Chapter 68: Will Definitely Win

Chapter 68: Chapter 68: Will Definitely Win

The moment the word "flyer" was spoken, Jiang Xueli was like a startled kitten.

She stammered, "Huh? What flyer?! Oh..." She forced an awkward grin and looked away. "You mean the flyer? That was actually just something I picked up off the street..."

Her gaze drifted to some of her fellow singers chatting in the distance. Some of them looked her way, giving her a little wave or covering their mouths to giggle.

It was the kind of look you’d see in school when people were trying to play matchmaker for a couple, silently cheering them on.

Jiang Xueli turned to Lin Zhengran and, mustering her courage, said, "I’ll ask you a question first. After you answer, I’ll tell you!"

Lin Zhengran eyed her.

Her lips trembled as she struggled to speak. "You big dummy... to you, am I an important person? Or, in your heart, am I just a childhood friend? Would you even be sad for long if you couldn’t see me one day?"

She clenched her fists on her lap. "I know you wouldn’t lie to me, so I want to hear your answer."

Lin Zhengran looked at Jiang Xueli, who stared back at him nervously.

"Is that one question? It feels like three. And wasn’t I asking you something? How did this turn into you questioning me?"

"Who cares how many questions it is! And who cares who’s asking who!" Jiang Xueli shouted, her eyes shut and her face bright red. "Don’t change the subject at a critical moment like this!"

Lin Zhengran looked at the nervous Jiang Xueli. He knew his answer would be very important to her, but he wasn’t one to embellish. He would simply tell the truth.

"Mainly because you’re asking a bunch of silly questions. You, He Qing... you’re all important people to me. Besides, what do you mean, *just* a childhood friend?"

"We’ve known each other for seven years. For seven years, we’ve been together almost every day. And yeah, you can be loud and annoying, but if you were to really disappear one day..."

Lin Zhengran stared at Jiang Xueli. At some point, her heart had begun to race, and her clenched fists were trembling slightly.

Lin Zhengran continued, "I’d definitely be worried about you. It has nothing to do with how long I’ve been teaching you music. It’s because... you’re the one who grew up with me, aren’t you?"

Jiang Xueli’s eyes shimmered. She covered her mouth with her hand, her voice barely a whisper, her face flushed to its absolute limit.

"I had a feeling you’d say something I wasn’t expecting, but... I didn’t realize I was that important to you... you big dummy..."

After speaking, she suddenly closed her eyes and started happily, but frantically, pounding Lin Zhengran’s arm with her fists. ’My heart is going to burst!’ she thought. "You big dummy! Who told you you could say things that make a girl so embarrassed! This is mortifying! How dare you say something like that!"

Lin Zhengran watched her little fists "massaging" his arm and said, completely deadpan, "Are you nuts? You’re the one who asked. I just answered your question. Besides, how was any of that cheesy?"

Jiang Xueli noticed one of the other girls walking by trying to stifle a laugh. She had obviously overheard them. Jiang Xueli, mortified, couldn’t help but shout:

"That... That wasn’t cheesy?! Then what *does* count as cheesy! I... I hate you so much!" After her outburst, she shyly began rummaging through her pockets.

She found the folded flyer, unfolded it, took a deep breath, and held it up in front of him with both hands.

"Well, since you answered my question, I guess I don’t have to be shy anymore. This is what I wanted to show you yesterday. A new zoo just opened in the city a little while ago, and I wanted to ask you to go with me."

Lin Zhengran took the flyer. "A zoo? You went through all that just for this? Hmm... I’m not really interested."

Jiang Xueli clenched her fists and retorted, "How can you not be interested?! I looked it up online; they have tigers and lions and everything! You’ve probably never been to a zoo, right? This is the perfect chance for us to go! Anyway, you don’t have to pay. I still have a lot of my New Year’s allowance left."

It dawned on Lin Zhengran that even though this girl had grown up with him, she clearly didn’t know everything about his life.

The zoo, for instance. In his previous life, Lin Zhengran had been there many times.

Lin Zhengran asked, "You want to go?"

Jiang Xueli blushed. "Yeah. To be precise... I want to go with *you*..."

’Oh god, what am I saying? I must be crazy! But... what’s done is done. If that big dummy could say what he did, then I can be a little bold, too. If I die, I die. I’ll just consider it dying for love.’

Lin Zhengran handed the flyer back to her. Jiang Xueli blinked, stunned.

Then she heard him say, "I suppose I can, but you know I’m busy. If you win an award at the town competition next year, I’ll go with you."

Lin Zhengran continued, "And I’ll even take you to a movie. Weren’t you regretting falling asleep during the last one? You wouldn’t stop talking about it for days. This time, we can make up for it."

Hearing this, Jiang Xueli was so happy she could have flown!

She couldn’t sit still anymore. She shot to her feet, a wide grin spreading across her face. "For real?! You big dummy, you said you’d take me to a movie?! And... you’re... you’re *asking* me! Well then, I’ll have to think about it." She tilted her head up, pretending to contemplate the sky.

Lin Zhengran said softly, "If you don’t want to go, that’s fine too. Whatever..."

Before he could finish, Jiang Xueli quickly cut him off. "I want to go! Who said I didn’t want to go! I’ve made up my mind, I’m going! It’s just a little old town championship, right?"

She proudly puffed out her chest.

"I’m telling you, dummy, with all your years of teaching and my own incredible talent, I’m actually in a league of my own at the studio!"

"When I said I was just ’good’ before, I was just being modest. If I want to win—and I do—I know I will, as long as you’re by my side!"

Lin Zhengran watched her confident display. She was so animated as she spoke that even her twin pigtails seemed to bounce with excitement.

Just then, the recording engineer called from a distance, "Lili, everyone else is done recording. Are you rested up?"

Jiang Xueli turned and called back, "Oh! All rested! Let me just grab a drink of water and I’ll be right there!"

She looked at Lin Zhengran with a smile. "I’ll give you a sneak peek of what I’ve been working on! As the star that you personally trained, there’s no way I’ll lose to anyone!"

She ran over, twisted open a bottle of water to wet her throat, and then dashed into the recording booth.

She picked up the microphone and took a deep breath. Her joyful mood gave her boundless energy.

She opened her throat and began to sing the song she would be performing on stage next year.

Lin Zhengran watched her with his arms crossed, and after a moment, a small smile touched his lips.

Jiang Xueli’s talent was indeed a cut above the rest. With his personal guidance, she had now reached the point where she outshone everyone else in the studio.

The other singers in the studio were captivated by her voice, one by one turning to watch her performance and listen to her beautiful, cheerful sound, marveling at the gap in their abilities.

The studio’s owner, a woman who had just returned from handling some business, happened to walk in through the door at that moment.

Hearing Jiang Xueli’s song, she couldn’t help but stop in her tracks, a pleased smile gracing her lips. "It’s been so many years... a long time since I’ve seen a girl with this much talent."

As she sang, Jiang Xueli’s eyes remained fixed on Lin Zhengran.

The last line of the song was, "You are my forever star." Her cheeks flushed as she sang it directly to Lin Zhengran, finishing with her eyes closed in a beaming smile.

’You big dummy,’ she thought. ’After what you just said, I’ll never be afraid again.’

’You’re going to be mine, too. No one can ever take you away from me. I, Jiang Xueli, will definitely win!’