CHAPTER 463: CHAPTER 462: PERFORMANCE SELECTION

The closing ceremony on Saturday ended quickly; after all, it was just a matter of ten classes lining up in turn for procession, followed by a summary speech from the school leadership.

Just that five hundred freshmen were all eager for a day and a half of weekend break after the ceremony! What they faced, however, was the selection for participants in the cultural performance!

"Students! Since the junior and senior students have tight study schedules and heavy tasks! The school leadership has decided after consideration! This performance will select participants entirely from the freshman class! Everyone is included! Assemble in the school auditorium at one o’clock in the afternoon! At that time, a music teacher specially invited from a higher institution will preside the selection process! ...dismissed!"

As soon as the last word was spoken, the students immediately scattered in all directions!

Some boys were not interested in the performance in the first place, now being forcibly involved in the selection, naturally felt uncomfortable! So it didn’t take long after the crowd dispersed for Zhen Yu to hear boys complaining not far away, "Whoever wants to participate should just go! Why does everyone have to go! It’s so annoying!"

"Shh! Lower your voice! Do you still want to run for class office?! Everyone says that if you’re not enthusiastic about participating in the performance, you can forget about running for class office! Just go through the motions and that’s all!"

"What if I actually get selected! What a waste of time!"

"Have some confidence in yourself! With the way you look, you definitely won’t get chosen!"

The boys laughed and cursed, "Get lost! Go screw yourself!"

-

Compared to boys, girl’s attitudes were much more positive.

It was common to see groups of three or five girls walking together, discussing what criteria would be used for the afternoon’s selection. While Zhen Yu was listening to the lively discussions, Bai Xue approached her.

Her first question was, "Xiao Yu! Do you think I can get selected?"

Zhen Yu retorted with a question of her own, "If I don’t participate, would you still want to go?"

"..." Bai Xue’s expression twisted, but clearly, her answer was yes.

Zhen Yu saw through her thoughts and after thinking it over, said, "I think you have a fifty percent chance of getting selected!"

"Why fifty percent?" Bai Xue was utterly puzzled.

Zhen Yu didn’t mince words as she laid out Bai Xue’s strengths and weaknesses. "You look good, but you’ve never learned singing or dancing! You don’t have any notable talent, so..."

Bai Xue gritted her teeth, suddenly saying with resentment, "If I really don’t get selected this time, I’ll definitely sign up for a talent class right away! If there’s another chance to perform next time, no way I’m getting cut for the same reason!"

Hearing her say this, Zhen Yu’s mind suddenly stirred!

Bai Xue’s grades were mediocre, and even if she was lucky enough to have been admitted to First High School, after three years her college entrance exam results could at most stretch to a specialist college! But if she took the path of being a talent student, then naturally the requirements for academic subjects could be lowered...

And as for strengths, Bai Xue wasn’t without them! At the very least, her voice was pretty good, it’s just her singing skills were below average public level! Not even comparable to a KTV-king! So the songs she usually sang were just ordinary.

But at least Bai Xue didn’t sing off-pitch! Compared to Zhen Yan, she could be considered as having potential!

"Why don’t you discuss with Aunt Fu about signing up for a vocal class or something? If you do well, you might as well just go for a talent student for your college exams!"

Bai Xue took Zhen Yu’s words to heart, and even during the afternoon assembly for selections, she seemed distracted. She just couldn’t wait for it to end so she could leave school and call her mother!

Maybe, maybe this was her way out!

After all, one knows one’s own affairs! When it came to studying academic subjects, Bai Xue truly felt she had the will but not the strength! But since she had managed to get into an elite high school, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and continue.

As to what level she could reach in three years, frankly, even Bai Xue herself didn’t dare to think...

——

At exactly one o’clock, a female teacher introduced by Director Feng came on stage.

She stood on the stage, holding a microphone, and said: "Hello, students! I am the music teacher in charge of this cultural performance, my last name is Zhang! Today’s selection, actually, is very simple! Because the main program format for our performance has already been roughly determined, it shall be a group dance!"

"I thought it would be a chorale! It turns out to be a dance!" Zhen Yu heard someone murmuring quietly beside her.

"I know that most boys at the school haven’t learned to dance, so we’ll start with the boys! If you have learned dance, please come forward to the stage now!"

Silence.

After more than a minute of silence, still no boy took the stage.

Teacher Zhang showed an expression suggesting she knew this would happen, and with a smile, continued: "Then, next, I will list the conditions, boys who meet the following conditions, please step out later and stand below the stage."

Once she mentioned conditions, all the students calmed down and listened intently.

"First is height, at least 1.78 meters, including 1.78 meters, boys please come forward!"

——

The boys’ selection was indeed quick; they were just freshmen, and there weren’t many who were 1.78 meters tall. A few were filtered out for their excessive acne-filled youthful faces, and then the candidates were chosen directly.

Even Zhen Yu, a mere observer, couldn’t help but sigh inwardly!

"It’s so perfunctory?!"

Obviously, it was that perfunctory!

Teacher Zhang had already started calling the ’winning’ boys on stage to stand in a row!

"Now it’s the girls’ turn, I know many girls may have learned to dance, so now I’d like to ask those who have learned to dance to stand below the stage first!"

The same routine, different audience.

As soon as she finished speaking, a bunch of girls hurried over.

A row that didn’t even step down!

Teacher Zhang looked at the uneven heights of this group of girls standing below, did a quick mental count of roughly how many girls of similar height there were, and frowned.

"This way! Are there other girls who feel they haven’t learned to dance but have a good sense of rhythm, please come to the front as well!"

Once again a large group of girls went forward! Bai Xue was among them.

This large group of girls was asked by Teacher Zhang to stand a little farther away from the previous group.

"Come on! I’ll do a few simple movements, you all follow and learn! I will observe how well you can mimic them!" Saying this, Teacher Zhang put down the microphone and counted beats while demonstrating a few jumps.

Honestly! Zhen Yu didn’t think her movements were simple at all! In any case, asking Zhen Yu to replicate them just from watching a few times would definitely be challenging!

"Come on! I’ll count the beats again, everyone try to do it together!"

With Teacher Zhang’s order, the girls had no choice but to pluck up their courage and jump.

And then...