Embedded Files
Psst! We're moving!
Three days later, the second semester of their first year of high school officially began.
The seating arrangement was temporarily based on the previous semester, and the classroom was bustling with noise. Zhu Xingyao turned around to look at Jiang Tu and asked, “Jiang Tu, were you at the Xingyuan Villa area two days before New Year’s Eve? I think I saw you.”
Jiang Tu was momentarily startled. He hadn’t intentionally hidden himself back then, but he hadn’t expected her to see him either. Without showing any emotion, he replied, “Mm, I went for a run.”
He wasn’t wearing his glasses, and his pale complexion made his dark eyes seem even deeper. Whether it was an illusion or not, every time Zhu Xingyao locked eyes with him like this, she felt as though his gaze hid countless unspoken words. She tilted her face slightly upward and smiled. “You went running on such a cold day?”
Jiang Tu lowered his eyes and gave a soft “Mm.”
________________________________________
On the first Friday after school resumed, Zhu Xingyao received another love letter from the mysterious “J” classmate. Every Friday, without fail, she received one. Sometimes when she saw Lu Ji smiling at her in the hallway, she would inexplicably feel nervous, afraid that others might notice something.
Whenever Lu Ji noticed her avoiding his gaze, he grew irritated. He asked Zhou Yuan, “I haven’t been pestering her, so why does it feel like she’s avoiding me?”
Zhou Yuan consoled him. “It’s fine. Maybe she’s shy? Or maybe she doesn’t want to start dating early?”
Lu Ji fell silent. He felt that the main reason might be that they weren’t close enough—or perhaps she didn’t like him that much. He hoped they’d end up in the same class in their second year.
________________________________________
At the beginning of April, Cao Shujun brought up the topic of dividing into arts and sciences classes during the class meeting, urging everyone to think carefully about their choices. Both Jiang Tu and Zhu Xingyao chose science. After much deliberation, Li Xixi also followed Zhu Xingyao’s choice. Before filling out the form, she anxiously asked Zhu Xingyao, “If I study science, will my hair fall out faster?”
Zhu Xingyao smiled. “Memorizing too much can also cause hair loss.”
Lin Jiayu was similarly torn. She repeatedly pestered Jiang Tu with questions: “What should I choose?”
Jiang Tu’s response was always the same: “Think for yourself.”
In the end, Lin Jiayu reluctantly chose science.
________________________________________
At the end of April, Zhu Xingyao caused quite a big laughable incident. That Saturday morning, she had agreed to meet Li Xixi at the square. The square was packed with people, apparently hosting some kind of talent show audition.
Li Xixi dragged her into the crowd to join the fun. They were pushed forward by the throng until they couldn’t move anymore. To make matters worse, two tall boys stood in front of them, blocking their view of the stage.
Li Xixi kept muttering under her breath:
“The tragedy of being short…”
“How can we squeeze to the front?”
“This rendition of ‘Stubborn’ is amazing. I really want to see it…”
________________________________________
Another wave of people pushed in from behind, making Zhu Xingyao feel suffocated. The air seemed saturated with carbon dioxide, and the increasingly harsh sunlight made the atmosphere stifling and unbearable.
After a while, she couldn’t take it anymore and said to Li Xixi, “Let’s get out of here.”
Li Xixi looked back and sighed in despair. “With so many people, how are we supposed to get out?”
Zhu Xingyao was also pondering this. By now, they were trapped in the middle of the crowd, surrounded by layers upon layers of people directly in front of the stage. Whether moving forward or backward, escaping would require immense effort.
After a moment of thought, she suddenly had an idea. She reached out and tapped the shoulder of the boy in front of her.
When the boy turned around and saw her, he froze. Zhu Xingyao smiled and asked, “Could you let us through? We want to go to the front to sign up for the competition. Can you let us pass?”
Coincidentally, both boys were students from Jiangcheng No. 1 High School. Who didn’t know Zhu Xingyao?
The boy, flustered by being approached by the goddess, enthusiastically called out to those in front of him, “Everyone, please help make way for our fe—this contestant!”
He had almost said “goddess” but caught himself just in time.
Everyone turned their gaze toward Zhu Xingyao. The girl was dressed in a long black dress, her back straight, her figure slim, and her collarbones elegantly defined. Her fair skin glowed translucently in the sunlight, her facial features were exquisitely sculpted, and her smile was pure and beautiful—more dazzling than any celebrity on TV.
Someone instinctively moved aside, creating a small gap.
Was this possible? Li Xixi was momentarily stunned but quickly nodded vigorously. “Yes, yes, everyone, please make way for us. We need to go to the front.”
Zhu Xingyao looked at the path they had created, momentarily stunned by how effective her little lie had been. Before she could think further, Li Xixi grabbed her hand and pulled her forward, shouting as they went, “We’re going to the front to participate in the competition. Please make way!”
This phrase proved surprisingly effective. The onlookers somehow managed to squeeze out a narrow, winding path, their gazes following them intently.
Zhu Xingyao had a nagging sense of foreboding but didn’t let it show. She calmly pulled Li Xixi forward.
Behind them, someone curiously asked the boy, “Do you know that girl? She’s so pretty. If she makes it through the auditions, I’ll vote for her every day.”
Another person chimed in, “She’s bound to make it. She could win just by her looks.”
The boy proudly replied, “She’s the goddess of our school. She plays the cello incredibly well and has even held concerts.”
However, something seemed off.
He scratched his head, his expression suddenly freezing. “Did she just say… she wants to compete?”
The enthusiastic crowd also realized…
This was an audition exclusively for males. So, what exactly was their goddess, dressed in a fairy-like gown, planning to do to compete?
……
Zhu Xingyao and Li Xixi made their way to the front of the stage, stopping behind the judges. At a glance, they immediately noticed eight bold characters on the stage backdrop—XX Male Voice Audition Competition .
Zhu Xingyao stared at the words in stunned silence.
A staff member overheard whispers from behind about someone wanting to compete. He walked over intending to clarify but stopped short when he saw a crowd of amused onlookers surrounding two teenage girls who looked around sixteen or seventeen.
He asked first, “Who wants to participate?”
Li Xixi snapped back to reality, her face flushing red as she stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence.
The crowd, always eager for drama, pointed at Zhu Xingyao with a grin. “This beautiful young lady.”
Zhu Xingyao: “...”
Her face slowly turned red, starting from her ears and spreading across her entire face. Whether it was from the midday sun or embarrassment, it was hard to tell.
The staff member looked at Zhu Xingyao in astonishment and hesitantly said, “But… we don’t accept female participants. Even if you’re beautiful, we can’t make an exception.”
Zhu Xingyao glanced at the camera now pointed directly at her. She pushed Li Xixi forward slightly and smiled faintly. “It’s not me—it’s my friend.”
Li Xixi, with her short hair, fair complexion, slim figure, and notably flat chest, often passed for a boy when wearing a T-shirt and jeans. Zhu Xingyao hoped this would help them slip through unnoticed. She added, trying to explain, “She’s too nervous—let’s just forget it,” planning to escape as soon as possible.
However...
The staff member, with sharp eyes, shook his head and chuckled helplessly. “Even cross-dressing won’t work...”
Zhu Xingyao: “...”
Li Xixi: “…………”
The onlookers erupted into laughter, finally drawing the attention of the judges at the front.
The youngest male judge on the panel smiled at them. “Young ladies, come back and register when we hold auditions for female singers.”
Zhu Xingyao and Li Xixi fled under the gaze of thousands of spectators and the camera lenses.
They ran to the shade of a café awning by the roadside, their faces flushed, sweat beads forming on their foreheads. They glared at each other, unsure whose fault it was that had caused such humiliation.
As they glared, Zhu Xingyao suddenly felt the urge to laugh, and the corners of her mouth twitched upward.
Li Xixi, as if triggered by a switch, burst into uncontrollable laughter. “Ha, hahaha, hahahaha! Zhu Xingyao, look at you today!”
Whose fault was this?
Zhu Xingyao shot her a glare. “If you keep laughing, I’m ignoring you.”
Li Xixi wiped away tears of laughter and pulled her toward the café. “Come on, I’ll buy you a milk tea to apologize.”
While the crowd gathered around the stage, the surrounding shops were relatively quiet. There were only a few customers scattered across the café. Li Xixi stood at the counter. “I’ll have a signature milk tea, extra ice.”
“Lemon water.” Zhu Xingyao hesitated for a moment before adding, “With ice too.”
Li Xixi turned to look at her, whispering softly, “Isn’t your period coming soon? You shouldn’t drink anything cold—it’ll just hurt later…” She knew Zhu Xingyao suffered during her period; drinking something icy would be self-inflicted torture.
Behind the counter, a masked youth standing by the preparation station abruptly turned his head, glancing over with a slight pause.
The cashier asked, “So, should the lemon water still have ice?”
Zhu Xingyao: “Yes.”
She needed something cold to cool down her burning face and jolt her nerves. The earlier incident had been far too embarrassing.
Understanding her need, Li Xixi didn’t object further.
Five minutes later.
Zhu Xingyao picked up the lemon water from the counter, paused briefly, then took an uncertain sip. She frowned and looked up. “Why is this room temperature?”
The cashier let out a surprised sound, touched the cup to confirm, and realized there were indeed no ice cubes. She turned to look at the youth partially facing her. Tall and lean, he wore a mask covering his face, his eyes lowered as he cleaned the equipment. A black cap hid his features, and without glasses, his expression remained aloof and distant. His voice was low and muffled. “Sorry, I forgot.”
Something about his voice sounded vaguely familiar to Zhu Xingyao. She glanced toward the counter, but the youth had already bent down to organize the drainage sink, leaving only the back of his cap visible.
The cashier apologized sincerely. “Would you like us to add ice? We can switch the cup for you.”
Zhu Xingyao withdrew her gaze, feeling a bit helpless. “Never mind.”
Li Xixi handed over her milk tea. “Don’t feel down. Have the first sip of mine.”
Without hesitation, Zhu Xingyao bit onto the straw and gulped down a large mouthful of iced milk tea before stepping out of the shop.
By the time the two had completely disappeared into the distance...
The cashier girl looked at Jiang Tu with curiosity. She remembered that Jiang Tu had an incredible memory and never made mistakes—so how could he have forgotten to add ice this time? Still, she didn’t think too much of it and simply said, “Thankfully, the young lady didn’t make a fuss. Don’t mess up next time, or there’ll be a penalty.”
Jiang Tu slowly withdrew his gaze from the doorway and lowered his head. “Mm, it won’t happen again.”
________________________________________
In May, the local TV station broadcast the highlights of the audition event. Zhu Xingyao and Li Xixi’s accidental intrusion into the competition became a laughingstock.
In the hallway, Zhou Yuan and Xu Xiangyang exchanged banter—
Xu Xiangyang: “But… we don’t accept female participants. Even if you’re beautiful, we can’t make an exception.”
Zhou Yuan: “It’s not me—it’s my friend.”
Xu Xiangyang: “Even cross-dressing won’t work…”
Zhou Yuan couldn’t hold back any longer and burst into uncontrollable laughter, his shoulders shaking. “Hahahaha! Oh my god! I’m dying of laughter! Poor Li Xixi got it the worst…”
Xu Xiangyang was also laughing hysterically. “And pretending to be a boy? That’s hilarious! Isn’t she just underdeveloped?”
Their laughter was so loud and obnoxious that Li Xixi’s face turned red, then darkened in anger. Unable to take it anymore, she abruptly stood up, grabbed a broom from the corner, and stormed into the hallway, glaring at them. “Who’s still laughing? Laugh again, and I’ll beat you!”
Lu Ji leaned on the railing, chuckling for a while. From the back door of Class 7, he spotted Zhu Xingyao resting her head on the desk. Assuming she was too embarrassed to face anyone, he kicked both Zhou Yuan and Xu Xiangyang. “Enough already. If you keep laughing, she’ll hit you.”
Nearby, someone saw this exchange and immediately whispered to another person, “Do you think Lu Ji is standing up for someone?”
“Obviously, it’s Zhu Xingyao. Don’t you remember when he handed her the cello during the gala? Whenever Zhu Xingyao passes by, he always looks up. I feel like he’s seriously considering becoming Class 7’s son-in-law…”
“But if that’s true, he’s probably the only one in the whole school who has a chance with the goddess.”
“Is he pursuing her now?”
Lu Ji glanced over, and the group of girls quickly shut their mouths.
Li Xixi rolled her eyes toward the hallway, turned around with the broom in hand, and felt as though her short hair was bristling with anger. She sat back down and groaned, “I’m so mad, I’m so mad.”
Zhu Xingyao turned to look at Jiang Tu and noticed even the faintest trace of a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Sunlight poured through the window, highlighting his jet-black hair and unusually pale skin. For the first time, she felt a sense of warmth emanating from this usually cold youth. Pretending to sigh, she teased, “Brother Tu, even you’re laughing?”
Jiang Tu’s smile didn’t fade as he countered, “Can’t I laugh?”
Zhu Xingyao: “...”
She quietly stared at him, then covered her face with her hands. “Even your perpetually icy face cracked a smile. Clearly, I’ve made a huge, huge fool of myself.”
Jiang Tu was taken aback. He hadn’t expected her to see him in such a way. But personality was hard to change. After a brief silence, he looked at her and asked, “Is ‘perpetually icy face’ supposed to be an insult?”
Zhu Xingyao smiled, her eyes curving softly. “I’m saying you’re cool. It’s a compliment.”
The cold and aloof Jiang Tu.
Google Sites
Report abuse