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“Whaaa—” Everyone in the room echoed in astonishment.
Watching this encounter from the sidelines, Huang Ying even felt her own face heating up. Qin Juran had probably said that as a joke, but the words had come from her mouth with such an indecipherable tone.
If the same words were spoken by some ugly man, Ruan Nan wouldn’t have hesitated to slap him. If it were Fan Chuan speaking, then it would’ve at least sounded much more pompous. But Qin Quran’s casual, indifferent tone somehow brought out the meaning of the words to its fullest extent. Even though it was clear she was teasing, there was still a hint of genuine affection that would make anyone’s heart flutter for a moment.
Indeed, if you had a pretty face, you could get away with anything.
After this short display, Fan Chuan walked in, dressed in a white knight costume, clad with a sword belt on his hip. The dressing room suddenly roared back to life as the girl students flocked over to take pictures with Fan Chuan, while some male students wanted to take pictures with Qin Juran.
Qin Juran was planning on refusing, but after a moment, she changed her mind. Surprised that she agreed, nearly all the side actors went up to take pictures with her.
When Fan Chuan glanced over at Qin Juran, a stunned expression passed over on his face. He began to make his way over to her.
Thankfully, with her sharp eyes and quick reflexes, as soon as Fan Chuan stepped before her, Qin Juran pulled the nearby Feng Jing right in between them. “Didn’t you want to take a picture with him?”
“Ah? Ah
” Feng Jing was just in the middle of planning her attack, but turns out Qin Juran suddenly made things easier for her. She didn’t hesitate to take advantage of this opportunity and quickly pulled out her phone to take seven consecutive selfies with him.
Qin Juran saw Fan Chuan’s dark and icy expression and cackled internally. As the group finished up taking pictures, the stage crew members picked up their backpacks and began to collect everyone’s cellphones. Since the dressing room was shared by many, in order to prevent theft, the crew members were to watch over the students’ valuable items.
Qin Juran purposefully stepped to the side. When they came to collect hers, she replied, “Don’t worry, I didn’t bring my phone.”
At 8 o’clock in the evening, the roar of fireworks punctuated the start of the show.
After the opening dance performance, Qin Juran and the others were escorted from the dressing room to the waiting area behind the stage.
Dozens of spotlights lit up, shining down upon the stage as the regal red curtain parted.
Once the large screen appeared, the entire auditorium filled with roaring applause and passion, as dazzling as a starry sky.
Even before she’d known about the performance, Qin Juran had thought the school’s assembly hall was especially magnificent. But tonight, the bright light reflected against the night sky was truly so beautiful she thought she was dreaming.
As she came out of her daze, she glanced down at the beautiful princess gown she was wearing. If only she had learned Spanish in her past life – maybe then, she would’ve been able to fully experience being on this stage. But alas, many opportunities in life were destined to be foregone unexpectedly.
The waiting area was very spacious and was occupied by nearly a hundred students from different performing groups. As the students who had just performed began returning, there was more and more chatter amongst them. The noisy clamor from the students backstage and the solemn performances on stage presented two completely different atmospheres.
Qin Juran looked at the clock. There was around half an hour left until their performance. She wandered to the side and squat down, pretending to adjust her shoe strap. She purposefully chose an inconspicuous corner to stay squat down for a moment.
Right when she finished fastening her shoe strap, she stood up to hear an unfamiliar male student’s voice ask: “Are you student Qin Juran?”
Qin Juran’s hand unconsciously trembled a little, but she replied without batting an eye: “Mhm, that’s me.”
“Student Qin, Professor Peter said that they had forgotten a prop umbrella in the rooftop storage. All the stage crew members are busy helping out backstage right now, and since the prop is for you to use, he was wondering if you would mind going up to grab it?”
Qin Juran made a show of furrowing her brows: “There are only thirty minutes left until I need to be on stage – is there enough time?”
The student laughed: “There’s plenty of time, it’s right in this building. Just take the elevator to the 15th floor, go up on the ladder, and there’s the roof. It’ll only take a few minutes.”
Qin Juran seemed to think for a moment, then finally nodded. When the student turned to go, Qin Juran called out to him, “Hey, have we met before?”
The student froze for a second, then shook his head: “Nope, I’m just helping to relay a message.”
Qin Juran nodded. She hiked her skirt up and made her way towards the exit. Although this National Day production was extravagant and lively, most of the excitement was concentrated in the auditorium, so there were hardly any people outside. Qin Juran pulled her dress tighter around herself as the night breeze brushed against her.
She stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor, then climbed up the ladder, in accordance with the student’s directions.
On the rooftop, there was indeed a stack of assorted theatre props lying in the open. Qin Juran walked hesitantly towards the pile of objects and lightly combed through them. She went over to the decoratively carved railings, intending to admire the rooftop night scenery, when she heard the clicking of heels from behind her.
Qin Juran whipped her head around. When she realized who it was, her astonishment was clearly written on her face: “What are you doing here?”
In the original novel, Qin Juran was deceitfully led to the rooftop, then someone had secretly locked the door behind the ladder. With the main female star mysteriously vanished, Fan Chuan had saved the show, borrowing a guitar and recounting the story in form of a song. The lyrics were mainly about his ill-fated search for his princess.
Atop of the elegant stage, before the carefully laid out props and backdrops, clad in noble martial attire – the lonely and passionate song of the young man who seemingly had no prior acting experience truly solidified his status as the male god of S University, capturing the hearts of more and more girls.
The novel never specified who was behind this, but all evidence pointed to the “Evil Second Female Lead” Ruan Nan as the instigator.
Thus, seeing the girl dressed in her princess gown approaching, Qin Juran suddenly felt woozy.
Ruan Nan noticed the strange tone in her voice and raised a brow, remarking plainly, “I was just wondering what you were doing here.”
As she said this, she peered at the pile of objects behind her. “You just came for a prop? Boring.”
“The show is about to start.” Ruan Nan turned to leave.
“It wasn’t you?” Qin Juran asked from behind her, still in a daze.
“What wasn’t me?” Ruan Nan paused in her step.
Qin Juran pointed her chin: “Take a look if the door to the ladder is still open.”
Unsure of her meaning, Ruan Nan walked down a few steps, reach her hand to the door, and pulled. The door that was open moments before would not budge. She tried to use more force, but it made no difference.
Ruan Nan pinched her brows.
She went back to see Qin Juran calmly admiring the nighttime view of the campus. Ruan Nan walked up to face her: “What’s the meaning of this?”
Qin Juran leaned against the railing and casually rested a hand upon the stone, the other lightly flipping her hair. “I heard that someone led me here so that I’d miss the show.”
Ruan Nan froze for a moment. As her fingers fidgeted with her dress, she looked at Qin Juran’s expression: almost a smile, yet not quite. Seeming to realize something, she exclaimed, “You think I did it?”
Her gaze was pointed sharply at Qin Juran. The wine-red princess gown emanated an especially mysterious hue under the dim night sky, and the silver tiara on her head reflected faint specks of light.
Qin Juran’s eyes suddenly widened in flustered misunderstanding.
It seemed she was wrong.
Qin Juran flicked her eyes away and avoided her gaze, refusing to speak. Her silence was enough to answer Ruan Nan’s question.
Ruan Nan appeared to have remembered something and suddenly was at a loss for words. Her eyelashes twitched as she continued, “So, is this why you asked me that question during the concert that night?”
“You asked me if I had believed you changed – and because you already thought I was behind this, you were testing me to see if I’d change my mind. And since I gave the wrong answer, this is your retaliation?”
Perhaps it was because of the cool breeze, but Ruan Nan’s voice came out with a slight waver. Qin Juran instinctively looked around to find something for Ruan Nan to wear, but there were no extra clothes in the pile of props.
Qin Juran raised her head and faced Ruan Nan, raising a brow: “That’s why I was so surprised to see you here.”
“It’s not looking good – now that we’ve both been locked out here.”
Under the shroud of night, Ruan Nan couldn’t discern Qin Juran’s expression, and only heard her usual indifferent tone of voice. The white moonlight shone upon her grey dress and the crown on her head flashed in the light.
She was nothing like a fairy princess.
She was a fox.
A fox that Ruan Nan had never encountered before; one who never failed to provoke her.
It turned out that in Qin Juran’s heart, she had taken all the precautions to protect herself.
Ruan Nan wasn’t sure why an inexplicable, hurt feeling was rising in her chest. As a gust of wind blew across the roof, she gave an involuntary shudder.
""
She lowered her head and immediately raised it again, letting out a cold laugh: “Qin Juran, you were right. It was me. I had someone lock the door. I only decided to lock myself here with you so no one would suspect me.”
Before she could even finish, Qin Juran gave a light chuckle.
“What are you laughing at?” Ruan Nan’s clear voice came out high-pitched.
Qin Juran shook her head: “The Ruan Nan I know is straightforward and fearless. It couldn’t be you.”
Her words were sincere. Qin Juran suddenly recalled the female character that she was so enamored with while reading this novel – who, at the moment, was standing right in front of her. Her elegance was heart-stirring, and her pride overflowing; she was seething at the thought of being accused.
The lights from the auditorium radiated in different colors, gradually dimming then shining again. As the lights shone back up, so rang out a young man’s clear singing voice accompanied by a guitar.
That should be Fan Chuan, saving the show.
Qin Juran felt a knot in her chest loosen, then regarded Ruan Nan once again: “It’s chilly here – why don’t you come lean against this big sister?”
She was clearly doubting herself a second ago, but now she was already back to her usual teasing. The mischievous look in her bright eyes was always keeping people guessing as to what’s honest and what’s not. Ruan Nan stomped her foot and her voice trembled even harder: “Qin Juran, is this all a joke to you?”
“Does it really please you to use these kinds of means to get back at me?”
“Do you say those kinds of things to just anyone
”
As the words left her mouth, her body suddenly faltered as a bout of dizziness hit. Her mind blanked, and she collapsed upon the ground.
“Ruan Nan?”
“Ruan Nan!”