Chapter 006 Beauty at the Door
"You better ease up. It won't be long before I find out who it is anyway. You're not going to extort me." Liu Shiqing strolled over to the table and snatched the bowl and chopsticks from Zhang Songsheng. "Bug off, there are noodles, eggs and tomatoes in the kitchen. If you're hungry, make yourself something to eat. If that's too time-consuming, there are instant noodles."
Zhang Songsheng ran to the kitchen and made himself a bowl of instant noodles. Then he sat down with Liu Shiqing. "Shiqing, I think it's time you got yourself a girlfriend. We're not asking for much, just someone to take care of you. Look at the kind of life you're living. Ever since your aunt and uncle left for Tibet, your living standard has plummeted. If you're not eating noodles, you're eating instant noodles and you hardly ever cook rice. If you keep this up, you're going to collapse."
Liu Shiqing shook his head. "You think I'm as anxious as you are? We're still high school students, alright? I don't have the time to go find a girlfriend. I promised my parents that I would give them an acceptance letter from a key university as their three-year gift for their work in Tibet when I graduate from high school."
Zhang Songsheng snickered, "You, going to a key university? We'd be lucky to scrape into a second-tier college. Let's face it, Wuling County No.1 Middle School may be a key high school, but after all, we're at a county level school, not the City No.1 Middle School. The average student there has no trouble getting into a key university. For those of us in the midstream of County No.1 Middle School, it's a different story."
Liu Shiqing retorted: "Why don't you keep your mouth shut? No one's mistaken you for a mute."
After the two men finished their meals and tidied up, Zhang Songsheng took a set of chess from the drawer in the desk. "Come on, let's kill some time with a couple of games before the beauties arrive."
Just as they were caught up in their game, there was another knock at the door. Liu Shiqing was just about to answer it when Zhang Songsheng held him back. "Let me do it."
Zhang Songsheng deliberately combed his hair, straightened his collar and cuffs, and struck a pose. "Am I good to go?"
Liu Shiqing chuckled and nodded. "Sure. If Zhang Dahuzi saw you right now, he'd drag you into being the lead actor in his next film."
Zhang Songsheng was smugly confident, "That's what I think too. It's a loss for Zhang Dahuzi not to push me to stardom in the Huaxia entertainment industry."
"Loss my ass, just go open the door. Or else the beauties you've been waiting for all morning are going to leave." Liu Shiqing laughed heartily.
Zhang Songsheng hurriedly opened the door, and three vibrant girls burst into his view, led by Li Ziran. Li Ziran had swapped out her ubiquitous school uniform for a stylish grey trench coat, a pair of small leather boots, and a red beret. A distinct youthful energy surrounded her. "Class monitor, you're looking quite fabulous today."
Li Ziran laughed, "I'm far from fabulous. The real stunners are here. Tingting, Fujia, come in. this is Liu Shiqing's house."
Zhang Songsheng took a look at the two girls behind Li Ziran and was almost spellbound. Their beauty rivalled that of the class beauty. Tingting had a foxy face with a rounded but pointed chin, rosy lips, a tall nose, and sparkling, enchanting eyes. Fujia had delicate and stunning features and carried an uncommon southern charm. The only regret was their lack of maturity and alluring female charm. But it was their innocence and purity that really grabbed people's attention.
"Three beauties, please, come in." Zhang Songsheng could hardly keep his mouth shut.
Tingting frowned slightly, "Ziran, is this Liu Shiqing?"
Li Ziran laughed, "He's not Liu Shiqing, but Liu Shiqing's bosom buddy, Zhang Songsheng. Liu Shiqing should be inside. Zhang Songsheng, are you going to let us in or not?"
Zhang Songsheng quickly made way for the beautiful girls to enter the room. He then went over to the two girls, "Let me help you with the violin cases."
The two girls didn't even give him the satisfaction of an answer, "No need, we can handle it ourselves."
Li Ziran said, "Let me introduce everyone. These two are my good friends. This is Gao Tingting and Wang Fujia. They are students at the City No.1 Middle School of the same batch as ours. Tingting is one of the top students at City No.1 Middle School. She ranked third overall in last semester's final examination. She's quite proficient in the violin and has a good grasp of Western instruments. Fujia, a music student at the City No.1 Middle School, recently won the second prize in the high school group at the National High School Folk Music Competition with a rendition of "Two Springs Reflecting the Moon". Both my friends are indeed talented ladies. This one here is Liu Shiqing and this is Zhang Songsheng, both are my classmates."
Liu Shiqing nodded, "I've heard a lot about City No.1 Middle School. It's truly a great honour to meet the two of you."
Gao Tingting and Wang Fujia both nodded at Liu Shiqing rather reservedly. They were both beautiful and talented girls well-treated at school. If it wasn't for Li Ziran insisting they come, they would not have opted for contact with a middle-of-the-pack student from a county school.
Although the distances between the City No.1 Middle School and County No.1 Middle School are less than ten miles apart, and both schools are located within Wuling City, exchanges between the two schools are rare. The City No.1 Middle School looks down upon the County No.1 Middle School, and the County No.1 Middle School would like to form connections but can't. Despite the Wuling County government increasing its support for the County No.1 Middle School in recent years, how can the county government's financial power compare with that of the municipal government? Especially considering that the current top leader of Wuling City is an alumnus of the City No.1 Middle School, wouldn't it receive considerable support?
"Ziran, let's get started," Gao Tingting said to Li Ziran.
Li Ziran knew her friends well and spoke to Liu Shiqing, "Hum the song you hummed yesterday and let Tingting and Fujia help you note down the music score."
Liu Shiqing nodded, focused his attention, and started humming "Beautiful Galaxy" again. This time, his humming was significantly better than yesterday's. Although Gao Tingting and Wang Fujia are beauties, they couldn't resist the charm of "Beautiful Galaxy", a song from hundreds of years in the future, and were immediately captivated. Li Ziran and Zhang Songshen, despite it being their second time hearing the song, still couldn't resist the allure of "Beautiful Galaxy".
Once Liu Shiqing finished humming, Gao Tingting's eyes sparkled, "Ziran told me this song came to you in a dream. Is that true?"
Zhang Songsheng raised his hand, "Tingting, let me expose him. My friend here knows nothing about music. He can't even identify all the notes of Do Re Mi."