han didn’t want to let Su Cen develop a pessimistic mindset that wasn't entirely hopeless.Su Cen heaved a sigh of relief. After the incident at Xiao Yunyun’s house, he was still worried Chen Lingshan...Chapter 50 Conflict

* A person got off at a nearby station and came to the periphery of the university, where from the school gate hung banners such as "Yuquan's 'Most Beautiful,' coming to the University." The place was crowded with people, and ticket booths were set up right by the entrance. Everyone handed over money and arranged for someone to queue up; most then moved to a small snack stall on the eastern side of the university.

The snacks here were well-known far and wide. Although these folks were still just high school students, they had a great longing for college life. There were also many high school students in school uniforms eating over there, seemingly having skipped home after classes to come directly to watch the concert.

In this era, on average there were several dozen star concerts annually in Chengdu, but most of them were still small-scale events. Judging from all aspects of their operation, they didn't seem as mature as future concerts would be. The promotion for these concerts partly came through TV media, but more often through radio broadcasts, which had a considerable influence at the time. In the future world where online information exploded, radios gradually became a leisure item for some nostalgic people or students in class and were slowly becoming marginal media.

However, such a concert without large-scale promotion, with just a few security guards and police maintaining order, without blindly pursuing crowds of crazed fans, still felt very close to the heart. In this era where chasing girls with just guitars was still possible...

The snack stalls stretched on endlessly, bustling with activity. There were hot pots being heated up by blazing fires, and the owners kept adding ingredients inside; steam rose continuously, with droplets splashing out from time to time, making a hissing sound as they boiled.

It was lunchtime, the most delicious period of eating, when students who had rolled up their pants gathered in groups of three or four around tables, drinking beer and ordering snacks.

There were also those dressed more formally, sitting with fair-faced girls, chatting and laughing from time to time, enjoying their own sweet moments on the roadside stalls.

The university town was not short on beautiful women. When decently dressed female students walked by or lingered at milk tea stands, they often drew curious glances.

Wu Shimiao was considered a small beauty; when she sat down with them, quite a few senior students' eyes lit up, and Wu Shimiao became even more self-satisfied. At this moment, she didn't look at Su Can but thought about how everyone in the class had heard that he saved a girl who attempted suicide on the rooftop today, and since their school was near No. 27 High School, some of them had classmates there and knew about it, so they asked Wu Shimiao to confirm.

Surprisingly, although Wu Shimiao, Zhao Xin, and Yang Zhao all heard that Su Can saved a person, none of them mentioned him or felt unwilling for him to overshadow them. After all, these three had always been the most prominent children in the Beijing Construction Engineering General Corporation's compound.

However, the one putting pressure on them was Su Can; he remained his usual self and ignored their conversation. Although Guo Xiaozhong didn't dare speak without Su Can's permission, his smug expression clearly revealed everything to Wu Shimiao and company, making them feel very conflicted.

At this moment, a Buick Century sedan drove into the snack street, parking by the side of the road and blocking what little space there was. The people eating nearby looked somewhat displeased as four young men got out, all dressed in a rather fashionable style; the first one wore a racing jacket and seemed to be just entering university.

In China's future, luxury cars would be common, with many rich kids driving them around, but at this time, these were the earliest signs of wealth. Being able to drive a Buick Century at an age when they could legally operate vehicles was already quite impressive and boasted one’s status.

"Wow. There are quite a few pretty girls around!" The man in the jacket looked around and the young men next to him chuckled. Their voices were rather loud, causing some students nearby who were eating to frown.

Sitting down at the table next to them so casually immediately made everyone here feel uncomfortable pressure, especially as they kept looking at Wu Shixuan on the side.

This made Wu Shimiao very uneasy. She had been lively and chatting with these sons of influential families earlier, but being watched by this group made her gradually become more silent.

Zhao Xin and Yang Zhao exchanged glances; their expressions were not pleasant.

"The milk tea should be ready now. I'll go check it out." Wu Shirui got up and walked towards the milk tea shop to help two girls get three cups of milk tea.

As she passed by those four young men, one of them licked his lips, "Such a good figure; her butt is really perky."

When Wu Shimiao returned to the table, everyone had cold expressions. Wu Shiyin clenched her thin lips several times. The sons and daughters from Dagong Construction always felt superior due to their collective fighting spirit and the presence of someone like Xu Zheng as a leader. Even when facing children from official organizations, they didn't think much of them. When they were young and played together with other company kids, it was said that Dagong Construction's kids were hard to provoke because they stuck together.

This was back in the days before new and old residential areas were clearly demarcated; all children would mix freely without worries.

Zhao Xin and Yang Zhao stared at those four students directly. The tension between them rose sharply.

Although they might be first-year students, Zhao Xin and Yang Zhao had never shown weakness in front of others before. Zhao Xin had practiced running and boxing since childhood; Yang Zhao was known for fighting around here when he was young. He used to associate with those who hung out near the headquarters area, although these were mostly troublemakers without much strength. However, even if some of them lacked combat skills among this group, they wouldn't necessarily be at a disadvantage against just four people.

Wu Shiyin suppressed her anger and grabbed Zhao Xin and Yang Zhao's wrists, shaking them slightly. "Forget it; let’s hurry up and eat and leave. The concert is about to start."

The others didn't say anything more. Zhao Xin and Yang Zhao withdrew their gazes, while the four over there laughed awkwardly, muttering something like 'these brats need a good beating'.

For Su Cen, all of this was almost unrelated to him. Although Guo Xiaozhong was also indignant, Su Cen had not yet developed the awareness to integrate into the small society of Dagujiangong子弟 (literally "sons and daughters," referring to children or offspring). He never considered himself part of their group; thus, he would often coldly observe this circle's affairs, solely preoccupied with how his father could maximize profits within the Dagujiangong Group.

Outside the rain shelter at Keda University, crowds jostled to get tickets. At this point, it was clear that Yu Quan had a huge following, especially among college students. During this era, Yu Quan was still participating in music chart rankings in Hong Kong and actively promoting on the mainland. However, compared to later times, the venue at Keda University's rain shelter appeared somewhat rudimentary, yet the atmosphere was incredibly lively.

The stage was being set up while technicians fine-tuned the microphones, and intermittent darkness kept everyone's blood racing with excitement.

When two boy-like singers took to the stage and began singing love songs in a gentle manner, the air inside the rain shelter was filled with emotion, and the crowd's mood quickly reached its peak.

After going through today’s morning suicide incident, Su Cen felt that such an atmosphere allowed him to relax considerably. He savored the surrounding ambiance and the music pouring into his ears.

After several love songs, everyone was moved beyond words. At this moment, the two singers began accompanying a film's interlude music, declaring "I love you" to the entire audience and encouraging interactive participation. This segment was filled with raw passion, and many years later, people would remember these moments of unrestrained youth.

The whole venue started shouting three words into the air, towards passersby, and even those they usually wouldn’t dare approach. Though their voices blended into the overwhelming cacophony around them. [Ad break]

This is why Guo Xiaozhong felt more at ease shouting loudly to Wu Shimin; she might not have heard him anyway, as many were declaring their love at that moment, and years later, they would hardly remember who had said those three words to them.

Everyone present was endearing.

Su Cen then saw Wu Shimin waving her hands in front of her while shouting something. Turning his head slightly, he couldn't quite make out what she was saying or where exactly she was looking at. "I... I love you!"

Wu Shimin's expression turned extremely flustered and alarmed in that instant, "No! That’s not what I meant."

Su Cun smiled and called out to her, "It's fine, no need to explain. I understand you didn't mean it that way!"

Although they were facing each other, the crowd was so noisy that they had to shout to be heard.

They shared a laugh before looking away from each other. Wu Shiyin didn't look back at Su Cun again but couldn’t help wondering why he was on her left side; it made her feel embarrassed.

The concert ended, and people were still reluctant to leave. They saw vendors selling inflatable hammers by the roadside. On festive occasions like Christmas or music festivals, young men and women in Rongcheng liked to hit each other with these hammers. Each group had their own hammer.

After the concert, those who couldn't bear being idle started buying the hammers and hitting each other. They too were struck a few times; Wu Shimiao was hit most often because of her striking appearance.

The crowd outside the venue froze when they saw the four young men from earlier. Now their group had expanded to at least ten people, all armed with inflatable hammers. The two groups noticed each other and paused in surprise, neither saying a word.

Feeling the hostility from the opposing side, Wu Shimiao and Zhao Xin’s group weren't as lively as before when they were hitting random passersby. They walked forward with sideways glances, acting nonchalant.

The situation changed abruptly. The other side whispered to each other, then burst into laughter, running over with their hammers held up. But instead of using the hammers to hit people, they used them as cover and kicked towards Yang.

Several young men rushed forward and pummeled Zhao Xin and Yang.

The fight immediately erupted; both sides shouted and clashed.

Thanks:

"Big Boss, Heart Blossom Like Raindrops, Handsome Guy & Good Samaritan Peach Cries, Most Pie, Flame Sin, Xiao Bu Huang, Sheng Zhu."ion and gaze as he holds Su Can's sleeve. "This time I'm in trouble. My relationship with the group leader deteriorated two days ago because of Yang Gui, who dared to joke about her. Now my name is on...