Chapter 427: The Auditorium

Zhou Chongming had been keeping an eye on Lin Rui. He saw her transform into a different person after she finished her phone call. Her usual stern little face was now blooming with a brilliant smile, and he felt his traitorous heart begin to race.

‘Whose call was that? It has such magical power… Forget it, Xiaorui is in a good mood right now. I should hurry up and say hello.’

He adjusted his tie, straightened his back, and walked towards Lin Rui.

In fact, as a high-ranking officer in the student council and a well-known rich second-generation student, he didn’t need to be in charge of the National Day gala rehearsals at all. He had only volunteered to host after hearing that Lin Rui would be participating.

He did it all to create more opportunities to interact with Lin Rui.

“Xiaorui, why are you so happy today? What song are you planning to sing for the gala?”

Zhou Chongming put on what he thought was a charismatic smile and approached Lin Rui.

But the moment she saw him, Lin Rui’s cheerful expression turned cold.

“Minister Zhou, it’s written on the gala’s program. I’m going to go prepare now.”

With that, Lin Rui quickened her pace and headed backstage.

“…”

Although it wasn’t the first time he’d been treated this way, the stark contrast in Lin Rui’s expression before and after seeing him still infuriated him.

‘Damn it! Even if I were chasing a pile of dog shit, it would’ve gotten used to my smell after this long. But you’re still acting so cold. Fuck…’

Zhou Chongming hadn’t gotten into Binhai University through exams. His family had donated some money to the school library to get him in.

Normally, with his wealth, chasing girls at the university wasn’t difficult, and he rarely resorted to extreme measures. But today, Lin Rui had truly pissed him off.

‘I’ll confess my feelings to her in public at the National Day gala. If she still rejects me, then she’ll have no one to blame but herself…’

His face darkened as he turned and left.

…

After registering his identity at the school gate, Chen Erbao followed the navigation on his phone towards the main auditorium.

Along the way, he could see students focused on their books on benches and in covered walkways, as well as couples nestled together, whispering secrets to each other.

All in all, the atmosphere was completely different from his own university experience, making him understand what a top-tier domestic university truly felt like.

There were plenty of beautiful women along the way, but he hadn’t yet seen anyone on the same level as Lin Rui. As for someone like Xia Qingxue, he hadn’t seen a single one.

Xia Qingxue and Bai Xiaoqing were already otherworldly in their beauty. Not just in real life, but even online, Chen Erbao had never seen anyone who could compare to them in looks.

As for those AI-generated or heavily filtered online influencers, Chen Erbao never paid attention to that sort of thing.

‘Only what’s naturally on your face is real. Relying on beauty filters? Who are you kidding?’

As Chen Erbao was rounding the corner of a teaching building, he suddenly sidestepped, dodging backward.

At that exact moment, a young woman in a long red dress came walking around the corner from the opposite direction, nearly colliding with Chen Erbao.

Although Chen Erbao had dodged, the young woman was startled. She lost her grip on her milk tea, and it fell to the ground with a SPLAT.

White, milky liquid splashed out, soaking her red dress.

“You… Don’t you watch where you’re going?”

The young woman, not expecting to nearly run into someone, glanced down at her milk-tea-stained red dress and snapped with a frown.

Chen Erbao’s brow furrowed as well as he looked at her.

“You’re the one who couldn’t hold on to it, and now you’re blaming me?”

The young woman had a classic oval face, clear, bright eyes, and a high-bridged nose. Her features were well-defined and sharp, and her vibrant red lips were like a blazing fire. Paired with her long red dress, she was absolutely stunning.

Only then did Chen Erbao realize how beautiful she was, not much less so than Lin Rui.

Hearing Chen Erbao shift the blame, the young woman was not pleased.

“You were clearly the one who rushed out and startled me…”

Chen Erbao clicked his tongue in annoyance, walked around her, and continued toward the main auditorium.

“Hey, aren’t you even going to apologize? What kind of manners are those…”

As her complaints faded into the distance, Chen Erbao quickly put the girl out of his mind.

He had no time for pointless squabbles right now; he just wanted to see Xiaorui as soon as possible.

They hadn’t seen each other in a month, and he really did miss her a little.

Entering the main auditorium, Chen Erbao crossed a long aisle and arrived at the foot of the stage, searching for Lin Rui among the busy student council officers.

“Excuse me, who are you looking for?” a helpful student asked.

“I’m looking for Lin Rui.”

Chen Erbao gave the student a polite smile.

“Lin Rui… you mean the sophomore campus belle, Lin Rui?”

The student paused for a moment, then asked calmly.

Many people had come by in the past few days, drawn by her reputation, hoping to meet Lin Rui. He assumed Chen Erbao was just another one of them.

Just as Chen Erbao was about to speak, a clear, cheerful laugh reached his ears.

“Brother Er Bao!”

He turned his head and saw a familiar figure running toward him from a distance.

Lin Rui was wearing a red top and white pants. Her hair was tied up high in a ponytail, her fair face was touched up with a light blush, and her charming lips were coated with a hint of lipstick. She was overflowing with youthful energy.

A smile spread across Chen Erbao’s face, and he opened his arms, ready to embrace Lin Rui.

Lin Rui jogged over, her two full “bunnies” bouncing with each step, and threw herself into Chen Erbao’s arms under the jealous glares of all the male student council officers.

At the same time, the sound of hearts breaking echoed in everyone’s minds.

Of the officers here today to maintain order, eight out of ten had come for the sake of the sophomore campus belle.

And now they were witnessing such a heartbreaking scene.

They wished they hadn’t come today!

Chen Erbao held Lin Rui’s soft, graceful body and spun her around twice before setting her down. His hands wrapped around her slender waist as he looked at the face so close to his.

“You’ve gotten heavier lately…”

“No, I haven’t!”

Lin Rui pouted and instinctively touched her stomach.

“Haha, it all went to the right places.”

Chen Erbao squeezed her gently, feeling her “bunnies” press against his chest, and couldn’t help but tease her.

Lin Rui finally realized what he meant, and her face instantly turned bright red.

“Brother Er Bao, you… you’re awful!”

Chen Erbao chuckled. Noticing the several sharp glares around them, he finally let her go.

“How much longer do you have to rehearse?”

“Probably until about three-thirty in the afternoon. I’ll talk to them in a bit and ask if I can finish my rehearsal early. Then I can show you around campus!”

“Okay.”

Lin Rui clung to Chen Erbao’s arm and cheerfully led him to a seat, where she began telling him about everything that had happened over the past month.

In truth, Lin Rui had already told him most of these stories many times during their usual chats, but Chen Erbao still listened with great patience, making a comment or two here and there, which made her giggle endlessly.

The two flirted in their seats as if no one else existed. The male officers’ eyes turned red with envy, their work forgotten, wishing they could instantly take Chen Erbao’s place.

“Everyone, focus! Let’s get through this skit!” a female officer urged in a cold voice.

‘Damn, that ugly T-rex is so bossy!’