Half an hour later, inside the library of Baiying Academy.
Su Wanli casually flipped through the hardcover copy of Cinderella in her hands while tapping her fingertips lightly on the desk beside her, waiting for the others to return.
Of course, although the book was titled Cinderella, the story of Cinderella alone couldn’t fill an entire book. It was actually a collection of fairy tales, containing not only Cinderella but also various princesses and princes, as well as stories between girls and small animals.
Still, after browsing through it so casually, Su Wanli’s decision remained unchanged. Cinderella was still her top choice.
‘Heh, in that case, once they’ve all introduced the scripts they picked, I’ll just curl my lips in disdain, yawn coldly, and say that what they chose is nothing compared to this fairy tale book I grabbed at random. Then I’ll naturally settle on the performance for the school festival.’
‘Hmm, but the actors for the prince and Cinderella still need extra deliberation.’
‘Although, in my imagination, I’d naturally take the prince’s role, and Meng Wange would be the poor Cinderella, the actors’ height might be a bit of a problem. Even if I wear heightening shoes, I’d still be quite a bit shorter than Meng Wange…’
She fantasized about the scene on stage: Cinderella in her gorgeous gown, riding a pumpkin carriage to the ball, only to find the prince standing before her a good half-head shorter than her. Somehow, that image felt a little off…
‘But if I were to play Cinderella myself, not to mention whether my acting skills could carry the whole stage as the lead, just swapping roles with Meng Wange gives me an even stranger feeling.’
‘So, between two evils, I think I’d rather choose…’
‘Choose…’
Meng Wange in a fitted suit (Prince ver):
“I’ve finally found you, my one true love. Come back to the palace with me. From now on, you are no longer just Cinderella—you are my one and only queen.”
Meng Wange in a gorgeous evening gown (Cinderella ver):
“I’m sorry, dear prince. I didn’t mean to run away. It’s just that my magic expires at midnight, and… I was a little shy in front of you earlier. I am willing to become… your queen.”
After briefly imagining those two roles that Meng Wange would have to face, Su Wanli couldn’t help but cover her cheeks with her hands, opened her mouth wide in the library, and let out a silent scream.
‘…Damn it! That’s way too handsome and adorable, right!?’
‘I feel like I can’t give up any version of Meng Wange!? Could we perform it twice during the actual show? No way, right!?’
‘If we can’t perform it twice, at least we could switch roles with me more often during rehearsals!? The only problem is costume sizes! But to accurately judge which role suits each of us, let’s just make all the costumes in every size first!’
Su Wanli, whose head was starting to ache from all the delusions, gently rubbed her temples and forced herself to calm down.
‘…Whew, let’s stop for now.’
‘All the above thinking has to be based on a necessary premise: that we really do choose Cinderella as the play script.’
‘If I think too much now, it might all be for nothing.’
‘At least wait until Meng Wange and the others come back with the scripts they picked before I start fantasizing.’
‘Speaking of which… what kind of role would Meng Wange want to play with me?’
‘Judging by her usual style, maybe she’d choose those tragedies and revenge plays I skipped over?’
‘For some reason, I always feel like Meng Wange has the vibe of a revenge-play heroine…’
‘Cough, whatever it is, I won’t give in easily!’
‘After all, whether it’s Xiao Fen, Da Zhuang, Potato Thunder, or Meng Wange, they’re all technically my subordinates. I’m the superior who can do whatever I want.’
‘If I forcefully choose Cinderella as the script, none of them should have much to say.’
‘But as the villainess, wouldn’t picking such a fairy-tale script be a bit out of character?’
‘I need to come up with a decent excuse…’
‘Cough, given my noble status, of course I should play the noble prince in the play. As for Meng Wange… she wasn’t originally on equal footing with me. She needed my permission to stay by my side, so this plot fits perfectly!’
‘Heh, coming up with such a clever excuse with just a little thought—looks like I’m a rare genius outside of being a villainess too.’
Time was about right.
Accompanied by a familiar commotion, Xiao Fen, Da Zhuang, and Potato Thunder appeared one by one at the desk beside Su Wanli.
“We’re back, Boss!”
Zhang Shiyu enthusiastically slammed a thick blue book onto the table—
“What do you think of this? The most classic love story, Romeo and Juliet! It fits your needs perfectly, guaranteed to make the audience ship the couple and cry their eyes out!”
“…Nonsense. Who told you my need was to make the audience ship the couple and cry their eyes out?”
“See, I knew you’d say that, Boss, so I picked a completely different one!”
Wen Manman confidently pulled out a book from her arms—
“Another classic love story, everyone’s favorite Beauty and the Beast!”
“…Huh? Who’s the beauty and who’s the beast? If we choose this, then you and Xiao Fen can go play it.”
Hearing this, Xiao Fen even became a little shy—
“Hey, Boss, you’re too much—I’m not really a beauty~”
“Da Zhuang plays the beauty, you play the beast, and Potato Thunder plays your lower half under the beast costume.”
“Still, it’ll end up being you and Head Meng…”
“Boss, I chose Titanic, this one will definitely—”
“Hey, you three, can’t you get over foreign love stories?”
‘Though Cinderella kind of counts as a foreign love story too…’
Anyway, Su Wanli, following her earlier plan, waved her hand impatiently at Xiao Fen and the others, then looked toward the towering bookshelves beside her.
A few dozen seconds after the agreed time, the familiar brown-haired girl finally appeared.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Miss Su.”
Meng Wange, holding a beautifully packaged book, walked up to Su Wanli with a smile and gently placed the book on the table.
Su Wanli raised an eyebrow slightly and looked at the book’s cover.
Classic Fairy Tales Collection?
What does this mean?
Meng Wange wants to do a fairy tale medley? Isn’t that a bit too bold?
“Ah, sorry. Just saying that won’t tell you which story I want to choose.”
Meng Wange lightly tapped her forehead, then flipped the collection to a specific page, pointing at the illustration and said softly—
“Considering the actors, the time, and other practical issues, I think this is the script best suited for us to rehearse in a short time. It’s classic enough and leaves room for adaptation.”
Her fingertip pointed to, exactly like the illustration in Su Wanli’s own book, a girl in a gorgeous gown dancing with a prince at a night ball.
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