Chapter 501: I Want to Write a Poem to Praise You

For Cheng Hao, basic piano theory was no difficulty, and the instrument itself was even less of a challenge.

In elementary school, she had learned calligraphy, piano, and flute, and had also learned to dance.

It was just that, perhaps because the Old Chen family truly lacked any inherited musical genes, she was basically someone who fished for three days and dried her nets for two in these areas, with everything ultimately ending in a hasty conclusion.

Of course, part of the reason was that learning these things truly cost too much money, and the family could not afford it.

What truly made her shine and radiate heat was her learning experience in the Little Reporter class.

The experience of the Little Reporter special talent class cultivated Cheng Hao's fearless stage personality during her elementary years, and she began to stand out in the Qingdao elementary school circle. After rising to junior high, Cheng Hao became even more unstoppable, fully excavating her stage talent; hosting and connecting various student galas for primary and middle schools was a piece of cake for her.

At such a young age, she was already able to earn appearance fees from local Qingdao television and radio stations to subsidize her family.

In this regard, it was not without confidence that she wanted to sell all her NetEase stocks and then take an exam to become a teacher, quietly living as a rich woman; she truly had great talent in lecturing and hosting.

She even chose the Beijing Film Academy as her first choice when applying for university, rather than the Central Academy of Drama.

Because her initial goal was not to become an actor, but to aspire to become a famous host; if she could enter CCTV, that would be even better...

The reason she went to the Central Academy of Drama was because a familiar teacher there believed she possessed extremely high acting talent, which led the half-believing, half-doubting Cheng Hao to choose the Central Academy of Drama; then, under the circumstances of not understanding the performance curriculum, starting with a slow learning pace, and later desperately catching up, she met Zhou Yi—

This big boy who had actually gone to the Central Academy of Drama to "hunt."

"You learn quite fast; have you practiced before?"

Zhou Yi, with his head slightly tilted and resting against the wall, gazed at the woman who was gradually becoming "familiar" from "clumsy" step by step under his Shoubashou Sect teaching, and not knowing what he thought of, his eyes were full of smiles.

"No."

At this very moment, Cheng Hao, who had completely staked all the honor and praise of her short acting career, looked up and met his gaze; with the corners of her lips rising, joy overflowed her expression: "I don't know piano; I did sign up for the dance special talent class, in the first semester of fourth grade."

Calligraphy in the first semester of third grade, dance in the first semester of fourth grade, flute in the second semester of fourth grade, and reporter studies in the first semester of fifth grade; omitting the piano special talent class item, Cheng Hao's main focus was simply telling the truth.

"Really?"

"Of course, truer than pearls."

Feeling she had already said enough, Cheng Hao, to avoid showing her fox tail, immediately pretended to check the time, stood up, raised her hand to smooth the hair slightly scattered on her forehead, and spoke in an extremely natural tone: "It's getting late; take a shower and go to bed early, don't stay up late.

"It's been raining heavily and the temperature has dropped these past few days; staying up late easily leads to catching a cold or throat inflammation; like Sun Yanzi, she fell victim to it."

"You know me; when have I ever been sick? I always eat well and feel great." Zhou Yi shrugged noncommittally.

"That is precisely why you need to pay more attention."

Her hands, having left the piano, were unconsciously placed behind her back, perhaps due to guilt; while speaking, Cheng Hao subconsciously stood on her tiptoes and moved around in place twice, her eyebrows and eyes instantly bending into crescent moons: "So, remember to wash the dishes and scrub the pot, big star."

"Hmm? You won't help me wash?" Hearing this, Zhou Yi deliberately put on a very surprised expression.

"I am not your nanny, Zhou Yi."

Cheng Hao pressed her lips together, tilted her head slightly, and smiled: "So, goodnight?"

Zhou Yi paused imperceptibly, then smiled and responded: "Goodnight."

At 11:47 AM in the capital, inside the master bedroom of the suite above Zhou Yi's house, Sun Yanzi, who was hugging a pink giant bear nearly as tall as a person and snoring loudly, seemed to be dreaming of something delicious; she smacked her lips twice, and a muffled "hmm hmm hmm" sound came from her throat.

Her calves, with her legs bent and resting on the stuffed bear, moved slightly, and then she turned over in her sleep—

The rustling sound of turning over broke the loneliness; after letting out a soft snore, Sun Yanzi, who was lying sprawled out on her back, fell back into dreamland, and for a moment, only her even breathing remained in the room, with nothing missing but a bubble on the tip of her nose representing deep sleep.

The next day.

When that invisible bubble of deep sleep was pierced by the vigorous morning sunlight, Sun Yanzi, waking from her dreams, struggled with her eyelids for a few moments before slowly opening her eyes...

"Hmm... hmm?"

Did I forget to close the curtains when I went to sleep last night?

Or did Zhou Yi come and play a prank by pulling them open, just so I wouldn't get to sleep in?

A small head full of many not very polite whimsical ideas popped up while she was still groggy with sleep; after checking the time and lingering in bed for a full fifteen minutes, Sun Yanzi finally got up, put on her slippers, and went to wash up, only to soon receive a call from Cheng Hao—

"Are you awake? Come down to eat, Sun Yanzi."

"Coming, coming; I'm washing up."

After finishing her washing up in three swift moves, Sun Yanzi, with her face dried, ran downstairs to Cheng Hao's house with a thump-thump-thump.

During these three months of staying home due to SARS, her palate had been thoroughly spoiled.

"Wow! Cheng Hao, I love you so much!"

Upon entering Cheng Hao's dining room, Sun Yanzi automatically ignored Zhou Yi, who was reading the newspaper, and went straight to embrace Cheng Hao, who was plating the food, crashing into her chest: "I dare not imagine how I will survive if I can't eat your cooking in the future."

"It's not that exaggerated."

Cheng Hao, who was being heavily praised, said it was exaggerated, but the smile surging at the corners of her eyebrows never ceased.

Smiling, Sun Yanzi pulled out a chair: "It's true; if I were a poet, I would definitely compose a poem specifically for you to express my gratitude and admiration in my heart."

"So you are not a poet."

Zhou Yi, who was reading the newspaper, folded half a page, glanced at the woman humming while biting her chopsticks, and said: "Otherwise, it would somewhat tarnish the meaning represented by that word."

Barefoot, Sun Yanzi directly laughed and lightly kicked his calf: "Go to hell; this is my heartfelt truth, okay? Unlike you, you ungrateful one, you have no gesture at all."

"Anyone can speak pretty words."

Zhou Yi imitated her tone just now and chattered: "I am not a poet, yet I can write a poem specifically for her; what about you? You have no sincerity at all."

"..."

???

"You really should sit at a table with the sparrows on the utility poles outside; your mouth is just chirping without a door, running trains everywhere." After taking a bite of a fresh large meat bun and stuffing her cheeks until they were bulging, Sun Yanzi pointed to the faintly visible shadow of the utility pole outside the window.

"Don't slander me; your good days are over, I'm telling you."

Zhou Yi hummed two times in triumph and threw the newspaper right in front of her: "If you don't believe me, look for yourself."

Sun Yanzi looked down and glanced at it: "Saddam is ready—"

"Cough, wrong way, flip it over and look at the other side."

"The Ministry of Health announces the dissolution of the Capital Command for Prevention and Control of Atypical Pneumonia..."

?

Sun Yanzi, who was in the middle of a hearty feast, widened her eyes in disbelief upon seeing this front-page news—then rubbed them and took another look to ensure she hadn't misread it...

June 1, 2003, Children's Day.

After three months of panic and alarm, the Imperial Capital finally lifted its lockdown, simultaneously bringing SARS under control and achieving zero growth; with the dissolution of the SARS Prevention and Control Command, the entire city gradually began to return to its former passionate development.

Yet, Sun Yanzi, who had been delighted at first, immediately thought of her own predicament...

To slack off, she had played the fool countless times over these three months; even Chen Ze Shan could no longer make use of her. Now, she had no more legitimate reason to refuse Chen Ze Shan...

And more importantly, this meant her days of living like an immortal under Cheng Hao were over.

Ah, this...

Thinking of this, Sun Yanzi suddenly felt the bun in her hand wasn't so tasty anymore; her face fell into a gloomy little cat scowl, radiating misery.

And it was on this very day that the public service advertisement filmed by Zhou Yi and Yu Hua began airing on television—

"Every question you get wrong, every point you lose, is actually to meet the right person;

"And every question you get right, every point you gain, is to meet a better version of yourself..."

In this public service advertisement, edited to one minute and ten seconds, Zhou Yi spoke before the camera words of stress relief and encouragement that felt fresh to countless examinees, parents, and even society at large.

(End of this chapter)