The four of them broke into a run, with Brother Wang and his gang chasing behind them, creating quite a chaotic scene.
When they reached an intersection, Quan Le shouted, "Split up!"
Song Yi and Shen Yujing went left, while Murong Huan and Quan Le headed right.
As she kept running, Song Yi realized that Shen Yujing had also disappeared somewhere, leaving her all alone.
What a mess this had become.
They were supposed to just come watch the school's anniversary celebration, how did it turn into a grand escape?
Fortunately, Song Yi was a fast runner. She managed to shake off the two people following her and dashed into a teaching building.
Song Yi crouched in a corner on the second floor, occasionally peeking down to check below. Once she confirmed no one was searching for her nearby, she finally let out a sigh of relief.
Well, since she was here...
She might as well continue watching the anniversary celebration! No point in wasting the trip!
Thinking that none of those people would recognize her anyway, Song Yi removed her face mask, crouched in the hallway to finish eating her flatbread, then put her mask back on before heading downstairs.
Unfortunately, Song Yi got lost - she couldn't find Saint Yu's Grand Hall.
So she stopped a random Saint Yu student, tapping their arm, "Excuse me, how do I get to the hall?"
When the boy turned around, she saw a familiar face.
Song Yi exclaimed in surprise: "It's you?!"
Their eyes met, and Xu Che asked with slight confusion: "Who are you?"
Only then did Song Yi remember she was currently "disguised as a boy," so naturally Xu Che wouldn't recognize her - to him, she was just a stranger.
Deciding it wasn't appropriate to reveal her identity in this situation, Song Yi pretended to be just one of Xu Che's regular fanboys, "Wang Che! I know you! You're so brave, who at our school wouldn't know you? I've admired you for so long!"
Xu Che looked down at her, remained silent for a few seconds, then squeezed out two words: "Really?"
"Of course!"
Seeing Xu Che's "skeptical" expression, Song Yi decided to go all out with the act, showering him with excessive compliments, frantically expressing her admiration for him, and praising the friendly and positive learning environment at Saint Yu High School under his leadership.
As the saying goes, flattery will get you everywhere.
But in the end, confusion appeared in Xu Che's eyes as he asked—
"But aren't you Shen Yujing's friend?"
In that instant, Song Yi's smile froze on her face.
There was good news and bad news.
The good news was that she was wearing a mask, so Xu Che couldn't see her embarrassment.
The bad news was that Xu Che clearly knew who she was, and had just listened to her seriously spouting nonsense for a full five minutes in this situation.
No, wait, she didn't understand.
She was dressed as a boy, wearing a mask, with only her eyes showing - how could he still recognize her?
When Song Yi couldn't figure something out, she had to find the answer, so she looked at Xu Che and asked, "How did you know it was me?"
"I didn't at first," the young man paused for two seconds, then said: "But you got my name wrong."
Song Yi: "...?"
Huh?
Song Yi: "Aren't you Li Che?"
Xu Che's eyes were full of resignation as he took out a lollipop from his school uniform pocket and said to Song Yi, "Hold out your hand."
Song Yi extended one hand, palm facing up.
Xu Che held the candy part and used the stick to write the character "Xu" stroke by stroke in Song Yi's palm.
He said: "My name is Xu Che, not Zhang, not Wang, and definitely not Li."
Song Yi nodded thoughtfully, trying to imprint the name in her mind, and repeated softly, "Xu Che, the 'Xu' from 'Xu Xian'."
Xu Che nodded, then casually placed the lollipop he was holding into Song Yi's hand, "This is for you."
"I have something to attend to, so I can't show you the way," Xu Che said, then pointed to the path ahead, saying: "Go straight, then turn left and right, and you'll reach the hall."
"Thank you." Song Yi gripped the lollipop and walked in the direction Xu Che had indicated.
After a few steps, as if remembering something, Song Yi stopped and turned back.
Xu Che was still standing there watching her, though now he had a lollipop in his mouth as well.
Song Yi waved at him, "Thanks, Xu Xian!"
With that, Song Yi continued walking forward.
Xu Che standing there: "..."
Well, he was used to it by now.
Xu Che crunched the lollipop and took out a new one from his pocket.
This one was orange-flavored, the same as the one he'd given her.
Xu Che didn't linger there either, but turned and walked in another direction.
*
In the hall.
The anniversary activities were being held here, with air conditioning running in the massive space, making it quite comfortable.
Song Yi found a seat in the middle row corner and sent her location to the group chat.
[We Are The Champions]
[Song Leave]: Meet at the hall.
[Welcome]: Okay, I'm nearby, just shook off those people, coming right over.
[Listen to Quan]: I'm in some teaching building right now, hiding in a cabinet in an empty classroom. Wang Chan was chasing me, he's really persistent! You guys watch the performance first, I'll come when it's safe!
[Lonely Wolf]: What a coincidence! I'm also hiding in a cabinet, though this one's weird - it's lying horizontally on the ground.
[Listen to Quan]: Let's both stay hidden, we're their main targets.
[Lonely Wolf]: Holy crap! Someone came in! What do I do?!
[Song Leave]: What's going on?
[Listen to Quan]: What?
[Welcome]: What?
[Lonely Wolf]: I don't know! They're saying something about the female lead dropping out! They're just going to move the props up anyway, if there's a problem it's the actors' responsibility, not the stage crew's.
[Lonely Wolf]: Ahhhh!!!!!
[Song Leave]: Just say what's happening, stop screaming, don't be so dramatic.
[Lonely Wolf]: They're lifting me up?! What do I do?!
[Welcome]: Don't assume the worst, maybe they're just moving you to a different spot.
[Listen to Quan]: Stay calm, brother, stay calm.
[Lonely Wolf]: I keep moving! I think they're carrying me out! I don't know where I'm going! What should I do!
...
Thunderous applause erupted around them, apparently the previous performance had just ended.
Song Yi looked up to see two hosts on stage announcing the next act.
"Thank you Class X from Year 1 for their wonderful performance. Next, we'll enjoy a drama presentation of 'Snow White' by Class 1 from Year 3! Everyone, please give them a warm welcome!"
Suddenly, someone squeezed into the seat beside Song Yi.
It was Murong Huan, breathing heavily, with one hand on Song Yi's shoulder, saying tiredly: "Finally found you."
Song Yi patted her hand, "Shh."
Only then did Murong Huan realize she was in the middle of the hall, so she lowered her voice to ask Song Yi, "What performance is on now?"
Song Yi: "Should be 'Snow White' if nothing unexpected happens."
Murong Huan: "What unexpected things could happen?"
Song Yi shook her head, "Don't know, let's watch."
As the performance officially began, seven male students in various colored costumes first took the stage, playing the seven dwarfs.
However, these seven students were all tall and robust - rather than seven dwarfs, they looked more like the Seven Calabash Brothers.
Of course, that wasn't important.
Suddenly Song Yi frowned, "Look at the one in the middle, isn't that Wang Chan?"
"What?" Hearing Song Yi's words, Murong Huan immediately scrutinized their faces carefully, then said: "The first one is definitely the guy who was chasing me earlier! No doubt about it! It's them!"
Song Yi fell silent.
How impressive - these guys were chasing them just moments ago, and now they're on stage performing in a play. Talk about multi-talented.
These "dwarfs" made a circle on stage, delivered a few lines expressing their sorrow over Snow White's poisoned unconscious state, then four dwarfs went to the side to carry out a wooden coffin, while the other three brought many flowers to place on the coffin.
The seven "dwarfs" gathered around the coffin, creating a scene of "crying" together, grieving over beautiful Snow White's death and condemning the evil queen.
At this moment, footsteps could be heard, and under everyone's anticipation, it was time for the prince to make his entrance.
However, when the prince appeared, both Song Yi and Murong Huan simultaneously fell into silence.
Murong Huan rubbed her eyes and said, "Am I seeing things? That's Xu Che!"
Song Yi nodded, taking out a lollipop from her pocket, unwrapping it, and popping it into her mouth.
Xu Che had already taken off his blue and white school uniform and was wearing a Western-style prince costume. He clearly wasn't there by choice, standing expressionless.
Even so, many people around them let out gasps of amazement.
Murong Huan said, "I had no idea Xu Che was this popular."
Both girls became more interested and watched the performance more intently.
Xu Che exchanged a few words with the leader of the dwarfs, learning that the girl in the coffin was Snow White.
With a blank expression, Xu Che asked, "I too am deeply saddened by the princess's passing. May I join you in paying sincere respects to the princess?"
Song Yi critiqued Xu Che's performance, "He looks more like the one who murdered the princess, and the type who'd come back to make sure she's properly dead."
"He was obviously dragged into this against his will, don't be too harsh," Murong Huan defended him, her eyes still showing anticipation. "But wait, Saint Yu doesn't have any female students, so who's playing Snow White? You know, the one who needs the prince's true love's kiss to wake up."
Song Yi shattered Murong Huan's fantasy, "High school students aren't allowed to do kissing scenes, you know."
Murong Huan pouted but remained hopeful, "Well, you never know."
So the two continued watching the performance.
The seven dwarfs gathered around the coffin and worked together to open the lid.
The next moment, someone sat up in the coffin.
"Damn! What kind of place is this? It's suffocating in this coffin..."
The last word was cut short as Shen Yujing realized where he was.
Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap!
These were the only words cycling through Shen Yujing's mind.
What the hell was going on? Why was he on stage? Why was Wang Chan and his group surrounding him, and was that Xu Che standing in front of him???
Shen Yujing's brain completely stopped working; he felt like he was living in a dream.
The audience erupted in exclamations, accompanied by chatter from Saint Yu High School students.
"Hahahahaha, as expected! Even the mosquitoes at our school are male! Who would've thought Snow White would be a guy too!"
"This is the struggle of being at an all-boys school. Couldn't they at least ask a girl from another school to help play the princess?"
"Wait, something's not right. Why isn't this princess wearing a dress? Even if it's a male actor, shouldn't he be wearing a dress and a wig? Why is he still in our Saint Yu uniform?"
"Hold on, doesn't he look familiar?"
"Now that you mention it, he's not bad looking. But how dare he dye his hair blonde? Oh wait... isn't that Shen Yujing?"
"Who?"
"You know, Shen Yujing from Saint Slee Academy!"
...
Meanwhile, Song Yi and Murong Huan exchanged bewildered looks.
Song Yi couldn't believe that Shen Yujing was playing Snow White. Was something wrong with the world, or was it just her?
Murong Huan pressed her fingers against her philtrum, "Someone please tell me I'm dreaming. This has to be a dream."
Song Yi opened her mouth and after a long pause, only managed to say four words: "He's so extra."
How could a grown man agree to play Snow White?
Shen Yujing, true to his nature.
He really was something else, dramatic as always!
