Chapter 351: Yan Zhusheng

On Thursday evening, after the last class of the afternoon ended, the Gao Er students sprang into action.

Some moved materials, others set up stalls, while those responsible for guarding the stalls afterward hurried off to eat, eager to return early and avoid being late.

Meanwhile, the Gao Yi freshmen, just as Li Luo and his classmates had done last year, stepped out of the classroom building with curiosity and wonder, watching the busy figures of the Gao Er seniors and the array of makeshift stalls along the way to the cafeteria.

"Which club are you planning to join?" asked a mild-mannered boy with rimless glasses, adjusting his glasses as he turned to Lin Suifeng.

"Not decided yet—I'll take a walk after dinner and see," Lin Suifeng replied, then turned to Jiang Songhe beside him, "What about you?"

"I'm joining the Rock Club," Jiang Songhe said.

"Oh right, you used to play bass."

"Didn't you play drums for a while too?" Jiang Songhe asked. "Aren't you coming with me?"

"Maybe later," Lin Suifeng replied indifferently—he didn't care much which club he joined, but his mind kept drifting to the tall figure of the high-pigtail senior, and he wanted to stroll around first to see if he could find her club.

If possible, he'd join her club—maybe there'd be some interaction afterward…

Thinking of this, Lin Suifeng felt a little embarrassed, yet his heartbeat quickened slightly.

The senior was simply too beautiful; her demeanor and posture perfectly matched Lin Suifeng's fantasy of an ideal girlfriend.

Especially that serious, expressionless face—every glance sent a shiver through him.

He'd previously assumed that academically gifted students at Fuyi High were unlikely to include many pretty girls.

At best, he'd imagined someone like their vice-class-president Jiang Liuxian—delicate and cute—which had already exceeded his expectations.

But he hadn't expected that on his very first morning run after enrollment, he'd encounter three girls more beautiful than Jiang Liuxian—it was truly stunning.

It shattered his original rule: he'd only ever been attracted to girls younger than him.

Since then, every morning run for the past few days had brought him face-to-face with the high-pigtail senior, and now, whenever he had a free moment, her slender figure filled his thoughts.

With these thoughts in mind, Lin Suifeng followed his good friend Jiang Songhe toward the cafeteria to grab dinner.

On the other side, Li Luo first went to the Rock Club's stall, helping Xie Shuchen set it up—erecting the frame, then adjusting the microphones and speakers.

"Should we start singing now?" Yan Zhusheng stood before the microphone, watching the crowded crowd passing along Houdé Road, and asked.

"Don't rush," Li Luo chuckled. "Everyone's heading to the cafeteria now—why sing yet? Wait at least twenty minutes until the first wave of people come to browse the stalls."

"Oh." Yan Zhusheng nodded obediently. Seeing Li Luo finish organizing the stall and prepare to leave, he asked, "Are you going to see Chanxi now?"

"Yeah," Li Luo nodded. "I'll be with Chanxi at the Literature Club for the next hour, then come back around five-thirty."

"Is Li Luo leaving?" At that moment, Niu Qingling returned from the convenience store, arms full of bread, ham sausages, and drinks—apparently planning to skip dinner that evening. "I bought your dinners too, Li Luo—do you want yours?"

"No thanks," Li Luo shook his head, waving his hand. "I'm off—good luck, I'll be back later."

After leaving the Rock Club's stall, Li Luo wandered over to the Literature Club's stall.

Their stall was positioned directly opposite the main exit of the Gao Yi classroom building—an excellent spot Li Luo had helped Xu Youyu secure.

The Rock Club, struggling with a lack of new members, still desperately needed fresh blood.

Unlike the Literature Club, which already attracted ten or twenty applicants each year just from students who had won essay contests or scored full marks on their high school entrance essay exams.

Add in other applicants, and they typically enrolled over thirty new members annually.

Though nowhere near the scale of the Anime Club or Basketball Club, it was certainly far better than the Rock Club.

Compared to the Rock Club's stall, the Literature Club's was nestled under the shade of trees near the Gao San classroom building.

When Li Luo arrived, the stall had already been erected by Liu Shaowen, Lin Yuan, and several other boys.

Ying Chanxi, like Niu Qingling, had just returned from queuing at the convenience store, arms full of bread brands Li Luo liked and his favorite large-bottle plain Lizi Yuan drink.

After seeing off Liu Shaowen and the others, Li Luo and Ying Chanxi sat down inside the stall.

Ying Chanxi happily spread her purchases across the table, then picked out the items Li Luo favored and pushed them toward him.

Watching him insert a straw into the Lizi Yuan, take a sip, then tear open the bread packaging and savor each bite, Ying Chanxi finally opened her own bread and began eating it slowly, in small bites.

"Help me twist this open," Ying Chanxi handed him a bottle of fresh milk; he opened it for her, and after taking a small sip, she felt it was sweeter than her usual milk.

Sitting side by side under the tree shade, Ying Chanxi savored this rare moment of solitude with Li Luo, occasionally chatting with him, and happily swung her feet.

Only when Gao Yi freshmen began arriving from the cafeteria and started browsing the stalls did Li Luo and Ying Chanxi tidy up the table and prepare for recruitment.

To be fair, other clubs had to scramble—shouting at their stalls, handing out flyers along Houdé Road.

But the Literature Club didn't need any of that.

All Ying Chanxi had to do was sit quietly there, and applicants would line up to ask for details.

With Li Luo beside her, Ying Chanxi didn't even need to ask whether someone had won essay awards—she'd just glance at Li Luo, see him shake his head, then immediately pull out a sheet of paper with literary-themed questions and smile politely: "Five questions total—get three right, and you're eligible to join our Literature Club. Want to try?"

Facing such a sweet, adorable girl, when she said "Want to try?"—no boy could possibly resist.

Soon, a row of boys sat hunched over the table, grunting as they solved the questions.

Within about ten minutes, over twenty application forms had piled up on the table.

Of course, there were also plenty of girls who came to inquire.

After all, at the high school level, the Literature Club still held greater appeal for girls than for boys.

Most boys probably still dreamed of joining the Anime Club or Basketball Club.

Under these circumstances, some girls also came to inquire about joining—but all of them approached Li Luo.

No other reason: Ying Chanxi was simply too beautiful; most girls instinctively avoided her and chose Li Luo instead.

Besides, Li Luo was handsome, and girls were happy to talk to him.

At that moment, a familiar figure walked over from the cafeteria.

Li Luo looked up as Jiang Liuxian arrived at the stall and raised an eyebrow with a smile: "You're joining too?"

"Mm-hmm," Jiang Liuxian nodded obediently, glanced at Ying Chanxi, who was busy handling the boys, then turned to Li Luo and said, "Senior, do I need to take the test too?"

"You don't need to," Li Luo shook his head.

"Huh?" Before Li Luo finished speaking, the short-haired girl beside Jiang Liuxian leaned forward and asked, "Why doesn't Jiang Jiang need to? Do I need to take the test, Senior?"

"You're Ai Kesi from Class Five, Gao Yi, right?" Li Luo glanced at the short-haired girl, then shook his head. "If you want to join, you should still take the test."

"Senior, you're not falling for Jiang Jiang, are you? Trying to get her in through the back door?" Ai Kesi teased with a grin, making Jiang Liuxian's face flush bright red as she hurriedly stopped her.

"Kesi, don't talk nonsense," Jiang Liuxian said, her face still flushed. "I—I'll do the problems with you."

"Jiang Liuxian got full marks on the Chinese composition in the high school entrance exam, didn't she?" Ying Chanxi, who had apparently overheard, turned coldly toward them. "Any student who has won a composition award or scored full marks on the Chinese composition may join our literature club without doing the test—that's our tradition. There's no such thing as 'back door entry.' Watch your wording."

"Cough… don't scare her," Li Luo interrupted Ying Chanxi, pulled out a test paper from beside him, handed it to Ai Kesi, then placed an application form into Jiang Liuxian's hands.

? ￠o

Soon, after Jiang Liuxian finished filling out the application, Ai Kesi also completed her questions successfully and earned eligibility to join.

After leaving the literature club booth, Ai Kesi whispered in Jiang Liuxian's ear: "This senior looks pretty handsome, but he's actually kind of soft. That senior beside him seems so fierce—he doesn't even dare speak. Maybe he's even her admirer?"

"Stop guessing wildly," Jiang Liuxian said helplessly. "Senior Li Luo is class monitor of Class 8, Grade 2. That girl beside him is vice-class monitor Ying Chanxi. They're both great people. She got angry because you said something wrong."

"I didn't know your literature club's rules," Ai Kesi pouted. "I really thought that senior was trying to hit on you."

"I already said he's not—" Jiang Liuxian murmured. "Besides, Senior Li Luo is actually really nice. Even… um… let's go check out that other stall."

"Even what? You're not actually attracted to him, are you?" Ai Kesi widened her eyes, pressing urgently.

"No way! I just have a little bit of a crush," Jiang Liuxian said, pinching her fingers to show a tiny distance, then added, "Didn't you notice? He just called out your name and class right away. I think he's amazing—he remembers so many people's names."

"I don't think that's impressive," Ai Kesi snorted. "Knowing our names is normal—we used to be called…"

"Stop it!" Jiang Liuxian cut her off quickly. "That childhood stuff is so embarrassing. Shut up."

The two girls chatted and laughed as they continued wandering the stalls.

Meanwhile, at Li Luo's booth, after nearly an hour of bustle, Hua Xiuxiu and Lin Yuan arrived.

"Shift change," Lin Yuan said as he approached the booth. "You and vice-monitor go rest. We'll take over here—me and Xiuxiu."

"Oh? You're calling her Xiuxiu now?" Li Luo teased softly.

Lin Yuan's face turned red. "Aren't you also using the vice-monitor's nickname? What's wrong with me calling Xiuxiu?"

"I've known her since childhood—we're childhood friends. What about you?"

"Senior, you're so annoying. Just go already," Lin Yuan pushed him. "If you keep talking like this, I'll recommend your books to the underclassmen."

"You damn—fine, I'm leaving! But don't you dare spread rumors about me, or I'll kill you!"

After leaving the literature club booth, Ying Chanxi followed Li Luo toward the south. "Are we going to Zhusheng's place?"

"Mm. Want to go take a look?"

"Sure!" Ying Chanxi skipped beside him, hands behind her back. "I'll go with you."

The two walked together toward the spot. As they neared the Grade 1 teaching building, they suddenly realized the area was packed with people, all staring at something.

But Li Luo's heart stirred—he pulled Ying Chanxi forward into the crowd, already guessing what it was.

Ying Chanxi let him tug her sleeve, secretly delighted, obediently following behind him as he pulled her along.

Before they could push to the front, music erupted from the center of the crowd.

Just hearing the intro, Li Luo instantly recognized it—Yuan Wanqing's version of "Empty Heart."

"Love was once the only faith~ Gazing at each other, binding us tight~"

Yan Zhusheng's familiar voice rang out, instantly capturing everyone's attention.

"Back then, simple and so foolish~ Yet more joyfully unparalleled~"

As soon as these two lines came, the faint sorrow and grievance in Yan Zhusheng's singing, and the nostalgic longing in the latter half, struck a deep chord in everyone's heart.

Li Luo pulled Ying Chanxi to the front row and, seeing that the singer was indeed Yan Zhusheng, was slightly surprised.

After all, in his mind, Yan Zhusheng was never the type to sing this song.

Especially the emotional depth required—Yan Zhusheng's ability made it hard to handle.

If it were the chorus's high notes, it might've been fine, but in the verses, for Yan Zhusheng to sing this, Li Luo believed most students wouldn't notice the quality—but the emotional handling in those few lines still made Li Luo's eyes light up.

Compared to last year, the emotion was far more refined.

When Yan Zhusheng recorded "Year Rings," she had to call Li Luo specifically, asking him to reject her confession so she could barely summon the right emotion.

Now, it seemed she could summon it effortlessly.

And when the song reached the chorus, Yan Zhusheng fully let go.

"Finally I know love has wings~ How can I hold it when it must fly~"

"Even this hollow heart wants to be freed! But longing is stronger than hate~"

As these lines came, Yan Zhusheng instinctively spread her arms, completely immersed in the atmosphere of sorrow and desolation.

The soaring high notes stunned the students present.

While lost in Yan Zhusheng's voice, no one expected that someone in Fuyi High had a girl this good at singing.

From the earlier introduction, this senior was the lead singer of the rock club.

Whether male or female, everyone watching Yan Zhusheng pouring herself out on stage felt the same thought rise.

—That sister is so cool!

So awesome!

But it wasn't over.

When the second chorus ended, Yan Zhusheng furrowed her brow deeply, bent forward with sorrow, gripped the microphone, and raised the key another notch.

"If you can't let go, don't fear sorrow! I hate how hot my love for you is~"

"Deep love is like fate! No way to stop it~"

As she sang the final line, Yan Zhusheng clearly spotted Li Luo in the crowd—and beside him, Ying Chanxi. In that moment, her emotion exploded, sweeping everyone into a tide of sorrow.

The song ended.

The crowd fell utterly silent.

Only when Li Luo began clapping did the others slowly come back to themselves.

Thunderous applause erupted, lasting long and loud.

Xie Shuchen also chimed in from the side: "This is your senior Yan Zhusheng, our rock club's lead vocalist."

"If you'd like to join Senior Yan in singing with the band, sign up right now!"

"Also, for every additional five people who meet the registration criteria, our rock club will perform a song live—please look forward to it."

This tactic worked remarkably well.

After Yan Zhusheng finished singing, a steady stream of people flooded toward the rock club's booth.

Even though many had never played an instrument, that didn't stop them from coming to join the buzz.

Those who wanted to hear another song rushed off to drag along classmates who could play instruments, just to hear Yan Zhusheng sing once more.

"What do you think?" Jiang Songhe exhaled slowly after hearing Yan Zhusheng's performance, turning to Lin Suifeng beside him. "I think the rock club at Fu Yi High is amazing. Want to sign up with me?"

Lin Suifeng didn't answer him, his gaze fixed intently on the senior with the high ponytail resting behind the booth.

At this moment, he felt his heart pounding violently, the scene of her singing still swirling endlessly in his mind.

The senior who had always seemed cold and expressionless during morning runs had, when fully immersed in singing, unleashed a staggering presence and energy—truly shattering Lin Suifeng's initial impression of her.

But precisely because of that, Lin Suifeng touched his wildly beating chest and felt he might already be captivated.

Though they weren't meeting for the first time, this must be what falling in love at first sight felt like?

"Hey!" Jiang Songhe waved a hand in front of his face. "What are you zoning out for, bro? Are you signing up or not?"

"Cough…" Lin Suifeng, always more reserved and low-key in front of friends, rarely revealed his feelings.

So under Jiang Songhe's urging, he reluctantly said, "Since you put it that way, I'll go along with you."

Though he spoke casually, as he approached the rock club's booth, Lin Suifeng tensed his body, his mind still racing.

What was the senior's name again that the guy just mentioned?

Yan Zhusheng?

He didn't know which three characters those were.

Lin Suifeng felt a faint itch to ask, but then thought—if he got selected for the club, he'd see this senior often anyway, so there was no need to rush.

So he and Jiang Songhe joined the line and filled out their application forms.

Seeing how many people were signing up, Lin Suifeng filled his form meticulously, even listing the encouragement awards he'd received from his drumming instructor during his early lessons, terrified he wouldn't be chosen.

At that moment, Lin Suifeng saw Yan Zhusheng suddenly stand up and jog over to the side.

Turning to follow her back, Lin Suifeng noticed she stopped in front of a man and a woman, looking quite happy.

It was Senior Li Luo and Senior Ying Chanxi.

After seeing their faces, Lin Suifeng suddenly understood, then couldn't help but feel envious and moved—these three really had a close bond.

He didn't know why.

Were they junior high classmates?

Senior Li Luo was truly lucky, being so close to two such beautiful girls.

But from what he'd observed so far, Lin Suifeng felt Li Luo was closer to Ying Chanxi.

Over the past two days, while accompanying Li Luo and Ying Chanxi to adjust to the student council's work, he'd subtly probed and learned Li Luo was still single—so seeing Yan Zhusheng so close to him didn't worry him much.

After all, they'd been together in high school for at least a year and still hadn't confirmed anything privately—so the chances were probably slim.

"What are you staring at?" Jiang Songhe noticed Lin Suifeng's gaze and followed it. "You're not into Senior Yan, are you?"

"W-what are you talking about?" Lin Suifeng's face tightened instantly. "I was just looking at Senior Li Luo—he's the one guiding me through student council duties."

"Good." Jiang Songhe nodded, then added, "I really like Senior Yan. Do you think she'd say yes if I asked her out?"

Lin Suifeng: "…?"

"You've only met her once and already say you like her?"

"What's wrong with that?" Jiang Songhe looked at him oddly. "Senior Yan's singing is incredibly charming—I really like it."

"Didn't you just say you'd focus on studying and not date after getting into Fu Yi?" Lin Suifeng muttered through gritted teeth.

"So what?" Jiang Songhe adjusted his glasses, a smile appearing on his pale face. "A vow or slogan is made to be broken."

"Tsk." Lin Suifeng couldn't help but click his tongue. "She probably won't even look at you."

"Right." Jiang Songhe nodded. "You understand."

"Wait—" Lin Suifeng stared as Jiang Songhe turned and walked away, frozen for a moment. Coming to his senses, he sprinted after him. "What do you mean?! Lao Jiang! Stop right there! Are you messing with me?!"