Rong Xingyu opened his too.
When the results came in, everyone was shocked he had the best luck in every single red envelope!
Even when all the others added their amounts together, it still didn’t surpass his total!
[ ??? ]
[ ????? ]
[ I’ve never seen anyone this lucky in my life. ]
[ Rong Xingyu, my bro, next time you have to help me draw cards in my game. ]
[ I’m crying in envy over here. I’m jealous, but not sure if I should be... ]
Someone refused to believe it and sent another red envelope. Yet again, Rong Xingyu got the luckiest draw.
This time, all the boys in the chat gave up completely.
What was this called?
[ This guy’s the chosen one and the heaven sent pretty mermaid! I give up, he wins! ]
Rong Xingyu: "???"
Pretty... mermaid?? What was that supposed to mean?!
The next afternoon during free activity time in PE class, a small group of students gathered inside the empty equipment room.
Rong Xingyu looked at his friend, Qian Zhijun, who was practically vibrating with excitement. "Zhijun, you got picked too?"
Qian Zhijun waved his hand with a mischievous grin. "No way! I’m always the guy who gets the smallest amount in those red envelope games!"
Rong Xingyu: "..."
Why did he sound proud about that?
After banning Rong Xingyu from the next round of red envelope draws, the group chat had produced six other unlucky souls who were chosen for the play.
Whether they liked it or not, they were all standing in the equipment room now.
A row of boys lined up.
They are tall, short, slim, chubby, no one who’s looked alike.
Their class secretary, Zeng Youzhen, was a petite girl with round glasses and two low braids. She wearing an oversized knitted sweater over her school uniform.
She looked quiet and gentle and completely different from her bold and bossy online persona as "Ms. Tomorrow."
But then the "gentle" Zeng Youzhen clapped her hands sharply. Her eyes gleamed behind her lenses as she looked over the lineup of boys.
Perfect. This was exactly the kind of chaotic, random energy she wanted.
No need for auditions, this was much more efficient! The supporting roles didn’t matter anyway. What was important was that the mermaid looked beautiful.
Zeng Youzhen’s gaze finally landed on Rong Xingyu.
Her expression softened and she couldn’t help feeling a little emotional inside.
It was perfect, too perfect.
Zeng Youzhen couldn’t imagine anyone other than Rong Xingyu playing the role of the mermaid princess.
She could already picture it in her head.
Rong Xingyu who is wearing the mermaid costumestunning the entire audience the moment he appeared on stage.
She couldn’t hold back her excitement and exchanged a look with the class entertainment committee member beside her.
Both of them had the same spark of enthusiasm in their eyes.
Wait, seeing Rong Xingyu standing there gave her another idea!
The script could be rewritten again and the costumes needed adjustments too.
In addition to the mermaid outfit... hmm, maybe he should also have a ball gown scene?
No! one ball gown wouldn’t be enough!
Rong Xingyu and the other boys all felt uneasy under the intense gleam in Zeng Youzhen’s eyes.
The tallest boy in the group, Bai Yu, was over 1.85 meters tall.
He was muscular boy with tanned skin from daily basketball practice and served as a defender on the school’s basketball team.
He scratched his head awkwardly and said, "Can we not do this play? I’m afraid my girlfriend will break up with me if she sees me like that."
Zeng Youzhen who was scribbling notes on her clipboard didn’t even look up. She replied quickly, "Oh, you mean Guo Keyu from the next class? She was actually super excited when she heard you’d be playing the mermaid. She told me to take plenty of photos of you during rehearsals so she could see them right away."
Bai Yu: "..."
What a loving girlfriend.
Finally, Zeng Youzhen put down her pen and adjusted her glasses.
She looked at the group of miserable boys and encouraged them enthusiastically, "We’ll rehearse properly over the next few weeks. Trust me, when the performance comes, we’re going to shock the entire school!"
The boys: "..."
They were starting to think transferring schools might actually be a better option.
Standing off to the side, Qian Zhijun, who was in charge of logistics raised his hand and asked, "So, if Xingyu is playing the mermaid princess, then who’s the prince? Did he show up today?"
Zeng Youzhen looked confused for a moment, then raised her hand and pointed toward the corner of the room.
"The prince has been here the whole time."
Everyone turned their heads to look in that direction.
Rong Xingyu followed their gaze.
There stood a short haired girl who lifted her hand proudly and flashed a bright smile, showing off a perfect row of white teeth.
"The prince is me! Haha! Surprised? Didn’t expect that, did you?"
Everyone stared silently at Yue Yeqiao who was at least a full head shorter than Rong Xingyu.
"..."
Their class’s performance... was probably doomed.
Meanwhile...
"What’s Xiaoyu been up to lately?"
Rong Zishan was still at the racetrack.
With one hand on the steering wheel, he turned it smoothly, making the race car spin in a perfect arc before stopping neatly at the edge of the track.
The crowd watching from the stands cheered at his precision.
Rong Zishan gave them a playful whistle, then leaned back lazily in his seat while smirking as he replied, "Now you suddenly care about Xiaoyu? If you’re that curious, go ask him yourself."
On the other side of the phone, Rong Zhenqiao asked, "So, how’s everything going lately?"
Rong Zishan replied lazily, "Not much, really. Xiaoyu’s still going to school every day like a good boy. And when he comes home at night, he even cooks for me. Tsk tsk, that kid’s cooking is amazing."
He smacked his lips in satisfaction, then suddenly remembered something. "Oh right, I forgot, you haven’t tasted it yet, have you?"