In the end, Ji Yan was the first to develop a conscience, noticing that Xu Zhinan was still there and probably had heard all their jokes.

Just as Shi Si was about to speak again, he was suddenly elbowed hard by Ji Yan, making him gasp: “What the hell! What was that for?”

“Shut up,” Ji Yan said softly, glancing over at Xu Zhinan.

Shi Si followed her gaze. The young woman was standing there quietly, earnestly watching Lin Qingye on the phone screen, though her other hand was tightly clutching her clothes.

He suddenly understood what Ji Yan meant—those who truly liked someone deeply often didn’t act as frantically.

Shi Si closed his mouth.

One song, three and a half minutes, and it was over.

After the final line, Xu Zhinan pressed the stop button on the recording.

Lin Qingye put the guitar back in its case, handed it to a bar employee, and jumped down from the stage.

Xu Zhinan discreetly scanned the customers below. The few girls sitting close to the stage were waving their arms and calling Lin Qingye’s name, but none approached him.

Then the girl Ji Yan had pointed out earlier rose from her high stool and walked straight toward Lin Qingye.

Piano music resumed in the bar, drowning out the girl’s voice. She must have called out to Lin Qingye because he stopped and turned to look at her.

Ji Yan silently rubbed three fingers together, signaling Shi Si to admit defeat and pay up.

Lin Qingye stood before the girl, head lowered, his expression faint.

The girl was nervous and awkward. From the second floor’s angle, they could only see her mouth opening and closing, saying quite a long speech, looking very sincere.

Then Lin Qingye smiled faintly. Xu Zhinan read his lips clearly—”Sorry.”

Casually spoken, before he turned and came up the stairs.

“Ah Nan,” he stood at the top of the stairs and lifted his hand, “Did you finish recording?”

“Yes, it’s done.” Xu Zhinan walked over and returned his phone.

Lin Qingye quickly scanned through the video, sent it to the counselor, then put his arm around Xu Zhinan’s shoulders and said to Ji Yan and Shi Si: “We’re leaving now.”

After saying goodbye, Shi Si watched the two leave: “Hey, do you think she heard what we were saying earlier?”

“Of course she did, idiot.”

“Then this ‘Pingchuan’s Beauty’ sure has a good temper, acting like she didn’t hear anything. From the looks of it, she doesn’t seem to plan on arguing with the captain either.”

Ji Yan reached into his pocket, took out his wallet, and extracted a hundred-yuan bill, waving it in front of him: “Your bet.”

Shi Si scoffed: “Just like you.”

Ji Yan: “Even if she wanted to argue, the captain would need to be willing to comfort her first.”

Shi Si glanced at her: “You seem quite experienced.”

Ji Yan rolled her eyes: “You think the captain doesn’t know I used to like him?”

Shi Si was surprised and said nothing, looking down at her.

Ji Yan shrugged, laughing self-mockingly: “He’s not stupid. If you could tell, how could he not know? But he just didn’t care, so I gave up. It was impossible.”

She twirled the glass in her hand, the amber alcoholic liquid sloshing against the sides: “I’m curious what someone like Lin Qingye would be like if he fell hard for someone.”

She chuckled lightly, returning to her schadenfreude attitude: “It would be karma, I suppose.”

Xu Zhinan followed Lin Qingye out through the bar’s side entrance, then Lin Qingye headed to his studio while she returned to school.

As soon as she got back to the dormitory, Zhao Qian rushed over: “Ah Nan! You scared me to death by not coming back so late yesterday!”

Xu Zhinan smiled apologetically: “I was so tired yesterday, I fell deeply asleep as soon as I hit the bed. I didn’t hear your call. Sorry for worrying you all.”

“It’s good your brother answered the phone, otherwise Jiang Yue and I might have called the police,” Zhao Qian said. “By the way, since when do you have a brother? I’ve never heard you mention him.”

Xu Zhinan pulled out her chair, put down her backpack, opened a bottle of milk, took a sip, and said slowly: “He’s not my biological brother.”

“Is he handsome?”

“Huh?”

Zhao Qian: “From his voice, he sounds like a total hottie!”

Xu Zhinan smiled and vaguely changed the subject: “Where’s Jiang Yue?”

“At the library, of course. She’s been busy with her graduate school exam books and finally realized she’s running out of time for finals.”

Xu Zhinan nodded, then suddenly remembered she was still wearing Lin Qingye’s shirt. Afraid of being discovered, she grabbed her change of clothes and hurried into the bathroom.

When she came out of the bathroom, Ruan Yuanyuan had also returned. Her friend circle wasn’t the three dormmates. She stood at the door saying goodbye to someone who had walked back with her, humming as she entered.

Xu Zhinan had only washed her old clothes, not Lin Qingye’s shirt. Afraid of being discovered, she hung up her clothes after coming out.

Ruan Yuanyuan asked: “By the way, Ah Nan, is it confirmed that Lin Qingye will participate in your graduation evening gala?”

“Yes, it was just confirmed,” Xu Zhinan didn’t hide it.

Ruan Yuanyuan never concealed her crush on Lin Qingye. In her view, while many girls were intimidated by him, her willingness to admit her feelings was praiseworthy.

“That’s great! I’ve already ordered flowers!”

The dormitory had beds above desks. Ruan Yuanyuan had tied a hanging chair to her bed railing. She swung around and said, “He’s the last performer among the graduates, right? I’m planning to go on stage and confess!”

Zhao Qian had long been annoyed by her. Hearing this, she pursed her lips without commenting.

“Mm.”

Xu Zhinan paused, feeling she should warn her, but not knowing how to begin.

Her current relationship with Lin Qingye—she didn’t want others to know about it, fearing she would be looked down upon.

But she also knew Lin Qingye wouldn’t take Ruan Yuanyuan’s confession seriously. With so many people liking him, he was already used to it.

Going on stage with such a grand gesture to present flowers and confess, Ruan Yuanyuan could easily end up in an awkward situation.

“If you go on stage, what will you do if he rejects you?” Xu Zhinan asked.

“That’s no big deal. I don’t expect him to accept me anyway.”

“…”

So Xu Zhinan closed her mouth and stopped trying to persuade her.

With finals approaching, several courses this semester only required design assignments to pass. Xu Zhinan had already completed those, with two more courses requiring exams.

She took out her textbook and opened it, filled with neat notes and various colored highlighter annotations.

Having already processed most of these concepts during class, the finals review went quickly. Xu Zhinan only memorized a few obscure and difficult term definitions; everything else just needed understanding.

After reviewing, she closed the book and put it back on the shelf.

Though she had slept a full eight hours last night, she didn’t know if it was because Lin Qingye had tired her out or because of that morning nightmare, but her head was aching a bit.

Xu Zhinan sat at her desk, supporting her head and gently pressing her temples.

A moment later, she suddenly remembered the tattoo design competition poster but couldn’t find it in her bag, probably having left it at the shop.

She turned on her computer and typed in the registration website from memory.

A page appeared with vibrant, contrasting colors matching the poster’s color scheme, with “Tattoo Design Competition” splashed across in ink-style characters.

The competition registration and process were all there, with a first prize of 20,000 yuan.

The prize money wasn’t the most important aspect of these competitions; industry recognition mattered more.

Many tattoo enthusiasts follow such competitions and then seek out winning tattoo artists for their tattoos.

Tattoo artists’ incomes vary tremendously. Top artists charge by the hour, several thousand per hour, while those at the bottom charge per design, ranging from dozens to hundreds.

Winning a competition would be beneficial for Xu Zhinan.

She browsed through it briefly. The main tattoo design competition would take place during summer break, so it wouldn’t conflict with her coursework.

The deadline was tomorrow.

Xu Zhinan filled in her personal information, packaged and submitted her archived personal works, and completed the registration.

Sunday arrived, and the graduation ceremony took place as scheduled.

The various award ceremonies concluded in the morning, with the graduation gala in the evening.

Pingchuan University’s Arts Department was famous, emphasizing both practice and theory, comparable to many specialized art academies. Each year’s graduation gala performance was a major highlight.

Xu Zhinan went to get her makeup done in the afternoon.

She rarely wore makeup normally, but was naturally blessed with red lips and white teeth, and even her eyebrows were just right—neither too thick nor too thin, beautiful natural brows.

Stage makeup was heavier, applied by a female Broadcasting Department student who was co-hosting with her.

“Ah Nan, I’ve discovered your skin tone is perfect for hangover makeup styles. Your skin is so fair, it won’t look dirty or muddy.” She said while briskly applying blush to Xu Zhinan’s face.

Xu Zhinan looked in the mirror and raised her hand to shield her face: “Isn’t it too red?”

“No, no, stage makeup is always like this. It looks normal from the audience.”

Xu Zhinan’s skin was fair and translucent. The foundation wasn’t thick, and the blush had a delicate shimmer that subtly showed under the lights, making her look like a ripe peach ready to be picked.

After finishing makeup, the four hosts reconfirmed their respective parts.

During previous rehearsals, Lin Qingye’s performance hadn’t been confirmed, so they hadn’t assigned who would introduce him.

According to the rotation, Xu Zhinan should be the one to do it.

“So, if Lin Qingye shows up later, remember to coordinate with him beforehand,” the teacher in charge said.

“Okay,” Xu Zhinan agreed.

The female co-host beside her nudged her arm, cupping her mouth and whispering teasingly: “If someone sees you two coordinating, I bet someone will post on the school forum about the campus beauty and campus heartthrob coming together.”

“…”

As dusk fell, the air conditioning in the hall was strong. Xu Zhinan wore a long formal dress with a thin slit in the back, revealing her smooth muscles and the indentation of her spine.

Graduates began to enter and took their seats in the front rows.

Then other students who had managed to get entrance tickets arrived in groups, sitting in the back rows.

Backstage preparations were complete.

The teacher in charge checked the costumes and makeup for the first performance, then came around to ask: “Where’s Lin Qingye? Have you coordinated with him yet?”

Someone answered for her: “Not yet, haven’t seen him enter.”

The teacher frowned: “What’s going on? It’s about to start. We notified all performing students to arrive early.” No one spoke, and she commented, “This person, his temperament is too wild, just like his name.”

“By the way, does anyone have his contact information? Call him quickly and ask where he is. Today’s being fully recorded, we can’t have any mistakes!”

The hosting team, all juniors, expressed that they couldn’t possibly have such a legendary figure’s contact information.

The teacher in charge: “Then I’ll contact his counselor first. You all continue to prepare.”

“Teacher,” Xu Zhinan said, “I’ll go outside and wait for him. He should be here soon.”

“Good, good, go quickly.”

Xu Zhinan put down her hosting cards, took her phone, and went down from the side of the stage.

She lowered her head to text Lin Qingye.

[Xu Zhinan: Qingye-ge, are you here yet?]

He replied quickly this time: [I’m here.]

She looked around, but couldn’t find Lin Qingye among the people who had mostly already entered. She lowered her head again.

[Where?]

Xu Zhinan walked out of the hall, thinking Lin Qingye might come from his apartment through the side entrance of the hall, so she headed in that direction.

There was no one else at the side entrance; it was very quiet.

“Here.”

A familiar voice sounded from behind.

Xu Zhinan turned around, her curled hair swaying in an arc, and suddenly saw Lin Qingye.

He stepped back half a step, lowered and then raised his eyelids, his gaze sweeping over her entire body, yet it felt so tangible that Xu Zhinan inexplicably felt nervous and raised her hand to cover her chest.

He smiled: “What are you covering?”

The neckline wasn’t even low; it was a very proper style.

Hearing him say this, Xu Zhinan became even more embarrassed. She released her hand and looked up at him: “The stage teacher is looking for you.”

“What for?”

“To coordinate your entrance cues.”

He curled his lip in a faint sneer: “So bothersome.”

Xu Zhinan pursed her lips and handed him the program: “This is the program schedule. You need to be backstage two performances before yours. You’re the finale, so just come over when the choir performance begins, and then…”

She recited the introduction about Lin Qingye that she had memorized earlier. “After I finish this last line, you enter from the right side of the stage.”

“Fine,” he agreed perfunctorily.

Having conveyed all the necessary information, the corridor fell quiet again.

The side door behind them was still open, sunlight streaming in, as if someone might enter at any moment.

Xu Zhinan: “…Then I’ll go back and tell the teacher you’ve arrived.”

“What’s the rush?”

He gripped her wrist, pulled her toward him, and his cool hand caressed her face, his fingertips brushing against her cheek: “Why are you so red?”

His palm was large, and Xu Zhinan felt somewhat flustered, explaining: “My friend said stage makeup needs to be this red.”

“I think it’s your face that’s too red, and warm too.”

Because of his words, Xu Zhinan felt her face burning even more.

“Your lips are very red today as well.”

Her head was held in his palm, unable to move. Her eyelashes fluttered quickly as she said softly: “I’m wearing… lipstick.”

“Did you apply it yourself?”

“No, my friend did.”

“Then tell her to touch it up for you later.”

She didn’t understand and was just about to look up in surprise when he lifted her chin and then kissed her.

In such a place—the side corridor of the graduation gala hall—she and Lin Qingye were kissing.

They could even hear the noise from the hall on the other side of the wall.

He caught her lips and kissed them delicately, unusually patient, as if deliberately torturing her. His palm moved from her face to her neck, loosely encircling it.

Xu Zhinan was stunned for about ten seconds, until Lin Qingye’s phone rang. Only then did she come to her senses, but just as she was about to push him away, Lin Qingye had already released her first.

He wore a mischievous smile, looking quite naughty as he lazily took out his phone. It was his counselor calling.

Probably because the teacher in charge couldn’t reach him.

As soon as he answered, the counselor got straight to the point, asking where he was.

“I’m here,” he answered.

Counselor: “You’re here? Then why did the stage teacher tell me they can’t find you?”

“At the entrance.”

He pinched Xu Zhinan’s chin and lifted it again, bending down to place another kiss, completely uninhibited. He straightened up and completed his sentence: “Coming in now.”

After hanging up, he took great interest in admiring Xu Zhinan’s flushed face and was about to tease her when a commotion came from outside the side door as several people entered together.

Seeing their situation, one of the men reacted first: “Oops, sorry to intrude.”

There were several others standing next to the man. Apart from the three band members whom Ah Nan recognized, the others were unfamiliar faces.

Lin Qingye turned to look, not embarrassed at all: “Why are you all here?”

“We’re your support team,” the man joked.

It was almost time for the event to begin. Xu Zhinan tugged at Lin Qingye’s shirt hem and said softly: “I should go in now.”

He stroked her hair: “All right.”

Xu Zhinan, wearing her long formal dress, lifted her skirt and walked toward the other side.

After a few steps, she inexplicably looked back. The man who had spoken earlier looked very familiar.

She gradually frowned as she remembered.

The man’s name was Qin Tang.