The white rose I picked up cried and said she liked me.

The last period in the afternoon was music class, which was also the only music class in half a month.

It's more of an entertainment class than a music class. It alternates with the art class every week, and there's not much teaching content. It's basically just for the students to relax.

Wen Yao said to Xu Xi.

The pace of high school studies is relatively intense. Even at the beginning of the second year of high school, the whole class was shrouded in a tense atmosphere.

In less than two years, they will take the college entrance examination, the most important exam of their lives.

Every year, many students in the prime of their youth, or due to setbacks in their studies, choose to end their lives in a moment of despair.

Appropriate relaxation and entertainment are also very necessary, as they can alleviate the stress experienced by students to some extent.

Therefore, even in the most academically focused high school, where top students abound, music class is a mandatory course.

The class was held in a tiered classroom. Because there were only a few of these classrooms, music lessons had to be combined between two classes.

Class 3 and Class 4 of Grade 11, as classes that attend classes together, gather here every two weeks.

"Wen Yao, where should I sit?"

Xu Xi gently tugged at Wen Yao's sleeve. Standing in the huge classroom, surrounded by unfamiliar classmates, she felt somewhat lost.

"Sit anywhere; there are no assigned seats."

Seeing that Xu Xi was a little nervous, Wen Yao pulled her to sit down in the middle row on the left side of the classroom.

"Please save me a seat next to me. I need to go to the podium to take attendance before class starts."

Xu Xi nodded, took off the flower petal hair clip from her head, and placed it on her left side.

Wen Yao took the roster and walked to the podium.

Standing next to her was a tall boy, also holding a roster; he must be the class monitor of Class 4, Grade 11.

"Xu Xi, is the seat next to you occupied?"

Hearing someone call her name, Xu Xi turned around and saw that it was Song Jiayi.

"This seat is taken; it belongs to Wen Yao."

She pointed to the seat to her left.

"And what about the seat to your right?"

Xu Xi shook her head.

"May I sit here?"

Song Jiayi smiled and looked at Xu Xi.

Xu Xi paused for a moment, her beautiful eyes scanning the classroom, where there were still nearly a third of the seats empty.

Why did Song Jiayi sit next to me?

However, she couldn't think of a good reason to refuse Song Jiayi.

After all, they are classmates. Even if they are strangers, it doesn't seem polite to refuse their request to choose a seat without a reason.

Xu Xi nodded.

After Song Jiayi sat down, Xu Xi quietly moved to the side away from him.

"Jiayi, I found you! So you were here all along."

Zhao Lin happily sat down in the seat to Song Jiayi's right and put her arms around Song Jiayi's arms.

She wore light makeup and had a faint scent of perfume.

It was clearly sprayed on right after class ended.

Noticing a girl sitting to Song Jiayi's left, a hint of displeasure flashed in Zhao Lin's eyes.

"The teacher will be here soon, so be mindful of your behavior."

Song Jiayi's smile vanished, and he quickly pushed Zhao Lin away from him, his eyes involuntarily glancing at Xu Xi.

"Okay..."

Zhao Lin reluctantly let go of him, her face filled with disappointment.

When the school bell rang, Wen Yao and another class monitor began taking attendance.

"Teacher, Class 3 is all here."

"Class Four is all here now."

"Okay, thank you, class monitors."

The music teacher was a young woman who didn't look much older than the students present. If she were wearing a school uniform, probably no one would recognize her as a teacher.

She wore a beautiful crystal pendant around her neck, which shone brightly under the light.

The pendant appeared to be hollow; through its transparent exterior, one could see that it seemed to contain some grayish substance.

"Teacher Jiang is so beautiful."

"I heard she just graduated last year and was assigned to our school. She must be only five or six years older than us."

"Does Teacher Jiang have a boyfriend/girlfriend?"

"Probably not. Don't be fooled by her lively personality in front of us; she's actually quite aloof behind our backs. The PE teacher from the next grade once confessed his feelings to her, but he rejected her very decisively."

A murmur arose from the audience.

"Little brothers and sisters, I haven't seen you all summer, did you miss your big sister?"

Teacher Jiang bent over, cupped her hands in a megaphone shape, and shouted loudly into the classroom with a smile.

"think!!!"

The students shouted in unison, their voices deafening.

If the lecture hall weren't so well soundproofed, it would probably have affected other classes upstairs.

"Hehe, I miss you all too~"

As Teacher Jiang was speaking, she suddenly remembered something and quickly covered her mouth.

"No, no, I have to call myself a teacher, otherwise if the headmaster hears me, he'll fine me again ಥ_ಥ"

A burst of laughter came from the classroom.

Teacher Jiang made a funny face and stuck out her tongue.

"Where did you all go this summer vacation? Is there any really fun place you went to? Share it with your teacher!"

"Teacher, I went to the grasslands during summer vacation. I thought there would be yurts everywhere, but when I got there, I found it was all reinforced concrete, not much different from Yuncheng. But the roasted lamb leg there was really delicious!"

"Teacher, you must visit Guangxi Province sometime! The mountains and rivers there are absolutely stunning, and there are crystal-clear springs that you can see right to the bottom—cleaner than my tap water!"

"Teacher, I..."

The students chattered excitedly about their summer vacation experiences, while Teacher Jiang kept writing in a small notebook, occasionally offering a few words of comment with a smile. The whole classroom was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

"Alright, alright, that's enough of our chat for today. I have to go to my class soon, otherwise the head teacher will find out I spent the whole class joking around and I'll get my pay docked again ಥ_ಥ"

Nearly twenty minutes passed before Teacher Jiang finally stopped smiling and put on a serious expression.

"Then, just like last semester, everyone will take turns raising their hands to go up and sing a song they like. As long as you can sing the whole song, you will get an excellent grade this semester."

"Is there anyone who would like to be the first to go up on stage?"

The boys in the audience started to make a fuss, shouting out several names.

These people are either karaoke enthusiasts who sing exceptionally well, or they have very distinctive voices.

Of course, there are also those who are very close friends and simply want to see the other person make a fool of themselves.

Amid cheers and applause, several students shyly went up on stage.

"The world of freedom in my heart is so clear and lofty..."

"I was once captivated by the vastness of the world and enchanted by its splendor..."

One of the boys sang Eason Chan's "Under Mount Fuji" in Cantonese. His standard Cantonese pronunciation and unique voice attracted unanimous praise from his classmates.

Gradually, all the students who were willing to go on stage to sing had finished their performances, leaving only a few students still sitting in their seats, eager to sing but worried about performing poorly and being laughed at, and itching to do so.

"There's still one song left before get out of class ends. Is there anyone else who would like to perform?"

Teacher Jiang's gaze wandered among the students, who all lowered their heads or pretended to look elsewhere.

"Well then, the teacher will draw a prize~ Whoever is drawn will be the final singer."

Teacher Jiang took the class rosters from both classes, covered her eyes with a handkerchief, and started moving her fingers over each name while humming a rhythmic melody.

When the melody stopped, Teacher Jiang removed the handkerchief covering her eyes, revealing that her finger was resting on a name she didn't seem to have seen last year.

"Xu Xi, are you a student in either of our classes?"