Oh no! I've only been a freshman and I've already been targeted by a mean upperclassman.

The crisp sound of a guitar cut a clear line through the noisy lawn.

Song Zhe's finger technique is very skillful.

It's obvious that he started training as a child.

His voice is also very pleasant to hear.

It's that kind of slightly husky, smoky voice, full of stories.

The moment he opened his mouth, he attracted everyone's attention.

"The first time I saw you, there was a huge crowd."

Your eyes are like distant stars.

"I desperately try to follow your path."

"Yet I've fallen into the illusion you've created..."

The lyrics are written very directly, even somewhat explicitly.

It's a raw, unadulterated love song, about being madly in love.

Coupled with Song Zhe's handsome yet melancholic face and affectionate eyes.

It is extremely lethal.

The onlookers began to whisper among themselves.

"Wow, so handsome! Is that Song Zhe, the music prodigy?"

"Is this an original song? It's so beautiful and so romantic!"

"Who is that girl? Yan Xi from the architecture department? My god, what kind of amazing plot is this!"

"Quick, quick, record it and post it on the school's bulletin board!"

The sounds of commotion and whistling rose and fell.

The atmosphere was brought to its peak.

Everyone was captivated by this unexpected and romantic confession.

Besides, it's at the center of the event.

Yan Xi's face was expressionless.

She didn't even look directly at the boy who was singing so passionately for her.

She simply picked up the can of beer that Li Chen had handed her, which was no longer very cold, and took a sip.

That posture didn't resemble that of a female protagonist being confessed to.

More like a picky judge watching a poorly performed show that has nothing to do with him.

Li Chen's face still wore that faint, playful smile.

His heart was completely unmoved.

Anger? Jealousy?

nonexistent.

He just found it a little funny.

He looked at the boy named Song Zhe as if he were looking at an elementary school student who had just learned addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division and was already eager to challenge himself with calculus.

Naive, and laughable.

He had no idea what kind of person Yan Xi was.

He thought that he could win her over with this kind of popular and cheap romance.

He didn't understand that what Yan Xi hated most was this kind of public, manipulative self-pity.

He didn't understand even more what a predator of Yan Xi's caliber was like.

What truly moves her is never flowery language or exaggerated performances.

Rather, it's the subtle, pervasive details and the perfectly timed, evenly matched contests.

For example, a cup of unsweetened black coffee that I remember her preference.

For example, a warm pillow quietly offered to her when she was tired.

For example, there's a unique music box that's being secretly prepared for her, carrying the regrets of her childhood.

These are the real keys to breaking down her defenses.

Instead of this song in front of me, which sounds alright but is empty and meaningless, just a mindless love song.

Wang Qiang, who was standing to the side, was about to explode with anger.

"Holy crap! Who is this bastard? Trying to steal my godfather's girlfriend right in front of him?"

He rolled up his sleeves, ready to rush forward.

But Zhao Zixuan grabbed him.

"Don't act impulsively."

Zhao Zixuan lowered his voice, "Let's see."

"What are you looking at! Didn't you see his eyes practically glued to our sister-in-law?"

"What's your hurry?"

Chen Mo calmly pushed up his glasses. "Do you think that, given your senior's level, we need to step in?"

"not to mention……"

Chen Mo glanced at Li Chen, who remained as steady as a mountain. "Do you think our godfather is the type to suffer a loss?"

Wang Qiang was taken aback.

He glanced at Yan Xi, whose face was as cold as ice.

Then she looked at Li Chen, who was smiling like a fox.

The fire in my heart was extinguished in an instant.

He seemed to have understood something.

This is fucking blaming, not poaching.

This is clearly a case of a mouse acting as a cat's escort—risking its life for money.

The song ended.

Song Zhe plucked the last chord.

He raised his head, his eyes burning as he looked at Yan Xi.

"Senior, this song, 'Illusion,' is for you."

"I hope you can give me a chance to enter your world."

The entire audience erupted in thunderous applause and cheers.

"Say yes! Say yes!"

"Together! Together!"

Everyone was looking forward to the female lead nodding in agreement, and a perfect campus idol drama unfolding.

"Damn! Are these people idiots?"

Wang Qiang couldn't help but mutter a curse under his breath.

Song Zhe's face was also filled with a confident smile, as if victory was in sight.

He believed that no girl could refuse such a grand and meticulously prepared romantic event.

however.

Yan Xi's reaction, however, surprised everyone.

She finally put down the beer can in her hand.

He stood up.

She did not approach Song Zhe.

Instead, she walked up to Li Chen.

She reached out her hand.

Li Chen understood, took her hand, and used it to stand up.

Then, Yan Xi turned around and looked at Song Zhe, whose smile had frozen on his face.

Her voice remained cold and devoid of any warmth.

But every word was like a sharp ice knife, precisely piercing Song Zhe's heart.

"You sang well."

She first gave it a positive evaluation.

A hint of joy was about to appear on Song Zhe's face.

Yan Xi's next words sent a chill down his spine.

"Don't sing to me next time."

The entire venue was deathly silent.

All the cheers and commotion seemed to have been paused.

Everyone's face was filled with disbelief.

Yan Xi didn't look at him again.

She took Li Chen's hand, turned around, and prepared to leave this place of trouble.

"Why?!"

Song Zhe's voice, tinged with resentment and despair, came from behind.

"Senior, what is it about me that he doesn't?"

His finger pointed at Li Chen.

His eyes were filled with jealousy and resentment.

Yan Xi stopped in her tracks.

She didn't turn around.

However, she turned her head to the side and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

That look in his eyes was filled with a condescending pity.

"You are no less than him."

Her voice was very soft, yet it carried throughout the entire silent lawn.

"Because you're simply not qualified to compare yourself to him."

Done.

She didn't linger any longer.

He pulled Li Chen along and drove straight away as everyone automatically made way for him.

Only Song Zhe remained, clutching his expensive guitar, his face deathly pale, frozen in place.

Like a pathetic clown, abandoned by the whole world.

Li Chen was pulled by Yan Xi as they passed through the crowd.

He could feel that she was holding his hand very tightly.

My fingertips were even a little cold.

He knew she was angry.

It's not because of Song Zhe.

Rather, it was because she felt that her "possessions" had been offended.

He turned his hand around and gripped her hand tightly.

He used his own body heat to warm her cold fingertips.

Yan Xi paused slightly in her steps.

But she didn't turn around or say anything.

She just pulled him along, and they walked even faster.

Walk until you reach the edge of the lawn, under a quiet, shady tree.

She finally stopped.

He let go.

"you……"

"I……"

The two spoke at the same time.

At the same time, stop.

An awkward and subtle atmosphere filled the air.

In the end, it was Li Chen who laughed first.

"Your Majesty, please calm down." He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "It's not worth getting angry over someone like that."

Yan Xi looked at him without saying a word.

She simply reached out and straightened his collar, which had been ruffled by the wind.

Then, suddenly, she leaned closer.

Their faces were only a few centimeters apart.

Li Chen could even see her thick, long eyelashes and the lingering, cold anger in her eyes.

His heart skipped a beat.

"Li Chen".

Her voice was low, with a dangerous husky quality.

"Um?"

"In the future, if something like this happens again..."

She paused, as if searching for a suitable word.

Then, she looked into his eyes and said, word by word.

"I don't want to have to be the one to chase away those buzzing flies for you anymore."

"Do you understand?"