Chapter 77: You’d Better Say It Quickly

Su Yao carefully read through the stack of A4 paper in her hands.

Although she had written it herself, the final polish was done by Mu Nanqiu, so there were some details she wasn’t entirely sure about.

Since there was time, she had to take a good look at it.

Time was tight.

For those who cared about this Performance, after what happened with Jiang Xiaoxiao, they had become even more uneasy.

Zhang Su was now trying hard to suppress the defeatists within the team.

Su Yao was neither optimistic nor pessimistic.

What worried her was that she was about to go on stage.

Going on stage meant exposing herself in front of a huge crowd.

For Su Yao, this was undoubtedly a huge challenge.

Though she was going up next, she actually didn’t have much confidence.

She tried to take a deep breath to calm her rapidly beating heart, at least not fast enough to faint.

Then she felt a hand rest on her shoulder.

Turning around, she looked at Mu Nanqiu, a hint of confusion on her face.

Mu Nanqiu smiled and said to her, “Tomorrow isn’t a holiday. We’ll go shopping then. A whole day.”

“A whole day…………”

Su Yao muttered those three words dazedly, her cheeks flushing as she shyly lowered her head, then nodded in agreement.

Come on, that’s a whole day! So much could be done in a whole day!

After finishing the script, Zhang Su came to find Su Yao to get her ready for a costume change.

The witch role’s costume was actually very simple: just a black robe and a big Wizard Hat.

But Luo Yu had added a dark skirt inside to make her feel a bit involved…

Su Yao looked at the Black Skirt in her hands and frowned.

Although she sometimes tried wearing skirts at home, this was outside.

She hesitated until Zhang Su’s urging voice came from outside the Rehearsal Room, and only then did Su Yao hurriedly take off her Down Jacket and officially start changing.

She wore a thick sweater inside and jeans below — the kind that looked old-fashioned.

Su Yao compared the Black Skirt against herself and it seemed pretty loose, so she just put it on.

But it didn’t seem to fit very well.

Because the size wasn’t tailored to her figure, except for the chest area, the rest was loose.

Looking at the simply made skirt on herself, Su Yao sighed quietly after a brief silence and muttered to herself, “Nothing strange about it.”

Originally, Su Yao expected to feel some resistance, but now it seemed there was none of the feelings she imagined.

The Down Jacket was a bit big, and putting on the Cloak over it would look weird, so Su Yao didn’t wear it.

Draped in the Black Cloak, with her Down Jacket over it, and the Wizard Hat perched on her head, she stepped out.

Outside the door, Mu Nanqiu was waiting, a hint of worry flashing across her delicate face.

Su Yao understood what Mu Nanqiu was worried about.

In fact, she was worried herself—afraid that if she fainted on stage, her life might just end there.

She gave a self-mocking smile.

She wasn’t the same as she used to be.

The two walked back from the makeup room together.

On the way, Mu Nanqiu asked Su Yao a question.

“Cold?”

Su Yao nodded.

She opened her eyes wide to look at Mu Nanqiu, surprised by the question.

After hesitating for a moment, she first shook her head, then lightly nodded again.

The warmest outerwear was the one she was wearing, which inevitably left gaps and couldn’t retain the body heat, so naturally she felt cold.

The Rehearsal Room had air conditioning, but once outside, she could feel the cruelty of the Winter.

When Su Yao returned to the classroom, no one was surprised that Jiang Xiaoxiao’s role had been replaced.

But who was sent in at the last moment?

It was none other than Su Yao herself, which caught everyone off guard.

However, more than Su Yao, what caught their attention was the woman beside her.

“Who’s that?”

“That’s Su Yao, right? The one who doesn’t stay in the dorm or talk to anyone.”

“No, I mean the one next to her.”

“Oh my god, it’s Mu Nanqiu!”

While everyone was still puzzled as to why Su Yao was suddenly dressed and ready to go on stage, a knowledgeable guy stepped forward.

Everyone turned to him with confusion, glanced at the stunning woman beside Su Yao, then looked back to ask him.

“What’s going on?”

“Do you know that beauty?”

“Say it, say it!”

A small group gathered, whispering to pressure the knowledgeable guy to spill everything.

But he gave a disdainful smile, looked down his nose at them, and lifted his chin to sniff.

“Hah, you don’t even know our school’s famous Goddess Senior?”

The few guys who were mocked exchanged looks.

They weren’t bad, but not good either—average, indistinguishable in the crowd.

Except the fat one.

They quietly said, “Then you definitely know her, right?”

The knowledgeable guy seemed to crack under the pressure.

He didn’t know her, but he wanted to.

But seeing Goddess Senior’s aloof attitude and knowing her status as a Top Socialite, he didn’t dare to get closer.

Mu Nanqiu had no connection with them, but Su Yao was their classmate.

So, unconsciously, their gaze shifted back to Su Yao.

It was fine if they hadn’t looked, but once they did, they were startled.

Because Su Yao was about to go on stage, she hadn’t zipped up her jacket, revealing a mountain of curves no other girl in the class could match!

After Su Yao took the stage, the other girls all looked over, intrigued as they appraised the beautiful woman hidden next to them.

They had noticed Su Yao before—her delicate and pretty appearance was attractive.

They wanted to try, but never managed to start a conversation.

Plus, they were new and inexperienced at making the first move, so Su Yao could quietly keep to herself.

If it were anyone else, they’d have been devoured long ago.

What puzzled them more was the relationship between Mu Nanqiu and Su Yao.

They seemed like friends, but Su Yao and Mu Nanqiu didn’t seem like the type to be friends.

They were curious about who this Senior Mu was.

Previously, Wang Jing had given them the impression of a gentle senior, but Mu Nanqiu naturally exuded noble elegance, making them feel inferior, aware they were on different levels and dared not approach.

With Mu Nanqiu drawing attention, Su Yao felt most eyes were off her, so she breathed a slight sigh of relief.

“Everything’s alright?”

Suddenly, a voice came.

Su Yao looked over.

It was the vice class monitor, that slowpoke.

He cared a lot about today’s Performance; that was why he quarreled with Jiang Xiaoxiao, giving Su Yao the chance.

She nodded in response.

The vice class monitor stood for a while longer, then finally squeezed out a sentence.

“Your script is pretty good.”

The words were rough, but Su Yao liked it, and nodded again.

Since they weren’t close, no more words were exchanged.

The vice class monitor walked over to the boys, surrounded by questions, but said nothing.

Su Yao wondered if someone had called him over to ask questions?

She seemed to have been defaulted to the girls’ camp, which was fine.

Because Mu Nanqiu was there, the girls didn’t dare to approach and pester Su Yao with questions to satisfy their gossip.

Unexpectedly quiet.

Jiang Xiaoxiao was still lost in her own world, crouched in a corner of the Court.

But now she wasn’t crying anymore.

Crying was exhausting; the few times she had sobbed and shouted earlier had left her tired.

With no one else around, she was resting.

Seeing Zhang Su hadn’t come to find her yet, Jiang Xiaoxiao grew anxious.

She asked her roommate to check how things were going.

She should be back soon.

The girl staying with her looked anxious too.

Being separated from the group for a long time made her uneasy.

Reflecting on what she had said and done before, she knew the price of standing with Jiang Xiaoxiao was high.

If the Performance got ruined, though the main responsibility was Jiang Xiaoxiao’s, standing with her would mean shared blame.

When her own interests were hurt, she inevitably wavered and began to subtly persuade Jiang Xiaoxiao.

“Xiaoxiao, she hasn’t come yet. Should we go over now?”

“No.”

Jiang Xiaoxiao pouted, full of pride on her face.

She had never been yelled at like that.

In high school, the boys in class were all polite to her.

Thinking about how the vice class monitor had scolded her made Jiang Xiaoxiao furious, but she remembered it vividly—the more she tried not to think about it, the more it stuck in her mind.

The girl found Jiang Xiaoxiao’s attitude difficult to handle and didn’t know how to comfort her.

The Performance was about to start, and if they lost a role, how could that be?

“It’s almost time to go on stage. Let’s head over first. Maybe we’ll meet Teacher Zhang and the vice class monitor on the way…”

“Stop talking!”

Jiang Xiaoxiao thought of the vice class monitor’s face, still angry.

Hearing the girl say that, she showed a flash of fury and sharply said, but immediately regretted snapping at her friend.

Yet she didn’t think she was wrong; it was the girl who should apologize.

The girl was obviously stunned and quickly whispered an apology.

“Xiaoxiao, I’m sorry. I said the wrong thing.”

“Hmph.”

Hearing the apology, Jiang Xiaoxiao’s anger eased, but she only snorted without saying more.

Though it ended like this, the rift was inevitable.

Just then, the girl who had been sent out came running back, panting.

“Xiaoxiao… bad news, Teacher Zhang said…”

“Say it! You’d better say it quickly!”