Chapter 56: Yesterday's matter? What matter?

At 8:00 AM, the moment Qin Luo stepped into the classroom, the male students did not look particularly surprised.

After all, Qin Luo had frequently been coming over to sit in on their classes lately. It almost felt as though Qin Luo and they were classmates, especially since Yao Yanyan had gone looking for Qin Luo after class yesterday. In the eyes of many, this meant the two of them had already hooked up.

That being said, upon seeing Qin Luo's appearance today, they could not help but start whispering among themselves once again.

"Qin Luo is here again..."

"Could he be looking for Yao Yanyan again?"

"Duh, who else? Ip Man?"

"I feel like this bastard is even more handsome today. He's getting dangerously close to catching up to me..."

"I must admit, his looks are almost starting to threaten my status, but why do I feel like something's a bit off about him?"

"True, just looking at him gives off major playboy vibes..."

"Nonsense, Qin Luo used to be such a devoted guy, how did he become a simp?"

"Exactly, exactly! You guys are clearly just jealous that our little brother Qin Luo is better-looking than you!"

A few male students clicked their tongues in amusement. A couple of them spoke up a bit too loudly, drawing immediate rebuttals from a few female classmates.

Hearing this, the male students simply cast a disdainful glance in their direction and then wisely fell silent.

After all, they were not supreme cultivators of the human race; they could not withstand a sudden blow that might blast them all the way to Siberia.

Take that guy from last time who almost challenged someone to a samurai duel, for instance—he was currently behaving himself exceptionally well.

Meanwhile, a certain female classmate who had previously taken a photo of Qin Luo and Yao Yanyan was once again struggling to suppress the urge to snap away wildly with her camera.

Qin Luo turned a deaf ear to the surrounding chatter. He walked step by step into the classroom, his gaze cutting through the sea of students and landing precisely on Yao Yanyan, who was seated in the back row.

Today, Yao Yanyan wore noticeably heavy makeup. She usually wore makeup, but it was generally a rather delicate and subtle everyday look. This time, however, it was somewhat different; the makeup around her eyes was noticeably heavier, as if she were trying to conceal something.

The two of them locked eyes across the distance. The moment their gazes intersected, neither could discern anything out of the ordinary in the other's eyes; all that remained was the usual, effortless naturalness.

Suddenly, it felt as though nothing had happened yesterday at all...

"Morning."

Qin Luo plopped down right beside Yao Yanyan, greeted her with a smile, and pulled a box of Pocky out of his pocket—something he had picked up at a small convenience store along the way.

Yao Yanyan looked him up and down, clicking her tongue. "You really look like a player."

Far from feeling ashamed, Qin Luo took it as a compliment and replied with a smile, "Learned it from you."

His somewhat flippant response caused Yao Yanyan to instinctively arch her brow.

She recalled the first time Qin Luo had come looking for her. Back then, he had also acted frivolous and flamboyant. Although Yao Yanyan hadn't said anything at the time, the deliberate act he was putting on had been entirely obvious to her.

That was also why she had initially assumed Qin Luo approached her with the intention of using her as a pawn, believing his ultimate goal was to use her to provoke Xu Ke.

Now, after some time had passed, Yao Yanyan found that Qin Luo seemed somewhat different again. That deliberate, theatrical quality from before seemed to have faded considerably, as if overnight, a profound transformation had occurred within him.

Was it because of what happened yesterday?

Thinking this, Yao Yanyan couldn't help but say, "You..."

Before she could utter a second syllable, Qin Luo directly pulled out a chocolate stick and shoved it toward her. "Stop talking. Eat."

Having just opened her mouth, Yao Yanyan instinctively bit down on the chocolate stick, swallowing the words that were still on the tip of her tongue along with it.

Feeling the mild sweetness and the hard texture inside her mouth, Yao Yanyan's eye twitched slightly. Glaring at Qin Luo, she bit down fiercely.

With a crisp *snap*, the chocolate stick broke in half.

Qin Luo's gaze fell upon the fractured end, and he involuntarily swallowed a mouthful of saliva before calmly consuming the remaining half of the chocolate stick in his hand.

He performed this action with absolute naturalness, but in Yao Yanyan's eyes, it carried an entirely different connotation.

For a moment, the look Yao Yanyan gave Qin Luo grew somewhat subtle.

She had spent a long time yesterday pondering why Qin Luo had suddenly kissed her.

Had he truly succumbed to her charm, or was it simply out of spite to provoke Xu Ke?

Yao Yanyan had pondered over it for ages without coming to a clear conclusion, but seeing Qin Luo's current behavior, she felt as though the name "Xu Ke" truly seemed to be gradually fading away from his heart.

After chewing for a moment, Yao Yanyan swallowed the chocolate stick and said, "About yesterday..."

"Yesterday? What about it? Did something happen yesterday?"

Yao Yanyan's words were once again interrupted by Qin Luo. He blinked at her, wearing an expression of innocent bewilderment, as if he were expressing genuine curiosity.

Yao Yanyan stared at him fixedly, attempting to glean something from his eyes, but regretfully, she found nothing at all.

After a brief silence, the corners of her mouth curved up slightly, and she smiled. "Nothing."

In the blink of an eye, she reverted to her usual smiling demeanor, as if she and Qin Luo had reached a tacit understanding to never mention what happened yesterday again.

Even though it had been the first kiss of their lives.

*Ding—*

The class bell rang, and the music teacher walked into the room practically on the final chime.

Hugging a guitar, he stepped onto the podium and swept his gaze across the students below.

When his eyes landed on Qin Luo, they suddenly lit up, and he promptly cast a look of quiet gratification toward Yao Yanyan.

"Classmates, the anniversary celebration is coming up soon, and quite a few of you have signed up to perform. The student union is conducting auditions today, so during today's class, you can come up and do a warm-up first. Strive to perform even better when the official auditions arrive."

As soon as the teacher finished speaking, the students below instantly grew eager and restless.

News of the anniversary celebration had already spread throughout the school. Because it was the thirtieth-anniversary commemoration, the administration was hosting it on a grand scale. Not only students and school leaders, but even many figures from outside the school would be attending.

Consequently, many students hoped to make a name for themselves during this celebration. Music majors, in particular, were desperate to achieve overnight fame through a single song, hoping to catch the eye of someone in the entertainment industry during the event so they could rise smoothly through the ranks and bypass decades of hardship.

A few individuals were even mentally prepared to pay any price necessary—and you couldn't really blame them for having such thoughts, given that the general atmosphere of the entertainment industry was widely perceived that way.

"Teacher, let me go first," said a rather attractive female student.

The teacher nodded and was just about to call her up when a dull *thud* echoed in his ears.

It was the classroom door being pushed open heavily from the outside. However, the person pushing it must have realized that the gesture was a bit impolite, because they immediately caught the doorknob just as it was half-open and pulled it back.

Everyone was startled by the commotion and turned collectively toward the doorway. What greeted their eyes was a cool-faced, stern-looking beautiful young woman.