Chapter 11 Clothes are not as good as new, people are not as old
"In the summer of 2014, I met a classmate of the same class on the plane to the United States. When I was in school, I was the top student in my grade."
"She was going to Stanford as an exchange student. I was very envious when I heard about it."
"I will always remember hearing Principal Gu once say that the smartest brains of Lin'an Middle School, their wisdom belongs to all mankind."
"For a student like me who is not very intelligent, there is no opportunity to expand the boundaries of knowledge on behalf of mankind. If you still want to change the world, the next best option may be to start a business..."
Lin Yi's lecture, or rather the forum, was a showpiece. Although it wasn't very exciting, it didn't fall to the ground after all.
He didn't have the nerve to forcefully package his past in front of the teachers and students of his alma mater. He just followed the purpose of "encouraging learning" mentioned by Lao Zhao, interspersed a few short stories, and completed the task smoothly.
Linzhong students have seen the world.
Although the last class on Saturday morning was temporarily announced to be an alumni lecture, they didn't make much fuss.
Information is very developed nowadays, but the main job of high school students is studying, so Lin Yi, a newly wealthy man, is not well-known among them.
If it wasn't for the sake of the alumni, I wouldn't even listen to what he said.
There is a question and answer session at the end.
Lin Yi originally prepared some ideas for this, because he didn't know what tricky questions these juniors would ask, about life choices, shortcuts to success, the meaning of learning...
None of it was used.
Because after the first girl who was called stood up, she took the microphone and asked the question: "Senior, the Internet said that you are Vivian's boyfriend, is it true?"
Okay, this is a high school student.
This gossip caused a small commotion in the audience, and many people later discovered that the so-called senior was the rumored boyfriend.
Lin Yi secretly laughed in his heart: It seems that many years after graduation, classmate Gu Caiwei is still a famous figure in the school, and she is still the little transparent one.
She is really influential among teenagers, not to mention this is her alma mater.
This question was not difficult for Lin Yi, and he answered calmly:
"Gu Caiwei and I were indeed classmates. At that time, many boys had such wishful thinking, and I was just an ordinary one among them."
The teenage girl was no longer easy to fool. She asked relentlessly: "You didn't answer my question. Have you been in love since you were in school?"
Lin Yi smiled and said: "When we were in school, you would be called a parent if you had puppy love, but you didn't dare to say it openly at the grade assembly like you do now."
"As for whether Gu Caiwei violated school rules when she was studying, you can ask the teachers at the school."
Of course, this was making a fuss out of a molehill. After Lin finished speaking, he turned around and glanced at the grade director, Teacher Yang, who immediately understood and promptly interrupted the female student who was persistent and wanted to speak.
"Let me interject here. Everyone needs to ask some questions that are relevant to our junior high school students and are high school graduates. Let me pass the microphone to the next person."
Students at school still dare not openly rebel against their grade dean, so the next question was as boring as Lin Yi expected.
After two or three questions, the work was quickly over.
Teacher Yang was not familiar with Lin Yi. He expressed his gratitude to Lin Yi for his support today, and then left some space for Lao Zhao.
There is no need to be too scrupulous about talking when there are only the two of them around. Lao Zhao commented on the little girl just now:
"Do you think it's becoming more and more difficult to control children these days? In the grade assembly, in front of so many people, you dare to chase you and ask for gossip."
Lin Yi didn't think it was strange: "We were easy to manage back then. You didn't worry about it less, right?"
After hearing this, Lao Zhao thought it made sense: "You are quite self-aware."
"Hahahahaha!"
Both of them laughed, and after chatting for a while, Old Zhao asked: "Are you and Gu Caiwei okay now?"
There is no need to hide anything from Lao Zhao.
At that time, in this school, the person who understood the relationship between the two of them best, apart from Zhang Jiaqi, was probably the bright-minded head teacher.
"It's very good. Thank you to the school and Teacher Zhao for always protecting her. Even after graduation, you can still feel the school's care. We are both grateful for this."
Lin Yi's words are well-founded. After Gu Caiwei's debut, especially after she became famous, almost nothing about her past was leaked. This is inseparable from the school's deliberate care.
What is she afraid of people finding out about?
Of course it's Lin Yi.
As for how cautious Lao Zhao is, it can be seen that he stepped on the brakes in time when he almost mentioned Gu Caiwei in front of several old classmates.
"It's too much to say thank you for this. You have made a career after graduation, and the school has gained a bit of reputation. Protecting students' privacy is just the minimum."
"Moreover, Mother Gu is a caring person. She still comes here at least once a year. The school leaders on my side and the other side will take care of it. For her sake, we will try our best to cooperate."
"The time when your scandal broke out before, the paparazzi took out the video of your aerobics competition in high school. We never found out where it was leaked from, and we felt quite embarrassed."
Neither Lin Yi nor Gu Caiwei blamed the school, because this kind of video was not a secret and they had access to many classmates in their grade.
Lin Yi’s roommate Chen Yang also collected a copy.
Speaking of scandals, Zhao Mingcheng originally wanted to give a few words of warning, because the last scandal between Lin Yi and Gu Caiwei was not just between the two of them, but also the second half.
But before Lao Zhao spoke, he suddenly realized that although he was used to being a teacher and wanted to take care of everything, the person in front of him was no longer a high school student in his class.
I'm really not used to it.
After laughing at himself, Lao Zhao decided to give up preaching. He seemed to suddenly remember something and suggested:
"When you go back, remember to tell Gu Caiwei if it's convenient for you to send me an autograph. My daughter has been wanting it for a long time."
"I was too embarrassed to go to her or Mom Gu to ask for it. In that case, where would I put my face? In the end, my daughter even wondered if I was not good to Gu Caiwei at the beginning, and now I can't even get a signature.
"
Lin Yi imagined the scene where Lao Zhao couldn't say what he wanted for an autograph in front of Ms. Gu Changge for a long time, and secretly felt funny.
Although the relationship between the two has changed a lot this time, his persistence in "being a teacher" remains the same as before.
Lin Yi naturally agreed wholeheartedly.
"I wasn't very optimistic about you and Gu Caiwei at first, not only because of the huge gap between your family backgrounds, but also because I didn't realize that you both had such extraordinary abilities."
"It turned out that the two richest and most famous students in Linzhong since its establishment more than 100 years ago were both in my class, and they were both young and promising. Other teachers all complimented me on my teaching skills."
"To be honest, I'm still a little dizzy and can't believe it, but I know it was a coincidence, and I was wrong."
"It's not unusual for you to make mistakes. I'm just happy for you."
"Looking back now, you were very mature when you were in high school, and Gu Caiwei was also very determined. I ignored you as children."
"I know that with your current status, you won't be able to go back to school casually, and you won't always get along like you did in the past."
"Perhaps when people get older, they tend to get nostalgic."
"I will remember what you two said to me back then, and I hope you will never forget it."
Lao Zhao was holding a thermos cup, taking a leisurely step while mumbling in his mouth, as if he was sighing unintentionally.
But to Lin Yi, it sounded like a former teacher giving meaningful advice.