Chapter 43: Loving All That Comes With Love

Fang Xiaodan: “A shout-out to Mr. Huang—he sings really well.”
Niu Dabao: “Xiaodan, you call that just ‘really well’? He’s absolutely amazing!”
Wang Di: “I always thought I looked pretty cool playing and singing by myself, but after watching Mr. Huang’s video today, I’m ready to smash my guitar.”
Zhang Liang: “Haha, this is the song Mr. Huang wrote for me! Pay attention to what really matters, people!”
Guan Qiangguo: “Some people are born to be shameless. Pigs get slaughtered for being cheap. Liang, your days are numbered.”
Liu Lu: “Zhang Liang, I know you took a spill today and hit your head, so you’ve got a brain hemorrhage. I forgive you.”
Li Chenggang: “Even though Zhang Liang’s usually a pain, he’s not wrong today. Mr. Huang’s song really does have that Mayday vibe! Never thought Mr. Huang liked Mayday—I thought only young people did.”
Lang Bing: “The young people who liked Mayday back then have all become uncles and aunties, and even Mayday themselves are now a bunch of family men. Mr. Huang liking Mayday? Makes perfect sense.”
Liu Zhongjie: “Can you guys stop joking and actually listen? Mr. Huang’s singing is beautiful! Here I am in a hotpot restaurant, but with this song, I felt like I was having French cuisine—I was so enraptured I nearly passed out!”
Guan Qiangguo: “Zhongjie, you nearly passed out because you drank too much. Damn it, you puked all over my pants after we left the hotpot place—you owe me a pair of school uniform pants!”
Chen Wenwen: “You guys get to eat with Mr. Huang and enjoy his music. I’m so jealous. When will we get that kind of treatment?”
Cui Li (Class Monitor): “I never thought Mr. Huang could sing so well. I always thought he couldn’t sing. If I remember correctly, he’s only ever sung a few scales in music class, never a whole song, right?”
Guan Qiangguo: “Monitor, you remember right. Mr. Huang is just that good at hiding his talents.”
Zhao Qiang: “Don’t you all think Mr. Huang should go on ‘Sing! China’? With his style, he’d definitely make a splash!”
Xu Yang: “Mr. Huang should sign up for ‘The Next’. No offense, but I honestly find his songwriting even more impressive than his singing.”
Cao Wei: “I agree, Mr. Huang’s songwriting is next-level. ‘Born Defiant’ was so intense, and this ‘Contentment’ is full of feeling too! Turns out Mr. Huang’s a real genius. All thanks to Zhang Liang, I always thought Mr. Huang was just some weirdo who likes dirty magazines.”
Shi Feng: “Honestly, being a teacher is a waste of Mr. Huang’s talent. With his skills, he could easily be a singer! What the music industry needs most right now are singer-songwriters. He should really give Gotham a try.”
Liu Yan: “Gotham? What, is Mr. Huang Batman now? Though, actually, he does have something in common with Batman—they’re both pretty plain-looking.”
Shuai Xiaowei: “I almost spit out my drink. Liu Yan, your standards are way too high! Girls, what kind of taste do you have? Mr. Huang isn’t just plain-looking—he’s exceptionally plain!”
Zhou Yan: “Hey everyone, how about we all coax Mr. Huang to sing for us in music class next week? Let’s ditch the boring textbook stuff and make him sing instead!”
Wang Jing: “Totally agree with Zhou Yan! Next week we all coax Mr. Huang together!”
Zhang Liang: “You guys are the best! If Mr. Huang sings, I don’t have to, haha! Long live!”

…

As Bai Yao scrolled through these comments, she clicked on the video link Zhang Liang had posted and listened to the song sung by Huang Guolun.

She hadn’t expected much, but upon listening, she was genuinely surprised.

She’d heard Huang Guolun perform “The Beautiful People,” had listened to his high-end electronic metal soundtrack for “Bio-Tyranny,” and was familiar with the rousing “Born Defiant” he’d written.

Those works had led Bai Yao to believe that Huang Guolun’s forte was energetic, rock-infused music.

But to her surprise, in the video, Huang Guolun sang a pure and touching love song, his sincerity as a singer drawing listeners into a peaceful, entranced state.

Bai Yao felt uplifted, genuinely admiring him. Every song Mr. Huang writes is so evocative!

Normally, she wasn’t one to call someone a genius lightly.

But when it came to Huang Guolun, she really had to admit it.

He was a truly gifted, quietly brilliant musical genius.

Bai Yao hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should forward the video link to Huang Guolun, just to let him know how highly his students thought of him.

But it was getting late—nearly half past nine—so she decided not to disturb his rest.

She figured someone else would probably forward the video to him anyway.

And she was right.

That evening, someone did send the video to Huang Guolun, though it wasn’t a student, but a young, popular female teacher at Experimental High School.

Her name was Sun Yanzhen, and she taught chemistry.

Counting her time as an intern, Sun Yanzhen had been teaching at Experimental High for just over three years, but she was already the school’s most beloved teacher among students.

Her popularity owed much to her delicate, charming looks—at first glance, she could pass for a stylish college student, not a celebrity but even more dazzling, nothing like a typical high school teacher.

More importantly, her teaching style was lighthearted and engaging. Rather than rigidly following the textbook, she developed her own “cute teaching method,” which was a hit with students.

For example, her way of helping students memorize the periodic table was unique.

The original sequence went: Potassium, Calcium, Sodium, Magnesium, Aluminum; Zinc, Iron, Tin, Lead, Hydrogen; Copper, Mercury, Silver, Platinum, Gold.

For the talented students at Experimental High, memorizing it wasn’t especially hard, but Sun Yanzhen taught them a quirky mnemonic: “Marry, give, that, beauty, girl; body, thin, slender, light; total, altogether, one, hundred, jin.” (The phrase mimicked the element sequence, turning it into a silly rhyme about a beautiful girl weighing exactly one hundred jin.)

After that, nobody ever struggled with the periodic table again.

Her classes were always lively and full of interest, and students were eager to learn from her.

She never assigned much homework, doing everything she could to ease their academic burden—a move that earned her even more admiration.

But she had a secret weapon for motivating students to study on their own: once she’d gotten to know each class, she’d tell them that if they didn’t do well, the principal would reassign her, and she never went back on her word.

No student wanted to lose such a beloved teacher, so they all took the initiative to study hard—resulting in her classes consistently achieving top chemistry scores.

Such are the perks of being a charming teacher.

In less than three years, Sun Yanzhen had already begun leading her own class as a homeroom teacher.

She was currently the most promising young teacher at Experimental High.

As for how Sun Yanzhen and Huang Guolun first met, it was rather awkward.

When Sun Yanzhen began her internship at Experimental High, Huang Guolun was deep in grief after losing his wife, barely making it through the days.

He spent that half-year on leave, staying home to care for his daughter Huang Tao.

Once he’d pulled himself together, he returned to teaching at Experimental High.

By then, Sun Yanzhen had become a full teacher and was already quite popular at school.

But to Huang Guolun, she was a stranger.

Their offices were on different floors, and their meal times didn’t coincide. Even after working together for almost half a semester, they’d never once met.

He’d heard from his colleagues that the school had a particularly adorable new chemistry teacher, and that many of the single male teachers were secretly smitten with her—unfortunately, she was already taken, so all they could do was sigh.

At the time, Huang Guolun was still mired in grief and paid no attention to such things, or to the new teacher, Sun.

He was so low-spirited that he didn’t participate in any staff activities and never ran into Sun Yanzhen.

It wasn’t until the end-of-term exams, when he was assigned to proctor, that he finally crossed paths with her—by chance, they were paired to invigilate the same exam room.

That day, Huang Guolun arrived at the exam room early, and saw a girl with an upturned ponytail and a pure, doll-like face walk in.

Perhaps worried about theft, she wore her pink Nike backpack on her chest, held an iced coffee in her left hand, and an iPhone in her right. Casually sipping her coffee and scrolling through her phone, she strolled in, looking completely at ease.

Huang Guolun, in a sour mood, immediately snapped at her: “Don’t you know candidates aren’t allowed to bring phones into the exam room? Are you here to shop or to take the exam?”

The girl was momentarily stunned, then quietly replied, “I’m here to proctor.”

“Uh…”

Huang Guolun was left speechless—so this was Ms. Sun Yanzhen!

She really… did not look like a teacher!

The students burst out laughing.

Sun Yanzhen, however, didn’t take offense. She even cheerfully asked, “Do I really look that much like a student?”

Huang Guolun could have died of embarrassment.

For the next two years, they didn’t have much interaction—not even a few words exchanged.

It wasn’t until last summer vacation, when the school organized a group trip for teachers to Mount Lu, that their relationship began to warm, thanks to Huang Tao.

Teachers were allowed to bring family members on the trip, so Huang Guolun brought along Huang Tao.

That boy had a natural affinity for young, pretty women. The moment he met Sun Yanzhen, he clung to her relentlessly, wanting to do everything with her, even sleep in the same room, leaving Huang Guolun mortified.

At the time, Sun Yanzhen was newly single after a breakup, and several male teachers hoped to take advantage of the trip to court her.

But with Huang Tao monopolizing her, she spent almost all her time with father and son—eating, sightseeing, everything—leaving no opportunity for others.

The male teachers joked that Huang Tao was truly his father’s son—so “thoughtful”!

Huang Guolun was so frustrated he swore never to bring his son on a teachers’ trip again.

Those days, Sun Yanzhen was so amused by Huang Tao that she couldn’t stop grinning, transforming from a heartbroken girl to a beaming, silly ball of joy.

She’d never met such a lovable, entertaining child.

After several days out, she came back with her cheeks sore from smiling, utterly smitten with Huang Tao.

After that, she would sometimes ask Huang Guolun to bring Huang Tao out to play; she simply enjoyed spending time with him.

The three of them went out together a few more times—watching movies, going to amusement parks, even strawberry picking in the countryside.

At first, Sun Yanzhen invited them out because she liked Huang Tao.

She didn’t feel anything for Huang Guolun.

Even knowing he came from a good family didn’t sway her; her own background was fine, so he didn’t particularly attract her.

But as the saying goes, when you love someone, you come to care for those around them as well.

The more she interacted with Huang Guolun, the longer they spent together, and with Huang Tao setting the pace, Sun Yanzhen gradually began to develop some feelings for him.