Chapter 30 Part 1

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Directly attached below that news article was an interview video clip.

It started with a lazy, drawn-out, "That girl—" and ended with a compromising smile at the camera, saying, "Back then, I had pretty low self-esteem."

[Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! Fuck!!!!! Is this still my sullen Brother Qingye!!!!]

[Sob sob sob, I want to be that Black Locust Maiden!!]

[Holy shit, is this Brother's first love???]

[Doesn't sound like it, feels more like a secret crush, the kind where they never got together. It's been so many years now, but it still sounds so bittersweet when he talks about it.]

[But still, can Brother please not date!]

[!!!!! I really want to know what kind of girl would make Lin Qingye feel insecure!!!]

[OMG!!!! The last three seconds!! That smile from Lin Qingye!! I'd really dig my heart out for him, sob sob sob!! It seems like he really, really liked that girl back then!]

[Sob sob sob, Brother, don't feel insecure!! You're the best!!]

...

With the fans' imaginations running wild, they painted Lin Qingye as a devoted character carrying a secret, unrequited love.

This piece of news not only exploded on the internet but also on the Pingchuan University forums—since it was summer vacation, there weren't many posts on the school forum to begin with, so this news about Lin Qingye occupied several spots on the homepage.

No one had ever heard of him being close to any female before. At most, there was a female bassist in his band, and later, he had some entanglement with Xu Zhinan.

It was just that no one knew the inside story about his business with Xu Zhinan; it was all just speculation.

Now, stirred up by this interview video, everyone felt that the thing between Lin Qingye and Xu Zhinan was probably just a misunderstanding. After all, one had graduated and the other was about to be a senior, and no one had ever heard of them knowing each other; they were almost never even seen in the same frame.

At the end of the video was a clip of Lin Qingye performing 'Black Locust' on the first episode of "Here for the Song".

"Between me and the world

You are the chasm, the marsh

The sinking abyss

You are the fence, the rampart

The eternal pattern on the shield

You are the maiden

I am the crawling five-legged monster

A glimpse of spring in the crisscrossing dark night

You pick up the gun, I become your sacrifice

..."

The young man's pleasant voice came through. Xu Zhinan hadn't turned the volume up high, but Lu Xihe next to her still heard it. He glanced at her phone screen and recognized him as the one who had come to his shop before.

Lu Xihe didn't follow entertainment news. The celebrities he knew were limited to a few famous actors who often appeared in movies and TV shows. He only found out about Lin Qingye later after hearing many customers who came to his shop mention him.

"Yo, you like him too," Lu Xihe smiled. "A lot of the young girls who come to my shop like him too."

Xu Zhinan paused, turned off the video, and let out a soft "ah" in response.

Lu Xihe bent down, leaned closer to her ear, and said as if presenting a treasure, "Speaking of which, this Lin Qingye came to my shop before."

He smiled and added, "It was quite a coincidence. A friend of mine brought him to 'Assassin'. The tattoo on his back was inflamed, and I was the one who gave him some anti-inflammatory medicine. Oh, right, guess what's tattooed on his back?"

Xu Zhinan turned her head to look at him and asked blankly, "What?"

"Ah Nan." Lu Xihe raised his eyebrows. "The 'Nan' from your name! Aren't you surprised!"

"..."

Lu Xihe shrugged. "But I think that's his girlfriend's name. I'm just telling you, so you have to keep it a secret. For celebrities like them, dating probably has to be kept under wraps, can't let those fans know."

Halfway through his sentence, he finally realized something was off and gave Xu Zhinan a wary look. "You're not one of his... what do you call it... Oh right, a Girlfriend Fan! You're not one of his Girlfriend Fans, are you?"

Xu Zhinan waved her hands repeatedly, proving her innocence, "No, no."

Lu Xihe breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good, you scared me. You can't go around spreading this."

Xu Zhinan thought to herself that she was the one who did that tattoo, and it was her name. Where was she supposed to go spread it?

She puffed up her cheeks but still answered obediently, "I know."

Someone called out to Lu Xihe, and he went to talk to someone else. Xu Zhinan lowered her head again to look at the video, her heart inexplicably beating a little faster.

Soon, the final scores were announced.

Xu Zhinan once again became the first place winner of the Realism Group without a doubt. Lu Xihe was still first in the Totem Group, and the tattoo artist she had just met named Wei Jing was first in the School Group.

With the first-place winners from the four groups decided, it was equivalent to having chosen the group champions.

The other tattoo artists were not shocked that Xu Zhinan had taken first place.

After all, they had already witnessed her true skill in the previous round. But it was Xu Zhinan's first time participating in this kind of competition, and the voting had been a rollercoaster of ups and downs, coming back from the dead. She wasn't sure what level she was at, so when she heard the results announced, she just stood frozen on the spot.

Chen Liming sprinted over from the side like a 100-meter dash and hugged Xu Zhinan excitedly. "Ahhhhhhh Ah Nan!! We're first place!!!"

She was 1.7 meters tall, and the way she hung on Xu Zhinan looked quite comical.

"This is great!! I can brag to my friends that this lion on my back is a first-place, competition-grade work!!"

It took Xu Zhinan a while to accept this ranking, and she smiled happily. "Thank you."

When the young girl smiled, she became even more beautiful, her eyes like a pool of spring water. Even Chen Liming, a woman herself, couldn't help but be mesmerized.

She waved her hand. "Why are you thanking me!"

"Thank you for being willing to be my model."

Later, someone suggested they all go out for a meal together, and that the four group champions should treat.

Most of the tattoo artists were very outgoing. As soon as this call was made, everyone responded enthusiastically, and they quickly started discussing where to go have fun.

Xu Zhinan hadn't originally planned to go to such an event, but since they said the group champions were treating, she couldn't well refuse.

Chen Liming then linked arms with her and coaxed her some more, so Xu Zhinan agreed.

A total of 40 tattoo artists had made it to the semi-finals. Some had other things to do afterward, or were from out of town and had to catch flights. In the end, about twenty people went to the KTV together.

Led by Lu Xihe, as soon as they entered the KTV, they ordered five cases of beer as if raiding the place.

Among the twenty people, there were quite a few party animals. Coming to a place like this was like coming home for them.

Someone immediately grabbed the microphone and became a mic hog, while others took out dice and shakers and started a gambling game. For a moment, the large KTV room was filled with wailing and howling.

Xu Zhinan felt like she was sitting on pins and needles.

She had never expected that going out with this group of people would be like this.

Lu Xihe held a bottle of Tsingtao beer in his left hand and a bottle of Snow beer in his right. No longer restrained like before, he had completely let loose. With one foot on the coffee table, he pointed the mouth of the bottle at the dice on the table and yelled loudly, seemingly arguing with the person opposite him.

The one hogging the microphone was a female tattoo artist with blonde hair. She was very thin, beautiful, and flamboyant.

Unfortunately, she was tone-deaf but unaware of it, holding the microphone with both hands and singing with great passion.

Xu Zhinan silently raised her arm, pinched her earlobe, and sighed.

Lu Xihe noticed her and shouted again, waving at her boisterously, "Come and play, Sister Ah Nan!"

Although Xu Zhinan was in the same room as them, it was as if the Milky Way separated them, like two completely different worlds.

Hearing Lu Xihe's words, the crowd around them was dancing like demons. Xu Zhinan didn't dare to go over, but she couldn't resist everyone's extraordinary enthusiasm.

Fortunately, her phone rang at that moment, and Xu Zhinan escaped the room.

After the door to the private room was closed, the noise inside finally quieted down a bit. She leaned against the hallway wall, holding her phone, and let out a light sigh of relief. Only then did she realize the call was from Lin Qingye.

The first phone call since he had said, "Let me like you one more time."

Xu Zhinan quieted down, hesitated for two seconds, and answered it.

She pressed the phone to her ear. The other end was silent, so she said, "Hello?"

"You answered." His tone seemed a bit surprised.

"..." Xu Zhinan paused and asked, "Do you need something?"

"Can't I call you if there's nothing?"

Xu Zhinan fell silent again, not knowing what to say, but she didn't want to go back into that room behind her so soon, so she just stood there.

Lin Qingye had always been a quiet person. When he called people, it was always to get straight to the point and hang up. This was the first time he was trying to make small talk.

So, the two of them were quiet for two seconds.