, and didn't invite the man opposite her to drink.

This was the first time Li Heng had seen her wear clothes other than black. And don't even mention it—a beautiful person with a good figure and good temperament really has the confidence.

This white style touched him a bit for a moment.

After a long time, Yu Shuheng gently swirled the red wine in her glass and asked with a half-smile: "Little boy, does it look good?"

Li Heng withdrew his gaze, reached out to take a red wine glass, poured himself a glass, and drank and drank.

Yu Shuheng smiled slightly. The reason she wore white today was that according to the information she had obtained, Song Yu seemed to favor white very much, so she specifically asked a tailor to make a set for her.

The effect!

The effect seemed quite good; this little boy's immunity had just dropped by more than 20 percent.

Seeing her looking at him with interest, Li Heng changed the subject and asked: "Besides black, what color does Teacher like best?"

Yu Shuheng said: "Blue-green."

Li Heng: "."

Blue-green plaid was the clothing style Xiao Han wore most often.

At this point, he understood a little why Teacher wore plain white clothes tonight.

For a long time afterward, neither of them spoke, holding their wine glasses and thinking their own thoughts.

Later, they simply found books to read.

He read the batch of books that had just arrived at the study.

She read *Jane Eyre*.

After 9 o'clock in the evening, Li Heng realized belatedly: "It's so late, is Shihe home alone?"

Yu Shuheng didn't even lift her head: "If you're concerned about her, go over and take a look."

Li Heng thought for a moment, tucked a bookmark into the page, put down the book, and stood up: "Teacher, sit for a while, I'll be right back."

Yu Shuheng gave a faint "mm."

When the sound of rapid footsteps came from the stairs, she finally raised her head and looked at his back. A moment later, she lowered her head to look at her own white clothes, wondering what she was thinking.

No. 27 small building, at the courtyard gate.

Li Heng opened his umbrella and shouted at the door in the rain: "Zhou Shihe, Zhou Shihe, open the door?"

A few seconds later, a figure appeared in the attic on the second floor, looking down.

After a while, Zhou Shihe opened her umbrella and crossed the courtyard to open the door.

The door opened, and the two faced each other. Li Heng asked: "Why are you home alone? Why don't you come over to my place and sit for a while?"

Zhou Shihe smiled knowingly and didn't explain the reason.

The real reason was:

She had originally wanted to go over because her home was too empty, and staying alone was too cold and cheerless; she wasn't quite used to it.

But while hanging clothes on the balcony, she accidentally discovered that Yu Laoshi had entered the building next door in a white outfit today.

She usually wore black clothes, but tonight she was all in white.

With such an unusual outfit, combined with the signs she had observed in the past, Zhou Shihe gave up the idea of joining in the fun and decided to stay at her own home alone.

Li Heng said: "Let's go. Now that it's winter break, many professors in Lushan Village have returned to their hometowns. It's late at night, and I'm worried about you being alone."

According to his observations, at least two-thirds of the professors in Lushan Village had taken their families and left in the past two days to return to their hometowns for the New Year, and this patch of land had suddenly become much more lonely.

After confronting each other for a long time, Zhou Shihe finally compromised and said weakly in the wind and rain: "Wait for me a moment."

After saying this, she turned and walked into the house.

Li Heng said from behind: "Why don't you just move the luggage you need to bring tomorrow over as well? Rest at my place tonight; there are two guest bedrooms anyway."

There were indeed two guest bedrooms, and she and Mai Sui had slept in one of them several times; it could be considered half a maternal home.

Zhou Shihe hesitated for a moment, and finally said okay.

Li Heng waited at the main gate, not entering the house; he was too lazy to change his shoes.

The small building at No. 24 had no lights tonight; it was estimated that Old Fu and Sister Chen had also returned to their hometowns. He specifically counted; there were more than a dozen households in this alley, and now only two had lights on.

After about 10 minutes, Zhou Shihe came down, put her suitcase outside the door, and began to lock the door.

Li Heng picked up the suitcase and weighed it: "Did you bring enough clothes? We're going north this time for more than half a month, and we won't be able to return until after the New Year."

"Mm." Zhou Shihe gave a "mm" and handed him the key.

Li Heng's eyes widened.

Zhou Shihe said: "Put the key at your place; I won't bring it, it's easy to lose. I'll come get it when school starts."

"Okay, I just thought you were going to give me the key. As a big man, how could I have the nerve?" Li Heng joked to himself.

Zhou Shihe smiled cleverly, leaned on her umbrella, and entered the alley first.

She asked: "Have you and Mai Sui agreed? When are you coming out next year?"

Li Heng replied: "Agreed. On the eighth day, I'll go pick her up, take a plane to Shanghai, and we can arrive home in the evening."

Hearing this extremely smooth "home," Zhou Shihe looked at him with a strange expression and didn't make a sound.

He asked: "Old Fu is getting married on the tenth; when are you coming to school next year?"

Zhou Shihe replied: "The morning of the ninth."

"Okay, Mai Sui and I will wait for you to have lunch together then," Li Heng said enthusiastically.

"Okay."

Entering the small building at No. 26, closing the door, and going up to the second floor.

Zhou Shihe greeted: "Teacher."

Yu Shuheng smiled and nodded, signaling her to sit next to her, and personally poured her a glass of red wine: "Drinking it straight, are you used to it?"

Zhou Shihe smiled, sat down, and said: "I'll try."

Seeing her examining her white clothes, Yu Shuheng asked: "How is it? Does white look good, or black?"

Zhou Shihe said: "Teacher has a tall figure and is a natural clothes hanger; everything looks good on you."

Li Heng agreed with this; when people are as beautiful as they are, even if they draped a tablecloth over themselves, it would have a unique style.

Seeing someone's gaze secretly sweeping over her chest, Yu Shuheng glanced at him and said: "I plan to ask Runwen to go to Beijing for the New Year. What do you think?"

This was the first time Zhou Shihe had heard the name "Runwen," so she automatically didn't respond.

Li Heng was astonished. The two women were at odds whenever they met now, and they were going to spend the New Year together? He said: "That's great, I'm just afraid Teacher Wang won't go."

Yu Shuheng said: "I'll ask her tomorrow."

After 10 o'clock, several firecrackers sounded outside one after another. It must have been some brat playing with fireworks; the sound was exceptionally clear in the middle of the night.

The three chatted for a while and drank half a glass of wine. Later, they kept reading quietly until around 12 o'clock before dispersing and returning to their rooms to rest.

Li Heng noticed that Yu Laoshi and Zhou Shihe had a tacit understanding, each occupying a guest bedroom; neither called the other, and neither said anything cheap like "let's sleep together."

Is this what they call "like repels like"?

The problem is, if one of them were Mai Sui tonight, both women would definitely call out.

Strange! Strange! In Beijing, this Zhou Gu Niang would rather sleep in the same room as him than go to Yu Laoshi's room.

One night passed.

The next day, Yu Shuheng called Shao City early in the morning.

After a while, the call went through, and she asked: "Runwen, when does your winter break start?"

Wang Runwen replied: "In a few days. Why? Are you coming to Shao City to see me?"

Yu Shuheng said: "I don't have time to accompany you; I have to accompany him."

As soon as these words were spoken, the phone was hung up instantly.

Yu Shuheng smiled, put the receiver back, and raised her right wrist to check the time.

1 minute.

2 minutes.

3 minutes.

5 minutes passed, and Yu Shuheng thought it was about time.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, the landline rang again.

Yu Shuheng stared at the phone until the last ring before picking it up, smiling: "We're spending the New Year in Beijing this year. Are you coming or not?"

Wang Runwen asked: "The two of you?"

Yu Shuheng said: "There's one more."

Wang Runwen refused: "Not coming."

Yu Shuheng said: "That girl's appearance and temperament are comparable to Song Yu in every way, she can play the piano, and her family background is quite good. Her delicate and weak appearance is quite endearing to men. Are you coming or not?"

Hearing this, Wang Runwen sneered: "Heh! Are you stupid? Don't you know what kind of person he is? You still dare to stuff such a woman by his side?"

Yu Shuheng didn't change her expression: "She plays the piano well."

Wang Runwen said: "Just an accompanist. Isn't Chen Siya good enough?"

Yu Shuheng said objectively: "Siya's level is quite a bit worse."

Wang Runwen asked: "Did you find her, or did he find her himself?"

Yu Shuheng said: "He asked me, and I recommended her. However..."

Wang Runwen asked: "However what?"

Yu Shuheng said: "They know each other and have been eating together often recently. By the way, in Beijing, the two of them even slept in the same room."

Wang Runwen crossed her arms, full of sarcasm: "Heh heh!"

Yu Shuheng seemed not to hear that harsh "heh heh" and smiled elegantly: "Asking one last time, are you coming or not?"

Wang Runwen refused again: "Not coming!"

Yu Shuheng took the calendar and said: "The second rehearsal is the day after tomorrow, and then we're going to the Northeast to ski. Shall I buy you a plane ticket?"

Wang Runwen asked: "Why go to the Northeast?"

Yu Shuheng said: "I'm a skiing expert; have you forgotten?"

Wang Runwen was stunned. After a while, she spat out coldly: "Despicable!"

Yu Shuheng sighed: "Runwen, this is the third time you've scolded me. In the past 8 years, you haven't scolded me with a single dirty word, but this year it's already the third time."

Wang Runwen didn't give any response and cut off the call directly.

This time, Yu Shuheng didn't wait any longer. After putting down the receiver, her gaze drifted to the living room of the building opposite, to Li Heng and Zhou Shihe who were chatting together.

After a long time, she stretched and went up to the attic.

Li Heng had been paying attention to the movements here, and seeing this, he shouted: "Teacher, are you ready?"

Yu Shuheng nodded.

In less than 2 minutes, the three gathered in the middle of the alley and walked out.

January 31, 1988, the three held their second rehearsal at the CCTV studio hall.

The playing effect was better than the first time, and Li Heng was very happy.

When he went to the washroom to wash his hands, he saw Huang Zhaoyi again. The two collided head-on at a corner of the corridor. Besides two staff members passing by, there was almost no one else.

For the first time, at such a close distance, she was almost knocked down!

Li Heng subconsciously wanted to reach out to support her, but seeing that she was only knocked against the wall, his hands stopped in mid-air.

He asked with concern: "Are you okay?"

Huang Zhaoyi instinctively rubbed the back of her head with her right hand and shook her head.

They looked at each other for a while, and then she lowered her head.

Li Heng withdrew his hand and stepped aside like a gentleman.

Huang Zhaoyi took a step, walked two steps, hesitated, stopped, and asked: "Is Liu Yue still pestering you?"

As expected of someone who sings Peking opera, her voice was like a nightingale, especially pleasant to hear.

Li Heng replied: "It's alright."

Hearing this, Huang Zhaoyi breathed a sigh of relief, her red lips moving: "She has been spoiled by us since she was a child. If there are any inappropriate remarks, I apologize to you on her behalf. I hope you don't mind."

Li Heng gave an "mm": "Okay."

Setting aside certain things, her attitude was good enough; he had no reason to give her a cold face.

Huang Zhaoyi looked back at him and gathered the courage to say: "Your performance today was very pleasant, the effect was even better than last time. Keep it up!"

"Thank you," Li Heng said.

With that thank you, Huang Zhaoyi didn't stay any longer and left directly. When she left, her left hand was still slowly rubbing the back of her head; it was estimated that the collision with the wall wasn't light.

Watching her back disappear, Li Heng continued toward the washroom.

Little did he know that just past the corner, Huang Zhaoyi, who had been full of grace before, leaned against the wall, letting out a huge sigh. Under her wide opera costume, her legs were clamped tightly together; she was not being strong at all.

The fresh scent of laundry detergent on him was quite pleasant, she thought half a day later.

"Ha! Brother Li, we meet again. Are you free tonight? Shall we have a drink together?" While washing his hands in the restroom, he ran into Feng Gong.

Feng Gong laughed and invited him warmly.

Li Heng spread his hands in embarrassment: "Brother Feng, you should have called me earlier. I have a dinner engagement tonight. How about next time? Next time I'll treat you."

"No problem, okay, okay, then next time." Feng Gong didn't doubt it, and the two returned to the studio hall chatting and laughing.

Li Heng had wanted to return to Yu Laoshi and Zhou Shihe, but he was pestered by Feng Gong, Zhu Shimao, Old Zhao, and others, and couldn't get away for a while, so he had to change seats temporarily.

When it was Huang Zhaoyi's turn to go on stage, the few big men who had been chattering just a moment ago stopped talking instantly, shut their mouths, and raised their heads to watch Huang Zhaoyi's performance on stage.

Li Heng looked around and found that the studio hall was so quiet that a pin drop could be heard. Many of the older generation were craning their necks in anticipation. Clearly, Peking opera in this era was not as declining as in later generations; it still had a solid audience base.

Feng Gong said: "This is the big *qingyi* (leading female role) in my ideal; a big *qingyi* should look like this."

Zhu Shimao next to him replied: "Indeed."

Her partner had been secretly observing Huang Zhaoyi's state. This time it was much better than last time, but she was still distracted for two seconds.

Her partner followed her line of sight just now and looked toward a corner. It was a sea of men's heads, all looking up with their mouths open, looking exactly like the eight toads under Zhang Heng's seismoscope.

After a song of *Farewell My Concubine* ended, returning to the backstage, her partner pointed out: "Zhaoyi, you still weren't as focused today as you were during practice."

Huang Zhaoyi knew this well and replied while removing her makeup: "I know, I'll pay attention next time."

Her partner looked at her profile and really wanted to ask: Is there someone at the scene who makes you nervous?

But the words were swallowed back hard when they reached her lips.

Her partner knew the Huang family. Born into such a family and having performed on stage for more than ten years, how could she be nervous because of other people?

Unless...

Unless she had met the person she loved, and it was the kind she cared about and loved especially, the kind she loved cautiously but couldn't have. Otherwise, there was no reason to be so out of character, right?

But what kind of man was worth Zhaoyi being so concerned?

And secretly?

After removing her makeup, Huang Zhaoyi felt uncomfortable between her legs and said to her partner: "Help me tell Director Deng that I have something to do and will leave first."

Her partner agreed.

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Posted first, edited later.

(Also, 10,000 words a day)

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 304 =====