Chapter 66: A Neck Injury

Monday morning.

Huang Guolun went to work as usual, carrying his briefcase and strolling leisurely toward the Experimental High School. Just as he was nearing the school, he heard a raspy voice behind him call out, “Mr. Huang!” Turning around, he saw Zhang Liang, the tall boy from Class Five, Grade Eleven.

Huang Guolun was mildly nearsighted, but at this moment he could see clearly: Zhang Liang wore a pale neck brace, looking rather awkward—it was obvious he’d been injured. Yet despite his appearance, his face showed not the slightest sign of suffering; he grinned mischievously as he jogged up to Huang Guolun.

“What happened to your neck? Did you hurt it playing ball?” Huang Guolun asked as Zhang Liang stopped before him.

Zhang Liang replied, both aggrieved and indignant, “It wasn’t from playing ball. That idiot Guan Qiangguo did this to me.”

“Guan Qiangguo did it? Wait a minute…” Something struck Huang Guolun; he scrutinized Zhang Liang, one eye wide, the other squinting. “Are you trying to pull another trick on me? Is this all just a ploy to skip singing?”

Zhang Liang held up three fingers and protested, “Mr. Huang, I already won third place in the school’s music competition. Do you still want me to sing? Can’t I have a week or two off?”

“Even if you took third place in the world, you still have to honor our agreement!” Huang Guolun pretended to be earnest, though he was actually rather pleased by Zhang Liang’s predicament. “It’s all for your own good.”

Zhang Liang interrupted, frustrated, “Alright, alright, say no more. I’ll sing, okay?”

“That’s more like a man.” Huang Guolun pointed to Zhang Liang’s neck. “So what really happened?”

“It’s a long story, let me tell you as we walk.” The two moved side by side toward the school, and Zhang Liang began recounting his weekend misfortunes:

“I broke up not long ago, remember? Yesterday afternoon I asked Guan Qiangguo to go watch the Guoan team play, hoping to vent my frustration. But, unlucky as ever, Guoan lost their last match of the season! It was like salt on my wound!”

Huang Guolun laughed, “I never realized you were such a football fan.”

Zhang Liang gave him a speechless look. “Mr. Huang, it’s obvious you’re not a fan. If you were, you wouldn’t say that. How many boys aren’t into football these days? Two-thirds of our class are Guoan fans; the other third are girls who don’t even know how many players are on the field.”

“Enough small talk—what happened to your neck?” Huang Guolun wanted to be sure; if Zhang Liang was seriously injured, he might let him skip singing for a week.

Zhang Liang sighed dramatically, “It’s all tears, really! I went to watch the game to vent, but ended up more depressed. Guan Qiangguo was upset too, so we drowned our sorrows at the McDonald’s across from the stadium. Then I checked my moments, and—damn it!—just three minutes earlier, Fang Yun had posted a photo of Ma Chao feeding her chicken wings, with a sweet heart emoji! I was so furious, steam nearly came out of my nose! Even though Ma Chao wasn’t in the photo, just his hand feeding Fang Yun, anyone could tell it was his rough hand! If he can feed her chicken wings today, tomorrow he’ll feed her… other parts of the chicken!”

Huang Guolun nearly stared his eyes out. “You kids, how do you get your minds so filthy?”

Zhang Liang laughed sheepishly. “Don’t overthink it. I meant chicken drumsticks, but my tongue got tangled.”

Huang Guolun refused to banter, urging him, “Didn’t I talk you through this before? Why are you still hung up on such things? A young man should have ambitions beyond romance! If you keep spinning your wheels in matters of the heart, what future will you have?”

“Mr. Huang, I have moved on, but seeing Fang Yun post that, I was still angry—I just couldn’t control myself!” After a burst of emotion, Zhang Liang continued his story. “The photo looked like it was in McDonald’s. I thought it was the same one I was in, so I looked around to see if Fang Yun and Ma Chao were there.”

“Were they? You weren’t about to start a fight, were you? Maybe you got hurt when Guan Qiangguo stopped you?”

“No, I don’t have such a temper. If they were in my McDonald’s, I’d go over and congratulate them.”

“Bah.” Huang Guolun couldn’t help himself, a little out of character.

Zhang Liang grinned. “Heh, they weren’t at the stadium McDonald’s, but after seeing that photo, I was really down. Guan Qiangguo started egging me on, saying Fang Yun was completely devoted to Ma Chao. I was so mad, I wanted to drink pesticide right there to prove my deep love for Fang Yun!”

Huang Guolun scolded, “If you really did that over such a thing, it wouldn’t prove your devotion, only that you’re a fool!”

Zhang Liang accepted the lesson, “Yes, yes, you’re right. I’d never actually do something so stupid, I was only venting. After Guan Qiangguo finished mocking me, he went to the bathroom. I sat alone by the window, eating fries, watching the disappointed faces of Guoan fans outside, and then looking at Fang Yun’s ridiculous photo—I was really, really angry!”

“What happened next?” Huang Guolun began to worry the foolish boy might have done something reckless.

“Next, I commented on Fang Yun’s post to call out her shameless display of affection. Only after that did I feel a bit better.”

“What did you comment?”

“I told her a story: Once there was a girl who posted about her love, made cola chicken wings for her boyfriend. He tasted one and said it was delicious. She tried it and said, ‘Liar, it’s not even cooked.’ The boy gently replied, ‘Silly, whatever you make tastes good to me.’ A few days later, both died of bird flu.”

Huang Guolun was bewildered. “Why did you tell her that?”

“I wanted to remind Fang Yun: showing off love leads to a quick end! Haha, it felt so good!” Zhang Liang still felt thrilled thinking about it.

Huang Guolun replied, “If I were Ma Chao, I’d beat you senseless. If I were Fang Yun, I’d delete you from my contacts.”

Zhang Liang boasted, “She didn’t delete me. Maybe she found my humor amusing.”

Huang Guolun thought, “Amusing, my foot!” This guy claimed he’d chase Fang Yun again in college, but with his intelligence and emotional quotient, he’d probably never succeed even in his next life.

“If Ma Chao saw it, he’d definitely be mad—heh, mission accomplished. In short, one word: satisfying!”

“Are you done being satisfied?” Huang Guolun pressed the key issue, “Did your neck get injured from this?”

“Sort of…” Thinking of his neck, Zhang Liang sighed again, clutching the brace. “I was so gleeful I started coughing. You know, I sang too much last week, my throat was nearly gone, and I was a bit overheated, so I bought some throat-soothing syrup. The bottle looked like pesticide; when I took it out and was about to drink, Guan Qiangguo returned from the bathroom, saw me tilting my head back, thought I was about to commit suicide, and yelled, ‘Don’t do it!’ Then he tackled me full force!”

Zhang Liang pointed miserably to his neck brace. “And that’s how I ended up like this.”

Huang Guolun laughed in exasperation, “Serves you right!”

“Mr. Huang, look how badly I’m hurt. Can you let me off the hook for music class today?”

“Dream on! You brought this on yourself. Get back to class and we’ll talk alone during the fourth period.” They’d reached the campus, and Huang Guolun shooed Zhang Liang away, not wanting him to cling any longer.

Zhang Liang pleaded, “Can you at least let me sing a different song? ‘Why Are the Flowers So Red’ is so lame. I’d rather sing ‘O Sole Mio’ again than that.”

“What’s so lame about it? It’s you who’s lame. Zheng Jun and Tang Dynasty have both sung ‘Why Are the Flowers So Red’—did they sound lame?”

“My idol Zheng Jun sang that song?” Zhang Liang’s eyes lit up.

“Of course. If you haven’t heard it, find it and listen. If you can capture even a tenth of Zheng Jun’s style, you won’t have to sing for the rest of the semester, and you can skip the exam—I’ll give you full marks.”

Zhang Liang was instantly fired up. “Deal! You said so yourself! Today I’ll sing Zheng Jun’s version for you. If you like it, you have to pardon me!”

“I always keep my word. Now hurry to class—the morning bell’s already rung.”

“Hehe! Goodbye, Mr. Huang! Actually, see you soon!” Wearing his neck brace, Zhang Liang dashed into the teaching building, already plotting how to impress Huang Guolun.

Huang Guolun shook his head, smiling, and ambled into the building.

During morning exercises, Sun Yanzhen came down to the office to find Huang Guolun, reminding him again to help her class rehearse for the choir competition. The competition was still a ways off, so Huang Guolun asked Sun Yanzhen to first screen her class.

This choir contest required exactly thirty-five students. Nowadays, most high school classes had over fifty students. Huang Guolun told Sun Yanzhen to weed out those whose musical ability was lacking, and select the best thirty-five; then he’d coach them according to their strengths.

Sun Yanzhen knew Huang Guolun had to rush home after work to care for Huang Tao, and didn’t want to take up too much of his time. She agreed to select the thirty-five passable singers, hoping Huang Guolun could spend half an hour each day next week coaching them at lunch. In the evenings, the students would practice on their own. With two weeks of this, they should see results.

Huang Guolun took note, planning to start choir training for Class Two, Grade Ten, next week.

As for Zhang Liang’s troubles, Huang Guolun didn’t give them much thought.

During the third period, after teaching music to Class Four, Grade Eleven, Huang Guolun returned to the office for a break. Meanwhile, Zhang Liang gathered his classmates in Class Five, Grade Eleven, planning to give Mr. Huang a surprise.