You're dumping me, huh? Fine, then I'll just pick up the school beauty and make her my wif

Xu Wenbin was so frightened that he was shot halfway through his bloodstream by her bullets.

Although he ultimately killed Lin tide with a single shot in one frame, he still jumped up from his chair: "Damn it, Lin tide! You guys couldn't beat them head-on, so you resorted to sneaking up on their backs? That's so underhanded!"

Lin tide blinked, her tone full of innocence: "I don't know! Lu Ziang told us to do it!"

"Besides, what's wrong with sneaking around? Who's joking around with you on the battlefield? Private Xu, can't you be serious for once?"

Lin tide's tone revealed undisguised smugness.

Xu Wenbin gritted his teeth and stood in Su Qinghe's circle to recover his health. He turned around and said through gritted teeth in the team voice chat, "Old Jiang, do me a favor. If you encounter the enemy Mu Die later, don't kill her. Leave her for me."

Jiang Che ignored him, but Wang Kai laughed loudly into the microphone: "Brother Xu, you're settling a personal score on your behalf!"

"What's wrong with settling personal scores? I, Xu Wenbin, have been in the martial world for twenty years, and this is the first time I've been reduced to near-death by a newbie. This revenge must be taken!"

Xu Wenbin indeed chased Lin tide's Twilight Butterfly for an entire game.

Lin tide was chased all over the place, from point A to point B and back to point A, with Xu Wenbin following her relentlessly.

Lin tide shouted angrily into the voice chat, "Xu Wenbin, are you crazy?! Why are you chasing me and hitting me?!"

"So what if I chased after you and beat you up? Who's joking around with you on the battlefield? Can't you be serious, Private Lin!"

"Serious my foot! Waaaaah, Qinghe, you need to get Jiang Che to control him, he's going to beat me to death again!"

Lin tide pitifully began to beg for help.

Su Qinghe isn't stupid. Lin tide is on the other side, so why would she help the other side?

So he just said casually, "Didn't you say you wanted to be part of the atmosphere team? The atmosphere is pretty good now, keep it up!"

"Su Qinghe!!!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Taking advantage of the opponent's disorganized formation, Jiang Che led Su Qinghe to sneak in from the flank and secured the match point.

The final score was never in doubt; Jiang Che's team won two out of three games, securing a clean and decisive victory.

After leaving the internet cafe, the group found a Sichuan restaurant on the street and had dinner. Afterward, the eight-person group disbanded on the spot.

……

The last week of military training passed uneventfully.

Thursday afternoon, the day before the military training was about to end.

Fang Yizhou sent a notice in the grade's group chat.

"Dear new students of the Class of 2026, the two-week military training will officially end tomorrow afternoon."

"To celebrate the successful completion of military training, the school will hold a welcome party for new students at 7 p.m. tomorrow in the auditorium."

"There will be performances prepared by senior students from various colleges, and freshmen are also welcome to sign up and showcase their talents."

"Interested students should contact their respective class advisors before 8 PM tonight."

The message had barely been sent out when the group chat exploded.

"Welcome party! Finally, some entertainment!"

"Anyone signing up as a group? I'm too scared to go on stage alone."

"I'll just sit on a small stool and watch the audience; I don't have any special talents."

After reading the notice, Jiang Che fell into deep thought.

Welcome party for new students.

He looked up from his phone screen, across the crowd resting on the playground, and landed in the direction of the Seventh Company.

Su Qinghe was sitting on the lawn at the front of the line, wiping the sweat from her forehead with a tissue.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the sycamore leaves, casting dappled patterns of light on her profile.

Jiang Che looked at her for a while, and suddenly an idea popped into his mind.

He reopened WeChat and opened his chat with Su Qinghe.

"Qinghe, did you see the notification in the group chat?"

Su Qinghe replied to her messages almost instantly.

"I just saw it, it's the welcome party."

What are your thoughts?

"What could I possibly be thinking? I'd definitely just be a spectator."

Jiang Che typed a line, paused for a moment, then deleted it and retyped it.

"Want to sign up for a show together?"

Su Qinghe remained silent for quite a while this time.

Jiang Che watched as the "typing" message repeatedly appeared and disappeared above the chat box, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl upwards.

He could almost picture Su Qinghe's expression at that moment—her brows furrowed slightly, her lips pursed, and her fingers hovering over the screen for a long time, unsure of what to say.

Almost a minute later, the message popped up.

"What program do you want to report?"

"You play the piano, I'll play the violin, and we'll play a duet."

"Are you serious?"

"When have I ever joked with you?"

"But... I haven't played in a long time, I'm rusty."

"It's okay, you can just practice more if you're out of practice. I haven't played the violin in ages either."

"Besides, it doesn't matter if I lose face. I'll definitely lose face more than you. What are you afraid of if you have someone to take the fall for?"

"How can that be? The welcome party is in the auditorium. You saw it at the last opening ceremony; there were two or three thousand people sitting there. We can't afford to make any mistakes."

Su Qinghe is quite bold in other matters, but when it comes to showing herself, she instinctively shrinks back.

This hasn't changed much from high school until now.

Jiang Che stared at the screen for a moment, then changed his approach.

"Do you remember what you told me before?"

"What?"

You said you wanted to become better, to be worthy of me.

Su Qinghe fell silent again.

Jiang Che continued typing: "Qinghe, I've seen how hard you've been working to learn accounting and improve yourself."

"But excellence is not just about being good at accounting and doing things, it also includes having the courage to stand up and showcase yourself."

"You play so well. I still remember the time when our orchestra played together back in our first year of high school."

"That day you sat in front of the piano, and your whole demeanor was completely different from usual. I thought to myself, 'It would be great if this girl could play the piano more often in the future.'"

"So don't tell me you're out of practice. You just haven't played the piano in a long time. With your skill level, you can pick it up again in a couple of days."

Su Qinghe's message didn't come back for a full two and a half minutes.

"Ah Che, do you really think I can do this?"

Jiang Che replied with four words: "Nonsense, trust me."

After a while...

"Then you have to practice with me."

"Of course I'll practice with you."

"Then... I'll choose the songs?"

"Okay, you decide."

"Don't complain that the things I chose are too simple."

"Even if you play 'Two Tigers,' I'll accompany you."

"Get lost, who wants to play with two tigers?"

Jiang Che stared at the angry emoji sent by Su Qinghe on the screen, and a feeling he couldn't quite put his finger on suddenly welled up inside him.

On the stage during her first year of high school, Su Qinghe's aura was completely different when she sat in front of the piano. It was as if a piece of jade covered in dust had its surface dust wiped away, revealing the warm luster underneath.

At that time, he wondered what this girl would be like if she could truly become confident one day.

He is now seeing the answer little by little.