However, upon comparison, Sheng Muxi suddenly realized that Chai Qianning was incredibly gentle in front of her.
She turned off the screen, placed her phone on the bedside table to charge, and then pulled the covers up and lay down.
Chai Qianning caught a glimpse of Sheng Muxi's indescribable expression and couldn't help but ask, "Why aren't you watching anymore?"
"I feel a little nauseous." Sheng Muxi pulled the blanket up to her chin.
Chai Qianning thought for a moment, then looked at the phone charging on the bedside table, and lowered her gaze: "Is my phone really that disgusting?"
Chapter 51 (End of Main Text)
The New Year's Eve party is coming soon.
That afternoon.
After the first class in the afternoon, the school gave the students free time to rehearse or prepare.
The holiday starts tomorrow, and the school gates will be open for parents to enter.
Chai Qianning went there at four o'clock in the afternoon, met Chai Shuqing, looked at her performance costume, and then went to the piano room to rehearse with Sheng Muxi.
Sheng Muxi doesn't usually sing much, but after practicing for a while, she's started to sing quite well. Chai Qianning has only been practicing one song recently, so she's bound to improve. She and Sheng Muxi sang and played the entire song together, and the teachers watching applauded in praise.
Chai Qianning felt a little guilty receiving such praise, after all, she never imagined that one day she would appear on stage with a piano.
Back when she was in school, although she had performed on stage before, it was mostly singing or performing crosstalk, skits, or situational dramas. This was the first time she had ever stepped onto the stage so elegantly.
At 5:30 pm, Chai Qianning and Chai Shuqing went to the school cafeteria for a meal.
The cafeteria has three floors. The two ate noodles on the first floor and found a place to sit down. Chai Shuqing ran into a classmate.
After whispering a few words to her classmates, Chai Shuqing sat down opposite Chai Qianning with her bowl of noodles. During this time, Chai Qianning noticed a few girls a few meters to her side, whispering among themselves while secretly glancing in their direction.
Chai Qianning looked up and caught a boy looking over. When she looked at him, the boy hurriedly turned his face away in a flustered and embarrassed manner.
"Hey." Chai Qianning gestured with her eyes: "Are those your classmates at that table?"
After finishing a noodle, Chai Shuqing looked up and said, "Mmm."
Are your classmates still so curious about you?
Hearing this, Chai Shuqing glanced at that table again and said casually, "They're curious about you and say you're good-looking."
After thinking for a moment, Chai Shuqing felt that the second half of her sentence would make the other person feel smug, so she changed her words and said, "They are actually praising me from the side. After all, with my excellent genes, you can't possibly be too bad-looking, right?"
Chai Qianning: "..."
After dinner, everyone went backstage one after another to prepare, while those who weren't going to perform soon went to sit in the audience first.
The performance venue for the evening party was the school gymnasium, where some parents could be seen in addition to students and teachers.
There were no class-specific seating arrangements; everyone just sat wherever they wanted. Some students even changed into their performance costumes beforehand and sat in the audience for easier access.
Neither Chai Qianning nor Sheng Muxi needed to change their performance costumes, and Chai Qianning had already put on light makeup, so she didn't need to go to the dressing room to do her makeup. So she sat in the audience with nothing to do, scrolling through her phone for a while. Sheng Muxi appeared out of nowhere and sat next to her, but only stayed for a short while before being called away by other teachers.
WeChat chat box.
Fang Jiaqin: [Will I be able to get into the school? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; I must go and film your embarrassing moments.]
Fang Jiaqin learned from Xu Yuan about her recent piano practice for the New Year's Eve party, and specially came to "care" for her on this auspicious day, saying that her clumsy skills would surely amaze the whole school and make her the most eye-catching focus of the night.
Chai Qianning: [Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to enter.]
After exchanging a few emojis with Fang Jiaqin, the host's announcement rang out from the stage. Chai Qianning glanced up and continued replying to Fang Jiaqin's message, launching into a sarcastic exchange: "[You think I'm like you, having studied piano for half a year and still stumbling over a simple 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'?]"
Fang Jiaqin: [Did I study diligently during those six months?]
Chai Qianning: [It's as if I studied diligently for that entire month.]
Fang Jiaqin: [Yes, you didn't study seriously, so how did you have the courage to go on stage?]
Chai Qianning: [The courage given by my partner.]
Fang Jiaqin sent several "Get out of here" emojis in a row.
At this moment, a performance on stage had already ended. Chai Qianning had been so focused on chatting with Fang Jiaqin that she hadn't paid attention to what the performance had been about.
Chai Shuqing's class performed relatively early; they were the third act.
After the second recitation performance, Chai Qianning raised her eyes from her lowered gaze, picked up her phone, recorded the entire process, and then sent the video to Chai Shuqing.
The teachers' performance was after the students', so they had to wait until all the classes had finished performing.
Chai Qianning sat with her chin resting on her hand, her long hair falling to her shoulders and neck, obscuring her eyebrows and eyes from the side.
There was a pillar to her right, and no one was to her left. Just as she was about to lower her eyes and continue playing on her phone after watching the performance for a while, a few girls came over and sat down next to her, one of whom was right next to her.
The girls were talking about which teacher they were looking forward to performing on stage, and Sheng Muxi was one of them.
"I saw the program list from the Arts Committee. It seems like Teacher Sheng is going to sing A Little Happiness?"
"Really? Singing with Teacher Lin?"
"No, I heard she sang it all by herself."
"Oh my god, I can't wait! I've never heard Teacher Sheng sing before."
"I thought she could sing English songs."
Who doesn't love a beautiful teacher singing?
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, the girl sitting to Chai Qianning's left would always brush against her arm. Although it was very light, the movement seemed a bit deliberate, especially since the seats weren't crowded, making it seem like she was deliberately trying to get Chai Qianning's attention.
Chai Qianning: [Where are you?]
Sheng Muxi: [Come here in the lounge.]
Chai Qianning lifted her eyelids, glanced casually ahead, then stood up and slowly walked out of her seat.
She had barely stood up and taken three steps when she heard the group of girls who had been sitting next to her start to make a fuss.
"Didn't you say you liked this type? Go for it."
"Hurry up, they're about to leave."
"Don't be shy, opportunities are reserved for those who are shameless."
The girls lowered their voices, thinking that Chai Qianning couldn't hear them, but in fact she heard everything.
She lowered her eyes and said, "Excuse me, thank you."
Finally, as he walked out of the audience, he happened to run into Chai Shuqing, who had just finished removing her makeup and was coming out of the side door.
Where is the lounge?
"Over there, do you want me to take you there?"
"Need not."
Chai Shuqing lifted her skirt and turned her head: "Sister, what's your last number to go on stage? Should I take a close-up photo of you?"
"Close-ups are out of the question."
Chai Qianning turned around and walked in the direction the other person pointed.
There are four lounges in total. The other three lounges are full of students, while the one on the far right is the teachers' lounge, which is not crowded.
She was about to walk over when a girl behind her called out to her.
It was the girl who had been sitting next to her in the audience earlier. Several other girls, hiding behind the wall, pushed and shoved her out.
The girl lost her footing and slammed on the brakes in front of her, her face practically screaming "nervous." She was a little timid but mustered up her courage and tried calling out "senior."
Upon hearing this address, Chai Qianning paused for a moment, then her eyes lit up: "Senior?"
"Are you a senior in high school?" the girl asked cautiously.
"Senior year of high school?" Seemingly finding it utterly absurd, Chai Qianning couldn't help but laugh: "No."
"Well..." The girl swallowed her embarrassment and decided to get straight to the point.
He had already picked up his phone, clearly wanting to ask for her contact information, but before he could say it, Sheng Muxi came out of the lounge, and the girl had to swallow her words back down. Then she managed to stammer out a "Hello, teacher" to Sheng Muxi.
Sheng Muxi nodded to her, then looked at Chai Qianning: "Why don't you come in?"
Chai Qianning followed Sheng Muxi inside. The girl stood there, somewhat dazed. Several other girls who had been hiding behind the wall gathered around.
"Could she be a new student teacher?"
"I don't know."
"Could it be one of the students' parents?"
Why would parents go into the teachers' lounge?
"Exchanging life experiences?"
.
The rest room was empty except for Sheng Muxi and Chai Qianning.
"Would you like some water?" Sheng Muxi handed her his cup.
Chai Qianning took a few sips from her cup, then sat down in the swivel chair, placing her feet on the chair's crossbar.
"What were you doing with that student just now? Don't tell me you have other cousins studying at this school."
"People thought I was a senior in high school."
"Senior year of high school?" Sheng Muxi opened her mouth.
"Right, you think it's outrageous too. Maybe it's because no one was wearing their school uniforms tonight, and they thought I was going to perform on stage, so they dressed up like this." Chai Qianning said, expressing her guess.
"Pfft." Sheng Muxi's eyelashes trembled. "So why did she ask you if you're a senior in high school? Did she want to get to know you?"
"Maybe." Chai Qianning lazily rested her chin on her hand.
Sheng Muxi's gaze swept across her face, and he hesitated for a moment.
The two were the second to last to perform, so they spent some time in the dressing room. Sheng Muxi asked her if she was nervous, and Chai Qianning shook her head. Then she asked, "What about you?"
Sheng Muxi is used to facing students, so there is not much difference between standing on the stage and on the podium for her.
"I'm not nervous."