Chapter 24
In just over a month, it will be the centennial school celebration of the Capital's First High School. Being a well-established, prestigious school, the school authorities were naturally preparing a grand celebration. It was crucial to uphold the school's reputation.
And since it was the centennial celebration, a party was inevitable. The final high school year, senior-year, was the most crucial, and it was unreasonable to expect these students to waste any of their precious study time on party performances. Consequently, the responsibility of preparing the celebration's performances fell onto the first and second-year students.
The school committee teachers led the charge, with the student council taking full responsibility. From there, they divided the tasks among each class.
Together, there were thirty classes in the first and second years. Each one was required to prepare a performance. The final selection of the top twenty performances to be included in the final celebration was made by the school committee teachers and school secretary, who served as judges.
Class 2-8, naturally, wasn't exempt from this. After the class head teacher assigned the task, it was all up to the class president and the cultural committee to organize and mobilize.
"We're a science-major class, and we have less than ten girls. I doubt many of the boys would be interested, what should we do about this?"
The cultural committee member was a girl sitting in front of Ling Rong, named Liu Xiaoyu. At the moment, she wasn't thinking about chasing after boys, but was in a small meeting with the class president.
The class president, Wang Huijuan, was also one of the few girls in class 2-8. She was one among the top-ranked students and was adored by the head teacher.
"Do we have any girls who know how to play an instrument, dance, or even sing? These are the typical talent show performances; we could also stage a drama skit, and involve the boys," Wang Huijuan sat astride on her chair, resting her chin on one hand that was propped on the desk.
Liu Xiaoyu shook her head in dismay, "I asked everyone as soon as our class teacher gave us the task. They all said they didn't know how to sing or dance. I can't tell whether it's because they really don't know or they're too scared to admit it." And even if someone actually had the skills but didn't want to perform, it wasn't right to force them.
"And what about the boys? Do any of them know street dancing or singing? Isn't this a great opportunity for them to showcase their talent?" Wang Huijuan asked.
"We only have one classmate who has some street dance experience," Liu Xiaoyu replied. "Our class teacher suggested a group performance would be better because a solo might be too monotonous."
Wang Huijuan pursed her lips, "Our class teacher really has high expectations."
There was a brief silence before Liu Xiaoyu frowned deep in thought and then had a flash of inspiration, "If nobody has any talents, we might as well stage a drama skit like Cinderella. Everyone can participate, and those who are reluctant to have main roles can be extras. This way, no one can refuse!"
"That could work, but who would play the lead roles? There will definitely be disagreements about who should play the prince and Cinderella."
Everyone has a dream of being the star. Mandating these adolescents during their most self-conscious phase to portray a villain or a supporting role might lead to some resentment.
This was particularly true for the girls; undoubtedly, there would be dissatisfaction about who got to play Cinderella.
"Who said Cinderella must be played by a girl!" Liu Xiaoyu smiled mischievously, "I'm sure class president has heard of cross-dressing. If a boy played Cinderella, it would definitely grab attention, even if we didn't want it to."
"A boy... doing Cinderella?" Wang Huijuan's eyes widened. Are high school students really so audacious these days?!
Liu Xiaoyu suddenly stood, resting her hands on the table and leaning forward so she was very close to Wang Huijuan, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"How about this idea! I strongly recommend Ling Rong to play Cinderella! If someone doesn't agree, let them challenge him, face-to-face!"
"And this might greatly spur others to sign up. What do you think?"
Wang Huijuan paused, imagining Ling Rong in a beautiful princess dress, her face so attractive...
She was moved.
Let's do it! The idea was growing stronger in Wang Huijuan's mind. Before class started, they hurriedly found the two classmates who sat beside them. When they arrived, however, they saw Qin Zhaoyang putting Ling Rong's coat on her, saying, "Put your coat on quickly. You can't catch a cold in this weather."
"But I'm hot~" Ling Rong deliberately extended her last word, her body sprawled lazily over the desk. Ever since their successful experiment, she had discovered that this tone never failed to work on Qin Zhaoyang, and would use it from time to time to get little favors.
Indeed, Qin Zhaoyang always indulged in her whims, allowing her to have her way time and again. But when it came to Ling Rong's health, Qin Zhaoyang was adamant.
He didn't want to experience the shock of seeing her faint in front of him again.
"Calm down and you'll feel cooler. Put on your coat first; you'll feel better soon."
They just had Physical Education class. Ling Rong was initially cold so she moved around a bit and ended up sweating. Hence, she took off her coat as soon as she returned to the classroom.
But she had to put it on immediately again.
Seeing his adamant expression, Ling Rong complied, naturally standing up and stretching out her arms. Qin Zhaoyang took the opportunity to help her put on the coat.
The male protagonist was becoming more and more domineering, Ling Rong thought to herself. She wondered if the incident last time had affected him. The current Qin Zhaoyang was a different person from the one she first met, trapped in a narrow alleyway.
What Ling Rong didn't know was that Qin Zhaoyang had indeed thought about the situation the whole night. He no longer wanted to keep avoiding issues. If there was a first time, there would be a second time. He couldn't always be lucky enough to have Ling Rong save him. To protect himself and the ones he cared about, he had to become stronger.
Recently, Qin Zhaoyang had even started to openly learn about business matters from old Mr. Huo. The things his mother left for him, he would definitely not hand them over to others!
Their naturally close behavior left Wang Huijuan stunned, while Liu Xiaoyu's eyes shone brightly beside her. Indeed, she was on the right track — it should be a doting gong x beautiful shou.
However, despite not wanting to break the current atmosphere, Liu Xiaoyu had no choice but to interrupt: "Sorry to disturb you, but can I discuss something with you?"
After listening to their conversation, Ling Rong lazily sat on the chair and rested her chin on her slim hands, her red lips moving to catch their attention: "You're saying you want me to participate in the play and play the role of Cinderella?"
Wang Huijuan nodded cautiously, her face showing a hint of nervousness, fearing that Ling Rong would directly refuse or get angry due to her proposition. After all, boys' self-esteem could be quite fragile nowadays.
Before Ling Rong could react, Qin Zhaoyang frowned: "There are female students in our class, so why do you want Ling Rong to play the role?"
He knew that Ling Rong was most sensitive about being teased for not appearing masculine, otherwise, she wouldn't have painted her face like that in the past. Since Ling Rong cared so much about it, he was even more unwilling to let others deliberately bring it up and upset her.
Surprised by Qin Zhaoyang's explicit dissatisfaction, Wang Huijuan suddenly felt as if she had never really known this classmate, who had a not-so-good reputation in the school. In the past, he had always sported a sullen expression that kept people at bay, as if he was intentionally lowering his presence. But ever since Ling Rong became his deskmate, his social standing had gradually improved.
He was serious, but in the next moment, when his words were directed at Ling Rong, his voice noticeably softened, and his facial expression relaxed. It was only then that people realized he was incredibly good-looking.
"Reminded you many times not to tilt your chair like that; be careful or you'll fall." Watching the person beside him unconsciously leaning back lazily with their legs crossed, Qin Zhaoyang patiently repeated the same line he had said countless times before.
Even though it sounded like a reprimand, to Liu Xiaoyu, it wasn't a scolding at all. It was a clear display of affection in disguise!
But the main character, Ling Rong, had not responded yet, and she didn't seem to be particularly opposed to the idea. Liu Xiaoyu thought there might be a chance.
Ling Rong initially had no interest in this, but the reason she didn't immediately refuse was...
[Host, don't hesitate! Agree to it! Agree to it!]
[What are you so excited about?]
[You are originally a girl right? What's wrong with playing the role? You can even contribute to the class!]
[And if you agree to it, I'll give you a privilege that the next time you use something from the system store, there will be no side effects, how about that?]
The system kept persuading her while excitedly thinking: If the host dresses as a female, it doesn't believe that Qin Zhaoyang can remain unmoved or not have doubts with such a face. When the host's masculine disguise is revealed, wouldn't the two be primed to start a sweet romance?
So, today was another day when system number 05, disguised as a savior, worried about its host in the name of love.
With the help of the system's mysterious power and without any side effects... Ling Rong felt that it'd be a bit of a good deal. After all, she remembered deeply the physical helplessness she experienced last time.
[Alright, keep your word.]
[Deal!]
Ling Rong then lazily stopped paying attention to the system. Under Qin Zhaoyang's supervision, she sat back down and asked a very important question: "If I play Cinderella... who will play the Prince?"
"This..." Wang Huijuan and Liu Xiaoyu were both stumped by the question. To be honest, they hadn't really thought about this issue.
Looking around at the boys in the class, it seemed that whoever they chose to play the prince who would have intimate scenes with Ling Rong, they wanted to pass them right away because their faces just didn't match.
If they had to choose someone who was suitable, it seemed there was already a perfect candidate right in front of them, but the question was whether he would be willing.
Ling Rong obviously had an idea as well. She could agree to play the role, but the role of the prince must be given to Qin Zhaoyang.
Her plan was to take advantage of this opportunity when everyone in the class would perform together, so Qin Zhaoyang would learn how to get along with others. Even if they couldn't make him popular, they could at least improve other people's impressions of him.
Saving someone has never been just about keeping them alive.
"I can play the role," Ling Rong could naturally guess their thoughts and put on a negotiating attitude, "but the role of the prince must be played by Qin Zhaoyang."
"Of course, that's fine!" Liu Xiaoyu nodded repeatedly. They couldn't wait for this to happen! When the two beauties were on stage together, it would be a divine play!
By then, just relying on their looks, their class performance would stand out among all the other classes! Plus the comedic effect of cross-dressing, Liu Xiaoyu couldn't help but imagine the scene of continuous screams from the audience.
Qin Zhaoyang name was mentioned out of the blue, leaving him utterly bewildered. Faced with Ling Rong, his old trait of stammering resurfaced, "But... but I don't know how to act?"
It was a lack of ability, not a lack of desire. It was clear that he had no resistance to this idea subconsciously.
At this point, Ling Rong's emotional intelligence kicked in. Her lips as sweet as if honey had been spread on them:
"It's alright, I don't know how to act either."
"But... the only person who can play my prince,"
"Is you."
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Note: Hi, it's been a long time since this story was last updated, so I decided to take over the translation myself. If you're still reading this, hello and welcome! I'll be posting 2 new chapters every week. If you'd like to see faster updates, please consider sending me a Ko-fi. I'll release one new chapter for every Ko-fi donation (PS: I never split chapters!) Thanks and hope you enjoyed reading! ♡⸜(˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶)⸝♡
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Thank you for the translation!
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