The affair between Su Zheng and Xu Zhinan caused quite a stir at school back then.

In their second year of high school, Xu Zhinan’s father died in the line of duty while apprehending a kidnapper. As the child of a police officer, she was almost endangered as well, and ended up spending several days in the hospital afterward.

Xu Zhinan was just as famous in high school as she was in university, though at that time First High had a strong academic atmosphere and no official “school beauty” title. Still, everyone knew that Xu Zhinan from Class 3, Year 2 was exceptionally beautiful.

During the few days she was absent from school, someone found out what had happened, and suddenly the whole school was discussing how Xu Zhinan’s father had passed away.

There were sympathetic sighs and cold sidelong glances alike.

This was only human nature—others truly couldn’t put themselves in the shoes of a 17-year-old Xu Zhinan who had just lost her father.

But Su Zheng was different.

Xu Zhinan had grown up under her parents’ protection and had never encountered someone as terrible as Su Zheng.

After being discharged from the hospital, she only rested at home for one night before returning to school. It was a bright, sunny day. Having missed several days of lessons, Xu Zhinan chose to stay after school for extra tutoring. By the time she left, it was already six in the evening, and she happened to run into Su Zheng and some other boys coming out after playing basketball.

Xu Zhinan was walking behind them, and they didn’t see her.

“That beauty from Class 3 came back to school today. I ran into her when I was at the teachers’ office, and her homeroom teacher was talking to her.”

“What were they saying?”

“Just words of encouragement, I guess. Her dad’s case was all over the local news, so the school had to maintain its image. They told her that if her family had any difficulties, she could bring it up with the school, and they’d try to help, like with scholarship funds and stuff.”

“Is her family poor?”

“I don’t think so. Her dad would be considered a martyr, right? The compensation should be quite substantial.”

Xu Zhinan pretended not to hear, but she didn’t dare to walk ahead of them, so she just silently followed behind.

It was then that Su Zheng cut in and said, “Why are you so concerned about her? Do you like Xu Zhinan?”

The boy who had been speaking turned red to his neck. He looked angry and said, “Of course not!”

Su Zheng laughed. “Why are you embarrassed? I often see you peeking at her when you pass by Class 3. Besides, her family is probably struggling right now—it’s the perfect opportunity for you to make a move.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. You’re going too far.”

Su Zheng continued, “What’s the big deal? You should seize the chance. If you ask me, her dad’s death might be a good thing for you. What a perfect opportunity to play the hero. Who knows—”

He paused and raised his eyebrows, showing a lewd expression.

Xu Zhinan gritted her teeth. In the setting sun, the young girl’s shoulders looked thin and frail, her shadow stretching long and narrow.

Then she quickened her pace, grabbed Su Zheng’s clothes, and forced him to stop.

The boys turned around, startled. They hadn’t expected Xu Zhinan to overhear their conversation and immediately felt awkward.

The boy who had been talking to Su Zheng was the first to apologize. “I’m so sorry. We didn’t realize you were behind us. We shouldn’t have said those things.”

Xu Zhinan had no time to acknowledge him. With reddened eyes, she stared hard at Su Zheng and said word by word, “Apologize.”

With so many of his friends around, Su Zheng felt he couldn’t lose face. “What should I apologize for? What did I say that warrants an apology? Who do you think you are?”

He tried to shake off Xu Zhinan, but she held his sleeve tightly, and he couldn’t get free.

“Not to me. I want you to apologize to my father,” Xu Zhinan rarely showed this cold, stubborn side of herself. “My father died in the line of duty. He’s a martyr. Haven’t your parents taught you about respect?”

Su Zheng became annoyed by her persistence and forcefully shoved her shoulder.

Xu Zhinan had just been discharged from the hospital and was physically weak. His push made her stumble and fall to the ground.

In the end, it was the security guard at the gate who saw what happened, rushed over, helped Xu Zhinan up, and angrily drove the boys away.

“Don’t worry, young student. Those troublemakers are just the school’s bad apples. Don’t take what they say to heart. Your future is different from theirs.”

Xu Zhinan nodded with tear-filled eyes.

The security guard had recognized Xu Zhinan before; whenever she left school and saw him at the gate, she would wave and smile, saying goodbye—a very well-mannered student whom he liked very much.

Seeing her in this state made him even more displeased, and in his anger, he reported the incident to the principal’s office the next day.

The case Xu Zhinan’s father had been investigating was attracting public attention, and the principal didn’t dare to be negligent, fearing being labeled as disrespectful toward a martyr’s child.

The next day, he ordered Su Zheng to apologize to Xu Zhinan and her mother.

That seemed to be the end of it. A couple of days later, Xu Zhinan heard from a friend that Su Zheng had been beaten up by students from another school—probably due to enemies he’d made with his ostentatious personality—and was now hospitalized.

Later, after he was discharged, he transferred schools directly without returning to First High.

Xu Zhinan never saw Su Zheng again until they graduated from high school.

This past event had been buried in her memory for a long time, and now it was suddenly brought up, even dragging Lin Qingye into it.

Xu Zhinan and Ji Yan compared the timeline, and it matched up.

“So what do you plan to do now?” asked Ji Yan.

Xu Zhinan replied, “I’m still not sure if he beat up Su Zheng because of me.”

“…”

Ji Yan, who was used to being forthright and direct, suddenly encountered Xu Zhinan’s cautious and hesitant nature, like crashing into a block of soft tofu.

But she couldn’t blame Xu Zhinan. She had carefully harbored feelings for Lin Qingye for so long that it was difficult for her to accept all this new information.

Ji Yan patiently explained, “None of us had ever met Su Zheng before, so what other reason could there be except because of you? It’s not like our captain goes around beating people up for no reason.”

Xu Zhinan was quiet for a moment, then changed the subject. “Is this news having a big impact on him now?”

“It might not affect his mood much, but it has a huge impact on his career. Look at how badly people are cursing him online. Who knows how many zombie accounts are out there stirring up trouble, just wanting to bring him down as soon as possible.” Ji Yan continued, “And our band has disbanded. If he stops making music, it would be a real shame—he was born for it.”

Ji Yan looked at her and, timing it perfectly, continued to play on her sympathies: “And his relationship with his parents is really bad. If he quits, who knows how he’ll drift through life?”

Xu Zhinan had never known about these things before. “What happened with him and his parents?”

“I don’t know either. He never tells us, but he probably doesn’t go home more than once a year. It’s been like this for several years.”

Xu Zhinan finally promised, “As long as Su Zheng is indeed lying, I will go and clarify things.”

“Great, great, thank you so much!”

Ji Yan stopped mid-sentence, feeling it was inappropriate.

Given the undercurrent flowing between those two, who was she to apologize on Lin Qingye’s behalf?

But looking at Xu Zhinan, she didn’t seem to mind at all and said, “No need to thank me. I’m not doing this to help Lin Qingye. I never liked Su Zheng to begin with, and since it involves my father, I don’t want him lying in front of so many people.”

Ji Yan was taken aback.

That was so cold.

“By the way, let me tell you a secret,” Ji Yan leaned in closer and winked.

“What is it?”

“The last time our captain got drunk, he was calling out your name.”

Xu Zhinan was stunned.

Ji Yan left soon after. Xu Zhinan’s IV drip was nearly empty, so she called the doctor to remove the needle. Just as she pressed on the puncture site to stop the bleeding, her phone rang.

It was an unfamiliar number, also from Yan City.

“Hello?” she answered.

A male voice came through. “Is this Miss Xu?”

“Yes, this is Xu Zhinan. May I ask who’s calling?”

Wang Qi introduced himself.

Ji Yan must have notified him as soon as she left, since now the only person who could prove Su Zheng was lying was Xu Zhinan.

“Do you have time to talk about the news regarding Qingye?” he asked.

“I just discussed this with Ji Yan, and I’m willing to cooperate in clearing things up,” Xu Zhinan said. “But I need to confirm the facts in that video—whether it’s related to me.”

“Huh?” Wang Qi didn’t immediately understand. “What else could it be?”

“…”

Wang Qi continued, “I just asked Qingye, and he admitted it was for a girl. Thinking about it, there’s no one else but you, right?”

Xu Zhinan was quiet for a moment, feeling something indescribable bubbling up inside her, like carbonated bubbles in a soft drink.

She quickly agreed to help clarify the situation.

After that, everything was arranged and handled by Wang Qi.

Crisis management is most effective when dealt with quickly. The next morning, Wang Qi came to pick her up, having already scheduled an interview with a reporter.

Since Xu Zhinan didn’t want her information made public, her identity would be blurred in the final edit, and her voice would be processed through a voice changer.

This was Xu Zhinan’s first experience with such a situation. Two cameras were pointed at her, but fortunately, the entire interview process was quick. The reporter and Wang Qi were already acquainted, so there were no deliberately challenging questions.

“Thank you,” Wang Qi thanked the reporter after it was over. “Please get the video edited and released as soon as possible. We can’t let public opinion fester any longer.”

This kind of news was beneficial to both parties—the reporter got an exclusive headline, and Lin Qingye could clear up the misunderstanding. Working overtime, the video was released that same afternoon.

The previous interview video had already built up momentum, so when Xu Zhinan’s segment was released, viewership skyrocketed.

Originally, many people were waiting to see Lin Qingye fall this time. Even if it didn’t destroy him, it would at least be a stain that couldn’t be washed away—something that would inevitably come up whenever he became a topic of discussion in the future.

Unexpectedly, it was resolved perfectly, and the public sentiment immediately shifted.

Su Zheng, drop dead!! You verbally abused a martyr’s child and still have the nerve to play the victim!!!!!

I’m now a fan of Lin Qingye. To be honest, this kind of school bully who mistreats classmates should be dealt with through force!! And he even brought up her deceased father. That’s so disgusting!

Appearance truly reflects the heart. I thought Su Zheng looked sleazy at first glance at his video.

My heart aches for the girl in the video. Your father is a hero—don’t take that garbage’s words to heart!

Lin Qingye, you’re awesome! Su Zheng, go to hell!

Where’s Su Zheng now? Wasn’t he all talk before? With acting skills that good, why not become an actor??

Give me a break. His acting is terrible. He was so exaggerated when he said he couldn’t get over the school bullying. Even though we can’t see the girl’s face clearly and her voice is processed, you can still feel her sadness. That’s what telling the truth looks like.

…

Lin Qingye finished watching the video, his brow gradually furrowing.

Although Xu Zhinan’s face was blurred and her features couldn’t be seen at all, there was no way he wouldn’t recognize her.

Lin Qingye watched the video three times, then called Wang Qi. “What’s going on with the online video?”

“What’s going on? Is there a new problem?” Wang Qi was startled and immediately opened his computer to check.

“No, just that clarification video.”

“I invited your girlfriend for an interview this morning,” Wang Qi was confused. “Didn’t your girlfriend tell you?”

He had been so busy dealing with this issue and considering its impact on “I Sing for You” that he assumed Xu Zhinan would tell Lin Qingye, so he hadn’t specifically informed him.

Lin Qingye: “…”

He raised his hand to press his brow, lost in thought. After a while, the corner of his mouth turned up slightly.

Wang Qi added, “There’s one more thing I need to explain to you. Although this matter is mostly resolved, as a formality, since the fact remains that you did hit someone, which cannot be promoted, you should still apologize for this behavior. Of course, the apology statement will also clearly oppose Su Zheng’s disrespect toward martyrs.”

Wang Qi had expected Lin Qingye to give him another headache by saying something like “Su Zheng deserved it,” but surprisingly, he agreed easily this time: “Fine.”

He even sounded like he was in a good mood.

Since the day Lin Qingye had retweeted the voting link for her tattoo competition, Xu Zhinan’s votes had been increasing at varying speeds. Although she was still behind Lu Xihe, she had opened up a significant lead over the third-place contestant.

Xu Zhinan had always admired Lu Xihe’s tattoo style, and he was indeed a very experienced tattoo artist. Xu Zhinan wasn’t the least bit resentful about the voting results.

She exited the link and opened Weibo, which was already running in the background. There were already many comments under her clarification video.

She quickly scanned through them, reassured only after confirming that public opinion had shifted.

Soon, another customer came to the shop.

They had learned about her through the competition and had come specifically to get a tattoo, bringing a prepared design. They started right away.

The design wasn’t large and took two hours to complete.

By the time they finished, it was already dark.

Xu Zhinan had recently had a fever, and her mother had been urging her to go home early to rest, so she had been closing the shop early these days.

She packed up her things and was about to head home when the door opened again, the wind chimes tinkling softly.

The man who had just been hotly discussed online appeared before her.

Xu Zhinan calmed herself, not knowing why, but after everything that had happened, she felt quite peaceful seeing him. She asked, “Why are you here?”

Lin Qingye closed the door and walked to her side. “Remember when I got a tattoo here? It’s inflamed.”

“…”

Xu Zhinan couldn’t help but say, “It’s been so many days. If it’s still inflamed now, that patch of skin is probably beyond saving.”

Lin Qingye smiled and leaned against her wooden table. “I saw your interview video.”

“Yes, Producer Wang came to find me this morning,” Xu Zhinan calmly shifted all credit to others. “I ran into Ji Yan at the hospital yesterday, and she told me about this.”

Lin Qingye’s lips curled up, looking somewhat roguish, his aura more radiant, returning to his formerly dazzling self.

He moved closer, looking at Xu Zhinan from a short distance, and asked slowly, “So why did you help me?”

Xu Zhinan didn’t avoid him or look away. She looked straight at him and said calmly:

“Because I realized you seem to like me a lot.”

As her words fell, Lin Qingye’s heart felt like it had been firmly gripped.

The secret he had buried deep inside for years had been caught.