Xu Zhinan only called Gu Congwang back after leaving the teaching building.

Earlier, when Lin Qingye had hung up her phone, she wisely didn’t immediately put the phone to her ear, but waited until Gu Congwang finished cursing before saying “Hello.”

“What did you want to talk to me about?”

Gu Congwang: “Xu Zhinan! Don’t change the subject!”

She lowered her eyelids, unconsciously raising her hand to touch the back of her neck. Lin Qingye had squeezed it a few times earlier, and it still felt warm.

To Gu Congwang’s questioning, she completely played dumb: “What do you mean?”

“Who was that guy talking next to you just now?”

“No one, it was just something that came up.”

Gu Congwang paused, frowning involuntarily. He remembered what Xu Zhinan had said in her shop the day he returned to China, about making a mistake. With this connection, things seemed even more suspicious.

But since Xu Zhinan’s attitude made it clear she didn’t want to talk about it, he couldn’t force her.

After a while, he managed to say: “If there’s anything you can’t resolve, just tell me.”

Xu Zhinan smiled: “Really, it’s nothing.”

After the exam, Zhao Qian and Jiang Yue had already returned to the dormitory. As soon as Xu Zhinan pushed open the door, Zhao Qian burst out with a scream.

“Ah Nan!” She jumped up from her chair. “Everyone on the forum is talking about you and Lin Qingye!”

Xu Zhinan’s heart skipped a beat: “Talking about what?”

“During the exam just now! Remember, someone asked if there were any photos of you two together? Someone secretly took photos of you both in the exam room and posted them in the thread.”

Xu Zhinan’s suspended heart fell back into place.

She set down her backpack and gently tapped her chin on her thermos bottle.

Zhao Qian had already sent her the link to the forum post—

Witnessing Ping University History!! Finally captured the campus beauty and campus heartthrob together before his graduation!!!”

Below were several photos capturing Lin Qingye from when he entered the classroom to when he walked to Xu Zhinan’s side.

The original poster had secured an exam seat in the back row, so the photos were taken from behind, clearly capturing Lin Qingye’s face.

Wuwuwuwuwu they look so good together! It’s like a fairy and a demon visual!!

What’s going on?? I feel like Lin Qingye specifically went for our Pingchuan Beacon??

Damn, now that you mention it, it does seem that way!!

It probably proves that “no matter how handsome a guy is, he’ll still stare at a beauty.” Going specifically for her is unlikely, though. Isn’t Lin Qingye about to participate in that show? How could he let rumors spread at this time?

With Lin Qingye’s personality, he doesn’t seem like someone who could be restrained just to participate in a show.

Stop talking, my roommate is already heartbroken in advance. She was planning to confess before he graduated, but now Xu Zhinan has suddenly appeared.

As if she would have succeeded even without Xu Zhinan appearing, lol. Lin Qingye’s face says five words: besides “handsome,” it’s “strangers keep away.”

To be honest, I’ve spoken with Pingchuan Beacon before. She’s soft and adorable, truly like a first love. Even against Lin Qingye, I must protect our fairy girl!!!

Strongly agree with the above! I feel like Xu Zhinan can’t outplay Lin Qingye, though.

“People are thinking way too much!” Zhao Qian exclaimed, laughing so hard her shoulders shook. “They’re already discussing what would happen if you two got together.”

“…”

“There are also a bunch of people defending you, saying a fairy girl should be with a prince, and this kind of fanged demon would swallow the fairy girl alive.”

Zhao Qian spoke more enthusiastically, then looked at Xu Zhinan for a while, shaking her head and clicking her tongue: “I think they have a point.”

“…”

Xu Zhinan didn’t participate in this topic, while Zhao Qian and Jiang Yue continued their lively chat.

Because she had been preparing for the Modern History exam, she had postponed an ink tattoo appointment with a client from two days ago. Now that she had time, Xu Zhinan messaged the client to reschedule.

She took out the thick stack of books from her backpack and put them back on the bookshelf. At the same time, a red and black promotional flyer slipped out from among the books, floating lightly to the floor.

Xu Zhinan picked it up and looked at it. It was a flyer for a tattoo design competition that the shop had received some time ago.

Somehow, it had been carried back with her books.

She put it back in her backpack and left the dormitory for the tattoo shop.

This time, the client who came to the shop was a burly man, literally with a blue dragon on the left and a white tiger on the right.

However, these weren’t tattooed by Xu Zhinan. This man, Xu Zhenfan, had come to her shop on someone else’s recommendation, and it was his first visit.

Walking into the shop and seeing a delicate, soft girl sitting at the desk, he was baffled.

Xu Zhenfan knocked on the door, his voice as rough as his appearance, but still polite: “Hello, is the shop owner in?”

“That’s me.”

Xu Zhenfan was even more confused, stammering a bit, suddenly feeling like he might be dirtying the floor with his imposing entrance. Recalling what his friend had mentioned, he asked: “Ah Nan?”

“Yes.” Xu Zhinan smiled. “That’s me. You must be Mr. Xu.”

“Yes, yes, yes.” Xu Zhenfan rubbed his forehead as he walked in. “I saw those ink tattoos you posted on your social media last time. They looked too good. I want to get one on the inside of my arm as well.”

Xu Zhenfan’s biceps were enormous, and the blue dragon and white tiger tattoos looked lifelike, although they didn’t quite match with the other ink tattoos.

Xu Zhinan asked: “What kind would you like to get?”

“A crane,” Xu Zhenfan said with a hearty laugh. “The master said I’ll have many misfortunes in my zodiac year, isn’t this for longevity!”

“…”

Xu Zhenfan also noticed the tattoo design competition poster on her desk: “Oh, Little Sister Ah Nan, are you also participating in this competition?”

Xu Zhinan was caught off guard by his sudden “Little Sister Ah Nan” and replied helplessly: “I haven’t decided yet.”

“I heard many skilled tattoo artists will be there. Look, the tattoo artist who did my blue dragon and white tiger has already registered.”

Xu Zhinan lowered her eyes and looked at the poster again, her gaze deepening, lost in thought.

Guan Chi’s wedding was set for today, a shotgun wedding because of pregnancy, so it was arranged in a hurry.

Lin Qingye’s group attracted attention as soon as they arrived. Several old drinking buddies gathered around, all having heard about his participation in the show, and teasingly bantered with him.

Lin Qingye didn’t join in the conversation, lazily leaning to one side, smoking, letting them talk.

Later, someone said, “Why did you come alone today? Last time I went to your bar, I saw you leave with a beautiful woman.”

With these words, the excitement grew.

Lin Qingye’s hand holding the cigarette paused, and he smiled: “You’ve got sharp eyes.”

“Who, who?” someone asked curiously.

“The campus beauty from their school, called Xu Zhinan.”

Midway through the conversation, the groom-to-be Guan Chi called him from the other side. Lin Qingye dropped his cigarette, said goodbye to the others, and walked away.

With his departure, everyone chatted more unrestrainedly.

“Ping University’s campus beauty?”

“Yeah, super beautiful, breathtakingly gorgeous.”

“Wasn’t Qin Tang the one who declared he would pursue her a long time ago?”

“That was ages ago. Qin Tang is just a hooligan; the campus beauty never even looked at him properly.”

Someone else dissatisfied said: “To be honest, if Qingye hadn’t been specially recruited into Ping University, wouldn’t he also be a hooligan?”

“Come on, his family is so rich. Even if he didn’t go to Ping University, he wouldn’t have ended up a hooligan.”

“So how did that campus beauty end up with Qingye? Was she snatched away?”

The leader of the group clicked his tongue and shook his head: “Get real, look at Lin Qingye. Does he even know what it means to be serious?”

…

The wedding began, and the band members sat together.

Although their band had gone from obscurity to fame and then quietly disbanded, which could easily have caused many misunderstandings during the process, their relationship had never changed.

Guan Chi had always felt guilty about being the first to leave the band.

After toasting everyone, he came to their table and pulled Lin Qingye: “Captain, if you want to get together again in the future, just call me anytime, I’ll come.”

Ji Yan smiled and advised: “Take it easy, don’t get so drunk that you pass out again tonight, or your wife will be angry.”

Guan Chi’s eyes grew a bit misty, sighing several times.

Lin Qingye patted his shoulder and smiled faintly: “Alright, are you planning to cry now?”

Guan Chi waved his hand and picked up his glass: “Come on! Let’s drink!”

The result was that he got drunk.

By the time everyone was leaving, Guan Chi had already thrown up once and was leaning on his wife’s shoulder at the hotel entrance, saying goodbye to each guest.

Lin Qingye had a good alcohol tolerance; hardly anyone could outdrink him. By now, he had some signs of intoxication but wasn’t drunk yet, though he had become increasingly lazy, and his voice had taken on a languid quality.

He waved the cigarette in his hand, walked to another side, and dialed a number.

Meanwhile, Ji Yan and Shi Si were also drunk.

Shi Si’s arm hung loosely around Ji Yan’s shoulders as he nodded toward Lin Qingye, standing to one side: “Hey, Guan Chi is already getting married and having kids early, but you haven’t even made any move to confess.”

Ji Yan wore heavy makeup, her thick eyelashes fluttering.

Usually straightforward, she was rendered speechless by this question and played dumb: “Confess what?”

Shi Si snickered: “Come on, do you think we’re all blind?”

Ji Yan gave him a sidelong glance: “You can’t possibly fail to guess who the captain is calling right now, can you?”

“Pingchuan Beacon?”

“Obviously.”

“What do you think is going on in the captain’s mind?”

Shi Si truly couldn’t figure it out. If it was serious, he hadn’t seen Lin Qingye treat her with true sincerity, but if it wasn’t, the relationship between the two had already lasted quite a while.

“So you don’t have a chance anymore?” Deep down, Shi Si still hoped Ji Yan could get what she wanted.

Being repeatedly pressed, Ji Yan’s embarrassment at having her little secret exposed disappeared. She directly smacked the back of Shi Si’s head: “Who the fuck told you I wanted to confess to the captain?”

After a pause, she looked toward Lin Qingye, standing not far away under a streetlight.

Small moths were abundant this season, flying around in the bright lamplight.

He was tall with long legs and a straight back. The yellowish light shone on his head, tinting him with the same hue.

Ji Yan let out a long breath and said softly: “I dare not mess with him. Liking him would shorten my life.”

She lowered her gaze, laughing lightly as she sighed, “I’d rather live a few more years.”

The phone rang for quite a while before it was answered. Lin Qingye said in a low voice: “What are you doing?”

He looked languid, exuding a flirtatious air after drinking. The person on the other end said something, and he laughed again, his tone ambiguous: “I miss you.”