The sofa was packed with people, and those who couldn’t sit were standing.
The standing people were about two or three rows deep.
Most of those who came were peers from the neighborhood. It was the weekend, so everyone had free time.
Among the roomful of people, there was even a child.
The child was holding a lollipop, staring at her with innocent eyes, and sweetly called out: “Hello, big sister.”
Lin Zhexia’s expression cracked a bit: “Whose kid is this?”
“That’s my cousin,” He Yang said, “Erya, come here, sit with brother.”
He Yang explained: “Brother Yao said to gather more people. My cousin happened to be at my place, so I brought him along. Don’t worry, he’s only five, but he can already understand human speech. Listening to your speech shouldn’t be a big problem for him.”
Lin Zhexia wondered if she had misheard: “Listen to my… speech?”
He Yang: “Yeah, aren’t you participating in a competition? The kind where there will be many people in the audience. How about that, thoughtful, right? We’ve come to rehearse with you. With all of us here, creating this atmosphere, after rehearsing with us, you’ll be able to adapt to having so many people in the audience.”
Lin Zhexia: “…”
Very creative.
Who came up with such a creative idea?
She almost applauded.
He Yang asked again with anticipation: “When does your speech start?”
Lin Zhexia scanned the roomful of people, her gaze finally landing on the most conspicuous among them—Chi Yao sat in the center of the sofa, looking as if he was being surrounded by everyone. Everyone else sat very properly, only he looked relaxed, casually looking down at his phone.
When he looked up again, their eyes met.
“It starts now,” although the scene was too ridiculous, Lin Zhexia had to admit it was a good practice opportunity. “Get ready, I’m about to begin my speech.”
After she said this, Chi Yao casually put away his phone.
Then, as the initiator of this creative idea, he demonstrated his leadership.
He leaned back and lazily clapped his hands.
With him taking the lead, others began to applaud too, and for a moment, the living room erupted in thunderous applause.
Lin Zhexia was speechless for a moment, then cleared her throat and began speaking without notes: “Hello, everyone. The title of my speech is, Youth.”
As soon as she finished speaking, someone turned and asked: “Brother Yao, should we cheer here?”
Chi Yao nodded slightly: “You can.”
The audience in the living room immediately erupted in enthusiastic responses.
Just as she finished stating her title, enthusiastic voices burst out: “Good! Well said!”
“This opening is very smooth!”
“As soon as I heard it, I knew our Brother Xia was destined to be the champion of the speech competition.”
“…”
Mixed in with these was the childish cheer from He Yang’s five-year-old cousin: “Big sister, your Mandarin is very standard.”
…
“You all be quiet.”
Lin Zhexia stopped and said, “The audience at the competition won’t be as noisy as you, I’m competing in the school auditorium, not in a chicken farm.”
He Yang: “What if everyone is impressed by your speech and can’t help themselves? You should adapt to such unexpected situations. How to respond calmly and with dignity amidst cheers.” After saying this, he sought validation from elsewhere, “Brother Yao, what do you think?”
Chi Yao didn’t follow up on his words: “That scenario you described is unlikely to happen.”
Lin Zhexia: “…”
In the end, Lin Zhexia rehearsed four or five times in front of this group.
She didn’t know if it was her imagination.
Today, she seemed to stumble less than yesterday.
Those words on paper seemed to leave the page and come out of her mouth effortlessly.
Yet yesterday, she had almost told Teacher Xu she wanted to give up.
He Yang stayed at Chi Yao’s home for nearly an hour and a half. After all the people who came to hear Lin Zhexia rehearse had left, he was also preparing to go home.
However, halfway there, he realized he hadn’t brought his phone, so he went back.
“I left something.” He Yang found his phone on the sofa.
Just as he was about to leave, He Yang remembered that before he left home, his mom seemed to be about to argue with his dad again, so he sat down on the sofa: “I think I’ll sit for a while before leaving.”
Chi Yao had no particular reaction and was tidying up the coffee table that had been messed up due to the crowd: “Suit yourself.”
He Yang: “I’ve been wanting to ask, when did you get that earring? I was staring at your ear for quite a while earlier.”
Chi Yao didn’t respond.
He Yang: “You’re already handsome enough, can you leave some room for people like us? If you go to school like this, won’t those people at school go crazy?”