Chapter 35

When Xia Xi met Zhang Lixin, that uneasy feeling peaked.
She didn’t know how to describe the young man at first. He looked incredibly young, nothing like what she had imagined. She couldn’t help but wonder, could someone so young really be reliable?
"Hello, are you Teacher Zhang?"
The young man turned toward Da He and Xia Xi, a flicker of confusion in his eyes, then nodded coolly. "And you are?"
"We were referred by Fang Zichen. I’m Da He, and this is Xia Xi, she’s the one who needs your guidance…"
"Fang Zichen?" The young man clearly froze in surprise. "The Fang Zichen, the 'God of Songs'?"
"Yeah, that’s him. How many Fang Zichens are there in the world?" Da He didn’t dwell on the young man’s strange reaction, assuming he was just overly excited at the mention of Fang Zichen’s name.
While Xia Xi was still lost in her thoughts, Da He had already struck up a conversation with the young man. By the time she snapped back to reality, she noticed Da He had already slung an arm around the guy’s shoulder in a familiar way, even though "Zhang Lixin" didn’t seem too pleased about it.
"Da He?"
Da He, who had been chattering away nonstop, stopped when Xia Xi called his name. He patted "Zhang Lixin’s" shoulder and instructed, "I’m leaving my artist in your hands. Make sure you train her well."
"…"
Without waiting for the young man to respond, Da He quickly walked over to Xia Xi and added, "Xia Xi, I’ve got all your things sorted and gave the teacher a rundown of your basics. Just focus on your lesson with Teacher Zhang, and I’ll come pick you up at noon." As he spoke, he handed Xia Xi the small bag he’d been carrying.
"You’re leaving already?" Xia Xi had just snapped out of her daze when she heard this, and she panicked. Her earlier call for Da He had been almost subconscious, she just wanted to make sure he was still nearby.
"Yep, I’ll head out once everything’s settled here. I’ve got a lot to take care of lately."
Xia Xi glanced at the dazed "Zhang Lixin" standing nearby, then tugged on Da He’s sleeve and whispered, "Da He, is this teacher really reliable? He looks so young… I’m not so sure about him. Could you maybe stay a little longer?"
"What’s up with you today?" Da He looked at Xia Xi’s slightly anxious expression, puzzled. He gently ruffled her hair and reassured her softly, "Don’t worry. I’ve already talked to him and gone over the basics. It’ll be fine."
"But…" Is he really reliable? I just can’t shake this uneasy feeling.
Xia Xi knew she was being a bit hesitant, but she truly couldn’t help feeling unsettled.
"What exactly are you worried about?" Da He was probably seeing Xia Xi's pitiful expression for the first time. Though he found it somewhat amusing, his tone carried more patience and concern. "Don't be afraid, you'll definitely be fine. Just relax and learn singing with the teacher."
"Well, alright." Xia Xi glanced at the man standing in the center and reluctantly nodded in the end.
"Study well, don't worry. I'll come pick you up later."
"Mm."
As Da He left, he happened to catch Xia Xi looking at him with a grievance-filled expression. He couldn't help but find it genuinely amusing because he truly couldn't understand why Xia Xi was acting so awkward about just attending a music class.
Her sense of grievance was like a child being sent to school by their parents for the first time,
But she was no longer a child, it was all rather baffling.
Not only did Da He fail to comprehend Xia Xi's strange mood, even Xia Xi herself didn't realize that her nervousness today was somewhat abnormal.
What exactly was she so nervous about?
"Hello, my name is Xia Xi. It's nice to meet you." After Da He left, Xia Xi glanced at the young man who remained standing stiffly in place without any reaction. She frowned slightly, feeling a bit awkward inside, but still walked up to him gracefully and said with a light laugh.
The young man glanced at Xia Xi, a flicker of confusion passing through his eyes. He gave a slight nod as a greeting but said nothing more.
What, was going on? What was he waiting for? Wasn't the class going to start?
"Well, shall we begin the class, Teacher Zhang?" Xia Xi prompted.
Just as she finished speaking and before the handsome young man could respond, a good-looking middle-aged man with a small mustache suddenly walked in from outside. He moved quickly and within seconds was standing beside Xia Xi and "Zhang Lixin," leaving her momentarily stunned.
"You must be Xia Xi, right? Sorry, sorry, I'm late. I kept you waiting."
Late?
"And you are?" A confused Xia Xi looked back and forth between the two men, then tentatively asked the good-looking middle-aged man who had rushed in, "Teacher Zhang Lixin?"
"Exactly." The good-looking middle-aged man nodded. "Nice to meet you."
"Then, who is he?" Xia Xi blinked and pointed at the handsome young man standing beside the middle-aged man, who had been acting deep and reserved the whole time.
"Oh, he's my nephew. Like you, he's here to learn singing techniques, but he's quite introverted and doesn't like to talk much," the good-looking middle-aged man said with a light laugh, appearing genuinely patient.
That's not "not liking to talk much", more like he doesn't know how to talk.
Xia Xi rolled her eyes inwardly.
"So, his surname is Zhang too?" Xia Xi lowered her head and muttered softly under her breath.
After a moment of thought, she looked up, gently tugged at the young man's sleeve, and squinted as she asked, "Are you a teacher?"
The handsome young man nodded.
"What do you teach?"
The question clearly caught him off guard, but he hesitated for only a second before replying, "I teach Introduction to Marxism at the university."
“...”
A teacher of Introduction to Marxism.
Well, so this was the "Teacher Zhang" they had been referring to.
Seeing his innocent expression, Xia Xi’s lips twitched involuntarily, and she felt utterly exasperated.
Come to think of it, when Da He called him "Teacher Zhang," and he acknowledged it, it wasn’t exactly wrong. But the reality was far from what she and Da He had imagined.
She couldn’t tell whether Teacher Zhang had deliberately used ambiguous language to mislead them or if they had simply jumped to conclusions on their own.
The thought left Xia Xi with a mix of amusement and disbelief.
She realized that working under Da He in the future would require more attention to detail, at the very least, she should find out in advance what the teacher he arranged for her looked like. Such mix-ups were embarrassing and best avoided. With a rough-and-ready agent like him, it seemed she’d have to take more responsibility herself.
Still, every cloud has a silver lining.
Thanks to this series of events, the overwhelming tension Xia Xi had been feeling suddenly vanished, replaced entirely by that same sense of amused disbelief.
As for her nervousness, it wasn’t that she was unaware of it, she had been deliberately suppressing her true feelings, trying hard to forget the painful memories associated with her past singing experiences.
It had been truly disastrous.
In her original world, Xia Xi was one of the few internationally certified dual-award-winning actresses in the entertainment industry. Her status in the film world was undeniable: her acting skills were impeccable, her character well-regarded, and she enjoyed both fame and fortune as a globally recognized actress.
But before her rise to fame, Xia Xi had made plenty of foolish mistakes, and the dumbest of them all was listening to her agent and director’s advice to sing the theme song for a TV drama.
The edited version of the song sounded fantastic and was incredibly popular, dominating the music charts for a long time. Everyone was imitating and singing along.
Seeing this, Xia Xi became overconfident. After all, her first attempt at singing had garnered so much praise, and fame had come overnight, almost too easily.
Blinded by this sudden honor, she foolishly believed she had an exceptional singing voice.
Later, on a whim, she agreed to perform the song live on a variety show.