Cheng Ying was a bit impulsive, fueled by the liquor that sharpened her nerves. Watching Chi Wu finish his juggling act and settle down next to her, she unconsciously took another sip to calm the frantic beat of her heart.

The next performance featured the object of her admiration, the "Male God," appearing on stage with his girlfriend.

This was just too provocative. Wasn't this deliberately pouring salt on an open wound?

And the performance was good too—the Male God played the melodica while the girl sang beside him.

Why did it feel so utterly dissonant? Cheng Ying's mood plummeted. Finally, she understood the desolate feeling she’d seen in the girls sitting near Chi Wu—that ache of seeing something precious disappear from view.

Cheng Ying took another sip of wine. Chi Wu had been quite pleased when he came off stage, but seeing the way Cheng Ying was staring at the teacher soured his mood instantly.

Thank goodness, after today, there would be no more contact between them. Chi Wu said nothing, just took a drink along with Cheng Ying.

Watching the Male God exchange flirtatious glances with the girl in the white dress made Cheng Ying’s heart clench with envy.

The taste of youth was truly bitter. Even though she hadn't imagined any beautiful ending for herself, she hadn't expected the object of her affections to find someone else so quickly.

Wasn't this just asking for irritation?

Cheng Ying’s gaze was too direct, and when the girl in white looked back at Cheng Ying, the expression was anything but friendly.

Cheng Ying managed a tight smile. A forty-year-old shouldn't be doing the things a twenty-year-old does. Impulse truly was the devil.

Look at that—graduation is here, and she still gets a warning glare from him. How embarrassing.

Though it wasn't exactly a secret crush, she had still mentally ogled his boyfriend. Cheng Ying’s old face flushed slightly.

But what the Male God did was tactless. Why must he perform right after our Wuzi? Wasn't that clearly meant to depress Wuzi? The intention to overshadow him was too obvious.

Cheng Ying was dissatisfied, and then a sunny young man came up to perform.

Cheng Ying knew this person; he was the class eccentric who sometimes went off the rails.

Later, Cheng Ying realized this boy was pursuing her. But as for his erratic ways of expressing himself, Cheng Ying avoided him as much as possible.

It was too exasperating, and every time she heard him utter the word 'love,' she would get goosebumps all over. It was sheer torture.

She simply couldn't bear it. Look, he's acting up again—the man was reciting poetry to Cheng Ying in front of all these people.

Cheng Ying felt this was going to be an ordeal. Couldn't this guy be dramatic without looking directly at her?

She could barely keep the expression on her face. "If no one were here, I'd kick him," she muttered to Chi Wu.

Chi Wu chuckled. "It's good he’s causing a fuss. It saves you from always staring at that vixen. 'Graduated, huh? See how youthful it is? You should dive in too, just treat it as a joke.'"

Cheng Ying almost laughed; this kid was making fun of her for not being youthful enough.

Then she looked up and instantly understood the look of disdain from the girl in white. It seemed to say, This is all you deserve.

Cheng Ying’s expression darkened. Looking at the dramatic boy in front of her, she almost wished Chi Wu would drag him off stage.

It didn't stop there. After finishing his performance, the annoying fellow insisted Cheng Ying come up and perform.

Cheng Ying thought, I can’t do anything! You all sing serenades or revolutionary songs. If I sing about love, won't people accuse me of improper conduct?

Dancing? If I do a disco now, people on the street will say I have issues.

Why, even my standard square dancing is bolder than that!

Isn't this deliberately setting me up to have a moral issue? What a scam.

Cheng Ying sat there gracefully, refusing to move. "No, everyone knows I'm from the countryside. I really can't do anything."

The class monitor stepped forward. "Classmate Cheng Ying, please come out and perform something. We've shared three years; this is your first time at a gathering like this. Even reciting a poem would be a nice memento."

In the monitor's view, Cheng Ying just showing up and standing there for a bit would be pleasing enough to the eye.

Cheng Ying thought, I’m not dying, why should I commemorate anything? I don't need you people to remember me.

But in the next moment, she caught the challenging glare from the girl in white. That look was too stimulating. In her drunken haze, it seemed to mock her constantly.

Cheng Ying didn't know how she agreed, embracing her youth and acting impulsively.

It was entirely in Cheng Ying's style: If you won't let me be comfortable, I won't let you be comfortable either. If I can’t beat you to death, I’ll annoy you to death.

Cheng Ying picked up the wine in her glass and downed it in one go.

Such boldness! A round of applause erupted. Few girls drank like that.

Cheng Ying said, "Then I'll hum a little ditty for everyone. Please forgive my poor showing."

She didn't get up, remaining seated in her original spot.

Her eyes fixed on the Male God across the room, and she launched into song: "How beautiful is love..."

To be honest, her voice wasn't great—medium-pitched, perhaps with a sense of melody at best.

It sounded a bit mournful, but the lyrics were shocking. She started straight with love. Many classmates froze.

In these times, such songs were rare.

And this was definitely something unheard of. Love, such a beautiful and shy thing, was meant to be hidden in the heart; no one dared speak it aloud.

Chi Wu was stunned, then looked at Cheng Ying, but unfortunately, Cheng Ying didn't see him.

Cheng Ying's line of sight was locked onto the Male God teacher. Chi Wu’s face darkened so much it looked like it could drip ink.

He raised the glass in his hand and finished the wine in one gulp.

Male God teacher, three years, and this was the first time he saw this female student's expression—it was so awkward. Why was she staring at him? Had she looked in the wrong direction?

The girl in white’s face turned ashen. She had truly never seen such a shameless girl.

Cheng Ying thought, I’ll anger you to death. Anyway, I’m never attending another reunion. I’m doing this deliberately to provoke you. I won't even come to school anymore. I’ll just flirt shamelessly to the end. You told me with your eyes not to look at you, and you chose a woman like that? This is my revenge.

Cheng Ying tilted her head. "Yet you let my heart break. Good wine always makes one drunk, and it makes one weep. Love wears a person down. The taste of a broken heart. Loving someone so wretchedly, we have all experienced it. A sigh, love, aren't you tired? Why does true feeling always turn to ash? I wish to love passionately just once, but deep affection is always repaid with sorrow. A sigh, love, aren't you beautiful? Why do we always love until there's no retreat? I don't regret the days I had you, but they only leave me riddled with scars."

This was practically a breakup ballad sung at a graduation party.

From beginning to end, Cheng Ying’s gaze was locked on the Male God. Tease you, tease you, tease you to death! You have no taste, you don't see my deep affection! Finally, she shot a provocative glance at the girl in white: So what? What’s with that look? Dare to look at me again?

If anyone was most excited, it was the eccentric male classmate; he wished he could rush over to Cheng Ying.

His goddess! The only one in the entire school, no, the entire provincial capital, who dared to call out for love so loudly!

The form teacher was extremely awkward. This was a situation of student-teacher romance happening right under his nose.

But how should he interpret this? Then there was the line, "Loving someone so wretchedly, we have all experienced it"—it was so provocative. Who hasn't experienced heartbreak?

This was like a jinx. The girls were all looking at Chi Wu. Those three years of secret pining must have been truly wretched.

As for Cheng Ying’s gaze, very few people noticed it.

The boys were busy looking at their own crushes, not noticing the girls at all. They were thinking about their own first loves.

So, Cheng Ying's open display of flirting was only clearly understood by four or five people.

The one who understood most clearly was Chi Wu, who was grinding his teeth so hard he could taste rust at the back of his throat.

This girl has grown audacious, acting so carelessly. Sooner or later, she’ll fly away.

Chi Wu felt a fierce, dangerous aura rising from deep within him.

His gaze was so cold that Cheng Ying's words echoed relentlessly in his ears.

To pursue a woman, hold her hand. To pursue a man, be direct. What you want, you can use tactics for. Getting her is the most important thing; money is secondary. The best thing is to confirm your target and achieve life's happiness. Know what you want.

These were all things Cheng Ying had said in front of him over the years, Chi Wu thought again and again.

What did Chi Wu want? He wanted Cheng Ying. Without Cheng Ying, he certainly wouldn't be happy.

After Cheng Ying finished her little ditty, the party lost all its fervor.

From that day forward, this explicit love song quietly spread across the campuses of the provincial capital.

Perhaps it was societal demand, or perhaps people’s capacity for acceptance had grown—regardless, it spread.

As for how the tune ended up sounding later, Cheng Ying took no responsibility.

She had plagiarized once, and she was tone-deaf to begin with.

She was completely off-key while singing. If anyone accused her of copyright infringement, she wouldn't admit it anyway.

Of course, that was a later development. After singing, Cheng Ying felt that youth was rather pointless.

Impulse is the devil. Look at the way the form teacher was staring at her, and then at the uncomfortable Male God beside her. She had truly been acting out of character.

It was all the fault of that guy beside her who acted up whenever he saw her, leading her astray.

But the only positive outcome was that the girl in white stopped looking at her. Cheng Ying had decisively knocked her down. What are you so proud of? If I decided to chase men openly, I could pull eight blocks of women past you. You wouldn't even get a look. That’s because I don’t care.

Cheng Ying raised an eyebrow, feeling a sense of noble defeat.

Besides, she wasn't fighting for him. If she were obedient, how could the Male God ever end up with you? See? I just don't value him.

Chi Wu was a bit drunk and felt slightly fuzzy when looking at Cheng Ying.

But he could still see the vixen walking towards them.

Cheng Ying felt awkward. A little flirtation, but did she need to come over to thank her? This was truly embarrassing.

In all these years, she had only done one bad thing, one utterly foolish thing. She was about to receive her retribution.

She quickly tugged at Chi Wu beside her. Can we pretend to be drunk?

Chi Wu gripped the hand Cheng Ying offered and didn't let go.

His heart held only one thought: No Cheng Ying, no happiness.

No matter who was in that girl's heart, she was ultimately his.

Chi Wu had been stimulated by Cheng Ying—deeply stimulated.

Years of ingrained understanding were shattered by Cheng Ying's little song, nearly bringing him to tears.

The Male God said, "Classmate Cheng Ying, I truly didn't know..."

Didn't know what? Under Chi Wu’s gaze, he couldn't finish the sentence.

And the teacher's face turned incredibly red.

Cheng Ying looked up, wanting to say, "Teacher Qi, it was a joke." But doing so would be admitting it was intentional. Should she really clarify that it was just eye-flirting? It was truly awkward to start that conversation.

Chi Wu handed Cheng Ying a glass of wine. To ease the tension, Cheng Ying drank it down, forgetting how strong the liquor was.

Which unlucky kid bought this cheap stuff?

Cheng Ying touched her lips, about to speak, when Chi Wu cut in. "Hello, Teacher Qi. Yingzi drank too much and her eyesight is poor. She mistook you for someone else. You might slightly resemble me. She’s having a spat with me, trying to annoy everyone around me."

The meaning was clear: Yingzi saw me; can you compare to me? In looks or anything else?

The Male God teacher already felt he had rushed over impulsively. Classmate Cheng Ying was truly—how to put it—provocative.

PS: Please vote with your pink tickets. RP