"Ke Xin, can you sing?" Ye Qiu asked.
"No," Lan Kexin replied.
"Can you dance?"
"No."
"How about storytelling?"
Lan Kexin gave Ye Qiu a puzzled look and asked, "Why are you asking me all this?"
Ye Qiu sighed and explained, "Mr. Chen just talked to me. After the military training, the school will hold a Freshman Welcome Party, and our Archaeology Department needs to present a program. But with just the twenty of us in the department, where am I supposed to find people to put on a performance?"
Lan Kexin felt sorry for Ye Qiu and said, "Ye Qiu, I'm sorry, but I can't help. I'm not good at singing or dancing."
Ye Qiu waved it off and said, "There are plenty of people who can't sing or dance; it's not about intelligence. It's just a matter of different interests."
Yang Le leaned over and asked, "Are there any specific requirements? Can we perform anything?"
"Obviously, we can't do a pole dance," Li Dazhuang joked.
"Shut up! We're being serious here." Yang Le gave Li Dazhuang a playful slap on the back, then stood up and said, "I'll go ask around."
It was between classes, and some of the students were still hanging around the classroom. Yang Le quickly rounded up a few who were chatting in the hallway and brought them inside. Standing at the podium, he tapped the blackboard eraser to get everyone's attention. When the room quieted down, he smiled apologetically and said, "Sorry to interrupt. Here's the deal: according to school tradition, after our freshman military training, there will be a big Welcome Party. This is a major event, and every department has to prepare a program. Initially, the school overlooked our department, saying we didn't have enough people to put on a performance. But our Mr. Chen argued for us, and we were given one slot."
"Brothers, our department may be small, and we may have more guys than girls, but that's no reason to let others look down on us. The Welcome Party is a big stage—are we really going to let the Archaeology Department be the only one without a single representative? Are we just going to sit there, looking like fools, while everyone else sings, dances, and gets applause?"
As Yang Le spoke, he grew more passionate, his tone increasingly fervent, as if not participating in the party would be a grave disgrace for the department.
"I refuse to believe that with twenty people, we can't come up with a single performance! Singers, dancers, comedians, magicians—if you have any talents, sign up with our class monitor. Remember, when you're on that stage, you're not just representing yourself; you're representing the entire Archaeology Department. Our applause may not be the loudest, but it will be heartfelt."
When he finished, the classroom erupted in applause. The guys, fired up by Yang Le's speech, looked like they were ready to take on the world.
"Who says we can't put on a show? I'll go argue with them—"
"Exactly! We may be the smallest department at Shimu University, but we're going to make a big impact at the Welcome Party—"
"Brothers, if you've got any talents, don't hide them—Ke Xin, you're the only girl in our class. How about you sing while we all dance in the background?"
---
As Yang Le returned, Li Dazhuang gave him a thumbs up and said, "Not bad, not bad—you've got a future in diplomacy."
"Hehe, just read *Speech and Rhetoric* in your spare time. It helps a lot," Yang Le replied modestly.
"Seriously, well done," Ye Qiu chimed in, genuinely impressed. Yang Le had shown exceptional adaptability, quickly grasping the situation and delivering a stirring speech that roused the entire class. He had cleverly turned the school's imposition of a performance slot into a challenge, igniting a sense of unity and determination among the students.
Moreover, Ye Qiu noticed that Yang Le had been calm and composed on stage, his smile reassuring. His word choice, expressions, and gestures were all spot-on, like those of a seasoned diplomat or orator. But why would a regular college student like Yang Le go out of his way to learn this?
"Haha, boss, you don't need to flatter me. I think the guys will be eager to help. But we should still have a backup plan. Think about it—there are so many students at Shimu University, and some of them are probably really good at singing and dancing, maybe even at a professional level. Our program might get cut. So we should prepare a group performance."
"A group performance?"
"Yeah, something we can all do together. Maybe all twenty of us could go on stage," Yang Le suggested with a grin.
"Any ideas?" Ye Qiu asked, seeing Yang Le's confident smile.
"Not yet," Yang Le admitted, shaking his head.
As Ye Qiu's phone vibrated in his pocket, he pulled it out and saw that it was a call from Tang Guo. He answered, only to hear Lin Bao'er's cheerful voice on the other end: "Hey, Ye Qiu, come over quickly. Sister Tang is in trouble."
"In trouble? What happened? Where are you?" Ye Qiu asked, suddenly worried. Had they gone out and Tang Guo been kidnapped?
"We're in our dorm! Room 301 in Building 7. Hurry up! My phone's about to die—" The line went dead before Ye Qiu could ask anything else.
He tried calling back, but her phone was off, probably out of battery. At least they were in the dorm, so it didn't seem too serious.
"Yang Le, I need to step out for a bit. Cover for me if the teacher asks where I am," Ye Qiu said, getting up.
"What's going on?" Yang Le asked, concerned.
"Nothing major," Ye Qiu replied with a smile, waving off his concern.
Ye Qiu had never been to Tang Guo's dorm before and was surprised to find Lin Bao'er there. After asking around for directions, he headed toward Building 7.
"Hey, hey, hey—stop right there! Who said you could enter the girls' dormitory?" A middle-aged woman wearing a red armband shouted as Ye Qiu was about to enter the building marked with a large red "7."
"I'm here to see someone," Ye Qiu said, a bit taken aback. Was it really forbidden for men to enter the girls' dorm? How come girls could freely enter the boys' dorms? Was this some kind of double standard?
"See someone? That's the lamest excuse I've heard. Every guy who tries to get in here says they're just seeing someone. If I were your girlfriend, I'd dump you for being so clueless," the woman said, blocking Ye Qiu's way and refusing to let him pass.
To read the manga version, please click the YouTube link https://youtu.be/GnU613H6xm8