fulfill anyone else’s dreams and hopes for a better tomorrow Sometimes, this world was cruel. Many people held onto their dreams, but just as many died without realizing them. Not everyone in this va...Chapter 42: Lackluster

The flag-raising ceremony at the school had already listed out the names of the top students in the city. This flag-raising ceremony also served as an award ceremony, and what was once a spacious field filled with withered grass now stood packed with rows upon rows of students, their heads forming a dense black mass. Thick clouds revealed numerous thin gaps, sunlight piercing through to form shafts of light, crisscrossing against the backdrop of distant mountains, resembling a palace in Western fantasy set beneath the sky and earth.

On one side of the school's main stage was a long line formed by few students. Since his student days began, Su Cen had never participated in the Monday flag-raising ceremony from this vantage point, where he could look down upon the dense crowd below him.

He received a call from his homeroom teacher on Sunday reminding him that he would be attending this ceremony. To say the least, Su Cen was rather excited; being named an "Excellent Student of City No.3 High School" was unprecedented both in the past and present.

Standing next to him was Tang Wu, dressed simply in a white shirt with a deep brown necktie, wearing jeans and her hair tied up into a ponytail that shone darkly. Feeling somewhat nervous, Tang Wu's breaths were shallow and steady, sending waves of her unique warmth.

"Are you cold" Su Cen asked, drawing envious glances from the surrounding excellent student cadres, outstanding league members, and exemplary league cadre representatives.

Tang Wu nodded; it was still quite chilly at this time of spring. Moreover, the quality of the uniform mandated by the school wasn't very good: a thin white shirt that barely covered her body, leaving even her underwear barely concealed. In summer, if she sweated or got wet, it would practically be see-through.

Thus, Tang Wu resorted to wearing a T-shirt underneath and putting on this shirt over it for warmth while preventing any accidental exposure.

The only drawback was that the T-shirt she wore had patterns of Winnie-the-Pooh which could be seen through her shirt. This combined with the outline of her curvaceous figure made people want to reach out and touch her.

"We're facing right into the wind here, yet the principal and discipline director still haven't finished their speeches after so much talk! It seems they’re doing a good job of saving face!" Su Cen remarked, causing the nearby "outstanding league cadre representative" to involuntarily widen her eyes.

Tang Wu was used to Su Cen's unrestrained personality and smiled. Only he could treat such an event with such nonchalance in this situation, likely without realizing that many people below were filled with envy, jealousy, and even resentment towards him while he talked about it calmly and happily. This might be one of his special traits.

Seeing Tang Wu's nervousness decrease significantly, Su Cen felt a slight admiration. When he was at No. 3 High School, Tang Wu would stand on the stage almost every year. At that time, all he could do was catch glimpses of his beloved classmate from among the crowd. He also knew that his close friends harbored feelings for her that were no less intense than his own. It seemed rather pitiful when they all watched her disappear into another world at graduation.

Previously, his admiration and envy for her had led to an inexplicable sense of resentment whenever he thought about the future where a successful man in a suit driving a BMW or Porsche would be seen with Tang Wu, dressed elegantly.

But now, standing side by side with her among the top students at No. 1 High School, this feeling of seizing and changing one's destiny transformed into an indistinct ache in his abdomen—a mix of feelings that was neither excitement nor bitterness.

This was probably Tang Wu’s first time being acknowledged since transferring to No. 1 High School, and her sense of joy and tension was incomparable to anything before. Seeing Tang Wu's trembling figure due to either nervousness or the cold, Su Cen felt a strong urge to protect her. He had held her hand but hadn't found an opportunity for further intimacy. Every time they were together, she inspired in him a reluctance to desecrate their relationship. Thus, many actions remained unfinished—he needed to advance at least to second base.

"Very nervous" Su Cen leaned closer, almost inhaling Tang Wu’s fragrance. The students nearby let out low exclamations of “ah!”

Tang Wu responded, her face flushed from feeling Su Cen's nearness.

"This is troublesome; you must adapt. Your future self will stand in a place ten times more serious than this and even be interviewed on TV," Tang Wu glared at him but couldn't help smiling as she inwardly reproached Su Cen for making jokes under such circumstances—her nervousness did indeed lessen.

"Tang Wu, look eight o'clock from your position," Su Cen scratched his head.

Tang Wu was momentarily stunned before realizing that the eight-o’clock direction referred to where Su Cen stood. As she turned her head, Su Cen’s perfectly timed and precise kiss landed effortlessly on her left cheek.

The soft sound of their lips met as he kissed her smooth skin.

With a sudden loud noise, the students in front of them visibly paused. Then, like the wind sweeping across wheat fields, waves of murmurs surged through the square, creating a hurricane-like effect that swept across the entire crowd, comparable to the roar of an F-10’s powerful engine.

The wind vane and the weathervane next to the roof were accelerating imperceptibly.

The whole school was filled with a sense of amazement. Even Director Tian Feng, who had been speaking, was interrupted for two seconds by this explosive wave. Afterwards, under the maintenance of order by the homeroom teachers from each class, he continued his speech, though he was thoroughly puzzled inside.

Principal Ding Juntu remained seated upright throughout. At this moment, he first looked left and right to ascertain the source of the event, then his gaze followed to Su Cen and Tang Wu, before turning away as if he saw nothing.

"What's happening What is it" Zhang Xili, Li Ai, and a few others had been chatting enthusiastically just now. Xiao Rihua couldn't control them either; upon noticing this unusual sound sweeping over their heads and seeing the crowd around with vacant stares, they hurriedly inquired.

High School Student Yue Zijiang's pupils dilated instantly as he pointed at Su Cen on stage, "You! You!" unable to articulate for a long while. Then looking towards the circle of people backing away and watching him warily with their hands still pointing at that direction on stage, "They! They!" likewise unable to utter anything sensible but many could understand his shock and frustration.

Amongst the crowd of girls, Li Weimei and Chen Lingshan had somehow gotten close together. Their large eyes stared upwards, long eyelashes gently fluttering as the passing wind was silent.

Crack! Li Weimei watched helplessly as her newly bought ballpoint pen snapped in half in Chen Lingshan's hand, internally groaning: My pen!

The only one eating breakfast bread among them, Xue Yiyang stared fiercely at the stage with his carp-like eyes; a butter pie in his hand dropped without him noticing. "Damn… 'You!'" Tang Wu was shocked and embarrassed, her face flushed as she had never imagined Su Cen would dare to make such a move in this setting. Even if many people didn't notice these small details, being present with thousands of students made thirty percent of the attendees already an impressive number, let alone the loud commotion just now indicating how many witnessed it.

How could he ignore so many eyes and behave like that towards her

Beneath those startled gazes, Su Cen's scalp tingled too. More impactful was Tang Wu’s expression of indignation; her clear gaze seemed to pierce his heart directly.

In light of his disposition, the actions of these high school and middle school students before him, as well as similar behavior during student days, rather than being shocking, could leave the most beautiful imprint. What's most important is not what others think, but how to seize what can be seized in this fleeting moment. Thus, after those waves of applause faded away, Su Cen felt like he had truly opened a window to destiny and ushered in another era.

Facing Tang Wu’s astonishment, the stares from the straight line of model students and outstanding cadres around him, as well as the stupefied crowd below who drew in breaths of amazement, Su Cen's face was calm as if nothing had happened. He said, "Impulsiveness is the devil."

This statement infuriated Tang Wu so much that she wanted to punch him. Then Su Cen looked at her. For a moment, Tang Wu felt like she had forgotten where she stood on this playground amidst thousands of students in their Monday flag-raising ceremony, under the thick rolling clouds and breaking daylight, with all the leading figures of the school and class teachers above her.

At that moment, only Su Cen’s gaze seemed to contain many things, an indescribable feeling. Along with the words he transmitted into her ears, "Everything is for you."

Su Cen felt a slight daze in his heart, as if he saw her shock at their first meeting after rebirth, the excitement of passing notes during class, and the hesitation when they walked towards graduation under the twilight. The joy of future reunions, and the knowledge that death had stepped forward to save her with its scythe. The delicate hand-holding in her intricate heart, and the notes from the piano keys under her fingers playing in the great hall on holiday. Her fragmented heart and a more colorful future.

All this converged into one moment, capturing it at this scene. It was Su Cen's eleventh month after rebirth.

Regardless of how fate arranges things, I will change them for you with a wave of my hand.

Tang Wu’s eyes inexplicably reddened, as if some emotion had inexplicably crossed the boundaries of years and struck her heart.

The person before her stood gracefully, clear-eyed and bright. This scene alone was worth more than a thousand dreams奔跑追尋的燈火闌珊。

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