Chapter 11: Neither of You Has Much Taste

Page 1 of 3

“Cross mountains and rivers just to embrace you
No matter how fierce the storms, we’ll face them together
Hearing the most beautiful memories
Every piece of news about you…”

Accompanied by the lighthearted melody, a rich, magnetic voice began to echo through the classroom.

Every student widened their eyes involuntarily, staring at Qin Luo as though they had seen a ghost in broad daylight, their faces filled with astonishment and disbelief.

But once their speechlessness passed, delight followed.

They watched Qin Luo without blinking, listening to the lively melody and pleasant singing. Their whole beings seemed on the verge of sinking into the music.

The teacher’s face was filled with amazement, his eyes widening several degrees. Yao Yanyan, meanwhile, was so shocked that she nearly sprang from her chair. One sentence filled her mind:

That damn man was pretending to be a pig so he could eat the tiger!

Just then, Qin Luo glanced in her direction.

“I hope I can see you every day
Even rainy days will feel bright and fair
In this colorful, dazzling world
You’re the only one I’ll ever love…”

He sang the lyrics, but his eyes carried amusement, teasing, and the smug satisfaction of someone whose scheme had succeeded.

Yao Yanyan noticed it keenly. She wanted to be angry, but her turbulent emotions were involuntarily stirred by the singing and the melody, and before she knew it, she had become completely immersed.

“May you be safe and sound wherever I cannot see you
May your winters never lack warm sunlight
May your tomorrows never again endure wind and rain
May your future forever bring tears of joy…”

After a passionate chorus came to an end, the beautiful lyrics gave way to wordless humming. Yet beneath Qin Luo’s melodious voice and the graceful tune, even the instrumental interlude was extraordinarily pleasing to the ear.

Quite a few students began humming softly along with Qin Luo without realizing it, their bodies swaying faintly as though they had been entirely infected by the music and absorbed into its wonderful melody.

Yao Yanyan watched Qin Luo without blinking. Gradually, she noticed a change in his eyes.

They were no longer filled with the smugness of a successful schemer. Instead, they had become wistful and sorrowful.

Without meaning to, Yao Yanyan thought of Xu Ke.

He had written this song for Xu Ke, hadn’t he?

Of course he had. A song this beautiful could not possibly have been composed on the spot.

There was only one explanation: he had created it for Xu Ke, as a gift he wanted to present to her.

Every beautiful line of verse, every cheerful melody representing hope and longing—all of it was an outpouring of his love for Xu Ke.

For some inexplicable reason, Yao Yanyan suddenly felt a little jealous of Xu Ke.

She had once felt the same way toward Xu Ke, but back then it was because Xu Ke was more popular than she was. Now, however, it was because of a man.

She could not help wondering: If Qin Luo had fallen for her in the beginning, if she had been the one he kept pursuing, would he be singing this song to her now?

Question after question surfaced in Yao Yanyan’s mind. Qin Luo’s voice remained as beautiful as ever, but her thoughts had already fallen into disarray.

“In the loveliest years of our lives
You, along with rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and tea
The spring breeze brought me to you
April moistened the air…”

The students forced their eyes wide and strained their ears, as though they wanted to engrave both the sight of the young man singing and the beauty of his voice into their memories.

The teacher clenched his fists unconsciously, forcibly suppressing the urge to interrupt Qin Luo and ask where the song had come from.

Page 1 of 3

Page 2 of 3

“In this world devoid of tenderness
You are my good fortune
All of my patience and kindness
Are because I love you…”

Yao Yanyan gazed quietly at Qin Luo. In a daze, it seemed that all the tenderness in his eyes was directed at her. Even the words “I love you” sounded as though he were saying them to her.

So she brushed aside her scattered thoughts and stopped thinking altogether, smiling as she appreciated the song that had brought her such a pleasant surprise.

No matter what things had been like before, at the very least, he was singing this song to her now, wasn’t he?

As for Xu Ke… Hah. She did not deserve such good fortune.

The smile on Yao Yanyan’s face grew even sweeter.

And so Qin Luo continued gazing at her from across the room, singing beautiful lyrics to the accompaniment of the flowing rhythm.

“May I be by your side at sixty, watching the sunset with you
May the corners of my mouth lift whenever I think of you
May I drape a coat over your shoulders in the northern winter
May you be beside me even when I have nothing at all…”

The beautiful singing gradually faded away, leaving only the lively melody echoing through the classroom.

The students were completely entranced. But when the melody finally began to disappear, a female student suddenly murmured, “This song… he wrote it to sing to Xu Ke, didn’t he?”

As soon as she said this, several students who had been utterly lost in the music came back to themselves.

They lowered their heads in silence, their expressions turning somewhat complicated. The others around them seemed infected by the same mood, slowly emerging from the music as their emotions began to scatter in every direction.

At that moment, they all thought of the story between Qin Luo and Xu Ke.

They remembered the first time Qin Luo had pursued Xu Ke, and the ridicule and mockery he had endured.

Those harsh voices had continued for a long time. Later, when everyone realized that Qin Luo was still pursuing Xu Ke, a few notes of admiration had gradually joined the jeers.

People admired Qin Luo’s perseverance and devotion, and acknowledged the quality of his character—but what difference did that make?

In this age, beneath its glittering surface lay a lingering haze. It was like a tangible barrier, separating people from one another and leaving behind nothing but endless sorrow.

What people called devotion was nothing more than being a shameless simp.

So they mocked him, looked down on him, ridiculed him for overestimating himself, and sneered at him for refusing to give up on his hopeless infatuation.

Yes. This was a world where even devotion was worthy of ridicule.

But so what? He had ignored the cold eyes of others and paid no heed to their attempts to stop him. He had only wanted to pour out everything he had in order to express his love.

Every little thing he had done for Xu Ke, every beautiful hope he held for their future life together, had been hidden within this song.

Unfortunately, the person who should have been able to accept that love no longer had the chance.

Everyone thought of what Qin Luo had done in front of the women’s dormitory the previous day. For some reason, they suddenly felt a knot in their chests.

Several sentimental girls instinctively covered their mouths, tears glimmering at the corners of their eyes.

Even the teacher cast Qin Luo a sympathetic look. He seemed to want to say something, but in the end, everything dissolved into a sigh.

The singing had stopped, and the melody had faded. The excitement and delight everyone had shown while immersed in the music had vanished completely.

All that remained was sorrow.

Qin Luo watched the scene unfold, an involuntary bitter smile appearing on his face.

Damn, I overdid it… Why are these people getting so emotional? They’re just sitting there like stunned idiots instead of applauding. Now I look like a fool! At this rate, even my shameless-heartbreaker persona is going to collapse!

He clicked his tongue inwardly, almost wanting to shout at them and tell them to hurry up and clap a few times.

Just then, a crisp burst of applause rang out.

Qin Luo followed the sound and saw Yao Yanyan standing not far away, clapping enthusiastically.

Page 2 of 3

Page 3 of 3

“Beautiful! That was beautiful!”

She loudly cheered Qin Luo on, a radiant smile on her face and affection shimmering in her eyes. She looked like a child unable to contain her happiness.

A trace of surprise appeared in Qin Luo’s gaze. The other students, startled awake by the applause, belatedly raised their hands and began clapping as well, shouting words of praise.

“That was incredible! The Song God is incredible!”

“Good grief, I never imagined you had something like that up your sleeve!”

“You said you only knew a little? So you were pretending to be a pig and hiding your strength from us, huh?”

“If you’d brought out this ultimate weapon sooner, Xu Ke would have been yours by now—mmph, mmph, mmph!”

The last student’s shout abruptly cut off as someone beside him clapped a hand over his mouth.

“Thank you, everyone.”

Qin Luo smiled as he faced the applause and encouragement. He was about to return the guitar to the teacher when the teacher suddenly seized him by the shoulder.

He stared fixedly at Qin Luo, fervor and excitement flashing in his eyes, his voice brimming with passion.

“Who wrote this song?”

“Uh… I did.”

“You have real talent. Change departments and study singing with me!”

No thanks, Coach. I still prefer playing basketball…

Qin Luo shook his head without saying anything else. After placing the guitar on the lectern, he stepped down from the platform.

The teacher reached toward his departing back in a gesture of entreaty and was just about to say more when the bell announcing the end of class suddenly rang.

By the time he came back to himself, both Qin Luo and Yao Yanyan had already disappeared.

The teacher could only grit his teeth and sigh before taking out his phone to search for Qin Luo’s department and major.

…

Walking shoulder to shoulder with Yao Yanyan down the stairs, Qin Luo suddenly asked, “Why did you applaud just now?”

Yao Yanyan glanced at him with a half-smile. “What? You’re unhappy that I applauded for you?”

Qin Luo shook his head. “That’s not what I mean… Given the atmosphere at the time, if you hadn’t applauded, they probably wouldn’t have come to their senses for quite a while. Wouldn’t that mean you won?”

Yao Yanyan thought about it before replying, “At first, I did want to win. But after hearing that song, I suddenly didn’t anymore… Somehow, I suddenly understood what people mean when they say birds of a feather flock together.”

Qin Luo asked instinctively, “What do you mean?”

Yao Yanyan smiled brilliantly. “I heard that people are drawn to others who share their traits. You were probably attracted to Xu Ke because of that… Hmm. Neither of you has very good taste.”

Qin Luo could not help freezing at those words. It took him two seconds to understand what she meant.

He was astonished. If he had not misunderstood, Yao Yanyan was actually attacking Xu Ke on his behalf.

But why?

She and Xu Ke were roommates. Shouldn’t they have a pretty good relationship?

Or was she revealing her true feelings because of the song he had just sung?

Several questions surfaced in his mind. Qin Luo automatically came up with answers, then rejected them one by one, unable to stop himself from laughing at his own thoughts.

That was close. I nearly fell for this woman’s tricks… This woman is a high-level heartbreaker who toys with men, a cuckold fetishist who specifically targets married men. Her apparent sincerity might merely be a disguise meant to make her prey lower its guard. I must be careful!

What a terrifying woman…

Qin Luo sighed inwardly, then smiled and said, “Why do I get the feeling you deliberately lost to me just so you could go on a date with me?”

“I only have this one class today.” Yao Yanyan blinked, her smile taking on a suggestive quality. “Come to think of it, I haven’t been to an amusement park in ages.”

Qin Luo instantly understood the implication. Without a second word, he took her straight out of the school.

At the same time, in a certain classroom, Xu Ke was feeling rather unhappy…

Page 3 of 3