She is in the fog

After the evening self-study, on the way back to the dormitory, Mingmei took He Xi's hand and said with a smile: "The Hundred Days Oath-taking Ceremony is coming soon. I have been selected as a student representative and will give a speech on the stage. But..."

"Hmm?" He Xi turned his head and raised his eyebrows to signal her to continue.

"The day after the Hundred Days Oath-taking Ceremony is the school's 80th anniversary celebration. I have also signed up for the program, and I feel the task is a bit heavy, so I need you to accompany me to the music room to practice."

"Okay."

So the two of them turned around and headed towards the music room.

Mingmei applied for a separate small room. The room was relatively narrow, but the sound insulation was very good.

There is a piano placed against the wall, which is polished to a clean and shiny finish, and it is obvious that someone uses it frequently. There is also a violin hanging on the wall on the right.

"I've applied for the right to use this classroom for one month." Mingmei sat on the chair and introduced to He Xi, "I've already prepared the speech for the Hundred Days Oath-taking Ceremony, so you don't have to worry about it. But the program for the school anniversary party the next day..."

Thinking of Mingmei's solo performance in the previous life, He Xi speculated: "Are you planning to sing solo?"

Mingmei nodded: "Yes, it's a solo performance, but I think it would be a bit bland if I sing alone, so I specially called you here."

He Xi was puzzled: "Ah? You want me to sing with you?"

Mingmei took down the violin from the wall and carefully handed it to He Xi, with expectation in her eyes and a request in her tone: "How about being my only accompaniment?"

"Uh..." He Xi was speechless for a moment. Although she started playing the violin at the age of four and participated in many competitions in elementary school, and achieved good results in the children's group, she has never touched the violin since He Yanyan passed away. She didn't know how much dust was covered on the violin case.

Seeing that He Xi was stunned and didn't answer, Ming Mei continued: "The song I chose is "Jasmine Flower". The tone of the violin goes well with it, so..." Her voice gradually became lower, "I need you, He Xi."

"But... I don't know... or... maybe..." He Xi hesitated and couldn't say a complete sentence.

"Let me show you something." Mingmei put the violin back to its place and rummaged through her schoolbag. After a while, she took out a black, slightly damaged pen from the zipper inside the bag. She handed it to her with a smile on her face: "Look at what this is?"

He Xi took the pen, looked it up and down, and when he saw the letter "X" on it, he suddenly frowned, and past memories came flooding back like a tide.

If I remember correctly, this pen was a gift from He Yanyan for her eighth birthday.

At that time, He Xi heard that writing with a fountain pen would be more neat, so she expressed her wish to He Yanyan. It happened that He Xi's birthday was a few days later, so He Yanyan fulfilled her wish and took her to the mall, where she chose a fountain pen as her birthday gift.

When she was showing off her fountain pen in class, she suddenly found that a classmate had the same style of fountain pen as hers. She was afraid that the two pens would be confused, so she asked He Yanyan for a solution. He Yanyan smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. We can engrave our names on the pens so that they won't be confused."

So, there was an extra "X" on He Xi's pen.

He Xi loved this fountain pen with a unique logo very much, and even brought it with her to the competition in Qinglin City. Unfortunately, after returning from Qinglin City, she didn't know where the pen went, probably lost. She felt a little sorry, but there was nothing she could do, and gradually forgot about it. Unexpectedly, after so many years, the fountain pen appeared in front of her again, and it was Mingmei who handed it to her personally. Fate is really wonderful.

He Xi asked excitedly: "Is this my pen? How did it get to you?"

"Do you remember going to Qinglin No. 1 Primary School to participate in competitions when you were a child?"

"remember."

"You were wearing two butterfly hairpins on your head. You took one of them off and gave it to a crying girl. Do you remember?"

He Xi frowned again, opened his mouth wide and said in disbelief: "Could it be that... you are that girl?"

"It was me. You accidentally dropped your pen by the flower bed and I picked it up. I asked around for a long time but still didn't know who you were, where you lived, or where you went to school." Mingmei sighed and complained, "But you're really something. Who would leave a nickname when they leave a name? If I hadn't helped you move and seen the photo album in your room, I wouldn't have known you were the Yangyang who helped and protected me all those years ago."

He Xi was completely stunned. It turned out that she had already protected Ming Mei in 2004...

She protected her, she saved her.
It goes on and on, like the cycle of reincarnation forming a circle, and everything falls into place naturally.

It turned out that they had met each other when they were children, but their stage makeup was too heavy and neither of them could remember each other's real appearance.

So, in the previous life, beside the jasmine tree, Mingmei recognized her by the butterfly hairpin on her head? And gave her a candy?
Thinking of this, He Xi slapped his forehead and said in annoyance: "If I had known this earlier, there would be no need to do all these useless things."

"What are you talking about?" Mingmei asked in confusion, "What kind of useless work?"

He Xi hurriedly shook his head and sighed sincerely: "What I mean is that I knew it too late."

Mingmei smiled brightly: "We were both wearing stage makeup at that time, so it's normal that we didn't recognize each other when we met again. But I still want to apologize to you." Mingmei pointed to the dent on the pen and said regretfully: "This pen should have been intact, but I didn't keep it well, so it was stepped on like this."

"It's not your fault." He Xi gently tucked her hair behind her ears. "Don't blame yourself. You didn't step on it. What's more, I thought it was lost. Now it's back in my hands. It's a huge surprise. I want to thank you specially."

Mingmei's eyes lit up, and she immediately threw away all her sadness, revealing a sly smile: "So, how are you going to thank me?"

Seeing the change in Mingmei's expression, He Xi realized that she had been set up, but she was happy with it. She smiled dotingly: "I haven't touched the violin for almost nine years, and I'm very rusty. Are you sure you want me to accompany you? Aren't you sure I'm not afraid of holding you back?"

"Don't be afraid!" Ming Mei hurriedly took the violin off the wall, put her hands under He Xi's eyes, raised her chin, and said with a smile, "We have to rehearse anyway. It would be best if we can pass the rehearsal. If not, we can just consider it as a way for us to develop tacit understanding."

He Xi took the violin, and hung it on the wall the next second.

Mingmei was puzzled: "Ah? Didn't you agree to accompany me? Why put the violin back?"

"It's still easier to use my own violin." He Xi said, "That's all for today. I'll take a leave of absence tomorrow at noon and go home to get the violin from home."

"great!"

So, in the following days, they made use of their limited time to practice and rehearse again and again, from testing each other to perfect coordination, until the rehearsal arrived.

Since the Hundred Days Oath-taking Ceremony and the school anniversary party were held closely together, the rehearsal for the school anniversary party was held a week in advance. He Xi and Ming Mei were waiting backstage. According to the feedback from the students in front of them, the elimination rate during the rehearsal reached 50%, and many programs had been rejected by the judges.

He Xi was a little nervous and kept fiddling with his fingers, "Mingming, what if I hold you back later?"

"No." Mingmei helped her straighten the collar of her off-white women's suit. "We are a team, a whole. There is no such thing as one dragging the other down. Both of us have the same responsibilities. Don't be nervous. We have practiced this many times before. We will definitely be able to do it."

He Xi adjusted her breathing and suddenly found that Mingmei's dress was a little wrinkled. When she was about to reach out to fix it, Mingmei noticed her action first, and quickly covered her waist, took a step back, and said anxiously: "What are you doing?"

"There are wrinkles. Let me help you fix them."

Mingmei breathed a sigh of relief, but she did not let go of my hand. She continued to say vigilantly, "My dress is specially made. You can't touch it."

He Xi raised an eyebrow and asked in confusion: "Are wrinkles also part of the design?"

"Of course!" Mingmei pouted and said proudly, "This skirt of mine has a great origin. You will know it on the day of the official performance."

On the rehearsal stage, Li Fuyue and Li Bufan hosted the show very professionally.

Li Fuyue: "The next program is a female solo of "Jasmine Flower"."

Li Bufan: "Performers: Mingmei and He Xi from Class 5, Senior Grade ."

He Xi and Ming Mei walked slowly onto the stage, with the spotlights focusing on them in different positions. After they were ready, a melodious violin sound rang out in the auditorium, soft yet powerful.

After a melody, a bright and superior voice appeared in the speakers.

"What a beautiful jasmine flower! What a beautiful jasmine flower! The fragrance fills the branches, and it is fragrant and white, and everyone praises it..."

Mingmei's singing skills are superb, and her voice and violin complement each other perfectly. The judges and random audience members from lower grades present were all mesmerized by her performance. When the song ended, everyone was still immersed in it. It was only when Li Fuyue on the stage reminded everyone that the judges reacted.

There are eleven judges, including three teachers and eight students. Most of the students are members of the Student Union, Radio Station, Drama Club, and Song and Dance Club. According to regulations, as long as more than half of the judges vote in favor, it means that the program can be officially performed at the school anniversary party.

But before that, the judging panel had already approved three solo programs. If they approved one more, it would seem like too many solo programs, so the judging panel could not make up their minds for a while, so they asked He Xi and Ming Mei on the stage to wait for a while, and they began to discuss the final stay or departure of the "Jasmine Flower" program.

Teacher Chen said: "I think they performed better than the previous group and they deserved to pass."

Teacher Ji said, "But there are already three solo programs. The students will get tired of them. If we want to keep "Jasmine Flower", we can only eliminate "Tomorrow Will Be Better."

He Zhi hurriedly said, "Teacher, this is not fair. We just passed "Tomorrow Will Be Better", why are you going to eliminate "Tomorrow Will Be Better"? Isn't this breaking your promise?"

"Yes." Xu Yan agreed, "The performers of Tomorrow Will Be Better will be very sad. Besides, the performers of Jasmine Flower are my classmates. If they knew that their program replaced other programs, they would definitely not be happy. In my opinion, they performed so well, so why not have another solo program?"

Teacher Ji thought for a moment, then said, "It's the same as before. Vote, and more than half will pass."

The result is obvious. "Jasmine Flower" received eleven votes, a good result of unanimous approval, and was successfully selected for the school anniversary party.

After the rehearsal, Xiang Rujin took He Zhi's arm and asked curiously, "Zhizhi, I remember you didn't like Mingmei before? Why did you vote for her this time?"

He Zhi pouted and said, "To be honest, she sang pretty well. Besides, it's not that I don't like her, I just don't accept it. I've been the runner-up for so long and I've accepted my fate. Why did she make me the third place?"

"Are you still angry now?"

"A little bit." He Zhi sighed, "I don't know what's wrong with her brain. How can she be so smart? She scores above 700 every time. If it's once or twice, it might be good luck. But if it's every time, then she is really extraordinary. It's amazing!"

Xiang Rujin said with a smile: "If you don't hate her, why do you always target Class 5?"

He Zhi's eyes widened, as if she was framed and couldn't believe it. She hurriedly said, "Don't talk nonsense. When did I target Class 5?"

"It was during the last basketball game. You spoke so aggressively that I was afraid you would get beaten."

He Zhi was completely speechless: "You are venomous, aren't you? I was obviously overwhelmed with class honor. Class 5 just won a few games. I was irritated by the sight of you showing off!"

Xiang Rujin: "But then again, He Xi is really good at playing basketball!"

He Zhijiao snorted, "Our Bufan is not bad at fighting, right? Which class are you from? You're so mean."

On the other side, Xu Yan, Ming Mei, and He Xi returned to the classroom together. On the way, Xu Yan couldn't help but praise them: "He Xi, I didn't expect you to be able to play the violin? You are amazing!"

"No, no." He Xi waved his hand politely.

Xu Yan turned around and looked at Ming Mei: "You sing so beautifully, it's a completely different feeling." Suddenly, she cried and said: "Is this the world of geniuses? They do one thing after another, not only are they good at studying, but they are also very good at other things. It's beyond the reach of us mortals!"

Mingmei smiled and corrected him seriously, "Whether it's studying or singing, I work very hard. Using the word 'genius' is ignoring my efforts."

"Okay." Xu Yan knew his mistake and quickly changed his words, "That's because Mingmei is very serious and attentive in everything she does, and strives for perfection in everything! So... on the day of the official performance, you must perform exceptionally well!"

"I'll try my best!" Mingmei clenched her fists and cheered herself up.

Xu Yan turned to look at He Xi and said, "You have to work hard too!"

"Of course." He Xi imitated Mingmei's gesture and encouraged himself.

(End of this chapter)