Chapter 31: The Auditorium
The weather gradually turned colder, and Christmas was approaching—which meant the holidays were also not far off. The school had already issued notices about related activities, and every class was filled with the joy of the upcoming holiday.
Christmas decorations were sent to the school as if they were free. This year, they even proposed that every class should have a Christmas tree and could purchase decorations for it, which would be reimbursed by the school within a certain limit.
His roommate looked at the rows of fir trees downstairs, amazed.
“Is the school going bankrupt after this?” he exclaimed.
Luo Jing was rummaging through his wardrobe and replied casually, “Maybe the principal won the lottery.”
“What are you looking for?” his roommate asked, seeing him searching for a long time.
“Aren’t we supposed to wear formal attire tomorrow?” Luo Jing was also tired of searching, so he sat down on the bed. “I didn’t bring any this week. It was too sudden.”
His roommate agreed deeply: “Exactly, suddenly saying we have to gather in the auditorium tomorrow, and so formally, I don’t know what the school is up to.”
“Probably another one of those speeches, and they want to film some footage for next year’s admissions video,” Luo Jing guessed.
“Oh, I didn’t bring any formal clothes either, what should I do… Will the school’s clothing store have any?” His roommate also sat back on the bed, sharing Luo Jing’s worries.
“Forget it, they only have school sweatshirts there.” Luo Jing thought for a moment. “I’ll have my driver bring some over. We’re about the same size. I’ll bring one for you too.”
“Really? I’m eternally grateful!” His roommate was instantly overjoyed, almost calling him “dad.” “We’re about the same size, just bring yours.”
Luo Jing’s home was far from school, and with the bad traffic at night, the driver was stuck in traffic for over an hour. By the time Luo Jing received his clothes, it was already past eleven.
After returning to the dorm and tidying up, he suddenly realized he had forgotten to do half a page of his calculus homework before going to bed, so he had to take out his pen and burn the midnight oil.
Although there weren’t many problems, and he finished them in about ten to twenty minutes, it was still quite late when he finally went to bed, so he was a bit listless the next day.
They were supposed to gather in the auditorium after the first class in the morning.
The first class was spoken English with a foreign teacher. Every Thursday, this class had a free discussion session where the students chose a topic and chatted about it.
It was a cloudy day, and the sky was already dark. The teacher who taught this class had the strange habit of never turning on the lights during daytime classes. So, amidst the rustling and murmuring, Luo Jing felt drowsy.
But he didn’t dare to actually fall asleep.
This foreign teacher was a bit moody. When he saw students dozing off in his class, he would jokingly ask if they needed some coffee when he was in a good mood, and directly ask them to leave when he was in a bad mood.
So Luo Jing could only fight off his sleepiness and pretend to be listening attentively, occasionally nodding.
After all, no one dared to gamble on that 50% chance. Being sent outside to stand in such cold weather would definitely wake him up.
“I’m so sleepy,” Luo Jing whispered to his roommate during a break in the discussion. “Are we going to listen to a speech after class?”
“Yeah,” his roommate replied.
“Great,” Luo Jing said. “I’m going to sleep in the auditorium.”
He had never looked forward to the bell so much. The moment it rang, Luo Jing felt relieved, but just as he was about to slump over, his roommate pulled him up.
“Let’s go line up.”
Luo Jing felt like crying.
But the thought of being able to sleep in the auditorium served as his mental support, and he struggled to stand up.
Students from all three grades lined up and walked towards the auditorium. Luo Jing, walking in the middle of the line, was slightly awakened by the cold air outside.
“Is everyone going?” his roommate, walking behind him, asked in surprise. “I see students from first and third grade.”
“It seems so,” Luo Jing looked at the large crowd and started to worry about whether he would actually be able to sleep.
“I asked around yesterday. It seems like several members of the school board came together, so the school is probably nervous,” a boy in front of them turned around and said. “That explains why the school has been so generous recently.”
“What do you mean?” his roommate asked.
“The higher-ups are giving out money.”
His roommate suddenly understood: “You’re right.”
Luo Jing wasn’t interested in whether the government was giving out disaster relief funds. He only cared about whether he could sleep later: “So what are they here for? An inspection?”
“We’ll find out when we get there.”
Luo Jing nodded dejectedly and sent a message to Huai Dan on his smartwatch: [Brother, morning.]
And as usual, he didn’t receive an immediate reply.
All the lights in the auditorium were turned on, and Luo Jing was almost blinded upon entering.
He walked to his seat with a blank expression, feeling like a prisoner being interrogated under a bright light.
On the stage at the front of the auditorium was a long table covered with a dark red tablecloth. Five seats were arranged in a row, facing the audience, each with a metal nameplate in front of it, looking very imposing.
But the distance was too far, and Luo Jing couldn’t see what was written on them.
He wasn’t very interested either.
Resigned to his fate, he tried to fall asleep under the bright lights.
Without the cold air, his drowsiness gradually returned. The lights were turned off after everyone was seated, and Luo Jing breathed a sigh of relief, ready to let his consciousness sink into the abyss…
On stage, the host’s voice boomed, seemingly welcoming the school board members.
Luo Jing vaguely heard whispers and soft gasps around him.
But even if Sun Wukong suddenly appeared and swung his golden cudgel in front of him, he wouldn’t open his eyes now.
Several leaders took turns speaking on stage, but Luo Jing didn’t hear a single word. He was about to fall asleep.
Just a little bit more…
“Hello, everyone, my name is Huai Dan.” A deep male voice sounded, carrying the characteristic static of a microphone, echoing through the auditorium from several speakers.
Luo Jing’s eyes snapped open, his heart skipping a beat.
It was a calm tone, not even very loud, but it hit Luo Jing like a hammer, waking him up completely, yet leaving him dazed.
His deskmate, sitting next to him, was startled by his sudden reaction and patted his chest dramatically: “What are you doing? Suddenly sitting up like that, you scared me to death.”
Luo Jing, however, ignored him and stared at the person on stage, dumbfounded.
“Am I dreaming?” He stared straight ahead, completely stunned.
“No,” his deskmate looked at him strangely, then followed his gaze. “Oh, you weren’t listening just now. He’s also a member of the school board, his name is Huai Dan. Are you awestruck? Everyone was shocked earlier.”
Seeing Luo Jing speechless, he continued, “But he’s so young. He’s already a member of our school board at such a young age. I can’t imagine how rich he is…”
Luo Jing looked away and muttered, “I know.”
“You know what?” his deskmate asked, puzzled.
“I know his name,” Luo Jing said.
“Okay, thank you, Mr. Huai. Next, we have…”
Huai Dan’s speech was brief. After he finished, he sat quietly in his seat, listening to the others speak.
His expression remained indifferent, his usual demeanor in public.
The person on stage sat there almost motionless, and the distance was far, so Luo Jing again felt a sense of unreality.
Before he could fully recover, his smartwatch vibrated. Luo Jing looked down and saw that Huai Dan had just replied to his message.
Brother: [Morning, did you see me?]
Seeing this message, Luo Jing instinctively looked up at the stage and saw the man also glance up slightly.
It was a simple gesture, but it inexplicably brought a sense of calm.
AAA.Vocabulary Wholesaler Xiao Luo: [I saw you.]
AAA.Vocabulary Wholesaler Xiao Luo: [Brother, you always appear so suddenly. I thought I was still dreaming.]
Brother: [Surprised?]
AAA.Vocabulary Wholesaler Xiao Luo replied honestly: [Surprised, I’m not sleepy anymore.]
And his heart was beating faster, still hadn’t slowed down.
It must have been from the shock.
After recovering, Luo Jing felt a secret excitement.
He nudged his deskmate and said mysteriously, “He’s my brother.”
“Huh? Who is?” his deskmate looked confused.
“The… the one on stage,” Luo Jing said.
His deskmate looked around, only seeing Huai Dan on stage whose age seemed to fit the term “brother,” and asked uncertainly, “You mean him?”
“Yes, yes,” Luo Jing said happily.
“I don’t believe you,” his deskmate said. “You don’t even have the same last name. Even jokes should be believable.”
Luo Jing: “…”
His watch vibrated again, and Luo Jing looked down.
Brother: [Where are you?]
Luo Jing counted the seats, reported his location, then suddenly had an idea.
AAA.Vocabulary Wholesaler Xiao Luo: [Brother, follow my instructions.]
Brother: [?]
“What if I really know him?” Luo Jing asked.
His deskmate looked at him speechlessly: “If you’re really bored, you can go back to sleep. I’ll wake you up if anything happens, okay?”
“I’m serious.”
“…Then I’ll call you dad.”
“Okay, it’s a deal.”
“…???”
Luo Jing lowered his head and messaged Huai Dan: [Brother, touch your watch.]
Brother: [?]
“He’ll touch his watch now,” Luo Jing said with certainty.
His deskmate looked at him like he was an idiot.
Huai Dan looked up, towards the location Luo Jing had given him, but because the lighting was dim and there was a large crowd, he couldn’t pinpoint him.
AAA.Vocabulary Wholesaler Xiao Luo: [Quick, brother, I bet my classmate that I know you.]
Huai Dan: “…”
He touched his watch helplessly.
Brother: [Is that okay?]
“See?” Luo Jing, who was watching with his bewildered deskmate, was instantly satisfied.
Deskmate: “?”
“Coincidence,” he said.
“Then how about this.” Luo Jing showed his smartwatch screen to his deskmate. “Watch me.”
Deskmate: “???”
