Time flew by, and before anyone realized it, evening had arrived.
The lingering glow of the setting sun lazily spilled across every corner of Baiying Academy, coating each leaf and brick in a gentle orange radiance.
Unfortunately, Su Wanli had absolutely no mood to appreciate the beautiful scenery.
Resting her chin on her folded arms, she stared blankly at the gradually darkening sky outside the classroom window and released what was probably her hundredth sigh of the day.
“Sigh…”
So after an entire day of planning and scheming, what exactly had she accomplished?
Nine hours earlier, she had intended to test just how important she was in Meng Wange’s heart and what sort of position she occupied there.
Instead, thanks to Xiaofen and the others’ catastrophically terrible advice, she had somehow ended up being led onto the sealed rooftop by Meng Wange, where the two of them had held hands and danced a social dance she barely knew how to perform.
The result?
She had stepped on Meng Wange’s feet so many times that she had completely lost count.
Although Meng Wange hadn’t complained even once, Su Wanli still felt thoroughly embarrassed.
The only silver lining was that her Villainess Value—which had been precariously hovering at eighty-nine points—had risen to around ninety due to her repeated “malicious attacks.”
A rather pathetic achievement, all things considered.
Still…
Looking back, the dancing itself wasn’t actually the most important part.
“As long as it’s something that can be experienced together with you, I want to take you to experience it.”
She still remembered those words Meng Wange had spoken.
Hmm… if I take those words literally…
Then does that mean Meng Wange sees me as some kind of…
A dance partner?
A travel partner?
A dining partner?
In short, someone she can do all sorts of things with?
It feels like the direction our relationship is developing in has deviated slightly from what I wanted… but I can’t quite explain where the deviation is…
After the rooftop incident, Xiaofen and the others had suggested several additional strategies.
Every single one had been mercilessly rejected by Su Wanli.
What a joke.
If their carefully discussed plans were already that ridiculous, then ideas like “pretend to be sick and observe her reaction” or “order her to do dirty, exhausting work” were even more hopeless.
There was no way those would accomplish anything.
“Sigh. Whatever. That’s all over now.”
After enduring an entire afternoon of tedious classes, the final period of Monday had finally arrived.
Class meeting time.
Listening to Teacher Liu Xiaohua once again delivering her usual speech about the importance of studying and hard work, Su Wanli yawned quietly.
Her upper eyelids and lower eyelids seemed moments away from starting a fistfight.
…I barely slept this morning, and now I have to listen to this…
At this moment, Su Wanli wanted nothing more than for school to end.
Then she could return to the Su residence.
Collapse onto her soft, comfortable bed.
And sleep without thinking about anything.
Sure, the tent and sleeping bag she had purchased were top-of-the-line products.
But no matter how luxurious a sleeping bag was, it still couldn’t compare to a proper mattress and blanket.
Not to mention the endless sound of ocean waves.
Speaking of waves…
That rhythmic crashing sound seemed to echo in her ears once more.
The last traces of her willpower gradually dissolved, like sand slowly washed away by the tide.
Ah… so sleepy…
I’ll just take a tiny nap and wait for Meng Wange to wake me when school ends…
Just as Su Wanli prepared to release her consciousness into the void, Liu Xiaohua suddenly changed the subject.
“By the way, everyone, the annual Baiying Academy School Festival is coming up soon.”
“You haven’t forgotten about it, have you?”
“Ohhh! Finally!”
“The school festival?”
The moment those words were spoken, the previously exhausted and lifeless students immediately perked up.
The classroom instantly became noisy.
“Ahem.”
Liu Xiaohua smiled.
“It looks like everyone is still quite enthusiastic about the festival.”
“In that case, is anyone willing to volunteer for our class performance this year?”
However, the moment she added that final sentence, it was as though someone had cast a petrification spell over the entire classroom.
The students instantly returned to their lethargic states.
Yawns spread through the room.
The excitement from moments earlier vanished as if it had never existed.
Looking at the scene before her, Liu Xiaohua recalled the vice principal’s seemingly kind smile from earlier that morning and helplessly pressed a hand against her forehead.
“Teacher Liu, you know our school has always placed great importance on the all-round development of students.”
Vice Principal Li Zhengqi smiled warmly.
“So this year’s school festival absolutely needs a longer theatrical performance as the grand finale.”
“A theatrical performance?”
Liu Xiaohua blinked.
“Wait… are you saying our class has to do it?”
“But—”
“Oh, Teacher Liu.”
Li Zhengqi patted her shoulder with exaggerated sincerity.
“As one of our younger teachers, you’re the person I trust most.”
He raised a finger.
“At times like this, we must prioritize the bigger picture.”
“After all, students from other classes need to focus on preparing for the college entrance examination.”
“As for something that is necessary but extremely time-consuming—ah, I mean…”
He coughed.
“From the perspective of teaching according to students’ strengths, perhaps the talents of Class Three are best suited for opportunities that allow them to express themselves.”
“Don’t you agree?”
Agree my foot!
At the time, Liu Xiaohua had nearly wanted to resign on the spot.
Express themselves?
These little monsters already expressed themselves more than enough every day!
And if they couldn’t even be bothered to study, how could they possibly be willing to cooperate in producing a stage play?
Unfortunately…
Official pressure was still pressure.
As a young homeroom teacher with neither influence nor authority, she could only swallow her frustration and force a smile.
“Anyway!”
Liu Xiaohua clapped her hands.
“After extensive discussion among the faculty and a thorough recognition of our class’s capabilities, we’ve decided that this year’s performance will be—”
She paused dramatically.
“—a play! Everyone’s favorite: a stage play!”
She shouted the final two words with all the enthusiasm she could muster.
The entire class raised their heads.
Looked at her.
Then immediately lowered them again.
Leaving behind only a few fleeting glances filled with confusion and amusement.
…I knew it.
I knew this would happen!
How am I supposed to order these little ancestors around?
A play?
Getting them onstage to recite a poem would already be difficult enough!
“Teacher Liu…”
Maybe I should just have them recite poems and call it performance art.
Honestly, I’ve already embarrassed myself enough. One more disaster won’t make a difference.
“Teacher Liu?”
Li Zhengqi is obviously dumping all the responsibility onto me.
If he doesn’t care, why should I—
“TEACHER LIU!”
“Ah?!”
Snapping out of her thoughts, Liu Xiaohua looked up.
At the back of the classroom, Zhang Shiyu—the girl whose hair tips were dyed pink—was energetically waving her arm.
“W-What is it, Zhang Shiyu? Do you need to use the restroom?”
“No!”
Zhang Shiyu stood up immediately.
“I want to participate in our class play!”
“As the only arts student in our class, I believe this responsibility belongs to me!”
“…?”
But isn’t Zhang Shiyu a visual arts student?
Does theater somehow count as visual arts too?
Although puzzled, Liu Xiaohua certainly wasn’t about to reject a volunteer.
She smiled gratefully.
“Wonderful! Then this year’s performance will be led by Zhang Shiyu—”
“No, no, Teacher.”
Zhang Shiyu quickly shook her head.
“I don’t want to perform.”
“I want to be the scriptwriter and director.”
She stood up, cleared her throat, and strode cheerfully toward the podium.
“As for the lead role…”
“If this performance is supposed to represent our class, then naturally we should choose the student who best represents the spirit of Class Three.”
She deliberately paused.
Then she turned her head.
A mischievous grin spread across her face as she winked at Su Wanli and flashed a meaningful hand gesture.
“Which means…”