I was reborn after my cousin stole my life.

Chapter 227: Rescue

Zheng Yuemei pulled Yuan Xiu and the others to stand on the steps leading up the stairs, where they could see clearly. "This Ding Xuewen is quite imposing. If I weren't worried about it interfering with my studies, I would have liked to join the poetry club."

Yuan Xiu didn't seem to have any imposing presence, but she certainly had a lot of arrogance.

The members of the poetry club following behind him all looked triumphant.

Meanwhile, the worker-peasant-soldier college students on the other side were filled with resentment and obvious anger.

"If you're not convinced, then let's have a competition."

A girl walked out from behind Ding Xuewen. She wore glasses, had her hair in a ponytail, and was carrying a book in front of her. Judging from her clothes, she came from a well-off family.

"Let's compete!"

The girl adjusted her glasses and casually recited aloud: "We don't write empty slogans, we don't shout words repeated a thousand times. When the snow falls, we write about the whiteness of the snow; when the wind blows, we write about the coolness of the wind. The books are new, the pens are new, and our hearts are new. We want to write sentences that truly belong to spring. Let those old tunes remain in the past. This is a new garden, only for those who walk the same path."

"good!"

As soon as the girl finished reciting, the members of the poetry club applauded, inspiring the freshmen who were watching the spectacle.

Zheng Yuemei clapped enthusiastically, "So timely and fitting! It's beautifully written! Yuan Xiu, what do you think?"

Yuan Xiu: "...I don't understand modern poetry. Since you all say it's good, it must be pretty good, right?"

That's really bad; the old man is probably going to be furious.

This poem is blatantly saying that they are "old tunes" and should remain in the "past," while the "new garden" cannot accommodate "old people."

The older students were so angry they were panting.

A male student in his early twenties stood up and shouted defiantly, "We come from factories and fields, we come from military barracks; our poems are written about sweat and hardship!"

"You say we're outdated, that we only know how to shout slogans, but you've forgotten who sent you into this classroom!"

"Great!" The worker-peasant-soldier college students applauded!

Amid applause, the male student continued: "Our poems are written for the people! For the land! For our unwavering faith!"

"A letter to the people!"

"A letter to the earth!"

"A letter to my unwavering faith!"

The older students recited in unison.

The male student turned to Ding Xuewen and his group, his face sarcastically saying, "Your poetry club invited us in, but we're not! Look at what you write—romantic musings, bourgeois sentimentality! Completely detached from the workers, peasants, and soldiers—this is the poisonous weed of revisionism!"

"That's right! Don't think you're something special just because you got into university. If you forget class struggle and take the revisionist path, you'll be overthrown by the people sooner or later!"

After they finished speaking, the dozen or so senior students left in a large group.

Ding Xuewen and the others had different expressions. Wei Dong whispered in Ding Xuewen's ear, "What they said, could it be...?"

"No," the girl said. "College entrance exams don't consider class background anymore. Do you think we'd be scared off by a few words from them? Who says writing about romance and nature is bourgeois sentimentality? Snow falling on the ground, wind blowing across the rooftops, moonlight shining on the scholar—this isn't bourgeois sentimentality, this is life!"

"Poetry can depict the people, the mountains and rivers, the wind and snow. Why should there only be one way to write it? Does the universe have different classes?"

"Well said!" Ding Xuewen exclaimed with admiration. "Wu Xue, you are the most outstanding female comrade I have ever met!"

Liu Yazhi whispered, "She is indeed quite excellent; she can recite poems off the cuff."

Zheng Yuemei: "She is the class monitor of Class 2. I heard that her college entrance examination score was the highest in her class. The teachers all like her very much."

After saying that, I thought to myself: Ding Xuewen must like her too, his eyes were shining when he looked at her!

"However, I think the poem that older student wrote earlier was quite good too," Liu Yazhi said, then asked Yuan Xiu, "What do you think?"

Yuan Xiu: "I don't write poetry, but I found it quite moving."

For Yuan Xiu, a poem is one that evokes deep feelings.

As soon as the senior students left, the crowd dispersed in twos and threes, revealing Yuan Xiu and her group standing at the top of the stairs.

"Yuan Xiu, classmate." Wei Dong stepped forward and walked up to Yuan Xiu.

Yuan Xiu raised an eyebrow. "Do we know each other?"

I don't remember.

My only impression is that this person just said the older students "don't understand poetry".

Wei Dong laughed and said, "You remember when I accidentally bumped into you during class in the lecture hall last time?"

Yuan Xiu remembered again, "Yes, you already apologized last time."

"No, I'm not here to apologize to you. My name is Weidong, I'm in Class 2, and I'm also a member of the poetry club. I wanted to ask you if you'd be interested in joining the poetry club? I can recommend you."

Yuan Xiu: ...So now you need a recommendation to join the poetry club, instead of having people invite you and still not getting in like before?

"I'm not interested, and I don't have the time."

Wei Dong was somewhat disappointed. "Yuan Xiu, think it over. Actually, joining the poetry club won't take up much of your time. We only exchange and learn from each other in our spare time. The members of the poetry club are all excellent. You can learn a lot after joining the poetry club."

"I'm sorry, I really don't have time, and I don't understand poetry either. Please invite someone else."

After saying that, Yuan Xiu left.

Disappointed, Wei Dong returned to Ding Xuewen and the others.

"What did you want with Yuan Xiu just now?" Ding Xuewen asked.

"I would like to invite her to join the poetry club."

"Didn't I tell you last time that she wouldn't join? Although she's a college student, she's a married woman through and through. All she thinks about is men and children. I don't know what she's doing in college."

"What else can I do? Of course, it's to get a good job after graduation," Wu Xue said.

"Don't talk about her like that. She got married and had two children at such a young age. Maybe it wasn't voluntary."

Wu Xue then asked, "How old is she?"

"Twenty, I think. That's what I said when I introduced myself."

Wu Xue frowned: "That means it's an arranged marriage! Arranged marriages are devoid of affection, no wonder she didn't have time to participate in the poetry club."

She said to Ding Xuewen seriously, "President, please don't say things like that again. She's your classmate and also one of our fellow alumni. She's already having a hard time in a loveless and oppressive marriage. What she needs is salvation, not questioning and misunderstanding from a classmate!"

"I think we can continue to invite her to join the poetry club, to change her mindset and help her understand what our generation of college students should pursue, and the true meaning of life!"