Chapter 98: The Yin Flourishes, the Yang Declines

As they climbed the stairs, Sun Yanzhen kept grumbling to Huang Guolun about how Dongfang Liang was thick-skinned and deaf to all advice, and how she was utterly at her wit's end with that student. It was plain to hear that Sun Yanzhen had a huge problem with Dongfang Liang—he was probably the most headache-inducing student in her class.

Huang Guolun, however, figured that Sun Yanzhen was likely leading a class for the first time, being too conscientious and blowing things out of proportion. A student, no matter how mischievous, could only go so far, right?

Dongfang Liang immediately showed Huang Guolun exactly how far he could go.

Accompanied by the strains of Chopin's Second Nocturne, Huang Guolun's keen ears caught a male voice rising languidly with the melody. The boy's tone was serene, as poetic as the piano piece he was playing. But the words that came out made Huang Guolun's jaw drop.

Dongfang Liang spoke as if telling a story, savoring every word: "I've always wondered—since women can be chickens, why can't men be ducks? Last week, I went and had myself a taste of being a duck. Don't be shocked, and don't laugh at me. It's not like I did it because I was broke—I just wanted to experience a different kind of life, to add some new color to my existence..."

A burst of laughter erupted from the music room; quite a few students were mocking and sneering at Dongfang Liang.

Sun Yanzhen heard the ruckus coming from the music room and said with a wry smile to Huang Guolun, "Those kids in my class must be kicking up a fuss again."

She clearly hadn't caught what Dongfang Liang had said, but Huang Guolun was deeply stunned. He no longer had any mind to listen to Sun Yanzhen's complaints about how unruly the students were; instead, following the piano accompaniment, he strained his ears to hear what Dongfang Liang would say next.

Untouched by his classmates' reaction, Dongfang Liang continued on his own: "Through a friend's introduction, I finally went to that place last weekend. The shop owner was very hospitable and quickly found me a suitable partner. I looked at her—she was lying quietly in the corner all alone, her skin very fair; I guessed she was from the south. Her neck was slender, and her thighs were especially sleek, plump and springy. I was fairly satisfied with her. After all, when you're being a duck for the first time in your life, you want to pick a good one—you can't just settle for anything. She happened to be the type I found acceptable..."

The more Huang Guolun heard, the more alarmed he became. He'd seen social news items about female students selling themselves for money, but he never imagined that in their key municipal high school, with its strict rules, a male student would do such a thing! And he was brazenly describing the details to his classmates! This was reaching for the heavens!

Huang Guolun quickened his pace up the stairs, hoping to catch Dongfang Liang in the act. His ears, meanwhile, stayed glued to the story Dongfang Liang was relishing amidst the piano accompaniment:

"I soon settled on a price with the shop owner and took her straight home. She didn't look embarrassed in the least—I figured she must not have been taken home for the first time. Once we got there, her body, stripped bare, was even more fit than I'd imagined—her chest... full, and her rear... perky too. Instinctively, I swallowed a mouthful of saliva. After all, it was my first time facing a situation like this; I truly had no idea what to do."

Some students started heckling Dongfang Liang again; a few girls called him shameless, too embarrassed to keep listening.

But Dongfang Liang was unmoved, as if he were on a different frequency from everyone else. He just kept playing his piece at a leisurely pace, savoring the memory of last weekend's duck escapade: "...She never made a sound, never even looked at me. I had to gently turn her over and lay her body flat. I placed one hand on her belly—she didn't seem to react, looking rather cold and indifferent. So I had to start feeling around on her, growing secretly anxious inside. What was I supposed to do next? I had no experience! After a long while, I still didn't know what to do, so I could only mimic what people do on TV, imitating them as I spread her two legs apart, picked up the kitchen knife, and prepared to make my move..."

Huang Guolun was shocked once more. Pick up a kitchen knife? What on earth was this kid planning to do?!

Then Dongfang Liang continued: "Since it was my first time being a duck, even after butchering her, I still didn't know what to do. At my wit's end, I had no choice but to take out a cookbook and, following its method, put her whole into a pot, added some seasoning, poured in some boiling water, and an hour later, she was finally done. I lifted the lid and took a whiff—mmm, such a fragrance! I never expected my first time making duck to turn out so delicious. I bet it's way tastier than the chicken you girls make, heh heh. My name is Dongfang Liang, and that's the story of my first time being a duck."

As the piano piece drew to a close, Dongfang Liang mimicked an Adidas commercial to wrap up his story with a showy flourish, sending all his classmates into fits of laughter. The girl who had just called him shameless was still blushing and cursing him for being utterly shameless. The boys, meanwhile, were praising him: "Dude, you're an absolute legend!"

Having heard just that much, Huang Guolun was already feeling a mixture of amusement and exasperation at this Dongfang Liang. No wonder Sun Yanzhen had such a grudge against him—the kid was indeed some extraordinary breed of cheeky rascal.

The music room, which had been buzzing with noise, finally cooled down a bit when Sun Yanzhen and Huang Guolun appeared. Several boys who had been clustered around Dongfang Liang, chatting and joking, quickly scrambled away from him the moment they saw Sun Yanzhen enter, retreating to seats on the other side. They all knew Dongfang Liang was Teacher Sun's special target—she practically found fault with him every single time—so they'd better keep their distance to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

The other students all stayed in the seating area, leaving Dongfang Liang alone at the piano. He tilted his head, glanced at Sun Yanzhen and Huang Guolun with his half-lidded eyes, and let out a cheeky chuckle by way of greeting his teachers.

Huang Guolun worked and studied in the same school, but he'd never paid much attention to the other students. This was his first time seeing Dongfang Liang.

Unlike that other big lummox Zhang Liang, who was always brimming with over-the-top energy, Dongfang Liang was a middle-sized, slightly slim boy. From his expression, he seemed drained and weary, his eyes half shut like he hadn't woken up. He also had slightly mismatched eyes—his left eye was always squinting, as if it couldn't quite open. But it had to be said, he wasn't bad-looking at all, with a bit of a young Zhang Jike vibe—an air of exhaustion that made it seem he'd never fully awake. The red gym uniform he wore was a size too big, hanging loosely off him, rather sloppy.

A few minutes ago, Huang Guolun would never have imagined that such a beautiful, poetic nocturne was being played by such a slovenly, exhausted-looking boy.

As soon as Sun Yanzhen entered, she told the students to sit themselves down and introduced Huang Guolun: "You all know Teacher Huang. The movie on the class T-shirts we wore when we went hiking at the Fragrant Hills last weekend—Teacher Huang composed the score for it, and he wrote the theme song too..."

Fang Shuo, a lively and handsome boy in the class, cut in to flatter Huang Guolun: "Teacher Huang, the music you wrote for that zombie movie was so classy! It gets the blood boiling! How about you arrange something avant-garde like that for our chorus this time? It'll definitely blow everyone away!"

The chubby boy next to Fang Shuo, Zhang Songtao, chimed in with a thick, bassy voice: "Yeah, Teacher Huang, don't just give us the regular stuff. These lyrics are way too mundane, no punch at all. Hit us with something with a real kick."

Another boy suggested: "The rap you wrote for the Liu-Guan-Zhang trio in the sophomore class was insanely awesome! You could give us something like that—it'd be a hundred times better."

Sun Yanzhen deflated these over-enthusiastic boys: "With the lousy voices you lot have, even if Teacher Huang arranged the most rousing song for you, could you actually sing it? When it comes to sports competitions, you boys can lead the charge. But for singing and artistic competitions, it's the girls who take the spotlight. Don't you agree?"

"Right—!" The girls responded in unison, their momentum drowning out the few boys in the room. The boys, feeling helplessly outmatched by the girls' sheer force, started complaining to Sun Yanzhen that the arrangement was terribly unfair.

The class monitor, one of these boys, was Chen Lei—an honest, good-natured fellow. Pressured by the girls, even Chen Lei couldn't stay silent and proposed to Sun Yanzhen: "Teacher Sun, the ratio right now is way out of balance. Wouldn't it be better to add a few more boys into the mix?"

Fang Shuo complained: "This chorus is way too overrun with hens and lacking in roosters!"

Dongfang Liang, who had been sitting at the piano watching the commotion, chimed in: "Exactly, exactly. A group like this has too many breasts and too few chickens."

Sun Yanzhen thought Dongfang Liang was just pouring cold water and shot him a glance: "If you troublemaking boys were added, that would be a real disaster!"

With a sly grin hidden in his squinting eye, Dongfang Liang replied, "No, no, you misunderstood me. If there were more boys, it'd be fewer breasts and more chickens."

Fang Shuo, quickest on the uptake, was the first to catch what Dongfang Liang was really saying and couldn't help but laugh in embarrassed amusement. Several girls also cottoned on, glaring at him in shame and fury—they'd never met anyone as shameless as Dongfang Liang!

Sun Yanzhen was dazed for a moment, then realized what Dongfang Liang actually meant and snapped: "Dongfang Liang! That filthy mouth of yours deserves to be ripped apart! If you don't want to practice, then go find somewhere cool to loaf around! Stop causing trouble here!"

"You mean I don't have to provide the accompaniment anymore?"

"Exactly!" Sun Yanzhen said indignantly. "Without you, we'll be even better!"

"Fantastic. Thank you, Teacher Sun, for granting me mercy." Dongfang Liang rose, cupped his fist in a salute to Sun Yanzhen, and walked straight toward the door of the music room. But he didn't leave—he just leaned against the doorframe.

Sun Yanzhen asked him: "What are you doing? Why don't you leave? Waiting for me to change my mind, are you?"

"Heh heh, I want to hear what kind of classical piece Teacher Huang has arranged. I'll leave once I've heard it."

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