I will conquer her with my talent

Ye Liangchen flicked his hair, adjusted his clothes, and walked toward Lin Wanning with a confident smirk.

Xue Shaohua immediately grabbed Ye Liangchen’s arm, the incident with Li Qingxue still fresh in his mind.

In Xue Shaohua’s opinion, the best course of action now was to stay put—wait until they had leverage against Long Aotian, then use him to control Hu Yuying, Li Qingxue, and Lin Wanning.

But Ye Liangchen just smiled confidently. "Relax. Wanning isn’t like Qingxue. She has an almost obsessive pursuit of music. And I plan to win her over with my talent!"

In his past-life dream, Lin Wanning’s dedication to music had been bone-deep—something neither Hu Yuying nor Li Qingxue possessed.

People obsessed with music had pure hearts. In their eyes, anyone who showed a strong passion for it could easily become a kindred spirit.

And as luck would have it, thanks to his past-life memories, Ye Liangchen still remembered a few once-popular songs.

After all, in that dream, he’d been the darling of Hu Yuying and her friends at a young age, exposed to endless entertainment. Though he wasn’t fond of singing himself, hearing those tunes so often meant even if he couldn’t recall all the lyrics, the most catchy parts came easily.

Clearing his throat, Ye Liangchen strode toward Lin Wanning with a smile.

"Shake it, swing it, no one rocks like me~ Shake it, swing it~" He sang while swaying his body in rhythm.

When he reached Lin Wanning, he spun a full 360 degrees. "No one rocks like me~~"

Finishing his performance, he feigned surprise. "Wanning?"

"Sorry to disturb you. I was so inspired, I lost myself for a moment." He bowed slightly in apology, playing the gentleman.

"Being near the music school, surrounded by such an artistic atmosphere, I came up with this little tune. Since you study music too, what do you think?"

He flicked his hair again, lifting his gaze confidently. For others, winning her heart through music might be hard—but for him? Just a bit of effort.

After all, his advantage was rebirth itself!

But when he looked up, instead of the awestruck admiration he expected, a slender, pale hand came flying at him.

Slap!

The blow landed before he could react, leaving him stunned for a second.

Lin Wanning glared at him in disgust. "You disgusting creep."

She couldn’t stand people like him—first harassing Qingxue, now her. Did he think he was some Casanova? That she was some naive fool?

Her palm stung from the force of the slap, but fear was the last thing she felt. Instead, a thrill of satisfaction ran through her—this was revenge for Qingxue.

Brushing past the dazed Ye Liangchen, Lin Wanning shot a glare at Xue Shaohua.

Xue Shaohua instinctively stepped aside, and she quickened her pace, putting distance between them.

A delayed rush of adrenaline and a flicker of fear hit her, making her walk even faster.

Only when Lin Wanning was long gone did Ye Liangchen finally snap out of it, touching his stinging cheek.

"Are you okay?" Xue Shaohua hurried over, concern in his eyes as he watched Ye Liangchen clutch his face in disbelief.

Ye Liangchen’s lips twitched, as if struggling to accept that Lin Wanning had actually hit him.

"What just happened?"

Xue Shaohua sighed at his dazed expression. "Lin Wanning just slapped you."

"I got slapped?"

"Yeah. Doesn’t your face hurt?"

The moment he said it—

"Ugh!" Ye Liangchen gasped, clutching his chest dramatically. "I got hit... Hah, I’m laughing, I’m really laughing..."

Then his head snapped up, eyes burning with fury. "Chase me to the crematorium! She’ll regret this!"

"Are you... alright?" Xue Shaohua asked warily.

Ye Liangchen chuckled darkly. "Interesting. Things just got interesting..."

He turned to Xue Shaohua with a sinister grin. "I was going to give them a chance, but they threw it away. Fine—they brought this on themselves!"

"When I’ve got those long legs of hers over my shoulders, let’s see if she stays so high and mighty!"

......

"Hahaha, you should’ve seen his face—he was completely stunned!"

Back in her dorm, Lin Wanning sat on her bed, phone in hand, laughing uncontrollably.

On the video call, Hu Yuying and Li Qingxue looked shocked.

Li Qingxue was the first to recover. "Serves him right!"

Lin Wanning beamed, even more pleased with herself. "I just—wham—slapped him right across the face!" She mimed the motion.

"Qingxue, consider this payback for you, okay?"

She tilted her head like a proud swan, waiting for praise.

"Wanning, I love you! Mwah!" Li Qingxue blew her a kiss through the screen.

"You... I told you to be careful, but you never listen." Hu Yuying sighed, torn between amusement and worry.

"Sis, I did listen! But he was asking for it!" Lin Wanning pouted, instantly subdued under Hu Yuying’s gaze.

"You didn’t see him. Even you would’ve slapped him!"

"And don’t worry, I didn’t stick around—I hit him and ran..."

Hu Yuying chuckled. She had to admit, even she—usually patient—had pushed Ye Liangchen before.

Picturing the scene Lin Wanning described, she covered her mouth with a hand. "You little troublemaker."

Relieved Hu Yuying wasn’t mad, Lin Wanning copied Li Qingxue and sent an exaggerated mwah at the screen.

"Next time you see him, just walk away. Long Aotian said it himself—don’t engage with people like that."

"Got it! I promise it won’t happen again!"

Lin Wanning suddenly remembered something. "Oh! Xue Shaohua was there too. They’re definitely working together. If you see him on campus, ignore him."

"Ugh, knew Xue Shaohua was no good either. We won’t give him the time of day," Li Qingxue huffed.

Hu Yuying wasn’t worried, though. After all... Long Aotian was around.