Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

In the evening, in the wooden house in the small courtyard of the siheyuan (traditional courtyard house).

Mu Wanqing sat on a small stool and recounted the whole story.

Originally, she didn't want to involve Zhang Dabiao, but since they were now engaged and of one mind, she had to tell Zhang Dabiao about anything.

Moreover, she was very unhappy when people said that Zhang Dabiao was an amateur—didn't she know what Zhang Dabiao's abilities were?

To be honest, even their professional teachers might not be as good as Zhang Dabiao, which is why she accepted the challenge.

It's a sure win!

Moreover, she was unhappy when others talked about Zhang Dabiao; she couldn't stand it.

Zhang Dabiao leaned against the window, listened, and remained silent for a few seconds.

Then he laughed.

Mu Wanqing had never seen that kind of smile before.

It wasn't his usual cheeky smile, nor the knowing smile he gave to strangers—it was something else entirely.

【What the hell?! What's wrong with them? Of all the things they could compare themselves to, why did they have to drag me into a music composition competition?】

That kind of helpless yet pitying smile.

"They really want to compete with us?" he asked, confirming.

Mu Wanqing nodded.

"Comparing music composition?"

"Um."

"They'll stop causing trouble after we win?"

"Um."

"You won't let me pick you up if you lose?"

"Um."

Zhang Dabiao leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs.

"Are they out of their minds? They could have at least increased the stakes a little more, right? Is that all?"

Mu Wanqing became anxious: "You still have the mind to laugh? Those class committee members are all top students! Zhao Weiguo composes the music, Liu Yuanchao writes the lyrics, and Zhang Mingyuan dances—if they team up, they're really not bad!"

"Those random little tunes you were humming earlier, although they were nice, but..."

But it's a bit out of touch with the times! It might not be suitable for use elsewhere!

Now Mu Wanqing is a little insecure again.

Zhang Dabiao looked at her.

Are you afraid of losing?

"Of course I'm scared!" Mu Wanqing clutched the hem of her clothes. "What if I lose? You won't be able to come pick me up anymore..."

"this one?"

Mu Wanqing was taken aback: "What do you mean by 'that's all'?"

Zhang Dabiao stood up and walked up to her.

"Wanqing, I have a question for you."

Mu Wanqing looked up.

Even if I lose and can't come pick you up, are you still my boyfriend?

"Of course..."

"That settles it then," Zhang Dabiao shrugged. "If they can't pick us up, we can meet at the alley entrance, or one stop away from the school gate, or at the courtyard house, or go out on the weekend. What business is it of theirs?"

Mu Wanqing opened her mouth, but couldn't say a word.

"Besides," Zhang Dabiao tilted his head, "who told you we'd lose?"

"But--"

Do you believe me or not?

Mu Wanqing looked at him.

The dim light in the cabin illuminated his face, making his eyes sparkle and his lips curl into that familiar smile—a cheeky one, yet strangely comforting.

She suddenly remembered the day she was stabbed, and how Zhang Dabiao pulled her away and shielded her, taking the blow for her.

She slowly smiled. This man would stand in front of her without any hesitation or conditions to protect her. What was there to worry about?

"letter."

Zhang Dabiao nodded in satisfaction.

"That's right."

He was preparing to copy down the revolutionary songs and songs from 61 onwards when he suddenly hesitated.

It's just copying songs, after all. I've even copied Jin Yong's masterpieces, so what's the big deal about copying a few songs?

Copying revolutionary songs to save one's life when the wind blows is blowing; isn't that standard practice?

But he suddenly realized a problem: they'd specifically named him as the target of their troubles. What if they lost and then turned around and blamed him? In this day and age, are there any timestamps or email addresses for electronic music creation...?

What if he accuses you of plagiarism?

Students who can get into art colleges in Beijing are at least from good families; many of them have powerful connections. Who would study art these days without connections?

Even if you can prove that you wrote the song, the process will be troublesome, and then they will take the song away. What can you do then?

The right to interpret it is not in your own hands.

This matter can't be handled like this.

Zhang Dabiao had a sudden thought and whispered a few words to Mu Wanqing.

If we're going to play, let's play big!

Mu Wanqing's eyes widened upon hearing this: "Da Biao, do you have to be so strict?"

"If our school's teachers knew about this, wouldn't they lose face?"

Zhang Dabiao scoffed: "If it doesn't hold up, it's Zhao Weiguo and Liu Yuanchao's doing. They want to challenge me to a duel—no, a creative contest."

"If they lose face, then your teacher will naturally go after them."

"A competition is fine, but it must be fair, open, and just—a live competition!"

"The judges should include representatives from my school's teachers, representatives from the Education Bureau, and representatives from your school's teachers."

"You can't just say your school is both the contestant and the judge; what's the point of that?"

Mu Wanqing hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

So Zhang Dabiao took out a piece of paper and started writing quickly. "It's a competition, so let's make it a little more difficult for you!"

------------

The next morning, when it was time to go to school, Mu Wanqing arrived at the school and explained her purpose to her counselor, Liu.

When Counselor Liu heard this, he got angry too.

"What the heck? Zhao Weiguo and Liu Yuanchao want to compete with Zhang Dabiao in music composition?"

"Zhang Dabiao isn't a student at our school, and he's studying art, but he's only a vocational school graduate!"

"You still have a bet?"

"Zhang Dabiao accepted the challenge?"

"Zhang Dabiao also requested that teachers from his school be invited to form a joint review panel with leaders from the Ministry of Education?"

"They'll draw lots for the topic, and it'll be a closed-door, timed creative process?"

"..."

"Does he think he's a composition professor?!"

Counselor Liu didn't know what to say.

Mu Wanqing also said pitifully, "Teacher Liu, I have no choice. My classmates are targeting me all day long. I don't know what I did wrong or who I offended."

"Da Biao accepted the challenge to protect me; it was a last resort."

"When they make a move, Da Biao and I can only take it, and that's all we can do."

"But at the very least, the school should provide us with a fair and just competition environment, right?"

"Otherwise, if they deny responsibility after the artwork is created, wouldn't that be a laughing stock?"

"Winning or losing doesn't really matter. Even if Da Biao loses, it's normal, right? But I'm worried about Zhao Weiguo and Liu Yuanchao's motives. What if they renege on their debt? That would be a disgrace to our school."

Upon hearing this, Counselor Liu immediately became nervous.

Damn, what started as a petty squabble between kids over jealousy has now escalated into something much bigger...

It seems like things have gotten a bit out of hand.

So he took the "Competition Rules" written by Zhang Dabiao that Mu Wanqing handed him and went to discuss it with the department head and the secretary.

For a course assignment, you can only get assignments for performances within the college, and the process has become like this...

He had never seen it before.

Meanwhile, Zhao Weiguo, Liu Yuanchao, and the others were still feeling smug. They were all music majors, and they had at least two or three compositions to their name, if not a dozen.

When the time comes, we'll ask the elders in our family to polish it up. You, Mu Wanqing, are just an ordinary high school student, and Zhang Dabiao, an art vocational school student, are competing with us in music composition?

Isn't that a joke?

Moreover, our professor for this major course is Zhao Weiguo's uncle, son-in-law, and second aunt! So they're related by blood!

That's like Qin Shi Huang touching an electric shock gate—he's won so badly he's completely out of control!

But they never expected that Zhang Dabiao was a cheater!