Chapter 519: Jingle Bells
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Standing on the third floor of an old and deserted school building with his arms resting on the windowsill, Zhang Zian watched the entrance of the assembly hall from a distance.
When the night time came and the 50th anniversary of the school founding was over, the students and their family members rushed out the assembly hall in a flood. Little Celery and her classmates were still in the spotlight and were surrounded by people who were curious about their performance. They had been looking around for someone since they left the hall, but couldn't find the person because the area was too crowded.
Wang Qian, Li Kun, and Lu Yiyun were talking to several parents by the entrance of the abandoned school building.
Their display had actually brought in a huge profit—when Wang Qian and Li Kun went to retrieve the puppies and kittens from the students and their parents, most of the parents had to convince their kids to give the pets back to their owners. Some children refused to give up the puppy or kitten that they were holding. Since it was Christmas, their wealthy parents generously decided to simply buy the puppies or kittens as a New Year gift for their children.
By this point, Wang Qian, Li Kun, and Lu Yiyun were accepting money transfers from the parents and writing down their mailing addresses. As for the other requirements, such as invoices and the pet sale agreement, they would just mail these documents to them later.
Zhang Zian let them handle these transactions and climbed to the third floor of the building by himself.
The classroom behind him was the one he had when he was in sixth grade.
Famous was squatting next to him, watching Little Celery and her classmates by the entrance of the assembly hall. Famous knew why Zhang Zian had decided to leave early. For today, Little Celery and her classmates were the stars, and he didn't want to steal their spotlight.
The kids would always remember that day, and the feeling the had when the stage lights shined on them. They would remember the feeling of being a star. This experience would definitely have a positive impact on their future, for decades to come.
Several bright stars were shining in the sky. Famous looked up and saw that the amount of visible stars here were much less than the stars it could see from Hollywood or on the top of that unnamed mountain. However, the stars' locations hadn't changed in over 100 years.
As the cold air chilled its body, Famous opened its mouth and exhaled a cloud of white air. It said both to itself and to Zhang Zian, "I've played countless roles in movies and I've received numerous awards..."
Zhang Zian looked ahead while quietly listening to Famous. He didn't think that Famous was trying to brag about itself, it was only telling the truth.
"But the performance I gave today was my best one." Famous finished the second half of its sentence.
Before pulling the sleigh away from the stage, Famous glanced back and looked at the audience. He saw countless pairs of shining eyes as bright as the stars in the sky staring back at him, and the innocent smiles of children. This scene would be engraved in its head forever.
Famous suddenly realized what Old Time Tea meant by telling it about the beginner's mind. As a performer, the beginner's mind should not be focused on earning fame or fortune, but on bringing happiness and joy to people, especially children. There was nothing more precious than making children happy.
"I think so too," said Zhang Zian. "This time, you acted as yourself in the show. Of course it would be your best performance."
Famous once again looked up at the night sky. There was no longer any regret left in its heart.
Has Audrey Hepburn, the angelic and kind woman from the corrupt world of Hollywood, become a star in the night sky? Had she watched everything Famous had done?
Famous once hoped that it was actually her dog, her own Mr. Famous. It now knew that it was never her dog. But it didn't matter, because Famous's performance skills were not below hers, and it would be able to fulfill her last wish, which was to become an angel and bring happiness and joy to more children.
As the sky became darker, the crowd in front of the assembly hall slowly dispersed. Parents and their kids left the school one after another, and before long the janitors would come and close the campus for the evening.
Zhang Zian left the window and went into the classroom behind him.
He'd heard some parents say that this abandoned building might get demolished during the winter break, so this would be his last chance to see his old childhood classroom.
On the blackboard, there were big and bold letters written in chalk, that read Congratulations on graduating!
There were signatures and messages left by many different children in the blank spaces around the message. They'd promised each other to return for a class reunion after graduating.
The desks and chairs were still neatly arranged, as if just tomorrow there would be a new group of students sitting there, ready for class.
Sitting on the podium, Fina was curiously spinning an old globe with its paw. After spinning in circles, it finally stopped and landed on the vast continent of Africa.
Snowy Lionet was also on the podium, flipping through a damaged book without a cover.
Galaxy was shuffling through the desks, as if it was playing hide and seek with another invisible player.
Zhang Zian went to a seat in the last row near the window. He wiped off the dust from the chair before sitting down and tilted his head to stare in the direction of the podium. He was familiar with this place. He had been there many times before and had spent his lengthy yet impermanent childhood in this school.
The invisible Old Time Tea jumped on the desk and smiled. "Zian, I wish I could see what you were like in primary school."
"I was probably like Yi Le, naughty and mischievous," Zhang Zian smiled. He'd forgotten most of the things that had happened in primary school.
Although the classroom was run down, Richard could at least take a break from the wind. It stretched its head from Zhang Zian's hood and yelled, "Quack! Do you want me to give you a physical hygiene class?
"If you're willing to give a lecture, you can stay here on your own.We're leaving now. It's still Christmas today, so there should be a lot of beautiful women walking around." Zhang Zian stood up.
"Unfortunately, they all have boyfriends already," Richard timely responded.
Zhang Zian said, "Can you please just shut up for a moment?"
Richard regrettably said, "No, I can't. I'll die if can't speak my mind."
"Are we leaving?" Fina looked away from the globe and glanced at him. "I've been thinking about something that I wanted to ask you."
"Oh? What is it, why the earth is round?" Zhang Zian asked curiously.
Fina suddenly frowned and angrily growled, "Don't treat me like an idiot!"
"Alright," he shrugged. "What were you thinking?"
Fina solemnly said, "Santa Claus and I were both born around two thousand years ago. Why are there so many people celebrating his birthday and not mine?"
"Well," Zhang Zian tried to organize his thoughts. "This doesn't prove anything at all. All I can say is that...the truth is often only in the hands of a few men."
For some reason, Fina was happy with this answer. It hummed and jumped off the podium, walking directly to the classroom door.
"What day is your birthday?" Zhang Zian had never asked Fina this question.
Fina paused and said without turning its head, "I was born so long ago. I forgot the exact date."
"Your Majesty, wait for me!" Snowy Lionet also jumped from the podium and tried to keep up with Fina on its short legs.
"Galaxy, come on, let's go home," said Zhang Zian.
"Meow!"
Galaxy had a good time that day. It excitedly left the classroom behind Zhang Zian and Old Time Tea.
Zhang Zian and the elves went downstairs one by one. The parents who had bought pets had already left with their children. Wang Qian, Li Kun, and Lu Yiyun were waiting for him at the entrance of the school building while rubbing their hands in the cold, trying to warm up their bodies.
"Sir! We sold two cats and two dogs today! It's so easy to make money off of children!" Wang Qian exclaimed. After working all afternoon, he and Li Kun were no longer affected by the alcohol they had drank.
"Oh? That's impressive!" Zhang Zian was pleasantly surprise., "Did you increase the price by 20%?"
Wang Qian and Li Kun were confused. "...What?"
Zhang Zian explained, "Didn't I tell you a few days ago that we were going to take advantage of Christmas and increase the original prices of all the animals? Or did you forget?"
Wang Qian and Li Kun said simultaneously, "We thought you were joking!"
Zhang Zian was amused by their embarrassment. "Of course I was joking! Did you think I was being serious? Forget it, let's leave this place before we catch a cold! Today's business was good, and we deserve to enjoy the rest of Christmas. If you stay in the store for dinner, I'll order four buckets of food for us from KFC."
Wang Qian and Li Kun were relieved. It was difficult for them to read the true intentions of their boss.
Lu Yiyun was shocked, and she quickly said, "You're making four orders? I can't even finish one bucket on my own!"
"It's okay, you can eat it for breakfast tomorrow if you can't finish the whole thing tonight. Even though eating fried food is not good for you in the morning, wasting food is even worse, isn't it?"
When the carriers had been neatly stacked onto the tricycle, Zhang Zian waved his hand, and said, "Please lead the way!"
Li Kun was riding the tricycle, while Wang Qian and Lu Yiyun followed behind him.
Even farther behind, Zhang Zian was pulling Famous and Zhan Tian, and walking with the other elves.
The streets outside the school were decorated with bright lights and colors that stood out in night. There were sweet couples publicly expressing their affection all over the placce. The air was filled with romance.
Snow fell on Zhang Zian's face and made him feel even colder. It looked like it would be a white Christmas that year.
Someone among them started to sing, and then others joined and hummed along.
"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!
"Oh, what fun it is to ride, in a one-horse open sleigh.
"Dashing through the snow, in a one-horse open sleigh,
"Over the fields we go, laughing all the way,
"Bells on bob-tail ring, making spirits bright,
"What fun it is to ride and sing, a sleighing song tonight."
The people walking by gave them strange looks. But neither Zhang Zian, Wang Qian, or Li Kun cared what others thought about them. Lu Yiyun hid her face behind her scarf.
There were some people who clapped their hands or hummed together with them, but no one had noticed that among the singing voices of humans, there were also some peculiar voices of animals.
"Woof!"
"Quack!"
"Meow!"