Chapter 7 Part 2 – Change in Mindset

On Monday, 8 o'clock in the morning, Chen Minhao was in the hallway on the ninth floor eating his bun when he suddenly heard sobbing in the number four practice room beside him.

Driven by curiosity, he walked forward to listen in on the conversation. Neither of the two people in the practice room was trying to m.u.f.fle their voices, so Chen Minhao could clearly hear their conversation without having to put his ear to the door.

Zhou Mingrui was crying.

Gao Dao was consoling him. “You shouldn't cry when you fall down. You never know, you might be falling into a pile of money instead. Good luck comes when bad luck is done.”

Upon hearing Gao Dao's words, Zhou Mingrui cried even harder. “When will that happen? I'm already 21 this year. He's only 19 years old and he already debuted before, why is he s.n.a.t.c.hing this opportunity away from me?”

Gao Dao consoled, “It may be a blessing in disguise.”

Chen Minhao couldn't listen to Gao Dao anymore.

Compared to the illogical saying of “it may be a blessing in disguise”, he likes Zhou Guoping's rhetoric where words that glorified suffering are pretentious and all gestures of displaying suffering are ostentatious, a lot more.

Seeing Chen Minhao coming in, Zhou Minrui looked up towards Chen Minhao and said, “You already know huh? Are you here to console me too?”

Chen Minhao shook his head and replied, “I've known from the beginning indeed, but I didn't come here to console you. I came to tell you not to cry so loudly. I could hear you cry all the way from the gym. ”

Gao Dao and Zhou Mingrui were both stunned, they did not expect Chen Minhao would say such a thing.

Ignoring their looks of disbelief, Chen Minhao added, “When my junior high language teacher taught us 《The Peac.o.c.k Flies Southeast》, he cited this pa.s.sage: ‘She came to her mother-in-law in the hall, who said no tender words at all.' “Her mother-in-law was angry because she thought after getting her daughter-in-law – Liu Lanzhi chased out of the house, Liu Lanzhi would be devastated. But in the end, how did Liu Lanzhi react?”

“At dawn she roses at the c.o.c.kcrow

And made up with care, ready to go.

She put on an embroidered gown

And checked it over, up and down.

She put on shoes made of brocade,

Of tortoise sh.e.l.l her hairpin's made.

Her waist was girt with girdle white,

Her earrings shone like moonlight bright.

She had tapering finger tips,

Like rubies were her rouged lips.

She moved at slow and easy pace,

Unrivaled in the human race.” [1]

“There will be times in life where one will inevitably feel frustrated, but no matter what, one must make a beautiful exit.”

Zhou Mingrui nodded. “When I finally realized that I would never obtain those things, I became relieved instead. It's tiring to keep doing my best. I don't want to go on like this. Leave me alone, let me have some time by myself.”

The smile that Zhou Mingrui gave to Chen Minhao and Gao Dao contained a mixture of relief and resignation.

Chen Minhao sat down and looked into Zhou Minrui's eyes. “Keep trying. Believe me, I'll definitely help you if an opportunity arises.”

Chen Minhao made a resolution in his heart. In his opinion, Zhou Mingrui is a person worth helping, or rather, worth investing in.

However, now was not the time.

Footnote: 《The Peac.o.c.k Flies Southeast》is a famous poetry in Ancient China. Definitely worth the read here. Read and you will understand the translation.