Killing intent approached, Wen Tingxue raised her head sharply, "What do you want?"
"Ask your good boyfriend!" Jiang Tu laughed wildly and raised his hand.
The moment the fist wind swept past, Wen Tingxue dodged sideways, and at the same time, a slender and powerful hand firmly clasped Jiang Tu's fist.
"Who the hell... Young Master Fu?"
His arrogant demeanor immediately extinguished upon seeing who it was.
"Why are you here?" Jiang Tu frowned in confusion.
Lu Youran rolled her eyes and turned to Wen Tingxue, "Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine." Wen Tingxue stared at the sulky, defiant young man, thinking for a few seconds, unable to recall who he was.
Lu Youran, seeing her confusion, explained, "Jiang Tu, Mo Yichen's junior disciple."
Jiang Tu?
A familiar name.
Wen Tingxue felt she had heard it somewhere before.
But for the life of her, she couldn't remember.
Fu Ran retracted his hand and glared at him warningly, "Don't cause trouble on my territory."
"Okay." Jiang Tu immediately raised his hands and took two steps back, as obedient as can be.
Fu Ran knew his nature; he would outwardly comply but inwardly scheme.
"Don't touch her." Fu Ran's words became even more direct.
Jiang Tu pouted unhappily, "No, what's your relationship with her?"
Why was he protecting her so much?
Before Fu Ran could explain, Wen Tingxue suddenly kicked him in the waist.
Caught off guard, Jiang Tu stumbled several steps before falling directly into the flowerbed by the roadside, his clothes stained.
"Are you looking for death?!"
Jiang Tu roared at Wen Tingxue, as if he could eat her alive.
The girl standing by the flowerbed looked down at him expressionlessly, her tone exceedingly calm, "The kidnapping back then, was it you?"
"..."
Jiang Tu looked away guiltily.
Although some time had passed, he remembered the incident.
To kidnap her, he had even lost a good wolfhound.
"Jiang Tu?" Hearing about the kidnapping, Fu Ran was the first to scrutinize, "What exactly happened?"
"Nothing."
Jiang Tu stood up, denying, "Brother Ran, don't listen to her nonsense. Kidnapping? I've never even seen her before."
The Fu family outwardly avoided shady dealings and had expressly forbidden the Jiang family from engaging in them.
He had acted on impulse then and regretted it afterward.
Fortunately, the matter had been resolved, and the Fu family was unaware.
Now, being suddenly brought up by Wen Tingxue, Jiang Tu was a little flustered.
If the Fu family investigated, he would surely be scolded.
"Hey," Jiang Tu looked at Wen Tingxue irritably and questioned loudly, "You say I kidnapped her, do you have any evidence?"
Wen Tingxue said calmly, "No."
She hadn't been able to implicate Jiang Tu at the time.
It was even less likely now.
She knew this clearly.
"However, karma comes around. Young Master Jiang would be best off praying every day that he doesn't fall into my hands, because if he does, I will repay him twofold."
Wen Tingxue's eyes were sharp as she looked at him, each word she uttered not sounding like a joke.
Jiang Tu was momentarily stunned, then scoffed, "Just you?"
"Even a shallow ditch can overturn a boat, and a small stone can trip someone to death. Young Master Jiang, it's best not to be too smug."
Wen Tingxue curved her lips into a half-smile at him.
Jiang Tu: "..." Damn it.
As expected of the girl nurtured by Yu Wenli.
The same way of speaking! The same annoying demeanor!
Damn it!
After a prolonged silence, Fu Ran narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "You'd better give me a reasonable explanation for this."
"What's there to explain? I don't know her at all!" Jiang Tu instinctively retorted.
Fu Ran sneered, "If you don't know her, why did you touch her?"
"..." Jiang Tu's heart tightened.
"Perhaps," Mo Yichen said with a smile, "there's been some misunderstanding?"
"There's no misunderstanding," Wen Tingxue stated directly. "The person who ordered my kidnapping back then was Jiang Tu. I heard it myself. If Young Master Fu doesn't believe me, you can investigate."
Fu Ran raised his eyes. Jiang Tu conceded, "Fine, it was me. Are you satisfied?"
With that, he swaggered inside, showing no trace of guilt or apology.
Lu Youran gritted her teeth in exasperation, "What kind of garbage is this?!"
The guest judges and judges had all arrived, and the finals began.
Wen Tingxue and Jiao Yutong sat in the seats with the best view. The few people in the front row happened to be Mo Yichen's and Jiang Tu's fans.
Thus, the following scene unfolded.
Front row: "Jiang Tu is so handsome, ahhh!"
Wen Tingxue: "Handsome? He's hideous."
Front row: "Teacher Mo is so gentle, I'm about to faint."
Wen Tingxue: "Heh."
Front row: "I want to marry Jiang Tu!"
Wen Tingxue: "Sister, eat something better."
Jiao Yutong, having endured half a session of complaints, couldn't help but laugh and ask, "Do you dislike them that much?"
After spending so much time together, she had rarely seen Wen Tingxue express her emotions so directly.
Even when people were particularly obnoxious, she hadn't acted like this.
Wen Tingxue stared at the two people in the center of the judging panel and said, "I'm their anti-fan. The kind who will hate them forever."
"?"
Before Jiao Yutong could inquire further, a captivating and melodious voice came from the front.
Accompanied by familiar background music.
"I want to sing to you.
"While we're young and beautiful..."
Jiao Yutong suddenly looked up and met Tang Mo Bai's gentle and affectionate dark eyes.
Whether it was the timing of her choice or he had been waiting for her,
His gaze was so profound it could melt away the years.
"I want to sing to you.
"Give me your innocent smile.
"We should have happy, joyful, sunny times...
"I want to sing to you.
"Can I move you with my most passionate feelings?"
Halfway through the song, Jiao Yutong was finally certain that this song was sung for her.
Because his gaze had been fixed on her, never leaving her for a second.
The moment she realized this, Jiao Yutong wanted to look away but was irresistibly drawn to him.
Memories of their time together replayed in her mind, accompanied by his singing.
It was like the most beautiful dream.
"Who can replace you?
"Love while you're young.
Looking at the girl in the audience, Tang Mo Bai finally sang the line he wanted to say most: "My dearest person, let's be together on this long journey."
"Tong Tong!" Seeing some drama, Wen Tingxue instantly forgot about that silly Jiang Tu and grabbed Jiao Yutong's arm, asking, "Isn't he confessing to you?"
Jiao Yutong shook her head calmly, "I don't know, probably."
"..."
Wen Tingxue was frozen by her emotion for a few seconds and asked hesitantly, "You? Don't like him?"
Jiao Yutong looked at the elegant young man in white on stage and, after a moment of silence, replied, "I don't like anyone."
She first heard "Want to Sing to You" in high school.
During the darkest period of her life, this song accompanied her through countless late nights.
From then on, she knew that when disaster struck, no one could be relied upon but herself.
So, the moment she stepped onto the university campus, she told herself that in her life, there would be no prince, no knight.
She could overcome obstacles, and she could forge her own path.
She would be her own queen and was prepared to be alone for life.
...
After the five singers finished.
Based on the live audience and judges' scores, Tang Mo Bai was the undisputed first place.
Unfortunately, by the time of the award ceremony, the girl he loved had already left her seat.
The trophy in his hand suddenly lost its meaning.
After the award ceremony, Jiang Tu went on stage to perform an unreleased new song.
Wen Tingxue wasn't in the mood to listen and was about to leave when Tang Mo Bai stopped her, asking anxiously, "Where is she?"
"She..." Wen Tingxue pursed her lips, looking troubled. "She asked me to tell you something."
"What?" Tang Mo Bai asked impatiently.
Wen Tingxue sighed and relayed, "She told you to stop wasting your efforts. She doesn't like you, not now, and not in the future."
With these harsh words, the young man visibly froze, a flicker of scarlet pain appearing in his dark eyes.
"You..." Wen Tingxue wanted to comfort him, but he suddenly smiled, "It's okay, it's okay. I can wait..."
His voice, extremely gentle, sounded broken due to its hoarseness.
Wen Tingxue watched him walk out, his steps unsteady, utterly devoid of the spirited demeanor she had seen when they first met.
"Sigh."
The young girl let out a soft sigh.
It seemed that those who fall in love always lose a piece of themselves.
Mo Yichen was surprised by her personality and then said with a smile, "Regarding Jiang Tu's matter, I apologize to you on his behalf."
"You?" Wen Tingxue raised an eyebrow at him and after a moment, sneered, "You're no good person either."
Knowing she was Yu Wenli's girlfriend and still pulling her into the car, could he be any good?
At first, she hadn't held him accountable, assuming he didn't know.
But when Jiang Tu curiously asked about her identity, he blurted out that she was Yu Wenli's girlfriend.
Mo Yichen waved his assistant away. Wen Tingxue immediately became wary, "What do you want to do?"
"What can I do?" Mo Yichen pointed to the surrounding cameras and teased, "Miss Wen, you have such a sharp tongue, but you're not very brave, are you?"
Wen Tingxue replied, "It's good to be cautious."
Mo Yichen smiled, "A good habit. However, I didn't invite Miss Wen here with any ill intentions. I just wanted to tell you something about Little Yu."
"There's no need," Wen Tingxue refused directly. "He'll tell me himself about his affairs. I don't need an outsider like you."
She deliberately emphasized the word 'outsider'.
Mo Yichen seemed to see a reflection of Yu Wenli in her, and with an even bigger smile, he called out to her, "Do you know about his five-year agreement with the Lin Corporation?"
Wen Tingxue's steps suddenly halted.
Mo Yichen continued, "Everything Kang Wei is enjoying now should have originally belonged to Yu Wenli, but he let it go without a fight. Do you know why?"
...
When Yu Wenli called, Wen Tingxue was still sitting by the flowerbed where Jiang Tu had fallen.
"What's wrong?"
Sensing the wrong tone in her voice, Yu Wenli's heart instantly tensed.
"No," Wen Tingxue came back to her senses and said, "It's nothing, I was just thinking about drawing."
She quickly regained her usual cheerful demeanor. Yu Wenli was still a bit suspicious, but over the phone, she could coax him with a few words.
After a brief chat, Yu Wenli asked, "You said on WeChat you had good news, what is it?"
"Ah, right!" Wen Tingxue quickly said, "The Top Ten Singers event was a success. Fu Ran decided to treat us to a trip at his own expense. We can bring family, so do you have time, boyfriend?"
Her voice was sweet. Yu Wenli paused for a moment and said, "I didn't hear too clearly. Say it again."
"Top Ten Singers..."
"Next sentence."
"Ah? Fu Ran is paying out of pocket..."
"The next sentence after that."
"We can bring family..."
Before she could finish, the boy's slightly hoarse voice came through the line, "My family has time."