"So you’re saying that Zhen Yu and Han Mingyue are really close? But she herself said it’s not that kind of relationship... so is it or isn’t it?" "I have no idea! I always thought they were!" Qian Duoduo said with a sigh: "If it weren’t for Wu Qiong telling me about Han Mingyue this morning, I would have certainly continued to believe they were a thing!"
"Can you trust what Wu Qiong says? She doesn’t even know Han Mingyue!" Liu Ting was skeptical.
"Believe it or not, I believe Wu Qiong!" Qian Duoduo was slightly annoyed, but she didn’t show it. "Wu Qiong said she happened to overhear Fu Yu talking to a boy from the next class, something about ’your brother going on a date behind Zhen Yu’s back’... I guessed right away! It must have been Han Jiayang that Fu Yu was talking to!"
Qian Duoduo and Wu Qiong have been in the same class since elementary school, and their friendship is pretty solid!
Back in elementary school, Wu Qiong still lived at her relative’s house. It was only after starting middle school that she moved to the school dormitory. Who would have thought she’d get into that kind of trouble in less than half a year!
Qian Duoduo was actually quite distressed, but despite Wu Qiong’s flaws as a person, she really was a good friend.
Therefore, even after the incident when most of the girls in the class, including Liu Ting, didn’t want to deal with Wu Qiong, Qian Duoduo treated her the same as ever, and their friendship continued.
Liu Ting fell silent for a moment, then sighed: "... I hope everything Zhen Yu said is true! Otherwise, she is definitely just trying to save face in front of us!"
As someone who had experienced puppy love, Qian Duoduo had an even deeper understanding of the matter, "I think she is just trying to save face! Think about Zhen Yu’s reaction then, even if it’s not that kind of relationship, she still likes Han Mingyue!"
Liu Ting thought back to Zhen Yu’s behavior at that time, they exchanged glances, and shared a moment of silent agreement.
Saturday morning at 6:30, after Zhen Yu finished her morning run, she greeted Mr. Han, who was getting up early to go to the clinic, and then went out to find Bai Xue.
Because Mrs. Bai was going to make her signature mini sugar crisp cakes for her children on Friday night, Bai Xue invited Zhen Yu to directly come over to the Bai Family’s place for breakfast on Saturday!
The two beautiful girls happily finished breakfast and then held hands as they went to school to participate in the preliminary competition.
Although there were no restrictions on the format of the program, most students still chose to sing, solo, duet, trio, all sorts...
As they listened to others sing, Zhen Yu and Bai Xue occasionally glanced at Shen Qi and the group of female classmates surrounding her.
From their outfits, it was clear to see, the uniform white top and black pants, that these people were obviously planning to sing as a choir.
It was just unclear which song they would choose.
Also, because singing was the majority, the auditions went by quickly.
After all, some students lacked self-awareness, getting onto the stage only to be eliminated after singing just an opening line! They really vexed the music teacher.
It seemed like only a few complete songs had been heard before it was time for Class 1 of Grade 9, with Shen Qi’s performance scheduled first.
"Now it’s Class 1 of Grade 9! ’The Same Song’, is the student singing ’The Same Song’ here?"
"Here! Teacher!" Shen Qi’s crisp voice responded, leading her group forward.
"Ready? If you’re ready, start singing!" Once the girls were lined up and still, the music teacher began to quiet the crowd.
The makeshift canteen had nothing in it, and everyone sang a cappella. As soon as the teacher said "begin," the students obediently shut their mouths and kept silent.
"The flowers once told me how you walked past..."
After the song ended, it received quite a bit of applause.
You have to admit, the girls’ voices were pretty good, and they sang quite convincingly!
When the group returned to the crowd, everyone gave Zhen Yu a challenging glare. Had it not been for Zhen Yu holding onto Bai Xue, the latter might have blown her top right there!
"What’s the point of showing attitude here? You go up there and out-sing them!" While counseling Bai Xue, Zhen Yu also didn’t forget to encourage her.
Bai Xue immediately became as spirited as if injected with chicken blood, "Yeah! Just let them wait and see! I’ll definitely sing better than them!"
Zhen Yu offered her an awkward yet polite smile.
Next to her was someone who still held herself in high esteem...
But from an observer’s perspective, Zhen Yu thought Bai Xue’s singing was just average, and winning would be tough.
Before long, it was Bai Xue’s turn to go on stage.
As expected, Bai Xue started singing pretty well, but as the song repeated, she began to go off-key.
The music teacher managed to listen to her finish a song, but the sparse applause made it clear that Bai Xue’s chances of being selected were slim.
Bai Xue came down looking a bit discouraged, she probably felt it, too!
Zhen Yu softened her tone and said, "Don’t be discouraged! If you don’t get selected this time, just try again next time!"
With just those words, Bai Xue’s face brightened. She nodded, "Right! I’ll try again next time!"
Zhen Yu really didn’t know whether she should be worried about this girl’s overconfidence or happy for her optimism.
But she didn’t have time to say more because it was her turn to go on stage.
"Is the student from Class 1, Grade 9, who’s singing ’Time Story’ here?"
"I’m here!" Zhen Yu stood up, Bai Xue gave her a fist pump as a sign to cheer on.
Performing in front of a crowd wasn’t nerve-wracking for Zhen Yu; after all, she had worked for several years in her previous life and had sung at KTV quite a few times.
But to say she sang very well, that wouldn’t be true either.
At most, she could be considered a KTV expert! She had a full range of notes and a good sense of rhythm.
Now without accompaniment... the performance was just passable.
Once the song ended, the applause was as lukewarm as Bai Xue’s.
Zhen Yu stepped down, and Bai Xue became anxious. "What if you don’t get selected either?"
Listen to that word, either!
Zhen Yu shrugged nonchalantly, "What can I do? If I don’t get selected, I’ll just accept defeat! I’ll just walk around them, that’s all!"
"That can’t be right!" Bai Xue immediately stomped her foot.
Young people sure are spirited, Zhen Yu sighed to herself.
Then she calmly asked her back, "Why not? Do you still remember why I made this bet in the first place?"
"Of course, it’s to stop them from endlessly bothering you. Uh!" Bai Xue’s eyes widened, feeling as though she understood something but also as if she didn’t.
"The goal has been accomplished! The process isn’t important. I’ll try my best to win, but losing is normal. After all, nothing is perfect, and nobody is flawless."
Bai Xue chewed over Zhen Yu’s words and her eyes once again shone with joy.
"You’re right! Anyway, they’ve agreed not to harass you anymore! Whoever has to walk around, it’s still three meters between us! Hehe... I feel like not only has my academic performance improved since being with you, but my IQ has gone up too..."
Zhen Yu almost couldn’t hold back a laugh with Bai Xue, but she managed to restrain herself, simply smiling and saying, "Let’s go! Whether we’re selected or not, let’s leave it to fate!"
"Let’s go! Come to my place!"