Chapter 96: Men’s Tricks for Pursuing Love

This action was too sudden, and Chen Qing was caught off guard, and his nose hit his chest.

The buttons of his shirt made his nose ache and his eyes filled with tears.

Following the sound of heavy breathing behind him, someone apologized, "Sorry, my son gets excited when he sees beautiful women, so he won't bite."

Yan Baiqing's face was solemn, and his tone was serious, "Please use a leash next time."

Chen Qing turned around and saw an Alaskan dog jumping up and down, trying to pounce on her.

The dog owner grabbed the dog, continued to apologize, and pulled it into the elevator.

Yan Baiqing lowered his head and held Chen Qing's back to comfort him, "Are you scared?"

"No." She quickly withdrew from his embrace, her movements somewhat deliberate. "I just didn't expect you to be here."

"That's because I scared you."

"No..." she laughed.

Yan Baiqing put his hands behind his back and looked her up and down, "I want to go to school too, let's go together."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Jingyan's driver arrived.

Chen Qing glanced out the car window, turned his head and lowered his voice, "Has there been any result regarding the theater incident?"

"We're working on it." Yan Baiqing lowered his voice along with her. "The source hasn't been found yet, but no one's spreading it anymore."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"Thank you for what?"

Chen Qing was speechless for a moment.

Yan Baiqing smiled, "I was the one who caused this. Qing'er doesn't blame me. I'm already very grateful."

He was so reasonable that Chen Qing seemed a little ungrateful.

He and Jiang Jingyan suffered the same consequences as a new official, surrounded by scandals.

Obviously, both of them were victims, but she was anxious to distance herself from the matter and forgot about Yan Baiqing's difficulties. The feeling of guilt suddenly weighed heavily on her heart.

She pursed her lips and said, "If you need my help to clarify anything, you can contact me at any time."

"If you want to clarify, you may need to appear with me. Do you mind, Jingyan?"

Chen Qing paused.

Yan Baiqing stared at her. After the collision, her eyes were still watery. Even without any expression, she still looked very tender. Often, he could not see any impurities in Chen Qing's eyes. With such a life experience, she could have such a pure heart. He could guess how Jiang Jingyan had raised her over the years.

"It's okay." Yan Baiqing opened the car door for her. "I'll take care of everything. Don't worry."

…

When Chen Qing arrived at the school, the selection competition was almost over.

Yuan Hui met her at the back door of the auditorium, and they both walked in, hunched over. "As soon as you said you were coming, the department head eliminated five substitutes and didn't plan to let you go on stage. Just wait, you're going to be hated again."

Chen Qing was helpless. This was not the first time that she was forced into something. The department head was over 40 years old. She didn't know whether he was extremely naive or simply didn't care. Some of his words were very direct, which often put her in the spotlight.

"I signed up to come here, so why aren't I allowed to go on stage? I'm not parachuting in."

"Don't be ridiculous. The department head is looking forward to your coming. This time we're having a folk music ensemble, and there's only one erhu player. Why would he waste his time with you here?"

Yuan Hui pulled her to sit in the last row, and some people were whispering on the other side of the wall.

If nothing unexpected happens, it should be the relatives and friends of those classmates.

Chen Qing tried not to make eye contact with them and turned his head to ask Yuan Hui, "What's the standard this time?"

"A small four-person ensemble, featuring erhu, pipa, guzheng, and yangqin. The music hasn't been decided yet, but I heard they'll be playing with an outside ensemble."

"Have you finished selecting the guzheng position?"

Yuan Hui raised her eyebrows confidently, "Of course, I'm not just pretending."

Chen Qing gave a thumbs up.

The selection competition ended at nine o'clock. The professional teacher stayed to finalize the candidates, gave instructions on matters needing attention, and set the time for meeting the next day.

"Don't go back to the dormitory tonight." Yuan Hui leaned against Chen Qing's shoulder and spoke softly, "There's someone from the dormitory who was rejected. Take your piano and live at home to avoid any trouble."

Chen Qing also planned so. Under the current circumstances, living in the dormitory is too embarrassing.

She nodded and looked up to see a man passing through the side door.

It started raining outside at some point. Yan Baiqing walked steadily, holding a large black umbrella. Several school leaders surrounded him and walked to the front of the car, bowing and watching him go.

Chen Qing calmed down. Yuan Hui said that Yan Baiqing had been busy with official duties during this period, including the establishment of the scenic spot and the opening of the summit. The school was just sending a few students, so there was no need for Mr. Yan to come to the school in person to review it, unless there was someone he was worried about.

Yuan Hui called this a little trick men use to pursue love.

Chen Qing didn't respond. Ever since they'd met, Yan Baiqing had helped her and maintained a healthy relationship between men and women, never openly expressing any interest in her. If that was the case, she could just stay away. Interfering with his actions felt like presumptuous behavior.

Early the next morning, Chen Qing took the subway to school to meet up with the main group before departure.

To avoid suspicion from her classmates, she didn't ask Jiang Jingyan's driver to take her, nor did she ask Mrs. Luo to accompany her. Her professionalism was unquestionable, but without a formal selection process, it would easily arouse others' dissatisfaction. If she made it public, she would have a hard time explaining it.

There was no rehearsal this morning; the main focus was on a meeting with an off-campus orchestra. Yuan Hui listened groggily, too sleepy to open her eyes. "What are we supposed to do here? Applaud?"

"Cheer up." Chen Qing half covered her lips. "The person sitting up there is a teacher from the Music Association. It's good to show your face."

After the meeting, everyone went to the restaurant for lunch.

This hotel is equipped with a sightseeing elevator. Chen Qing casually glanced at the lawn and saw a wedding being held in the center.

At the end of the crowd, a woman left and seemed to be making a phone call.

As the elevator rose, the woman looked up.

The distance was not close, but Chen Qing instinctively dodged.

That's Mrs. Yan.

Yan Weilan insisted on staying until the end of the wedding. She had a good friend when she was young, and today was the day her friend's daughter was getting married.

"I finally made it back, do you think we should get together with our old classmates?"

"It depends on your ability. How many can you get together?"

My friend laughed and said, "Of course I can't make an appointment. You are here."

Yan Weilan followed her back to the banquet hall. As soon as she entered, someone joked, "Mrs. Jiang sent someone to deliver a gift, but you missed it."

"Manwei has been here?"

"What's Manwei? She's Mrs. Jiang now, and you still think she's Miss Zhong?"

Yan Weilan looked calm as he glanced over.

The person who was speaking suddenly reacted, his eyes became flustered, and he changed the subject to find another topic.

She didn't care about it and left after receiving a call from her secretary.

There was a commotion in the hotel lobby.

"Who?"

The secretary looked around and said, "It seems to be a student."

Yan Weilan frowned and walked straight to the car.

"Chen Qing!"

Suddenly there was a shout, and she stopped. She didn't see anyone, only caught a glimpse of the back.

"What other activities are there at the hotel?"

The secretary went to the front desk to inquire and came back. "It sounds like it's related to cultural and tourism activities."

Yan Weilan raised her eyebrows slightly.

The photo of Yan Baiqing and the female student having a tryst outside the university town had already been passed around to her.

The messenger behind the scenes came to threaten Yan Weilan for some unknown reason, wanting to use Yan Baiqing's reputation in exchange for his own future.

The mother and son have not talked about this matter yet.

"Go to Chen Qing School."