After the two walked away hand in hand, Li Yundong wiped his eyes and smiled, "I say, Su Chan, what you just said almost brought me to tears in public! You are quite the sentimentalist!"

Su Chan giggled, "Oh, really?"

Li Yundong laughed, "Yes! Don't you think it’s unmanly for a big guy like me to shed tears?"

Su Chan laughed as she climbed onto Li Yundong’s back, "How could I! If you are useless, wouldn't everyone in this world be a good-for-nothing?"

Li Yundong laughed heartily, "You want me to carry you? Fine, this young lady has given me so much face today, I'll carry you back!"

Su Chan rested her chin on Li Yundong’s broad shoulder, giggling, "You promised!"

Li Yundong chuckled, "You’ve already climbed up, do you think I’d refuse to carry you? Enough nonsense, let’s go home and eat!"

As this pair of young man and woman were playfully fooling around, Tiannan City University was already abuzz.

"Where is Li Yundong?" Feng Na was frantically searching for Li Yundong backstage. "The show starts in just one hour! Why isn't he here yet?"

Feng Na spotted Sun Li helping classmates with makeup backstage and immediately grabbed her, shouting, "Where is Li Yundong?"

Sun Li blinked, "He isn't here?"

Feng Na looked completely distraught, "You're the class monitor, why are you asking me?"

Sun Li shouted back, "I called him today! He said he would be here!"

Remembering Li Yundong’s stubborn nature, Sun Li became irritated. She pulled over a female classmate, "Have you seen Li Yundong?"

The classmate shook her head, "That great hero is elusive; how would we know?"

Sun Li questioned several more students, all of whom shook their heads, saying they didn't know. Sun Li stomped her foot anxiously, "How could this jerk ditch such an important event!"

A passing girl suddenly chimed in, "I did see Li Yundong this morning."

Sun Li and Feng Na were instantly overjoyed, "Where?"

The girl said, "At the school gate, with his girlfriend. He seemed to have an argument with a teacher..."

Sun Li pressed, "And then?"

The girl spread her hands, "And then? He argued with the teacher, and then left with his girlfriend?"

Feng Na covered her forehead, sighing heavily, "I give up on him! If this guy were an emperor, he'd surely be a foolish ruler who loved his beauty more than his empire!"

Sun Li spat, "Pah, him being an emperor? He has zero sense of class honor!"

Feng Na burst into laughter, "What does being an emperor have to do with class honor?"

Sun Li glared, thrusting her phone toward Feng Na, "This is your business, you call him yourself!"

Feng Na quickly smiled, "Come on, beauty, help me out! He’s your classmate, after all! Hurry and contact him, maybe it’s not too late!"

Sun Li took back her phone and dialed the number, but after waiting a long time, no one picked up. After several tries, Sun Li was so angry she wanted to smash her phone, "Does this jerk only use his phone as a landline? Why does he never carry it?"

Feng Na covered her face, forcing a bitter smile, "What are we going to do? We are doomed this time!"

As the two girls were sighing in despair, occasionally throwing in an accusation against Li Yundong, a voice suddenly cut through the air.

"What are you two doing here? What happened with Li Yundong now?" Hearing a man's voice, Sun Li and Feng Na jumped in fright and quickly turned around.

Feng Na looked closely and saw it was Teacher Liu from the Academic Affairs Office, the one who had tried to conscript people last time. Her eyes widened as she stammered, "Teacher Liu, this is the backstage, where the girls change. H-how did you get here?"

As she spoke, the girls in the dressing room hastily threw clothes around themselves; some squeaked softly, others muttered curses like, "Old pervert!"

Teacher Liu maintained a sanctimonious, straight-ahead gaze, though his peripheral vision kept darting towards the scantily clad girls. He said, "I came to see how prepared you all are! Uh, what were you just saying? What did that Li Yundong do now?"

Feng Na felt suspicious and tentatively asked, "Teacher Liu, Li Yundong didn't do anything. Did he do something to offend you?"

Teacher Liu had only intended to sneak a peek at the scenery, but he happened to overhear Feng Na and Sun Li condemning Li Yundong, which struck a chord in his heart, compelling him to join the conversation.

Teacher Liu spoke with feigned anger, "This student has no respect for his teachers or adherence to school rules! He brings disreputable people onto campus all day and publicly insults teachers to their faces! It’s intolerable. I expelled him today!"

"What?" Feng Na nearly sank to the floor.

How many days have I spent planning for this performance? I worked tirelessly to persuade Li Yundong to fill Zhao Yujian’s spot, and I pleaded with everyone to get Director Qian to overlook Li Yundong’s previous troubles. Now this master dismisses all my efforts with a single casual sentence?

Feng Na’s eyes glazed over, showing clear signs of an impending explosion.

Sun Li, who knew a little about Feng Na’s efforts, quickly pulled her back and said to Teacher Liu, "Teacher Liu, Li Yundong is the lead performer for the Taekwondo club tonight’s exchange gala. If he doesn't show up, the performance cannot proceed!"

Teacher Liu paused, feeling a flicker of alarm internally, but refused to back down verbally, "What do you mean it can't proceed? Just because the butcher is gone, must we eat pig hair? A student like that shouldn't be allowed on stage to disgrace Tiannan University! Isn't there anyone else in all of Tiannan University?"

Feng Na exploded upon hearing this, "Teacher Liu, do you know how long I’ve prepared for this show? Do you know Principal Ke personally requested this performance? Do you know the Vice Mayor even mentioned this program? Gong Zizhen also spoke of recruiting talent without sticking to one pattern. No matter how flawed Li Yundong is, he possesses a unique skill, and this show truly cannot go on without him! Besides, shouldn't a teacher speak better of their own students, don't you think?"

Teacher Liu’s face cycled between green and white under Feng Na’s tirade. His lips trembled a few times, then he swung his sleeve and rushed out angrily, "Outrageous, utterly outrageous!"

In his act of personal vengeance, Teacher Liu had completely failed to consider that Li Yundong had a scheduled performance tonight, let alone how crucial that performance was. He was both shocked and flustered; his footing slipped, and he missed a step, letting out an "Ouch!" as he tumbled down the stairs, rolling and scrambling.

The girls in the backstage dressing room burst into laughter, "Good fall!"

"That old lecher, his eyes were glued to my chest the moment he walked in. I hope he breaks his neck!"

Sun Li sighed, "Now look what you've done. If Li Yundong doesn't come, you’ve also offended a teacher!"

Feng Na felt a touch of regret after her anger subsided, but her mouth remained stubborn, "Hmph, can he expel me? Sun Li, call Li Yundong again! Right, doesn't he live on campus?"

Sun Li was dialing while sighing, "He hasn't lived in the dorms for a single day since coming to university. Besides, with such a charming, delicate girlfriend now, do you think he’d be staying in the dorms?"

Feng Na asked again, "Then do you know where he lives?"

Sun Li shook her head, "This guy is always a loner in class, a true lone wolf. Nobody knows where he stays. Ah, wait, the call connected!"

Sun Li spoke loudly into the phone, "Hello, hello? Li Yundong?"

A melodious, pleasant girl's voice came from the receiver, "Yundong, someone is talking to me in here!"

Immediately after, Li Yundong’s voice drifted faintly from the earpiece, "Ask them who it is?"

The girl’s cheerful voice came through again, "Yundong asks who you are?"

Sun Li stifled her anger and said, "I am his classmate, Sun Li. Please have him pick up the phone, okay?"

The girl said "Oh," and then there was silence from the phone. Sun Li and Feng Na exchanged glances. Feng Na said, "Put it on speakerphone, I want to listen."

The moment Sun Li pressed the speaker button, they heard a loud splashing sound, followed clearly by Li Yundong’s startled shout: "Hello, hello! I'm taking a shower! Why did you come in? And you're holding my phone, idiot, don't come closer, that thing will break if it gets wet!"

Feng Na and Sun Li, who had been brimming with anger, immediately burst into uproarious laughter. The girls next to them who were putting on makeup and changing clothes also gathered around with great interest.

Su Chan’s delicate voice said sweetly, "Your classmates are looking for you, do you think I wanted to watch you bathe? Ptooey, you’re ugly, so much body hair!"

So much body hair!!

As those words came through the phone, the girls surrounding the phone burst into fits of laughter.

Li Yundong’s voice sounded increasingly surprised on the line, "Hello, why is there laughter on the phone? Ah, I'm scared of you, get out now! Hello, hello, you dummy, give me the phone, get out of here!"

Feng Na and Sun Li were laughing so hard they were falling over. Only when Li Yundong’s voice returned did Sun Li manage to suppress her laughter and shout into the phone, "Hello, Li Yundong!"

Li Yundong’s voice was quite muffled, "It's you again, Class Monitor?"

Sun Li snapped angrily, "What do you mean 'it's me again'? Do you have any idea what event our school has tonight?"

Li Yundong made a sound of recognition, "Oh, isn't it the exchange gala with that American place, what was it, Pennsylvania?"

Feng Na couldn't hold back and yelled into the phone, "You actually remember! Hurry up and get to school!"

Li Yundong sounded utterly unconcerned, "I want to, too, but certain people don't want me there!"

Feng Na shouted back, "You jerk! I just had a huge fight with that Teacher Liu! You don't want me to start arguing with you again, so get over here quickly!"

Li Yundong paused, "You argued with that teacher? Why?"

Sun Li couldn't help herself, "It's all because of you?"

Li Yundong sounded confused, "Because of me?"

Sun Li explained, "Feng Na knew Teacher Liu wouldn't let you in, so she argued with him!"

Li Yundong instantly gained respect, "Heroine Feng’s righteous assistance, I am deeply grateful! I’ll be right there as soon as I finish showering!"

Feng Na's mood improved slightly, "Stop showering, why do you need to be so clean?"

Li Yundong shouted loudly, "At least let me rinse off the soap bubbles!"

Feng Na laughed loudly, "Keep your soap bubbles! When you wash them off, the hair will look even more prominent!"

With that, all the surrounding girls erupted in loud laughter, leaving only Li Yundong’s voice, a mixture of shock and rage, coming from the phone: "Hello, what hair looks more prominent? Hello, how did you hear what Su Chan and I said? Hello, why is everyone laughing? Hello, say something! Is it on speakerphone? Damn it, a bunch of female hooligans!"