Su He's mouth gaped open, her hands covering her lips, speechless with surprise for a long time. Slowly, a thin mist enveloped her beautiful eyes, and Su He stood there, stunned.
Chen Yang pushed the gift box forward further, smiling:
"Silly girl, what are you daydreaming about! Take the gift!"
"Oh!" A little flustered by Chen Yang's sudden surprise, Su He hurriedly took the gift box.
Chen Yang looked at Su He encouragingly and said with a smile,
"Open it and see if you like it!"
Su He opened the gift box with a hint of anticipation. Inside, a brand-new white iPhone 4s sat quietly. Su He's eyes initially lit up with delight, but then she complained,
"Chen Yang, why did you buy me such an expensive phone? It's a waste of money!"
At that time, the iPhone 4s had just been released, and even the cheapest 16GB black version cost over four thousand yuan. Su He knew that Chen Yang wasn't exactly well-off, so while she felt a surge of sweetness seeing him buy her such an expensive phone, her first reaction was also a pang of regret.
Chen Yang said nonchalantly,
"Money is meant to be spent, isn't it? Besides, this is the first time I've celebrated your birthday. As long as you're happy, any amount of money is worth it!"
With that, Chen Yang pulled his phone out of his pocket, then took two phone cases from the bottom of Su He's gift box, smiling as he said,
"Now we'll both be using the same phone. I even specially prepared two phone cases, let's put them on together!"
Su He's pretty face flushed crimson at the sight of the phone cases in Chen Yang's hand. Both phone cases were black, each with half a pink heart on it. One depicted a cartoon girl, the other a boy, both pouting. When the two cases were put together, a complete red heart was visible, and the two figures in the design were kissing…
These were couple phone cases specially prepared by Chen Yang. Su He's beautiful eyes sparkled. She glanced quickly at Chen Yang, blushed, nodded, picked up the girl-shaped phone case, and silently changed the case on her iPhone 4S.
Chen Yang was overjoyed. He grinned and quickly put the remaining phone case on his own phone. Then, Chen Yang pointed to Su He's phone and said with a smile,
"Open it and take a look!"
When Su He's slender fingers swiped the screen, she was once again stunned by what she saw. The phone's home screen displayed thirteen folders arranged in a heart shape. The names of each folder, when combined, formed a sentence:
"Happy Birthday, Su He! May you be happy every day!"
These beautifully designed folders and text, along with the crystal heart pattern on the home screen background, created a charming and aesthetically pleasing scene. In each folder, Chen Yang had placed some frequently used apps. He'd been tinkering with the phone ever since he bought it yesterday, first jailbreaking it, then installing some customization and enhancement apps—on iOS, folders can't be arranged freely without jailbreaking. Next, Chen Yang thoughtfully downloaded some commonly used software to the phone; since he bought the 64GB version, he wasn't worried about running out of space.
Looking at Su He, who was lost in thought, Chen Yang couldn't help but mutter to himself: "Sister! Give me a reaction! I've been working on this until three or four in the morning!"
Just then, Chen Yang suddenly noticed that Su He's eyes were red, and tears were streaming down her face. Chen Yang panicked immediately. What happened? She was fine just a moment ago, why is she suddenly crying?
Chen Yang gently wiped away Su He's tears, anxiously asking,
"Su He, what's wrong? If you don't like this phone, we can throw it away, don't cry!"
With that, Chen Yang snatched the phone from Su He's hand, making a move to throw it into the Minjiang River. Seeing this, Su He hurriedly grabbed the phone back, clutching it tightly to her chest, sobbing as she said,
"If you dare throw it, I'll fight you to the death!"
Chen Yang was puzzled:
"Then why are you crying?"
Su He rolled her eyes at Chen Yang, scolding,
"Ugh, I'm just touched, okay!"
Su He was utterly speechless at Chen Yang. Most of the time, he was incredibly caring, empathetic, and incredibly thoughtful—the epitome of the perfect boyfriend. But sometimes, for some unknown reason, he would become incredibly clumsy and oblivious, completely lacking in romantic understanding. While Chen Yang was still in a daze, Su He stepped forward and grabbed his forearm, pressing herself tightly against him. She softly said,
"Come with me to the beach!"
Chen Yang snapped out of his reverie, beaming and loudly replying,
"Yes, sir!"
Under the summer sun, a slender young woman nestled close to a tall boy beside her. In the whistling river breeze, their figures gradually blended into the ink-wash landscape of the northern riverbank of Rongcheng…
…
On the afternoon of June 2nd, the first studio of Southeast Provincial Television Station was bustling with people. From the station's main entrance to the studio, colorful flags fluttered in the wind. Volunteers from various universities in Southeast Province were guiding the way at various intersections. More than a thousand students from several colleges and universities in Rongcheng were entering the venue in an orderly fashion.
Chen Yang and Su He walked slowly into the venue with the Rongcheng University group.
Today was the final judging day for the Rongcheng City College and University Calligraphy and Painting Competition. Professor Yan had a class in the afternoon, and Chen Yang had originally planned to ask for leave. However, just as he was about to call Professor Yan before leaving, he received a notification that the afternoon class had been changed to individual study. This meant he didn't need to ask for leave, and Chen Yang was happy to have some free time.
As Chen Yang walked towards the studio, he observed his surroundings. He noticed that the security level for this small college and university calligraphy and painting competition was surprisingly high. Aside from the large number of police officers and armed police officers guarding the route, Chen Yang also saw at least twenty plainclothes security personnel, which was highly unusual.
Could some important figure be appearing today? Chen Yang wondered to himself.
Upon entering, Chen Yang was even more taken aback by the sheer number of media personnel. The media area directly in front of the VIP seats was already set up with cameras and microphones. A quick glance revealed that, apart from the provincial television station responsible for the live broadcast, almost all provincial and municipal media outlets had sent reporters. Moreover, the observant Chen Yang noticed that the organizers seemed somewhat caught off guard. This was evident from the press passes of many media outlets, which were clearly hastily made, with rough materials and workmanship.
After a little analysis, Chen Yang concluded that a high-ranking official had changed their schedule at the last minute to attend today's event. Moreover, this official was at least a key leader of the provincial party committee and government, judging from the security level and the presence of media, indicating at least a member of the provincial standing committee.
However, Chen Yang quickly put this matter out of his mind. Who the high-ranking official was was none of his concern; he was just accompanying Su He and would simply be a good audience member!
Studio One covered an area of over 2,500 square meters. In the center of the space was a stage of over 100 square meters. Behind the stage were the technical support areas for broadcasting, sound, and lighting. The audience seating in front of the stage was arranged in a fan shape, with five sections, somewhat similar to stadium stands, with the seating increasing in elevation towards the back.
Rongcheng University, as the top-ranked university in Rongcheng City, was assigned seats in the central C section, directly behind the VIP area. However, the first ten rows were reserved by the organizers, and students began taking their seats from the eleventh row onwards.
Chen Yang and Su He walked slowly with the student procession and sat down in a seat near the aisle in the thirteenth row. Chen Yang pointed to the newly decorated stage and said to Su He with a smile:
"It looks quite impressive!"
Su He, also attending such a large event for the first time, seemed a little excited:
"Of course! Every year, the final competition is broadcast live by the provincial television station. And I heard that they always invite heavyweight masters to join the judging panel. I wonder which master will be on it this year!"
Su He's tone was filled with anticipation. Although it was her first time participating, she knew from conversations with art students in the calligraphy and painting club that this competition was quite prestigious. Although the preliminary results wouldn't be announced until the event began, Su He, judging from the tone of Lu Qiushi, the head of the Art Department, felt that Chen Yang's two works—nominally one for her and one for Chen Yang—had a very good chance of winning. Therefore, Su He was quite looking forward to the upcoming preliminary results.
The preliminary round would select fifty shortlisted works. Fifteen universities in Rongcheng City submitted works, but not every school would necessarily have any shortlisted entries. Rongcheng University, as a long-established university in Rongcheng City with top-tier overall strength, reportedly only had four or five works shortlisted each year, demonstrating how rigorous the preliminary selection criteria were.
Su He said with a touch of coquettishness:
"Chen Yang, I heard the school takes this competition very seriously. As long as your work makes it to the finals, you'll get academic credits. And if you win the gold medal, I heard there's even a chance to be recommended for graduate school!"
Chen Yang chuckled and said:
"Don't dream about it! If you're going to be recommended, it'll be for the art department's graduate program. Do you think winning an award in a calligraphy and painting competition will guarantee you a place in our law school's graduate program?"
Su He playfully stuck out her tongue slightly, and said shyly:
"That's true! But there must be a reason why the school is taking it so seriously. I just don't know which organization is handling this."
Chen Yang glanced at the "Audience Guidelines" in his hand and replied casually:
"Who knows! Maybe the provincial education department!"
Just as Chen Yang finished speaking, a cold laugh suddenly came from beside him.