It was just a love letter; I'm really no great writer!

You'll drain me dry sooner or later...

Lu Ran gave a vague reply: "We'll see when I'm free."

"Okay." Zhao Yishuang nodded slightly, her expression aloof, as if the smile from before had never appeared. "I believe you."

It feels so good to be trusted...

"Then the problem now is how to cover up your lie, otherwise Xia Liang won't agree to let you come back."

Lu Ran pondered.

The best way to bury the truth is to fabricate a more plausible "truth"—this is what he realized while writing "White Night".

"As long as you can provide a convincing reason, they will definitely forgive and forget."

"What's the reason?"

"For example...did your family go bankrupt?"

Lu Ran quoted the story of the famous teacher Da Xiang, "For example, last semester you spent so much money, your family found out and kicked you out of the house, so you could only work part-time as a customer service representative to earn money, and you were so miserable that you couldn't even afford to eat..."

"You can say that?" Zhao Yishuang was shocked and looked at Lu Ran with great surprise, as if she were looking at a master swindler.

Lu Ran: ...

I was just kidding.

……

Lu Ran tagged all members in the Liangran Literature Club's group chat, asking them to gather in the activity room because he had something important to announce.

"Go on, apologize to everyone."

At the entrance to the activity room, a long corridor was bathed in red sunlight, with six people standing on either side.

On the left are Xia Liang, Li Xingping, and Zuo Hanzhi.

On the right are Lu Ran, Di Lingyan, and Zhao Yishuang.

Lu Ran said something behind Zhao Yishuang, and all the girls' eyes fell on her face.

Zhao Yishuang is very good at lying.

She was expressionless, her tone flat and monotone, as if she were narrating something unrelated.

The reason, of course, is not the family going bankrupt; that's ridiculous. Everyone knows how powerful the Zhao family is.

In the end, Lu Ran came up with a relatively plausible story:

First, there is the dual pressure of academic studies and family.

Zhao Yishuang needs to maintain her ranking in order to give her family an explanation for continuing to write.

She was busy with the literary society at that time, and her monthly exam scores dropped, so she withdrew from the society to focus on her studies. That makes perfect sense, right?

Secondly, it's quite common for authors to run out of ideas when writing "Life is Bitter" in its later stages. Sometimes it's not that the author wants a bad ending, but rather that they lack the ability.

Furthermore, and most importantly, it must be frankly admitted that money from the ledgers was misappropriated.

A lie that contains nine truths and one falsehood is the hardest to detect.

Lu Ran could effortlessly spout both sweet words and lies.

This talent was probably cultivated by countless literary classics...

"I was too willful back then. I didn't consider everyone's feelings and resolutely withdrew. I'm sorry to everyone." Zhao Yishuang bowed deeply.

The women remained silent for a while.

This long-standing unsolved case has only now been resolved.

In short, if Zhao Yishuang takes the blame and apologizes honestly, no one will really pursue the matter.

"Xiao Di, didn't you say it was related to Lu Ran?" Xia Liang questioned.

"Uh, really... I thought..." Di Lingyan poked her finger, then flung it away, "Oh dear, it's good that you figured it out!"

"Honestly, Yi Shuang, you didn't say a word about what happened." Li Xingping ran over and grabbed Zhao Yi Shuang's hand, pretending to be angry.

In fact, they all knew very well that, given Zhao Yishuang's personality, she would definitely keep things to herself when faced with problems.

As for the misappropriation of the account books, they tacitly refrained from mentioning it again.

—Zhao Yishuang is short of money? It would be more like she'd be subsidizing it!

Of course, if they think this way, they've already touched on a bit of the truth...

However, the amount of her subsidy far exceeded the capabilities of ordinary high school students.

"Everyone should take this as a warning." Xia Liang said with a stern face, "Our literary society must establish rules: there can be no secrets between us! Absolutely no concealment! No betrayal!"

"Otherwise... I will never forgive you!"

Lu Ran felt ashamed. He had taught Zhao Yishuang to tell such a huge lie; he should already be unforgivable.

"Next, let's have a democratic vote. Raise your hand if you agree that Yishuang should come back." Xia Liang swept her hand across the crowd.

Di Lingyan quickly raised his hand high.

Li Xingping raised her hand, followed by Zuo Hanzhi.

Finally, Lu Ran also leisurely raised his hand.

He really liked the feeling of everyone working together for a common interest, like a fraternity.

Xia Liang finally smiled slightly: "Yes, unanimously approved. Welcome back, Yi Shuang!"

Di Lingyan happily hugged Zhao Yishuang.

Li Xingping looked at Lu Ran with delight, wondering what method he had used to persuade Zhao Yishuang to tell the truth.

In the end, the misunderstanding between them was resolved.

"Although Yi Shuang is back, I hope everyone understands," Xia Liang stared defiantly at Zhao Yi Shuang, "I am the president."

Zhao Yishuang gave a soft "hmm".

No one had any objections.

The new literary society was rebuilt by Xia Liang, who ran around doing all the work. Besides, they didn't really care about the position of president.

Only Zhao Yishuang and Xia Liang are more sensitive about this due to their family backgrounds.

Zhao Yishuang understood Xia Liang's meaning: she wanted to transform the previous juvenile dictatorship into a democratic dictatorship.

"Okay, while everyone's here, let me reiterate the predicament we face and our deployment plan."

Xia Liang crossed his arms, his expression cold and stern. "First of all, the first issue of the new pictorial only sold 470 copies in its first week, which is even worse than we expected, resulting in a loss of about 10,000 yuan."

"Therefore, we will reduce the print run of our next issue to 500 copies, just to maintain a balance between income and expenditure. Let's grit our teeth and get through this difficult initial period."

"Then this weekend, all of us will go to perform. I have already applied to Principal Zheng for the venue and performance permit."

"The short-term goal of the performance is to clear out the magazine's inventory and reduce losses, while the long-term goal is to enhance the literary society's reputation and establish the magazine's brand."

"Now, let's go eat first, and then go to the karaoke bar tonight to practice the songs for our performance and rehearse for tomorrow's show."

"Please feel free to offer any opinions or suggestions you may have."

Everyone agreed.

Xia Liang, like a fierce female general before a campaign, declared: "Then let's set off!"

……

This dinner was essentially to welcome Zhao Yishuang's return.

Xia Liang probably anticipated this, having booked a luxurious private room in advance. They ate Hunan cuisine, renowned for its spicy and fragrant flavors. Everyone drank tea instead of wine, chatting and laughing, and putting aside their past grievances.

Zhao Yishuang was also added to the group.

Liangran Literature Club (6)

Now everyone is here.

"Let's take a group photo together," Li Xingping suggested.

"I'll do it."

Lu Ran volunteered, but Di Lingyan stopped him, saying, "How can you not be in the frame?"

So I asked a waiter to come in and take a picture.

"Eggplant, eggplant..."

Lu Ran was surrounded by girls with different scents, made a peace sign, and smiled stiffly at the camera.

...Why does it feel like it's divided into five equal parts?

Perhaps in other people's eyes, Lu Ran is enjoying the blessings of having multiple wives and is extremely happy.

But he knew in his heart that none of them had such thoughts, and he should not overstep their trust in him.

Realizing their dreams and producing a high-quality pictorial magazine is what we should be doing right now.

Click!

Lu Ran was suddenly attacked. Xia Liang smiled and touched the top of his head. Li Xingping gently pinched his cheek. Di Lingyan grabbed his neck. Zuo Hanzhi and Zhao Yishuang leaned on his arm... Time froze in that instant.

The light and shadow freeze, and a classic group photo is born. Everyone's face is filled with youthful smiles, everyone's heart is filled with romantic thoughts, and everyone is connected by countless threads.

Beautiful, vibrant, with a radiant smile.

Waiter: Holy crap, I've run into a real player today!

After dinner, the group went to a high-end karaoke bar near the school.

The KTV room was dimly lit, with colorful beams of light flashing around. Lu Ran sat in a corner of the sofa, silently watching their discussion.

Everyone was discussing and finalizing the song selection.

Zuo Hanzhi said she would sing an original song as the finale.

"What song?" Xia Liang was taken aback.

"A song written by Lu Ran." Zuo Hanzhi took out the sheet music.

"...Then sing it a cappella first." Xia Liang was already used to Lu Ran's ability to pull out treasures from Doraemon's magic pocket at any time.

The women returned to the sofa and sat down, leaving Zuo Hanzhi standing in front of the screen with the microphone.

This seating arrangement also contains a hidden meaning:

Lu Ran sat in the innermost corner, Di Lingyan and Li Xingping sat in the middle, and Zhao Yishuang sat at the farthest.

Xia Liang casually sat down next to Lu Ran.

Xia Liang knew Zuo Hanzhi best and knew that this girl was pure and innocent.

After Lu Ran suffered a series of setbacks.

Xia Liang often teased him about this: "I'm warning you, don't corrupt our Hanzhi."

It was her first time performing in front of an audience, and Zuo Hanzhi was a little shy, so she lowered her eyes and sang softly.

The ethereal yet cool sound travels from the microphone through the preamplifier and then through the power amplifier, converting electrical current into sound waves that resonate softly and gently in the enclosed booth.

Lu Ran couldn't help but hold his breath.

After the song ended, there was silence for a long time.

Zuo Hanzhi's singing voice, and the poignant emotions conveyed in this song, seem to lead people into a world far removed from the mundane.

The feeling is like a man who has been feeling down for a long time suddenly meeting a woman on a bus, and they start chatting unintentionally, finding themselves in perfect harmony. But after getting off the bus, will he ever see that woman again, the one whose name he doesn't know, the one he has fallen in love with? (Note 11)

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Note 11: Quoted from Proust's "In Search of Lost Time".