Chapter 140: The Stage Play Performance

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

The sports meet had concluded. Although Luo Yixia’s leg was still a bit sore, there was nothing seriously wrong with it. Song Chengyi, worried, wanted her to rest for another day, but given her personality, she couldn't stand staying at home.

She got ready early in the morning and went to campus with Song Chengyi, though they parted ways once they entered the school grounds. Luo Yixia often felt like a thief, acting all shifty and terrified whenever she walked with him. At this rate, she figured she’d develop a split personality sooner or later.

There was a morning class, and everyone in the room was drowsy. Luo Yixia was now able to walk normally, though her right leg still ached if she put too much pressure on it.

"Xiaxia, the grades are out!" Gan Yanyan called out and waved as soon as she entered the classroom.

Luo Yixia sat down and said with a cold face, "Can you not shout about things that only good students care about so loudly?"

"What's the big deal?" Gan Yanyan grinned at her, unbothered. "Come on, enter your exam number; let's take a look." Gan Yanyan clicked directly onto the webpage and waited for her to check.

"Let me take a moment. No rush," Luo Yixia said, not wanting to know her scores at all.

"We’ve all checked, what are you afraid of? Jia Yu did great, she's first again. I passed, Lin Ya passed, you're the only one left." Gan Yanyan pushed her phone forward.

"I need to drink some water to calm my nerves first." Luo Yixia silently went to get a cup of hot water. When she returned to her seat, Gan Yanyan had already unlocked her phone and pulled up the results. Before Gan Yanyan could even take a peek, Luo Yixia snatched the phone away.

"How did you open it?" It made no sense; she hadn't told anyone her password.

"Well, whose birthday is it?" Gan Yanyan smiled with an innocent look, making Luo Yixia want to hit her.

Luo Yixia held her phone, wanting to look but not daring to, feeling very hesitant. Then, it dawned on her: "How did you know his birthday?"

"Huh? Sis, I think you've got the wrong priority here," Gan Yanyan said, torn between laughter and tears. Seeing Luo Yixia’s serious expression, she answered honestly, "It was leaked on the school forum ages ago. I have a decent memory, so I just happened to remember it. Don't get the wrong idea, though; I only remembered it because your birthdays are exactly a month apart."

Luo Yixia sat back down and took a sip of water. *If it’s a blessing, it won’t be a disaster; if it’s a disaster, it can’t be avoided...*

She took a deep breath, opened her phone again, and looked at it cautiously.

...

Pas... passed?

And the English grade was pretty good, while the math score had just cleared the passing line...

"I passed?" Luo Yixia asked, directing the question at Gan Yanyan.

Gan Yanyan leaned over, took a look, and nodded at her. "You passed."

"Wow, Yanyan, I passed!" She jumped up in joy. "Yaya, Yuyu, I passed!" She hopped over toward the others.

"Hey, what are you doing? Don't be so gross," Lin Ya said with a look of disdain.

"I told you that you could do it," Xu Jiayu laughed.

"I passed, hahaha!" Luo Yixia sat back down, took a screenshot of her scores, and sent it to Song Chengyi. He had promised that if she passed, he would grant her one wish. She needed to think carefully about what to ask for—she had to ponder it well.

She stared at her phone, but there was no reply after a long time. He must be busy in class. She sheepishly put the phone away.

During lunch, she received a message telling her to wait for him outside later that afternoon. *Hehe, these things are better said in person.* Luo Yixia was, of course, delighted, and even her lunch tasted better.

***

There was a P.E. class in the afternoon. The boys were all playing basketball, so Luo Yixia had a more relaxing time wandering around campus with Gan Yanyan.

"Xiaxia, you worked so hard and did so well this time. Is your guy planning to do something special for you?" Gan Yanyan asked, tilting her head.

"I don't know yet," Luo Yixia replied, secretly wondering what request she should make.

"I heard the senior clubs are rehearsing their programs. Let's go take a look," Gan Yanyan said, pulling her along to join the fun.

"I don't know, it's probably for the New Year's Gala," Luo Yixia hesitated.

"Let's just sneak a peek. Rumor has it that your guy is performing in a stage play this time," Gan Yanyan teased, arching an eyebrow.

Sure enough, once she said that, Luo Yixia became interested. The two of them snuck toward the drama club.

"Is your info accurate?" Luo Yixia asked.

"Rest assured, I hold all the gossip of the entire school," Gan Yanyan guaranteed.

They walked to the window of the drama club and heard sounds from inside. Before they even peeked, they crouched down. Luo Yixia looked into the classroom from the windowsill; there were quite a few people, and the rehearsal seemed to be going well.

Song Chengyi was there. It was his class's program, and although he hadn't wanted to participate, his classmates had insisted he join to serve as the "face" of the group.

It was an old, cliché plot—the story of Sleeping Beauty, which had been performed eight hundred times already. He couldn't understand why he, a top medical student at a prestigious university, had to be here watching this, let alone be forced to perform.

"Wrong, it's wrong," Yu Bin said, wearing glasses and looking stern as he called a halt. "Sister Xingluo, that wasn't the right emotion. When you see the prince coming to save you and you're kissed awake, you should be very happy. Why did your eyes look so dazed? Do you have morning grumpiness?"

Xiang Xingluo was suddenly called out and looked a bit stunned. "Sorry, sorry, I'll do it again."

"You can't blame Xingluo either," someone muttered. "Song Yu has something going on, so it's hard for Xingluo to get into character acting alone."

"Ahem, how about Chengyi helps out and temporarily stands in for the prince?" Yu Bin asked, lacking confidence.

Everyone looked at Song Chengyi with anticipation. The refusal that was on the tip of his tongue ultimately remained unspoken. "Fine."

Seeing Song Chengyi agree, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, though they were mostly excited. They had always hoped Song Chengyi and Xiang Xingluo would perform together, but the "Male God" hadn't wanted to participate at all, and they had barely managed to get him there just to be a pretty face.

"Alright, alright, start from the part where the prince kisses the princess awake," Yu Bin said, clapping to quiet everyone down.

Xiang Xingluo lay back down on a makeshift table. The prince didn't have any lines at this point; he just had to lean in for a staged kiss to wake the princess, who would then deliver her lines.

Outside the window, a small head poked out and saw exactly that scene. From where Luo Yixia was standing, she saw Song Chengyi lean down to kiss her.

Gan Yanyan gasped in surprise: "Xiaxia... Xiaxia."

Because she shouted too loudly, everyone in the room who had been holding their breath to watch the play turned toward the window. The two girls immediately crouched down, and as soon as Luo Yixia came to her senses, she turned and fled.

"Xiaxia!" Gan Yanyan called out, preparing to chase after her, but they had been caught.

"Didn't they say the play was supposed to be a secret? Which class are you from? Why did you run over here?" a senior student asked as she hurried out.

Yu Bin also walked over. "Gan Yanyan? Why are you here?"

Gan Yanyan awkwardly greeted the seniors.

"Was that Xiaxia?" Song Chengyi asked out of the blue.

Gan Yanyan, having just seen that eye-searing scene, clearly stood on Luo Yixia’s side. She spoke to Song Chengyi in a very unfriendly tone: "So what? Is that a problem?"

Song Chengyi didn't say anything and ran out after her.

"Song Chengyi, where are you going? We still have to rehearse!" someone shouted.

Yu Bin waved his hand. Knowing the inside story, he understood what these reactions were all about. "It's fine, let's continue." He looked at the embarrassed Gan Yanyan. "You should head back. We're just rehearsing a play; what you saw was all a misunderstanding."

Luo Yixia didn't know why she was running, but by the time she realized it, she was already far away. She stood by the side of the road and let out a sigh of relief. *Good thing he didn't see me, otherwise it would have been so awkward.*

At that moment, Luo Yixia felt annoyed. Why had she followed Gan Yanyan to join in the fun, only to see that scene? She had clearly seen Song Chengyi lean down to kiss that girl. They were just rehearsing a play, so it must have been fake. Why did she care so much?

Luo Yixia paced back and forth, feeling frantic and flustered. She didn't want to think about it; she just wanted to keep finding reasons to make excuses for Song Chengyi, and for herself.

"Why are you running so fast?" Song Chengyi caught up and grabbed her arm.

Luo Yixia was slightly surprised. She steadied her emotions and decided to pretend she knew nothing. "Why are you here?"

"What did you see just now? Did you take it seriously? Or are you angry?" Song Chengyi reached out and ruffled her hair.

Luo Yixia stepped back, creating some distance. "I'm here for P.E. class." She still didn't want to be seen with him. Students passed by from time to time, and class would be over soon, which meant even more people.

Song Chengyi grabbed her and ran toward a nearby teaching building. They ran up to the fifth floor in one breath and stepped onto the rooftop.

Luo Yixia was nearly exhausted. She crouched on the ground, leaning against the wall, breathing heavily. Song Chengyi took a few deep breaths to regulate his own rhythm, then said with a smile, "Your stamina is still not good enough. That was only five flights of stairs."

Luo Yixia didn't reply, still panting.

Song Chengyi slowly crouched down in front of her. "Hmm? Are you angry?" He reached out to poke her puffed-up cheeks.

"..."

"We were just rehearsing a play—that old, cliché *Sleeping Beauty*. The one playing the prince was delayed by something, so I stood in for him temporarily. I was just using camera angles; I was far away from her and didn't even touch her," Song Chengyi explained, unhurried.

Luo Yixia had indeed misunderstood, but it wasn't that she didn't trust him. Hearing his explanation, she felt no more doubt. Instead, she thought Song Chengyi was inexplicably cute—what was wrong with her? She also hadn't expected that he would have seen her and chased after her specifically to explain.

"You should go back and finish the play," Luo Yixia said, not knowing what else to say.

"It's fine, someone else will play it," Song Chengyi said, not moving.

"I only ran because I didn't want to disturb you, not because of anything else..."

"Hmm? Anything else? Jealous? Misunderstanding me?" Looking at her flushed little face, Song Chengyi teased her, in a very good mood.