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

When Mu Wanqing returned to the classroom, the students' chattering and laughter immediately stopped, and they looked at her thoughtfully.

Sometimes, there is no reason for a group to bully someone; if everyone bullies her, it must be because she is in the wrong.

Most of the classmates just stood there watching the spectacle. Class monitor Zhao Weiguo and Youth League secretary Liu Yuanchao were children of high-ranking officials; the cultural and sports committee member Zhang Mingyuan's father worked for the Ministry of Culture; and the life committee member Zhu Hongqi's father was a leader in some factory...

They were the trendsetters in the class. Why would someone go against them for Mu Wanqing's sake?

In this day and age, how can someone who doesn't know how to read between the lines still manage to get into an art university and study peacefully?

You either go along with them and become one of their lackeys, or you choose to protect yourself.

Offending these people in order for Mu Wanqing to stand up for justice comes at too high a price.

"Mu Wanqing, what you just did..."

"Did you go to the counselor's office?"

Zhao Weiguo asked a question.

Mu Wanqing replied naturally, "Yes, what's wrong?"

"What do you need from your counselor?"

Zhao Weiguo has a strong desire for control. He doesn't want anything in the class to escape his sight. He comes from a military compound and was always the commander when he was a child. But when it came to actually joining the army, his family wouldn't allow it, so they ended up getting him into an arts college.

Mu Wanqing was puzzled: "What business is it of yours if I'm looking for my counselor?"

"What do you mean, Zhao Weiguo? Oh, so as a student, if I need to see the counselor, I have to report to you, the class monitor, and get your approval before I can go, right?"

The hat was too big for Zhao Weiguo to wear, so he could only laugh it off: "How could I? I'm just concerned about you. We're all classmates, and as the class monitor, it's only natural for me to check on things when classmates are in trouble."

Mu Wanqing sighed: "Zhao Weiguo, I'm engaged. I don't need your concern. Let's just be normal classmates. I'm afraid my fiancé will misunderstand."

Mu Wanqing's words were like tearing down the window paper. In fact, she understood Zhao Weiguo's thoughts, as well as what Liu Yuanchao meant. She just couldn't say it outright before.

But now that you've all written complaint letters, why should I care?

Zhao Weiguo's face darkened, but he was quick-witted and immediately said with a serious expression, "Comrade Wanqing, you are a college student and a member of the Imperial Guard. Engagement is a remnant of feudalism. You should break off the engagement and focus on your studies; that's the right thing to do."

"fart!"

Mu Wanqing blurted it out.

Everyone was stunned.

Mu Wanqing's face flushed red, and her chest heaved.

"What right do you have to interfere in my affairs? How does my engagement bother you? What gives you the right to—"

"Why should we?" Zhao Weiguo interrupted her, "Because we're your classmates, your comrades! We can't just stand by and watch you be poisoned by feudal ideology!"

"I haven't been poisoned!"

"You've been blinded by greed!" Liu Yuanchao shouted. "What's so great about that Zhang guy? He just has a little money. We, the proletariat—"

Zhang Mingyuan seized the opportunity to say, "Wanqing, we're doing this for your own good..."

"That's enough!"

Mu Wanqing slammed her hand on the table: "My life, what I do, who I get engaged to, who I marry—that's my business!"

"I don't need anyone telling me what to do, I don't need your 'concern,' Zhao Weiguo! I don't need anyone interfering in my life under the guise of 'it's for my own good'!"

"I am the master of my own life!"

"Didn't you want to know what I did in the counselor's office?"

Okay, I'll tell you.

"You want to compete with my fiancé in music composition? I agreed, and my fiancé agreed too."

"I'm here today to discuss the competition process with the department."

Zhao Weiguo and his companions were immediately stunned.

"The competition process?"

"What's the procedure?"

Mu Wanqing chuckled softly: "Of course, it's about comparing the process of music creation!"

"You can't exactly say you're both contestants and judges, can you?"

"If we're going to compete, then it must be fair, just, and transparent!"

"Let's wait for the department's final decision."

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

The news spread throughout the entire department that very day.

"Mu Wanqing made a bet with the class committee!"

"What are we betting on?"

"I'm betting her fiancé can help her win the creative competition!"

"Her fiancé? The guy who designs lighters? A vocational school graduate? Someone who studied fine arts?"

"Yeah! She's gone mad!"

"She's not crazy. Zhao Weiguo, Liu Yuanchao, Zhang Mingyuan, and Zhu Hongqi working together—what level are they at? How can Mu Wanqing, with just an amateur, compare?"

"I think she's blinded by love."

"Just wait and see, she'll be crying then."

The department posted a notice before school ended in the afternoon.

Their bet didn't involve money or humiliation, so the department didn't get involved.

Zhao Weiguo originally wanted to propose that if he won, Mu Wanqing and Zhang Dabiao would break off their engagement, but that would be too obvious, so he didn't say it in the end. He only wanted to humiliate Zhang Dabiao and get revenge.

But I didn't expect the department to take this creative course so seriously; it's become quite a big deal.

Firstly, nominally, this music composition course is undergoing curriculum reform. However, the entries submitted for competitions by other classes within the college are still decided by their respective teachers and are not included in this curriculum reform.

Only Mu Wanqing and Zhao Weiguo's class was selected as a pilot class for curriculum reform.

Second, their class only selected one work to submit to the college's arts festival. There was only first place, no second, third, runner-up or third place. Other classes also needed performance opportunities, and we can't just give them all to your class, especially since you are only freshmen.

Works not selected from the class will be treated as final assignments for the course and graded as usual.

Third, for this regular attendance test, as long as there is no absence, all scores will be 100 points to avoid excessive deviation in the final grade.

Fourth, attendance accounts for 30% of the total score, while the exam score (final work) accounts for 70%. In fact, the final work score is the most important, and the winner is determined in one go.

Fifth, students are allowed and encouraged to ask friends for help, but this is limited to current students. In other words, you cannot ask established professionals, teachers, singers, or musicians for help. Students from other schools can ask for help, and all students are treated equally.

VI. The scoring was originally the responsibility of their teachers, but now it has been changed to be scored on-site by the teachers (30 points), the leaders of the Municipal Education Bureau (30 points), the department head (20 points), and the student audience judges (20 points). The student audience judges consist of 20 people, with 5 representatives from each of the 4 grades. The winner is determined by on-site voting.

If it were just these rules, Zhao Weiguo and the others would be quite confident.

But when the rules for the creative assignment were revealed, they were even more dumbfounded.

The topic isn't decided by your own teacher; it has to be decided by drawing lots!