Chapter 7.4|Dream and Reality

On Saturday afternoon at 1:00, Yin arrived at the designated location for the rehearsal. It was a study room inside a 24-hour bookstore.

Their group presentation, titled "Dream and Reality," consisted of 5 small chapters: "When I Was a Kid," "Growing Up," "The Dream of the Contemporary Youth," "National Rejuvenation," and "Dream and Reality." These chapters were intricately connected, delving into the dreams of modern youth and the path to the Chinese Dream. As the final speaker, Yin summarized the group members' content and elevated the theme. Therefore, today's main focus was to modify the five parts to enhance cohesiveness.

After an hour and a half of discussion and revisions, all members were satisfied with the final version. "Yin, you truly are a hidden talent!" Xipei playfully nudged Yin's arm. She had styled her hair in twin ponytails, looking particularly lively and mischievous. 

Yin and Lin Xipei made the least modifications and refinements. Xipei praised Yin's speech as "precise" in terms of wording choice. The line she added for thematic enhancement received unanimous approval, especially after the modifications. She added, "A dream you dream alone is only a dream, a dream you dream together is reality." 

Shen Bin almost teared up upon reading this line. 

"That last sentence is truly brilliant," Bin remarked after the brainstorming session. "Meng Yin, are you also a fan of The Beatles?" 

The Beatles, a legendary band from Liverpool, England, that rose to global fame in the 1960s, influencing generations of rock enthusiasts.

Upon being questioned by him, Yin realized that he had recognized the inspiration behind the final line. 

"Sometimes I listen to their songs, haven't heard them all, but I particularly like 'Yesterday'," Yin replied. Bin's gaze towards her was filled with warmth as if he had found a kindred spirit.

"You didn't know, right..." Xipei interjected, "Despite Bin looking like a refined guy on campus, he actually has his own band and is the lead singer." 

Yin thought for a moment before saying, "But compared to The Beatles, I probably prefer Lennon's wife, Yoko Ono."

Bin was taken aback. Until now, Yoko Ono has been viewed by many Beatles fans as the catalyst for the band's breakup.

However, Yin had been impressed by Yoko Ono's art and ideas on numerous occasions, including this particular quote. Many people have heard this quote but are unaware of its origin. While many Beatles fans embrace this quote because of John Lennon, most are unaware that it was actually written by his second wife, Yoko Ono.

Bin scratched his head sheepishly, "I see now."

After chatting for a while, everyone went home separately. 

On the subway, Yin opened the music app and started playing music randomly, and coincidentally, it played "Yesterday." In fact, Yin couldn't explain why she liked this song the most among the Beatles' hundred songs. Upon reflection, it was probably because she once saw a mix of the band's guitarist Paul McCartney's "Yesterday" over 40 years at Bilibili, sensing the vicissitudes and heaviness of time sensitively. The British tune lingered in her ears, prompting her to suddenly blurt out, "It seems like I've never heard Xu Zhiyi speak English live." 

With this thought in mind, she messaged Xu Zhiyi.

「Meng Yin」: Xu Zhiyi, it seems like I haven't heard you speak English.

Upon Yin's inquiry, to her surprise, Zhiyi replied, "I'm not bad at it." 

She knew Zhiyi had excellent spoken English with a standard American accent, and the response seemed somewhat proud. Before Yin could reply, he messaged again.

「Xu Zhiyi」: Um...

「Meng Yin」: What?

「Xu Zhiyi」: Student Meng, can I join you for a meal? Nanny Dong has something going on at home and will be off this week.

Nanny Dong was the maid at Xu's home. Yin was aware of Zhiyi's family situation. His parents managed the family business and rarely returned home. So whenever Zhiyi went home, it was mostly nanny Dong taking care of him. While Yin was still staring at her phone screen, Xu Zhiyi messaged again, saying, "Grandma and Grandpa asked me to come over for a meal."

Meng Yin logged out of WeChat, called home, and informed her grandparents, who were delighted on the other end of the phone.

After getting off the subway, there was still a 10-minute walk to the residential area. It was an old-fashioned townhouse-style community, and upon entering, there was a small uphill path before reaching home. Yin walked up the slight slope, and as she looked up, the captivating red sunset painted the sky and earth before her eyes.

As Zhiyi registered and entered the community, he found Yin leaning against the door, gazing at the horizon. The boundless and enchanting red hue seemed to leave an enduring mark.

Approaching her, Zhiyi asked, "What are you looking at?" 

Meng Yin, who had been lost in thought, turned to him and said, "The sunset travels a thousand miles; tomorrow will be another good day." 

Xu Zhiyi smiled without saying a word.

When Grandma came out, she saw a scene like this: under the never-ending clouds, a boy and a girl were smiling at each other, with glittering starlight in their dark pupils. The elderly woman couldn't help but sigh in her heart, "Youth is truly wonderful."

"Little Xu is here." Grandma greeted the person at the door with a cheerful smile on the steps.

"Hello, Grandma."

"Good, good," the elderly woman's eyes were full of smiles as she waved to the two, "Come in quickly, we can start dinner."

Yin bit her chopsticks, looking at the dishes on the table.

In order to take care of her, the elderly and the live-in aunties had done a lot of research on the dishes, emphasizing the balance of nutrition and ingredients.

But maybe today's dishes were a bit too much?

Yin stole a glance at her grandparents, who were in such a good mood today, urging Zhiyi and her to eat more without hesitation.

Even Yin herself felt full before finishing the meal.

Rubbing her little belly, Yin and Xu Zhiyi sat in the small courtyard to aid digestion.

Zhiyi fell behind Yin by half a step and asked, "Did everything go smoothly today?"

"Very smoothly, everyone was very nice." Yin smiled, picked a leaf off a vine, twirled it on her fingertip, then turned to Zhiyi and repeated what she had said on WeChat in the afternoon, "Xu Zhiyi, I haven't heard you speak English yet."

She had heard the group's spoken English in the afternoon, honestly, it was not bad.

Zhiyi tilted his chin, came up with a different answer, "I haven't heard yours either."

"Fair enough." The twirling on her fingertip didn't stop, but she started to keep score in her mind.

Yin took out her phone from her pocket and handed it to Zhiyi, imitating him by tilting her jaw down.

On the screen was an essay Zhiyi had sent her earlier.

He chuckled, took the phone and said, "Bring your speech too, let's collaborate."

"Sure."

Under the moonlight and courtyard lights, Zhiyi spoke eloquently.

His English pronunciation was slightly different from his Chinese tone, a bit lower and exuding a magnetic coolness.

As the last syllable fell, Zhiyi turned his head, locking eyes with Meng Yin.

Unlike his tone, Yin's English pronunciation carried a charm unique to a girl, bright and gentle.

"A dream you dream alone is only a dream, a dream you dream together is reality. Thank you for listening."After finishing the last sentence, the paper in Yin's hand had more creases.

Looking up at Zhiyi's expression, it was beyond her expectation.

"No wonder you are in English 145," Meng Yin teased.

Zhiyi's placement test was in English 145 out of 150.

A dream you dream alone is only a dream, a dream you dream together is reality.

Zhiyi pondered on this sentence in his mind, handed the phone back to Yin, and his gaze fell on Yin's ink-black hair, smiling, "Indeed at the level of someone preparing to go abroad."

Ignoring Zhiyi's teasing, Yin sincerely praised, "It sounded quite nice."

Zhiyi chuckled lightly, "It's not easy to hear you praise someone."

"That's true, I generally don't praise people, but when I do, it's genuine." 

His gaze fell on the manuscript in Yin's hand.

"Then I'll reward you with a fried dough stick and two eggs for breakfast tomorrow."

Yin glanced at him, pursed her lips, "Your sincerity is lacking a bit."

"Very nice," Zhiyi said again under the moonlight, genuine and appreciative.

Yin had always been good at English, and she knew she had been systematically studying English pronunciation, but hearing it was a first.

Really... very melodious.