Guan Chi and the other two ate and chatted at Lin Qingye’s apartment. The dinner lasted two hours, and it was already eight in the evening by the time they cleaned up and left.

Lin Qingye wrote lyrics for a while longer, then dug out an electronic keyboard from his home. He hadn’t composed in a long time, and there was even some dust on the keyboard case. He played a melody and then wrote it down.

After repeating this process several times, the paper was filled with scattered segments of music.

He put down his pen, took his phone, and stood by the floor-to-ceiling window of his apartment. Looking at the dazzling city night view and the endless flow of traffic below, he called Xu Zhinan.

“Are you working?” he asked.

From the other end, Xu Zhinan said, “No, I’m shopping with a friend.”

“How are you getting home later? Do you need me to pick you up?”

“No need, my friend will take me.”

Lin Qingye raised his hand to rub his brow and gave a low “Mmm.”

There was a momentary silence, then Xu Zhinan asked, “Did you call me for something?”

“No, I was just writing lyrics and wanted to hear your voice.”

“…” Xu Zhinan didn’t know how to respond to this kind of talk, and stammered, “Well, now you’ve heard it.”

Lin Qingye laughed. “I miss you.”

He said it very naturally.

This was probably what made Lin Qingye so attractive—sweet words and flirtations came out casually, as if mentioned in passing.

It made people want to read more into it, yet feel like they shouldn’t.

Before they had separated, Lin Qingye had also told her, “I miss you,” and after they met later, they went to his apartment and got straight to the point once inside.

Xu Zhinan’s heart, which had initially leaped at his “I miss you,” sank.

While being kissed by him, she had wondered whether his “I miss you” meant he truly missed her or if he just wanted to have sex.

At that time, Xu Zhinan couldn’t be sure, but now it could only be the former.

She pressed her lips together and said, “Didn’t we just see each other yesterday?”

He had just started to laugh when Gu Congwang called from behind her: “A’Nan, are you done?”

Xu Zhinan waved to him, then said into the phone, “I have something to do, I’ll hang up now.”

Gu Congwang happened to glimpse the caller ID: “Lin Qingye?”

“Ah, yes.” She didn’t try to hide it anymore.

He frowned. “When did you get involved with him?”

In the past, she had always been secretive about her relationship with Lin Qingye, afraid people would find out. Now it seemed she no longer cared. Even when discovered by Gu Congwang, she didn’t feel nervous.

“I’ll tell you later.” Wang Qi was still standing there, and Xu Zhinan felt awkward discussing it now.

Gu Congwang coolly looked away. “Going home now?”

Xu Zhinan put her phone back in her bag. “Yes.”

Wang Qi said goodbye to the two of them and, carrying his suit bag, watched them walk toward the mall exit. For a moment, his mind couldn’t process whether he should tell Lin Qingye about this or not.

From Xu Zhinan’s phone call just now, it seemed she hadn’t told him she was with another man.

Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Why were all these pretty girls like this nowadays?

In terms of looks, Lin Qingye wouldn’t lose to that guy from earlier.

After careful consideration, Wang Qi still decided to call Lin Qingye: “Qingye, what are you doing?” His tone was relaxed, laying the groundwork for the terrible news he was about to deliver.

“What’s up?” He never wasted words with others.

“Oh, nothing much, just asking.”

Lin Qingye: “Just practiced the keyboard. I’m rusty.”

“As if you could ever be rusty.” Wang Qi was making small talk.

Lin Qingye clicked his tongue. “Uncle Wang, what do you want?”

Wang Qi hesitated for a while, but finally said: “I just went to the mall to pick up a custom-made suit and ran into Miss Xu.”

Lin Qingye raised an eyebrow and gave a short laugh. “What a coincidence.”

“…There was a young man beside her, and they seemed quite close.”

Lin Qingye took out a cigarette and held it between his teeth without lighting it. During his phone call with Xu Zhinan, he had heard a voice—Gu Congwang’s voice.

“Mmm,” he responded lightly, with no additional reaction.

Wang Qi: “Huh?”

That’s it??

“They were chatting and laughing together,” Wang Qi added.

“Were they holding hands?”

“…” Wang Qi found this question increasingly strange. After thinking back, he said, “No, they weren’t.”

“Then it’s fine.”

“?”

This was too pathetic.

Your girlfriend is at the mall with another guy without telling you, and the atmosphere looks quite suspicious. Your only requirement for your girlfriend is that she doesn’t hold hands with him???

Wang Qi recalled the interview video from “I Come for Music” where Lin Qingye talked about his former insecurity. He knew about the entanglements in the Lin family and could understand it better, but he never expected it to be like this.

“No, Qingye, your thinking is wrong,” Wang Qi advised. “I admit, Xu Zhinan is very impressive, but you’re not bad either. You can’t be this insecure in front of her.”

It was obvious what Wang Qi was thinking: “She’s not my girlfriend yet.”

“…Huh?”

“We were together before,” Lin Qingye said. “I’m pursuing her now.”

“…”

Wang Qi thought to himself that young people nowadays made dating so complicated. “When I called her your girlfriend this morning, I didn’t see you object?”

“Too lazy to explain.”

“…”

Ruining the young lady’s reputation behind her back, and being so righteous about it.

“So that guy I saw next to her is your rival in love?”

“Mmm.”

Wang Qi recalled Gu Congwang’s appearance. He wasn’t familiar with the Gu family and didn’t know much about this young master, but he looked like a talented young man. Although he exuded the nobility and pride of a wealthy family’s child, he seemed like a good, caring, and approachable young man once you got to know him.

Unfortunately, the words “good,” “caring,” and “approachable” couldn’t be associated with Lin Qingye at all.

Wang Qi was absorbed in the vortex of Lin Qingye’s insecurity and was about to offer some encouragement when he heard him laugh mockingly and say:

“Not a rival.”

His tone was arrogant.

“That young man doesn’t like Miss Xu?” It didn’t seem that way.

“He’s known A’Nan for a long time, grew up together, and he still hasn’t confessed until now. What can come of it?” His tone was disdainful and somewhat casual.

“…”

The “I Come for Music” show had progressed to the halfway point.

Since this program had mixed established singers with street performers discovered from various corners, the nature of the show wasn’t simply a competition—it was more like a star-making stage.

The most successful “created” star among them was Lin Qingye.

Zhou Ji had been eliminated in the previous episode, but for him, it wasn’t a regrettable matter. After returning to the bar where he originally sang, his salary immediately doubled, and the venue became packed.

Also, because the relationships between the singers were very harmonious, show fans eagerly called for another offline meet-and-greet.

These kinds of meet-and-greets were like derivatives of the show, with considerable profit potential.

When Wang Qi initially created this show, he hadn’t expected it to cause such a huge response. Credit should also be given to every member, both in front of and behind the camera.

Currently, only two stops have been scheduled for the offline meet-and-greet.

The first stop was T City, and the second was Yan City.

Though called a meet-and-greet, it was more like a themed music festival.

On Saturday, a group of contestants from “I Come for Music” who were based in Yan City went to the airport together to head to T City.

Shen Linlin stood beside him, and they chatted about song invitations for a while.

After checking in his luggage, Lin Qingye went to the restroom.

While washing his hands, he heard someone talking on the phone nearby—

“I know, I know, I’ve packed everything. If I forgot anything, just mail it to me when you have time. Classes don’t officially start until next week anyway. Okay, Mom, I’m hanging up now.”

The voice sounded familiar.

Lin Qingye turned his head to look—Gu Congwang.

Gu Congwang hung up the phone and looked up to see him. His eyelid twitched as he recalled what Xu Zhinan had told him two nights ago.

After graduating from high school, he had gone abroad to study, but he still frequently chatted with Xu Zhinan. He never imagined that Xu Zhinan would be with Lin Qingye.

That night, Xu Zhinan revealed her relationship with Lin Qingye and also explained that she hadn’t told him earlier because she was worried her mother would find out.

Only then did Gu Congwang connect the dots with what Xu Zhinan had mentioned to him before about feeling like she was doing something wrong.

At the time, he hadn’t thought much of it, believing that a good girl like Xu Zhinan couldn’t do anything truly wrong. Now he realized she had probably been referring to her relationship with Lin Qingye.

Although Gu Congwang had noticed some clues about their relationship before, such as those posts about the high-rise building at Pingchuan University, he had grown up with Xu Zhinan and believed he knew her character very well. He couldn’t imagine her becoming entangled with Lin Qingye.

Lin Qingye finished washing his hands, pulled out a paper towel, dried them, and tossed it into the trash bin before turning to face Gu Congwang.

There was no one else around the restroom, just people hurrying by outside with their suitcases.

Lin Qingye stood by the sink. Today, he had gotten up early to catch the flight and had casually thrown on a T-shirt without even straightening the collar. He looked lazy and casual, revealing a section of his thin collarbone, above which was his protruding Adam’s apple and sharply defined face, with a black mask hanging from his chin.

“Do you like Xu Zhinan?” Lin Qingye asked.

The question came so unexpectedly that Gu Congwang had assumed they would simply pretend not to know each other and move on.

He was stunned for a moment. “What?”

Lin Qingye didn’t repeat himself, his dark eyes fixed on him.

Gu Congwang had known Xu Zhinan for so long that he didn’t even know when his feelings for her had changed.

If it had been love at first sight, it would have been simple—just go up and confess. But with their friendship, he worried that if he spoke up, they might not even be able to remain friends.

“None of your business,” Gu Congwang said.

Lin Qingye lowered his eyes and laughed softly, with a barely perceptible mockery.

“Good that you don’t.”

He directly misinterpreted his meaning, leaning lazily against the sink and raising his eyes, creating a crease in his eyelid, fierce yet casual. “Because I’m pursuing her right now.”

Before the tattoo design competition finals, something else happened.

Wei Jing withdrew from the competition.

According to Lu Xihe, Wei Jing seemed to have no intention of continuing as a tattoo artist in Yan City.

It wasn’t because of the incident with Xu Zhinan, but because he had been caught using other tattoo artists’ designs for his clients’ tattoos and had been reported by a customer.

That customer was quite famous in the tattoo circle—wealthy and with plenty of leisure time. All his tattoos were done by various top-tier tattoo artists, with hourly rates starting at 5,000 yuan. A large tattoo could cost tens of thousands.

Wei Jing wasn’t at the 5,000-yuan-per-hour level yet. The customer had gone to him solely because he liked one of his design drawings.

Excellent tattoo artists must be able to create their designs, and these designs are exclusive, with each drawing marked with a name and date.

Plagiarizing or falsely claiming others’ designs is considered shameful in this circle, but it’s also common, especially in smaller shops.

When the customer found out his tattoo was a plagiarized design, he immediately became furious. He made a scene at Wei Jing’s place and told all his tattooed friends to avoid Wei Jing.

Later, other customers who had previously gotten tattoos from Wei Jing also posted pictures of their tattoos, and many designs turned out to be plagiarized.

Word spread quickly, and Wei Jing’s reputation was ruined.

His fees weren’t cheap, and those who sought him out weren’t short on money. There was no reason to go to a tattoo artist with a tarnished history.

He had previously worked at Lu Xihe’s shop, and once this scandal broke, people discovered that many of his designs were works from the resident tattoo artists at “Assassin.”

Lu Xihe didn’t spare him any face and directly blacklisted Wei Jing based on his reputation in Yan City’s tattoo industry over the years.

The circle was small, and Wei Jing couldn’t continue working there. He could only go to another city to start over from scratch.

When Lu Xihe told her about this, Xu Zhinan had just retrieved the self-defense tools she had bought earlier from the express pickup station.

Looking at the alarm and the self-defense pen with a needle blade in the delivery box, she sighed.

But in the end, she still put them in her bag.

After all, it’s never wrong to be careful and protect yourself.

Today was the first day of school, officially entering senior year and becoming one of the oldest students on campus.

Xu Zhinan’s tattoo shop would resume part-time operations, but fortunately, there weren’t many classes in senior year, so it wouldn’t affect business much.

After winning the group championship in the tattoo design competition, her business had increased significantly, with many customers coming specifically because of her reputation.

When Xu Zhinan returned to the dormitory, Zhao Qian had just arrived at the door with her bags, sweating profusely. As soon as she saw Xu Zhinan, she gave her a sweaty hug. “A’Nan! I’ve missed you so much!”

Xu Zhinan helped her carry her luggage into the dormitory.

Zhao Qian squatted on the ground, organizing her luggage.

They chatted about what had happened during summer vacation, and after a while, Zhao Qian suddenly remembered something: “Oh, by the way, have you heard? That show ‘I Come for Music’ is holding a concert at the square tomorrow.”

“Ah, I know.”

Zhao Qian laughed. “I’m surprised that you, with your 2G internet browsing, are so well-informed this time.”

“…”

Previously, Zhao Qian had sent her the video of Lin Qingye talking about his 17-year-old crush, but Xu Zhinan hadn’t explained to her that the so-called “crush” was herself.

Firstly, she was too embarrassed, and secondly, their relationship had just undergone a change at that time and wasn’t very clear. Even she couldn’t quite figure out what was going on.

“Qian Qian.”

“Hmm?”

Xu Zhinan hesitated about how to broach the subject, and after a while, she stumbledly explained to Zhao Qian that she might be the “crush” from the video.

Zhao Qian was completely stunned.

They talked back and forth for half an hour before finally sorting out all the entanglements.

“What the hell?” Zhao Qian stopped unpacking her luggage and sat on the floor. “Lin Qingye is this kind of person???”

Xu Zhinan didn’t want to keep talking about herself, so she changed the subject: “Don’t you have to select two make-up courses this semester?”

“Don’t mention that.”

Zhao Qian waved her hand to dismiss the topic. “So should we go to the concert tomorrow?”

She switched sides quickly, making Xu Zhinan laugh. “Didn’t you just say you’d never go see it?”

“How is that the same? Now you’re the master! Tomorrow we’re not just going to a concert, we’re going to grace it with our presence!” Zhao Qian clicked her tongue several times. “A’Nan, this is too amazing—my roommate is being pursued by a big star!”

“…”

Zhao Qian was excitedly chattering away when Xu Zhinan’s phone rang.

Speak of the devil.

It was Lin Qingye calling.

Zhao Qian’s eyes immediately lit up, and she moved closer to listen to the call.

“A’Nan, I have a concert tomorrow. Will you come?”

Zhao Qian slapped the table in excitement and whispered forcefully: “Isn’t this perfect timing! Go! We must go!”

Being so close, Lin Qingye heard the voice on her end: “Someone’s with you?”

“Yes, my roommate.”

“School started?”

“Yes, first day of school.”

“Perfect timing then. Come with your roommate.”

Zhao Qian squeezed her hand so hard that her nails almost dug into the back of Xu Zhinan’s hand.

“Doesn’t this concert require tickets?” Xu Zhinan remembered seeing many fans complaining that tickets were too hard to get, selling out in a second. “Neither of us has tickets.”

“You don’t need tickets to come,” Lin Qingye laughed. “Special guest.”

The concert was the next evening.

Zhao Qian also dragged Jiang Yue along, claiming it was relaxation before the final sprint for graduate school exams, insisting on taking Jiang Yue no matter what.

Xu Zhinan had sent Lin Qingye a message in advance asking if three people could come.

After lunch, Zhao Qian started working on her makeup and outfit for the concert early.

She was the tallest in the dorm at 1.7 meters. She applied mature makeup, then dug out a tight tank top and loose cargo pants from her closet, revealing a section of her petite waist and hints of her oblique muscles.

Jiang Yue was stunned: “Qian Qian, you’re just wearing this to go?”

“Yep.” Zhao Qian put her hands in her pockets and raised her chin. “Cool, right?”

“…It’s cool, but don’t you want to wear a jacket over it?”

Zhao Qian laughed. “Girl, we’re going to an event similar to a music festival. My outfit is low-key. Search online to see what people wore at the previous music festival in T City.”

After finishing herself up, Zhao Qian started working on Jiang Yue and Xu Zhinan.

However, Jiang Yue refused to wear the sexy outfit Zhao Qian had put together for her, so she finally had to reluctantly allow her to go with a cute style—an off-shoulder shirt and a long skirt.

Unable to showcase her skills on Jiang Yue, Zhao Qian turned her sinful hands toward Xu Zhinan.

“Nan Nan baby!” Zhao Qian pushed her to sit on a chair. “Come, let me do your makeup.”

At this moment, Xu Zhinan hadn’t realized the severity of the problem and obediently let her apply the makeup.

Only after it was done and she saw herself in the mirror did she freeze.

A widely blended eyeshadow, elongated eyeliner drawn straight along the eye corner, heavy blush under the eyes, a star drawn with eyeliner at the corner of her eye adorned with large glitter eyeshadow, and bright red lipstick.

“Ta-da! This is called nihilistic makeup!”

Xu Zhinan looked at the mirror. “…Isn’t the makeup too heavy?”

“Not at all! You’re the main character today! Of course, you need to stand out!”

Jiang Yue, relieved that she wasn’t the one being tormented, also chimed in: “It looks good, A’Nan. It feels different from your usual style, but still super pretty.”

Encouraged, Xu Zhinan then put on a black T-shirt and purple high-waisted skirt that Zhao Qian had given her.

Although not as revealing as Zhao Qian’s outfit that exposed a large section of her waist, this T-shirt was also very short. If she raised her arms even slightly, her stomach would show.

Below, she wore knee-high socks that wrapped around her slender, well-proportioned calves.

Zhao Qian stepped back a few steps, looked at her for a while, and finally took out a beret and put it on her, giving a thumbs up: “Perfect!”

Xu Zhinan looked at herself in the mirror and could hardly recognize herself.

Jiang Yue commented from the side: “She has a bit of a bad angel vibe.”

“What kind of description is that?” Zhao Qian laughed. “So outdated.”

Xu Zhinan wasn’t used to dressing like this and wanted to change, but Zhao Qian and Jiang Yue each grabbed one of her arms and dragged her out the door.

All the way there, she didn’t dare raise her head. Thankfully, Zhao Qian had matched her with a hat, so she just pulled the brim down and followed the two to the music festival venue.

When they arrived, Xu Zhinan and Jiang Yue discovered that Zhao Qian hadn’t been lying.

At the music festival, everyone’s outfits were exaggerated, and theirs were hardly worth mentioning in comparison.

Standing at the ticket check outside the venue, Xu Zhinan sent Lin Qingye a message: We’re here.

[Lin Qingye: I’ll come out now.]

[Xu Zhinan: There are so many people outside right now.]

[Lin Qingye: Then I’ll have someone come to bring you in.]

Soon, a staff member came over and led them in through another entrance.

The music festival venue was on a flat lawn with a simple stage at the front and a few scattered white plastic chairs below, arranged very casually.

Soon, Xu Zhinan understood why there were so many people but only a few plastic chairs—in that atmosphere, no one would be able to sit still in a chair anyway.

As night fell, the lawn’s streetlights lit up. Summer brought many insects, but they did nothing to dampen the playful atmosphere of the music festival.

“I Come for Music” had many participants, and the programs at the music festival were divided into group band performances.

The band was Lin Qingye’s original specialty, and he was scheduled to appear last.

Two hours had passed, and the sky was completely dark. Everyone took out their light sticks.

Lin Qingye came on stage amid screams, once again taking the role of lead vocalist in this temporarily formed band.

“Holy shit! He dyed his hair!” Zhao Qian shouted. “That color is so provocative!”

The fans below also noticed and instantly went wild.

He had dyed his hair blue.

His skin was already fair, and the blue color accentuated it even more, making the blue veins beneath his skin almost visible.

The evening breeze blew past, highlighting the outline of his broad shoulders and narrow waist.

Lin Qingye stood on stage with a standing microphone in front of him. His chin slightly raised—a very ordinary action, but when he did it, it gave off a feeling of looking down upon the world.

He swept his gaze across the audience below, and when he caught sight of Xu Zhinan, he was visibly startled.

His gaze lingered for a long time.

Xu Zhinan found herself meeting his gaze from afar across the crowd.

Only then did she remember what she was wearing and the makeup on her face.

On stage, Lin Qingye slowly curved his lips, his eyes also filled with a subtle smile.

With that head of blue hair, plus his smile, it was like a sharpened blade striking directly at the heart. The crowd below became even more frenzied, and the atmosphere reached its climax.

After a couple more seconds, as if he really couldn’t hold back, he softly laughed out loud.

Deep, hoarse laughter amplified through the microphone and transmitted from the speakers.

Everyone went crazy.

Zhao Qian also went crazy.

“Ahhhhhhhhh!!! A’Nan!!! He’s smiling at you!!!”