"If I don't know, I can't come into this classroom for the lesson, can I?" Ji Yun didn't answer right away, but instead shot back a question.
For some reason, Ji Yun felt that this male teacher was carrying an air of arrogance. Despite the freedom to choose classes and the fact that any student could step into any summer class, this teacher seemed unwelcoming towards him.
"I welcome any student who wishes to learn modern poetry, and I will answer their questions wholeheartedly. But those with ulterior motives should not come and spoil the atmosphere of this sanctuary of poetry. Poetry is very sacred, and every poet deserves our respect," the male teacher spoke on determined to educate these impudent boys.
"Teacher, should I have not stepped in with my left foot first into this sacred classroom of poetry?" Ji Yun said.
"What do you mean? I'm just telling you, if you want to learn, you learn with all your heart, with reverence, not for you boys to come here and fool around!" The teacher's tone became stern.
"So why does the teacher think I'm not here to study properly?" Ji Yun asked back.
"Then you tell me, what follows the poem written on the blackboard, and who wrote it!" The male teacher was growing impatient.
He had wanted to use this late-arriving student as an example to teach the boys in the class not to profane modern poetry, but he didn't expect this student to be so tough, constantly questioning him with a defiant attitude.
"I say you are Mortal Realm's April day..."
Accompanied by a gentle warm breeze, he pushed his bangs out of his face, then Ji Yun began to recite.
"You are the ethereal clouds of early April,
Softened by the evening's gentle breeze,
Stars unintentionally flicker, light rain sprinkles before the flowers.
That lightness, that gracefulness you embody,
With the garland of blooming flowers upon your head,
You are innocence, majesty, you are the full moon of every night."
When he came to the part about the full moon of every night, Ji Yun purposely glanced at Qiu Mo's direction, before continuing the rest of the poem slowly,
"You are the blossoming of trees... you are hope, you are Mortal Realm's April day!"
He recited softly, without the overly deliberate cadence of a stage performance, just speaking word by word in a very ordinary tone, gently expressing...
Qiu Mo looked at the boy standing in the classroom doorway, her gaze involuntarily changing.
It had to be said, a boy who could recite poetry was really handsome. Many girls in the classroom had a twinkle in their eyes, especially since the emotion Ji Yun showed was not forced, as if he truly was a wanderer who had reached the mountaintop in search of freedom, looking back with deep affection and melancholy.
Ji Yun recited the whole poem flawlessly, which completely surprised the young male teacher.
To be honest, the teacher couldn't even recite the whole poem himself.
But this student obviously knew it well, and his pauses during the reading were just perfect!
"Hmm... alright, find a seat, very good," the teacher said, his face betraying a bit of embarrassment. In the end, he was forced to welcome Ji Yun with a smile into the classroom.
Ji Yun nodded and strode confidently into the classroom.
"Oh, Student Qiu Mu, you're also here. What a coincidence," Ji Yun walked straight to Qiu Mo and then began his rather awkward performance.
His display was so exaggerated and funny that everyone felt it.
Including Qiu Mo, who couldn't help but suppress a chuckle.
How had he gone from a focused and passionate literary image to a clown in just a few steps?
"Excuse me, make some room, she and I are in the same class. We used to be deskmates, I'm used to sitting with her," Ji Yun showed no hesitation in displacing the boy sitting next to Qiu Mo.
The boy's eyes widened.
He had never seen such a brazen person!
Ji Yun simply plopped down on the seat, leaving the boy no choice but to give it up.
"This poem 'You are Mortal Realm's April day' actually has another interpretation, claiming Lin Huiyin wrote it to mourn Xu Zhimo..." the young male teacher started to explain in earnest.
His explanation was not very profound.
Nowadays, too many so-called youths use poetry to embellish themselves, just for the sake of appearing 'literary,' but in reality, very few truly study and write with their hearts.
Ji Yun, in middle school, actually had some literary foundation, and he too was madly in love with modern poetry then. But these lofty and intricate things were easily defeated by the playful nature of boys.
Basketball, football, games, skateboarding, cycling... Obviously, these would become Ji Yun's greater passions.
Great literature can elevate a person's character and vision, not in a way that says 'I learned it, I'm more sophisticated than you' with snobbish pride.
The teacher of modern poetry was a typical example of the latter, and Ji Yun had no good feelings toward him. He would rather pick up a basic collection of poems and mix it slowly with his somewhat turbulent life, slowly savoring, slowly reading...
Back in middle school, his reading was romantic and naive, filled with dreams of beauty.
Now, reading again, Ji Yun found a different understanding. All the envisioned beauties had passed like clouds, never grasped or cherished, leaving bitterness and reluctance in memory and numbness upon awakening.
"Ding ding~~~"
While reciting Yang Jiang's poetry, the teacher's phone rang.
It must have been something important, as the poetry teacher's brow furrowed after taking the call.