Chapter 160: You Confessed Your Feelings to Zheng Yifeng

How would I know?
Lu Yuanqiu chuckled dryly.
In his past life, his grandmother's seventieth birthday banquet was indeed a grand affair, drawing numerous business figures from across Lucheng. Out of respect for Second Uncle, many people made time to attend no matter how busy they were.
Second Uncle was a towering figure in the Lucheng business world, and for some reason, he held Grandmother in deep respect. Lu Yuanqiu did not know the exact cause, but he had once heard a small rumor from his older sisters.
Second Uncle had no children of his own, and Lu Yuanqiu had never seen a Second Grandmother. According to his sisters, both Second Uncle and Grandfather had once courted Grandmother. When Grandmother ultimately chose Grandfather, Second Uncle vowed never to marry for the rest of his life.
It sounded rather melodramatic, and he had no idea if it was just a story concocted by his older sisters.
At any rate, they had strictly warned Lu Yuanqiu never to bring this matter up openly, or else not only would Grandmother fly into a rage, but his Eldest and Second Uncles would also beat them to a pulp.
Lu Yuanqiu had maintained a half-skeptical attitude toward it. After all, he had never laid eyes on a Second Grandmother; perhaps she had passed away young, and Second Uncle simply remained deeply devoted, choosing not to remarry.
He still remembered a specific program at the birthday banquet. Since the Lu family enterprise started in the food industry, over a dozen stoves were set up at the venue, and the younger generation was required to cook a bowl of longevity noodles for Grandmother on the spot.
These youngsters included not only the five Lu family children, but also the children of high-ranking company executives and business partners. While participation was voluntary for others, the five Lu children were required to cook.
Afterward, Grandmother would taste the dishes in person, and whoever made the tastiest longevity noodles would be publicly rewarded with a one-jin gold ingot.
Lu Yuanqiu couldn't cook at all, and Lu Yidong even less so. In that lifetime, the brother and sister performed miserably at the birthday banquet, and the gold ingot had apparently been won by the child of some high-ranking Lu executive.
His recollection paused. Lu Yuanqiu looked at his father and saw Lu Tian still gazing at him with a puzzled expression.
"Ah... Eldest Sister told me on QQ."
He brushed it off with a vague laugh.
Only then did Lu Tian withdraw his gaze; he had originally planned to bring it up at the end of the month.
"I'm warning you, keep your mouth shut when the time comes, and definitely don't say anything inauspicious. It's your grandmother's seventieth birthday, and it's a very big deal."
"Of course I know. I'm not a three-year-old child."
Sipping his plain water, Lu Yuanqiu thought of something else. "Dad, where is there a dance costume rental shop around here? Or a dance costume retail store?"
Lu Tian adjusted his bow tie and asked, "Are you planning to dance?"
"Bai Qingxia is going to dance at the New Year's Eve gala."
Hearing this, Lu Tian cast a surprised look his way. "She knows how to dance?"
Lu Yuanqiu replied, "Her mother taught her when she was little. Ballet."
"All right, I'll ask around for you."
Lu Tian nodded in astonishment. Still, considering that Xiao Xia's family had merely fallen from grace rather than coming from extreme poverty, her knowing how to dance seemed plausible.

Tuesday, during the big recess.
Outside the classroom, torrential rain was still pouring down. The entire sky was blanketed in dark, oppressive storm clouds, hanging so low they seemed to brush against the tops of the buildings.
Bai Qingxia gazed at the tallest building on No. 7 High School's campus—the library—imagining lightning striking the lightning rod, though it never happened.
Just then, a voice came from beside her.
"With rain coming down like this, there's no way we'll have exams this time, right?"
Turning her head, she saw Zhong Jincheng standing by Lu Yuanqiu's desk and talking.
"What on earth?!"
Hearing this, Lu Yuanqiu lifted his face from his exercise book and retorted, "Impossible, absolutely impossible."
"If we can't take the exams this time, who's going to prove my improvement? Besides, what does rain have to do with exams?"
Zhong Jincheng adjusted his glasses. "The exams are scheduled for Thursday and Friday, and we go home right after. The school doesn't let us stay over the weekend, and a lot of families live quite far away. If the rain is genuinely this heavy, the exams will definitely have to be canceled."
"I don't believe it."
Lu Yuanqiu closed his exercise book with a serious expression. He had finally secured another chance to prove himself; how could they possibly cancel it?
Zhong Jincheng challenged, "Want to bet?"
"What are we betting on?"
"If the exams are canceled, then next week when the rain stops, before the whole school does calisthenics on the podium, you grab the microphone and confess your feelings in front of everyone."
A lewd smile spread across Zhong Jincheng's face.
Lu Yuanqiu's expression stiffened.
Bai Qingxia glanced over, her pretty eyebrows furrowing slightly before she looked away again.
She hadn't liked Zhong Jincheng before, and she despised him even more now.
Lu Yuanqiu twitched the corner of his mouth. "Confess to whom?"
Zhong Jincheng stroked his chin, pondering for a moment, before his gaze suddenly shifted to Bai Qingxia, who was sitting inside.
He silently poked his chin toward Lu Yuanqiu.
Lu Yuanqiu stole a glance backward at the girl sitting beside him. Bai Qingxia seemed to be in a rather poor mood, turning the pages of her book with a somewhat rough motion.
"No way, pick someone else."

Zhong Jincheng cursed, "Coward."
Lu Yuanqiu raised his gaze. "This is called respecting women, my friend."
"Heh, I'm laughing... Fine, pick someone else then. Confess your feelings to Zheng Yifang."
Lu Yuanqiu glanced back at Zheng Yifang, who was sound asleep with his head slumped on his desk, and nodded. "Deal. But if the exams aren't canceled, you have to snatch the microphone, run up to the podium, and confess to someone too."
Zhong Jincheng let out a cold snort and asked with a smile, "Confess to whom?"
Lu Yuanqiu grinned wickedly. "Liu Wei."
Zhong Jincheng: "..."
He hastily looked out the window and clasped his hands together like a devout worshipper pleading with the gods: "Dear Heavens, let the storm rage even harder."
After Zhong Jincheng left, Lu Yuanqiu turned to the girl beside him and said smugly, "Did you hear that just now? Look at how high the stakes I put on the line just to make sure the exams go smoothly."
Bai Qingxia quietly continued working through her problems. Although she had heard every word, she simply refused to acknowledge him.
"Why aren't you saying anything? Xiaxia, my good Xiaxia~"
After waiting a few seconds and receiving no response from Bai Qingxia, Lu Yuanqiu put on a solemn expression, raised his hand, and declared decisively, "Fine, no talking. From now on, whoever speaks is a dog."
Ten minutes later.
Lu Yuanqiu bared his teeth, leaned close to her ear, and emitted a low growl: "Woof... arf."
As if afraid he might nibble on her ear, Bai Qingxia tried hard to suppress a smile, shrinking her head to the side while using her small hand to push against his chest. Lu Yuanqiu chased after her with mock bites until he cornered her against the wall, breathing in the scent near her temples while baring his teeth.
"Smack!"
Suddenly, a sound came from the desk. Lu Yuanqiu turned his head, while Bai Qingxia hurriedly reined in her smile, sitting upright in her seat with a cool and aloof expression.
Wang Haoran slapped a form down on the desk, looked at the two of them, and raised an eyebrow. "You two are really going at it, huh?"
With an unhappy expression, Lu Yuanqiu asked, "What is it?"
"New Year's Eve gala application form. Are you participating? If you are, I'll give you one."
Lu Yuanqiu picked up the form and skimmed through it, noticing that it looked quite formal. Previous New Year's Eve galas hadn't involved such procedures.