CH 16

The rumors slowly subsided over time.

Lin Luo seemed to be deeply frightened by something or someone; she couldn’t even look at her.

Whereas Song Xinyu always glanced at her discreetly with pitiful eyes full of tears.

Cheng Chu really dislikes these two people. She has been very busy; practicing piano, studying class materials, and memorizing speech scripts. She doesn’t have the time nor effort to deal with those girls.

Unknowingly, the weekend quickly flew by, and the speech contest would be held soon on Monday.

The last class on Monday and the self-study classes were canceled and changed to the speech contest, and everyone was required to gather at the auditorium.

Every contestant was called backstage.

When Cheng Chu got there, the small backstage area was already crowded with a lot of people, bustling with noises like a small food market.

She then realized that Lin Qifeng had also registered for this competition.

He was not surprised to see Cheng Chu, but raised his eyebrows and cheerfully said: “You’re here too?”

“Yeah. Not enough students registered for my class, so I was dragged in.” Cheng Chu shrugged.

Lin Qifeng smiled: “Oh! Just like me.”

He randomly glanced around and saw Song Xinyu standing in the corner. His smiling lips stiffened: “Is the other contestant for your class Song Xinyu?”

“Yeah.” Cheng Chu nodded: “You know her?”

“Haha… I’m not familiar with her at all.” Lin Qifeng quickly denied: “I’m leaving now. See you in the contest.”

He was like a mouse that saw a cat, quickly scurrying out of sight.

Cheng Chu found it strange, but she didn’t let the thought linger. She had to read over the manuscript she was holding.

In contrast to the freezing winter, the backstage was hot and humid, causing a light flush to appear on Cheng Chu’s face.

She could hear a contestant who was already on the stage speaking.

Cheng Chu felt a little dizzy and had to take a few deep breaths when suddenly her shoulder was patted twice by someone.

“Are you number three? Get ready, you’re going up next.”

“Okay, thank you.” Cheng Chu nodded, folded the manuscript in her hand into a small square, and put it in the pocket of her skirt. When she raised her eyes, she saw Lin Qifeng standing far away, silently cheering her on.

Cheng Chu couldn’t help but smile. She was born bright and beautiful, but with a smile, her charming flushed face looked much more friendly and lovely.

The boy standing beside her couldn’t help but stare blankly at her, his face turning bright red.

The host cheerfully announced: “Next up, please welcome the third contestant Cheng Chu from class 3 of the Sophomore class.”

“Huff.” Cheng Chu took a deep breath and walked onto the stage.

A beam of light fell upon her; a girl wearing a school uniform. When she stepped onto the stage, her skirt swayed slightly, like a blossoming flower swaying on a branch in early spring.

There was a slight commotion in the audience.

Sitting in the corner, Gu Miao heard the excited voices of the boys from other classes chattering behind him.

“F*ck, my goddess is here!”

“The goddess not only plays the piano but also excels at speaking English.”

“I heard that she grew up abroad when she was a child, same as Lin Qifeng.”

“Oh no, I’m losing my crush. I can’t fight against Lin Qifeng.”

The winter wind was howling outside, but the auditorium was warm like spring.

Gu Miao was sitting on a warm and comfortable chair, but he felt as if he was being beaten by the cold wind, drowning in the sea, cut by the sharp wind. His heart that was joyously beating for her quietly fell silent.

His hooded eyes looked toward the girl on the stage.

Under the bright stage lights, the beautiful girl’s fair skin seemed to be surrounded by a layer of soft light, and her twinkling doe eyes radiated warmth.

Her voice was strong and clear, like a spring water stream flowing from the top of a mountain, flowing into his heart.

She was clearly fluent in English. Cheng Chu doesn’t have an upright and standard English accent, but she speaks with a casual and beautiful accent, which calms and relieves people’s tense hearts.

Gu Miao’s English was not very good; in fact, it’s very bad. He listened attentively, but could only understand a few words.

The auditorium was brightly lit, casting shadows to fall in the corner.

Gu Miao’s dark eyes seemed to blend into the darkness.

Never once had he hated his incompetence so much before.

He couldn’t comprehend the most basic English phrases, and he couldn’t even understand what she said during the speech.

But Lin Qifeng, he can brilliantly stand on the same stage with her.

And like her, his confident and elegant ways conquer all people’s hearts.

There was loud applause, and the girl bowed slightly to everyone.

Gu Miao regained his consciousness as if stirring awake from a dream, he raised his hand mechanically and clapped.

***

Without a doubt, Cheng Chu won first place.

There were flowers and applause from the audience. She stood in the center of the stage, receiving everyone’s attention.

The auditorium was filled with a sea of ​​people. The spotlights on the stage were shining as brightly as the afternoon sun in summer. Cheng Chu’s face flushed slightly. She took the trophy handed over by the principal, and looked around, and saw Song Xinyu in the distance.

She performed well today and won third place.

The petite girl stood on the edge of the stage and was quickly overwhelmed by the surrounding crowd.

She didn’t look happy at all, slightly tugging at the corners of her mouth, showing a fake smile.

After the awards were over, Cheng Chu followed the crowd of people backstage, took her things, and left.

The participants had left one after another, and there were not many people backstage.

When Lin Qifeng came in, Song Xinyu was the only one standing backstage.

The girl’s figure was thin. She was sitting on a small stool, making her almost invisible if she didn’t make a sound.

Lin Qifeng was taken aback, seeing that she didn’t intend to speak out, he walked to the side in silence, picked up his backpack, and turned to leave.

“Lin Qifeng.” Song Xinyu’s delicate voice suddenly sounded in the empty backstage: “I have something to tell you.”

Lin Qifeng’s back stiffened. He coughed awkwardly before saying, “My driver is waiting for me at the school gate. Let’s talk next time.”

“Don’t you even have time to say a word to me?” Song Xinyu suddenly stood up, looking at Lin Qifeng with tearful eyes, giving him cold shivers.

Lin Qifeng took a deep breath and said, “Okay, let’s talk.”

Not all the people in the auditorium had left yet, Song Xinyu was afraid that others would hear their conversation, and led him to a stairway in the corner.

She lowered her head, bit her lip, twisted her clothes with her fingers, and stayed silent for a long while.

Next to them was a window, and the cold wind blew in, cutting them like a knife.

Standing next to the window, Lin Qifeng only felt cold chills on his back. He looked at the girl who had her head lowered in front of him, his eyes flashing with impatience. His voice was very cold as he said: “Just say it.”

He was going to die of hypothermia standing there.

Song Xinyu finally released her lower lip. She shyly raised her watery eyes and looked at the boy in front of her, saying: “I want to tell you that I like you.”

At the dim stairway, the smart voice-activated light suddenly switched on.

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She saw that Lin Qifeng’s usual radiant and sunny eyes were not there. Instead, they were like the winter wind outside the window, cutting her with his indifference.

“I don’t like you.” She heard him say coldly.

At the empty staircase, there was a slight echo when he spoke. Song Xinyu stood still blankly staring at him. The cold and decisive words echoed in her ears over and over.

She felt her heartbreak in pieces, her youthful love exposing to the cold wind. The bitterness flowed into her blood and into the heart, freezing her limbs and body.

“Why?” Her questioning voice trembled.

Under the dim light, Lin Qifeng had no expression on his face. His eyes were not dark black, but a light brown color, which appeared indifferent and ethereal.

He fixedly looked at the handrails of the stairway and said coldly: “No reason, I just don’t like you.”

In freshman year, he and Song Xinyu were in the same class. In the beginning, he felt neutral about this seemingly delicate and pure girl. He didn’t hate her or like her, so he always politely refused her favors.

But one day in the stairwell, he heard this girl who usually acted very weak in front of people, as if she would be frightened to death if someone did so much as speak loudly in her ear, was using her warm and soft voice to bad-mouth another girl in the class.

He couldn’t believe that this girl would speak such vicious words.

The girl who was being slandered was Lin Qifeng’s deskmate.

She was an introverted and quiet girl, cowardly but kind, always helping others without asking for anything in return. She and Song Xinyu were once as good as sisters.

It’s unknown since when, the girls in the class began to isolate the kind girl, boldly and secretly bullying her.

Lin Qifeng didn’t understand the reason behind it all.

But at that moment, he understood everything.

Song Xinyu, who was like a delicate flower, requiring people’s gentle care to survive, making many boys feel pity towards her, was essentially a vicious Man-Eating Flora.

[Man Eating Flora — as the name suggests, is a carnivorous plant.]

She acted weak to conceal the wickedness in her heart. After everyone lays down their guard, she then gives people a fatal blow.

He would never like such a girl; in fact, his heart was overwhelmed by fear and disgust toward her.

In the silent corridor, the phone in Lin Qifeng’s pocket vibrated.

It was a call from his driver. He picked it up and said apologetically: “I’m sorry, Uncle Li, I have to deal with something here. Please wait for another five minutes and I’ll come right away.”

Lin Qifeng hung up the phone and said in a cold voice, “If there’s nothing else, I’m leaving.”

After he finished speaking, he quickly walked up the stairs without waiting for Song Xinyu’s reply.

“Wait.”

Lin Qifeng’s footsteps stopped, and his tone was impatient: “What else do you want?”

“Are you rejecting me because of Cheng Chu? You like her, right?” Song Xinyu sniffed, her voice choked.

A trace of annoyance flashed in Lin Qifeng’s eyes: “It has nothing to do with her, don’t provoke her, and don’t come near me in the future.”

The tall and lean figure of a young man gradually disappeared into the corridor, and Song Xinyu stood blankly for a while, tears gradually coming to her eyes.

In her dazed state, she remembered the boy standing in the crowded backstage, looking up from the crowd, smiling brightly at Cheng Chu.

Whereas, he couldn’t even spare a glance at her.

Tears gradually fell, and Song Xinyu’s misty eyes gradually turned cloudy with malicious intent.

She wiped her tears and curled her lips. A wicked smile on her face.