The air froze.

No one spoke. Ji Yan, Guan Chi, and Shi Si all shut their mouths in unison.

Water continued to drip down Lin Qingye's face, hitting the concrete ground and spreading into dark dots.

Xu Zhinan met his gaze calmly for a few seconds, took a step back, tossed the empty water bottle into the trash can, and walked away without looking back.

At the main entrance of the auditorium, she happened to run into Ruan Yuanyuan, who was rushing over, still holding a bouquet of flowers.

"Ah Nan, Ah Nan, Ah Nan! Is it over? Do you know where Lin Qingye is right now!?"

It was already dark, so she didn't notice the strange expression on Xu Zhinan's face as she continued to curse the professor who had kept her.

Xu Zhinan tried her best to steady her trembling voice and pointed in a direction for her: "Over there."

"He's still there!" Ruan Yuanyuan's face lit up with joy. She gave her a hug and ran straight over.

Ji Yan took out a pack of tissues from her bag and handed it over. Lin Qingye glanced at it but didn't take it. He raised a hand and scrubbed his face, slicking back his drenched bangs.

His features were sharp and well-defined, his facial features stern. When his face was sullen, he was particularly intimidating.

It was at this moment that Ruan Yuanyuan ran out, holding that bouquet of flowers, which blocked her view.

It wasn't that she didn't see the water stains on his face and the collar of his shirt, but she would never have connected being splashed with water to Lin Qingye. She just naturally assumed he had gotten wet after washing his face post-performance.

"Senior." She softened her voice and offered the bouquet forward. "Happy graduation."

He remained in his original position, unmoving.

Ruan Yuanyuan pursed her lips, not minding it, and continued, "Senior, I've liked you for a long time. I can sing every one of your songs. I also often rush over to see you whenever you have a performance at the bar."

"Get lost," Lin Qingye said, his voice so cold it seemed to carry shards of ice.

Ruan Yuanyuan didn't react, stunned for a moment. "What?"

She took another step forward, extending the flowers.

Lin Qingye slapped away her approaching arm and looked down at her, his body exuding a hot, oppressive hostility. "I told you to get lost, didn't you hear me?"

Ruan Yuanyuan hadn't held out hope that Lin Qingye would accept her confession this time; she just didn't want to leave herself with any regrets.

But she never expected the situation to turn out like this.

She was aware of the various mixed reviews of Lin Qingye from the outside world and had seen the video of him hitting someone, his expression indifferent, cold, and grim.

But after seeing Lin Qingye on stage, she had been blindfolded, no longer believing any of it.

All along, Lin Qingye was different from the popular idols in the entertainment industry, and his fans were completely different from their fans.

He didn't "do fan service," nor was there any so-called "doting on fans."

He just sang at the bar, and those who liked him would come to the bar to listen and drink.

He was free-spirited and unpredictable, always giving people the feeling that he was impossible to grasp, yet his fans loved him just like that.

Even though he had only said those few words in a soft voice, Ruan Yuanyuan felt as if she had been thoroughly humiliated. The flowers fell to the ground, and she covered her face and ran away.

Qin Tang watched in amazement. In less than ten minutes, two girls had run off.

It was just that the difference between the before and after was too great. This one, who confessed in a soft voice, was told to get lost, while the previous one had thrown water directly in Lin Qingye's face, yet he hadn't uttered a single curse word.

Pondering this.

Qin Tang's heart skipped a beat.

Among their group, no one dared to throw water at Lin Qingye like Xu Zhinan did.

"Um, Brother Ye..."

Qin Tang began hesitantly, "Is Sister-in-law angry? Why don't I go apologize to her?"

Ji Yan, at the side, gave him a huge, genuine eye-roll.

Just a moment ago, his mouth was foul, but now that the situation looked bad, he immediately changed his tune and called her Sister-in-law.

Truly, shameless people are invincible.

Lin Qingye glanced up at him, his gaze as sharp as a knife.

"Mind your own business. Does she need you parading around in front of her?" he said, showing Qin Tang no courtesy.

Lin Qingye left the group and walked away.

Qin Tang was stunned for a moment. Normally, he could act like a brother to Lin Qingye, but when he was truly angered, Qin Tang didn't dare to provoke him further. He asked Ji Yan, "What's the situation now?"

Ji Yan spoke bluntly, "Don't you have eyes of your own?"

"Hey, why are you talking like that?" Qin Tang frowned.

"This is how I talk. Take it or leave it."

"...No, seriously, grandma, how did your temper get so big?" Qin Tang asked. "What's the relationship between Brother Ye and that person now? It can't be serious, right?"

Ji Yan: "You should prepare to die first."

After graduating from high school, their band had stayed together, but they hadn't kept in frequent contact with the other troublemakers.

Ji Yan couldn't be bothered with him anymore and left, pulling Shi Si and Guan Chi along.

The night was deep, and the once noisy campus returned to quiet.

Actually, Ji Yan didn't know how to answer Qin Tang's question either. She used to think Lin Qingye wasn't serious, but seeing him today, it seemed that might not be the case.

"Don't you guys think the captain is acting strange?" Ji Yan asked.

Guan Chi: "What's wrong?"

Ji Yan couldn't quite put her finger on it; it was just a gut feeling. "Do you think the captain really likes Xu Zhinan?"

"If he likes her, why didn't he go after her just now?" Shi Si said matter-of-factly.

"With his personality, how could he possibly go after her?"

"Then isn't that just it? You already have the answer to your question," Shi Si shrugged, then laughed heartlessly. "I never would've thought she'd dare to throw water in the captain's face when she got angry."

Xu Zhinan walked back to the dormitory.

Before pushing the door open, she checked her reflection in the window glass. Her eyes were a little red, but otherwise, nothing was noticeable.

The auditorium had limited seating. Students from other years who wanted to watch the graduation gala had to sign up and vie for tickets. Ruan Yuanyuan's ticket was probably obtained through someone else.

Jiang Yue was swamped by the final exam week and had no interest in such events. Zhao Qian was interested, and Xu Zhinan could have gotten her a ticket, but it would have been awkward for her to sit alone and watch the show for hours.

So in the end, none of them went.

Fortunately, the entire gala was being live-streamed on the school's official Weibo account.

Some well-informed Lin Qingye fans were even waiting for it early on.

By now, the highlight of the entire gala—the three-and-a-half-minute clip of Lin Qingye's performance—had been singled out. It first appeared on the school forum, then was shared to Lin Qingye's Super Topic, and later, the "Here for the Song" program team also reposted it for promotion.

Zhao Qian had already watched it and forwarded it to Jiang Yue to watch again.

"I used to think the keyboardist was the least conspicuous member of a band. Besides the lead singer, I thought the drummer was also super cool," Zhao Qian said. "But Lin Qingye playing the keyboard is so damn cool!"

After watching, Jiang Yue asked, "He knows how to play this kind of instrument?"

"Duh. Don't be fooled by the fact that Lin Qingye almost didn't graduate this time. His grades in his major courses are super amazing, okay? I heard from a friend in the music department that all the teachers in their department really like Lin Qingye, and he's proficient in many instruments."

Jiang Yue was a little surprised. "He's that amazing?"

She had originally thought Lin Qingye just had a good singing voice and didn't understand why so many girls liked him.

At the same time, another post quietly rose to the top of the forum.

[1L: Went to the commercial street for a late-night snack with a friend just now and happened to run into the other members of the Black Locust Band. Overheard them saying that Lin Qingye had a face full of water thrown at him???]

[2L: ?????? Waiting for the tea!]

[3L: Are you talking about today? Didn't the gala just end? (Speaking of the gala, I have to scream! He! Was! So! Freaking! Hot!!)]

[4L: You must have gotten the wrong gossip. Who could bear to throw water at that face of Lin Qingye's?]

[5L: Plus one! And who would dare to splash him?]

[6L: Simple analysis: if a guy did it, an ambulance would probably be entering the school by now. So it must have been a girl!!]

[7L: If it was a girl, the question returns to what the sis on the fourth floor brought up: which girl could bear to do it??]

[8L: She wouldn't do it for no reason, right? Could it be some kind of romantic entanglement?]

[9L: I can confirm this is probably real tea. I ran into Lin Qingye at the East Gate just now. He was alone, and the collar of his shirt was all wet. Then when I passed by the auditorium later, I saw a bouquet of champagne roses in a nearby bush!!! It's probably still there!]

[10L: The direction of this thread is getting more and more confusing...]

...

This thread quickly grew, and by the time it reached over two hundred replies, someone had actually taken a picture of the bouquet of champagne roses lying on the grass.

The petals were scattered on the soil, and the deep blue wrapping paper was stained with dirt.

There were both witnesses and physical evidence.

[234L: Did the big boss buy flowers to confess his love??]

[235L: No way?? I really can't imagine it!!]

[236L: The point is, who could throw water in Lin Qingye's face while he was presenting flowers and confessing!?]

[237L: ......Then I can only think of an ex-girlfriend.]

[238L: Does anyone in our school have the campus heartthrob as an ex-boyfriend?]

[239L: Nooo, I'm still shipping the campus belle and heartthrob's divine-looks CP.]

...