Chapter 219: Chapter 219 Xiao Tingting_1
Ye Fei chuckled lightly and pulled Su Yueru to sit down, "Don’t be angry, we’re here to celebrate Teacher Huang’s birthday, not to cause a scene."
Su Yueru said indignantly, "Just listen to what they’re saying, it’s so unpleasant."
Ye Fei initially felt a bit angry, but seeing his wife even more upset, he found himself amused.
"Alright, let’s not bother with them, once we finish celebrating Teacher Huang’s birthday, we’ll leave, okay?"
With a long sigh, Su Yueru finally agreed.
Just at that moment, someone shouted at the door, "Here he comes, here comes Teacher Huang!"
Upon hearing this call, everyone immediately stood up.
Though the attendees’ fortunes varied greatly now, their respect for this teacher was the same.
Before long, an elderly man leaning on a cane appeared at the entrance.
"Teacher Huang!" Ma Mingyang called out first and hurried over to him.
Teacher Huang was dressed in a bright Tang suit, looking spirited with a pair of toad sunglasses.
As soon as the old man opened his mouth, he started teasing the crowd, "Oh my, look at you, back then each one of you pretended to be somebody, and today, here you are, still pretending to be somebody."
The crowd burst into laughter, knowing this was just Teacher Huang’s way of speaking, and felt nostalgic as they quickly ushered the man to the seat of honor.
At this moment, Teacher Huang intently stared at Ma Mingyang and said, "Oh, isn’t this Ma Mingyang? You little rascal, still splashing money around recklessly."
Ma Mingyang chuckled, replying, "Teacher, stop scolding us, aren’t we celebrating your birthday?"
Teacher Huang nestled his cane under his arm and said with a laugh, "Celebrating a birthday, celebrating a birthday, as if once it’s over it’s straight to the coffin, what’s there to celebrate."
"Sit down, all of you, standing around like poles."
Then Teacher Huang spotted Ye Fei and his wife and pointing at Ye Fei, he said, "Ye Fei, why are you still clinging to her, afraid she’ll get lost?"
"You brat, come over here and light my cigarette!"
Ye Fei and Su Yueru’s cheeks instantly reddened, feeling as though they were back in their student days.
Ye Fei quickly went over and lit a cigarette for the old man.
"Teacher, you’re nearly seventy, smoking so much is bad for your health!"
Teacher Huang huffed, "The few I was close with, they neither smoked nor drank, but didn’t they still die before me?"
Ye Fei laughed softly and said no more.
Glancing sideways at Ye Fei, Teacher Huang asked, "Back in class, you were always the top student. How about now, how’s your career?"
When he asked this, everyone exchanged glances.
Ma Mingyang, eager to divert Teacher Huang’s attention, quickly said, "Teacher, don’t dig up the embarrassing past for Ye Fei."
"These days, without a strong background, even university graduates can end up working in factories. Everyone knows Ye Fei comes from a modest family; he surely hasn’t achieved much over the years. Asking him like this, won’t you just be making everyone laugh at him?"
Teacher Huang’s expression stiffened slightly, and looking at Ye Fei’s upright figure, he showed a hint of regret.
He then said, "Those useless sons of mine turned out to have some success."
"Ye Fei, if you’re not doing well, just tell me, understand?"
Ye Fei knew the teacher genuinely cared about him and felt a warmth in his heart.
He smiled and said, "Teacher, I’ve been alright lately, working as a doctor, getting by in life."
"A doctor?" Teacher Huang’s face broke into a delighted smile, "That’s great! At least you’ve made something of yourself."
"Come on, let us toast to my not being wrong about you!"
Ye Fei smiled as he raised his glass, and the two of them were exceedingly joyful.
The others, noticing that all of Teacher Huang’s attention was on Ye Fei, couldn’t help but feel envious and were slightly annoyed.
This was when Ma Mingyang quickly said, "Teacher, it’s your birthday today, and our big star Xiao Tingting is here too, why doesn’t she sing a song for you?"
In a corner of the hall, a slender girl looked up with a somewhat panicked expression.
Xiao Tingting’s beauty was not striking, but she had an elegant coolness, her black hair hanging long and straight over her shoulders, and had many admirers back then.
In college, Xiao Tingting was the president of the literary society, known for her beautiful singing, famous as the ’warbling oriole.’
This girl during her school days wasn’t interested in studying, only in becoming a singer, and continued to pursue this path even after graduating.
However, with no resources or support, she struggled alone for a few years before vanishing from the scene.
Xiao Tingting looked tense, and now with everyone calling her a big star, she reached the apex of awkwardness.
"Tingting, just sing one song, aren’t you a star?"
"Yeah, Tingting, it’s Teacher’s birthday, it would be improper for a big star like you not to sing!"
The crowd started teasing, and Xiao Tingting could only stand up.
She said, "I happen to have written a new song recently, I’ll offer it first to Teacher Huang and everyone here..."
The crowd cheered and applauded.
Xiao Tingting then began to sing, her voice floating through the hall, gently touching every heart.
After the song finished, everyone was visibly moved.
Even Ye Fei, who rarely applauded, acknowledged the beauty of her voice.
Teacher Huang looked at his students, each with their own unique skills, and felt deeply gratified, "Alright, that’s enough thanks to Xiao Tingting. It’s time, let’s start the meal!"
But then Ma Mingyang stopped the teacher, "Teacher, the food isn’t ready yet, we can wait a bit."
"We couldn’t possibly celebrate your birthday without gifts!"
As he spoke, everyone else also nodded and pulled out carefully prepared gifts from their bags.
