Chapter 66

"Still, I want to sing this song." Jin Taeyeon sat there with her head down, not showing any particularly strong emotions, but Wen Zhengyou could see her determination from the slight frown on her face.

During the third class, Wen Zhengyou returned to the activity room. The selection of other programs was not yet urgent, but he needed to decide on his own first. No, now it was the song for him and Jin Taeyeon.

"No.1" was a good song, but it was not suitable for a male to sing. It was an obvious fact, but when Wen Zhengyou tried to suggest changing the song tactfully, and Jin Taeyeon, who normally would have accepted it, instead showed a different side. She had given him the impression of being somewhat cautious, guarded, and even timid during their brief exchanges, but now she was being stubbornly persistent.

Wen Zhengyou was taken aback for a moment, trying to maintain his calm: "Ta... Jin Taeyeon, we are working together now. I didn't insist on choosing a specific song, even though I have the right to do so as the vice president of the arts club..."

Jin Taeyeon suddenly spoke up: "I am not a member of the arts club."

Wen Zhengyou was momentarily speechless, then nodded with a twitch of his lips: "Alright, if we are working together, we are equals, right? Don't think about whether I am the vice president or not. Just consider me as a regular classmate working with you. Can you consider my position? After all, I am a guy, and singing this song really isn't appropriate."

Jin Taeyeon looked up: "I can handle it. I can perform it well."

Wen Zhengyou laughed: "If you handle it, what do I do?"

Moving his chair closer to Jin Taeyeon, Wen Zhengyou cleared his throat to say something, but Jin Taeyeon slightly pulled back.

Wen Zhengyou helplessly returned to his original position: "Jin Taeyeon, the lottery today, in the end, put us in the same group. This was definitely not a trick I pulled. If I could have cheated without telling you, I wouldn't have asked for your help this morning, right?"

Jin Taeyeon played with her fingers, not speaking. Wen Zhengyou continued: "But the reason I participated in the lottery was to avoid their influence on my performance. Do you think I was lying or that I was looking down on them for lacking ability? Actually, no. People can't exist in isolation in any environment. When interacting with others, one should be considerate. They just want to get close to me and perform together. I don't have to agree, but even if I refuse, I don't have to be so principled and disdainful. There are ways to achieve a win-win, so why not use such methods?"

Jin Taeyeon looked up with a puzzled expression: "A win-win method is cheating?"

Wen Zhengyou smiled and stepped forward: "But you didn't agree in the end, right? Now we are still in the same group, which could be considered fate. Why can't we find a song that we can both perform to achieve the best effect and do a good job?"

Jin Taeyeon was silent for a moment, then took a deep breath: "I... I think we shouldn't work together."

Wen Zhengyou was surprised: "Not work together? Why not?"

Jin Taeyeon pursed her lips and looked at Wen Zhengyou: "Because I want my own stage. Since you also value your performance, and I do too, let's perform separately. Then we won't have to worry about choosing a song."

Wen Zhengyou was at a loss: "I've been the one worrying about choosing a song, haven't you made any concessions?"

Jin Taeyeon couldn't help but smile, but then stopped, not sure why.

Rubbing his head, Wen Zhengyou felt a bit helpless. He could easily deal with almost all the students in the school, from first to third year, and even the teachers and principal. No matter what their personalities, ways of dealing with things, or emotions, he could find a way to communicate and respond.

But this girl, Jin Taeyeon, who was quiet and even somewhat introverted, made him feel at a loss for the first time.

However, he could sense Jin Taeyeon's dedication to music and singing, which surpassed everything else. This meant that using music and singing to communicate might be the best approach.

Wen Zhengyou looked at Jin Taeyeon, smiling: "Jin Taeyeon, actually, I am like you. I also want my own program and stage. I don't want to work with others."

Jin Taeyeon was taken aback, looking at Wen Zhengyou with a strange expression. Wen Zhengyou waved his hand and said: "I'm not targeting you, but I can understand your thoughts."

Looking out the window, Wen Zhengyou stood up and sat on the table: "To be honest, it's quite a dilemma for you. You could have performed on your own and had your own stage. I was afraid they would want to work with me and ruin my performance, so I settled for hoping to work with you, who has professional singing training. This is better than being messed up by them."

Jin Taeyeon listened quietly, and Wen Zhengyou spoke calmly: "Taeyeon, a debut stage is not divided into before or after. A good start can influence your entire life. The better the first performance, the more confident I will be, and I won't have any regrets later."

Jin Taeyeon suddenly spoke: "So we should perform separately even more?"

Wen Zhengyou was silent for a moment, looking at Jin Taeyeon with a strange expression: "You always don't want to work with me... Could it be that you're afraid I'll hold you back?"

Seeing Jin Taeyeon lower her head, Wen Zhengyou widened his eyes: "You really think that?"

Jin Taeyeon quickly said: "No, I don't."

Wen Zhengyou stood up and took a deep breath.

After a moment, he narrowed his eyes and smiled, looking at Jin Taeyeon: "Jin Taeyeon, I've expressed my thoughts clearly. But you, apart from insisting on not changing the song and not working with me, haven't shown any other opinions. I really don't know what to do now."

Taking out a CD from his bag, Wen Zhengyou placed it in front of Jin Taeyeon: "This is the performance piece I chose, Jin Geonmo's 'Love Song.' I think it suits us both. Take it home and consider it. If you definitely don't want to work with me, I won't persuade you anymore."

After saying this, Wen Zhengyou smiled and bowed, not waiting for Jin Taeyeon's response, and left the activity room. Jin Taeyeon stood there, staring at the closed door, frowned, and after a moment, bit her lip and left as well.

Wen Zhengyou didn't need to attend classes, but Jin Taeyeon did. The last two classes were physical education, and Jin Taeyeon took the time to go to the activity room to talk to Wen Zhengyou.

However, as she was about to leave the teaching building for the playground, she saw Wen Zhengyou, with his backpack, walking out of the school gate. He didn't even acknowledge the greetings of his classmates. Jin Taeyeon stared for a moment, sighed, and instead of going to physical education class, turned and went to the back mountain.

Walking towards the abandoned teaching building, Jin Taeyeon lowered her head, silent. She had her reasons, but she couldn't tell him. The reason was that she wanted to compete with him.

He was excellent in academics, appearance, social skills, eloquence, and talent, but he was a trainee. She also wanted to debut and sing, and she had registered for S.M. Entertainment's selection competition next year.

I didn't register for appearance, dance, or talent. I only registered for the singing competition. I want to compete with you once, to see if I need to be like you to have a chance to become a trainee and debut as an idol.

But there were many things she couldn't say, especially to Ya Yuan, and even more so to a stranger like him. She couldn't reveal this reason.

Sitting on the steps of the abandoned teaching building, Jin Taeyeon hugged her knees and held the pen she had brought from the activity room. She occasionally scribbled on the steps. Suddenly, she remembered something and looked back.

Sure enough, the diary was still there, lying quietly on the side. Jin Taeyeon smiled and picked it up, but her expression soon became strange. She saw a message left on the page.

Jin Taeyeon, who had been somewhat gloomy, couldn't help but laugh at the message on the notebook. Her frustration from earlier was gone. First, there was a ghost face, followed by a series of laughter expressed in text.

"Kekkekkek, I am the ghost here. Scared, right? Look behind you, I might be staring at you." Jin Taeyeon instinctively looked behind her, then rolled her eyes at the pile of branches and continued reading the diary.

"I bet you looked back... Don't deny it. How boring to lie to yourself, right? But it seems you are quite angry. You left a bunch of angry words but forgot to mention how to resolve the ownership of this space. Or have you given up?"

Dream on. Jin Taeyeon pouted and muttered. Being remembered by a senior wasn't a good thing. She had just refused the transfer student, making him angry, and was currently in a cold war with her only close friend, Li Ya Yuan. From now on, she would probably have to come here more often. Sighing, Jin Taeyeon smiled and continued reading.

"I have my reasons not to give up. If you leave a message again, it means you come here frequently too. Since neither of us is giving up, let's leave it to fate. At least we've both left messages twice, but we haven't met. Maybe it's not the right time for us to meet, or perhaps we just don't have the fate to meet. In the future, we can share this place boldly, with overlapping spaces and intersecting times... What do you think? O(∩_∩)O"

(Thank you for the support from Xingzhi Shichen. Much appreciated. O(∩_∩)O)

; {Piaotian Literature}