Plan A
Heavenly Voice 13
Competition
“Sir, please watch your words. Don’t imagine everyone is like you; that’s a very foolish way of thinking.”
“You want a divorce? You think it’s that easy?”
“You disagree? What difference does it make if you disagree? Uncle and Auntie1 agreeing is enough. It’s obvious the RGB code above my head is already 00FF002. Do you want me to present the evidence to Uncle and Auntie? Making a scene won’t look good for anyone. Did you think… I’d be afraid of you?”
The RGB value for pure green is (0, 255, 0), or represented as 00ff00. It’s the deepest green in the world.
A vast green prairie overhead3—Yan Shuang knew perfectly well in her heart. There wasn’t just a ‘number three’4, there were ‘number fours,’ ‘number fives,’ and ‘number sixes’ too.
“So what if I don’t agree? Don’t think you can mock me just because you know a lot. RGB whatever… Can’t you speak human?”
“There’s nothing much to say. You have rather few neuronal connections, your IQ is probably normally distributed5, dragging down your family’s average. Did you understand what I said?”
“You’re mocking me?”
“If you were smart, you shouldn’t have married me in the first place. For your family, this was a profitable deal with no downside6. For you, it was purely a losing proposition7.”
Yan Shuang pushed open the door and walked out. She said goodnight to Su Xin over there, didn’t go to the adjacent room, but instead knocked on her father-in-law’s study door. The study light was still on, indicating someone was inside.
On the first day of the New Year, Yan Shuang spent three hours in the study with her father-in-law, discussing the divorce and the handling of each family’s interests afterward.
Yan Shuang made the decision herself and hadn’t discussed it with her own parents beforehand, because she felt it wasn’t necessary.
At three o’clock in the morning, after settling matters, Yan Shuang returned to her room to sleep.
The next morning, Yan Shuang politely bid farewell.
“Miss Yan, the divorce agreement will be delivered to you shortly.”
“Okay.”
“Dad! How could you…”
“Shut up!”
On the way home, Yan Shuang put on her Bluetooth headset and called her parents to tell them about the matter.
Her parents on the other end of the line were silent for a moment, then agreed with Yan Shuang’s decision. After all, their relationship wasn’t particularly close, and Yan Shuang had already laid out the pros and cons clearly for them, item by item. There wasn’t much else to say.
Yan Xi was off running wild8 somewhere outside, who knows where. There was no one else at home; the maids had already gone on holiday.
Su Xin, who was eating breakfast, received a call from Yan Shuang. Although it was quite late for breakfast now, her family didn’t need to go visit relatives, so they were more casual.
“Hello, Shuangshuang, what’s up?”
“Nothing much. Are you at home? Didn’t go out visiting relatives?”
“Our family doesn’t need to. Is there anything important?”
“No, I just wanted to call you. When will you probably be back?”
“Around the tenth or so, I guess. I have to stay home for a while anyway.”
“Okay, then we’ll see each other then.”
This year’s competition auditions were postponed to April, giving Su Xin even more time.
Another ten-plus days passed, the Spring Festival holiday ended, and everywhere gradually returned to its normal work routine.
On the day she was preparing to return to D City, Su Xin received a call from Yan Shuang.
Yan Shuang said, “I’m divorced.”
“So, does that mean you’re back to single life starting now, huh?”
“I’ve always lived a single life; it’s just that now I’m completely free from constraints, legally and morally.”
“Guess I can’t call you a married woman9 anymore.” Su Xin interjected with a grin. She knew that person didn’t need her comfort, because that person wasn’t sad at all; Yan Shuang might have even orchestrated the whole thing herself.
“Come back soon, I’ll wait for you.”
“Okay, I’ll call you when I’m almost there. Come pick me up at the station.”
“Mm.”
In the time that followed, Su Xin entered a phase of frantic studying and creation.
Yan Shuang sat at the dining table, looking at the food that was already getting cold, frowning. Ten minutes ago was the third time she had called Su Xin to eat. The first two times were half an hour and forty-five minutes ago, respectively. When she knocked, the person inside had readily agreed, but so much time had passed, the food was almost cold, and she still hadn’t come out.
Yan Shuang was starting to get angry, thinking of a hundred ways to discipline this child. She knocked again, but this time there was no response.
Yan Shuang took a deep breath, telling herself to stay rational, absolutely not to lose her temper, absolutely to control her mood, and her mouth, not to say anything she couldn’t hold back in anger.
She was afraid she wouldn’t be able to resist going over to teach Su Xin a lesson, pulling down her pants, and spanking her bottom, see if she’d dare not eat on time again, see if she’d dare make her call three times again.
But it was just a thought. Kids still need their dignity10, still need their self-respect.
Yan Shuang knocked again, still no response from inside.
Yan Shuang suppressed the dark thoughts in her mind, walked over to the storage cabinet, took out the spare key, and opened Su Xin’s door.
As soon as she entered, she saw many crumpled paper balls scattered on the floor. The air conditioning was on, so it wasn’t cold. The young woman on the bed was letting herself go11, free from all constraints. She was turned sideways to Yan Shuang, head down, holding a pen, constantly writing and sketching something in a notebook, muttering to herself. It seemed what she wrote didn’t meet her expectations; she tore out the page again, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it on the floor.
Has she gone completely obsessive12?
“Tangtang.” Yan Shuang called out, startling the person immersed in her own world.
“Shuangshuang, why did you come out? Wait for me a little longer, I’ll come out to eat right away, just wait a little longer…”
The young woman muttered this, but her actions didn’t match her words at all; she didn’t even glance at Yan Shuang.
Yan Shuang walked over and took the pen and notebook from her hands. Su Xin looked like an enraged lioness, glaring furiously at Yan Shuang. But when Su Xin realized who she was looking at, her expression instantly softened.
Her eyes were wet with tears13, looking pitiful and helpless, her face holding a lost and bewildered expression.
“Shuangshuang, what do I do? I can’t write the lyrics for this section. No matter what, I can’t capture the feeling I want.”
Yan Shuang had been very angry, filled with frustration14, but she didn’t expect the kid before her to look aggrieved first. Her pitiful appearance made it impossible for Yan Shuang to lose her temper. It was like a basin of cold water falling from the sky, swoosh, extinguishing the flames in her heart, leaving only complete softness and heartache.
Yan Shuang understood Su Xin’s feelings. When she was in the lab, if she couldn’t figure out the composition of something, she might persist for several nights without sleep, researching tirelessly until she figured it out, or until her body really couldn’t take it anymore, she’d hastily grab a couple of bites of food, and then dive back into research.
“No matter how I write it, it feels wrong. It’s not what I want.” Su Xin grabbed her hair, looking very distressed.
“Forcing yourself like this is useless. Inspiration isn’t the same as doing experiments. You never know when inspiration will come or go. But with experiments, as long as you persist through the tedious, repetitive process, you’ll definitely get a result in the end. Rest for a bit first. I’ll heat up the food, and after we eat, we can go for a walk. Maybe your inspiration will come then.”
“Okay.” Su Xin had already slightly emerged from that frenzied state. She didn’t quite understand how she had become so fixated, like desperately trying to bore into a bull’s horn15—refusing to give up unless she broke out of that strange loop. But her reason clearly knew it was impossible; she was just being stubborn.
“Everything will work out.” Yan Shuang gently ruffled the young woman’s messy hair and gently poked her soft cheek.
“Hurry up and get dressed, fix your hair, and wash your face.”
Su Xin finally finished the song. After repeated revisions, it finally reached the state she was most satisfied with.
Su Xin didn’t plan to use this song for the competition, because it wasn’t necessary yet.
The auditions started in April and ended at the end of the month. After rounds of advancement and elimination, another month passed.
Su Xin’s advancement was incredibly smooth. She felt Yan Shuang must have pulled some strings16 for her behind the scenes. Yan Shuang declared her innocence, saying she hadn’t even mentioned the matter yet; Su Xin’s talent was simply outstanding.
Su Xin gleefully accepted the compliment. When she received the notice for the final competition, she informed her mother, stepfather, and older brother, asking if they wanted to go to the competition venue with her.
Of course Su Xin’s family wanted to go. It was something to be very proud of. In the hearts of ordinary folks, appearing on TV was such a glorious thing, truly remarkable.
Yan Shuang didn’t plan to appear on camera. Before the performance, a VCR17 would be played, and backstage family members would be edited into it. Yan Shuang’s status and looks18 made it inconvenient for her to show her face. Although the ordinary folks might not recognize her, many colleagues and patients did. Besides, the internet is so developed now; anyone interested could find out her identity with a careful look or search.
This was the young woman’s first time on such a big stage. Below were all spectators, and beyond the screen, many more people would see her performance.
They had already rehearsed, so Su Xin wasn’t worried about problems occurring. Su Xin had never been afraid anyway, so there was no question of her getting nervous seeing so many heads when she got on stage.
The entire venue fell into darkness, with only a single spotlight shining where she stood.
The audience erupted in screams—what a beautiful girl!
Su Xin’s voice had strong plasticity19 and was exceptionally soulful.
After the beautiful prelude, the moment she opened her mouth to sing the first line, people found it captivating.
“Now’s the time when this will turn to fruit
All the poppies gonna push up through
And I see the ground below
The places that I know, disappearing
……”
The author has something to say:
The song is ‘What A Feeling’ by Glasser20.
A very nice English song, but a bit obscure.
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