Compared to a few months ago, he seemed to have grown taller, his features had become even more refined, and the gentle smile on his lips felt like sunlight piercing through layers of dark clouds, shining into the darkness.
The girls who had just been screaming about how handsome Xu Yi was instantly went silent.
Compared to Chen Luo, Xu Yi really was nothing!
If one had to put it into words, Xu Yi looked like he was pretending to be handsome, while Chen Luo truly was.
It was a kind of natural aura that radiated from deep within, completely different from the kind of fake charm that was deliberately put on.
As soon as Chen Luo appeared, the crowd below the stage stirred with excitement.
The girls from Class Five, who had already seen Chen Luo earlier, quickly explained to everyone, “Chen Luo came to deliver a dress for Su Panyue!”
“I heard he even designed it personally for Su Panyue!”
The gossip about Chen Luo and Su Panyue quickly spread. Xia Qing overheard it and smiled as she shook her head. So Chen Luo dropped out of school and didn’t do anything else, just stayed at home doing things to make girls happy.
But… designing a gown for the girl you like with your own hands—that’s actually a very romantic thing.
Jiang Kewei clenched a piece of the dress fabric in her hand, lowered her head, and bit her lip. Her heart felt as if it had been soaked in brine.
The girls around her were enthusiastically talking about Chen Luo and Su Panyue, and she couldn’t help but ask, “Do you know what time Chen Luo arrived?”
The girl glanced at Jiang Kewei and replied in confusion, “He came around 9:30. Why?”
9:30…
Jiang Kewei froze slightly. Her clenched fingers tightened even more.
Her performance had already ended by 9:30.
So Chen Luo didn’t come to watch her. He came to deliver the dress to Su Panyue.
So it was all just her wishful thinking.
Jiang Kewei lowered her eyes to look at her performance outfit. It had been borrowed by Xu Yi from an upper-grade senior. The waist was too loose, and she had to use four or five safety pins just to make it fit. The chest area was too tight and felt like it might burst open at any moment, so she layered a shirt inside the dress just in case something embarrassing happened during the performance.
Wrapped in so many layers, she was drenched in sweat by the end of it.
Back when Chen Luo was still around, he would never have let her wear someone else’s old clothes…
“Xu Yi, I’m feeling hot,” Jiang Kewei said gloomily to Xu Yi, who was sitting beside her.
Hearing her take the initiative to talk to him, Xu Yi felt a jolt of joy in his heart. Although it was her who spoke first, he could sense that Jiang Kewei seemed to be treating him as someone else.
Her attitude toward him was lukewarm at best, and she rarely initiated conversations. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
Xu Yi softened his tone and said, “Kewei, just hang in there a bit longer. The school celebration is almost over.”
He thought what Jiang Kewei needed was some comforting words, not realizing that what girls really want is action, not empty talk.
Especially a girl like Jiang Kewei, who had been spoiled by Chen Luo.
Seeing that Xu Yi only responded with such a casual remark, Jiang Kewei felt even more bitter.
She couldn’t help but recall how, back in middle school, she once said she was feeling hot, and Chen Luo immediately got his father to install Liana air conditioners in every classroom.
That summer, the breeze she felt was always cool.
Because of Chen Luo, everyone would go out of their way to please her and compete to be friends with her.
“Wow!”
“Look!”
“So beautiful!”
A wave of exclamations snapped Jiang Kewei out of her thoughts.
When her eyes followed the others to the stage, Jiang Kewei’s breath caught in her throat, her pupils trembling.
She had never seen such a beautiful dress, nor had she ever seen a girl wear a dress so stunningly.
Su Panyue wore only light makeup today, but she was still breathtakingly beautiful. Her clear features sparkled with brilliance like a flawless pearl or jade.
The most eye-catching part was her cerulean-blue gown. Layers upon layers of gauze were stacked delicately, yet the dress didn’t look heavy at all—it resembled a corner of the sea. The outermost layer of tulle was adorned with tiny sparkling diamonds that looked like a starry night sky.
At that moment, Su Panyue became the center of the entire world.
And Chen Luo stood right beside her, gazing at her with a soft smile, as if this girl was his entire world.
The audience below the stage was stunned by this picturesque scene.
Especially the girls from Class Five. They had initially felt sorry that Su Panyue had turned down Qin Xu, especially since Qin Xu’s dress had been shipped from overseas.
But now, after seeing the dress that Chen Luo personally designed for Su Panyue, they finally understood what people meant by “comparison hurts.”
Even Xia Qing was shocked by Chen Luo’s creation.
Compared to the younger students, her aesthetic sense was more mature. She could recognize the fashion elements in the gown and was amazed by Chen Luo’s design vision.
It seemed that even though Chen Luo had given up on academics, he was still a rare design prodigy.
Unfortunately, Xia Qing didn’t yet know how highly sought-after designers would become in the next ten years. She simply felt that Chen Luo had found another path in life, and she genuinely felt happy for him. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
The host stood frozen for a moment before recovering.
“Then let’s welcome Su Panyue and Chen Luo to sing together, ‘Youth Never Fears Thorns’.”
The audience burst into thunderous applause.
Chen Luo calmly walked to the piano at the side of the stage, placed his hands on the keys, and tested a few notes.
This piano had been placed here since early on, but no one had expected that the one to play it would be Chen Luo. The audience erupted in excitement.
“I originally thought Chen Luo was just good at studying, but I didn’t expect he could design and play the piano too. Is this what they call the perfect boyfriend?”
“Is there anything Chen Luo can’t do?”
Listening to all the discussions, Jiang Kewei gave a bitter smile.
Chen Luo could play the piano…
That, she knew.
Because Chen Luo had learned to play the piano for her.
All because she once said that a male celebrity on TV looked charming when playing the piano, Chen Luo had willingly started learning it for her.
It had been the most stressful time of their final year of middle school. Chen Luo would study during the day and practice piano at night. At first, his fingers were rubbed raw.
She had been somewhat moved, but Song Qingyu told her that these were things Chen Luo should do, and that she shouldn’t be touched by such small gestures. Otherwise, Chen Luo would think she was easy to please and not worth cherishing.
She believed it.
So even when Chen Luo finally learned to play and came to show her with excitement, she had only given a lukewarm response, not showing any joy or emotion.
She even refused to perform with Chen Luo at the graduation ceremony.
After that, Chen Luo had been visibly downcast for a long time, but she never thought she had done anything wrong.
Until today…
Seeing Chen Luo on stage with another girl, her heart felt like a spice rack had been overturned, a swirl of complicated emotions flooding in.
It was like losing something that had been with you for a long time—something you never liked much—and then someone else picked it up, treated it like a treasure, and showed it off right in front of you.
At that moment, the gentle music began to flow from the stage.