Chapter 35: The Top Ten Campus Singer Competition (Extra Chapter for the Dearest Stranger Among Old Friends, the Helmsman)

As they ate and chatted, Cheng Yao asked about the Top Ten Singer competition. He was genuinely interested, having nothing else to occupy his time.

“When does the contest begin?”

“Our school has already started registration. There’s contact info for the student council on a third-party forum.”

“Got it.”

Cheng Yao suddenly remembered the existence of the third-party forum, requested a link, and registered an account with his student ID—it was real-name verification, surprisingly. Eating, browsing the forum, he found it rather harmonious; there were no keyboard warriors to be found. Real-name systems really did have their advantages.

However, there were plenty of boys posting handsome photos seeking partners, and girls showing off their beauty. Some even used pictures of cats and dogs to attract girls. Outrageous! With the real-name system, you couldn’t insult anyone or surf freely, or else you’d become famous at school the next day.

Finding it dull, Cheng Yao memorized the student council vice president’s contact—Wang Yuting—and decided to call tomorrow to inquire further; it was already late.

Cheng Yao: Does your school have a Top Ten Singer event?

Zhang Ya: Yes.

Cheng Yao: I plan to join.

Zhang Ya: Your school’s holding it so early? Ours isn’t until December, and registration starts in November.

Cheng Yao: Might as well try; I’m just killing time.

Zhang Ya: Then you’d better polish your singing. You're great at guitar, but your vocals are average.

Cheng Yao: [picture.jpg]

Zhang Ya: Poisoning me late at night with spicy crawfish! I want some too!

Cheng Yao: I'll treat you to as much as you want when I get back.

Zhang Ya: Deal.

After the crawfish feast, everyone headed home. Before leaving, Liu Hanyue gave him a few pointed looks; Wang Wenbo invited Chen Qian to the hotel again, while Zhang Lei and Zhu Huiyang could only envy them.

Cheng Yao glanced at Lu Mengyao, who seemed a little weak in the knees, shy and bashful.

“I… um… I…”

Cheng Yao thought to himself, I don’t even have the remote in my hand.

He chuckled. Clearly, tonight was not the night.

Once everyone had left, Cheng Yao turned to Cheng Cheng. “Delicious, right?”

“Mm, next time bring your girlfriend along.”

“Sure.”

They hailed a car and waited by the roadside. Cheng Yao still had to drop Little Dot off.

“Brother…”

“Hmm?”

Cheng Cheng looked up, saying, “I feel like Lu Mengyao kept looking at you, something feels off. And you with that Liu…”

“Liu Hanyue?”

“Yes, her. Your relationship seems a bit too close.”

Cheng Yao rubbed her little head with a big hand. “How much did Zhang Ya pay you? I’ll double it!”

“I…”

“She really gave you money?” Cheng Yao was stunned.

Cheng Cheng nodded lightly. “Yesterday, Sister-in-law Zhang Ya gave me five hundred yuan to buy snacks, told me not to tell you.”

“…”

“I’m telling Zhang Ya.”

“Brother, please don’t! I’ll never be able to face her again…”

A little joke, and the car arrived. After getting in, Cheng Yao asked about the situation.

Zhang Ya: I bought Little Dot some snacks, what’s it to you?

Cheng Yao: …

The roads were clear at night. After dropping Cheng Cheng off at her rental, Cheng Yao returned to campus.

Back at school, Cheng Yao looked at Zhang Lei and Zhu Huiyang. “You two play games all day. Don’t you want girlfriends?”

“Girlfriends aren’t as fun as games.”

“Exactly. I still haven’t finished my daily fatigue runs. Hurry up…”

Cheng Yao glanced at Dungeon & Fighter. Apparently, the game was expensive to play. He wasn’t interested; League of Legends and PUBG were more entertaining.

There were plenty of games on Steam, and some horror titles were quite intriguing.

After a shower, Cheng Yao lay in bed with his laptop watching a movie, texting Lu Mengyao on his phone, opening the information panel.

Host: Cheng Yao

Attractiveness: 84

Skills: Guitar, Extraordinary Hearing

Wealth: 2,037,820

Girlfriends: Zhang Ya (bound), Lu Mengyao (bound)

Zhang Ya’s affection level remained steady at eighty-four, but after tunneling through with Lu Mengyao, her affection soared to eighty-eight, just two points shy of ninety.

According to Cheng Yao’s understanding, those two points could be gained by exploring a few more positions.

In fact, it was the same in the game—but the game had no visuals, no process. The screen went dark, cheeks flushed, the lights switched off, a few breaths, and it was morning.

Boring!

He’d arrange another rendezvous soon, fully mold Lu Mengyao to his shape, and the affection would rise, unlocking another skill.

Lu Mengyao: I’ve registered you. When do you want to practice driving?

Cheng Yao: Saturday or Sunday, I’m free. By the way, what do you think of a Porsche?

Lu Mengyao: Really!?

Cheng Yao: Yes, if we’re buying, let’s get a good one.

Affection +1

Seeing Lu Mengyao’s affection increase again, Cheng Yao could feel her emotions spilling through the screen.

Could it be—

High enough?

Cheng Yao smacked his lips, opened AutoHome, and checked out the Porsche options.

The latest Carrera’s base price was 1.3 million, but that was just the bare car. With customization and extras, it would cost at least 1.8 or 1.9 million, possibly pushing two million.

As luck would have it, he had two million on hand—more than enough.

Cheng Yao: Once the car’s bought, it’ll be hard to keep it secret.

Lu Mengyao: I’ll figure something out, don’t worry. I’ll tell my roommates I’m tutoring, and say the car belongs to someone else.

Cheng Yao: Sounds good.

Cheng Yao felt confident about Lu Mengyao. Worst case, he’d wear masks when out with her.

With the car matter settled, Cheng Yao decided to go over at night.

He didn’t want to skip classes during the day; he wasn’t a junior or senior, and skipping classes wasn’t proper. He genuinely enjoyed campus life.

Without their top-tier player, the dorm had lost much of its fun.

The dorm was missing an eccentric who could really liven things up; Zhang Lei and Zhu Huiyang were both introverts.

…

…

Early the next morning, Cheng Yao called the student council vice president, Wang Yuting.

“Hello, is this Vice President Wang Yuting from the student council?”

“It’s me.”

Wang Yuting’s voice sounded sophisticated—she was a senior, graduating next year.

Cheng Yao said, “I’d like to ask about the campus singer competition. Has registration started yet?”

“Yes. If you want to sign up, just inform your class monitor and have your name and info sent to the student council.”

“Alright, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Just after hanging up, Wang Wenbo pushed open the door with dark circles under his eyes, holding his waist.

Cheng Yao gave him a teasing grin. “With all that, is your kidney holding up?”

“I’ve got all the supplements ready—Six Flavor Rehmannia Pill, Kidney Treasure Tablets. I’ll be fine.”

“So you like it loose?”

“Bullshit!”

Wang Wenbo raised his middle finger.

A few of them left the dorm. Cheng Yao munched on fried dough as he entered the classroom, about to sit when Zhou Ziqing ran over.

Seeing her trembling assets, Cheng Yao could barely resist helping her hold them up, afraid they might fall—like the famous beauty from Jinling.

“Class monitor, is something up?”

“I heard you’re joining the campus singer competition?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve already registered you,” Zhou Ziqing said with a smile. “We’ll all come cheer you on. Just fill out this form.”

Cheng Yao replied, “I was just about to tell you about it.”

…

…