Chapter 128: A Call from the Homeroom Teacher? The Major Art Academies Fight to Recruit

Chapter 128: Chapter 128: A Call from the Homeroom Teacher? The Major Art Academies Fight to Recruit

"Hello, who is this?"

Gu Yifan asked calmly once the call connected.

"Gu Yifan, it’s me, your homeroom teacher, Ye Xiangying!"

The voice on the other end of the line said.

"Uh..."

Gu Yifan paused for a moment, then said, "Oh, right, Teacher Ye. What’s up?"

"Well... I do have something I’d like to get your opinion on."

Ye Xiangying said from the other end.

"Mm... Go ahead!"

Gu Yifan said.

Gu Yifan held a good deal of respect for his homeroom teacher.

After all, she had been very accommodating when he applied to skip evening self-study sessions.

"Well... here’s the thing..."

After hearing what his homeroom teacher, Ye Xiangying, had to say, Gu Yifan was a bit dumbfounded.

"Uh... Teacher Ye, are you saying that the Kyoto Music Academy, the Xinghai Performing Arts Academy, and a bunch of other arts academies have contacted our school about giving me a special admission offer?"

He asked after a moment of stunned silence.

"Yes!"

"After seeing that video of you, they felt you have immense musical talent. They said they don’t want to let a talent like you slip by!"

Ye Xiangying replied.

"Hm?"

Gu Yifan frowned. "Wait a minute, Teacher Ye, I’m a little lost. What video are you talking about?"

"Hm?"

Now it was Ye Xiangying’s turn to be dumbfounded. She asked in confusion, "The video of your street performance. It’s your own video, don’t you know about it?"

"Uh..."

Gu Yifan suddenly remembered that Wang Zibo had mentioned something about this yesterday, but he hadn’t paid much attention at the time.

’After all, it had only blown up a little on Weibo. It couldn’t possibly make any real waves.’

Seeing Gu Yifan’s reaction, Ye Xiangying really didn’t know what to say.

"Gu Yifan, have you not looked at your phone at all today?"

She couldn’t help but roll her eyes, speaking with a sigh of resignation.

"I’m out traveling today, so I really haven’t been paying attention to any of that,"

Gu Yifan said with a wry smile.

"Then I suggest you go online and take a look for yourself in a bit!"

"That video of your street performance is everywhere now. You can find it on practically every major online platform. It’s even making the rounds in all the class group chats at school. The buzz is absolutely unprecedented!"

"Mm... In other words, you’ve gone viral!"

"Those schools have taken notice of both your talent and your commercial value, which is why they want to recruit you with a special admission offer ahead of time!"

Ye Xiangying said.

"Uh... Okay, I’ll find some time to take a look later."

Gu Yifan said, shaking his head.

"Oh, right, the Kyoto Music Academy tried calling your house earlier, but it seems your mother thought they were scammers and blocked their number. They couldn’t get ahold of you, so they contacted the school instead!"

Hearing his homeroom teacher’s words, Gu Yifan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

’That swift and decisive blocking... classic Empress Dowager Chen.’

"Your academic scores speak for themselves. Barring any surprises, you’re on track to be this year’s top scorer in the city’s college entrance exams. Everyone has high expectations for you. So, the school’s position is to have me ask for your opinion. If you’re interested in these arts academies, we’ll give them your contact information. If you’re not interested, we’ll tell them not to bother you."

Ye Xiangying continued.

’It would probably put the school in an awkward spot if they didn’t hand over my contact info.’

So he said, "Teacher Ye, please have the school give them my number. I’ll talk to them myself."

Hearing Gu Yifan’s words, Ye Xiangying, on the other end of the line, couldn’t help but frown slightly.

She hesitated for a moment before saying, "Yifan, as your homeroom teacher, I have to remind you of something. While an arts academy can open the door to a career as an entertainer, that path is treacherous. You need to think about this very carefully. Don’t rush into a decision! You should talk it over with your parents, or you can always talk to me. I might not know a lot about it, but I can still offer some perspective."

Hearing his homeroom teacher’s earnest and heartfelt words, Gu Yifan was a little touched.

He knew his homeroom teacher was worried about him, afraid he would choose the wrong path.

’To be honest, aside from being a bit strict, my homeroom teacher, Ye Xiangying, is a pretty good person.’

’But then again, her strictness was for her students’ own good. After all, whether their grades were good or bad, whether they got into a good university or not, didn’t really affect her that much.’

’Sure, she’d get a bonus if her class got good scores on the entrance exams, but to a teacher, that bit of money really wasn’t a big deal.’

’So, a teacher’s strictness really just came down to their own professional dedication.’

"Okay!"

"Teacher Ye, I understand. Don’t worry,"

Gu Yifan said with a slight smile.

"Alright, since you’ve agreed, I’ll have the school give them your contact information."

"Mm... That’s all for now, then. Enjoy your vacation. We’ll see each other again when the exam scores are out and it’s time to choose your universities."

Ye Xiangying didn’t drag it out any longer and spoke directly.

"Okay, Teacher. Goodbye!"

Gu Yifan said with a nod.

With that, the two hung up.

"Kyoto Music Academy, Xinghai Performing Arts Academy..."

Gu Yifan clutched his phone, repeating the names aloud.

These were two of the more famous arts academies in the country. Many of the current A-list celebrities in the entertainment industry were alumni of these two schools.

’Going by what my teacher said, I’ve already gone mainstream online. If that’s true, and if I just pick one of these schools, countless people will probably try to cash in on the hype and promote me.’

’On top of that, with my knowledge from a future life, I could just plagiarize a couple of songs, copy a few scripts... I’d probably debut in minutes and make a name for myself in no time!’

However!

Although Gu Yifan could be pretty shameless at times, he still had principles.

Plagiarizing songs and scripts was one thing, something to play around with, but to make a living off it? He really couldn’t bring himself to do that.

Some classic songs and movies were better left to their original creators. Gu Yifan didn’t want to change that.

The path of entertainment wasn’t what Gu Yifan wanted. Reborn into this life, he just wanted to live freely, according to his own will. Being a celebrity came with way too many rules and restrictions.

Setting aside everything else, just the "treacherous path" Teacher Ye mentioned—the paparazzi with their candid shots and the endless, baseless rumors—was more than Gu Yifan could stand.

And the most important point was—he, Gu Yifan, wasn’t short on money at all!

’Why would I want to be some performer, letting people treat me like a trained monkey?’

Having figured this out, Gu Yifan shook his head slightly and put his phone down...