He was in college, but his songs were at the Grammys.

"Teacher Liao..." Tang Yuan stammered.

"You two," Liao Mei said reproachfully, "don't bother Chen Ming here. Look at him, he listens attentively in class and works hard on his creations after class. What do you two do? All you do is fool around all day."

She said earnestly, "Learn from Chen Ming. You're roommates and classmates, how come there's such a big difference between you?"

Tang Yuan and Zhou Xu exchanged a glance, their faces showing an awkward yet polite smile.

"Understood, Teacher Liao."

"We will definitely change."

Liao Mei nodded, glanced at Chen Ming again, her gaze softening, before turning to leave.

The sound of high heels faded away again.

The classroom was silent for a few seconds.

then.

"Pfft... Hahaha..."

Chen Ming was the first to burst out laughing.

The laughter was loud and echoed throughout the empty classroom.

Tang Yuan and Zhou Xu turned their heads and looked at him with resentment.

"You're still laughing!" Tang Yuan pouted. "It's all your fault for secretly writing such an awesome song without telling us!"

Zhou Xu nodded repeatedly, his eyes behind his glasses filled with grievance: "That's right, that's right, are we still brothers?! You kept this from us!"

Chen Ming, however, held up both hands and made a gesture: "You're all crying in desperation!"

Just as the two were about to make their move again.

Chen Ming shouted, "Wait! You're wrong, you're wrong! I'll treat you to lunch, okay?"

Tang Yuan's eyes lit up instantly: "Really? Godfather!"

Zhou Xu immediately followed up: "Really? Really?"

The speed at which he changed his expression was comparable to that of Sichuan opera.

Chen Ming smiled and nodded: "It's wrapped up."

The two brothers were "reluctantly" satisfied and released their grip on Chen Ming.

In reality, they weren't really angry or jealous.

The "anger" and "resentment" I just expressed were just the kind of "complaints" that only good friends would have.

Look how awesome my brother is, but he didn't tell me beforehand that he was so awesome. That's too much.

But ultimately, I'm happy for my brother.

......

Some students were still in the classroom.

Some people packed up their things and prepared to leave, while others remained seated, discussing the song they had just heard.

"Oh, right." A girl suddenly remembered something, turned to look at the fourth row, and asked, "Excuse me, did you post the video to the class group chat?"

These words were spoken.

The students, who were packing their bags and preparing to leave, all stopped what they were doing.

A dozen pairs of eyes turned to the fourth row, the seat closest to the aisle.

Bai Xier was tidying up her things with her head down.

"Hey classmate, did you post the video in the group chat?" another boy chimed in, his eyes sparkling. "Teacher Liao said we'd talk about it after class, but get out of class's over now!"

"Exactly! Send it now!"

"I've been waiting for an entire class period!"

The students gathered around, chattering amongst themselves, and soon formed a small circle around Bai Xier's seat.

Bai Xier raised her head and looked at the expectant faces around her, her expression somewhat hesitant.

She bit her lip, her voice very soft: "Um... I didn't join the class group..."

"what?"

"What?"

"Didn't you join the group?"

The students were all stunned.

The classroom was silent for a few seconds.

then.

"Class monitor! What's going on?!" A boy immediately turned to the class monitor on the other side of the classroom. "Why isn't Bai Xier in the class group chat? You're not doing your job properly!"

The class monitor, a boy named Zhang Wei who wore black-rimmed glasses, pushed up his glasses upon hearing this, looking completely innocent: "No, I..."

"Exactly! This must be criticized!" another girl joined in the condemnation.

"Is this acceptable?"

"Class monitor, you should write a self-criticism!"

The sounds of commotion rose and fell in waves.

Bai Xi'er quickly waved her hands, her face turning even redder: "No, no, that... I, I'm not in the composition department..."

The classroom fell silent again after he said that.

The students looked at each other, their faces all showing an expression of "I see."

"No wonder..." someone muttered quietly, "I was wondering why he looked familiar but I couldn't quite place him..."

"Oh right, she's in the performing arts department, right? I think I've seen her at a school event, her name is Bai Xi'er."

"I knew it! I have no recollection of when our class had such a beautiful girl!"

Bai Xier lowered her head even further as she listened to these comments.

Her fingers unconsciously twisted the strap of her shoulder bag, her mind in turmoil.

Oh no, we're exposed now.

She is definitely not a composition major.

She is a student in the 2022 class of the Performing Arts Department, majoring in film and television performance and minoring in vocal music.

The reason he frequently appears in Chen Ming's class is...

Very simple and unpretentious.

It means lust at first sight.

To be precise, it was a spring afternoon two months ago. She was studying by the window on the third floor of the library when she looked up and saw a boy sitting at the opposite table.

The sunlight slanted in through the window and fell on him.

The boy was looking down at a book, his profile was clean and sharp, and his long eyelashes cast a faint shadow under his eyelids.

He would occasionally reach up and brush a stray hair from his forehead, a casual gesture that was strangely attractive.

At that moment, Bai Xier felt as if the words on her book were dancing.

Later, she found out that he was a freshman in the composition department named Chen Ming, who had entered the department with the highest score in his major and had already signed with a management company.

Later, she developed the habit of "passing by" the composition department classroom.

Sometimes it's genuinely on the way, and sometimes it's a detour I deliberately take.

She would choose a seat at the back and pretend to listen attentively to the lesson, but out of the corner of her eye, she couldn't help but glance at the window seat in the first row.

Watching him take notes so diligently, watching him chat and laugh quietly with his roommate, watching him occasionally drift off and look out the window.

It's like watching a TV series without a script; each episode is short, but each one keeps you looking forward to it.

This week, their acting department's Monday morning 8 AM class teacher had to take leave unexpectedly.

Bai Xier's first reaction upon hearing the news was not "I can sleep in now," but rather...

"Then I can go to Chen Ming's class today! And he's performing an original song today!"

So she came.

They even secretly recorded a video.

The video almost exposed that he wasn't a classmate.

Now everything's been exposed.

Bai Xier sighed silently in her heart, feeling that her actions were a perfect example of "the worst example of idol worship".

Just as she was so embarrassed that she was digging her toes into the ground, a short-haired girl next to her suddenly burst out laughing.

The girl's name is Li Yue. She was the first one Liao Mei asked in class last week who said she liked "Letter in the Wind".

Her eyes crinkled into a smile as she leaned closer to Bai Xier and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "I've thought you looked familiar for a while now. Do you often audit our class?"

Bai Xier: "..."

Li Yue's smile deepened, her eyes conveying a tacit understanding that said, "I understand, I understand."

She patted Bai Xi'er on the shoulder: "Since you're here to observe our class, you're now part of our class!"

After saying that, she raised her head and waved to the classmates who were still "denouncing" the class monitor: "Okay, okay, don't make things difficult for the class monitor. Bai Xier is not from our department, so it's normal that she's not in the group."

Then she turned to Bai Xier, took out her phone, and said, "Come on, add me on WeChat, I'll add you to the group."

Bai Xi'er was stunned: "Huh? But I'm not..."

"Oh, who cares!" Another girl with a ponytail chimed in, grinning, "Once you're here, you're a classmate! What's wrong with joining the group? You can come to class anytime you want; our class welcomes you!"

"Exactly!"

"What's wrong with being in the performing arts department? Art is inseparable from everything!"

"Bai Xi'er, you did a great job recording that video, you absolutely must join the group!"

The girls chattered amongst themselves, each pulling out their phones.

There was an unspoken understanding between them when they exchanged glances.

We're all girls, who doesn't know what the other is thinking?

It's normal to have a crush on handsome guys!

Soon, Bai Xier received several friend requests on WeChat.

Li Yue acted the fastest, adding her as a friend and immediately pulling her into the group.

[Li Yue invited Bai Xier to join the group chat]

The group name is very simple: Class 3, Composition Department, Jiangxi University of Arts, 2022.

The group was discussing other topics when this notification to join the group came out and it immediately caused an uproar.

[Wang Haoran: Welcome, new classmate!]

[Zhang Wei: Welcome!]

[Liu Qian: Bai Xier? Is she the girl who was recording the video just now?]

[Li Yue: Yes! I'm a student from the Performing Arts Department, but I often audit our classes. I've officially joined the group now!]

[Zhao Lin: Welcome, welcome!!]

[Class Monitor: Welcome, Bai Xier! Although you're not in our department, art knows no boundaries. Please come to our classes often!]

Welcome messages flooded the screen.

Bai Xier stared at her phone screen, her fingers hovering over the keyboard, unsure how to reply.

She secretly glanced up at the front row of the classroom.

Chen Ming had already packed his things and was talking to Tang Yuan and Zhou Xu.

The three of them slung their backpacks over their shoulders and walked toward the classroom door.

"Chen Ming," Bai Xi'er called out, mustering her courage, her eyes asking, "May I post the video in the class group?"

Having just escaped the clutches of Tang Yuan and Zhou Xu, Chen Ming nodded upon hearing this: "Okay, but it's just something I sang casually in class, so just listen to it."

"That's great!" Bai Xi'er's eyes lit up, and she quickly started operating her fingers on her phone.

A few seconds later, a new message popped up in the class WeChat group:

[Bai Xier: Video file.mp4]

The group chat exploded instantly.

Holy crap! We really struck it rich!

"Thank you, Bai Xier!"

May good people live a long and peaceful life!

"Saved! I really need to listen to Chen Ming's songs! They're so good!"

A series of cell phone notification sounds rang out in the classroom.

"Let's go, Bai Xi'er!" Li Yue patted her shoulder. "What's your next class in the acting department? We can walk together since we're going the same way?"

"Ah... okay." Bai Xier snapped out of her daze, put away her phone, and slung her shoulder bag over her shoulder.

Several girls walked out of the classroom chatting and laughing.

A smile also appeared on Bai Xier's face.

Although it was exposed, and although it was a bit embarrassing.

But at least the video was sent out.

Moreover, she joined the group.

It seems more legitimate for me to attend classes as an observer in the future.

......

Some time later, in room 512 of building 3 in the boys' dormitory.

As soon as Wang Haoran pushed open the door, he heard his roommate Zhang Wei exclaim, "Holy crap! Wang Haoran, come quick!"

"What's wrong?" Wang Haoran put down the takeout he was holding and went over.

Zhang Wei handed over his phone, which displayed the campus wall interface of Jiangyi University.

The latest post was published an hour ago, with a very simple caption:

[Submission] I heard an original song called "Big City, Small Love" in class today. It was written by a classmate, and it's really beautiful! I'm sharing it with you all~ (Video source: Class 3, 2022, Composition Department)

Below is the video of Chen Ming singing in class.

The number of reposts has exceeded 100, and the number of comments is growing at a visible rate.

"Isn't this the video of Chen Ming's performance in our class just now?" Wang Haoran's eyes widened. "Who submitted it?"