Wei Ying's next day of school was pretty much the same as the first. One of the only differences were that he didn't have to introduce himself to his classmates. He also made sure to stick close to his friends as Qian advised him to, in case that Lei kid or anyone else tried to bother him. As much as he knew he could handle them - or at least put up a fight if he needed to - he didn't want his friends to have to worry about him.
He felt excited as the disciplinarians took his group to their class on Wednesday morning. They would be having Art class before Gym, and he was really looking forward to it. He loved Art, and not only because he enjoyed drawing. He found crafting fun too.
"You'll love it, I promise. Hong Laoshi is awesome. You should see the stuff he can do!" Huizhong had told him earlier at breakfast.
Fen nodded in agreement. "Yeah! And if someone's not good at drawing or anything, he helps them. Or at least he tries. He's really...what's the word again?...Oh, yeah! Patient with us."
Wei Ying smiled. "Good! I wouldn't like it if he were mean."
"Our music teacher Ruan Laoshi can be. Sometimes she gets annoyed if we don't learn things the way she taught us fast enough. She's not so bad the rest of the time, though. And she's really good at playing music. You'll see so on Friday."
He nodded.
When Hong Laoshi stepped into the room at 9:15, the first thing Wei Ying noticed was that his gray jacket had smears of dry paint on it, each different colors. His black hair went a little past his shoulders, which he would soon put in a ponytail. He looked young in spite of his five o'clock shadow, and had friendly eyes and a kind smile.
"Good morning, everyone!" he greeted the students brightly.
"Good morning, Laoshi!" they chorused just as enthusiastically in return. He truly was well-liked. Even the more unrulier children were unable to find much fault with him.
"I hope you are all doing well. Thank you," Hong Laoshi added when Cao Laoshi gave him a small sheet of paper. He read it quickly. "It looks like some new people have joined us since last week! I would like to meet you, so please stand and introduce yourselves to me when I call your names."
Wei Ying did so and bowed when he got to him, and class started a moment afterwards.
"Okay, everyone!" Hong Laoshi announced then while slapping his hands together. "What we are going to do today is draw or paint a picture of your most favorite place to go to, or the best place you have been to. You can do more than one if there are other places you like too. Would anyone like share theirs? It can be anywhere."
A number of the students did. One told him about a mall while another said that they had been to an airport. A girl mentioned that she went sailing with her grandparents a year ago, shortly before they passed away. Some told him about a room in the orphanage or somewhere in town, as they had grown up there and didn't know of anywhere else.
Wei Ying also volunteered, explaining some of the places he remembered going to when traveling with his mama and a-die. They had been a lot of fun.
Hong Laoshi smiled and nodded at all of them. "Interesting! Excellent! I look forward to see what each of you come up with." He pointed to the cart of art supplies he had brought with him. "You may come and get what you need here in an orderly fashion. Please do not crowd, and please try not to make a mess if you plan to paint. And you know there are more utensils and papers in the corner shelves."
After getting some paper and a handful of colored pencils, Wei Ying set to work. His first picture was of a twisted trail he once saw in the woods during a hiking trip. The next was of an arcade that he and his friend Xu Sile were taken to every other weekend. On the third was Uncle Jiang Fengmian's house and the lotus pond near it, and the last one was of a beach he and parents had gone to that summer.
For his age, he wasn't too bad at drawing. He had learned several things from A-Die, who enjoyed doing the same when he had time, and his art teacher from his old school.
He looked over his pictures with a small grin when he finished. He thought they were cool, yet he felt there was still something that wasn't quite right...
Hong Laoshi walked over his desk then, interrupting his musings. "Hello again. Wei Ying, am I right?" he asked pleasantly.
"Yes, xiansheng. That's me!" he replied.
Smiling again, he gestured at his pictures. "May I see, please? I would like to, if that is okay. You don't have to if you prefer I don't."
Wei Ying beamed and readily showed them to him, telling him about each one.
After listening to what he said and examining the pictures for a moment, Hong Laoshi nodded and hummed. "It sounds like really did have fun! And these are wonderful; I can see that someone taught you a few things about drawing."
Wei Ying inclined his head with another smile. "A-Die and my last art teacher did."
"Ohhh. They must have been quite good themselves!"
"Yeah, they were! Especially A-Die! I hope I can draw and paint like them someday! I think I do okay too, but..."
Hong Laoshi rose an eyebrow when he didn't continue. "But...?" he prompted kindly.
"I want to learn how to make my pictures look more...real. Like, I draw a picture of something or somebody, and it looks just like it or them."
"Ah, I see! Well, that's what I'm here for! I can teach you what I know, and what I have learned myself, as long as you continue to be interested in learning."
He asked if he could see one of his pictures again, and Wei Ying said yes. Then he showed him a few simple techniques, explaining what he was doing and why, before letting him try them himself. After watching for a moment, he nodded in approval.
"Excellent! You're a fast learner," he commended. "I have to check on how everyone else is doing now, but I would like you to practice these techniques whenever you have time. If I am able to next week, I will show you more."
"Okay, Laoshi. Thank you!"
"You are very welcome."
Wei Ying continued practicing until the last few minutes of class. Hong Laoshi had everybody stop what they were doing, then asked them all to return the borrowed drawing and painting utensils to his cart.
The former had just put the colored pencils he used back when he turned and bumped into Lan Zhan. The impact made the latter drop the papers and crayons he was holding. Some of the children around them laughed.
"Oops! Sorry!" Wei Ying exclaimed. He just couldn't stop bumping into him or nearly doing so, could he? "I'll get them."
He reached down to pick them up, catching glimpses of a woman hugging a boy in one picture. Another showed the same boy and a taller one reading books as the woman and another man sat next to him. The latter two were smiling. The third was of him standing next to the taller boy.
"Here you go. Sorry," he repeated as he gave them to him.
Lan Zhan nodded. "It is all right. Thank you," he mumbled.
"You're welcome! I like your pictures, by the way. Is that...you and Lan Huan and your...muqin and fuqin?"
"...Mn."
His eyes then darkened gloomily. Before Wei Ying could say or ask anything else, he put the crayons in the designated bucket and walked back to his desk.
Wei Ying returned to his also, understanding how he felt. He knew that Lan Zhan and Lan Huan were missing their parents and was sad for them. He missed his too.
On Friday morning after breakfast, his group was taken to Ruan Laoshi's room instead of Cao Laoshi's, since they were her first class. Wei Ying took in his surroundings with awe as they stepped inside. The shelves were neatly organized with books and different kinds of instruments. On the walls were posters of various learning charts and musicians.
Ruan Laoshi had him and the other new students introduce themselves as their other two teachers had first. She was wearing a vermilion-red dress with pretty flowers on it. She had a sharp face and expressive eyes, and like Hong Laoshi, her medium-brown hair was also usually in a ponytail. However, it was curly and much longer. She didn't appear to be mean like Fen said, but she still had a no-nonsense look about her.
She stood in front of the class and greeted them once everybody was sitting down. After that, she walked over to two charts that were beside a piano.
"Today, I will be continuing to teach you all how to read music," she announced in a crisp voice. "I will briefly review what I have taught last Friday for your new classmates, and then we will go from there. If you all do well and behave, and if we have time, I will play a song for you near the end of class.
"In front of each of you on your desks are two sheets of paper. One has a picture of a music scale and notes. The other is a picture of a piano that has notes on it as well. You can see the same ones on the charts next to me."
Ruan Laoshi then explained how a music scale worked. She also told them what the notes were called and had them repeat after her several times. She demonstrated how the notes sounded on the piano, too.
"As you can hear for yourselves, each one makes a different sound according to how high or low up and down the scale I go. Combining notes help to make songs."
And she played the first four bars of Liang Zhi Lao Hu for them as an example.
"Now," she went on, putting two other charts on the easels. These were similar to the ones before, except they didn't have words on them. "I want you all to flip over your sheets. You should see either a red dot, a yellow dot, or a blue dot on the top right corner. The red team is on the left."
Once everybody did what they were instructed, she gestured to her right. "The yellow team is in the middle, and the blue is on the right." She nodded to her left. "I will point to music notes and ask eight questions. The team who gets the most correctly wins. Those in the team will also be rewarded with two pieces of candy each. Also, raise your hands to answer. Please do not call out them out. Understand?"
"Yes, Ruan Laoshi!" they chorused.
Wei Ying smiled as he straightened up in his chair. He was part of the red team, for which he was glad. That was his favorite color.
"All right. Who can tell me what...this note is?" Ruan Laoshi inquired, tapping her yardstick at one in the space between the second and third stave.
Wei Ying rose his hand, knowing the answer, but a girl on the yellow team was just ahead of him.
Ruan Laoshi gestured to her. "Yes, Ji-xiaojie?"
"Is it...yu?"
"Correct. Very good. One point for your team."
Everyone in the middle either cheered "Yes!" quietly or fist-pumped.
"Now...what is this one?" she asked next, pointing to a note a little further down the scale. "Yes...Wei-xiansheng, is it?"
He nodded. "Yes, Laoshi. The answer is jue!"
"Also correct. Marvelous. And this note?"
More hands shot up, and she pointed to another boy who was in the yellow team.
"Hao-xiansheng?"
"...Shang?"
She shook her head this time. "No, I am sorry. Almost, but not quite right." She pointed to someone else. "Fu-xiaojie of the blue team."
"Gong!"
"Excellent."
The game continued until the red team and blue team were both had three points. The yellow team had two.
Ruan Laoshi tapped her chin pensively. "Hmm. Looks like I will have to ask an extra question to break the tie. That does not happen much. But very well. I want both teams to choose someone who they think will help to break it. And I want whoever is picked to stand up. Quickly, now."
Feeling confident, Wei Ying stood before any of his team members could make a decision. However, those in the blue team seemed to be having more trouble. There were whispers and hushed arguments until he noticed somebody jabbing Lan Zhan's back.
"Get up, you. You're the one of the real smarty-pants in our team and class, and we haven't heard you say a thing yet. Hurry and get up," the boy hissed.
"Yeah!" another agreed. "Come on, hurry up!"
Everyone else nodded.
Lan Zhan turned to scowl at the first boy. "You could have asked nicely. And said please. You did not need to poke me either. You would not have liked it if I did that to you. And I do not like being touched," he remarked.
"Whatever. Sorry. Please," the boy grumbled in a subdued, but kinder voice.
"...Fine."
And Lan Zhan slowly stood up too.
Ruan Laoshi inclined her head as she gave the boy a stern look. "Thank you. And Tan Chun, I will be speaking to you when class is over. But now! For the tie-breaker, I would like one of you to tell me what...this is called," she stated, pointing to the treble clef on the music scale.
"The gaoyin pu hao," Wei Ying and Lan Zhan responded simultaneously.
Her eyebrow rose as she nodded again. "Yes, very good. And the lines are called the...?"
"Wuxianpu."
"Wuxianpu."
They exchanged glances, taken aback, and everyone began to whisper among themselves.
Ruan Laoshi waved a hand. "Quiet, please! Settle down. Yes, that is right. And I have another question. What is the name of scale?"
"Wu shengyin jie!"
"Wu shengyin jie."
A small smile appeared on her face. "Marvelous. Hmm...let's see. I want to try something else."
She walked over to the piano. "I will play a note. If you both get it right or wrong, I will play another. But if one of you guess it right, your team wins. Ready?"
Wei Ying and Lan Zhan nodded.
"All right."
She pressed a certain key three times. They listened carefully, thought for a moment, then spoke.
"Zhi," Lan Zhan announced.
However, Wei Ying called out, "Bianzhi!"
Ruan Laoshi smiled once more. "You two have good ears. That is impressive. But, I have to say that...Wei-xiansheng caught the sound better." She played both notes so that they could hear the minor difference. "You were close, Lan-xiansheng, and you did well. Still, the red team wins!" she declared.
Everyone on the left side of the room cheered while the blue team complained, pouted, and crossed their arms.
Lan Zhan was the only one who didn't look upset. If anything, respect was shining in his eyes.
Wei Ying beamed as he gave him a thumbs-up. "Laoshi's right. You really were great! I honestly thought that you beat me for a second!"
"Mn. So were you. And thank you," he returned.
They bowed to each other while everyone else clapped. Wei Ying wanted to give him a handshake instead, but he knew that Lan Zhan would prefer that he didn't. He high-fived his friends next, who praised him. Even though Qian and Fen were on the yellow team, they were still overjoyed that he won.
Ruan Laoshi handed out the candy to everyone in the red team, allowing Wei Ying to have three pieces for winning the tie instead of two. She also gave one to Lan Zhan for answering three of the questions correctly. She congratulated the rest of the class also, letting each team know that they did an outstanding job.
"We have over five minutes left," she noted after that, glancing at the clock. "I still have time to play a quick song for you. When I am finished, I will ask you to line up for the disciplinarians."
Ruan Laoshi took a silver instrument out a case then. She adjusted something and tuned it before bringing one end to her lips.
The music that followed put Wei Ying in awe, so much so that he could only shut his eyes and listen to it. It was low and gentle on some parts, which was calming to him. At other times, it was high and spirited, which he liked better. It also made him feel more energetic.
He was rather disappointed when the song was over moments later. It was as if it had ended too soon.
"That was really...beautiful, Laoshi," he complimented after the class applauded her.
"Yes, it was," someone else piped up.
A number of the other students nodded or voiced their agreements too.
"What is that instrument called?" Wei Ying asked.
He liked it very much, and he wanted to learn how to play it himself someday if he was able to get one.
Ruan Laoshi smiled. "Thank you, children. And this is called a dizi. It is one of the instruments from the woodwind family. You will learn more about that, along with the rest of the instruments and their families, in another class. But now, it is time to go. Class is over. Please line up quietly and orderly."
The game was brought up periodically throughout the remainder of the day. It was even mentioned to Cao Laoshi, who listened with interest as he was told about it.
"Sounds like you had a lot of fun! And the tie-breaker would definitely have been exciting to see," he remarked.
Not all of them shared the same opinion, though. A few of the students who were a part of the blue team were still unhappy about it. But it wasn't until later when this was made more apparent.
It happened shortly after Wei Ying's group was sent to their room for the evening. One of the boys waited until the disciplinarians patrolling the hall were far away enough before confronting Lan Zhan, who was sitting on his bed.
"You jerk! I can't believe that you made us lose that game!" he sneered. "You must not have been paying 'tention today because you would have gotten that last question right! You need to clean out those ears!"
Wei Ying, who was standing with his friends nearby, heard this and turned to watch them.
"The next time you're picked for a game, you better win! You got that?" the boy demanded next. "You're smart, so act like you are, and not like a dumb idiot!"
Frowning, Wei Ying made his way over to him. He had no right to talk to Lan Zhan like that! "Hey!"
Lan Zhan just met the boy's gaze squarely, not looking upset or intimidated. "Yes. My answer was wrong," he agreed in an even voice. "I know it. But that doesn't mean I am dumb. Or an idiot."
"Well, you know what? I think it does..."
"Hey!" Wei Ying yelled louder, interrupting the boy. He stood in between them and glared at him. "Leave him alone! It's not his fault your team lost. You're the one who's the idiot because forgot that our answers were almost the same! Which means that he was almost right. Zhi is only half a note above bianzhi. They sound alike enough that, for all I know, I could have been wrong. You're the one who needs to clean out their ears and pay 'tention. Maybe then, you won't be so dumb yourself."
The boy was stunned. The last thing he expected was for him to defend Lan Zhan. Not when he was the one who beat him in the game.
Unable to think of how to respond, he huffed and stormed away. Wei Ying rolled his eyes before turning to Lan Zhan, who was looking equally astonished. He hadn't expected this either.
"Ignore what he said, and don't worry about him. He's just a sore loser." Then he grinned. "You know, if he went against you instead of me, I don't think he would have won. He probably would have guessed that it was gong or shang."
And if he wasn't mistaken, Lan Zhan's eyes seemed to dance at his joke.
"Oh! I meant to give this to you earlier too, but I couldn't find the right time," Wei Ying added, handing him a folded sheet of paper. "Maybe I'll catch you later. And the next time he gets in your face like that, you tell him off again!"
He waved with another smile after that and let him be. Lan Zhan watched him run back over to his friends before opening the paper. There was a piece of candy inside, along with an untidily written note.
I want you to know again you did great. I hope you had fun like me. Here is the extra candy I got. I want you have it because I think you should have got two and not one because you almost won too. Hope you like it. From Wei Ying :)
He stared at the piece of candy again when he was finished reading it. Warmth bubbled inside of him, and for the first time in about a month, he nearly smiled as well.
Author's note: Hello, everybody! I've been meaning to come back to this particular story for a while, but I had trouble coming up with ideas until recently. Let me know if you liked the chapter! Thank you for reading. I will try to start on the next one as soon as possible.