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Chapter 122: Please Welcome Gu Lu to the Stage
["I'm not lying to you! There used to be an old lady who often walked her dog in this park. Later, she passed away, but someone saw her again in the park a few days ago."
"I'm not sure... I just heard that the child was hit by a taxi this evening."
"Where's the strangeness... Let me rephrase the question. In this world, who do you want to protect most?"
"It would be my younger siblings because they're still young."
...]
At first, the audience showed little interest in the plot, but as the scenes shifted and the perspective turned to the protagonist's school days, constantly going back to yesterday to save friends, the audience gradually became more attentive. The script appeared to be quite serious...
Plots concerning life and death always capture people's attention. After all, since ancient times, everyone faces death. Who doesn't bring tissues when nature calls?
In the end, even the protagonist died before the children, leaving the entire audience with a sense of loss.
It wasn't heart-wrenching grief; rather, after watching "Park of Yesterday," it felt like finishing a beloved work that had been with them for a long time—an indescribable melancholy.
The students from The Tree People Literary Club who performed on stage weren't exceptional, but they did manage to deliver all their lines faithfully, even if some were read in a monotone. One could say that memorizing texts is something the Chinese are naturally good at.
"Clap clap clap—" Mo Huaiqi stood up and applauded. "Unable to save his classmate years ago, and now unable to save himself—it's like a destined cycle. 'Park of Yesterday' truly reflects 'yesterday.' Even though it's just one day later, no matter how clear your memory is, what happened has happened."
"I never expected your school's original script to reach such quality. Lao Wu, who is the creator of this script?" Mo Huaiqi directly asked Wu Du. "Moreover, this story is very suitable for stage performance. Not many can write a good script. Is the author a student of No. 8 High School?"
One person clapped, then another joined.
Principal Liu also stood up to applaud. He cared less about the quality of the script itself and more about the guests' feedback. First, he heard Mo Huaiqi's praise.
Then, he glanced around at the invited guests. Most showed surprise and admiration. Clearly, they hadn’t expected No. 8 High School's anniversary to present such a remarkable original script.
Very impressive, living up to the effort of pulling strings to invite Chongqing TV station staff. This performance surpassed last year's "Romeo and Juliet."
"Hahaha, Chairman Mo, don't rush. You'll know soon." Wu Du teased.
This response confirmed it was a student from No. 8 High School. Mo Huaiqi maintained his composure and sat down again, but inside, he was eagerly anticipating meeting the scriptwriter.
With the conclusion of The Tree People Literary Club’s performance—and without any further acts—the school celebration performances were over.
Next was the voting session. Before the event started, each student received a small ticket to vote for their three favorite performances.
No. 8 High School handled this well; the rankings were entirely based on student votes, much more genuine than audience votes in reality shows.
"The literary club's 'Park of Yesterday' is pretty impressive. In my opinion, it can rival the dance club," Tian Xiao commented. The manga club president, Guan Qianzhuo, nodded in agreement.
Gu Lu nodded approvingly. He knew that being on par with the dance club was already the highest praise.
Dozens of teachers began tallying votes. It's said that experience in grading exams made them quick—within half an hour, thousands of votes were counted.
Selecting the top three from 17 stage activities wasn't difficult.
The bronze award went to the Hanfu Club's "Four Arts of the Chinese Scholar"—the students playing the zither and writing calligraphy demonstrated genuine skills.
And the silver award...
"The silver award for the 2012 school celebration goes to The Tree People Literary Club's 'Park of Yesterday,' receiving 863 votes. Congratulations to the students and the instructor of The Tree People Literary Club for coming on stage to receive the award," announced Yan Ting through the microphone.
Three performers from The Tree People Literary Club, President Wan Bai, Vice President Zhang Liru, and instructor Wu Du—all six bowed in thanks, receiving warm applause from the audience.
Though the trophy was plastic, the sense of honor during the award ceremony was palpable. There were even special guests to present the awards.
The presenter was Principal Liu; the gold medal was reserved for the education leader to award.
"Not bad, keep up the good work," encouraged Principal Liu.
"Will our club's activity funding increase next year?" Wan Bai instinctively asked.
The members nearby held their breaths—boldly asking for money, President, you’re truly fearless!
Principal Liu smiled and responded, "Of course. Excellent clubs deserve increased funding."
"Thank you, Principal," Wan Bai immediately thanked him. Though nervous, he would step down next semester to focus on getting into a good university. Therefore, he needed to leave something valuable for the club. With this thought, he mustered the courage to claim credit.
"Let's hear the acceptance speech," Principal Liu handed the microphone to instructor Wu Du, then stepped aside, handing the other microphone back to host Yan Ting.
Wu Du spoke, "I didn't contribute much to this stage play. All the efforts came from the club's students, so I won't take any credit."
Afterward, the microphone was handed to The Tree People Literary Club's President Wan Bai.
"First, this award belongs to everyone in our club. Without Zhu Dan and others' efforts on stage, without Zhang Liru's backstage work on backgrounds and props, we wouldn't have achieved such great results," Wan Bai mentioned the core team members but omitted himself.
"Additionally!" Wan Bai exchanged glances with other members, confirming their success. The next step was—
"The biggest contributor to this performance is Gu Lu from Class 10, Grade 10. 'Park of Yesterday' was specially written by Gu Lu for our literary club's performance at the school celebration," Wan Bai said. "Without Gu Lu, there would be no story."
"Thank you, Gu Lu!" Dan Zhu and others chorused on stage.
Oh, a highschool freshman wrote the story. Parents and classmates belatedly realized there was a hidden talent among the students?!
Badminton, Tianchen Park, Zhou Ning, Zhou Lu... It wasn't a fluke. Zhou Lin, the strong girl in the audience, clenched her fists.
"Please hand me the microphone again," Principal Liu whispered to the host. Yan Ting quickly handed it over.
Principal Liu suddenly interjected, "Since that's the case, let's invite Gu Lu to the stage. Everyone, give him a round of applause."
When the principal asked for applause, people obliged. Besides, everyone wanted to see which freshman wrote this story.
Backstage staff had to come on stage? Gu Lu reluctantly walked onto the stage.
"How annoying, you've done it again," Tian Xiao said.
Li Guyuan looked at Gu Lu knowingly. Such a good story would surely gain fame. How could the twin stars disappoint?
"So he really is a genius!" thought the manga club president, Guan Qianzhuo.
Guan's thoughts continued as Principal Liu's voice rang out through the speakers, "Gu Lu is a genius writer from our No. 8 High School. Not only did he write 'Park of Yesterday,' but he is also a contracted writer for three magazines. At just sixteen, he has published numerous pieces, and a full-length novel is set for publication."
Actually, he's contracted with four magazines, but Principal Liu's information hadn't been updated to include "Youth Digest."
As Principal Liu spoke from the side of the stage, his gaze was fixed on the education leaders. "Even in middle school, he displayed extraordinary writing talent, winning district (essay), city-wide (Bingxin Cup), and national (Ye Shengtao Cup) writing competition awards, even achieving a zero breakthrough for Chongqing in essay writing!"
"Our No. 8 High School has always tailored education to individual talents. Recognizing Gu Lu's excellent writing abilities, we provided him with creative conveniences, allowing him more time to produce more outstanding works," Principal Liu passionately declared.
"Shit?!" Guan Qianzhuo couldn't help but blurt out.
"What's wrong, President?" Tian Xiao asked.
"He's a giant!" Guan Qianzhuo exclaimed.
Tian Xiao nodded. "I told you earlier; he's the big shot in our class. Zhang Liru from Time Radio Station wanted to interview him, but he declined."
"I..." Damn, I thought you were bragging, but it turns out you weren't kidding, Ah Zhen—no, Ah Xiao.
Overwhelmed with emotions and bursting with unspoken words, Guan Qianzhuo finally summed it up with, "Our 'Chronicles of No. 8 High School's Jianghu' doesn't even mention his name!"
Seeing the bigger picture, Guan Qianzhuo's shock represented the feelings of all the students, teachers, parents, and guests present.
If this introduction hadn't come from Principal Liu, no one would believe it—it was quite unbelievable, mate.
Under the spotlight, Gu Lu ascended the stage. He could tell that Principal Liu had long wanted to show off in front of the leaders.
The murmurs below didn't stop—it was hard to comprehend such an impressive resume, definitely worth discussing.
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