Evening.
His relatives had long left.
Only Zhang Ye's family of three was left for dinner. They ate a simple meal, Zhajiang noodles. This was specially requested by Zhang Ye. In the South, it was impossible to eat such authentic Beijing Zhajiang noodles. Especially his mother's braised noodles, it was perfect. Zhang Ye had never gotten tired of eating it since he was young.
"How is it?" Mom asked with a smile.
Zhang Ye slurped the noodles, "It's still the same taste. It's delicious."
Mom said happily, "That's right. My skills can't be wrong. Tomorrow when you go back to Shanghai, Mom will make more Zhajiang for you to bring over."
As Zhang Ye ate, he asked, "Right, what time is it?"
"It's 6: 40. What's the matter?" Dad looked at his watch.
Zhang Ye quickly finished the last two mouthfuls, "I have to go out. I have something to do."
"Come back early." Mom reminded, "You still have to report to Peking University tomorrow. Don't delay it."
"Alright, got it. I'll be back before 10." Zhang Ye ate his fill and went downstairs to drive.
The X5 bulletproof car was left in his parents' neighborhood. As it had been left there for too long, the car was covered in dirt. Zhang Ye did not have the time to wash it, but it did not matter. He drove straight to Cao Mengmeng's school.
… …
A little past 7.
Outside Beijing's 15th Junior High's main entrance.
The sky was a little cloudy, and then it suddenly turned dark. There was not even a buffer.
15th Junior High was west of Taoran Pavilion, on Zixin Road. It was quite close to Caishikou. Actually, there was no need to drive from Zhang Ye's parents' house. It would take a quarter of an hour to reach. When the car arrived, Zhang Ye saw a huge crowd of cars at the school entrance. He regretted driving here. He knew that it was the parents bringing their children to the New Year's Eve party. And from the age of the children, there were not only middle school students, there were even high school students. This party was most likely held by the middle and high schools together. 15th Junior High was a key city, so such a party would naturally be livelier than a normal high school.
There was a parking queue in front.
Zhang Ye estimated that at this speed, he would not be able to enter the school anytime soon. He had lived here for too long. With a familiar turn of the steering wheel, he drove 200 meters west and parked the car in front of a hot pot restaurant. This restaurant's business was average. Usually, there were not many cars parked here. The boss was a nearby resident, and was quite easy to talk to. Usually, when there were no parking spaces, the boss would not say a word.
After getting out of the car, Zhang Ye walked into 15th High.
The party would start at 7: 30 pm. Most of the people who had arrived were already at the tail end.
Ring ring ring.
His phone rang.
"Brother! Why aren't you here yet! "Cao Mengmeng's angry voice came from the phone.
Zhang Ye chuckled and said, "I'm here. I just entered the entrance, the main entrance to the west. I've been waiting for you under your school motto?"
"We've arrived? Good, good, good! Wait for me! "He hung up.
Not long after, a petite figure ran over. "Brother!" Then she looked at him speechlessly. "Why are you wearing sunglasses?"
Zhang Ye said, "I'm used to it. I'll just wear it."
Cao Mengmeng said gloomily, "I still want to show off! Who can recognize you if you wear sunglasses? "
Zhang Ye rolled his eyes. "Come on. Your brother's reputation isn't as good as you think. My face is useless. Hurry up. It's already good enough that I agreed to come."
Cao Mengmeng pulled him towards the auditorium. "Forget it. Let's go. Quick, quick, quick. There's almost no space inside. There are too many people today. The middle and high schools are having a New Year's Gala together. Although it's free to participate, more than half of the people did not come. But those who came brought a parent. There's not enough space in the auditorium!"
The moment they entered the auditorium, there was indeed a sea of people.
The stuffy air that assaulted their nostrils was really unpleasant.
"Aiyah, don't push!"
"Daughter, I'm here!"
"Teacher Sun, long time no see!"
"Year 3 Class 1! Year 3 Class 1's parents, come over here! "
"Year 2 Class 5, gather! If your parents are not here, quickly contact them! "
"Students of Class 3, listen to me. In a while, during the party, try not to make a sound. Maintain silence. There will be a recording."
The parents were rushing to their seats.
The teachers-in-charge were also busy.
Inside, it wasn't that no one noticed Zhang Ye. Occasionally, a few people would stare at him a few times before looking away. It was as if they found Zhang Ye familiar, but did not pay much attention to it. Zhang Ye was now considered a celebrity, especially in Beijing. However, he was not a famous celebrity like Zhang Yuanqi, so his exposure was limited. Hence, many people could not recognize Zhang Ye even if he wore sunglasses. The key point was the environment. If it was at the television station's entrance, or if it was a celebrity's gala, people might have guessed that it was Zhang Ye wearing sunglasses. This was because they had already planted a signal in their brains. However, this was a normal high school's New Year's Gala. Even if people found Zhang Ye familiar, they would not think too much about it.
"Mengmeng!" A young woman called out to her from the other side.
Cao Mengmeng hurriedly waved, "Hehe, Teacher Leng, I'm here!"
The average-looking young woman with black-rimmed glasses was clearly Cao Mengmeng's teachers-in-charge. She grumbled, "You're always so slow. Where are your parents?"
Cao Mengmeng mouthed and pointed at Zhang Ye, "Dang Dang Dang Dang!"
Teacher Leng smiled and nodded, "You are?"
Zhang Ye smiled, "Hello, Teacher Leng. I'm Mengmeng's brother. Sorry to trouble you with this girl."
Teacher Leng shook hands with him, "It's alright. Mengmeng is quite a good child. She's always a source of joy in our class. It's just that she isn't very motivated in her studies. Let's talk alone after class. In the past, I've talked to her parents a few times, but it didn't have much effect. You are her brother, so you should be closer to her. Your words might be more effective than her parents. Her language is especially bad. I'm her language teacher and teachers-in-charge. It's almost time for the final exams. As a teacher, I'm worried for her. She can't do basic knowledge and composition. Oh right, there's also her math results. That's also … "This teachers-in-charge looked like a very responsible teacher. On the New Year's Gala, she did not forget to show concern for her child's studies.
Cao Mengmeng looked helpless. She signaled to Zhang Ye with her eyes, "See, what did I say? Does our teacher look like he's on stimulants the moment he sees my parents?"
Zhang Ye immediately agreed, "Alright, alright. I'll reprimand him later."
Teacher Leng acknowledged, "You have to reprimand him properly." Only then did she notice the time. She hurriedly said, "Hey, let's not talk about it. Let's quickly take our seats."
Cao Mengmeng exclaimed, "Why are there no more seats?"
Teacher Leng turned around and realized that there were no more seats left for her class. There were a few parents of her class standing in the aisle. "Dear parents, I'm really sorry. The school might not have made proper arrangements today. The logistics department has prepared some chairs. Please make do with it. Sitting in the aisle? I'm really sorry. We'll just make do with it. "
Teacher Leng herself did not sit in the soft seat. When she saw a parent who seemed to be older, she gave her seat to her. Then, she went to coordinate the chairs and got someone to bring a lot of them over. She also sat in the aisle with the parents. The other classes were in a similar situation. Some classes were not full, so they had to share some seats with the neighboring classes. Some were full, so they could only set up chairs in the aisle. However, their teachers-in-charge did not sit in the aisle themselves.
Hence, Teacher Leng was quite a good teachers-in-charge.
Zhang Ye did not say a word. He sat on a small stool indifferently.
Cao Mengmeng was unwilling, "Bro, why don't you sit with me? You're just a big …"
"Enough, it's not a big deal." Zhang Ye interrupted her, "Hurry up and consolidate your recitation. Isn't it your turn in the second half?"
"Then … Alright." Cao Mengmeng returned to her seat. She was surrounded by her classmates.
Beside her, a little girl giggled, "Mengmeng, who is that?"
"My brother." Cao Mengmeng proudly raised her neck, "Handsome, right?"
Another boy blinked, "Eh, why is your brother wearing sunglasses? The auditorium is so dark. "
Cao Mengmeng giggled, "My brother is a superstar, so of course he has to wear sunglasses."
"Superstar? That can't be, right? "A somewhat mature-looking youth said.
A girl who did not seem to have a good relationship with Cao Mengmeng grunted, "What superstar? Mengmeng, you're bragging too much. I think your brother is just wearing sunglasses to act cool."
Cao Mengmeng tsked, "Lili, why do I look down on you so much? If I tell you who my brother is, I guarantee you'll be scared to death!"
Lili pouted, "Keep bragging."
Cao Mengmeng curled her lips, "I can't be bothered with you."
A little boy quickly tried to smooth things over, "Mengmeng, Lili, don't quarrel. Every time you meet, you have to argue. Even if you aren't tired, we are tired of watching."
Superstar?
The other students did not think much of it.
Teacher Leng heard the conversation and turned her head to look at Zhang Ye, who was sitting diagonally behind her. He did look familiar, but he seemed to have a common face, so she did not pay much attention to him.
"Little bro, you are?" A parent sitting beside him asked.
Zhang Ye looked at the middle-aged man, "Oh, I'm Mengmeng's brother."
The parent smiled and nodded, "Hello, I'm Pengpeng's father."
"I'm Xiaomeng's mother. Nice to meet you." Another middle-aged woman interrupted.
Zhang Ye casually chatted with a few parents. He was really not used to the atmosphere of a "Parent-Teacher Conference". After all, they were in their thirties or forties, while he was only in his twenties.
"Little bro, what do you do for a living?" The middle-aged man asked with interest.
"Me?" Zhang Ye did not know how to answer. If you said he was in the literature field, that wouldn't count. If you said he was in the hosting field, then he had been suspended. If you said he was a teacher? He would only report in tomorrow, so with this hesitation, the middle-aged woman beside him changed the topic.
The woman said, "Big bro, what do you do?"
The middle-aged man smiled, "I'm a newspaper editor. I organize literature for publication. Teacher Leng's essay was even published in a newspaper before. Back then, I was the one who arranged the layout. I only found out a few months ago that the pen name Leng Yue was our Teacher Leng. What a coincidence."
Another man beside him said, "Ah? Teacher Leng even appeared in the newspaper before? "
The middle-aged man said with a smile, "That's right. Teacher Leng is very talented. Even our chief editor was full of praise for that essay. It was written very well."
Teacher Leng smiled wryly, "Brother Yang, don't brag about me. I was just lucky. That little bit of knowledge in me is not considered talent."
Brother Yang laughed, "You are being modest. If you don't have talent, then who does?"
Teacher Leng smiled, "Of course it's Teacher Zhang Ye. I'm his fan. Be it poems or programs, he never needs a script. He doesn't need any ideas. He can write anything he wants. The moment he opens his mouth, it will shock the literary world. Teacher Zhang is the one with talent!"
Brother Yang acknowledged, "That's true. I heard that Zhang Ye's compilation has sold more than 200,000 copies. That's not a novel, it's a compilation of poems. Such sales are heaven-defying!"
Teacher Leng said, "I've contributed to three of these sales. Teacher Zhang Ye's poems are too good. His essays and speeches are also world-class. There's nothing to pick on!"
The woman said, "I've never seen Zhang Ye's works, but my sister likes him a lot. She watches every episode of his' Zhang Ye's Talk Show 'two or three times."
Brother Yang sighed, "Now in the literary world, the newcomer with the most momentum is Zhang Ye. However, I feel that if we really compare them, those senior masters of the literary and poetry world are still a head higher than Zhang Ye. In terms of literary quality, Zhang Ye's works are not as good as those masters'."
Teacher Leng shook her head, "I don't think so. I feel that just based on Zhang Ye's works, he is already on par with those masters."
Brother Yang looked at her and said, "Teacher Leng, I have a different opinion on this. If it's just satirical poems, Zhang Ye can be said to dominate the country. He can indeed be on par with those masters of the literary world. 'Dead Water', 'The Answer', or the screaming 'Prisoner's Song' and 'My Confession'. 'The Song of the Stormy Petrel' can also be considered. In this field, Zhang Ye is at the peak. I also admit that. However, in the area of love poems, Zhang Ye's works are basically blank. That 'See Me or Not' is not considered a love poem. If you really want to count it, it's only 'Flying Bird and Fish'. So in terms of literary diversity and comprehensiveness, Zhang Ye is still lacking compared to those masters."
The woman said, "I've heard of 'Flying Bird and Fish'. It's very good."
Teacher Leng smiled and said, "One 'Flying Bird and Fish' is enough."
Brother Yang said, "But to be serious, 'Flying Bird and Fish', which is also 'The Furthest Distance in the World', is at most a yearning for love. It's not a pure love poem. At least that's how I understand it. Hence, in the field of love, which is the most important in poetry, Zhang Ye is still lacking in his works. If he can really come up with a modern poem that can appreciate love, then I will admit that he is a master."
Teacher Leng did not argue with him, "There will be."
As they chatted, the topic of their conversation shifted to Zhang Ye.
Zhang Ye, who was sitting in the middle of them, could not help but blush. Hearing them praising him, and Mengmeng's form teacher claiming to be his fan, Zhang Ye also smiled.
Look!
Popularity!
This is popularity, comrades!
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