Seeing Zhou Jingze’s obviously stunned expression, Xu Sui lowered her eyelashes and smiled self-mockingly: “It’s okay if you don’t remember.”

Zhou Jingze leaned back against the bench, slightly hunched over with one long leg braced on the ground. He restrained his casual demeanor, squinting as he recalled. In his memory, there seemed to be such a girl in class—wearing an oversized school uniform, often with her head down, hurrying past his seat every morning when entering the classroom, her sleeve occasionally brushing against the papers on his desk.

He had some impression of Xu Sui but thought she just had the same name as the person before him. As familiarity washed over him, Zhou Jingze shifted his gaze to Xu Sui, and the shy, quiet girl from his memory gradually overlapped with the person in front of him.

“You’ve changed a lot,” Zhou Jingze managed to say, his innate upbringing prompting him to speak again: “Sorry—”

Xu Sui shook her head. From their reunion in university, she had already accepted the fact that Zhou Jingze didn’t remember her. After all, he was heaven’s favored son, always the center of attention at school.

She was just a dim star, too insignificant to notice.

Some people are blessed enough to forget the names of those around them, yet are remembered fondly by others for a long time.

Zhou Jingze picked up the cola can from the ground, leaned forward, and clinked the cola can in his hand against her cup of hot chocolate, his dark eyes locking onto hers:

“Then let’s get to know each other again, hmm?”

“Okay,” Xu Sui heard herself say softly.

Winter days were short and nights long. Time flew by between classes and the band’s intense rehearsals. Their group became increasingly familiar, their coordination more seamless, and before they knew it, Christmas Eve had arrived.

The literary evening competition jointly hosted by both schools was scheduled for December 24th. On this day, the school was filled with festive and celebratory atmosphere.

What was special was that today also happened to be Xu Sui’s birthday. As soon as Xu Sui woke up in the morning, she received a big red envelope from her mother and grandmother. Grandma even called personally, reminding her to stay warm and to use the birthday money to treat herself to a good meal.

Xu Sui was on the phone in the corridor, acting coquettish with the elderly woman: “But Grandma, I only want to eat the longevity noodles you make.”

The old lady couldn’t stop smiling: “Alright, alright. When you come back for winter break, Grandma will make them for you every day.”

At noon, Xu Sui treated her two roommates to a meal outside. Liang Shuang sat in the restaurant looking suspicious: “Did you find money on the ground?”

Hu Qianxi hugged Xu Sui’s neck: “Yeah, girl, why are you so happy today?”

“Just… maybe because I did well on the exams a few days ago,” Xu Sui randomly found an excuse to brush them off.

But Xu Sui didn’t expect that paying the bill after the meal would expose her. The server returned with the bill and bank card, wearing a standard smile: “Hello, since today is your birthday, you can enjoy an 8.8% discount on this meal. Additionally, our restaurant will give you a complimentary cake. Miss Xu, happy birthday!”

Xu Sui was stunned. After the server left, her two roommates grabbed her neck from both sides, shouting: “You’re terrible! Why didn’t you tell us it was your birthday?”

“Don’t you know now?” Xu Sui’s lively eyes contained laughter as she pressed her index finger to her lips: “But shh, I’m already very happy that you ate with me.”

In the afternoon, Xu Sui and Hu Qianxi rushed to the Beihang practice room for rehearsal—the competition would begin that evening. The annual literary evening between the two schools was quite lively.

Constant noisy sounds surrounded them, the backstage was crowded with people in chaotic condition. Perhaps influenced by the environment, Xu Sui felt a bit nervous as she sat backstage getting her makeup done.

But when you’re afraid of something, that’s exactly what happens. A girl carrying two cups of coffee tried to pass through the packed backstage, calling out “excuse me,” but was bumped by another girl trying on clothes nearby.

The girl’s elbow bent, and a cup of scalding coffee poured over, spilling almost half of it on Xu Sui’s pants and white shirt. The stinging pain made Xu Sui instinctively frown.

Hu Qianxi was helping Xu Sui with her makeup and immediately complained: “What are you doing?”

The two girls quickly bent over to apologize and handed over tissues. But seeing Xu Sui’s expression, Hu Qianxi felt sorry for her and shouted: “Are you blind? Couldn’t you see such a big person? We’re about to go on stage—how can she perform like this?”

Xu Sui took the tissues and wiped off the coffee stains from her body, but the white shirt she was wearing was completely ruined. She tugged at Hu Qianxi’s sleeve, who was still angry:

“I’ll go to the bathroom to wash it and try the hand dryer to see if it helps.”

Hu Qianxi was frustrated by her gentle nature and said helplessly: “What good will that do? We can only borrow another set of clothes, but at this critical moment, who has spare clothes?”

“I do.” A crisp and somewhat arrogant voice came through.

Everyone turned around—it was Bai Yuyue. Bai Yuyue wore a purple dress, graceful and elegant, with glamorous makeup. As she walked over, her upturned eyes sparkled charmingly, quite striking.

“The size might not fit. Do you want it or not?” Bai Yuyue said with her arms crossed.

Hu Qianxi was furious: “You—”

Xu Sui reached out to stop Hu Qianxi and looked directly at Bai Yuyue: “I’ll take it.”

Bai Yuyue froze with her arms crossed, not expecting Xu Sui to accept her “kindness.” Finally, she said: “Then come over.”

As Xu Sui walked alongside her, she suddenly spoke: “Thank you.”

After hearing this, Bai Yuyue’s tone became awkward, but she had to maintain her composure, throwing clothes from the sofa to her: “We’re even.”

When Xu Sui came out of the dressing room, indeed, the size was too big. Bai Yuyue was tall with a slightly larger frame, so naturally it didn’t fit her properly. She carefully gripped the collar and walked forward cautiously, afraid of exposing herself.

When Hu Qianxi saw Xu Sui in the changed clothes, her eyes lit up in praise: “So beautiful!”

“But the clothes are too big,” Xu Sui’s eyes swept around the rest room: “It would be great if there were clips or needle and thread.”

Xu Sui’s gaze swept around the rest room when she unexpectedly met a pair of eyes. Shi Yuejie had come to deliver something to his partner.

Today he wore a black suit with a red bow tie, handsome and elegant. Seeing Xu Sui, he walked over, drawing many sidelong glances.

“Going smoothly?” Shi Yuejie asked with a smile.

After asking, he noticed Xu Sui tightly gripping her collar and immediately understood what was happening. Shi Yuejie reached out without hesitation to remove the golden brooch from his lapel and handed it to Xu Sui.

Xu Sui shook her head, but he smiled and said: “It’s okay. For me, it’s just a decorative brooch, but for you, it’s something that saves the day. As your senior, helping is what I should do. I can’t be the villain, right?”

Xu Sui was amused by his last sentence and stopped being coy, graciously accepting it: “Thank you, senior. I’ll return it to you.”

Hu Qianxi hadn’t said a word throughout, silently taking the brooch and pinning the loose collar tight at Xu Sui’s nape. After all this fuss, they could finally go on stage smoothly.

Xu Sui lagged behind. As she was leaving the rest room to find them and regroup, Bai Yuyue leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, glanced at her, and said:

“You’re quite lucky, but you can’t handle him.”

Though Bai Yuyue didn’t name names, both knew who “him” referred to. Xu Sui was gentle-natured and usually good-tempered, but this time, she looked frankly at Bai Yuyue with a cool expression:

“Thank you for lending me the clothes, but I never owed you anything.”

After saying this, Xu Sui straightened her back and brushed past her without looking back, leaving Bai Yuyue alone, stunned in place. She never owed Bai Yuyue anything.

When she reunited with Zhou Jingze in university, he no longer remembered her. The second time they met, she was his niece’s roommate. The third time they met, they had already broken up. She had never done anything inappropriate.

Xu Sui walked over to regroup with them. The group stood behind the curtain as the host on stage was saying, “Next up is Carbonic Mood, a band that truly symbolizes friendship between our two schools…”

“Please welcome them to the stage with their adapted version of ‘Stubborn.'”

Thunderous applause immediately erupted below. Zhou Jingze stood in the shadows carrying his cello, suddenly looked up at Xu Sui, and complimented her amid the deafening applause: “Very beautiful.”

Although Xu Sui knew this was just polite praise, her heart still fluttered, feeling ticklish. Just as she was about to speak, the curtain slowly opened, and Xu Sui had to focus and prepare for the performance.

Sheng Nanzhou snapped his fingers. Xu Sui sat in the corner position and began playing drums. As the familiar melody started, the audience below immediately cheered.

Da Liu stood at the front of the stage. His voice was clean and pure. With the electric guitar accompaniment, he sang:

When I’m different from the world Then let me be different Persistence means meeting force with force to me If I compromise with myself If I lie to myself Even if others forgive me I cannot forgive myself The most beautiful wishes must be the craziest I am my own god In the place where I live

The audience below swayed their glow sticks and smiled as they listened to them sing. They had adapted this song to be somewhat slower. Hu Qianxi’s electric guitar and Sheng Nanzhou’s accordion maintained their consistently excellent technical performance.

After Da Liu finished this verse, he gave the boy on the left a look. Zhou Jingze lowered his head to draw the bow, revealing a section of his clearly defined wrist. The cello’s distinctive low, deep sound resonated.

Zhou Jingze sat there with his long legs against the blood-red body of the cello, wearing a black baseball cap, his profile sharp and defined as he looked down with complete focus. Under his minute-long interpretation, the cello brought people into a scene.

There, an endless forest suddenly experienced a great fire. Birds and trees everywhere were burned. Everyone fled in different directions. A bird was about to fly into the sky when a burning log broke its wing, leaving it bloody.

But then, a wind arose. The injured bird slowly tried to fly upward, and the cello music gradually ascended. When Zhou Jingze reached a certain point, he turned his head and gave Xu Sui a look.

Their eyes met lightly in mid-air. Xu Sui held her drumsticks, spun them several times in the air, smiled at the audience, then immediately struck the drum set. The drum beats fell like raindrops, like swift wind, powerful and uplifting.

The cello’s deep sounds and the drums’ stirring sounds intertwined. At a certain beat, Da Liu opened his voice and sang loudly:

I’m not afraid of millions blocking my way I only fear surrendering myself

The audience immediately became excited. They seemed to see a reborn phoenix and its first flight into the clouds. Sheng Nanzhou and the others were very coordinated. Hu Qianxi continuously plucked the electric guitar strings, pushing the atmosphere to its climax. They looked at each other and sang together:

Me and my proud stubbornness I sing loudly in the wind

What is youth? It’s the vigorous energy clamoring to grow within the body, it’s restlessness. At this moment, the audience below was infected and sang along together. Screams and applause drowned the crowd as they sang:

This time I’ll go crazy for myself Just this once, me and my stubbornness Just this once, let me sing loudly La la la~~ Even if disappointed, I won’t despair La la la~~ Just this once, me and my stubbornness

Da Liu threw down the microphone, cheered, and dove directly into the audience. The crowd erupted in cheers and screams. Infected by the atmosphere, Sheng Nanzhou couldn’t help but run from the stage to crowd-surf into the audience.

The audience below tossed both of them into the air, wave after wave of cheering. Amid falling golden confetti and streamers, Zhou Jingze put down his cello and stood up, removing his black baseball cap. Standing center stage, the corners of his mouth turned up in an arrogant and unrestrained smile. At the same time, his right hand fingers came together, palm flat, raised to temple level, giving the teachers and students in the audience an incredibly suave and handsome pilot’s salute.

The cheers below grew louder. Someone in the crowd shouted “Awesome!” A girl stood up shouting hoarsely, “Isn’t he just devastatingly handsome?”

“Holy shit, that’s Zhou Jingze from the Flight Academy, right? So charming! Charm me to death!”

“Right, and his cello playing sounds so good too. How is he good at everything?”

Surrounding discussions continued. Standing below the stage, Shi Yuejie quietly watched the scene above. Xu Sui sat behind the drum set, unconsciously smiling as she looked toward Zhou Jingze, light shining in her eyes.

After all performances ended, their adapted version of “Stubborn” won first place without question. When they went on stage to receive the award, Zhou Jingze didn’t go.

Zhou Jingze had won many awards since childhood. Every acceptance speech was the same, and after so many times, he was too lazy to go up.

Zhou Jingze stood in the corner waiting for them to finish receiving the award so they could go to dinner together. A friend from the neighboring class named Qin Jing happened to be standing next to him.

Qin Jing bumped his shoulder and nodded his chin toward Xu Sui’s position on stage, his tone enthusiastic: “Bro, that girl from your team is pretty cute. Introduce me?”

Zhou Jingze looked down at his phone while chewing candy, thinking he meant Hu Qianxi. Without looking up, his tone was incredibly smug: “That’s my niece. No chance.”

“No,” Qin Jing pushed Zhou Jingze’s arm, correcting: “Not her, the other one.”

Zhou Jingze’s thumb froze on the screen. He slowly looked up, finally realizing he meant Xu Sui.

Qin Jing always liked chasing girls. He showed Zhou Jingze his phone, chattering: “Look, the school forum is exploding. The homepage is either discussing you or discussing that girl. Someone already dug up info—she’s from the neighboring school, Clinical Medicine Class 3, Xu Sui.”

“Look, the posts are full of photos of her performing just now, all asking for contact information. Mainly because she looked so good on stage just now. That girl is well-behaved and pretty—a soft girl playing drums, who can resist that? When she smiled at the audience just now, damn, my legs went weak. Good thing I recorded her performance.”

Zhou Jingze’s thumb quickly scrolled down the posts, his eyes calm until Qin Jing showed him the video he’d recorded. Then his eyes showed subtle reaction.

He had been focused on his own performance earlier and, standing in front-left of Xu Sui, hadn’t noticed her performance at all. In the video, he saw a different Xu Sui.

A spotlight shone on Xu Sui. She wore a halter-neck white dress as she sat there—dark eyes, red lips, jade neck, fragrant shoulders. Her legs beneath the dress hem were slender and straight, well-behaved and beautiful.

The drumsticks in Xu Sui’s hands were like pens. She wielded them easily yet struck powerful, stirring rhythms. Clearly such a well-behaved, quiet person, yet playing drums didn’t seem incongruous on her at all. She had a kind of quiet intensity.

Xu Sui began spinning the sticks, twirling them several times in the air, then forcefully striking the drum surface while showing a smile, dimples appearing. The audience below immediately became excited. The video even captured Qin Jing’s noisy shouting.

At a certain instant, something in Zhou Jingze’s heart was struck—not lightly, not heavily, leaving a mark, though he couldn’t describe the feeling.

Seeing him absorbed in watching, Qin Jing pushed his arm again: “You like this type of good girl too?”

Zhou Jingze looked up, his gaze falling on Xu Sui on stage, casually chewing the mint candy in his mouth without speaking. Qin Jing knew all his previous girlfriends had been one type—busty, long-legged, and seductive. He smirked:

“Or do you eternally only like one flavor?”