Mu Nanqiu held Su Yao’s hand, one leading and one following, as they passed through numerous gazes and a narrow corridor, finally arriving at the gymnasium’s Hall.
There were far fewer people here now, and the Hall was almost empty.
Occasionally, someone would rush out looking for the restroom, but aside from that, only their footsteps gradually slowed down.
The moment Mu Nanqiu stepped down from the stage, she hurried to the Changing Room at top speed to change clothes, then got ready to find Su Yao.
Originally, she had planned to arrange a meeting spot through the chat app, but as soon as she stepped out of the Changing Room, she saw Su Yao’s figure in the distance—and also noticed that she was surrounded by those people.
Mu Nanqiu rushed over almost at her fastest speed.
She heard the conversation and, without a second thought, pulled Su Yao out when she looked confused.
Then, they had been walking ever since to reach this spot.
Mu Nanqiu thought that would be the end of it and that they could go out and enjoy a proper stroll afterward.
But upon arriving at the Hall, an unexpected change happened.
She felt a slight resistance coming from the hand she was holding.
So, Mu Nanqiu slowly slowed her pace and finally stopped at the gymnasium’s entrance.
Without turning around to look at Su Yao, she softly asked with her back still turned, “What’s wrong?”
“……”
Su Yao looked at Mu Nanqiu’s back, words caught in her throat.
At this moment, her heart was messy with countless thoughts, unsure of what to do.
“You don’t have to hurt yourself for their sake by doing things you don’t like.”
Su Yao wanted to say something more, but Mu Nanqiu turned around instead, gripping her shoulders and saying firmly, “And you definitely don’t have to change yourself for me.”
“Ah? No, it’s not for you, Senior………”
The moment those words slipped out, the atmosphere froze.
Mu Nanqiu felt a little awkward, as if she had overestimated herself.
She took several deep breaths to calm down.
Su Yao seemed to realize that her blunt words just now had embarrassed Mu Nanqiu and hurriedly began to explain.
“It’s because… I don’t want to be like before. I know I have problems. Um…… what I meant earlier was… I’m already eighteen years old—not a child anymore. I can’t keep drowning in the past. I’m still only eighteen; maybe I have a long, long time ahead of me. I want to try to do something for myself…”
“Is that so?”
Mu Nanqiu’s mouth opened slightly.
Suddenly, she felt as if the child had grown up, now having her own thoughts.
She had always thought Su Yao was just a bigger pet—someone who needed care and support, with identity issues and limited experience—someone who couldn’t survive without her.
But Mu Nanqiu seemed to have forgotten that Su Yao had been alone even before they met.
A loner, withdrawn, then and now, and likely forever.
That’s what Mu Nanqiu had always believed.
But now it seemed she had been arrogant, thinking she needed to be more mature and capable, facing Su Yao as a guardian, and making the classic adult mistake of arrogance.
She had denied Su Yao’s potential as an individual—people don’t remain unchanged.
Besides, Su Yao was still growing.
Looking at Su Yao, head lowered and silent before her, Mu Nanqiu released her grip on the shoulders, smoothed the scarf around her neck, and spoke gently, “Whatever you want to do, whatever choice you want to make, I will respect and support it.”
“Is that…”
Su Yao raised her head to look at Mu Nanqiu, inexplicably her eyes glistened with moisture.
Even when she twisted her ankle last time and walked home alone in the rain soaking herself, she didn’t cry.
Even the excruciating pain during her period only managed to squeeze out one or two tears—she hadn’t used crying to vent emotions in a very long time.
A wave of indescribable emotion surged in her chest, but Su Yao felt relieved instead.
She pulled the corners of her mouth into a smile and smiled at Mu Nanqiu.
“Nanqiu, thank you.”
If Mu Nanqiu had forcibly made decisions for her, Su Yao would have been troubled—because her will would have been controlled.
Yet, she would still have accepted it.
She chose to put all her burdens on Mu Nanqiu, one-sidedly hoping for an equal relationship.
Clearly, that bet was right.
If it weren’t for Mu Nanqiu, perhaps Su Yao thought she’d never have the courage to change.
She would have remained that marginal figure forever.
Mu Nanqiu didn’t say anything more.
Instead, she pulled Su Yao into a hug.
Then, she heard Su Yao’s quiet voice whisper in her ear.
“Nanqiu, can you help me take some photos?”
“Of course.”
Mu Nanqiu stroked her soft hair and pressed Su Yao’s face against the hollow of her neck.
Su Yao’s unexpected return was surprising.
But despite the surprise, she was very happy.
Because this way, they wouldn’t have to go on stage themselves.
They were extremely grateful to Su Yao for coming back and saving them from disaster.
Originally, they wanted to thank her in person for all the hard work, but after seeing Mu Nanqiu by Su Yao’s side, they felt a bit hesitant to approach.
The scene of the beautiful senior forcibly taking Su Yao away earlier had left a deep impression—almost like something out of an idol drama.
Of course, they wanted to get to know the beautiful senior, but she seemed especially cold and her gaze wasn’t very friendly, so they gave up on that idea and turned their attention to Su Yao, who was ready to take on the Witch role, planning to help her pick up the script and familiarize herself with the content.
After seeing Su Yao and Mu Nanqiu return, Yun Qing immediately hid far away, fearing being noticed.
She took a quick look at Zhang Su’s side to check the progress.
The result? Still stuck.
Jiang Xiaoxiao vaguely sensed the seriousness of the situation, but Zhang Su gave her no way out.
She didn’t want to admit fault, so it was stuck as it was.
Jiang Xiaoxiao thought that maybe one or two minutes before the start, she could act magnanimous and responsible, forgive the vice class monitor’s behavior, and then proceed with the performance.
But Zhang Su left.
It seemed like she had completely given up on her, which infuriated Jiang Xiaoxiao.
Her shift from fake crying to genuine anger happened in less than a second.
Zhang Su didn’t think Jiang Xiaoxiao was beyond saving; she simply didn’t want to indulge her anymore.
So even if this time there were regrets and problems, she refused to let Jiang Xiaoxiao go on stage.
She’d rather pick someone else randomly; at least they wouldn’t be so pretentious and irritating.
That said, Zhang Su’s carefree attitude came at the price of having to try to buy some time, to see if they could rearrange the order so their group went later, allowing more preparation time.
She contacted the person in charge by phone and was told they were still considering it and asked her to wait.
Zhang Su’s mood worsened.
She had been hoping to see how the bunch she picked was doing, but unexpectedly, she got yet another big surprise……
She saw Su Yao, and Mu Nanqiu by her side.
What surprised her most was that Su Yao no longer pretended to be someone else in vain.
Instead, she openly displayed her female identity.
That shocked Zhang Su even more than seeing Mu Nanqiu here.
Then, she noticed something seemed off.
Su Yao was holding something and looking at it.
Taking a closer look—good heavens—it was a printed script?!
Zhang Su remembered handing this script to the bunch of idlers she picked.
Now, all of it was in Su Yao’s hands.
Glancing at the crowd, it was no surprise that those people had all dispersed.
She was more furious than ever.
Quickly walking over, she stood in front of Su Yao, unable to hide her anger.
Her tone became stern as she said, “Why do you have all the scripts?”
“Ah?”
Su Yao was startled by Zhang Su’s cold expression and took a small step back.
Mu Nanqiu stepped forward and shielded her behind herself, then looked at Zhang Su with the same icy gaze.
“…….”
Seeing Mu Nanqiu’s stance, Zhang Su realized she had lost her temper.
She glanced at the kids sneaking peeks at them and half-smiled in anger.
Then, seeing Su Yao’s frightened look, Zhang Su’s expression softened considerably.
“Can you tell me why you have all the scripts?”
“They said Jiang Xiaoxiao can’t go on stage, so you asked me to play the Witch role…… so they came to me and gave these to me……”
Su Yao explained timidly.
When she didn’t deliberately squeeze her voice, it was very soft and gentle.
Not the usual clipped tone, but a gentle one, without the sharpness typical of most girls.
Because of that, when she squeezed her voice, it sounded almost androgynous.
Hearing Su Yao’s explanation, Zhang Su’s mouth twitched.
She almost couldn’t hold back from cursing.
These guys can’t unite, but dividing? They’re experts!
Zhang Su was momentarily confused.
As a teacher, she wanted her class to be united, but it seemed far harder than she thought.
University wasn’t like elementary or middle or high school.
There was more freedom, and discipline and unity were relatively weaker.
If it came down to quality, they weren’t bad.
But it was really hard to unite a bunch of young people increasingly focused on their own interests.
Difficult.
Too difficult.
She had hoped this event would improve class relations.
But now it seemed to have caused more division.
What a headache.
After the melancholy, there was still one question:
Could Su Yao pull it off?
There was no other reason.
Zhang Su simply didn’t trust Su Yao…….
After all, Su Yao was, in her impression, a problem student who kept to herself.
Letting such a student perform on stage was unreasonable no matter how you thought about it.
“Li Jie, she wants to try. Just let her try.”
Mu Nanqiu, who had been standing silently by the side, finally spoke.
Her words sounded like a final verdict.
Zhang Su thought for a moment.
Looking at Mu Nanqiu’s calm expression and Su Yao’s small stubbornness, she finally nodded.
“Then let’s give it a try.”
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