After Being Bitten By Top-Tier O, Flop A Went Viral - Chapter 42

42: The Abs Are Pretty Well-Toned Too

The two of them stared at each other for half a minute, the entire classroom silent. Qin Que noticed Jin Shuo looking at Yan Qing with a hint of admiration, while Yan Yuzhen gazed worriedly at Wu Zihan, as if afraid she might lose her temper and throw a blackboard eraser at Yan Qing.

Fortunately, Wu Zihan knew Yan Qing’s temperament well. She understood that getting angry now would only give the other woman another opportunity to tease her. Moreover, Qin Que beside her was on high alert, making Wu Zihan seem like some feudal elder trying to break up a loving couple.

She coughed lightly and averted her gaze. “You’re still as frivolous and unserious as ever. Find a seat and sit down.”

“Got it.” Yan Qing quickly stuck out her tongue at Wu Zihan’s retreating back before dragging Qin Que to the back of the classroom to sit down.

“Uh,” Qin Que glanced at Wu Zihan, who had returned to the lectern, then looked back and forth between her and Yan Qing. Unable to hold back, she whispered, “Do you two not get along?”

Saying they didn’t get along might be an exaggeration. Qin Que felt their relationship was more like that of a strict teacher and a bright but unruly student—mutually admiring each other’s talents but fundamentally incompatible, resulting in a love-hate dynamic.

As soon as she finished speaking, Wu Zihan’s sharp gaze shot toward them from the lectern. Qin Que immediately straightened her posture and placed her hands on the desk, assuming a studious pose.

Seems Teacher Wu has sharp ears too. A drop of cold sweat slid down Qin Que’s temple.

The last time she had sat this properly was probably back in kindergarten.

“Tch.”

She heard Yan Qing stifle a laugh beside her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the woman pull out her phone, quickly type something, and slide it over.

“We get along okay. It’s just that we argued so much in the past that we never managed to establish a harmonious teacher-student relationship. She’s a good person, but I suggest you don’t make her angry. Super scary!!!”

At the end of the message, Yan Qing had added a terrified emoji and three exclamation points for emphasis.

“If anyone’s making her angry, it’s you, right?”

Qin Que couldn’t resist retorting. Even now, recalling the earlier confrontation sent a chill down her spine.

Yan Qing read the reply, pointed innocently at herself, and then started typing again.

“Me? I didn’t provoke her. The person who really pissed her off hasn’t arrived yet. Don’t you want to see how scary she gets when she’s angry? You’ll find out soon.”

Huh? Why would she get angry?

Before Qin Que could ask, someone else entered the classroom—Nie Sijun and Dai Yuchen.

Usually, Yan Yuzhen and Jin Shuo were the last to arrive for group activities, while Nie Sijun’s pair was the first. Today, however, the order was reversed.

Nie Sijun walked in with her head bowed, her expression tinged with guilt and timidity, moving silently in small steps. Behind her, Dai Yuchen froze the moment he saw Wu Zihan.

This was the first time Qin Que had seen Nie Sijun like this. Even when facing Dai Yuchen’s outbursts before, the woman had only shown numb sorrow, never a hint of guilt.

She remembered that Nie Sijun had also graduated from the acting department of Meng University, a few years ahead of Yan Qing.

Had Nie Sijun, like Yan Qing, sensed their teacher’s arrival? How long had she lingered outside the door?

Nie Sijun slowly approached the lectern and bowed slightly to Wu Zihan. “Teacher…”

She seemed to want to greet her properly but couldn’t continue past those two words.

Wu Zihan didn’t stand or return the greeting. After a cold stare, she sneered. “If it isn’t Mrs. Dai. I certainly don’t deserve to be called your teacher.”

Ouch.

The words were a brutal blow. Everyone in the classroom except Yan Qing sucked in a sharp breath.

Yan Qing, meanwhile, looked sympathetically at her senior, shrugging as if to say, This time, I really can’t help you.

“Teacher, I know I was wrong. I’m sorry,” Nie Sijun murmured, her head still lowered, her eyes already red.

Wu Zihan frowned at her trembling figure and averted her gaze. “I told you—apologies are the most useless words when you knowingly make mistakes. You’re not sorry for me. You’re sorry for yourself. Look at what you’ve become!”

By the end, her voice had risen to a stern roar, making the entire classroom tremble. Qin Que suddenly recalled a cautionary tale her high school homeroom teacher had shared: A top student, once on track for a prestigious university, had fallen for a delinquent boy in her second year. Her grades plummeted, she was marked by the alpha, got pregnant, and ultimately dropped out.

The homeroom teacher had told the story with a pained expression. Wu Zihan, however, remained impassive.

But Qin Que felt their underlying message was the same.

If Yan Qing was the student teachers loved and hated in equal measure, Nie Sijun was the kind they adored—obedient, talented, and never a cause for concern.

Wu Zihan must have had high hopes for Nie Sijun, only for her to marry Dai Yuchen at the peak of her career, cutting short what should have been a smooth-sailing path to stardom.

Just then, Yan Qing slid her phone over again.

“Scared? Don’t worry. After watching her prized cabbage get trampled by a pig, Teacher Wu has been stewing in anger for ages. She’s just venting.”

Qin Que glanced over and saw Yan Qing smiling at her with a wink, even patting her arm reassuringly, as if genuinely concerned she might be frightened.

Her heart warmed, and she was about to type back that she wasn’t scared when a sudden realization struck her.

Nie Sijun was Wu Zihan’s student. Yan Qing was also Wu Zihan’s student, and both were likely among her most prized pupils.

Dai Yuchen was an alpha. So was she.

Did that mean Wu Zihan saw her as… another pig trying to trample her cabbage?

A cold sweat broke out down her back, and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

Yan Qing gave her a puzzled look.

She was fine a second ago. Why does she seem even more nervous after my reassurance?

Meanwhile, Nie Sijun’s earnest attitude and tears finally softened Wu Zihan’s tone. “Go sit down.”

Dai Yuchen, who had been standing half a meter behind Nie Sijun, sighed in relief and moved to follow her.

“Stop! I didn’t say you could sit!” Wu Zihan’s voice suddenly sharpened. “Get out and stand in the hallway! I don’t want to see you!”

Unlike Yan Qing’s roundabout teasing, this was a direct, no-holds-barred attack—a public humiliation in front of millions of viewers.

It made sense, though. A farmer might still feel some affection for the cabbage they’d painstakingly grown, but the pig that ruined it? They’d want to slaughter it on the spot.

Dai Yuchen flinched at the roar. Even in his current submissive state, he couldn’t endure such embarrassment. “Professor Wu, I respect you as a senior, but you can’t be unreasonable. I’m a guest on this show too. Why can’t I participate?”

“Hah. Reason is for reasonable people. You don’t qualify,” Wu Zihan scoffed. “I’m in charge today. If you disagree, go complain to whoever you want. But let me make this clear—even if Xu Zheng himself showed up, he’d be standing outside with you. Believe it?”

Dai Yuchen wilted under her words. “Fine, fine. I’ll do as you say.”

He retreated out the door but didn’t dare leave.

Wu Zihan, still furious, barked, “Stand farther away!”

The figure at the doorway finally disappeared.

“Let’s begin class.” Wu Zihan took a sip of tea from her thermos, her tone calm again. “First lesson: musical performance. Each pair will perform a song I’ve selected, and I’ll grade you based on the final stage performance. Any objections?”

No one dared object. Heads shook like rattles.

“First group—Jin Shuo, Yan Yuzhen. Come up.” Qin Que noticed Wu Zihan’s gaze at them carried a hint of resignation, different from how she looked at Yan Qing or Nie Sijun. For someone as formidable as Wu Zihan, resignation was probably rare.

The two stood quickly. Yan Yuzhen even bumped her leg against the desk in her haste, grimacing in pain but not daring to make a sound.

“You’ll perform Double-Edged. Jin Shuo handles the rap, Yan Yuzhen the vocals. Rehearse first, then come to me when you’re ready.” Wu Zihan’s eyes flicked to Yan Yuzhen’s injured leg, but she said nothing further before dismissing them to practice.

“Second group—Yan Qing, Qin Que. Come up.” Wu Zihan’s gaze followed her words, and Qin Que stiffly rose to her feet. Yan Qing, now completely relaxed, pulled her to the lectern and grinned. “What’s our song, Professor?”

Wu Zihan’s eyes lingered on their clasped hands. Qin Que instinctively wanted to pull away but feared making things worse with a sudden movement.

Luckily, Wu Zihan didn’t comment. “You’ll perform Together—”

Yan Qing cut her off, deliberately swinging their joined hands. “Aren’t we already together?”

Qin Que: “…”

I thought you said not to provoke her?

Wu Zihan looked skyward, rolled the paper in her hands into a tube, and smacked Yan Qing on the head with it.

“Ow!”

Qin Que’s hand shot halfway up to block, but Wu Zihan had already handed the paper to her. “These are the lyrics. I’ve divided the parts—you take the mid-range, she takes the high notes. Also, have you ever studied music?”

“Uh,” Qin Que glanced at Yan Qing, who was rubbing her head but still grinning, before answering, “No, I haven’t.”

“That’s fine,” Wu Zihan reassured her, to her surprise. “This song is simple. You don’t need advanced vocal techniques. Yan Qing can teach you the basics.”

She turned to Yan Qing, who was still pretending to nurse her injury. “You haven’t forgotten the basics, have you?”

Yan Qing dropped her hand with a smile. “Of course not. But aren’t you playing favorites? You gave them such a hard song and stuck us with a bubblegum pop duet?”

Qin Que had noticed that too. Double-Edged was a challenging title track by a top girl group, while Together was a viral TikTok song so simple even the tone-deaf could hum along.

“They’re professionals. Naturally, the standards are higher.” Wu Zihan shot her a look. “And someone who skipped music class has no right to complain. Go practice!”

“Alright, alright. I had my reasons back then.” Yan Qing surrendered instantly, dragging Qin Que away.

Professor Wu seems pretty nice. She doesn’t seem biased against me.

Qin Que figured Wu Zihan must have watched the livestreams—otherwise, she wouldn’t know about her lack of musical training.

Did that mean Wu Zihan didn’t see her as a pig?

Then she heard Wu Zihan say to Nie Sijun, “You’re performing Blind Eyes, Foolish Heart.”

Qin Que: “…”

Still angry, huh?

—

The two of them ran through the lyrics a few times. The sugary pop song was catchy, and soon they could sing it from start to finish. Their voices complemented each other well, sounding more polished than most amateur covers.

The only hiccup was a long phrase where Qin Que kept running out of breath near the end, causing her to go off-key.

“You really haven’t practiced, huh?” Yan Qing chuckled, setting down the lyrics. She hovered a hand over Qin Que’s abdomen. “I’m just teaching you. Don’t be nervous.”

Qin Que: “…Okay.”

Yan Qing lightly pressed against her stomach. “Take a deep breath, like you’re yawning.”

Qin Que obeyed, feeling her abdomen expand slightly.

Yan Qing applied a bit more pressure. “Hold that feeling. Now exhale—hey!”

Qin Que echoed the sound and realized her breath control did feel steadier. “That’s amazing!”

Yan Qing smiled. “You’re a quick learner.”

Before Qin Que could bask in the praise, Yan Qing added, “Your abs are pretty well-toned too.”

Cough, cough, cough!

Qin Que’s carefully held breath erupted into a coughing fit.

A piece of chalk flew through the air, smacking Yan Qing squarely on the back of the head.

“Teach properly, or stop harassing your classmate!”