Evening Party
Lu Yu's heart was pounding wildly. The scene Lu Yao described stirred his blood to a boil.
[Lu Yu: This… Is this even possible? What if he refuses? We won't even be friends anymore…]
Lu Yaoyaoyaoyao: Look before you, look after you! Look before you, look after you! Are you still a man of my Lu family?! I'm telling you, if you like someone, you have to show the same ruthlessness you used to when playing basketball! If you keep boiling him like this, you'll have nowhere to cry when he's snatched away by someone else! Listen to me, tomorrow! If it works out, you'll have the beauty. If it doesn't, the worst that can happen is you'll end up in the crematorium. Anyway, all you need to get there is the crematorium!
Lu Yao's words completely ignited the fuse in Lu Yu's heart.
Yes, we can’t wait any longer.
He didn't want to see Shi Guang smile at others in a way he had never seen before, nor did he want to guess the meaning behind his silence. He wanted a clear answer.
【Lu Yu: Okay, tomorrow! 】
After finishing his chat with his sister, Lu Yu felt full of strength. He immediately got out of bed, tiptoed to Jiang Xiaopang's bed, and patted him.
"Fatty, wake up."
"Ah? Brother Lu? What happened? An earthquake?" Fat Jiang sat up in a daze.
"Shh..." Lu Yu made a hushed gesture, then called Sun Rui on the other side, "Emergency combat meeting, go to the balcony."
A few minutes later, three heads gathered together on the balcony of dormitory 602.
"Fuck, Brother Lu, are you serious?" After hearing Lu Yu's plan, Fatty Jiang's sleepiness disappeared instantly, his eyes widening like bells. "Confession tomorrow? That's too exciting!"
"I support that." Sun Rui pushed his glasses up, remaining calm as ever. "According to the 'Peak-End Principle,' people's memory of an experience is primarily determined by the experiences at the climax and the end. The success of the welcome party will be the 'emotional peak' of your time together. Choosing this time to have crucial conversations will significantly increase your chances of success."
"Then...then what should we do?" Fat Jiang rubbed his hands excitedly. "Should I go buy some roses in advance? Or put up a banner downstairs of the dormitory building?"
"Get lost! Are you courting me or are you trying to get socially dead?" Lu Yu knocked him on the head unhappily. "What I need you to do is help me create a perfect ending."
He lowered his voice and told them the detailed plan he and Lu Yao had discussed.
The next day, welcome party, auditorium.
At seven o'clock in the evening, the auditorium was brightly lit and packed.
Backstage, there was chaos and commotion. The sounds of various musical instruments being tuned, the actors' soundchecks, and the staff's shouts were intertwined. The air was filled with a strange smell mixed with cosmetics, hairspray, and boxed lunches.
"Brother Lu, your performance clothes have been ironed!" Fat Jiang was like a responsible assistant, holding the snow-white shirt and trousers in his hands with a serious look on his face.
"Oh my God, look at that handsome guy over there, his legs are so long!" Zhao Teng held up his precious camera and the lens swept flexibly through the crowd.
Lu Yu sat in front of the makeup mirror, letting a senior student from the makeup team paint his face. He looked at his face in the mirror, his face made up to look unfamiliar, but his heart wasn't as calm as it appeared. He was looking for someone.
His eyes scanned the chaotic backstage again and again, and he finally found the figure in the most inconspicuous corner.
Shi Guang sat on an equipment box that no one cared about, holding his laptop and wearing headphones, as if he was checking the music and PPT timings for the last time.
He was wearing a white T-shirt today, which was washed clean and had a crisp collar, making him look particularly fresh and neat.
Lu Yu's heart suddenly moved. He felt that Shi Guang looked a hundred times better in a white shirt than he did.
"Lu Yu, don't be nervous later!" Gao Bo, one of the hosts of the party and a senior who loved to joke, came over and patted him on the shoulder. "You're our big star tonight. All the girls in the college are waiting for you!"
"Don't worry, senior." Lu Yu responded with a smile.
Gao Bo glanced at Shi Guang in the corner again and whispered to Lu Yu, "That little art director of yours is pretty cool. When I discussed the process with him, he said no more than three words the entire time: 'Um,' 'OK,' and 'OK.' He was even more concise than our student union president."
Lu Yu smiled and said nothing, but his eyes revealed a pride that he himself was not aware of.
At seven o'clock sharp, the lights in the auditorium dimmed and the party officially began.
The host read out the passionate opening remarks, and the first program was a lively song and dance, which instantly ignited the atmosphere of the entire venue.
Instead of returning to the backstage corner, he walked behind the stage curtain, laptop in hand. This was the central control area for lighting and sound, and also his position. He needed to be here, personally monitoring every transition of the screen.
He told others it was for work.
But only he himself knew that he just wanted to find a place where he would not be noticed and hide himself.
Only here could he clearly see the person on the stage without being disturbed.
One program after another passed, and finally, the host announced the name in an extremely exciting tone.
"Now, let's give a warm round of applause to Lu Yu, the most handsome man in the Department of Wisdom and Cultural Heritage, the most handsome man in Jiangcheng University! He will perform the song "The Only One" for us!"
The whole audience was boiling.
Shi Guang's heart also rose to his throat. He subconsciously tightened his grip on the mouse.
Lu Yu walked onto the stage.
The moment the spotlight hit him, thunderous screams and applause broke out from the audience.
"Ahhhh! Lu Yu! So handsome!"
In the corner of the audience, a girl in a beautiful dress excitedly grabbed her friend's hand, her eyes shining.
She is Lu Yu’s childhood friend Lin Yueran, who was admitted to a university in the next city. She did not tell Lu Yu in advance about her visit this time because she wanted to secretly watch his performance and give him a surprise.
Lu Yu ignored the frenzy in the audience. He simply walked to the center of the stage and whispered into the microphone, "This song is dedicated to one person."
The whole audience fell silent instantly.
The piano began to play, a gentle melody slowly flowing. On the big screen, the deep starry sky lit up on time.
Lu Yu spoke, his voice clear and affectionate. His gaze pierced through the darkness, past all the waving light sticks in the audience, and landed precisely on the figure standing in the shadow of the curtain at the side of the stage.
He is singing to time.
Only he himself knows, and only time can feel the weight of that gaze.
Shi Guang stood in the darkness, feeling as if he were being burned by the spotlight. He looked at the young man on the stage singing for him, listening to the familiar melody, and his heart beat faster and faster. He felt that every word Lu Yu sang was like a small meteorite, accurately hitting the bottom of his heart.
When the song entered the chorus, a bright meteor with a long tail streaked across the quiet night sky on the big screen.
"...Because, I am sure that you are my only one..."
The screams from the audience almost blew the roof off the entire auditorium.
"Ahhhh! That's so beautiful! I'm going to cry!"
At the climax of the song, Lu Yu closed his eyes slightly, singing with total absorption and selflessness. Shi Guang looked at the star on the big screen that shone brightly for Lu Yu, and at the young man on the stage whose attention was focused solely on him, and his eyes unknowingly became moist.
He almost believed it.
Believe in yourself, you are really the only one.
When the song ended, there was thunderous applause that lasted for a long time.
Lu Yu bowed and left the stage to thunderous applause, his heart pounding with excitement and anticipation. He didn't stay backstage, but immediately followed his original plan and headed to the separate lounge backstage, where he had planned to confess his feelings.
As he walked towards the lounge, the other two members of dormitory 602 immediately started working.
"Brothers! Brother Lu said that to celebrate the success of the performance, he will treat us tonight at Fallen Street! Barbecue, beer, and crayfish, order whatever you want! Let's go!" Fat Jiang hugged Zhao Teng, who was about to rush up for an interview, and shouted in his highly provocative voice.
"Oh oh oh! Brother Lu is awesome!" Everyone in the cheering group cheered immediately. They were already in high spirits, and when they heard there was free midnight snack, they immediately surrounded Fatty Jiang and walked towards the school gate in a mighty manner, clearing out a large area in an instant.
On the other side, Sun Rui accurately stopped senior Meng Wei who was about to go to Lu Yu to congratulate him.
"Senior, I'm sorry to bother you," Sun Rui pushed up his glasses and handed over a document with a serious expression. "This is our class's application form for bonus points for the comprehensive assessment regarding our participation in this evening party. There are some details in it, so I might need to check with you now."
"Oh, okay." As a student leader, Meng Wei was immediately attracted by this important matter and was successfully dragged to the spot by Sun Rui.
The backstage clearing plan went smoothly.
After seeing Lu Yu's performance, Lin Yueran, who was in the audience, excitedly pulled her friend through the audience passage and went backstage to give him a surprise.
At this moment, Shi Guang was standing in the shadows at the side of the stage, slowly calming his heart, which was about to burst out of his chest. He saw Lu Yu walk into the lounge and thought he was just going to change clothes. His heart was beating fast, and he hesitated whether to go up to him and say, "You sing very well."
Lu Yu's words, "This song is for one person," and the burning gaze he'd cast during the performance, were etched into his heart like a brand. An unprecedented, sweet hope quietly grew within him.
He took a deep breath, finally mustering up all the courage he had in his life, picked up his laptop, and walked towards the lounge step by step.
Just when he was still a few dozen meters away from the lounge, the accident happened.
Lin Yueran and her friends arrived at the lounge door first.
"Hurry, hurry, right here! We'll give him a big surprise!" Lin Yueran took out the support items they had secretly brought from her bag - several glowing star-shaped balloons, and a handwritten banner that read: "Wish Lu Yu a successful performance! - Your number one fan club."
With quick hands and feet, several girls transformed the entrance of the lounge into a small "confession scene" that looked like it was carefully prepared for someone in just half a minute.
All of this was seen by Shi Guang, who was walking towards them with a computer in his arms a few dozen meters away.
His steps suddenly stopped.
He saw the beautiful and lively girl he had never seen before, standing with her friends at the door of the lounge that was hung with stars and banners, smiling sweetly.
Then he saw that the door of the lounge was opened from the inside.
Lu Yu, who had just changed out of his performance clothes and put on his usual dark blue coat, walked out. When he saw Lin Yueran at the door and the decorations behind her, he showed a surprised expression on his face.
"Lu Yu! Surprise!" Lin Yueran smiled and stuffed a golden star balloon into Lu Yu's hand.
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