Zheng Yanyan was truly a wild and spontaneous girl. As they stepped off the stage, Zhou Yuwen had to pull her down, but Shen Yu's feelings were still quite complicated. Since Zhou Yuwen agreed to sing with her, she had eagerly looked forward to this day. Everything had gone perfectly from start to finish—holding hands, gazing deeply into each other's eyes, just like in the lyrics:
I'll give you an old CD, listen to our love... ??
The applause that followed was thunderous. Shen Yu even heard people in the audience cheering, saying how well-matched they were. But then, out of nowhere, ca Zheng Yanyan.
When Zheng Yanyan suddenly kissed Zhou Yuwen, Shen Yu was utterly stunned and speechless. To make matters worse, as the event continued, soone from the audience called out to remind them to get off the stage since more performances were lined up. Zhou Yuwen ended up grabbing Zheng Yanyan to pull her down.
"Stop embarrassing yourself!" Zhou Yuwen had pulled Zheng Yanyan, but in doing so, he held her hand, leaving Shen Yu standing alone.
At that mont, Shen Yu felt as if her heart had been inexplicably pierced. Fortunately, she reacted quickly and followed Zhou Yuwen and Zheng Yanyan off the stage, but no one could understand her emotions.
It was strange—despite the loud and chaotic atmosphere of the event, Shen Yu felt as though she could hear people gossiping: Oh, look, she isn't the guy's girlfriend. He's holding hands with his actual girlfriend as they leave.
"Wow, what was she thinking, singing with a guy who already has a girlfriend?" Hehe!
With Zhou Yuwen holding her hand, Zheng Yanyan waved happily to the crowd. What should have been Shen Yu's mont of glory was completely stolen by this seemingly carefree girl.
The stage, hastily constructed, didn't have any proper exits, so after stepping down, they were quickly surrounded by curious onlookers. Not just the gossip-hungry students but even the second-year students, staff mbers from the event, ca over out of curiosity.
"What's going on with you guys? Weren't you supposed to step down after the song?" one of the girls asked, intrigued.
"Well, I just couldn't sit still when my boyfriend was singing with another girl!" Zheng Yanyan quickly answered.
The second-year girls were just looking for so gossip, so when they heard Zheng Yanyan's explanation, one of them suspiciously asked, "Is he really your boyfriend?"
Zheng Yanyan looked at Zhou Yuwen. Faced with this situation, Zhou Yuwen could only remain silent. What could he say? If he said nothing, wouldn't that damage Zheng Yanyan's reputation?
"Of course, he is! What's the matter with you?!" Before Zhou Yuwen could respond, Zheng Yanyan, ever thick-skinned, wrapped her arms around Zhou Yuwen's neck, practically hanging off him.
Shen Yu watched from behind, her face expressionless as she observed Zheng Yanyan turning the truth upside down. This was probably the first ti Shen Yu had ever faced failure. Everything was supposed to be hers. She had imagined that after singing with Zhou Yuwen, they would walk off the stage hand in hand, and everyone would think that Zhou Yuwen was her boyfriend.
But instead…
Shen Yu stared at Zheng Yanyan, a strange glint flickering in her eyes.
"Want to take a picture?" one of the event staff suggested, noticing the gathering crowd. Normally, after such a performance, it would be customary for Zhou Yuwen and Shen Yu to take a photo together. But with Zheng Yanyan inserting herself so assertively into the situation, she had already flipped the script.
Zheng Yanyan ran over, putting her arm around Shen Yu's waist, smiling brightly as she said, "We're best friends! Zhou Yuwen is my boyfriend, and since I had to go dance, I let Shen Yu borrow him to sing with. Our relationship isn't as complicated as you think!"
"Take a picture? Sure, let's do it! Shen Yu, co here." Zheng Yanyan wrapped one arm around Shen Yu's waist and pulled Zhou Yuwen closer with the other, ensuring she stood in the middle, managing her expression with a playful wink.
"Move closer to your girlfriend," the second-year student, " the part-ti photographer, instructed Zhou Yuwen.
Zheng Yanyan tugged Zhou Yuwen closer to herself. Just as everyone was about to pose for the picture, Shen Yu, who had been silent all this ti, suddenly beca impatient and removed Zheng Yanyan's hand from her waist.
"Hmm?" Zheng Yanyan looked on curiously.
"I'm not feeling well. You two go ahead and take the picture." Shen Yu said coldly, turning to leave.
"Shen Yu!" Zheng Yanyan called out, running after her.
Shen Yu looked at her with icy eyes.
Zheng Yanyan, still smiling, said, "Shen Yu, you made the first move, so don't bla
for this. I already told you—when you're chasing a guy, you have to be bold. If you had expressed your feelings to Zhou Yuwen earlier, there's no way I'd have a chance. You're not mad about this, are you? There's no need. Didn't we agree? It's every girl for herself."
Shen Yu stared at Zheng Yanyan, quietly watching her performance. For the first ti, Shen Yu felt an overwhelming urge to slap soone. But her upbringing stopped her. She felt that Zheng Yanyan's behavior was incredibly repulsive, like a petty person reveling in their triumph. What was there to be proud of? Kissing a guy who hadn't even confird his feelings for you in front of all those people—what was so impressive about that?
"Hey, say sothing!" Zheng Yanyan clasped Shen Yu's hands, laughing as she spoke.
Shen Yu pulled her hands out of Zheng Yanyan's grasp. As she left, she gave Zheng Yanyan a final look that was neither sad nor happy and hard to read.
Then Shen Yu left. She returned to the dormitory.
Watching Shen Yu's retreating figure, Zheng Yanyan squinted her eyes, feeling triumphant. Shen Yu, don't bla . You were the one who made the first move. I won this ti!
"Hey, are you still taking the picture?" the photographer called out.
"Of course! Why wouldn't we? Co on, Senior, take a picture of just the two of us!" Zheng Yanyan returned and grabbed Zhou Yuwen's arm. She couldn't turn back now—Zhou Yuwen was her trophy. If she couldn't claim him, that would be truly embarrassing.
"Are you crazy? You've already pissed her off, and you still want to take a picture?" Zhou Yuwen, the most awkward person in this situation, couldn't deny his relationship with Zheng Yanyan, nor could he leave with Shen Yu. Doing so would have turned Zheng Yanyan into a complete fool. But honestly, Zhou Yuwen didn't like how Zheng Yanyan had handled things—it was too ruthless. Shen Yu's departure wasn't a sign of defeat but a refusal to engage in further conflict.
"Co on, Zhou Yuwen, we're already here. Just take the picture with , okay?" Finally, after much pleading, Zhou Yuwen agreed to take a picture with Zheng Yanyan. But once the photo was taken, he imdiately said, "I'm leaving now."
"Hey, where are you going?"
The military training performance on the field continued, lasting until 11 PM. It was the last gathering of the students and their instructors. As such, the atmosphere ranged from celebratory to slightly lancholic. So students even cried, hugging their instructors as they realized they might never see them again. Despite having only known each other for a month, many genuine bonds had ford.
At this mont, Zhou Yuwen rembered sothing—In the previous life, Liu Yue had fallen for one of the instructors. They dated for about a month, but the relationship fizzled out due to the long distance.
He had heard about this from classmates, but whether it was true or not, he couldn't say.
Today was a day of goodbyes—starting with joy and then turning bittersweet. By the end of the night, students were even sneaking in beer to share with their instructors.
Li Qiang, for his part, was in high spirits. Despite recently claiming he had matured and would turn over a new leaf, he was now fully letting loose, drinking, laughing, and chatting with his classmates.
One of his classmates, Liu Yue, couldn't help but frown at him. "We're about to say goodbye to our instructor, and you're over here having the ti of your life?"
"What do you an, I'm heartless? I'm sad too! Boo-hoo! Boo-hoo!" No matter what others said, Li Qiang was genuinely happy inside.
Soone asked where Chang Hao was.
"How should I know? How am I supposed to know where he went?" Li Qiang replied.
No one knew where the beer had co from, but Li Qiang had already downed several cans and wandered around the field, constantly toasting the instructors. "Instructor, I want to toast you!"
"Thanks so much for everything!" After drinking, Li Qiang even tried to hug the instructors.
By around 10 PM, most students had already left the field. Those who remained were gathered in circles with their classmates, sharing their thoughts and farewells with the instructors.
At this point, the rules no longer applied—no one was paying attention to the stage anymore. Anyone who wanted to sing could just grab the microphone and go for it. One of the instructors picked up a guitar and sang a song called "Green Flower in the Army" in the middle of one of the circles.
The cold wind gently blows the fallen leaves
The army is like a green flower
Dear comrades, don't think of ho
Don't think of your mother...
The atmosphere turned somber, and many students couldn't hide their tears.
After drinking a few cans of beer, Li Qiang felt lightheaded, half-reclining on the grass with a drunken smile. He didn't know why he was so happy—he just was.
Fumbling with his phone, he ssaged Lu Lin. Earlier, soone had taken a photo of Zheng Yanyan kissing Zhou Yuwen. Although the photo wasn't very clear, Zheng Yanyan's outfit was instantly recognizable.
Li Qiang specifically asked the photographer to send him the picture.
Now, he forwarded the photo to Lu Lin.
The field was bustling with activity, but the dormitory was eerily quiet. Aside from a few rooms with lights on, most dorms were dark.
Lu Lin had considered quitting smoking, but whenever she was bored, she couldn't help but light up half a cigarette. At that mont, she was smoking on the dark balcony. A red glow shot into the sky from the direction of the field, and even though the girls' dormitory was so distance away, she could still sense the excitent from over there.
Just then, Lu Lin received a ssage from Li Qiang. She didn't intend to respond at first, but when she opened it, she was surprised to see a picture of Zheng Yanyan kissing Zhou Yuwen.
"?" Lu Lin sent back a question mark.
"You didn't know?"
"Know what?"
Li Qiang's drunkenness sobered up slightly, and he quickly typed a ssage explaining what had happened.
The situation was bizarre.
"I heard Zheng Yanyan and Zhou Yuwen have been dating for a while. Didn't your dorm know about it?" Li Qiang asked. He knew Lu Lin didn't think much of him, but he wanted to warn her: Don't get your hopes up for Zhou Yuwen—he already has a girlfriend!
Lu Lin knew Zheng Yanyan had been pursuing Zhou Yuwen, but she always thought Zheng Yanyan was just joking around. She never expected her to succeed. For a mont, Lu Lin found it hard to accept.
Just then, Shen Yu returned to the dorm.
Su Qing, who was studying, looked up and was surprised to see her. "You're back already? Weren't you going to stay until the end of the performance?"
Shen Yu's expression was dark. She didn't respond to Su Qing and went straight to her seat.
Su Qing was puzzled. Hadn't she left while everything went well between her and Zhou Yuwen?
The atmosphere in the girls' dorm was suddenly tense.
Still, on the balcony with her phone, Lu Lin looked up when Shen Yu entered, expecting her to say sothing. But Shen Yu remained silent.
The dorm returned to its quiet state. Su Qing and Shen Yu sat at their desks. Su Qing was busy writing sothing, while Shen Yu seed restless. She randomly pulled a book from her small shelf and tried to read it.
But Shen Yu couldn't calm down. No matter what she did, she couldn't concentrate. She began reading aloud in a low voice to force herself to focus.
"If Julien hadn't spent ti exaggerating Mathilde's beauty, fighting against her innate pride that she had forgotten because of him..."
Shen Yu's agitation made her voice a bit louder, catching Su Qing's attention. Curious, Su Qing glanced at Shen Yu.
"At my age, a beautiful, intelligent girl—where else can she find intense feelings if not in love? I have no choice."
Shen Yu continued, reading softly from Stendhal's The Red and the Black.
In the novel, a proud count's daughter finds herself enthralled by the son of a carpenter.
"Shen Yu?" Su Qing sensed sothing was off about Shen Yu's mood. She was puzzled—hadn't Shen Yu and Zhou Yuwen just been singing together? Why was she suddenly acting like this?
Shen Yu seed not to hear Su Qing's voice. She continued reading, her pace quickening unconsciously. Su Qing called her na twice, but Shen Yu didn't respond and just kept reading.
Suddenly, the reading stopped!
At this mont, Su Qing realized sothing was wrong. She got up, walked over to Shen Yu, and saw her sitting with her head bowed, looking utterly dejected.
Confused, Su Qing reached out to touch Shen Yu's shoulder. "Shen Yu, what's wrong?"
When Shen Yu looked up, Su Qing saw that her eyes were wet with tears.
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