Lin Yuan's response shattered some of Huang Benyu's long-held beliefs, but he suddenly felt relieved when he remembered that there was a more enchanting talent in the school—Gu Xi.
It was a positive sign.
It showed that our school was brimming with talent.
In truth, without a professional ear like Huang Benyu's, no one could fully grasp how proficient Lin Yuan's skills were. The students in the class could only draw one conclusion: Lin Yuan played the piano exceptionally well.
However, after Lin Yuan's exceptional performance, Huang Benyu no longer made broad, indiscriminate statements like "I'm not singling anyone out; I'm speaking about everyone here."
In the subsequent piano classes, Huang Benyu's speeches all followed a routine prefix:
"Except for Lin Yuan, remember this point of knowledge."
"Except for Lin Yuan, I believe no one else will grasp why this is done here."
"Except for Lin Yuan, everyone should practice this piece after class, especially the final section."
"Except for Lin Yuan..."
After each piano lesson, the phrase "except for Lin Yuan" became Huang Benyu's mantra.
Perhaps it was a wish in Huang Benyu's heart—for Lin Yuan to be like Gu Xi and skip piano lessons altogether.
He'd gladly give Lin Yuan a pass!
And Lin Yuan's peaceful campus life remained unchanged, even after his impressive display in piano class.
If anything changed, it was that he became more popular among his classmates.
Moreover, with his calm demeanor, good nature, handsomeness, diligence, and piano-playing skills, it was hard for anyone to dislike such an exemplary student.
Actually, when Lin Yuan first joined the composition department, his classmates perceived him as aloof. However, after getting to know him, they realized that Lin Yuan was anything but cold.
Being reserved and being aloof were two different things. Lin Yuan simply wasn't very talkative.
The next day, as usual, Lin Yuan remained reticent and dedicated to his studies. His grades in his professional classes had caught up completely, unaffected by the sudden transfer to sophomore year.
And amidst such tranquil days, March arrived imperceptibly.
During this time of changing weather, March remained chilly, making it difficult for people to get out of bed easily.
The New Year's festivities began to fade away.
The latest issue of "Net King" continued to sell well.
It was released on March 1st, along with Chu Kuang's new work, a short story titled "The Gift of Maggie," which was also published in the magazine "Fun."
On this day, Lin Yuan also received a few complimentary copies of the "Interesting Reading" magazine from Yinlan Library.
A complimentary copy, as defined, was a publication provided free of charge by the editorial department to the author after their work was published. Providing complimentary copies was the publisher's obligation to the author.
Lin Yuan received a complimentary copy of "Interesting Reading."
Observing that "The Gift of Maggie" was prominently featured on the cover of the magazine, with the words "Chu Kuang's New Work" catching his eye, Lin Yuan realized the significance of the editors' attention to this story.
However, the publicity impact of "Chu Kuang's New Work" wasn't particularly strong, as the readers who preferred "Fun Reading" magazine didn't necessarily overlap with those interested in youth fantasy novels.
Chu Kuang was renowned for his youth fantasy novels.
For readers uninterested in youth fantasy, seeing the cover promotion might not even prompt them to recognize Chu Kuang's name. However, many would still anticipate the story featured on the cover.
Han Jimei was the operations officer for tribal literature, responsible for making the tribal literature section a hub for fragmented reading and leisure habits among users.
As an avid reader, she enjoyed her job and had the habit of subscribing to several magazines each month.
The best-selling magazines in Qinzhou always featured high-quality content, often including excellent short stories.
Han Jimei didn't dislike long stories; it was simply that, for a busy professional like her, dedicating time to reading longer stories was a luxury. Short stories, on the other hand, were concise and didn't require as much time commitment.
Today marked the beginning of March.
With new publications hitting the shelves, Han Jimei purchased six copies of various magazines for the month. However, the issue that caught her attention the most was the latest edition of the best-selling magazine "Fun Reading."
It wasn't because she particularly favored "Fun Reading."
Rather, it was due to the cover promotion of Chu Kuang's new work.
It was known that Chu Kuang had penned a short story in the tribal literature section last month, which received an excellent response.
The story, titled "Artificial Beauty," was exceptionally well-conceived—a rare masterpiece.
Han Jimei had been anticipating more short stories from Chu Kuang in the tribal literature section. Unexpectedly, Chu Kuang had completely shifted gears and started contributing to the "Interesting Reading" series.
"Let's see what you've written this time."
Although she felt a twinge of regret, as Chu Kuang hadn't continued to choose the tribal literature section as his platform, Han Jimei was still curious about his latest work.
She flipped to the first few short stories.
Han Jimei began with "The Gift of Maggie."
Many might misunderstand the title "Maggie's Gift" and assume that the protagonist of the story would be named Maggie. However, as a reader with a vast reading experience, Han Jimei knew that the protagonist was unlikely to be called Maggie.
This was related to Wei Zhou's Christmas legend.
Qinzhou also celebrated Christmas, albeit not as a mainstream holiday with no day off. Qinzhou residents mostly just enjoyed the festivities without any significant holiday observance.
Wei Zhou, on the other hand, had its unique Christmas traditions, with many residents adhering to Christian beliefs. Legend had it that when Jesus was born, three wise men presented gifts, and the tradition of giving gifts at Christmas had persisted since then.
This was likely the inspiration behind the title.
As she began reading, Han Jimei mused, "Tomorrow is Christmas. Mrs. A has only three eighty-cent coins to buy a gift for her husband. Clearly, she has saved up for months, sacrificing everything she could, but only managed to scrape together this small sum."
Mrs. A?
Chu Kuang's choice of names was lazy.
Han Jimei inwardly grumbled but understood the premise of the story from its opening paragraph.
It portrayed a woman living in dire circumstances, counting and recounting the few coins in her possession, fretting over what gift to give her husband for Christmas the next day.
The story likely took place many years ago when currency had more value.
Yet, three coins were still meager.
Turning away from the window, she faced the wall mirror and examined herself. Her eyes sparkled briefly, but within twenty seconds, her face lost its color. Hastily, she untied her hair, letting it fall freely.
What was she planning?
Han Jimei speculated on Mrs. A's intentions.
With her extensive reading experience, she even entertained some exaggerated interpretations. For instance, Mrs. A might resort to selling her body for money, with her first client being her husband.
It wasn't that Han Jimei had a morbid fascination.
During certain desperate times, selling one's body for survival wasn't unheard of. Chu Kuang might have aimed to portray the harsh realities of that era, but if it was merely for Christmas gifts...
Wasn't the premise a bit far-fetched?