All that swagger over a lousy piano! That was one textbook face-plant!

The next day, at seven thirty in the evening.

Jinghai University's main auditorium.

The central air conditioning overhead blasted cold air, but it could not suppress the restlessness of more than three thousand freshmen.

Glow sticks waved through the dim audience seats, and the uproar threatened to lift the roof.

The first few acts were all group singing and poetry recitations, leaving the audience drowsy.

Fatty Wang sat in the front row of the School of Economics and Management's section, cracking sunflower seeds in utter boredom.

"Boring. Did these people come up here to hypnotize us? Your Lord Fatty's so sleepy I could drop dead asleep right here."

Fatty let out an enormous yawn and turned toward Lin Bei beside him.

Lin Bei was sprawled in the broad folding chair, his eyes half closed.

"Bro Bei, you really aren't worried at all. That bastard Zhou Zihao's about to go up there and show off." Fatty nudged Lin Bei with his elbow.

Lin Bei did not even lift his eyelids. "Even if he went up there and swallowed an iron sword whole, what's that got to do with me? As long as he doesn't bother me, he can prance around however he wants."

As they spoke, a faint scent of gardenias drifted over from beside them.

Lin Bei opened his eyes and turned his head.

Ruan Qingwu had just come out after having her makeup done backstage.

She had signed up for classical dance and had already changed into a flowing, water-blue gown with wide sleeves.

Layers upon layers of skirts rippled like water as she walked.

Her usually bare face had been carefully adorned with stage makeup today.

A faint touch of rouge swept across the corners of her eyes. Half her long hair was pinned up with a jade hairpin, while the rest cascaded down her back like a waterfall.

Her cool, otherworldly air paired with that outfit was simply stunning.

The moment she sat down, boys in several surrounding sections stared, transfixed. They stopped watching the performance altogether and kept stealing glances her way.

"What are you staring at?" Lin Bei's unblinking gaze made Ruan Qingwu a little uncomfortable. A faint blush rose to her cheeks, and she reached over to pinch his arm.

Lin Bei did not dodge. He sat up with the motion, an attractive curve lifting his lips.

"You look pretty good. Don't be nervous when you go up there. Even if you mess up, it's fine. Fatty brought two big megaphones. We'll make sure the crowd gets going."

Beside him, Fatty immediately thumped his chest in assurance. "Absolutely! Qingwu, you're the pride of our School of Economics and Management!"

Just then, every light on the stage suddenly went out.

The noisy auditorium instantly fell silent.

Then came a snap.

A dazzling white spotlight shone down from overhead, falling directly on center stage.

At some point, a pure-white grand piano had been set up there, gleaming expensively beneath the light.

A figure emerged from backstage at an unhurried pace.

Zhou Zihao.

The guy had clearly spared no expense today.

His custom-made white tailcoat was impeccably cut, setting off his tall, straight figure.

The gel in his hair shone brilliantly beneath the spotlight.

He walked up to the piano, but instead of sitting down immediately, he turned and bowed elegantly to the audience.

"Wow-"

"He's so handsome!"

"Who's that? What school is he from? That presence is incredible!"

The audience instantly erupted, and quite a few inexperienced freshman girls began screaming.

The girls had absolutely no resistance to an entrance that came with its own "Prince Charming" filter.

Listening to the deafening cheers, Zhou Zihao's lips curled into a smug smile.

So what if I lost face in the cafeteria and on the sports field a few days ago?

At a university where looks, money, and talent mattered, once I finished this piece, I would still be the lofty young master of the Zhou Family!

All those mocking voices would turn into admiration!

Zhou Zihao tugged at the tails of his coat and elegantly seated himself on the piano bench.

He raised both hands and held them above the black-and-white keys.

The auditorium instantly fell utterly silent, everyone holding their breath.

The next second, his long fingers struck down heavily.

The classic melody of "Für Elise" poured through the auditorium's top-of-the-line sound system.

In all fairness, Zhou Zihao had not simply bought his way to a Grade Ten piano qualification.

His family had forced him to practice since childhood, and his fundamentals were solid.

As his fingers flew, the melody flowed lightly and smoothly, its shifts between loud and soft handled just right.

The light fell across his focused profile, his white tailcoat shifting slightly with his movements. He really did have something of a piano prince's bearing.

The girls in the audience all had stars in their eyes.

"It sounds so beautiful..."

"He's rich, handsome, and he can play the piano! He's literally a novel's male lead stepping into reality!"

"Who called him the Great Emperor of Holy Water? He's clearly the Piano Prince!"

Listening to the girls' hushed, lovestruck chatter around him, Fatty Wang squeezed his half-full bottle of mineral water until it crackled.

"Fuck! He actually pulled off his fucking show-off act!" Fatty looked utterly unconvinced. "Are these girls blind? Why weren't they calling him handsome when that bastard pissed his pants a couple of days ago?"

Lin Bei leaned back in his chair and lazily yawned as he watched Zhou Zihao revel in himself onstage.

That was all he had?

Before the legacy of Heavenly Sound Zither Heart, Zhou Zihao's playing was practically no different from twanging cotton.

All technique, no feeling.

But Lin Bei could not be bothered to go up and slap him in the face.

An opponent at this level was not worth wearing out his shoes to stomp on.

Four minutes later.

The final note fell away above the auditorium.

Zhou Zihao swept both hands through an elegant arc in the air, bringing the performance to a perfect close.

After a brief silence.

Thunderous applause erupted like mountains toppling and seas overturning.

Quite a few girls even stood, waving frantically and screaming.

Zhou Zihao rose, walked to the edge of the stage, and bowed deeply again.

He savored the feeling of being the center of everyone's attention, feeling every pore in his body open.

The pleasure of trampling everyone beneath his feet swept away all the frustration he had accumulated over the past few days.

After bowing, Zhou Zihao did not leave through the staff passage at the side. Instead, he came straight down the steps at the front of the stage.

As he walked, Zhou Zihao smiled and nodded to the girls on either side, drawing bursts of irrepressible screams.

When he reached the School of Economics and Management's section, he stopped.

His gaze fixed itself firmly on Ruan Qingwu.

So beautiful.

That water-blue classical gown set off Ruan Qingwu's already pure air, making her look like a fairy descended to earth.

Her waist, slender enough to encircle with a hand, and her long, swanlike neck left Zhou Zihao's throat dry.

A top-tier beauty like her belonged in Young Master Zhou's bed, not beside a broke loser like Lin Bei!

Zhou Zihao tossed his hair, plastered with half a pound of gel, and headed straight for Ruan Qingwu.

"Qingwu, how was my playing just now? If you like it, I can play for you every day."

Ruan Qingwu was looking down at the program. Hearing his voice, she immediately frowned.

"Move. You're blocking my light."

Zhou Zihao's expression stiffened.

But remembering how thoroughly he had stolen the spotlight onstage, he regained his confidence.

He glanced at Lin Bei, seated beside Ruan Qingwu.

"Lin Bei, did you see that?"

"That's the class divide. I sit onstage playing a piano worth hundreds of thousands, enjoying the whole university's cheers. Meanwhile, you can only huddle down here as a spectator."

"What have you got to compete with me?"

Fatty could not bear listening any longer and was about to stand up and start cursing.

Lin Bei reached out and pressed down on Fatty's shoulder.

He finally lifted his eyelids and glanced at Zhou Zihao.

His gaze was like someone looking at an idiot rolling in a mud pit who still thought he was clean.

"All that swagger over a lousy piano." Lin Bei yawned. "Get lost. Stop being an eyesore."

Zhou Zihao's temper flared instantly.

He was about to unleash a torrent of abuse when he suddenly realized quite a few girls around them were still watching.

Had to maintain my image.

"I won't stoop to arguing with bottom-feeders like you." Zhou Zihao tossed his hair and turned toward Ruan Qingwu, preparing to give her his most affectionate smile.

The corner of Lin Bei's mouth twitched.

Wanted to run after showing off?

Nothing came that cheap.

Lin Bei discreetly flicked the fingers resting on his knee.

A wisp of green Spiritual Power instantly burrowed underground.

It traveled silently along the marble floor and wound precisely around the sole of the custom-made leather shoe on Zhou Zihao's right foot.

The Spiritual Power became a powerful suction cup.

It welded the sole firmly to the floor.

Zhou Zihao was about to step forward and move closer to Ruan Qingwu to talk.

But when he moved, his foot would not lift. The sole seemed to have taken root.

Thinking he had stepped on some extra-sticky chewing gum, he cursed inwardly and forcefully tried to pull his right leg free again.

At that very moment, Lin Bei withdrew the wisp of Spiritual Power.

But Zhou Zihao had already leaned his upper body forward. His weight of more than 130 jin, together with the tremendous momentum, bore down entirely on that right leg he had been unable to lift.

His balance instantly collapsed.

Before the affectionate smile on Zhou Zihao's face could fully bloom, it turned into sheer terror.

His arms flailed twice in midair, trying to grab something.

But he caught nothing.

Bam!

A dull, tremendous impact rang out, enough to set everyone's teeth on edge.

Zhou Zihao slammed into the marble aisle in a textbook frog-sprawl.

His momentum was so great that his entire body slid a full half meter forward along the floor.

Dead silence.

The auditorium, still filled with whispers moments earlier, instantly became quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

Every gaze focused on the figure lying facedown in the aisle.

The scene seemed frozen.

A full three seconds passed.

A scream like a pig being slaughtered forced its way out of Zhou Zihao's throat.

He rolled over, clutching his mouth in agony.

His once-exquisite tailcoat was covered in dust, and his sleek, glossy hair had become a bird's nest.

His face had suffered the worst.

The skin on his chin had split, and blood welled out between his fingers.

Half a gleaming white front tooth lay quietly on the floor.

"Pfft-"

Fatty Wang was the first to lose control, slapping his thigh and roaring with laughter.

That sound was like a fuse, instantly setting off the entire crowd.

"Hahahaha, holy shit! What kind of pose is that?"

"From Piano Prince to toad spirit in a second? Those face-braking skills are incredible!"

"I'm fucking dying! Is he prostrating himself before the campus belle?"

"He fell every bit as miserably as he looked handsome playing the piano! Is this guy here to do comedy?"

Laughter, whistles, and jeers nearly lifted the auditorium's roof.

The girls in the front row who had been swooning over Zhou Zihao moments earlier now covered their mouths and recoiled in disgust.

Zhou Zihao's head buzzed.

Pain.

Heart-piercing pain.

But worse than the physical pain was the utter humiliation of being gawked at like a monkey by thousands of people.

Everything he had painstakingly arranged today had been meant to wash away his disgrace.

Instead, not only had the disgrace remained, it had gained another bold, vivid stroke!

"Lin... Lin Bei..." Zhou Zihao hissed in pain, staring venomously at Lin Bei, who sat in his chair without moving an inch.

That bastard must have done something!

But he couldn't find any evidence at all.

Lin Bei was still over a meter away from him and hadn't so much as laid a finger on him.

"What are you staring at?" Lin Bei leaned back in his chair, his tone flat. "If you're that unsteady on your feet, take some tonics. What, trying to scam me for compensation?"

"You!" Zhou Zihao was so furious he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Young master! Young master, are you all right?"

Only then did Zhang Liang and the other lackeys nearby react. They scrambled over, stumbling and crawling, and hauled Zhou Zihao up from the floor.

Zhou Zihao clamped a hand over his bleeding mouth, not daring to look at the gazes of the people around him.

"Go... hurry, let's go!"

He let out a muffled shout and fled backstage without looking back.

Watching his retreating figure as he fled in panic, Lin Bei smiled.

With that little composure, he still dared to come out and play the big bad wolf.