Super Doctor - Chapter 204

Today, Xu Ze truly felt how massive Xing University’s main sports field was. He had been skirting the edge of the crowd for what felt like ages and had only managed to get within a few dozen meters of the stage. Staring at the solid wall of people blocking his path, he could only sigh, lightly wiping the sweat from his brow, and think to himself, “Looks like I’ll have to push through after all…”

On stage, Sun Lingfei and her troupe of beauties from the club, all dressed in white Taekwondo uniforms, had already lined up neatly.

The visual impact of a group of young women standing in rows in identical white doboks was absolutely first-class. The moment the twenty of them took their positions on stage, they were met with a wave of enthusiastic applause and cheers from below.

“Sun Lingfei… Sun Lingfei…” Her fans in the audience shouted excitedly, whipping the freshmen into a frenzy. They craned their necks, eager to catch a glimpse of the senior who could cause such a stir and see just how stunning she was.

Although all the young women had their hair tied back in ponytails and wore the same white uniforms, the freshmen, with some guidance from the upperclassmen, quickly pinpointed Sun Lingfei from the group. Their eyes went wide, and they immediately started clamoring about joining the Taekwondo club tomorrow.

Watching these excited newbies, the seasoned upperclassmen chuckled knowingly to themselves. These freshmen really thought the Taekwondo club was like any other club that set up banners and recruited members at the start of the semester, where you could just pay a fee to get in. They’d find out tomorrow just how difficult it was to join the Taekwondo club—it was almost like a beauty pageant, accepting only one in a hundred. Those who weren’t pretty enough, those who seemed too effeminate, or those who were uncoordinated need not apply…

While the upperclassmen snickered, Xu Ze was having a tough time. He had expended considerable effort just to fight his way to the inner perimeter. Seeing the several remaining layers of people between him and the stage was utterly disheartening.

Up on stage, Sun Lingfei let out a sharp “Hi-ya!” and led the others in a crisp, high kick, snapping a wooden board clean in two. The move earned a wave of rapturous cheers from below.

But inwardly, Sun Lingfei was growing anxious. She hadn’t seen any sign of Xu Ze before she came on stage, and he was supposed to be next. He absolutely couldn’t mess this up. Otherwise… not only would Li Yuxuan be furious, but if a tradition upheld for nearly a decade at Xing University was broken, they would face the displeasure of the entire student body.

Anxious as she was, the show had to go on. Sun Lingfei and her team flawlessly executed a series of impressive moves. Finally, they bowed in unison to the audience and, amidst thunderous applause, walked backstage, her heart still fluttering with unease.

Backstage, Li Yuxuan’s handsome face was also etched with anxiety. He still hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Xu Ze, and he was genuinely worried now. Sun Lingfei had just assured him that Xu Ze would definitely come, but there was still no sign of him. This was nerve-wracking.

The number one on Xing University’s Popularity Chart had always taken the stage as the grand finale of the Welcome Party ever since the chart’s inception. For nearly ten years, this tradition had never been broken. If it was broken on his watch, he would feel like a failure to the entire university.

But at this moment, there was nothing Li Yuxuan could do but wait and hope that Xu Ze was just hiding in some corner…

As the Taekwondo team left the stage, Tao Yiyi looked at the familiar name on the program list, a hint of anticipation on her face. She walked to the center of the stage, waited for the applause to gradually die down, and then smiled into the microphone. “Thank you to the Taekwondo Club for that wonderful performance… They…”

“Next up is someone everyone has been looking forward to… In fact, most of our upperclassmen know his name and what he represents. He embodies the unyielding spirit of Xing University—standing firm for justice and never admitting defeat…”

“He… is the current number one on our Popularity Chart… Xu Ze! Let’s give him a warm round of applause!” Standing on stage, Tao Yiyi’s face was flushed with excitement. After shouting the last line, she began clapping softly, her gaze fixed on the stage entrance, waiting for Xu Ze to appear.

As Tao Yiyi finished speaking, the audience erupted in excitement. They began chanting in unison: “Xu Ze… Xu Ze… Xu Ze…”

The enthusiastic cheers started from the front and quickly spread through the crowd. Except for the freshmen, who weren’t quite sure who Xu Ze was, the other students, both male and female, began chanting his name in unison.

A massive wave of sound surged through the air. The name ‘Xu Ze’ reverberated across the campus. Yet, despite the expectant gazes of the crowd, Xu Ze still hadn’t appeared at the stage entrance.

Backstage, Li Yuxuan watched with a grim expression as Sun Lingfei tried calling Xu Ze’s phone. He was utterly frustrated. Everything had been perfectly arranged, and now this happened at the last moment.

“Beep… beep… beep…” The phone rang incessantly, but no one picked up. Sun Lingfei grumbled anxiously, “Where did that guy disappear to? This is maddening…”

Just then, a beautiful figure emerged from a side room. Seeing the two of them, she smiled and asked, “What’s all the commotion outside? Who is this Xu Ze? He’s so popular. I had no idea the current number one on the Popularity Chart was such a big deal…”

Hearing her voice, both turned around. Seeing the radiant woman, they masked their worry and smiled. “Sister Yueru… What are you doing out here?”

“Hehe… With all the noise outside, I had to come see what the fuss was about. I wanted to see who this junior is and why he’s so popular…” Wu Yueru raised her delicate eyebrows, her clear eyes sparkling with curious amusement.

Hearing her words, Sun Lingfei and Li Yuxuan exchanged a glance. Listening to the chants from outside, which only seemed to grow louder, they sighed softly.

Noticing their distressed expressions, Wu Yueru looked curiously towards the stage. Hearing the unwavering, expectant cheers, she asked, puzzled, “What’s going on? Is there a problem?”

Hearing her question, Sun Lingfei nodded helplessly and said with a wry smile, “That guy is nowhere to be found, and he’s not answering his phone…”

“What? He’s missing?” Wu Yueru was stunned. The number one on the Popularity Chart had vanished right before his scheduled appearance at the Welcome Party? This was a major problem. Ever since the first Popularity Chart winner took the stage as the finale, this tradition had continued year after year without a hitch. But today…

Wu Yueru looked sympathetically at Li Yuxuan’s gloomy face. As the student union president for this term, his name would forever be associated with this blunder in Xing University’s history.

Whenever people later recalled the only Welcome Party where the number one didn’t show up, they would remember which student union president was in charge that year… the one who was so incompetent he managed to break such a long-standing tradition…

They weren’t the only ones feeling this frustration. Many other prominent figures shared the sentiment, including Tao Yiyi. Standing at the center of the stage, she stared intently at the stage entrance. Nearly half a minute had passed, and Xu Ze still hadn’t appeared…

She knew Xu Ze relatively well. He was definitely a responsible person. In a situation like this, if he were backstage, he would have come out no matter what…

But he still hadn’t appeared after all this time. Had something happened? Thinking this, the excitement and anticipation on Tao Yiyi’s face gradually faded, replaced by a shadow of concern.

Not far away, in the crowd below, a pure white figure, like an untainted lotus, stood on her tiptoes, her face full of hope and excitement as she gazed towards the stage.

However, as seconds ticked by and the awaited figure still failed to appear, a trace of disappointment began to cloud her delicate, beautiful features. She let out a soft sigh. “Could it be… I still won’t get to see him today?”

Seeing the mix of anticipation and disappointment on her lovely face, the several male students who had appointed themselves her guardians felt a pang of dejection and envy. They sighed inwardly. “Some people are just on a different level…”

Meanwhile, the producer for the live broadcast on Xing City Television was growing frantic. He had initially thought Xu Ze was just building suspense, making a grand entrance. But now, over thirty seconds had passed with no movement from backstage. He realized that Xing University must have run into a problem.

He was seriously worried now. This was a live broadcast. If the university didn’t adjust immediately, they would have to cut to a commercial break…

The Xing University production team was already making emergency adjustments. They had cued up the accompaniment for Wu Yueru’s song, ready to play it as soon as she finished touching up her makeup and came out to save the segment.

Tao Yiyi stood in the center of the stage, listening to the waves of chants growing stronger by the second. She was beside herself with anxiety. With so many people in the audience calling for Xu Ze, if he didn’t show up, it would reflect extremely poorly on the university, the student union, and even on him, especially under the lens of the live television broadcast.

Seeing that the stage entrance remained empty, she finally turned back to the audience. Speaking into the microphone, she called out with a hint of desperation, “Xu Ze… Xu Ze, are you here? Where are you? We’re all waiting for you…”

“Coming! I’m coming! Please let me through!” A voice emerged from within the crowd below the stage, barely audible over the chants. Tao Yiyi’s sharp ears caught it. Her face lit up with joy as she looked down and finally spotted Xu Ze’s familiar figure, struggling to push his way through the dense crowd towards the stage.

The people near Xu Ze heard his shout and turned around in surprise. They realized that the annoying guy who had been pushing his way forward from behind was none other than the very person they had been waiting for—Xu Ze.

Amidst a burst of cheers, everyone quickly and willingly parted to create a path for him.

The television cameraman stationed on the high platform also captured the scene unfolding not far in front. His eyes lit up, and he swiftly swung his camera around, focusing on Xu Ze as he ran through the parted crowd towards the stage.

Xu Ze reached the front of the stage. Looking at the nearly 1.8-meter-high platform, he decided against taking the long way around to the stairs at the back. He had already wasted too much time in the crowd. Planting his feet, he leaped powerfully from the ground. His body cleared the stage’s edge by half a meter. Then, he pushed off lightly with one hand on the stage floor, propelling himself another meter higher, and landed gracefully on the stage.

Seeing the tall, slender figure seemingly rise directly from below the stage, many of the girls who had a clear view from up close began to scream with excitement.

Xu Ze wiped the sweat from his forehead and turned to wave at the crowd below, which had erupted into another massive roar of cheers at his appearance.

He then smiled at Tao Yiyi, whose face was flushed with excitement. “Sorry about that. There were just too many people. It was really hard to get through.”

Although Xu Ze spoke softly, his voice was picked up by the microphone in Tao Yiyi’s hand and amplified throughout the field.

Hearing his slightly apologetic words over the sound system and seeing him wipe his brow, the audience finally understood the reason for the delay. A wave of good-natured laughter rippled through the crowd.

“It’s alright… you’re here now, that’s what matters!” Tao Yiyi smiled and handed him a microphone, then turned back to the audience and announced, “Now that Xu Ze is here, let’s all welcome him to say a few words to us…”

As her words faded, another wave of enthusiastic applause and cheers surged from the audience…

Watching the lively scene and the atmosphere that had peaked with the young man’s appearance, the TV producer whistled softly in amazement. He had witnessed many galas and events at various levels in Xing City, but aside from certain major celebrities, no one had ever commanded such a powerful presence.

And this young man was merely an ordinary student at Xing University. The fact that he could cause such a sensation spoke volumes about his influence among the student body… To reach this level of popularity was rare; you’d be hard-pressed to find one or two like him in universities across the entire country…

He took a closer look at the young man. Dressed in a simple white T-shirt and light blue jeans, with strikingly handsome and clear-cut features, he stood on stage with a natural ease. The smile on his face seemed incredibly approachable. The producer couldn’t help but nod in approval. “He’s really got something… I wonder if he’s from the Performing Arts department. If not…”

Xu Ze took the microphone from Tao Yiyi, nodded to her in thanks, then turned to face the dense crowd. He smiled and nodded apologetically. “I’m really very sorry… There are just so many students at Xing University. It took me over ten minutes to fight my way through…”

“Haha…” Hearing his explanation, the audience responded with another round of cheerful laughter…

Hearing the laughter below, Xu Ze gently raised a hand, palms down, in a calming gesture. He continued with a smile, “Today is the day we at Xing University welcome our new students. A warm welcome to all our junior classmates, to our beautiful Xing University…”

“As your senior, I wish you all the best. I hope you will spend some of the most memorable and beautiful years of your lives here at our lovely Xing University…”

After waiting for a round of warm applause to subside, Xu Ze smiled and said, “Actually… after my first year, much like all of you, I attended the Welcome Party once. But after that, I was always too busy and never found the time to participate again. However, due to everyone’s… enthusiasm… I was pushed to the top of the Popularity Chart this year. So, to uphold our university’s Welcome Party tradition, I’m here…”

“Since I’m here and on this stage, naturally, I should perform. So… I’ve prepared a small program for everyone. I hope you’ll like it…”

Hearing his words, the audience erupted in cheers once more. They had seen Xu Ze play basketball, they had seen him treat patients, they had seen him walk fearlessly into a courtroom to secure justice for Tao Xiao. But they had never heard him sing, never seen him dance, and never heard him play an instrument.

Now, they finally had the chance. Everyone was immensely curious. They wondered which of his many talents this exceptionally well-rounded Xu Ze would showcase and what kind of performance he would give.

The answer was soon revealed amidst their anticipation. Xu Ze walked with a smile towards a piano positioned at one corner of the stage. This same piano had just been played by the university’s “Piano Princess,” Li Xiaorui, a short while ago, and now it was about to be used again.

Seeing Xu Ze approach the piano, the audience, especially the female students, burst into another frenzy of screams. That such an outstanding young man could also play the piano made him seem utterly perfect in their eyes.

Meanwhile, Tao Yiyi watched Xu Ze with eager anticipation. She never knew Xu Ze could play the piano. But she had great confidence in him, so she was also very excited, waiting for his performance.

Xu Ze sat down at the piano. He glanced at the microphone positioned above and beside the piano, adjusted the one above slightly to point more directly towards himself, took a soft breath, straightened his posture, and placed his hands on the keys.

As his slender fingers began to glide slowly across the black and white keys, a pleasant piano melody gradually floated into the air.

After softly playing a few introductory notes, Xu Ze, while moving his fingers over the keys, began to sing softly into the microphone, his voice low:

“My sky, how clear it is…
So transparent… filled with the air of the past…
It’s your hand holding mine…
But your smile… I can no longer see clearly…”

As Xu Ze’s deep, melodic voice, accompanied by the beautiful piano notes, filled the air, the entire field gradually fell completely silent. The only sounds remaining in the sports field were Xu Ze’s magnetic, gentle singing and the ethereal notes of the piano…