Huang Jie scoffed, "You call that helping Yi Zhen in a fight? You nearly beat him to death! If I were you, I’d be too ashamed to take the money!"

HOUZI spat disdainfully. "At least I threw a punch. What did you do? Just sing a few lines? Phoenix Legend gets paid hundreds of thousands for a performance, and yet, after singing your heart out, how much have you earned?"

I asked, "Who are Ding Sheng and Liang Qi?"

"My singing was background music for you guys! A fight like that needs a rousing soundtrack!"

"‘The Hottest Ethnic Trend’ is a rousing song? I nearly broke into a dance! My reputation was almost ruined in your hands, do you even realize that?"

"Who the hell are Ding Sheng and Liang Qi?!" I was losing patience.

"They're seniors in second year, leaders of a rather powerful group," Ma Jie, our timid dorm mate, murmured hesitantly. He cast a glance at me before shrinking back under his blanket.

"HOUZI, why did you push Yi Zhen towards the second-years?" I grabbed HOUZI’s collar, making sure he wouldn't dodge the question again.

"Zuo Fei, let me ask you: If you were trapped between a wolf in front and a tiger behind, and you had no choice but to fight one, which would you choose?"

"The wolf, of course. At least I’d have a fighting chance. There’s no surviving a fight with a tiger!"

"Exactly," HOUZI said with a smirk. "I'd rather Yi Zhen go after Ding Sheng and Liang Qi from the second-years—we might still stand a chance—than have him bring down the wrath of those third-year mad dogs on us!"

"Before he gets to them, can’t we go and find Ding Sheng first?" I suggested cautiously. With our standing among the first-years, getting an audience with the second-years' leaders shouldn't be too difficult, right?

"You think we can offer them more than Yi Zhen’s money?"

"Not everyone is swayed by money!"

"Oh? And who exactly? Name one person, and I'll bow down to them!"

"You, for example. Didn’t you refuse to take Yi Zhen’s money to hit me?"

"That’s because he offered too little. If he had thrown in another five bucks, I’d have cracked your skull open on the spot."

"Tch..." I rolled my eyes, knowing he was joking.

"Alright, let's go pull an all-nighter!" With that, HOUZI and Huang Jie vanished like a gust of wind.

A puddle of water remained on the floor. Just as I grabbed a mop, Ma Jie jumped up eagerly. "I’ll do it, I’ll do it!"

…

The next morning, just as early self-study ended, someone called out to me from the classroom door.

"Zuo Fei! Zuo Fei!"

I looked up to see Wang Yao and immediately scampered outside.

"I heard you guys dealt with Yi Zhen last night?" she asked, eyes gleaming with excitement.

"That’s right," I replied with pride. "That idiot actually wanted me to give up on Lin Ke’er!"

"Hah! Well done! That bastard thinks he can do whatever he wants just because he’s got money. Keep putting him in his place! If things ever get out of hand, you’ve got me to back you up!" She patted my shoulder smugly.

The more I looked at Wang Yao, the more I liked her. But I forced myself to suppress the feeling. "Heh, we can handle it ourselves."

"By the way, when are you finally confessing to Lin Ke’er? We’ve been waiting forever, you know! Keeping this a secret from her has been exhausting!"

"Tonight!" I paused for effect. "After night classes!"

"Awesome! If it works out, you owe me a drink!"

I noticed she said "me" instead of "us," and for a fleeting moment, something stirred in my chest. "No problem!"

"Heh, I’ll be waiting for the good news then!"

As I watched Wang Yao walk away, my gaze lingered longer than it should have. But fate had already made its choice—ours was a path that would never cross in that way.

At noon, I went to the internet café to find HOUZI and told him about my plan to confess that night. He grinned and wished me luck.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Aren’t you confessing too? Didn’t we agree? I confess to Lin Ke’er, you confess to Liu Yina!"

HOUZI hesitated. "I don’t think Liu Yina and I are at that stage yet…"

"Tch, coward. You’re a disgrace to Shanxi, you know that?"

"What did you just say?!" HOUZI sprang up. "Who dares say Shanxi men are cowards?!"

"Then prove me wrong—confess with me!"

"Fine! Who's afraid of who?!"

And just like that, I dragged HOUZI out of the café. Huang Jie trailed behind, sighing melodramatically, "What is love, if not the willingness to die for it..."

Back in the dorm, I forced HOUZI to change into clean clothes—he reeked of the internet café. I even got Ma Jie to tidy him up. To his credit, Ma Jie was quite good at this, even spritzing a little cologne on him. At last, HOUZI looked like a decent human being.

I was buzzing with anticipation the entire afternoon. HOUZI, on the other hand, was unnervingly calm. "It’s just a confession," he said lazily. "Why are you so worked up?"

Before class, I told Lin Ke’er to keep her schedule free after night lessons. HOUZI did the same with Liu Yina. And then we waited. Time crawled at a torturous pace.

By the time night self-study began, I was practically vibrating with nerves. In the span of an hour and a half, I ran to the bathroom three times. Strangely, every time, I bumped into members of the Thirteen Roses. Turns out, they were just as anxious as I was, sneaking off to the restroom out of sheer excitement. On my last trip, I even ran into Wang Yao.

I grumbled, "I’m the one confessing—why are you all so worked up?"

"You don’t get it. Lin Ke’er is the best girl among us!"

"Honestly… you’re pretty great too," I thought, though I didn’t dare say it aloud.

Finally, night class ended. The moment I stepped out, I was met with an overwhelming sight—every single member of the Thirteen Roses was there, except Lin Ke’er.

"Go, go! We’ll be waiting here for you!" they urged, winking and grinning like a gaggle of gossiping aunties.

As I strode ahead, they trailed behind me, giggling and whispering. Nosy busybodies, the lot of them.

But then, instead of heading toward Lin Ke’er, I walked into HOUZI’s classroom. The girls froze in confusion.

"Wait… is Zuo Fei about to confess to HOUZI?"

"Wasn't tonight supposed to be about Lin Ke’er?"

I turned and pointed at Liu Yina. "You, stay put! HOUZI is confessing with me tonight!"

Liu Yina paled instantly.

Inside, I found HOUZI slumped over his desk, fast asleep. A puddle of drool had soaked through the sleeve of his freshly changed shirt. Unbelievable—how could he sleep at a time like this?!

"HOUZI, wake up! It’s confession time!"

"...Don’t feed the enemy…" he mumbled in his sleep.

"You people from Shanxi are all idiots!" Left with no other choice, I resorted to my ultimate weapon. I wasn't trying to be prejudiced—I swear.

HOUZI remained unresponsive.

"You people from Shanxi are all cowards!"

Still, no reaction.

I was getting frustrated. I grabbed HOUZI and shook him vigorously. "Get up! It's time for the confession!"

"Zuo Fei, forget about him! Lin Ke'er is waiting for you!" Zhang Xuan called from the doorway.

There was no helping it—I had to go. At such a critical moment, HOUZI had completely bailed on me. It seemed I was the only one left to hold the fort. The group of girls all grinned mischievously, even Liu Yina was chuckling along.

"Don't celebrate too soon—HOUZI will wake up in a bit."

Liu Yina turned on her heel and bolted, prompting a wave of laughter from everyone.

"Alright, stay here and wait. No one is allowed to follow me. I'm going to confess to Lin Ke'er!"

As I made my way to Lin Ke'er's classroom, the group of girls, for once, didn't trail behind me. Standing at the doorway, I turned back to glance at them—all of them were beaming with excitement.

Yet, in that moment, I noticed something—Wang Yao's smile seemed a little forced.

Was I imagining things?

No. It didn’t matter now. Lin Ke'er was my priority. Whatever was going on with Wang Yao could wait.

Taking a deep breath, I called out, "Lin Ke'er, come outside for a moment."

As if she had been expecting me, Lin Ke'er swiftly walked out. "What’s the matter?" she asked.

I glanced back at the girls—they were grinning, some even whistling. Were they seriously trying to act like gangsters now?

"Let's talk over there," I said, pointing to the end of the corridor.

Once we reached the quiet corner, I turned to face Lin Ke'er. As I looked at her delicate, radiant face, I gathered every ounce of courage. The moment had finally come.

"Ke'er," I said solemnly, "I like you. Will you be my girlfriend?"

Lin Ke'er lifted her gaze to mine, but she didn’t respond immediately as I had hoped. Instead, she asked, "Zuo Fei, do you really like me?"

I nodded firmly. What kind of question was that? Why would I be confessing if I didn’t?

"Do you like me, or do you just like my face?"

I was momentarily stunned before realization dawned on me. Two years ago, Lin Ke'er had been awkward and plain-looking. Back then, I had rejected her outright, even throwing a ring in her face. Now, she had blossomed into a beauty, and I was chasing after her, protecting her, wanting her to be mine.

Any girl would feel uneasy about that, wouldn’t she?

Fortunately, I had already considered this question.

"Ke'er, do you know what I thought about the most during the two years you were gone?"

"What?" she asked, her face full of curiosity.

"I kept thinking that if you ever appeared before me again, I would make sure you became my girlfriend. Lin Ke'er, don’t you understand? I actually liked you even two years ago. Why else would I have always protected you? But back then, I was too foolish to recognize what that feeling was. Everyone around me called you ugly, and I was afraid that if I stayed by your side, they’d mock me too. I was immature and stupid, and that’s why I made such a mistake.

"But after you disappeared, I felt like a part of me had been ripped away. Life lost its color. Day after day, I thought about you, missed you, wishing desperately for a chance to see you again. And by some miracle, that day has finally arrived.

"I swear on everything—I would have loved you just the same even if you still looked the way you did before. In fact, I almost wish you hadn’t changed. That way, I wouldn’t have to worry about all these other people trying to steal you away from me.

"So please, Lin Ke'er, believe me. My feelings for you are genuine, not because of your face, but because of who you are. And this time, I won’t let you slip away again!"

By the time I finished, Lin Ke'er's face was already streaked with tears.

"Don't cry, don't cry," I said hurriedly, reaching out to wipe away her tears. "If someone sees you like this, they’ll think I bullied you. Ke'er, two years ago, I vowed to protect you. And now, two years later, I want to keep that promise. No—more than that—I want to protect you forever."

With that, I opened my arms and gently pulled her into an embrace.