Xia Hua remained completely calm, her movements crisp, even delivering a biting, sharp retort.
Ye Tingzhu was left speechless for a moment, subconsciously thinking, Is Xia Hua about to just give up and throw caution to the wind?
Useless at everything, Xia Hua was about to go up there and embarrass herself… Although she was quite happy to witness such a scene, after glancing at Fang Qiao, Ye Tingzhu started to feel uneasy.
In private, Ye Tingzhu comforted her, “Fang Qiao, trust me, it’ll be fine.”
“But, but…” Fang Qiao was utterly panicked.
“Relax, you can tell Xia Hua hasn’t prepared anything at all. With just three or four days, what could she possibly come up with? It’s bound to be terrible, and the teacher definitely won’t be satisfied.”
“I’ll go talk to the teacher in a bit.”
“You can just go up instead.”
Ye Tingzhu patted Fang Qiao’s shoulder to reassure her, but then a terrifying scene unfolded.
It was as if Ye Tingzhu had jinxed it— Teacher Ye Ling really did appear again, but this time her face was glowing, her energy high, and she was as happy as a 180-pound child.
Seeing this, it wasn’t just Fang Qiao who was stunned.
Even Ye Tingzhu’s own heart gave a heavy thump, and she instantly sensed trouble~
“Teacher, if it’s not working out, let Fang Qiao go up instead!” Ye Tingzhu tried to suggest.
“Switch performers?” Ye Ling’s head was full of question marks as she said, “What are you talking about! This is the best performance I’ve ever seen. Just wait for the Evening Gala and you’ll see for yourselves, and by the way, let me say this!”
“You were the ones who said the performance couldn’t be done.”
“And now you’re the ones saying you want to perform.”
“What exactly do you mean by this?”
“To tell you the truth, Xia Hua’s prepared performance is excellent. There’s no way I’m changing it…”
Teacher Ye Ling muttered to herself, then hurriedly took that UPan to the Event Organizing Group teacher for review.
She left behind Fang Qiao, whose eyes were already brimming with tears, and Ye Tingzhu, who was left in utter embarrassment.
Especially Ye Tingzhu, who had confidently declared that they were just going to humiliate Xia Hua.
When the time came, the performance would be hers, as always.
But in the end…
Not only did Xia Hua complete the performance, she even made the teacher extremely satisfied.
“Fang Qiao, it’s— it’s okay.” Ye Tingzhu tried to comfort her.
“How is it okay?” Fang Qiao didn’t want to pretend anymore. She slapped Ye Tingzhu’s hand away and exploded, “It’s all your fault! If it weren’t for you, I’d be the one preparing for the performance now.”
“I hate you…”
“……”
Fang Qiao wiped her tears and ran out, leaving everyone in the classroom staring at each other in confusion.
Xia Hua’s mood didn’t waver at all. She even wanted to take another nap. Fang Qiao brought this on herself— why should Xia Hua feel any sympathy for her?
Isn’t this what you wanted? Then I’ll kindly grant your wish.
Just act without mercy, sharply, like a storm.
You’ve always led others in ostracizing and bullying me.
So, now you have the nerve to cry?
Cry all you want! Laugh for me instead.
Give you a punch, useless thing, brat.
“Chen Kailun, come outside with me for a moment.” Ye Tingzhu, furious, called out Chen Kailun’s name.
“……”
A moment later, she realized Chen Kailun didn’t react at all.
Ye Tingzhu walked over, took a deep breath, ready to question him.
But she saw Chen Kailun’s gaze darting away rapidly. In the end, he simply stood up, walking out as he said, “S-sorry, I just remembered I have something to do.”
“I’m leaving first.”
“If you need anything, let’s talk later.”
“……”
What on earth is going on? Why is even Chen Kailun avoiding me now?
Ye Tingzhu was utterly baffled, and put all the blame on Xia Hua.
When she wanted to loudly scold Xia Hua, she realized she was in the wrong and felt so stifled she couldn’t find the words.
And also…
Xia Hua: zzZZ..zzZZZ…zzzZZZZZ……
It seemed she really was exhausted, totally worn out, and fell asleep with her head down.
It’s over, it’s over, even Chen Kailun chickened out.
Now Ye Tingzhu felt like she was the one being isolated.
“Just you wait.” Ye Tingzhu gritted her teeth and said angrily, “Didn’t you say you’re ready for the performance? If there’s even a single flaw, just watch me tear you apart.”
In reality, in the Class One classroom, many students’ attitudes were also changing.
Their feelings toward Xia Hua were extremely complicated.
To be honest, most people here had always looked down on her, more or less.
Even if they didn’t bully Xia Hua, they still looked at her with pity, so it was hard for them to accept her rise in status within the class.
To put it more bluntly, they just couldn’t lower themselves to be friends with Xia Hua.
As for Xia Hua, she couldn’t be bothered to make the first move.
Sure, there were some who never bullied her, but their attitude was always a bit superior— so what was Xia Hua supposed to do? Shamelessly suck up to these people?
There was no need for that.
Toward these people, Xia Hua still felt a bit of resentment!
It wasn’t exactly hate, but she wanted to prove herself to them.
She wanted them to see that she lived better than anyone, was tougher than anyone, and would rather die in a drought than accept a single drop of their charity.
Should she let go and become just another ordinary friend among them?
Or should she hold herself high and be her own aloof flower on the mountain?
Xia Hua, most likely, would choose the latter… That’s the confidence that comes from living life over again.
“Xia Hua, Xia Hua~” An urgent voice called, waking Xia Hua up.
“Mm, mmm~~” Xia Hua reluctantly, unwillingly opened her eyes.
She scratched her slightly itchy hair and asked, “Teacher, what is it??” The one who woke her was Teacher Ye Ling.
Judging by the smile that couldn’t be wiped off Ye Ling’s face, she was clearly in a very good mood.
“Time to go watch the Evening Gala!!” Teacher Ye Ling said.
“What time is it?” Xia Hua pointed at the window, where the Sunset was still shining brightly, and said, “The sun hasn’t even set yet— how is this an Evening Gala? Can’t I sleep a little longer?”
Sure enough, Xia Hua could never get enough sleep— she still wanted to nap.
Yizhong didn’t have the custom of evening self-study.
And considering student safety, the Evening Gala started quite early.
It began a little after four in the afternoon.
“Don’t sleep, get up and have fun!!” Teacher Ye Ling encouraged.
Xia Hua: The full phrase should be ‘Sleep your ass, get up and have fun!’… Really have to thank Teacher Ye Ling for holding herself back.
When the two arrived at the school’s Evening Gala Great Hall,
The host had already finished the opening ceremony.
“Xia Hua, go to your class’s area.” Teacher Ye Ling said.
“No.” Xia Hua didn’t want to go. Instead, she leaned half against the doorframe at the entrance and said blandly, “I’m not that interested in the Evening Gala. I’ll just stand here and watch for a bit.”
Singing, dancing, the usual stuff, always the same, just a bit late.
The only thing worth looking forward to might be the upcoming skit— would it be funny or not.
The only slightly impressive act was the Piano Solo by the big shot from the Music Class.
Evening Gala performances— always the same old tricks.
Until the moment her own performance appeared…