I am a Big Player
Chapter 205 - 203, Leader’s charisma (First update)_1

Chapter 205: 203, Leader’s charisma (First update)_1

Jay Chou was undeniably a legendary figure in Ren He’s past life. There were times when you might find that his singing skills couldn’t match those seasoned singers, or perhaps feel that the technicality of his compositions wasn’t all that sophisticated.

But are these two criteria the measure of a legend? No.

He created his own era, and that was enough.

Jay Chou’s songs were all highly distinctive. In his past life, Ren He happened upon Edison Chen’s "War" and was struck by its familiar style. Upon checking the composer, sure enough, it was Jay Chou...

So when Yang Xi’s album featured "Prague Square," the rap style in the intro was so fresh that students from No.4 Middle School fell in love with the song instantaneously.

This wasn’t a coincidence. In the past life, the students from No.4 Middle School could pass the lyrics of "Nunchucks" from one to another without missing a beat—even the girls could sing it!

It was precisely for this reason that when Ren He started to sing, everyone was amazed. It had that flavor exactly right!

Singing the lyrics completely isn’t difficult, but capturing that flavor is the challenge.

The lyrics of "Prague Square" are also quite intriguing.

A beautiful and kind-hearted nun watches over the square from the cathedral as a strange, handsome boy plays the piano, singing a song of wandering.

The girl follows the song with her gaze, silently appreciating him, and then she starts to beautifully fantasize about their love.

"The thief, he steals away"—he stole her heart.

But "the monk says no," because a nun must not harbor worldly desires.

This is just like the feelings between Ren He and Yang Xi. Ren He has quietly stolen her heart, but worldly conventions tell Yang Xi that middle schoolers shouldn’t fall in love.

Yet Yang Xi doesn’t care, she just wants to be with the person before her.

So when Yang Xi began to sing her part of the lyrics, the whole school, both teachers and students, felt an emotion even richer than when they heard "Encounter." The sentiment, when sung out loud, was even somewhat sweet and warm, as if their loved one was right there beside them.

No.4 Middle School doesn’t allow media on its premises. Even if the students of No.4 are talented, and their achievements spectacular, they are not to be interviewed on school grounds.

Perhaps the principal’s reasoning is that school is a place for study. The students are still fledglings, destined to have even more brilliant successes. What they need to do now is to accumulate their strength.

So the outside world learns about the happenings within No.4 mostly through the words of its students or their posts online, never through the media.

In observing school rules, Yang Xi returned to perform at school just like any ordinary student—no assistant, no bodyguard, no nanny van, alone by herself. When the elderly principal found out about this, his eyes crinkled in a smile. He really admired the girl, Yang Xi.

The events of today at No.4 Middle School would remain unknown to the outside, a carnival exclusive to the internal community.

As for Ren He, he wasn’t the least bit worried about Su Ruqin finding out he was there. No.4 Middle School didn’t even hold parent-teacher conferences, and the external media didn’t report on it, so Su Ruqin had no way of knowing he was there.

No.4 Middle School was the perfect place for him, his secret safe unless he himself decided to bounce into the spotlight unnecessarily.

As "Prague Square" neared its end, both Yang Xi and Ren He were reluctant to part. For Ren He, he knew that once the song finished, he would have to return home, their time together all too brief.

Meanwhile, Yang Xi cherished the time they shared on stage, enjoying the opportunity to have Ren He play the piano for her. She knew such chances wouldn’t come by often in the future. But it was comforting that Ren He had already come to her side—if they overcame all obstacles, surely there would be more such opportunities.

And what could be more delightful than Ren He coming to her side? Yang Xi suddenly looked forward to the next three years of campus life at No.4 Middle School!

When Ren He stole glances at Yang Xi, who was smiling from the corner of her eye on stage, his heart swelled with a sense of achievement. This was the love he owed himself, a love that burned fiercely and bloomed passionately!

What is love?

It’s like unexpectedly having a soft spot, but also suddenly having armor.

It’s after you fall in love with her that you suddenly understand the meaning of many love songs.

It’s when you suddenly feel that you don’t need to conquer the world, stand out from the crowd, achieve fame and success, or be rolling in money to feel happy. You might even lose some of your ambition and think that this is quite nice.

It’s caring about everything yet also being able to compromise.

It’s me giving you everything within my reach, everything I can snatch with an outstretched hand, everything I can touch on tiptoe, everything I can grab by jumping, and everything I can pluck on stilts. And I’ll hand it to you personally, without you having to ask.

Picking stars for you — that was the true meaning behind the album title "You Who Plucks Stars" for Ren He. His thinking about Yang Xi was different from hers, but it couldn’t stop their love for each other.

Yang Xi, holding the microphone and smiling, said, "This student might be even more professional than the one in my album... don’t you think?"

The students from No.4 Middle School cheered from below: "Awesome!"

"Thank you all for enjoying my singing, I’m really happy to be able to sing at my alma mater," Yang Xi said before handing the microphone to Ren He. He smiled, shook his head, and handed her the guitar back. This was her stage.

And Ren He leaped from the two-meter-high stage back into the formation of Class 5, Grade One, where Liu Bing and Jiang Haoyang, leading the hoots of the crowd, tossed him into the air.

From that day on, all the teachers and students at No.4 Middle School knew that Class 5, Grade One had an unruly, lively student who sang beautifully, was charming, and was awesome at the guitar. But by that time, most of them still didn’t even know his name. It was only after the event ended that night and the No.4 Middle School forum exploded again that some nosy student from Class 5, Grade One posted Ren He’s information on the forum.

But as always, this was just an internal celebration at No.4 Middle School; nobody talked about it outside. No.4 Middle School had its own pride.

Yang Xi watched Ren He being tossed into the air by the crowd and smiled quietly to herself. Was that person finally going to start shining and heating up? She was looking forward to it.

Not far away, the elderly principal and the vice principal stood in the office, smilingly watching out the window. The vice principal said, "This kid is quite interesting."

The principal suddenly laughed and said, "I met him before the school year started; Elder Zhou introduced him to me. At the time, I was thinking, except for being strong, apart from being an urban top scholar, he seemed to have nothing special. Now I understand why Zhou liked him so much; he has a bit of a leader’s charisma."

"Recommended by Elder Zhou?" The vice principal was taken aback: "Is he from Elder Zhou’s family?"

"No," the principal replied, taking a sip of warm water and smiling, "Let’s not worry about that. No.4 Middle School doesn’t care about one’s background, don’t forget that."

Although No.4 Middle School doesn’t care about one’s background, the problem is that some people are indeed born with a head start; it’s an unavoidable fact that in competition, children from less privileged families often shrink back and feel inferior.

Ren He became famous, undoubtedly famous. Not to mention how good he was at playing the guitar, after his ploy was exposed by his classmates on the forum, many older students were left dumbfounded!

At first, many people didn’t understand why so many shouted for one more song or specifically requested "Prague Square," thinking it was a coincidence. But now they finally realized, this was their very own spectacularly staged play!

As a result, the notoriety of the Class 5, Grade One trio spread far and wide, with Ren He, the chief among them, becoming quite the celebrity.

So much so that after this breakout performance, Ren He’s reputation in the class skyrocketed overnight; familiar or not, everyone greeted him.