Chapter 12: She Had Never Truly Looked at Him Once

At this moment, it was the break between classes, and the students in the classroom were gradually dispersing—some alone, some in small groups.

Only Xu Ke remained still, arms crossed, expressionless, holding that posture throughout the entire lesson.

During that class, the only movement she made was occasionally turning her head to glance toward the classroom door. Each time she withdrew her gaze, her face looked even colder, her icy eyes brimming with a trace of anger.

After a whole night, her resentment toward Qin Luo hadn’t faded; instead, it deepened.

Because she had been waiting—waiting for Qin Luo’s attitude, waiting for him to apologize.

That morning, she arrived at the classroom early, knowing Qin Luo had no classes then. Whenever he had free time, he would come to her classroom to accompany her during lessons.

Even after what happened yesterday, Xu Ke naturally assumed Qin Luo would come as usual today.

He would bow his head to her, apologize, and explain the reasons behind his actions.

She had even rehearsed in her mind the cold and resolute attitude she would use to face him, thinking to punish him with such indifference.

But in the end, Qin Luo never showed up, and Xu Ke never received the apology she longed for.

This pushed her resentment to a new peak, grinding her teeth in silent fury. She resolved firmly never to acknowledge Qin Luo again, forcing herself to expel all thoughts of him from her mind.

Yet, as the bell neared dismissal, the classroom suddenly grew noisy.

Students pulled out their phones, pointing at photos on their screens with looks of astonishment, murmuring among themselves.

Xu Ke paid no mind, uninterested in what they were doing. However, they all turned to look at her, their gazes increasingly strange.

There was pity, sympathy, and even a hint of schadenfreude.

Their looks irritated Xu Ke but also piqued her curiosity.

Soon, that curiosity was satisfied.

When she opened her phone and saw a post on the campus forum from a user named “Nana the Photography Enthusiast,” she froze. The post contained a photo of Qin Luo and Yao Yanyan sitting together, smiling at one another.

Her body stiffened involuntarily, her breath momentarily halted.

Shock, anger, doubt, and sorrow exploded inside her chest, turning her face a shade of steel blue. Even after the class ended and others had left, she remained, staring at the screen.

He didn’t come looking for me but went to Yao Yanyan?!

How dare he? How could he not come to apologize to me?

Could it be that he actually likes Yao Yanyan now?

That scoundrel! Scoundrel!! Scoundrel!!!

Her anger spread uncontrollably, causing her body to tremble slightly. Along with Qin Luo and Yao Yanyan, she even grew to despise the poster, “Nana the Photography Enthusiast.”

At that moment, a female student who hadn’t left yet approached with a sarcastic tone:

“Yo, who’s upset our school beauty this time? If I didn’t know better, I’d think someone owes you eighty thousand bucks.”

Xu Ke instinctively glanced up, frowning.

Because of her personality, she was certainly not popular among the girls. Many looked at her with disdain.

This student was one of them, always finding chances to jab at Xu Ke, who usually ignored her, deeming her immature and noisy.

But this time, caught in a fury, Xu Ke snapped back sharply: “What’s it to you?”

Seeing Xu Ke respond, the girl smirked with glee: “Let me guess... Oh, it’s about Qin Luo, right? You’re mad because Qin Luo is with Yao Yanyan now?”

Xu Ke’s eye twitched slightly, her cold and expressionless reply dropping like ice: “What’s it to me?”

The girl’s smile grew wider: “Yes, yes, it’s none of your business. After all, you’re nobody to Qin Luo. Who he likes is his freedom. I just think you’re amazing—letting go of such a good man, so devoted, talented, and with a beautiful voice. Too bad now he’s all Yao Yanyan’s…”

Before the girl finished, Xu Ke interrupted sharply: “What did you say?”

“I said, now he belongs to Yao Yanyan…”

“I’m not asking about that. You say he sings well? How come I’ve never heard him sing? Have you?”

Her cold glare was intimidating, and although the girl usually dared only sarcastic remarks, she never confronted Xu Ke head-on.

But this time was different. The girl seemed to have found a weakness. The angrier Xu Ke appeared, the more delighted she became, her grin stretching nearly to her ears.

“Rare, huh? Soon the whole school will hear it… Oh right, you didn’t know? Haha, funny thing is, Qin Luo wrote a song just for you, but you didn’t even know it. In the end, Yao Yanyan got the credit. Haha, hilarious…”

She laughed louder and louder, while Xu Ke’s brows knitted tighter and tighter.

Having known Qin Luo for so long, she had never heard him sing—how could she? And why would the whole school soon hear it?

Xu Ke fell silent, suddenly remembering something and quickly grabbed her phone.

Soon, a post caught her eye—titled: “Qin Luo’s Song Dedication: The Leading Lady is Not Xu Ke!”

Just the title darkened her expression.

She bit her lip and, with stiff fingers, opened the post.

The content was a single video: Qin Luo standing at the podium, playing guitar and singing.

“In the best of times, amidst the mundane daily life, you are my spring breeze that brings me to you, April moistens the air…”

“In a harsh world, you are my luck, all my good temper, because I love you…”

“May I watch sunsets with you at sixty, may your smile lift when you think of me, may I drape a coat over you in the northern winter, may I have you by my side even in poverty…”

The lively melody and magnetic voice filled her ears. Xu Ke stared fixedly at the smiling youth in the video, watching other students enchanted by the performance, lost in thought.

It wasn’t just the beautiful melody and voice—it was that she realized she had never seen Qin Luo like this before.

She didn’t know he smiled so well, sang so beautifully, or attracted so many admirers.

In her memory, he had always been a shy, average student. So when the Qin Luo she knew collided with the one in the video, she felt an absurd sense of unfamiliarity.

She suddenly realized she had never truly looked at Qin Luo.

The only familiar feature of the confident youth in the video was the tender gaze.

His eyes always held that gentle light when looking at Xu Ke.

At last, she found a trace of familiarity. But just then, the videographer shifted the camera.

A familiar figure appeared in Xu Ke’s view.

It was Yao Yanyan.

She sat upright at her desk, leaning slightly forward, her right hand covering her mouth, eyes wide and bright.

Her expression was a mix of surprise and fascination.

At the other end of the frame, Qin Luo stood at the podium, exchanging gazes with Yao Yanyan.

The tenderness in his eyes and the hopeful song seemed solely for her.

For some reason, Xu Ke suddenly felt her breath catch, her chest tightening.

She stared blankly at the screen, unable to snap back to reality, even failing to listen closely to the rest of Qin Luo’s song. When the video ended, she instinctively scrolled down to the comment section below the post.

“Qin Luo, oh Qin Luo, what other tricks are you hiding from us?”

“I thought your moves chasing Xu Ke were already amazing, but you actually had this ace up your sleeve!”

“Can’t help but say, ‘hidden’ is the perfect word for it—those who know, know.”

“Such a sin. Just from the lyrics, you can tell who the song was originally for. But now? The leading lady has changed!”

“Well done. With Xu Ke’s cold demeanor, even if you sang this to her face, she’d probably just shrug and maybe roll her eyes.”

“But she shouldn’t blame Yao Yanyan. That sly little warrior isn’t exactly innocent either. Qin Luo, come to me! I’m available!”

“Even if Yao Yanyan isn’t perfect, at least she responds. Look at her gaze in the video—it’s something else!”

“And Qin Luo’s eyes on her too. If these two don’t have something going on, I don’t believe it.”

“Curious how Xu Ke reacted after seeing this video. Will she regret it?”

“Ha! With her attitude? Regret? She’d just blame others for not loving her enough!”

“Not interested in their love drama, just think the song’s great. But why can’t it be found online?”

“Because it’s Qin Luo’s original! He wrote it for our class’s Yao Yanyan. I was there—I and my friends were stunned!”

“I’m more into their love story. By the way, Qin Luo and Yao Yanyan left school right after class. Wonder where they went... hehe…”

“Xu Ke: Huh? Why does my head suddenly feel green?”

“Green? When Qin Luo chased her, she said no. Now he’s moved on, why’s she whining?”

“You’re right, but I still think spaghetti should be mixed with No. 42 concrete… lost my train of thought!”

“Qin Luo really stopped chasing Xu Ke. My youth is over. Waaah QAQ”

“…”

Each comment flashed before Xu Ke’s eyes. The remarks about her, once scorned by her, now felt like sharp blades piercing her heart deeply.

She didn’t understand why she reacted so strongly, only that her chest felt heavy, as if a huge stone pressed down on her. Her strength drained rapidly; she could no longer hold her phone.

With a thud, the phone dropped onto the desk, making a dull sound, accompanied by Xu Ke’s low, gritted roar.

“Yao—Ya—Nyan—!”