Dazzling

Everyone watched as Xing Wu casually picked up a torn sheet from the notebook in front of him. It clearly depicted the scene from five minutes ago when Pang Hu stood up to sing—the surrounding classmates, the bonfire in the center, and Pang Hu’s enraptured expression were all vividly sketched. Even the somewhat comic-style play of light and shadow made Pang Hu appear incredibly grand and imposing!

And this drawing had been completed by him in just five minutes.

Qing Ye exclaimed in shock, "You know how to sketch?"

Xing Wu, however, curled his lips and replied, "What sketch? Isn’t it just drawing?"

Pang Hu was overjoyed and leaned in to ask Xing Wu, "Brother Wu, can... can you give this to me?"

Xing Wu tossed the paper toward Pang Hu, who immediately became so excited that he treated it like a treasure, examining it carefully and even declaring he would frame it when he got home.

When it was Jin Zhong’s turn again, their side seemed to have run out of ideas and started imitating An Zhong’s absurd talents. A tall, lanky girl stood up, wrapping her right arm around the back of her head to touch her own nose.

Pang Hu blurted out, "What... what kind of nonsense is this?"

Then he tried it himself but could only reach his ear and no further.

Xing Wu turned to Qing Ye and asked, "Why don’t you find some twisted problem and solve it on the spot?"

Qing Ye unzipped her jacket and replied, "No way. The competition hasn’t started yet—can’t reveal my skills."

Xing Wu smirked as he watched her take off her jacket, revealing a black high-neck fitted knit top underneath, paired with black skinny jeans and combat boots. Her stunning figure was now fully on display.

Everyone watched as Qing Ye walked to the edge of the field, casually swept up her hair, and tied her long locks into a ponytail with a black hair tie around her wrist. The flickering firelight danced across her fair skin, and her alluring figure combined with her delicate features quickly captured everyone’s attention.

Xiao Ling Tong turned to Xing Wu and asked, "What is Qing Ye going to do?"

Xing Wu shrugged, indicating he had no idea.

Just then, Qing Ye suddenly raised her hands, her silhouette appearing slender and graceful in the firelight. She stepped forward on her left foot, arched into a backbend, then flipped into a handstand, followed by a vertical split. She executed a flawless Bridge, landing on her right leg while extending her left leg forward again. Shifting her weight fluidly, her waist supple and slender, she split her legs mid-air, pointed her toes, and landed steadily. She performed three consecutive Back walkovers, her elegant and flexible movements driving the boys around her into a frenzy of cheers.

Finally, Qing Ye landed steadily, turned around, and struck a perfect Ending pose.

The boys from An Zhong roared enthusiastically, chanting, "Qing Ye, Qing Ye, Qing Ye..."

As Qing Ye retracted her pose and walked back, many boys from Jin Zhong, having learned her name, called out to her, "Qing Ye, look over here, over here!"

Qing Ye turned her head and noticed someone pointing a camera at her. She flashed a perfect smile, and a chorus of cheers erupted from the Jin Zhong boys.

She walked back and sat down beside Xing Wu, who said with a half-smile, "You know how to dance?"

Qing Ye, slightly breathless, replied, "I studied Chinese dance but didn’t master it. I only know a few basic moves to bluff people."

Xing Wu recalled her flexible form and suddenly felt he couldn’t bear to listen to her panting anymore. Damn!

He raised an eyebrow and tilted his chin, saying, "Looks like your casual bluffing has already caused massive damage."

Qing Ye detected a hint of jealousy in his words. Suppressing a laugh, she glanced at him, swayed slightly, and bumped into him, whispering softly, "I’m yours."These words made Xing Wu turn his head to stare at her. His face was expressionless, yet Qing Ye saw a whirlpool in his eyes she had never witnessed before—carrying an unstoppable force and scorching magic that instantly made her heart surrender. Her body trembled slightly, and she thought she must be going mad. Could a single glance from Xing Wu now render her completely weak? Was spring arriving? How terrifying.

Perhaps the atmosphere had already reached its peak, so even the usually reserved and shy Shi Min went all out today, actually reciting an extremely difficult tongue-twister that left everyone astonished. Qing Ye truly hadn’t known she could be so articulate. If she could overcome her shy and timid nature, she might even become a gold-medal tour guide in the future.

When it was Fang Lei’s turn, she took out a coin to perform magic tricks. For the sake of fairness, she needed a classmate from Jin Zhong to cooperate with her. Many raised their hands to volunteer, but she shamelessly chose Wei Dong.

Qing Ye honestly couldn’t figure out what magic trick she was performing. She just saw Fang Lei continuously touching Wei Dong’s hands, making him extremely embarrassed as he kept smiling shyly.

After a round of battles, the students from Jin Zhong started getting rowdy. Qing Ye didn’t know what they were making a fuss about, but she heard the music suddenly grow louder, the bonfire flared up, and the entire atmosphere became electrifying.

Fang Lei turned her head and told Shi Min and Qing Ye, "They’re talking about the bonfire dance. You two better quickly find a male partner."

Shi Min panicked and said, "But I don’t know how to dance."

"It’s very simple. Just follow along. Whatever you do, don’t end up alone."

In this situation where the numbers of males and females were unequal, being left alone would be utterly embarrassing.

Fang Lei had already set her sights on Wei Dong, but Shi Min anxiously looked around, completely at a loss about what to do.

Qing Ye turned her head to look at Xing Wu, who had clearly heard Fang Lei’s words. He turned, a slight smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth: "What? Trying to hit on me?"

Qing Ye suppressed a laugh: "Do I need to hit on you? Do you think I’ll end up alone?"

Xing Wu chuckled softly, lowering his gaze and nodding: "Alright, then we’ll each do our own thing."

Qing Ye’s eyes sparkled: "How about this—let’s make a bet. Whoever finds a partner first later will have the other unconditionally agree to one request."

Xing Wu raised an eyebrow and glanced sideways at her: "Quite confident, aren’t you?"

Qing Ye immediately straightened up, reached up to remove her hair tie, and in an instant, her soft, slightly wavy long hair cascaded down, glowing brilliantly in the firelight. She gave him a challenging smile, the faint dimples at the corners of her lips exuding an alluring charm.

Xing Wu narrowed his eyes and smirked: "Planning to use a beauty trap now?"

Qing Ye tossed her long hair and flashed a mysterious smile: "A bet’s a bet."

Xing Wu watched the rising bonfire with an amused expression as a female student from An Zhong stepped into the center. She first introduced the history and background of the bonfire dance, then explained the format they would follow. As the music changed, everyone could freely find suitable partners to enter the area and begin the bonfire dance around the fire. Boys and girls would face each other, switching partners every two moves—the girls would stay in place while all the boys moved one position to the right.In this era of burning passion, such group activities were undoubtedly the most anticipated moments for young boys and girls. Especially with many unfamiliar peers around, those restless youths facing imminent graduation separation grew even more eager, wanting to seize this opportunity to invite their crushes. The air was filled with an atmosphere of exhilaration and excitement.

When the bonfire dance music started, Xiao Ling Tong and Fang Lei were the first from their group to dash out, disappearing without a trace in an instant. The rest remained seated, observing the scene.

The guy beside Qing Ye leaned back with his hands supporting him, exuding a lazy and unrestrained aura. Yet who could have expected a girl to suddenly stride directly toward him, stopping before Xing Wu with a flushed, nervous face as she said, "Xing Wu, um... can I join you?"

"..."

For two seconds, the air seemed to freeze. Qing Ye turned her head in disbelief at the scene, while Pang Hu on the other side exploded—because the girl standing before Xing Wu was none other than the school beauty they'd been discussing all afternoon.

With Pang Hu's exclamation, "Holy shit, you—you're Jin Zhong's school, school beauty Tan Miao, right?" all the brothers from An Zhong swarmed over to spectate intensely.

The school beauty shyly tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, her round face slightly lowered as she gazed at Xing Wu with a smile.

Seeing that the school beauty had been waiting for a while with no movement from Xing Wu, Pang Hu grew frantic, yanking him up and urging, "Damn, Wu, Brother Wu, your chance is here, seize it!"

Qing Ye's eyebrows furrowed into a deep crease. Xing Wu rose lazily, shot her a glance, paused as he passed by her, and dropped the words, "Really not planning to hit on me? You still have a chance."

"Hmph!" Qing Ye directly turned her head away with a tsundere pout, looking elsewhere.

Then Xing Wu was pushed out by a group of guys, hands in pockets as he ambled leisurely toward the dance area. The girl was quite petite, only reaching his chest, and she clung closely to him, tilting her head to gaze up at Xing Wu with a look of admiration.

Qing Ye blew at her bangs in irritation, but just then a hand extended in front of her. She looked up to find Ye Yingjian—the guy whose hairstyle could withstand a typhoon—standing before her, his left hand behind his back as he bent slightly at the waist, offering his right hand to her like a true gentleman: "Qing Ye, may I have you as my dance partner?"

Qing Ye's eyes instantly widened. "Are we that close? Why ask me? If you're going to ask, couldn't you hurry up? Is it that hard to walk a few steps?"

"???" Ye Yingjian froze, his face a mask of confusion.

Qing Ye slapped her palm against his to leverage herself up, striding into the dance area with full presence. Somehow, her fingertips rested on the back of his hand, and the way he supported her resembled a eunuch escorting the Empress Dowager into court.

Once Xing Wu and Qing Ye left, an empty space opened between Pang Hu and Shi Min. They exchanged an awkward glance. Pang Hu scratched his head and stammered, "Then, um, should we... pair up?"

Shi Min nodded with slight unease. Pang Hu stood and pulled her up. Though they interacted daily after school and were relatively familiar as classmates, the atmosphere made them somewhat self-conscious. Standing face-to-face in the dance area, they both felt too embarrassed to look directly at each other.Qing Ye's gaze swept to the right. Xing Wu was separated from her by five or six pairs of students. Even among a group of boys, even with his casual demeanor, his undeniable sharpness still made her spot him instantly.

At that moment, the school beauty was leaning forward, speaking to him with a smiling face. Xing Wu kept his eyes lowered, fixed on the ground. Being too far away, Qing Ye couldn't make out his expression clearly, but she could see the school beauty's infatuated look.

She withdrew her gaze and looked up at the sky in exasperation. However, Ye Yingjian, standing opposite her, suddenly became agitated: "Qing Ye, why are you rolling your eyes at me? Do you really hate me that much?"

"??? What do you mean?" Qing Ye retracted her chin and looked at him with a face full of confusion.

Ye Yingjian couldn't help but say: "From the first moment I saw you, I felt a sense of mutual admiration between heroes. Don't you feel the same? Don't you think we're the same kind of people?"

"..." Qing Ye twitched the corner of her mouth with visible annoyance: "Trust me, we're not."

But Ye Yingjian grew anxious: "How are we not?"

Qing Ye calmly told him: "Last monthly exam, I scored 685, you scored 639. There's a 46-point gap between us. I can get into Peking University, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, or Shanghai Jiao Tong University. You can only go to Zhejiang University, Central South University, or Nanjing University. That's the difference."

Ye Yingjian, who had spent eighteen years being imitated but never surpassed, had always considered himself a heaven-sent prodigy. Throughout his academic journey, he had crushed every obstacle in his path. This was the first time he had been rendered speechless, and a wave of sorrow washed over him. His eyes reddened with anger, and then... he started crying...