Chen Qin's Speech

"Then what? What happened after the kiss?"

On Monday, on their way to school, Tang Keke asked the girl beside her, and Bai Yuyou had already told her everything about what happened at the amusement park.

"Come on, I want to hear it!" Tang Keke grabbed Bai Yuyou's arm.

Bai Yuyou merely tilted her head. "Then?"

"Yeah, what happened after the kiss? Did big bro do anything?" Tang Keke let out an excited squeal, her eyes practically burning with gossip. "Did he pin you against the wall of the Ferris wheel and go wild?!"

"No…" Bai Yuyou said. "Ye Shuang asked me… if I knew what it meant."

"Mhm, and what did you say?"

Bai Yuyou replied, "I said… Keke’s guide taught me."

"Then… Ye Shuang just smiled and didn’t say anything else."

Tang Keke: "…"

"AHHHHHHHHH!!!" Tang Keke let out a screech, pounding Bai Yuyou’s shoulders. "Why are you so honest?! You had the chance and you blew it!!!"

Bai Yuyou watched as Tang Keke nearly rolled on the ground in frustration, seemingly unaware of what she’d done wrong. "Did I mess up?"

"You didn’t mess up, you were just one tiny step away!" Tang Keke clutched her chest dramatically, as if heartbroken. "Yuyou, next time, you absolutely cannot say I taught you, got it?!"

"Ugh, I won’t be able to sleep tonight. How can you be so blunt? Saying nothing would’ve been better. This is like missing the lottery by one number!"

Tang Keke flailed her arms and legs like a human-shaped slime, wailing in despair.

Bai Yuyou: "…"

"Whatever, it’s not your fault. After all, that measly big bro has leveled up, and we still made progress." Tang Keke waved her hand dismissively. "Don’t worry, with strategist Keke here, we’ll just whip up a Plan B and seal the deal!"

"Oh~" Bai Yuyou stood beside Tang Keke, clapping her hands softly. "Clap clap—"

Tang Keke composed herself and glanced at the guitar strapped to Bai Yuyou’s back. "Are you joining the light music club after school from now on?"

"Mhm, joining."

"Then what about me? Am I going home alone from now on?" Tang Keke hadn’t joined any clubs—she was already a loner in class, a background character who barely spoke to anyone. She’d tried joining activities before, but it only made her feel more out of place. Her striking looks had even earned her cruel nicknames like "cow."

"Light music club… join together." Bai Yuyou tugged at Tang Keke’s arm.

"Huh?" Tang Keke hesitated. "But I don’t know how to play anything, and…"

Her expression dimmed as she forced a smile. "I’m just no good at anything. No talent, and no one likes me anyway."

The next moment, Bai Yuyou grasped Tang Keke’s hand, warmth seeping into her palm.

"Not true… I… like Keke."

Tang Keke froze as Bai Yuyou continued earnestly, "Keke… is amazing. You can do it."

Though her words were clumsy, they carried an undeniable warmth. Tang Keke stood still for a moment before suddenly hugging Bai Yuyou’s neck, touched. "Wahhh, thank you, Yuyou."

"Then I’ll check out the light music club this afternoon too! Even if I don’t know what instrument I’d like…" Tang Keke perked up.

"But it’s fine! Finding something I enjoy sounds nice!"

"Okay…"

The two girls chatted and laughed as they walked, their lively presence brightening the path to school.

---

Apartment.

"Tap tap tap." The crisp sound of keyboard keys echoed as Ye Shuang’s slender fingers danced across them. After finishing his daily novel update, he skimmed through reader comments.

His gaze lingered on a few. "Hmm… readers want character illustrations?"

"Since when do I know how to draw? Do novelists these days need to be artists too?" He smirked, though his thoughts drifted to Bai Yuyou and her simple doodles.

Absentmindedly, his fingers brushed his lips before he suddenly remembered something and opened a search engine. "Haven’t AI art tools been trending lately?"

After skimming a tutorial, he downloaded a few programs and started tinkering.

Soon, character illustrations began appearing—fairly accurate to Bai Yuyou and the others, though Ye Shuang knew no drawing could capture her dreamlike aura. Still, they’d work. He was just a writer, after all.

There were some issues, though. Like the fingers looking a bit off.

"Mm… the hands are weird." He rubbed his chin, recalling his university Photoshop classes before importing the images into the software.

Using the eraser and clone stamp tools to fix odd proportions, Ye Shuang started redrawing the hand lines with the brush tool, adopting a "good enough" mentality.

"Glad I haven’t forgotten how to use PS." Just as he was about to finish the last stroke, his phone rang.

His mouse hand jerked, sending a stray line slashing across the illustration.

Ye Shuang: "…"

Sighing, he stepped back and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, morning." Chen Qin’s voice chimed through the speaker. Ye Shuang switched to speakerphone, setting the device on the desk as he resumed mouse work. "What’s up?"

"Guess where I’m going in a few days?" she teased.

"Another business trip?" he replied absentmindedly, just as he was adjusting the chest line on Chen Qin’s character art. A strange feeling crept over him.

"I’m giving a speech at Yinshan Academy."

Ye Shuang paused. "Why suddenly there?"

"One of our group’s subsidiaries has a small project with the academy, plus there’s some donation history. The board invited me personally."

Ye Shuang hadn’t realized Chen’s company had ties to Yinshan Academy, though it made sense—back in his high school days, guest lectures from entrepreneurs weren’t uncommon. And Chen Qin was among the most prominent in her field.

"One more thing."

"Yeah?"

"I’m outside your place. Come grab a meal with me. I’m starving after pulling an all-nighter."

"All-nighter?" He checked the time, shut off his monitor, and headed downstairs. "Wait for me."

"Over here!" Chen Qin called as he stepped outside.