Chapter 354: I Have Someone I Like

The literature club's activity room was already packed with people.

Technically, clubs automatically dissolve when students reach Gao San.

But in practice, if someone loses interest in the club, they can skip activities entirely—even from Gao Yi onward.

So while the total number of Gao Yi and Gao Er members was around seventy, only about forty showed up for this first club meeting of the semester.

As Xu Youyu entered, the previously lively classroom fell silent at once.

Watching the senior take her seat on the podium with such commanding presence, Li Luo couldn't help but feel dazed.

Turning to look at the students below, he saw that under Xu Youyu's gaze, their murmurs quickly ceased and all eyes turned toward her.

I have to say, back when she was in school, Xu Youyu was quite prestigious.

These students could never imagine that Xu Youyu was this way at school, but completely different at home, and yet another persona entirely in Li Luo's bedroom—something even Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng had never seen.

As he thought of this, Li Luo's gaze drifted to Xu Youyu, seated upright on the podium, and an unusual emotion stirred in his chest.

It made his heart itch for no reason.

On the podium, Xu Youyu glanced at the clock and, unlike her stern demeanor at the student council, smiled while propping her chin: "This isn't a classroom, and I'm not your teacher—feel free to chat or do whatever. We've still got ten minutes before we start. Why so quiet?"

After she spoke, the murmurs below gradually resumed.

But most of the discussion centered on Xu Youyu, the club president, and also drew some attention to Li Luo and Ying Chanxi, who had entered with her.

Especially those members whom Li Luo and Ying Chanxi had personally invited in recent days now knew their identities: vice presidents of the literature club.

The Gao Er students, in particular, knew that after National Day, when Senior Xu steps down, one of these two will be elected president and take over the literature club's banner.

"Our club president is the student council president?" Ai Kesi asked in a whisper from her window-side seat in the third row, to Jiang Liuxian.

"Yeah, so what?"

"So beautiful," Ai Kesi glanced again at Xu Youyu, then cupped her own flat chest and sighed, "And so big! Much bigger than yours."

"What are you saying?!" Jiang Liuxian blushed furiously and quickly clapped a hand over her mouth, "That's so rude—you can't say things like that!"

"Mmm… mmph…" Ai Kesi struggled briefly, then broke free and declared, "I'm just telling the truth! Can I not even compliment someone?"

"But I noticed that the senior named Li Luo and the senior Ying Chanxi came in with that Xu senior."

"Are they the vice presidents?"

"Yes," Jiang Liuxian nodded. "After registration ended, they came back to see me again to confirm I'd join."

"That proves you're exactly the kind of talent the literature club can't afford to lose," Ai Kesi grinned.

"Not really," Jiang Liuxian shook her head. "I just got full marks on the Chinese composition in the high school entrance exam—pure luck."

"You're just too modest."

Below, the students chatted merrily. Onstage, Xu Youyu checked the time, and when it reached 1 p. m., she tapped the podium to signal silence.

"Alright, it's one o'clock. Let's begin today's activity."

"Today is our first literature club meeting of the new semester—and the first time our new members join our family."

"I'm glad you've chosen the literature club as the place where you'll create beautiful memories during high school."

"Our club rules are loose: besides submitting one original piece per month, everything else is up to you—come and go as you please."

"Of course, one piece per month is just the minimum—if you're highly motivated, submitting a hundred is fine."

"There are no genre restrictions—poetry, prose, novels, all welcome."

"Each month's submissions will be reviewed by our club advisor, Professor Kong; outstanding pieces will be selected for publication in our monthly journal and distributed to all classes for circulation."

"At the end of each semester, we'll hold a vote to select the most popular piece from the journal."

"The top three will be posted on the school bulletin board and receive a small reward."

Here, Xu Youyu paused, turned to look at Li Luo seated alone at the desk to the left of the podium, then smiled: "Next is the self-introduction segment—our future president, Li Luo, will lead it."

Li Luo cleared his throat with two coughs, and felt no nervousness at all.

He didn't pull out a list or follow the traditional method of calling names one by one for standing introductions. Instead, he rose casually and turned to a boy near the window: "Wu Yihang, right? The top student from Class One, Gao Yi?"

"... Senior, hello," Wu Yihang, startled by being called out, froze for a moment, then stood up quickly and nodded. "I'm Wu Yihang."

"No need to be nervous," Li Luo stepped forward, patted his shoulder, and gestured for him to sit. "We're just chatting, getting to know each other—no need to stand."

"You like poetry, especially Ci poetry from the Song Dynasty—you really enjoy it. In middle school, you even entered the city's poetry contest and won first prize."

"Let's keep it simple: among the poems you learned in middle school, which one do you like best?"

Wu Yihang had never faced this kind of self-introduction. After a brief pause, he said: "'Qing Yu An'—Xin Qiji's 'Qing Yu An.' I love it."

"'Searching for her a thousand times among the crowd, suddenly turning my head, there she stands, where the lantern light is dim'?" Li Luo said.

"Yes," Wu Yihang nodded. "But I especially love the line: 'The flute's melody stirs, the jade lamp turns, all night long fish and dragons dance.' It's so beautiful."

"Mm," Li Luo nodded, didn't press further, and turned to a girl on the other side of the room.

The girl also loved poetry, so Li Luo smoothly invited her to speak.

All this information about each person's literary interests had been written in their application forms.

Li Luo had read them once and memorized them all; now he used them perfectly, avoiding the tedious, robotic self-introductions of past years.

Besides, others rarely paid attention during traditional introductions—and even if they did, they wouldn't remember.

But under Li Luo's conversational style, no one knew who he'd call next, so everyone unconsciously listened closely.

And since Li Luo's topics were exactly what each student had written on their forms—their own favorite subjects—they spoke freely and naturally.

Before anyone realized it, over thirty Gao Yi newcomers had all been introduced.

Only when they snapped back to awareness did they realize they'd already formed a rough impression of their fellow club members.

They couldn't yet recall everyone's names, but at least they remembered the names of those with similar interests.

This kind of introduction reduced tension, added fun, and created a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere.

After Li Luo finished, everyone's gaze toward him grew more admiring.

The future president, once merely appointed by Xu Youyu's word, was now fully confirmed in their hearts—accepted without reservation.

"Alright, introductions are done." Xu Youyu clapped his hands and smiled. "Now that we've all gotten to know each other a bit, let's move on to our literature club's traditional activity—a signature feature of our club."

As he spoke, Xu Youyu turned his gaze to Ying Chanxi on the right.

Ying Chanxi understood at once. She pulled out a thick stack of envelopes and letter paper from her drawer, handed them to Li Luo to distribute, then said to everyone:

"Our literature club has a tradition: writing pen pal letters."

"Whether you want to make friends, vent, complain, or just unload."

"We all have things we want to say, but sometimes we're too shy to speak up, or the words won't come out, or there's no one around to share them with."

"So members of our literature club can write pen pal letters to each other, to express feelings we can't share with anyone else."

"First-year students writing pen pal letters for the first time can choose your pen pal based on the introductions you just heard."

"There's no limit to how many letters you can write—you can write several."

"If you receive a pen pal letter, you may choose to reply or not. If you do reply, you must state whether you accept them as your pen pal."

"If two people agree to exchange letters, they can write to each other regularly from now on."

"Of course, if someone declines your invitation, don't press further. Respecting each other's choices is most important."

Jiang Liuxian's eyes brightened as she received her envelope and paper. She glanced at her best friend Aikesi beside her, then up at Li Luo on stage, pursed her lips, lost in thought.

Beside her, Aikesi glanced at her, then immediately raised her hand. "Senior, can first-years write pen pal letters to second-year seniors?"

"Of course," Ying Chanxi smiled, then pointed to Xu Youyu. "Even third-year seniors are fine."

"But they won't reply," Xu Youyu chuckled, propping his chin. "Don't waste your time on me—I already have a pen pal. I don't need another."

Below, after getting a confirmed answer, Aikesi whispered to Jiang Liuxian: "The senior said it's allowed. Are you planning to write to Senior Li Luo?"

"Y-You're not supposed to say that!" Jiang Liuxian gripped the letter paper tightly, cheeks flushed. "I never said I'd write to him. Why are you guessing?"

Aikesi rolled her eyes. "We've known each other for years—I can read your face like a book. And honestly, he's not bad."

"Huh?" Jiang Liuxian blinked, confused. "Didn't you say he wasn't a good guy just two days ago?"

"Cough..." Aikesi cleared her throat. "During the introductions, he looked pretty handsome."

"Really? You think so too?"

"Too? Hmph—I knew it!"

"Ugh... stop talking."

After all envelopes and paper were distributed, Li Luo said: "If you need more after you finish, come up to the stage. We've prepared plenty—no need to worry about running out."

The classroom fell silent, save for the rustle of paper on desks and the scratch of pens gliding across sheets.

Li Luo also pulled out two sheets of paper, spun his pen thoughtfully, then glanced at Xu Youyu and Ying Chanxi.

Ying Chanxi was already bent over, writing intently.

Xu Youyu, however, was smiling as she propped her cheek, tilting her head toward him. Seeing him look over, she slid over to his side, leaned on the podium, and whispered: "I bet you'll get a lot of letters today—at least ten."

"Senior, you're so childish."

"What's the harm in guessing? Isn't it great that you're so popular?"

"If you hadn't said that just now, you probably wouldn't have fewer."

"I only want your letter and Xi Xi's."

"So you think I still need letters from other girls?"

"I never said all letters are from girls. Why assume they're all girls?" Xu Youyu chuckled. "That's gender bias. Don't boys admire you as the future club president? Can't they want to be your pen pal too?"

Li Luo: "..."

Xu Youyu wasn't wrong.

In the next half-hour, some members finished their letters and began delivering them to their chosen pen pals.

Li Luo quickly received three letters from girls—but besides them, even Wu Yihang, the first boy he'd called out earlier, had two boys write him letters too.

Looking at the five letters on his desk, Li Luo whistled. He thought: My charm really does work on both genders.

As time passed, by three in the afternoon, all literature club members had finished writing their pen pal letters.

In the third row by the window, Jiang Liuxian first wrote a letter to Aikesi, then bent over and wrote another.

But after finishing that second letter, she didn't send it right away. She sat there, torn for a long while, then wrote a third.

Only when classmates began finishing and leaving one by one, and the room grew emptier, did Jiang Liuxian finally gather her courage. She grabbed her two letters and walked up to the podium.

"Senior Ying... this... this is for you." Jiang Liuxian blinked shyly, offering one letter to Ying Chanxi.

After Ying Chanxi took it, she stepped to Li Luo and handed him the other. "Senior Li Luo... this... this... uh... it's for you."

"Oh, thanks," Li Luo glanced at Jiang Liuxian, then reached out and took it.

Having delivered the letters, Jiang Liuxian was utterly drained. Watching Li Luo accept them, she collapsed like a deflated balloon and floated back to her seat.

"You sent them after all—still pretending you wouldn't," Aikesi chuckled.

"I-I just wanted to thank you both for helping me these past two days," Jiang Liuxian whispered. "You helped me a lot with the student council stuff."

"We know, we know," Aikesi waved her hand. "Now that you've sent them, you can leave. Shall we go?"

"Mm... let's go."

Watching classmates file out until only the three of them remained, Li Luo finally stretched, handed his two finished letters to Xu Youyu and Ying Chanxi, then took the letters addressed to himself from them.

"Hmph." Ying Chanxi shoved all letters she received—except Li Luo's—into her bag in a heap, then carefully placed Li Luo's letter into a hidden compartment. She stood, glanced at his desk piled high with envelopes, and snorted. "So popular, huh, Club President?"

"Why are you being sarcastic with me?" Li Luo rolled his eyes. "Aren't you drowning in letters too? Those are all first-years admiring you."

"I got letters from girls too!" Ying Chanxi pouted.

"My fourteen letters include three from boys," Li Luo said, setting aside Xu Youyu's and Ying Chanxi's letters and stuffing the rest into his bag. "Since I won't reply anyway, I'll just glance and store them."

"Ah, the burden of being too popular," Xu Youyu sighed, shaking the three letters she held—none from Li Luo or Ying Chanxi. "I told them I didn't want any, yet people still wrote me. So frustrating."

Each tucked their letters away. Xu Youyu yawned, then asked Li Luo: "Aren't you going to the rock club next?"

"Yeah."

"Then I'll head home first." Xu Youyu looked at Ying Chanxi. "What about you, Xixi? Come back with me?"

"I want to check out the rock club too," Ying Chanxi said quickly. "Senior, you go ahead—I'll go with Li Luo and take a look around there."

"Alright, then I'm off."

The three left the activity room together. After seeing Xu Youyu off at the gym entrance, Li Luo and Ying Chanxi headed toward the rock club's room on the second floor.

Meanwhile, inside the room.

Niu Qingling warmly welcomed the seven new first-year students and casually mentioned that Yan Zhusheng would be the new club president.

According to tradition, the rock club's first performance was at the parent-teacher meeting, for all the first-year students' parents.

Then came the sports day and New Year's Eve party.

After briefly outlining the semester's schedule for Yan Zhusheng, Niu Qingling handed over the task of selecting songs to her.

Yan Zhusheng had no intention of consulting the members; she immediately settled on "Under the Flying Cloud" and "The Sky Has No Limits" as this year's main songs for preliminary practice.

But today was the rock club's first gathering of the semester, so everyone's main goal was simply to get to know each other.

And since there were so many new members, even with makeshift pairings, they could already form two full bands before Niu Qingling left—this lineup was nothing short of luxurious.

But Lin Suifeng seemed distracted today, occasionally glancing at Yan Zhusheng, his mood unusually bright.

He now knew the senior's name was Yan Zhusheng. Niu Qingling had clearly introduced her, and Lin Suifeng had memorized every single character of her name.

Yet Yan Zhusheng appeared awkward with words; most of the talking was done by Niu Qingling, while Yan Zhusheng only occasionally murmured in agreement. After setting the performance songs, she simply told everyone to get familiar with the sheet music, saying nothing more.

In the entire activity room, apart from Niu Qingling, only Xie Shuchen was keeping the atmosphere alive.

Watching this scene, Niu Qingling felt a headache coming on.

She had really wanted Li Luo to take over as rock club president.

After all, with Li Luo's personality and ability, if he became president, she could finally rest easy and hand over the club entirely.

But Li Luo had already refused before, and Niu Qingling didn't want to pressure him.

Xie Shuchen, in fact, was the second choice.

Yet Xie Shuchen knew his limits—he felt Yan Zhusheng was more suitable.

After all, after last year's performances, in both skill and fame, Yan Zhusheng was the most outstanding member of the rock club.

So, under Xie Shuchen's refusal, Niu Qingling had no choice but to entrust the presidency to Yan Zhusheng.

This wasn't because Niu Qingling looked down on Yan Zhusheng and refused to choose her.

It was simply that she felt Yan Zhusheng's personality wasn't quite right…

For instance, right now—unless Niu Qingling spoke, Yan Zhusheng ignored the new students entirely, completely lost in her own world.

That was quite troubling.

If Li Luo were here, things would probably be much better.

Niu Qingling sighed, hoping the literature club would hurry up and release Li Luo soon.

Just as Niu Qingling was troubled by these thoughts, Lin Suifeng gathered his courage, stepped closer to Yan Zhusheng, cleared his throat twice, and greeted her: "Senior Yan, hello. I'm Lin Suifeng. You remember me—I run on the track every morning."

Yan Zhusheng was humming a tune, her eyes occasionally glancing toward the door, hoping for a familiar figure to appear.

Interrupted by Lin Suifeng, she turned to him—but didn't respond to his greeting. Instead, she suddenly tilted her head and asked: "Do you like me?"

This direct hit left Lin Suifeng stunned in place. He opened his mouth, unsure what to say: "This… um…"

"I don't like you," Yan Zhusheng said, not looking at him. Through the window, she spotted two familiar figures outside, and her eyes instantly curved into a joyful smile. "Besides, I already like someone."

"If you joined the club because of that, please leave."

"The rock club doesn't need people like you."

After saying this, Yan Zhusheng rushed to the door, pushed it open, and ran out.

Left behind, Lin Suifeng stood frozen, completely overwhelmed by Yan Zhusheng's barrage of words, sweat prickling down his back.

His face turned pale.

"Are you okay?"

Jiang Songhe noticed something was off and came over to check on him. "What did you say to the senior?"

"I… I didn't say anything…" Lin Suifeng looked bewildered, his face tinged with bitterness and hurt.

"Did you just confess to her?"

"Do I look like I have a death wish? I just said hi!" Lin Suifeng muttered through gritted teeth. "Senior Yan is just too weird—she's so blunt, I didn't even know how to respond."

"Exactly," Jiang Songhe nodded. "She probably doesn't even notice you."

"You bastard—" Lin Suifeng grabbed his best friend by the neck. "I'm already hurt, and you're stabbing me in the heart!"

The two wrestled around inside the activity room.

Meanwhile, Yan Zhusheng had already dashed down the hallway to greet Li Luo and Ying Chanxi, who were walking up from downstairs.

"Why are you waiting here?"

"I saw you coming from the window," Yan Zhusheng said, taking Li Luo's hand and leading him toward the room. "Acting president, let me introduce you to the new members. Get to know them well."

Watching this, Ying Chanxi's eyes widened. She hurried after them, staring at Yan Zhusheng's grip on Li Luo's wrist, swallowing hard, wanting to say something—but Yan Zhusheng had already pulled Li Luo to the door and let go of his hand, giving her no chance to speak.

Seeing this, Ying Chanxi puffed out her cheeks, slightly sulky as she followed them inside.