“She really knows how to make things complicated.”
“I personally think the prettier they are, the more scheming they get.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. She’s just spoiled, definitely pampered by her family.”
“Oh? You really know a lot, huh?”
“Heh, just joking. I totally get it, okay!”
At the very edges, stood those who barely participated in the class activities—the Onlookers—chattering away about who was right or wrong in the argument.
Within the Core Group, a girl was crying, surrounded by female classmates who were offering comforting words, while some scolded the Vice Class President for being too harsh in her words.
Putting facts aside, shouldn’t the Vice Class President apologize?
Of course, some thought that judgment was inappropriate, but they didn’t want to get involved in such a ridiculous quarrel, so they took a step back, choosing not to participate.
On the boys’ side, they disliked the crying girl’s behavior, believing the Vice Class President did nothing wrong, but given the girls’ emotional intensity, none dared to speak up.
“Class President, what do you think? Is the Vice Class President at fault?”
Yun Qing had been watching the whole spectacle with amusement, indifferent to the outcome; she just enjoyed seeing people’s reactions.
But unexpectedly, she suddenly found herself dragged into the spotlight.
Since she was sitting in the Class President’s seat opposite the Vice Class President, naturally, the girls on that side wanted to pull her into their camp as their figurehead.
But Yun Qing didn’t dare take that hot potato, so she tactfully declined.
“I’ve already sent someone to call the teacher. Let’s wait for the teacher’s judgment.”
The two girls close to Jiang Xiaoxiao exchanged glances, clearly realizing Yun Qing wasn’t going to support them.
Seeing no hope with Yun Qing, they sought out others to join their side.
Unfortunately, a few girls who had been comforting Jiang Xiaoxiao earlier had quietly stepped back, keeping their distance.
Jiang Xiaoxiao, seeing no one on her side, cried even harder.
Zhang Su wasn’t far away and quickly approached the scene. Seeing the students divided into four groups, and with the headache from Su Yao’s disappearance still lingering, her temples throbbed painfully.
One wave of trouble after another—couldn’t she get a break?
Zhang Su scanned the four groups: the onlookers, the boys who were good friends with the Vice Class President forming the Core Group of the class Play, Yun Qing and her group who clearly didn’t want to get involved, and Jiang Xiaoxiao crouched on the ground sobbing.
Upon her arrival, Jiang Xiaoxiao’s cries quieted into low sobs.
Seeing this, Zhang Su felt a vein throb at her temple; she roughly understood what had happened and sighed softly.
Problems between boys were easier to handle, girls’ problems slightly harder, but issues between boys and girls were the hardest of all…
Zhang Su didn’t immediately ask what had happened but separated the two main groups and asked the onlookers.
From their account, Jiang Xiaoxiao had privately asked the Vice Class President to change something in the script to give her a chance to shine.
The Vice Class President refused, leading to an argument. Jiang Xiaoxiao was yelled at and started crying, refusing to be consoled or explain what she really wanted.
After hearing this objective summary, Zhang Su first approached the Vice Class President.
“Can you tell me how the argument started?”
“It’s like this, Teacher Zhang. Xiaoxiao asked me if she could change a bit of the script to have a chance to appear on stage. Everything was fine before, but she only brought it up now, so I didn’t agree… Then she insisted on changing it and even threatened not to perform if I refused. I lost my temper and raised my voice a bit…”
Zhang Su nodded.
She knew the Vice Class President was straightforward and firm, and this wasn’t really her fault.
With another sigh, she comforted the emotionally upset Vice Class President before turning to the girls’ side.
By this time, Jiang Xiaoxiao had stopped crying entirely—even the sobbing ceased.
But standing before Zhang Su, she seemed on the verge of tears, ready to burst if startled.
Seeing her like this, Zhang Su lowered her voice and stepped closer, softly asking,
“Xiaoxiao, can you tell me what really happened?”
“Um, Teacher, I just… I wanted to ask the Vice Class President to change a tiny bit of the script, just a little… I just wanted to see if it was possible, but she got really emotional, and she’s so strong, I…”
“Then why didn’t you tell her earlier?”
“They all…”
Before Jiang Xiaoxiao could finish, her voice dropped.
The girl beside her, who had been supporting her, suddenly became agitated and said indignantly,
“Teacher Zhang, the Vice Class President was really infuriating! How could she speak so loudly to Xiaoxiao? Even if Xiaoxiao made her angry, she shouldn’t have done that!”
Zhang Su frowned, beginning to understand.
But her students all seemed to have their own problems.
So, should she be angry? Or just resigned?
Probably both.
Before Zhang Su could plan her next move, Jiang Xiaoxiao started crying again, which irritated her.
At eighteen years old, she shouldn’t still be relying on tears to solve problems.
She really wanted to shout at Jiang Xiaoxiao to stop crying, but as a teacher, she couldn’t.
She could only step forward to soothe her.
Zhang Su was speechless.
Trouble never came early or late but always at the worst moment.
And with the performance approaching, she could only hope Jiang Xiaoxiao would calm down soon and at least finish the Play before anything else.
She guessed Jiang Xiaoxiao hadn’t spoken up earlier because everyone was so enthusiastic and confident about the new script, and wanting to make changes was difficult.
So she chose this—what seemed like a clever but actually foolish—approach.
If the Vice Class President had been someone else, easily swayed by a delicate, pretty girl’s soft request, maybe it would have worked.
But Jiang Xiaoxiao clearly underestimated how firm and straightforward the Vice Class President was, resulting in this deadlock.
Though the problem lay with Jiang Xiaoxiao, now she was expected to perform.
That was truly painful!
“Teacher.”
Zhang Su turned to the girl who had spoken.
She was responsible for the role of the Exiled Princess—her name was Ji Yun. Zhang Su originally intended to speak to her privately, but Ji Yun spoke up in front of everyone.
“I can switch roles with Xiaoxiao. That should be fine, right?”
At that, Jiang Xiaoxiao’s crying stopped.
She had dreamed of playing the princess on stage and was ecstatic at Ji Yun’s offer to give her the lead role.
But soon doubt crept in—Jiang Xiaoxiao hadn’t memorized the princess’s lines.
The lead role had the most lines and stage time.
Switching now would be impossible.
On stage, she wouldn’t be the star but the one making a fool of herself, likely ruining the entire Play.
After that, she might not even be able to stay in the class…
Zhang Su opened her mouth but closed it again, sweat beading her forehead.
She almost asked if Jiang Xiaoxiao agreed to the proposal but then realized Ji Yun probably wasn’t that kind.
Among the girls, a three-way rivalry was forming.
So, this was just the beginning of their little Palace Intrigue, huh?
Taking a deep breath, Zhang Su said,
“Let’s not. Switching roles last minute will only cause more chaos. It’s not a good idea.”
“Then Teacher, what if—”
Suddenly, Jiang Xiaoxiao’s crying intensified again, drawing Zhang Su’s attention.
She frowned, displeased, thinking silently:
She’s already eighteen!
Spoiled children often fail to mature mentally.
Zhang Su couldn’t make Jiang Xiaoxiao understand her responsibility for the performance and couldn’t outright say it.
She could only comfort and counsel her.
Comforting a child was exhausting.
If only they could change the actress… Wait, change the actress?
Zhang Su glanced at Ji Yun and finally understood the girl’s intention.
Then she scanned the remaining girls and had two of Jiang Xiaoxiao’s dormmates who were closer to her take her aside to comfort her properly.
Zhang Su looked at the remaining girls and said,
“Is there anyone willing to step in? It’s just a supporting role with few lines and not much stage time.”
Among the girls, except for Ji Yun, no one wanted to take on the task.
Clearly, they saw Jiang Xiaoxiao as abandoned.
This was an opportunity, but with so many people watching outside, it wasn’t a simple matter to just go on stage.
None wanted to offend Jiang Xiaoxiao nor bear the risk, so they passed the buck.
Eventually, the responsibility landed on Yun Qing, who had been quietly watching from the sidelines.
They had a valid excuse—they weren’t familiar with the script.
But Yun Qing was the Scriptwriter in name, so she must know it!
Under the intense gaze of everyone, Yun Qing realized she had gotten herself into big trouble.
Swallowing hard and about to say something, Zhang Su interrupted,
“Yun Qing, you’re the Scriptwriter, right? You should know the script well. Why don’t you give it a try?”
“……”
Yun Qing dared not refuse.
Her face flushed red.
And in everyone’s eyes, there seemed to be something more.
She couldn’t meet Zhang Su’s gaze and turned her head away, clenching her teeth in silence.
“Yun Qing?”
Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Yun Qing whispered,
“The script wasn’t written by me…”
“?”
“I bought it.
The real Scriptwriter is… Su Yao! You can ask her!”
Mentioning Su Yao made Yun Qing suddenly lively.
She immediately pushed the script issue onto Su Yao, along with the vacancy for the Witch character.
She then noticed both the classmates’ and teachers’ strange looks at her.
At that moment, Yun Qing suddenly understood what she had just said and paled.
She was really out of her depth, no better than Jiang Xiaoxiao!