Chapter 766

In the afternoon, Xu Youyu finished eating and returned to his room to catch up on sleep.

Ying Chanxi drove the Audi A8 to Yuan Wanqing's studio to continue handling matters related to TikTok.

Li Luo accompanied Yan Zhusheng onto Yan Zhusheng's Mercedes, arriving at the east playground of Qianjiang University.

It was just past one in the afternoon; the music festival had already begun.

The official opening ceremony on the stage to the east was nearing its end.

As Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng walked into the playground, they heard the host on the stage announce that the music festival had officially started.

There were quite a few people gathered to watch, but not an overwhelming crowd; walking through it wasn't crowded.

But to Li Luo's surprise, shortly after the two entered the playground, a swarm of people surged around them, completely surrounding them.

"Is that Yan Zhusheng? Wow wow wow! It's really her!"

"Is the one beside her Chongran?"

"Can you sign something? Right here, right here!"

"By the way, are you two dating? Can I ask that?"

"You look even more beautiful in person than on TV."

The crowd's enthusiasm was so intense that after the festival opened, few spectators remained to watch the singers and bands preparing to perform on the surrounding stages.

Everyone had come to chase stars.

Even some bands scheduled to perform had their lead singers sneak down to get autographs.

Li Luo exerted great effort to pull Yan Zhusheng away from the crowd, running all the way to the back of the main eastern stage before finally escaping the crowd's view.

The president of Ziyou Qiyin Society saw the two stumble in, breathless, and chuckled: "Looks like you're quite popular?"

"Everyone's just too enthusiastic," Li Luo said helplessly. "We never get this back at school."

"You have to remember, this is a music festival," the president replied, spreading his hands. "At school, classmates are just music fans at best—they might not even know who's singing."

"But anyone who comes to a music festival has at least some musical literacy—they can at least recognize who's singing a song."

"Besides, take a look at how this festival's promotional poster was designed."

Here, the president couldn't help laughing: "Many people came here specifically for you two—wouldn't you get excited seeing them in person?"

Li Luo hadn't considered this angle—he'd overlooked it.

Mostly because the only signing event he'd ever attended before was a book signing, where fans were relatively restrained.

So when he came along to accompany Yan Zhusheng to the music festival, he hadn't anticipated this.

"Here, take these," the president handed them each a mask. "Yan Zhusheng, you could change your hairstyle—then no one will recognize you."

"Thank you, president," Li Luo took the mask, handed one to Yan Zhusheng, then put his own on.

After putting on the mask, Yan Zhusheng followed the president's advice, letting down her high ponytail, circling her long hair with both hands, thinking for a moment, then finally tying it into a bun.

Honestly, Li Luo was used to seeing Yan Zhusheng's high ponytail—it always gave off a youthful, energetic vibe.

But Yan Zhusheng usually wore a blank expression, so there was also a touch of coldness mixed in.

She had the look of a pure yet aloof campus goddess.

But now, with her hair tied up in a bun, Li Luo wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but her aloofness seemed slightly diminished, replaced by a hint of maturity.

"Doesn't it look good?" Yan Zhusheng noticed Li Luo staring at her bun and asked, puzzled.

Seeing her faintly furrowed brows and the new aura she carried, Li Luo raised an eyebrow slightly, then smiled: "It's a different style from usual—both are beautiful, but I've never seen you wear a bun before. It looks fresh."

"Really?" Yan Zhusheng shook her head slightly, not feeling the swing of her long ponytail, still a little unaccustomed.

But since Li Luo liked it, she'd pretend to like it too.

"President, we're going to take a walk around," Li Luo said to him.

"Go ahead, go ahead," the president waved his hand. "I've got to prepare too—I'm on stage soon."

"Good luck, president. We'll come watch your performance later."

"Hope I don't embarrass myself in front of you two," the president chuckled. "You two—good luck tonight too."

After exiting the backstage area of the eastern stage, the two masked figures moved through the crowd, no longer worried about being surrounded or harassed, free to enjoy the performances on stage.

And Yan Zhusheng discovered another advantage of wearing a mask.

"Let's not hold hands here?" Li Luo felt Yan Zhusheng's small hand slip into his palm and whispered a reminder.

"With the mask on, no one recognizes us," Yan Zhusheng whispered back. "We won't hold hands when we take it off."

Yan Zhusheng didn't think she was as clueless as her sister—when speaking publicly, she always introduced herself as Li Luo's cousin.

Only in situations where no one would recognize her did she sneakily do naughty things.

In comparison, her own sister was just immature.

Thinking this, Yan Zhusheng tightened her grip on Li Luo's hand, and soon after, she simply wrapped her arms around his arm.

Two masked people strolled through the playground, visiting stages in every direction to watch performances by other schools' bands.

Li Luo thought everyone's skill level was pretty decent, but Yan Zhusheng kept whispering criticisms—this note was off-key, that finger technique was wrong—making Li Luo sweat.

Luckily, Yan Zhusheng only whispered in his ear; otherwise, she'd have gotten punched.

"Don't be so demanding—everyone's amateur, just hobbyists," Li Luo whispered. "You're a music major—you've got to shine tonight."

"Mm," Yan Zhusheng nodded obediently, but while listening to the music, she still occasionally offered comments.

Li Luo felt that people like Yan Zhusheng must have ears structurally different from ordinary people—they always detected differences no one else could hear.

Even with his Memory Palace, replaying the music repeatedly in his mind, he still needed Yan Zhusheng's reminder to notice the flaws.

It was simply impossible to match innate talent combined with lifelong musical cultivation.

But as Li Luo slowly strolled with Yan Zhusheng, enjoying the performances, two familiar figures passed by not far away.

Li Luo didn't notice at first—until he heard a familiar voice and suddenly turned his head to the right.

"This one's good."

"She looks so elegant and commanding—clearly not easy to approach."

"Then which one do you think is better?"

"Hmm... that one looks pretty good."

Li Luo turned his head toward the two familiar figures on his right, listening to their whispered conversation, and couldn't help but feel both amused and exasperated.

"I've realized your taste is incredibly transparent—consistent and unwavering," Wen Zexuan said with a sigh. "You only like sweet, cute types. What's wrong with tall, elegant ladies?"

"I just feel they're hard to get along with," Cheng Xin muttered softly. "I like people who look approachable."

"You can't judge a person by their face. Looks sweet doesn't mean they're sweet-talking—you've got to try them out to know. Besides, you only talk about liking them. Right now, if I told you to go over and ask for their WeChat, would you dare?"

"Nope." Cheng Xin shook his head decisively.

Wen Zexuan: "…You're beyond saving."

"I was already planning to go to the library with Hao Ge," Cheng Xin whispered. "You dragged me here against my will."

"I just thought you might still be salvageable. Turns out I was overestimating you."

"Then what should we do?" Cheng Xin scratched his head. "Why don't you just leave me alone? Pick any girl you like—I'll be your wingman."

"No way," Wen Zexuan shook his head rapidly. "With your conversational skills around girls, you think you're being my wingman? You're more like a bomber ready to blow me up."

"Hey! I was trying to help you, and you talk like that?"

"Do I look like I need help?" Wen Zexuan gave him a look. "Right now, pick any girl in this crowd—I'll go over and talk to her right away, so you can learn something."

"You're on your word," Cheng Xin said, slightly defiant. He wanted to pick something harder for him, so his eyes instinctively swept the surroundings.

At that exact moment, Yan Zhusheng, curious about Li Luo's gaze, followed his line of sight toward Wen Zexuan and Cheng Xin—and their eyes met directly.

Yan Zhusheng's beauty was stunning even before—just her eyes, visible through her mask, could instantly captivate anyone.

Her eyes were as clear as glacial spring water, cool and detached, sending a shiver through Cheng Xin.

So beautiful…

Even though her full face was hidden by the mask, Cheng Xin instinctively felt she must have an extremely high level of beauty.

Add to that the cold, aloof aura radiating from her eyes, and Cheng Xin immediately judged her as having an extremely, extremely high difficulty level.

Cheng Xin immediately raised his hand and quietly pointed toward Yan Zhusheng, whispering to Wen Zexuan: "That girl over there—the tall one with a bun. If you've got guts, go try talking to her."

Hearing this, Wen Zexuan instinctively turned his head—and was instantly stunned by her eyes.

But the next second, he slapped the back of Cheng Xin's head with a scowl. "Don't just stare at beauties—check if she's got a boyfriend first? Look, she's holding hands with someone! You want me to go over and hit on her? Are you trying to get me beaten?"

"Huh?" Cheng Xin froze. Only after Wen Zexuan's reminder did he look at Yan Zhusheng's hand—and saw they were indeed holding hands. He sheepishly scratched his head. "I didn't notice. Let me pick another one."

Meanwhile, as the two chatted, Li Luo nearly jumped at the gaze directed his way, thinking they'd spotted him.

But seeing no unusual expression on their faces, and noticing they no longer paid attention to him or Yan Zhusheng, Li Luo relaxed slightly—yet immediately took Yan Zhusheng's hand and walked away toward the far side of the dorms.

"We hadn't finished listening to that song—why are we leaving?" Yan Zhusheng asked curiously. "Who were those two people you were looking at?"

"Ahem… those are my roommates," Li Luo whispered. "If you take off your mask and meet them later, don't hold my hand in front of them."

"Oh." Yan Zhusheng nodded obediently, showing no intention to publicly declare anything in front of Li Luo's roommates. She simply added, "The guy with glasses just pointed at me—I wonder what he was saying."

"Really?" Li Luo hadn't dared make eye contact with Cheng Xin or Wen Zexuan earlier, so he hadn't noticed. Now, with Yan Zhusheng's reminder, he stroked his chin. "Probably your beauty couldn't be hidden even by the mask—your eyes alone were enough to draw them in."

Li Luo's words were true—but if anyone else had said them, Yan Zhusheng wouldn't have cared.

But coming from Li Luo, her eyes immediately curved into a smile, her expression brightening.

After the two left, Wen Zexuan finished scolding Cheng Xin and told him to pick another girl—then instinctively glanced back toward where Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng had been, and paused. "Where did those two masked people go?"

"I don't know," Cheng Xin glanced that way and shook his head. "Why? You thinking of challenging yourself?"

"No way," Wen Zexuan rolled his eyes, then fell into thought. "I just felt like those two seemed familiar… maybe it's my imagination."

"You think every pretty girl looks familiar," Cheng Xin couldn't help teasing.

"Shut up." With Cheng Xin's joke, Wen Zexuan dropped the thought and, grabbing Cheng Xin, headed off to find girls.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng wandered the playground all afternoon, and by four-thirty in the evening, met up with the rest of the band at the cafeteria entrance.

The five of them had dinner together, then went to the Free Seven Notes Club's venue, briefly checked the instruments, and handed them over to student union members to transport to the East Playground.

This music festival ran from 1 p. m. to 9 p. m., with a break from 5 to 6 p. m. for dinner.

So when seven p. m. arrived, the second half would begin—and their band, Sheng Sheng Bu Xi, was the first to perform on the main stage, claiming a full hour of prime time.

At this moment, Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng had removed their masks and joined Niu Qingling and the others onstage to recheck all instruments and equipment.

Just after six, most festivalgoers were still eating dinner, and the playground held few people.

Niu Qingling seized this chance to have everyone rehearse, getting familiar with their instruments.

By half past six, people began arriving steadily, all converging toward the main stage on the east side.

Li Luo, now back in the backstage area with the others, peered out at the growing crowd and smiled. "Our Zhusheng's appeal is still too strong—there are way more people here for the concert than in the afternoon."

"Of course," Niu Qingling laughed beside him. "But many probably came just for Chongran's fame."

"Uh… no way," Li Luo shook his head rapidly. "I'm afraid someone's gonna throw razor blades onstage halfway through. Let's skip that."

Everyone burst into laughter. Soon, it neared seven p. m.

The host was preparing to take the stage, and the dorm captain clapped and grinned. "Your turn to blow the stage apart—go for it!"

After the host's energetic introduction, the audience below erupted in cheers.

At precisely seven p. m., led by Yan Zhusheng, the five members of Sheng Sheng Bu Xi stepped onto the stage under the blazing spotlight and the intense gaze of the crowd.

Yan Zhusheng stepped to center stage, gripped the microphone, and looked down without hesitation. "First song: 'The Sky Has No Limits.'"