Wu Yun’s words caused another stir at the table. Everyone looked at him and Bai Yue with suggestive smiles.
"What are you guys talking about? A bunch of you guys ganging up on our Bai Yue again?" Wang Ai said, plopping down into the seat next to Bai Yue.
Gao Qiang and the others shook their heads vigorously, quickly denying everything. They knew firsthand how sharp Wang Ai’s tongue could be.
Wang Ai raised a large stein of beer, stood up, and called out to their classmates at the surrounding three tables, "Everyone, settle down for a second and listen to !"
Once she had everyone’s attention, Wang Ai spoke. "For today’s reunion, only 24 people out of our class of 60 showed up. We’ve graduated now, so a lot of people are traveling, and even more just didn’t feel like coming."
"I’m really grateful that you all still acknowledge as your ’expired’ class president. I wanted to get everyone together today mainly because I figured it would be hard to gather this many of us ever again after graduation for a party with no ulterior motives..."
’Hearing Wang Ai’s confident speech, Wu Yun couldn’t help but think of his past life. After graduation, his high school class reunions had never panned out. They were just small get-togethers for a few close friends to hang out by themselves.’
"Alright, everyone, please raise your glasses! Drink up if you drink, and for those who don’t, grab a soda. Don’t force yourselves!"
Wang Ai raised her large stein. "Here’s to a bright future for everyone! May you all study hard and live it up in college! To the single people, may you find a partner! To those in a relationship, may you find a new one! But whatever you do, don’t you dare ss with your own classmates!"
Wang Ai’s words made everyone roar with laughter.
"Class President! I don’t want a girlfriend, I want a boyfriend!" a classmate with a thick beard said, feigning a coy look. It gave everyone around him goosebumps, and they all scooted a little further away.
"Okay, okay! Dig in, everyone! It’s my treat today! You’re all paying for yourselves!" Wang Ai joked.
「 」
Wu Yun raised his glass to Bai Yue. "Bai Yue, I’d like to propose a toast to you. Thank you for comforting and guiding when I was at my lowest. Without your help, I probably would’ve dropped out of school. I’d have no idea where I’d be wasting my days now. I’m finishing mine. You can drink as much or as little as you want."
With that, Wu Yun downed the beer in his glass in one go.
Bai Yue couldn’t stop him in ti. "By helping you, I was also helping myself," she said. "My parents are in the Capital City, so I was living alone at the dorms. I was feeling pretty lost and lonely back then, too. But seeing what you were going through gave the courage to keep studying." In truth, there was sothing Bai Yue left unsaid: it was precisely because Wu Yun was one of the few friends she had that she hadn’t felt the helplessness of being isolated.
Gao Qiang started heckling from the side. "Ah Yun, what about ? Didn’t I help you out, too? Our friendship is fading, man. I guess we can’t be bros anymore. You only have eyes for your Lover now!"
"Yeah, yeah! A classic case of choosing a girl over your friends!" Everyone at the table chid in, agreeing with Gao Qiang.
Wu Yun knew Gao Qiang was just trying to set him up with Bai Yue. That’s why he was making a point of how much Wu Yun valued her.
Being sharp and emotionally intelligent, Bai Yue, of course, understood what was happening. She looked at Wu Yun expectantly. When he didn’t respond right away, her expression fell with a hint of disappointnt.
"You’re right, you’re right. I’m totally choosing a girl over my friends. Bai Yue is so beautiful, I’m just after her looks. I just wonder if she’ll give a chance!" ’The playboy’s handbook says not to initiate and not to take responsibility. I’m going to be a playboy who *is* proactive and responsible.’
"Sing a song tonight. If you can impress , I’ll give you a chance," Bai Yue said with a smile.
"Alright, you have a deal!"
「 」
The hot pot dinner lasted nearly two hours. The classmates who finished first either headed ho or went on ahead to the karaoke bar that had been booked.
Wu Yun’s table was in the last group to head to the karaoke bar. By the ti they found the private room, they could already hear a cacophony of terrible singing from inside.
"The latecors have to chug three drinks as a penalty!" soone joked.
"Fuck off! You want to puke in your mouth later?!" Gao Qiang shot back with a laugh.
Wang Ai had been in the room for a while. When she saw Wu Yun’s group co in, she walked over. "Wu Yun, I heard you’re going to sing a song to confess your love?"
’I’m dumbfounded. Didn’t she just say I had to sing a song to get a chance? How did that rumor turn into making a love confession?!’
Wu Yun saw the expectant look in Bai Yue’s eyes. He swallowed the words he was about to say and simply nodded.
Wang Ai got excited. She grabbed the microphone and announced, "Everyone, quiet down! And now, Wu Yun will grace us with a song! Whether or not his confession is a success depends on how loud you all cheer!"
"WOOO!" "YEAH!" CLAP CLAP CLAP! The sound of guys and girls yelling and clapping wildly was so loud it drowned out the music.
’If I didn’t have the system, I probably wouldn’t have the guts to sing. After all, I used to be completely tone-deaf. Good thing no one knew.’
On the way to the karaoke bar, Wu Yun had redeed one of the "Singing Mastery" Skills, bringing him up to the level of a professional singer.
Seeing everyone looking at him with such anticipation, Wu Yun felt no stage fright. He walked over to the song selection kiosk, ntally running through what song would be appropriate for the situation.
Suddenly, he thought of an old song: "Crescent Moon Serenade"! At this point in ti, the song hadn’t blown up yet. It wouldn’t be until the end of the year, when a contestant on *The Voice of Huaxia* covered it, that it would beco a household na.
Everyone was a little surprised to see Wu Yun pick a song that almost no one had heard of.
When Bai Yue saw the song’s title, her eyes lit up with anticipation.
The mournful, elegant violin solo of the intro began to play, casting a lancholic mood over everyone.
"Leaning through this sleepless night, gazing at stars in distant flight. Still I hear the violin’s song, weeping, pleading, teasing on..." The mont Wu Yun started singing, he stunned everyone—not just with his fluent Cantonese, but with the quality of his voice.
Everyone was staring at the lyrics on the screen, completely captivated by Wu Yun’s voice. As they read the lines, which all revolved around the moon, their eyes would occasionally drift toward Bai Yue.
For the first verse, Wu Yun sang with his back to the crowd, facing the screen. He thought of his past life: standing alone at the gates of Bai Yue’s school, watching as she fell into another man’s arms. The bitter, heart-wrenching mory washed over him.
As the second verse began, Wu Yun turned to face Bai Yue. His eyes were rimd with red, and in the flashing lights of the karaoke room, they seed to glitter.
"You spoke of forever, a promise now a lie. Never thought we’d say goodbye. But my heart, every second, every day, is still possessed by her in every way. Like the moon, she won’t say a word to !"
When the chorus ca around again, Wu Yun pointed directly at Bai Yue. "But my heart, every second, every day, is still possessed by her in every way! Like the moon, she won’t say a word to !"
Everyone eagerly watched Bai Yue, waiting for her reaction. All they saw was her sitting off to the side, smiling. It was a sweet, radiant smile, but no one noticed the deeply moved expression in her eyes.
If Wu Yun had used his Detection Glasses on Bai Yue, he would have seen her Affinity instantly jump by 5 points during the song, reaching a total of 84.
The final notes of the song faded. With lightning-fast reflexes, Gao Qiang hit the pause button, plunging the room into silence. He then imdiately started chanting, "Get together! Get together!"
"Get together! Get together!" The voices gradually joined into a single chant.
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