"Huh?" Zhao Yuan was dumbfounded. "Why ? I don't have any talent for a performance."
The nearby Wu Yan, having overheard their entire conversation, leaned in. "Our esteed Arts Representative, Third Brother isn't lying. He really has no talent for performing. If you make him go on stage to sing, you'll be an accessory to murder! If he actually scares a few people to death, you'll go down for instigating a cri!"
Yang Jing's expression darkened instantly. "What do you an, 'instigating a cri'?" she snapped. "Wu Yan, if you don't know how to talk, then just shut your mouth!" She then turned back to Zhao Yuan. "I'm out of options. Our class needs to contribute three acts. We have ideas for the other two, but we've been stumped on this third one. You've been really popular around campus lately, making quite a na for yourself. If you get up on stage and just strike a few poses, I'm sure you'll draw a ton of attention and applause. That's the teen idol effect!"
Zhao Yuan could only smile wryly.
'Well, I never thought I'd see the day I'd be considered a teen idol,' he thought.
Just as he was about to refuse again, Liu Zhu ca striding over, apparently looking for him. Having overheard Yang Jing, he laughed and said, "Yang Jing, you're right. With Third Bro's popularity, he could attract a whole legion of female fans just by showing up. Hey, why don't we just have Third Bro take his shirt off and strike a few fitness poses on stage? I guarantee you it'll be a massive hit!"
"Great idea!" Yang Jing's eyes lit up.
'Didn't Zhao Yuan get famous in the first place because of his ripped physique?' she thought. 'If he took off his shirt and strutted around the stage at the New Year's Gala, the girls in the audience would go absolutely crazy!'
"No way, absolutely not!" Zhao Yuan hastily refused.
"I don't care. I'm signing you up for the act. As for what you'll perform, you can figure that out yourself." Not giving him a chance to object, Yang Jing quickly scribbled his na on the program sheet, then turned and strode off.
Zhao Yuan shot Liu Zhu a glare. "Boss, did you really have to throw under the bus like that?" he said, exasperated.
"Hehe, I'm just looking out for you," Liu Zhu said with a grin. "This is the New Year's Gala we're talking about. So many people would kill for a chance to perform on that stage. You shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth."
"Then how about I give this 'gift' to you?" Zhao Yuan rolled his eyes.
"No, thanks," Liu Zhu said, waving his hands dismissively. "For one, I have no talent. For two, I don't have your level of popularity. If I went up there, I'd get booed off the stage. Besides," he added with a sly grin, "don't worry about the act. Us brothers will help you co up with sothing. If all else fails, we can even get up there and perform with you."
"That's more like it," Zhao Yuan huffed, though he was already wondering what on earth he was going to perform. 'I can't actually just take off my shirt and flex my muscles on stage, can I? That's so low-effort.'
"Third Bro, I have sothing to tell you," Liu Zhu said.
Zhao Yuan asked, "What is it?"
Liu Zhu pulled out a sheet of paper and showed it to Zhao Yuan. "The bracket for the freshman basketball tournant is out. Our first ga is this Saturday at three in the afternoon against Class Seven of the Clinical dicine Departnt. It's a single-elimination format, which ans if we want to get a good result, we have to keep winning all the way!"
"How good is Class Seven from Clinical dicine?" Zhao Yuan wasn't familiar with the strength of the various class basketball teams.
"Extrely strong!" Guo Shun leaned in to explain. "They have several guys in their class who competed in the national high school basketball tournant and placed pretty well. In this freshman tournant, Class Seven is basically the number one seed."
"And what about our class?" Zhao Yuan asked.
Liu Zhu replied, "According to the power rankings, we're in the lower-middle tier."
"Then why aren't you guys the least bit nervous? We're up against a powerhouse!"
Zhao Yuan was baffled. After seeing the bracket, Liu Zhu, Guo Shun, and the rest of the basketball players weren't nervous at all. In fact, they were excited, even laughing. 'This makes no sense!'
"What's there to be nervous about?" Liu Zhu said with a laugh. "We've been training with you all this ti, and our skills have improved by leaps and bounds! Our defense, especially, is a world of difference from before. Class Seven may be strong, but it's not like we can't put up a fight."
After being 'tortured' by Zhao Yuan every day for so long, their defensive skills had indeed improved significantly!
Guo Shun picked up where he left off, "Besides, we have you, our secret weapon! With you on our side, what does Class Seven matter? We'll blow them out in minutes!"
"That's right!"
"With you playing, Class Seven will be crying by the end of it!"
The other players all chid in at once.
Zhao Yuan laughed and cupped his hands in a fist. "I'm honored you all have so much faith in . When the ti cos, let's give it our all together!"
"Yeah! Let's destroy Class Seven!"
"We'll wipe the floor with them!"
Everyone roared in unison, their morale soaring.
After chatting with Liu Zhu and the others for a bit, Zhao Yuan asked, "Boss, are you heading back to the dorm or going sowhere else?"
"To the dorm," Liu Zhu answered. "I'm gonna play a few rounds of LoL. Haven't played in a while, gotta practice so I don't get rusty."
"Alright, then take my stuff back for ." Zhao Yuan tossed his small bag of textbooks and stationery to Liu Zhu, then headed toward Director Ma's office.
Ten minutes later, he arrived outside Director Ma's office and knocked on the door.
"Co in," a voice called from inside.
Zhao Yuan walked in and saw a middle-aged man sitting behind a desk, engrossed in a stack of printed docunts.
He approached the desk with a polite smile and said in a voice that was neither servile nor overbearing, "Director Ma, hello. My na is Zhao Yuan. I heard that the Chinese Herbal dicine garden is looking for a caretaker, so I ca to offer my services."
Director Ma looked up from the docunts and adjusted his glasses.
"Ah, so you're the student Pan i called about? I hear you've done excellent work as an assistant in the anatomy building. But this job in the Chinese Herbal dicine garden is a different beast entirely. Besides responsibility and attention to detail, you need to know how to till soil, water, fertilize, and manage pests. On top of that, you must be familiar with the characteristics of various dicinal herbs..."
Zhao Yuan waited for him to finish before responding, "Director Ma, rest assured, I've helped with farm work at ho since I was a child, so tilling and watering are no problem for . And while I'm only a freshman, I've already taught myself the basics of Chinese Herbal dicine. You can quiz , if you'd like, to see if I'm up to the task."
"Oh?" Director Ma raised an eyebrow. "Alright then, I'll take you up on that..."
'There aren't many students these days who know how to do farm work. That alone had already earned Zhao Yuan so points in his book. As long as the young man genuinely understood the properties of dicinal herbs—even if it was just book knowledge—he would give him the job in the Chinese Herbal dicine garden.'
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