CHAPTER 44: CHAPTER 44: A HEARTFELT CONFESSION DISRUPTS HIS RHYTHM

"Just give me a straight answer, are you ’Doesn’t Like Cilantro’ or not?"

Zhang Beixing regained his composure after a brief moment of distraction, looking at Chen Rourou with irritation. What was this woman doing here, winking at him like that? What was her game? Her backup ran off, leaving her alone, so now she thought she could seduce him with some damsel-in-distress act? Ha! Too little, too late! Did she really think such a pathetic trick could shake his iron will? Zhang Beixing scoffed internally.

Noticing his increasingly hostile attitude, Chen Rourou shrank back, growing even more timid. The more intimidated she felt, the less she dared to speak.

Seeing her submissive and fearful demeanor, Zhang Beixing sneered coldly. You little trickster, trying to play dumb to get away with this, huh? Fine!

"You’re all in this together, right? Come on, tell me who ’Doesn’t Like Cilantro’ is," he demanded. "I’m a man who always settles his scores. Whoever provoked me is the one I’ll deal with. Just point that person out, and I swear I won’t lay a finger on the rest of you! Now, I’ll give you thirty seconds to think it over. If I don’t get the answer I want by then..."

Glancing at the other two girls, Zhang Beixing cracked his knuckles, the sharp sounds making his unspoken threat perfectly clear.

Chen Rourou’s heart turned to ice. In that instant, she vividly recalled something Xin Xin had once said when introducing Zhang Beixing: "The Merciless Flower-Destroyer, Young Master Void!"

It’s over! I was too reckless! This guy isn’t the type to show mercy to women at all! He’d actually hit a girl! What do I do? I can’t let my best friends suffer because of me!

Chen Rourou furrowed her brow and bit her lip. Looking up at Zhang Beixing’s fierce expression, she finally made her decision. Under the intense gaze of the onlookers, she bowed deeply to Zhang Beixing and cried out, "I’m sorry, Classmate Beixing! I am ’Doesn’t Like Cilantro’!"

Zhang Beixing nodded, satisfied. "Good, you admitted it. Now, how do you want to settle this? I hear you Karate practitioners are pretty arrogant, always looking down on us Martial Arts folks, right? Today, let’s see whose fists are stronger..."

"No, no, that’s not it at all!" Chen Rourou frantically waved her hands, cutting him off before he could finish.

"What is it then?" Zhang Beixing questioned.

"I didn’t come here to fight you!" Chen Rourou declared loudly, staring defiantly into Zhang Beixing’s fierce eyes. "Classmate Beixing, the truth is, I’ve been secretly admiring you for a long time! Everything I did was just to get your attention. The reason I challenged you to a fight was simply to find a way to ask you out and confess my feelings!"

"So, please be my boyfriend!"

"???"

"!!!"

Her words sent a shockwave through the crowd; the entire place erupted.

Zhang Beixing was dumbfounded. He stared blankly at Chen Rourou, completely thrown. I came here for a fight, and you derail everything with a confession?

Her best friend was equally stunned. She stared at Chen Rourou for a long moment before finally managing to utter two words: "Total badass!"

Chen Rourou had confessed to Zhang Beixing! Witnessing this scene, the surrounding onlookers were flabbergasted. In a daze, they instinctively raised their phones and began recording frantically. Then, with trembling fingers, they posted about the incident on the Shi University online forum.

The post read:

"EXPLOSIVE! Shi University’s campus belle, Chen Rourou, publicly confesses to Young Master Void Zhang Beixing! Is this a perversion of human nature or a collapse of moral values?!"

Once posted, the thread instantly supercharged the already buzzing Shi University forum. Within moments, it had garnered over fifty replies.

"First comment! +3 EXP! And while I’m at it, OP is an idiot! Chen Rourou confessing to Zhang Beixing? You might as well say you woke up and found out you’re the illegitimate son of the world’s richest man, LOL!"

"+1 to the above! Who does Chen Rourou think she is? She’s the most sought-after, most stunning beauty at Shi University! And you’re telling me she’s fallen for Young Master Void? That’s pure BS!"

"But seriously, what the OP said is true! I was freaking there! I even have a video! Chen Rourou really did confess to Zhang Beixing!"

"Holy crap, for real? This... why?! On what grounds could Chen Rourou possibly like a guy like Zhang Beixing?!"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! This video is 100% AI-generated! There’s no way Belle Chen would confess to someone like Zhang Beixing! Absolutely not! (sobbing while covering mouth)"

"I’m freaking losing my mind! Chen Rourou, why would you confess to Zhang Beixing?! Don’t you know Zhang Beixing is a Merciless Flower-Destroyer, a Brother Void? Dating him is no different from asking for death! (roaring in anger)"

"I refuse to accept this! Why does a phony like Zhang Beixing get a girlfriend when a stud like me is still single?! Heaven is blind! (wailing)"

"......"

The forum users exploded. Even with video proof, many refused to believe it, insisting they had to go to the scene and see for themselves.

「Meanwhile, in the woods.」

Chen Rourou’s maneuver had successfully thrown Zhang Beixing completely off his game. After a brief moment of stunned confusion, he quickly collected himself. Looking at Chen Rourou’s apparently sincere expression, he didn’t believe a single word she said—not even a punctuation mark!

Aside from the fact that today was their only interaction in three years of university, her aggressive stance earlier looked nothing like a confession. It looked more like she wanted to beat him up.

Looking at Chen Rourou, Zhang Beixing said somberly, "I’ve never set foot in a library in my entire life. So, do you really think I’d believe that?"

His words sent an even greater shock through the onlookers.

This kid’s got guts! Unbelievable! We thought Belle Chen Rourou’s public confession was explosive enough, but you had to top it by retorting and asking her if *she* believed her own story! Dude, the campus belle is confessing to you, and you’re questioning it? What’s the point? This is the campus belle we’re talking about! One of the most beautiful students in the entire school! It’s clear to everyone that she did so much just to get close to you, yet you still don’t believe her!

"Foolish! Utterly foolish!"

"Lao Zhang, are you an idiot? Why would you say something like that at a time like this?"

"Just say ’yes’ already! Dammit! Argh, my heart! I swear, you’re going to give me a heart attack!"

Before Belle Chen Rourou could even react to Zhang Beixing’s words, Jin Linyu, standing beside her, was already exclaiming agitatedly, as if he were the one being confessed to.

Hearing his outburst, the onlookers hiding nearby nodded in agreement, secretly giving him a thumbs-up. That guy’s alright, a real one! He really speaks his mind!

Hearing this, Chen Rourou put on a pitiful expression and looked at Zhang Beixing. "Why don’t you believe me? Every word I said is true. Why, Classmate Beixing, can’t you believe me?"

"To be honest, every time you go to the cafeteria, I’ve been secretly watching you. Every day when you go to the library, I sit behind you, secretly admiring you. And today, when you stood up for the girls in our class, I saw it all, and my heart ached with jealousy.

"Ah, but jealousy is useless. It’s my fault for not being outstanding enough to catch your attention, Classmate Beixing, for not making you feel my affection. That’s why, out of desperation, I did this. My real reason for challenging you to a fight was simply to confess my feelings. If you felt offended, Classmate Beixing, I am willing to apologize to you."

As she spoke, she adopted a heart-wrenching, utterly pitiable expression.

That posture, that look on her face—it made many of the young men hiding in the shadows exclaim inwardly at her convincing performance. If their self-control hadn’t held them back, they probably would have leaped out, shouting, ’You scoundrel! Unhand that maiden and let me take her place!’