Trimmed By Time Chapter 6

The noises and screams were very loud. Some brave ones avoided the instructor's sight and took out their mobile phones to take secret photos. Occasionally, one or two were so excited that they forgot to turn off the flash.

Nathan Song was of course used to this kind of attention, but Liam Chen, who was standing next to him, was troubled. Liam Chen didn't like taking photos, but now that he was standing next to a popular figure, he couldn't avoid being photographed.

The instructor was very happy that his team was getting attention. The more people came to see him, the more strict his orders became. He had to repeat "look left, look right, stand at attention" ten times. When Liam Chen looked to the left, he could see Nathan Song's profile. Objectively speaking, although he didn't pay attention to TV stars before, he had to admit that it was God's gift. In one day, Nathan Song had become familiar with all the men and women in the class. Liam Chen felt that the ability to become the focus of the crowd might be innate. If it were Liam Chen, he wouldn't be able to interact with everyone so naturally and become the center of attention.

But Liam Chen didn't have much communication with him. Nathan Song usually shared all kinds of gossip and inside stories with others. People asked him, "Is the recent rumor of divorce true?" "Who is the most beautiful actress you have ever seen in real life?" and so on, or talked to him about the plot of the TV series he had participated in before and the one he was currently filming. Liam Chen neither understood nor was interested in these things.

The only time it had anything to do with him was when Nathan Song told everyone that he played the best student in the school in his new film. Someone said, "Then you should look at our male god more! Although he is not the best student in the school, he is the one who has the best temperament I have ever seen."

Nathan Song asked: "Who is the male god?"

"You're late. The throne of male god is already occupied by someone, Liam Chen."

Although Liam Chen did not participate in the discussion, he was not far away. He was a little entangled in his heart about everyone calling him a male god. He looked cold and indifferent, but he still had some middle school boy spirit in his heart. This kind of address can cater to the vanity of middle school boys, but it is a bit embarrassing to be called like this every day. Especially now, he is showing off his skills in front of an expert.

Nathan Song turned around and smiled at Liam Chen. Liam Chen heard him say, "Okay, learn from the male god."

The topic later turned to who the real male god was and the love scenes in the new film... Liam Chen was called by the instructor to edit a blackboard newspaper, so he didn't listen any more.

So at the end of the military training, when the whole class felt that they had become good friends with the legendary little star, only Liam Chen and Nathan Song's friendship was limited to Liam Chen looking at Nathan Song when they looked left, and Nathan Song looking at Liam Chen when they looked right.

If the military training was a small zoo because there was only one grade, then it was hard to imagine the scene after the official opening of the school. Perhaps thinking of such a news figure, the principal simply used poison to fight poison and arranged for Nathan Song to speak on behalf of the freshmen at the opening ceremony, so that all students could see it clearly at once.

Nathan Song was actually wearing the most ordinary school uniform, the same as everyone else in the school, but as soon as he stood on the stage, the whole school was immediately noisy. He didn't need to look at the script, every word was very appropriate, and his posture was also generous. Liam Chen stood in the team and listened, looking at the bright and excited look of the person on the stage. If Lao Zhou hadn't told him about Nathan Song's grades in advance, he would have believed that Nathan Song was indeed a good student.

Even the good student Liam Chen would not have such confidence when he stood on the stage.

Although he appeared at the opening ceremony, everyone's curiosity and enthusiasm remained undiminished. Even the teachers couldn't help but look at Nathan Song a few more times on the first day of class. Even Liam Chen was stopped several times when he returned to the classroom from the bathroom. The excited and blushing girl in front of him stuffed an envelope into his hand, said "For Nathan Song" and ran away.

Seeing everyone around him making such a fuss, Liam Chen finally realized that Nathan Song was not an ordinary new classmate.

Nathan Song didn't come to school much in the first month because the drama he filmed during the summer vacation had not yet been completed. Of course, the school gave the green light.

As expected, Lao Zhou assigned everyone in the class to one-on-one study groups. Liam Chen looked at his partner's empty seat and thought that if he had a poor foundation and missed classes, there would probably be no hope for him.

Every time Nathan Song finished filming a scene and came to school, he would be pestered by everyone to ask about the latest progress. Almost the entire class would gather around his desk, and Jake Zhao, who loved to stir up trouble, would always ask: "Did you film a K!ssing scene with Sophia Tong this week?" Sophia Tong is the heroine of the new play, an actress from Girls' Generation, and she is indeed a pair with Nathan Song's character.

At times like this, Liam Chen basically did his homework at his seat. He didn't know Sophia Tong, nor was he curious whether his classmate was going to film a K!ssing scene. He just thought that this person was in the same study group with him, but either took leave to film or came back to share his filming experience. When the results of the first exam came out, he was afraid that he and he would be caught by Lao Zhou for a talk again.

In the next few days, Nathan Song looked at this new classmate who had always been cold to him. Whenever he passed by his desk, he looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Liam Chen really didn't know how to start the conversation. He couldn't just ask "Do you want to study together?" He wasn't good at socializing. Most of the time, others would get familiar with him first, and then he would slowly let go. He also hadn't decided whether he really had to listen to Lao Zhou and focus on Nathan Song's cultural studies. Liam Chen felt that studying was not necessary for Nathan Song, as he already had a wonderful world. But Lao Zhou had given out the task seriously that day, and other students in the class did communicate one-on-one during lunch break or between classes, such as checking each other's recitation.

Liam Chen still had a little concern, thinking that Nathan Song probably wouldn't cooperate.

Whether he agreed to Lao Zhou or said "learn from the male god", Liam Chen knew that he was joking. Liam Chen didn't care about his opinion, but since he already knew that he was getting a cold shoulder, Liam Chen felt that there was no need to stick to him.

Finally, Nathan Song stopped him and asked him, "Liam Chen, do you want to talk to me about something?"

This was the first time Nathan Song called Liam Chen by his name. It really sounded much better than "Little Teacher Chen" or "male god", Liam Chen thought.

Since the other party had spoken, Liam Chen no longer hesitated and asked him: "Teacher Zhou mentioned that we would like to have one-on-one study. What do you think?"

Nathan Song's expression clearly showed that he didn't take this matter to heart at all. He went to an international school for elementary and junior high school. He had been on leave for a long time to work in the crew. His classmates also had their own plans. Studying was not a priority. When the head teacher told him about this matter that day, he just listened casually. As for nodding obediently, of course it was just for show. If Liam Chen's science grades were not so good that he was called by the teacher in every math, physics, chemistry and biology class, he might not even remember that this cold class monitor was named Chen.

Among those classmates who were curious about him and wanted to share his stories, Liam Chen was never there. Nathan Song knew that he had no interest in studying, and he probably felt helpless that Liam Chen, who had no interest in him, insisted on being tied to him, otherwise he would not have passed by his desk again and again without saying a word.

Nathan Song thought that this matter was a little interesting. He also remembered that other classmates had joked before, saying that if you want to play an excellent student, you should learn from Liam Chen. There is no one with better temperament than him.

Nathan Song said: "Okay, I've been missing a lot of classes recently. If you don't mind, Liam Chen, why don't we come to school on the weekend and you can give me a lecture?"

Liam Chen expected Nathan Song to at most suggest cooperation, such as "Let me copy your homework", but since the big star was willing to take a weekend off and even used polite words, it seemed difficult for him to refuse. So he decided to meet in the classroom on Saturday afternoon.

After lunch on Saturday, Liam Chen told his grandparents that he was going to school. Before leaving, he thought about it and took the notes he used for the high school entrance exam with him, considering Nathan Song's situation. Liam Chen planned to let Nathan Song do a physics problem in the first year of high school. Obviously, he couldn't do it, so he threw his junior high school notes to him and let him read them by himself, while Liam Chen could study the competition questions quietly for an afternoon. If Lao Zhou blamed Nathan Song for his poor grades later, Liam Chen could still say that he had shared all his best practice notes with him.

But Nathan Song did not appear in the classroom.

Liam Chen waited for an entire afternoon, or rather, he did not stay in the classroom just to wait for Nathan Song. He spent an entire afternoon writing competition questions according to his own schedule, but Nathan Song was not there to read his notes. When he returned home, he took out his high school entrance exam notes from his schoolbag and stuffed them into the bottom of the box.

This afternoon was not exactly what he had expected. Liam Chen was not angry. When he saw Nathan Song for the first time, he knew that this boy could act and coax, but he was not serious. Liam Chen asked him about this because he was worried about the task assigned by Lao Zhou. But even if he really did not do well in the exam, he could probably just smile and play tricks on Lao Zhou and it would be fine.

Liam Chen felt it was a bit of a pity. During military training, he looked to the left. He did have a pretty face, but this face was not good enough for solving high school physics problems. It was a bit like a beautiful jade covered in dust.

Liam Chen felt that he might be the only person who cared whether Nathan Song could do physics problems.

Nathan Song only showed up at school on Wednesday. When Liam Chen went to the competition training, he happened to see Nathan Song being surrounded by three or four boys going upstairs. The topic they talked about was naturally Sophia Tong and K!ssing scenes. When they passed by each other, several boys excitedly shouted "My male god! Going to the competition training again!" Liam Chen smiled and nodded.

Liam Chen went down another floor and was patted on the shoulder.

This time it was Nathan Song who hesitated to speak. Liam Chen asked him, "What's the matter?"

Nathan Song was unusually calm and collected. He was silent for a while before he spoke: "On Saturday...you weren't waiting for me, were you?"

Liam Chen looked indifferent and answered him, "Saturday? Oh, I forgot that day. I went to the bookstore to buy materials for the competition in the afternoon. When I passed by the school, I remembered that you were not there, so I went home."

Nathan Song has been acting since he was a child, and he often acts in real life, but now he can't tell the truth from falsehood in Liam Chen's words.

He didn't say anything, but Liam Chen said, "It's almost too late for the training, I'm leaving first," and left.

Perhaps it was because Liam Chen's tone was too cheerful, Nathan Song, who stayed where he was, felt depressed instead.

He originally wanted to apologize for not coming on Saturday because he had a TV show. Of course, it was not the TV show's fault, but he himself had never taken it seriously. He just remembered this incident when he passed by Liam Chen, so he shook off the people around him and chased after him, because he was afraid that the other party would feel embarrassed for waiting for him for an entire afternoon.

If Liam Chen really waited for him for an entire afternoon for some stupid study group thing, he could just apologize and let the guilt go away, and then the next time he saw Leo Zhang and the others, he could tell them that the top students in key high schools were all stubborn.

But Liam Chen was not unhappy at all, and his expression did not change when he saw him, just like every time before. It was as if they had never made an appointment on Saturday, and no one had waited for the other for an entire afternoon.

Liam Chen walked farther and farther away, and Nathan Song stood there for a long time, until the back of the man in the white shirt became a small dot.

Nathan Song waited for a week but didn't get a good opportunity to apologize.

For a week, Liam Chen went home early after school and didn't stay for a moment. On Monday of the second week, Nathan Song stopped Liam Chen during the break and asked him, "Why are you hiding from me?"

Liam Chen looked puzzled, totally not understanding where Nathan Song got this idea from.

Last week, his parents came home from the base. It had been more than half a year since the last time the family of three had been together. Although Liam Chen had gotten used to the special nature of his parents' jobs, he was still a little boy. After school, he just wanted to run home. At the dinner table, it was said that Liam Chen would be better off studying physics in college, so that he could inherit his father's career.

Liam Chen had always had this idea, but after less than a month in the competition class, he began to hesitate. He did inherit the talent from his parents, but this was not enough to make him stand at the top. There was a senior in the competition class, and Liam Chen could see his disadvantages after discussing questions with him twice. If he studied physics, Liam Chen would not find it too difficult, but he would probably go to a research base or institute to do scientific research like his parents, but he would not be one of the top people.

When the family was having dinner, an advertisement for a soda was playing on TV.