Zhou Jingze looked at Xu Sui without speaking, the amusement in his eyes growing thicker. Sheng Nanzhou was so startled that he knocked his chin against the table, causing the peanuts in the small dish on the table to shake and fall to the ground.

“Sister Xu Sui, your news is as unbelievable as Da Liu wearing women’s clothing,” Sheng Nanzhou said.

“It’s true, I learned for a period from elementary to middle school, though I’m quite rusty now,” Xu Sui explained, also casually turning off her phone screen.

Nobody knew that Xu Sui could play drums. Her father had sent her to learn when she was young, but after he passed away, her mother wouldn’t let her learn such things anymore. She began trying her best to be a well-behaved daughter.

After Xu Sui finished speaking, her face was still hot. Heaven knows how much determination it took for her to muster the courage to say it.

She just wanted Zhou Jingze to see her.

“Alright then, this matter is settled. We still have a month. We’ll rehearse together on weekends or whenever we have free time,” Sheng Nanzhou made the decision.

Zhou Jingze raised his hand forward slightly, signaling for the waiter to come over and settle the bill. The waiter came over with a small notebook to calculate the bill and reported a number.

Zhou Jingze raised an eyebrow: “Isn’t this bill calculated wrong? We ordered quite a lot.”

“Not calculated wrong. I’m giving you a fifty percent discount, drinks are free.” Suddenly, a hearty and robust voice came from not far away.

The boss walked over and patted Zhou Jingze’s shoulder: “I still need to thank you for what happened last time.”

Everyone turned back to look. It turned out to be the boss. The boss was tall and burly, with a crew cut and a tattooed back. He looked like a tough guy from society, yet he was thanking Zhou Jingze. The scene was somewhat bizarre.

The boss exchanged a few pleasantries with Zhou Jingze before leaving. Zhou Jingze smiled and turned his face back, only to meet a row of curious faces when he looked up.

“His son got into some trouble last time. I helped smooth things over,” Zhou Jingze explained simply, too lazy to say another word.

Sheng Nanzhou nodded, still thinking about his band: “Hey, we haven’t chosen a name yet? Anyway, it’s a band formed while eating barbecue. I see TV shows are all called ‘Night of Youth,’ ‘Night of Victory,’ how about we call ourselves ‘Night of Barbecue’?”

Hu Qianxi: ???

Da Liu: ??????

Xu Sui: .

“Idiot.” Zhou Jingze cursed without hesitation.

On Tuesday, Xu Sui was sitting in the classroom attending a public English class. During the break, while she was organizing her notes in her chair, a female classmate at the door winked at her: “Student Xu, Senior Shi Yuejie is looking for you~”

The girl dragged out her tone and amplified her volume. The nearby whispering female voices immediately disappeared, all turning to look toward the door in unison, making teasing sounds.

Who was Shi Yuejie? A prominent figure at Medical University, student council president, from a good family background and good-looking, winner of the school scholarship for three consecutive years due to his first-place grades. Most importantly, he was genuinely a good person. At Medical University, there wasn’t a single student who had interacted with him who didn’t speak well of him.

Xu Sui walked out with a calm expression. Shi Yuejie was wearing a white hoodie with clean features, standing in front of her and speaking: “The announcement will be released this afternoon. The school will clarify the exam matter and also announce Bai Yuyue’s punishment.”

“Thank you, senior,” Xu Sui said.

Shi Yuejie nodded, remembered something and smiled: “Congratulations, you got first place in the medical skills competition.”

“Just good luck.” When Xu Sui smiled, her two dimples were obvious.

“I won’t disturb your class too much. Go back in. If you need any help, you can find me,” Shi Yuejie said in a gentle tone.

“Thank you.” Xu Sui nodded.

When Xu Sui entered the room, the teasing sounds grew louder again. This wasn’t surprising – Shi Yuejie was truly outstanding, and he had actively come to find Xu Sui, making it hard for people not to imagine things.

People around began joking with her. Xu Sui returned to her seat with a calm expression. The girl in the front row asked to borrow a pencil lead, and she rummaged through her pencil case to find one and handed it over.

The front-row girl asked her: “The senior came to find you, aren’t you excited?”

“I don’t feel anything special,” Xu Sui shook her head.

Hu Qianxi was also in this class. As a veterinary medicine major, she had come specifically to audit the class because of how handsome their public English teacher was, wanting to feast her eyes on his divine appearance. She hadn’t expected to witness this scene.

Hearing this sentence, Hu Qianxi lifted her head from her book and looked at Xu Sui as if she had discovered something.

The Xu Sui that most people saw was good-tempered, well-behaved, and capable, staying calm when encountering problems, but with a cool aloofness. Only in front of Zhou Jingze did Xu Sui seem to get nervous and shy easily.

Tsk, Zhou Jingze was truly a troublemaker.

Liang Shuang sat next to Xu Sui and habitually pinched her face: “Our Sui Sui is so popular~”

“It’s nothing like that. He came to find me about Bai Yuyue’s matter,” Xu Sui patted her hand away.

“Damn, mentioning her makes me angry. Ever since Bai Yuyue and Zhou Jingze broke up, I feel like she hasn’t been quite right,” Liang Shuang frowned. “Fortunately, she voluntarily changed dorms.”

Once the clarification was released, public opinion was almost one-sided. However, Bai Yuyue seemed unaffected and calmly accepted the punishment. The next day, she applied to change dormitories.

What surprised Xu Sui most wasn’t this, but that Bai Yuyue had actually apologized to her, and her tone was quite sincere.

Speaking of this, Xu Sui took out her phone and looked at Bai Yuyue’s apologetic text message again, lost in thought. What exactly was the reason? Last time, Shi Yuejie had said she refused to apologize.

Bai Yuyue’s submission was something she hadn’t expected.

That evening, after returning to the dormitory, Xu Sui discovered she had been added to a group chat. She found that Zhou Jingze and Hu Qianxi were both in it, secretly guessing this was the group for the band competition.

Sheng Nanzhou spoke in the group: [Everyone should be free this weekend, right? The location is our school’s rehearsal room C at 5 PM. Should be no problem, right?]

No one in the group spoke.

Sheng Nanzhou sent several red envelopes in succession, which were claimed instantly, then a group of people began echoing: [Received, Captain Sheng.]

Da Liu: [Captain Sheng is too kind, must be free on Sunday.]

Hu Qianxi: [Me too.]

Zhou Jingze just one word: [Thanks.]

Sheng Nanzhou sent a middle finger emoji. Xu Sui smiled looking at her phone screen: [I’m also fine, I’ll come over after finishing my supplementary class on the weekend.]

Sheng Nanzhou complained in the group: [Everyone, our band still doesn’t have a name. Welcome everyone to speak up actively.]

No one paid attention to him, so Sheng Nanzhou sent a 500 yuan red envelope. After claiming the red envelope, the group became active like wound-up toys, starting to speak enthusiastically.

Da Liu Who Can’t Sing Isn’t Da Niu: [How about calling it Beauty and the Beast?]

I’m the Captain Listen to Me: [Only you here are a beast.]

Princess Xixi: [No good, how about calling it Explode in Place instead.]

[Or Thirty-Six Love Letters?]

I’m the Captain Listen to Me: [I thought of a few for everyone to choose from: Green Train, Cat Poop Coffee, Night of Barbecue. How are these?]

Everyone discussed enthusiastically. Xu Sui thought for a moment and expressed her opinion among the many answers, but it was quickly scrolled past.

She sighed and was about to put away her phone, but when she saw the phone screen clearly, her eyes widened slightly. Zhou Jingze, who hadn’t spoken all along, finally spoke:

[What Xu Sui just said works. Let’s decide on Carbonated Mood.]

Xu Sui joined Zhou Jingze’s band hastily, not even understanding what kind of competition this was before actively joining.

It wasn’t until that afternoon when Xu Sui came down from the Ideological and Political building and saw the bulletin board that she finally understood. This Firefly Music performance was jointly organized by both schools to promote friendship and friendly exchange between the two schools. Students from both schools could freely collaborate on songs and perform on stage.

This activity was buzzing throughout the school. Xu Sui was holding her books, standing in front of the bulletin board reading the competition rules above when a shadow fell over her and a gentle voice spoke:

“Interested?”

Xu Sui heard the voice and turned to see who it was, then politely greeted: “Senior.”

“I am a bit interested,” Xu Sui replied.

Shi Yuejie’s lips curved up, and he raised his hand to adjust his glasses: “They say advising people to study medicine brings divine punishment, probably because they see how hard we work. The school wants us to relax a bit.”

“I was planning to sign up. I wonder if junior has any intention to collaborate?” Shi Yuejie’s tone was relaxed and calm, but unknown to others, his hanging finger joints were clenched tightly.

Xu Sui had already joined Sheng Nanzhou’s team. She was about to politely decline when a female voice interrupted: “Senior, you’re a step too late. Xu Sui has already formed a band with people from the neighboring Aviation School to participate in the competition together~”

“How do you know?” Xu Sui frowned.

The girl standing nearby waved her phone at her, her tone carrying a hint of mockery: “The forums of both schools have been buzzing with it. Well, the other party is Zhou Jingze after all. Even if you can’t play instruments, you have to bite the bullet and go on.”

“Senior, don’t waste your effort. She’s already got her elbow turned outward,” someone chimed in.

Xu Sui was someone who didn’t like to involve herself in disputes. She was about to speak directly and clearly when Shi Yuejie spoke: “What Xu Sui wants to participate in is her freedom. After all, I heard that despite such heavy academic pressure, she still got an A+ for her credits. Her elbow can’t turn too far outward. What do you all think?”

Shi Yuejie spoke in his usual gentle manner, unhurried and measured, yet carrying a kind of deterrence that brooked no argument. The girls hadn’t expected to kick an iron plate and even earned humiliation. They all left with embarrassed faces.

After the crowd dispersed, Shi Yuejie and Xu Sui walked side by side on the campus path. When one or two students rode bicycles recklessly while ringing their bells, Shi Yuejie let her walk on the inside.

“You don’t need to take what they said just now to heart,” Shi Yuejie consoled her.

Xu Sui shook her head. Just then a breeze blew, and a yellowing leaf fluttered down. She reached out to catch it, her eyes showing a maturity that didn’t match her age.

“I won’t. Everyone has the right to express their own views. Compared to this, I’ve endured much worse malice, but now I protect myself very well.”

“That’s good.” Shi Yuejie nodded.

Shi Yuejie walked alongside Xu Sui for a stretch. When they were almost at the intersection, he suddenly spoke: “Xu Sui, are you and Zhou Jingze very close?”

Shi Yuejie used a very safe term, like probing but also seeking confirmation. Xu Sui shook her head and said: “I don’t know.”

To Zhou Jingze, she should probably be just a good friend of his nephew, right?