Before anyone realized it, the students had already been back at school for nearly a month.
Today was Friday, and the sky was overcast. At noon, Xu Ming and Zhou Cheng decided not to eat in the school cafeteria. Instead, they went to a small restaurant outside the school.
At that moment, Xu Ming was happily enjoying a bowl of chewy beef noodles when the System’s notification suddenly sounded.
[Ding! A Side Mission has been issued.]
Hmm?!
Another mission…
[Side Mission: Delay or prevent the protagonist from going to watch the rehearsal.]
[Success Reward: 200 Points.]
[Failure Penalty: Deduct 400 Points.]
What???
Wait, Brother Cheng isn’t going out to have fun later?!
He’s going to watch the school’s festival rehearsal?!
Staring at the information displayed by the System, Xu Ming was suddenly confused. He glanced at Zhou Cheng in surprise, and at that exact moment, Zhou Cheng spoke to him.
“Hey, Mingzi, after lunch, want to head over to the auditorium and watch our classmates rehearse?” Zhou Cheng slurped up a mouthful of noodles before shooting Xu Ming a playful, suggestive look.
“What…? Why do you suddenly want to watch the rehearsal?” Xu Ming leisurely picked up a slice of beef with his chopsticks and put it into his mouth. He looked at Zhou Cheng curiously and asked, “Tsk… Brother Cheng, we already came outside the school for lunch. Aren’t we going out to have fun afterward?”
Zhou Cheng grinned thoughtfully. “Mm, I want to take a look. I’m a little curious… But of course, we’re still going to have fun!”
His chopsticks suddenly paused. Zhou Cheng nodded seriously at Xu Ming and declared, “Tsk, only kids make choices. We’re obviously doing both…”
“Once we’re done eating, we’ll go find Akai and have some fun first. After that, we’ll head back to the school auditorium and watch the rehearsal.”
“Ha… Fine, fine. You want everything, huh, Brother Cheng?” Xu Ming couldn’t help curling his lips in amusement. “You’re really something.”
After saying that, Xu Ming lowered his head and continued eating his noodles. However, his eyes shifted restlessly as his mind began working through possible ways to complete the mission.
Judging from this…
Stopping him completely probably isn’t possible…
So I can only delay him?
While Xu Ming was thinking, Zhou Cheng suddenly spoke again.
“Hey, I forgot to tell you something…” Zhou Cheng raised his eyebrows at Xu Ming, wearing an expression that suggested he was waiting to see his reaction. “Someone from our class is participating in this performance too. And one of them happens to be our front deskmate, Lin An. Heh… Didn’t expect that, did you?”
So that’s what’s going on…
No wonder!
“Mm… I see…” Xu Ming replied. “Ha… That really is a little unexpected.”
…
After hanging out with Zhou Kai from Zhongsheng Vocational High School, Zhou Cheng soon brought Xu Ming back to school.
By then, the lunch break had already begun, and there were barely any students on the paths. Xu Ming chatted and joked with Zhou Cheng as they walked, deliberately slowing down their journey toward the auditorium.
“So that’s why you’re so interested. Turns out this performance has both singing and dancing…” Xu Ming gave Zhou Cheng a mocking look. “Fine, fine. You shameless bastard, you’re just lusting after the girls, aren’t you?”
Zhou Cheng couldn’t care less about Xu Ming’s teasing. Instead, he flashed a wicked grin and immediately fired back, “Yeah, yeah. You don’t lust after girls at all. What are you, a eunuch?”
Xu Ming: “…”
What the hell? This story is hosted at novelping.com.
What’s that supposed to mean…?
As they continued joking around, the distance between them and the auditorium steadily shrank.
Seeing that they were almost at their destination, Xu Ming could no longer remain calm. He had no idea whether enough time had passed for the mission to count as completed, so he decided to play it safe and force another delay.
“Hiss… Holy crap…” Xu Ming suddenly clutched his stomach. “Brother Cheng… My stomach hurts…”
“No, I can’t hold it anymore. I need to use the bathroom…” Xu Ming forced a pained expression onto his face and hurriedly continued, “Brother Cheng, go wait for me at the auditorium. I’ll come over as soon as I’m done.”
With that, Xu Ming abruptly quickened his pace, passed right by the auditorium, and hurried toward the distant teaching building.
In truth, Xu Ming was taking a gamble with this excuse.
From what he had observed, Zhou Cheng rarely did anything alone. He preferred doing things as a group and always liked having someone with him. So Xu Ming was betting that Zhou Cheng would follow him to the bathroom, wait for him to finish, and then go to the auditorium together.
Of course, if his gamble failed, then forget he’d ever thought of it.
“Huh?! What the hell are you doing?!” Zhou Cheng stared dumbfoundedly at Xu Ming’s retreating figure. “We’re already here, and now you’re telling me to go to the auditorium alone?!”
Zhou Cheng stopped where he was and turned his head toward the auditorium entrance nearby. His expression became complicated.
“Fuck! Why the hell do you have to screw things up at the worst possible moment?!”
After standing there frozen for a couple of seconds, Zhou Cheng gritted his teeth and cursed Xu Ming before reluctantly chasing after him.
“Damn you! I’ll wait for you, so hurry the hell up and finish!”
“Huh?! Okay…”
Nice!
I guessed right!
…
Xu Ming hid in the bathroom and played on his phone for ten minutes.
When he felt that enough time had passed and was just about to leave, the System’s cold electronic voice suddenly rang out.
[Ding! Side Mission completed. Points have been issued. Host, please check your rewards.]
This…
Perfect timing…
In an excellent mood, Xu Ming walked out of the bathroom looking completely refreshed.
“You’re finally done, huh?” Zhou Cheng immediately urged him, “Damn it, hurry up! There’s no time left… The rehearsal is almost over!”
Xu Ming hadn’t even finished shaking the water from his hands before Zhou Cheng started rushing him along.
“Oh, okay!”
While Zhou Cheng and Xu Ming hurried toward the auditorium, Lin An and her partners were already nearing the end of their rehearsal.
Inside the auditorium, warm, gentle lighting fell across the dancers, adding vivid layers of light and shadow to every movement.
Lin An stood at the center of the group. Her posture was straight and graceful, like a delicate flower swaying gently in the breeze.
Her hair was tied into a beautiful bun, revealing her slender neck and delicate collarbones. A few loose strands of hair rested softly against her cheeks, adding an extra touch of gentleness to her appearance.
At that moment, Lin An was completely immersed in the dance.
Every movement was light yet powerful. Her figure flowed effortlessly from one motion into the next, graceful and captivating like a spirit dancing beneath the lights.
“Mm, very good. That’s right, just keep following this rhythm…” The teacher stood nearby and carefully guided them, her eyes filled with approval and praise for Lin An and the others.
The teacher nodded in satisfaction and announced, “Take a five-minute break, then we’ll practice the ending one more time.”
With that round of practice finished, Lin An and her partners went to rest and drink some water. Around the same time, Xu Ming and Zhou Cheng finally arrived.
Unfortunately, the two of them had missed Lin An’s dance.
“Phew…” Zhou Cheng breathed out in relief. “That was close. We’re not too late. There are still people rehearsing…”
There were quite a lot of people inside the auditorium, and the rest area was crowded with students who had come to watch the rehearsal.
Zhou Cheng looked around in confusion. “What’s going on…? I don’t think I see anyone from our class.”
He continued searching before asking, “Hey, Mingzi, have you seen Lin An?”
“No. I don’t know where she is…” Xu Ming replied absentmindedly.
He had no interest in dealing with Zhou Cheng’s questions right now. Instead, he was standing beside an air conditioner, desperately breathing in the cooler, fresher air.
There was no other reason. The auditorium was unbearably stuffy, and with so many people packed inside, the smell in the air was becoming too much for Xu Ming to handle.
Although the main entrance and the smaller doors on both sides were open, there wasn’t even a trace of wind outside at this hour. The air circulation inside was terrible.
If it weren’t for the two air conditioners, Xu Ming didn’t even want to imagine how awful the place would smell.
“Hey, I finally found you guys…” Zhou Cheng eventually spotted Lin An while Xu Ming remained beside the air conditioner, enjoying the fresh air.
“Hmm?! Zhou Cheng? Why are you here?” Lin An narrowed her eyes slightly, clearly surprised by his appearance.
She blinked, then seemed to suddenly remember something. Without showing any obvious reaction, she quietly shifted her gaze behind him.
Hmm? He didn’t come…?
That shouldn’t be right…
While Lin An was silently wondering about it, Zhou Cheng grinned and replied, “Heh, I had nothing else to do, so I came over to take a look. What, am I not allowed?”
“So that’s why…” Lin An continued discreetly scanning the surroundings from the corner of her eye. Then she nodded and replied with a faint smile, “Ha… Of course you’re allowed. But you’re pretty bold. Aren’t you afraid a teacher will catch you for not being in the classroom during lunch break?”
“Hey, it’s fine. It’s not like the teachers come to check every single time…” Zhou Cheng smiled casually. “Besides, I didn’t come here alone.”
Then, as though suddenly remembering Xu Ming, Zhou Cheng exposed him without hesitation. “Look, Mingzi came too. He’s over there.”
He raised his thumb and pointed toward Xu Ming’s location.
So that’s how it is…
I thought…
Following the direction Zhou Cheng was pointing, Lin An immediately spotted Xu Ming standing beside the air conditioner.
However, there was one thing that irritated her.
Xu Ming wasn’t even looking in her direction.
Instead, he was watching the other students rehearse with obvious interest.
Unsurprisingly, Xu Ming’s utterly indifferent attitude once again stirred up a trace of displeasure in Lin An.
Damn it!
Instead of coming over here with Zhou Cheng…
What the hell are you staring at over there?!
…