- [Shen Pan'er's voice is still as good as ever! Worthy of being a superstar even my mom likes!]
- [One song and I'm instantly back in my campus days… I weirdly miss that girl who used to sit in front of me—the one whose ponytail I always tugged!]
- [Memories are a cup of aged wine—richer with time. Maybe it wasn't that our era was so great; it's just that nostalgia adds points.]
Unlike Wang Mingxuan's nonstop screaming earlier, everyone gave Shen Pan'er's song unanimous praise this time.
In the span of just a single song,
the girl successfully shot onto the national trending list, and the related topics were almost all positive.
As the final lyric ended, Shen Pan'er's deep, affectionate gaze seemed to pierce across a vast distance and land squarely on that man in the audience.
The crowd seemed to sense that the big "melon" foreshadowed earlier was finally about to drop, and everyone held their breath.
A lot of reporters were also ready to livestream whatever might happen next at the first possible second.
The girl took a deep breath.
Then came a firm, ringing shout, as if she wanted to pour out every emotion she'd hidden in her chest.
"Senior Mu An, I like you! May I be your girlfriend?"
In an instant, the entire freshman gala venue fell dead silent.
Everyone was desperately digesting the implications of her words.
Who was this "Senior Mu An"? Another student at Qingchuan University?
And it sounded like she was the one actively pursuing him!
At the same time, the internet erupted into massive discussion because of those few short sentences.
On the trending list, topics like "Shen Pan'er Confesses" and "Who is Senior Mu An" were climbing at a terrifying speed.
- [Noooo! My goddess already belongs to someone?! Who the hell is this "Senior Mu An"? I'm going to duel you, you bastard!]
- [Shen Pan'er has someone she likes, but why hasn't the person I like shown up yet…? Sigh—turns out she did come already, and my youth is officially over!]
- [Front row seat, eating popcorn! Finally, it's my turn to watch the drama!]
- [She's just openly announcing it like this? I'm not even her fan, but I still respect how brave she is!]
On the other side.
Mu An originally wanted to play dead.
But the next second—whoosh—the spotlight locked right onto his seat.
A well-meaning staff member even handed him a microphone.
For most people, being confessed to by a pure-image superstar would be a kind of happiness.
But for Mu An, it felt… like nothing much.
Maybe it was because he already had plenty of stunning female leads around him.
Honestly, if he looked at it purely from the 'developing the gold mine' standpoint, adding one more Shen Pan'er with ulterior motives wasn't impossible.
It was just— Mu An didn't like this 'being publicly forced onto the stage like a duck' kind of coercive feeling.
Because.
A confession is never a battle horn.
It should be a victory anthem!
Too much 'self-indulgent affection' only drags other people into trouble.
The man swept a glance at Shen Ling'er beside him.
'Was it this girl who 'exposed' my location?'
But then he thought again—this gala was sponsored by the Shen family, and even the tickets had been gifted by her.
Maybe from the very beginning, he'd already fallen into this 'setup.'
Meanwhile, Shen Ling'er's thoughts were in chaos as well.
On one hand, she was worried Mu An would dislike her.
Even though she had already hinted to him earlier that this might happen…
On the other hand, she was nervous.
She didn't even understand why she was nervous.
Was she nervous because she was afraid Mu An would actually accept her younger sister Shen Pan'er's confession?
Under countless eyes, Mu An slowly raised the microphone and spoke calmly.
"Sorry. I already have someone I like."
Simple. Clean. Decisive.
After speaking, he returned the microphone to the staff member, sat down, and said nothing more.
The moment those words fell, the venue erupted in an uproar.
- [Ungrateful! That's the only word in my head right now! She's Shen Pan'er—a famous pure-image superstar! Being confessed to by a beauty like that is something people wouldn't even dare dream about, and this guy just… rejects her like that?]
- [Don't give her to him! Don't give her to him! Fairy sister, give her to me—I swear I'll treat you well!]
- [You guys don't get it. Do you know who the man she confessed to is? He's the young master of Tianmu Group. Not gonna lie, he really does have the confidence to refuse.]
On stage, the girl's bright smile froze instantly, and her mind turned into a tangled mess.
'I… got rejected?'
She'd told herself there was maybe a one-percent chance this confession would fail, but when it actually happened, she still couldn't stop the loss from crashing over her.
It was like something had lodged in her chest—heavy enough to suffocate her.
"Ah… I see… I—I can… Sorry to bother you…"
Shen Pan'er's words came out scrambled. She was hit hard.
She left the stage in a daze, like her soul had been knocked loose.
A lot of true fans watching that scene felt their hearts crack.
At this moment, the online momentum became even bigger.
The topic 'Shen Pan'er Confession Fails' instantly shot back up the trending list.
Countless people began digging into the background of 'Senior Mu An.'
Some extreme fans even claimed they'd send blades to his house!
...
Shen Residence.
"Master, bad news! Second Miss—Second Miss she…!"
The old butler hurriedly shoved open the study door, so anxious he didn't even knock like usual.
Inside the study, Shen Ao—the head of the Shen family, and the biological father of the twin sisters—calmly put down the newest issue of Glamorous Ladies he'd been reading, then leisurely lifted the coffee by his hand and took a light sip.
"Old Liu, haven't I told you again and again—stay calm?"
"How are you still so flustered at your age? Speak. What were you trying to tell me just now?"
The butler bowed slightly in apology, then delivered the rest of what he hadn't finished.
"Second Miss confessed to a man!"
"What?!"
With a pfft, Shen Ao sprayed coffee straight out of his mouth.
As a hardcore daughter-doting father, his face instantly darkened.
This was completely different from the past, when insignificant nobodies confessed to Shen Pan'er.
Because this time, it was Shen Pan'er actively confessing to a man!
"He didn't accept. Second Miss's confession failed!"
At that, the butler added another line.
"That's good…"
Shen Ao's turbulent emotions had just started to settle—then he immediately realized something.
"Hm? He rejected her??"
"Yes!"
The butler nodded.
Shen Ao frowned, set his coffee down, and stood up, pacing back and forth in the study.
Sure, he was happy to see a failed confession.
After all.
No one wants the tender cabbage they raised for years to be eaten by a pig.
But at the same time, a wave of displeasure rose in his chest.
[What kind of trash is he, to dare reject my precious daughter?]
"Have you found out what his identity is? If we can, get someone to teach him a hard lesson!"
A sharp light flashed in Shen Ao's eyes.
With his status, 'bullying the small with the big' wasn't exactly appropriate—but who told him he was a daughter-doting maniac?
Giving that arrogant brat a small 'lesson' was still reasonable!
On the other side, the butler professionally laid out the full story.
"She called him 'Senior Mu An.' According to our preliminary investigation, he should be the eldest young master of the Mu family."
"He saved Second Miss about a week ago when she accidentally fell into the lake near the center."
"And according to Second Miss's manager, it seems that from that moment onward, Second Miss fell in love at first sight."
'Eldest young master of the Mu family? Love at first sight?'
Shen Ao froze.
The moment 'Mu family' was mentioned, he couldn't help remembering that the Shen family had once set a marriage contract with them.
If, before the age of thirty, the children of both families liked each other, then the engagement would be honored and the two families would become in-laws.
If they passed thirty, or neither side liked the other, the engagement would be void.
For that engagement, the Mu family had shown enormous sincerity—so enormous that even a hardcore daughter-doting father like him couldn't help feeling tempted!
"That Mu brat really rejected her?"
Shen Ao's knitted brows loosened slightly.
If his cabbage absolutely had to be eaten, he'd rather it be eaten by a 'domestic pig' he knew inside out.
Not some unknown 'wild boar' from who-knows-where!
"He really rejected her? And in public?"
"Yes," the butler nodded seriously. "It was a public rejection. The video is going viral online right now."
Shen Ao fell into thought.
Not long ago, he had also tested the waters about this engagement with his elder daughter, Shen Ling'er.
Why ask Shen Ling'er?
Because Shen Ao knew his daughters' personalities too well.
If he said it to Shen Pan'er—who was extremely stubborn—she might do something extreme to rebel against the marriage before he even finished speaking.
But Shen Ling'er was steadier, and her love for music was pure. She would at least listen seriously.
"Everything will be decided by parents and elders."
That was Shen Ling'er's answer back then.
At the time, it sounded normal—he even praised her for being sensible.
But now, thinking about it carefully…
A chilling thought rose in Shen Ao's heart.
[Don't tell me both of my precious daughters are going to fall into Mu An's hands?]
Headache. A massive headache!
"So, Master… do we still get someone to teach him a hard lesson?"
The butler asked meticulously.
Shen Ao's expression shifted back and forth.
In the end, he sighed helplessly.
"Forget it. Just get people to delete those confession videos online."
In truth, there was a family agreement between the Shen family and the Mu family: conflicts among the younger generation were to be resolved by the younger generation themselves—elders were not allowed to interfere.
If he made a move, he'd be breaking the rules.
And besides, as much as he hated to admit it, Mu An really hadn't done anything wrong to his daughter.
He'd only rejected her confession.
He had even saved Shen Pan'er's life.
Strictly speaking, Mu An was Shen Pan'er's lifesaver—he had done the Shen family a favor!
If Shen Ao casually harmed him, wouldn't people laugh their heads off and brand the Shen family as ungrateful?
Of course.
If Shen Pan'er ever found out that her beloved sister had already started 'coveting' the engagement first—she would definitely say: "Sister, you shameless snake!"
…..
At the same time.
Someone finally dug up Mu An's real identity online.
The direction of public opinion shifted a bit.
- [Wait… he's the young master of Tianmu Group? And he's that low-key? I'm someone who scrolls news all the time and I still didn't even know who he was!]
- [Honestly, his status really does crush the so-called celebrities in entertainment… and I've heard the industries pretty messy. Maybe he knows something ordinary people don't, so rejecting her isn't that strange. But I'm not slandering Shen Pan'er!]
- [Even if he's Tianmu Group's young master, Shen Pan'er's background doesn't seem weak either. She might be from a very famous family too. Whatever—I'll just eat popcorn rationally. When it comes to rich families, it's not my place as a regular person to judge them.]
Of course, some stubborn extreme fans didn't care.
They were used to rampaging online.
Seeing their favorite 'Pure Goddess' get rejected by this man, they immediately started spewing brainless keyboard rage.
They even posted unbelievably outrageous takes, like:
"Setting facts aside, doesn't he, as a man, have no fault?"
"Rejecting a girl in public like that—how is she supposed to step down from the stage?!"
"Ladies, take this as a red flag! In the future, you can't marry a man like him. So, what if he's rich? He might be a domestic abuser later!"
In response, the trojan virus Mu An had planted earlier kept 'farming points' relentlessly.
Just like how it handled Wang Mingxuan's rabid fans, it served this batch of extremists a full one-stop combo as well—letting the whole internet see what those people hiding behind screens actually looked like in real life!
…..
In the end, this escalating storm gradually calmed down—thanks to the trojan virus, and also Shen Pan'er's own efforts.
What did Shen Pan'er do?
She quickly posted a statement on her social platform.
The gist was: please don't over-occupy public resources because of her personal matters, and she apologized for it.
At the same time, she bluntly condemned the fake fans who took the chance to muddy the waters and create chaos!
Love is meant to be mutual.
You can't morally kidnap the person who rejects you just because one side is being one-sided.
Anyone could see it—even though the girl had been rejected, she was still standing on Mu An's side, helping him speak.
Meanwhile, the Shen family also kept applying pressure.
Almost every video of Shen Pan'er's confession was taken down—none were spared.
The impact of this incident gradually returned to a controllable range.