The Frail, Alluring O Always Wants Me to Mark Her (GL) - Chapter 10: 10
Zhu Lexing felt there was no way to continue this conversation.
Guessing was out of the question, so Zhu Lexing could only finish the Cinderella story in one go.
After listening, Qiao Qiao showed a look of disdain: “Why is she so much like a background prop? And why is it the prince choosing them, instead of her choosing the so-called prince?”
Zhu Lexing thought she had a point.
But she couldn’t drag Hans Christian Andersen out of his coffin to question him, so she could only suggest: “You can create your own version.”
Qiao Qiao got the answer she wanted, then crossed her arms and said naturally, “Aren’t you quite creative? You be the scriptwriter, I’ll be the actor. If necessary, I can give you some guidance.”
“Of course,” Qiao Qiao said, “a story like the one just now won’t do. If I were to conceive it…”
She spent five minutes telling a Cinderella revenge story.
Perhaps noticing Zhu Lexing’s dislike for arson, she even deliberately changed the villains’ death method to being thrown into the sea to feed sharks.
Zhu Lexing: “…Can this scale really be broadcast?”
Qiao Qiao: “You can create your own version.”
Zhu Lexing understood. Qiao Qiao was the type who would always tell you to use your free imagination, but then once you submitted a draft, she’d make you revise it countless times—a typical demanding client.
As her last words fell, Qiao Qiao seemed a little embarrassed, her gaze subtly lingering on her.
Zhu Lexing pondered for a few seconds: “Then let’s listen to the story of Snow White. Everyone can express their opinions.”
Immediately after, Zhu Lexing began to narrate.
When did Zhu Lexing’s temper get so good? Qiao Qiao watched the girl in front of her, feeling perplexed, but her playful expression gradually became serious.
The setting sun melted into gold.
As most of the afterglow spilled over Yizhong, a nanny van stopped in front of the school gate.
After sincerely thanking Qin Jun, Yan Mian finally got out of the car and waited by the stone lion for Li Nian.
School had been dismissed for a long time, and there were few people in front of the school. Taking a day off meant falling behind. Fortunately, the teaching pace for the second year was consistent. After Li Nian heard she was taking a day off, she proactively offered to take notes for her and help carry her bag.
In less than two minutes, Li Nian walked out, carrying two bags, panting: “Have you been waiting long?”
Yan Mian’s eyes curved: “No, thank you.”
Li Nian noticed Qin Jun inside the car and waved, greeting her: “Auntie Qin, hello—”
Turning around, she said to Yan Mian, “The theme for the stage play has been decided.”
Li Nian had sent Yan Mian three proposals last night. Thinking one of them had been approved, Yan Mian turned her face and asked, “Which one?”
Li Nian cleared her throat: ” ‘Rebirth of Snow White.’ ”
Yan Mian: “…?”
Seeing her bewildered expression, Li Nian said, “You don’t know either, right! Zhu Lexing suddenly brought it up. I was startled when she spoke—”
As Li Nian recounted, Yan Mian felt as if she was present in the morning’s dance studio, her expression growing increasingly subtle: “You mean, Zhu Lexing?”
Love—this was a word that Zhu Lexing would never have mentioned in the past. She was naturally cold and violent, disdaining everything and treating it as a plaything. She had been a pampered child since childhood and would never fantasize about a lower-class life.
But the story told by Zhu Lexing today… the main perspective was incredibly humble, even requiring prayers to a so-called deity to receive help.
Li Nian didn’t understand Zhu Lexing as well as Yan Mian did, but she could also see that something was off with Zhu Lexing.
In the ensuing silence, Li Nian changed the subject: “Never mind, it’s already decided. Do you want to go see the rehearsal place? They agreed to go together this afternoon—”
But Li Nian hadn’t gone.
Because she was waiting for herself.
Yan Mian initially wanted to refuse, but meeting Li Nian’s subtly hopeful gaze, she could only sigh inwardly: “Let’s go.”
Before leaving, Yan Mian greeted Qin Jun, wanting to put both their bags in the back seat, confirm the location, have Qin Jun drop Li Nian home first, and then return to her own residence.
However, Li Nian rejected this suggestion today: “I have other things in my bag that I’ll need later—”
Yan Mian didn’t understand why but still respected her choice.
The rehearsal location was chosen to be the auditorium.
The key was in the flowerpot on the windowsill. Li Nian led Yan Mian in through the back door and said, “The actors enter from here, and that’s the dressing room.”
She introduced it familiarly, clearly knowing the place extremely well.
Yan Mian squinted. Li Nian said awkwardly, “Last time a senior gave a speech, I helped her deliver a draft temporarily, and I remembered it then.”
There were only a few places to explore, and after a quick glance around, it was almost dark.
Before leaving, Li Nian said she needed to go to the restroom. Yan Mian took her bag, cradling it in her arms, and stood quietly around the corner of the dressing room, waiting for her.
Suddenly, footsteps approached from a distance. A female voice echoed down the hallway, with a clear hint of coquetry: “Lexing—I want to be in your stage play too.”
“…Can you stay a bit further away from me? I’ve told you many times, the cast is full.”
A familiar voice rang out. Yan Mian’s body stiffened, and she subconsciously looked back.
Two figures were extremely close, or rather, Lin Yang was forcefully pressing herself against Zhu Lexing. They entered through the front door, walked through the auditorium, and came backstage.
The back exit was next to the dressing room.
To leave, she would have to encounter the two of them.
This was the first time Yan Mian had seen the two of them together in a private setting.
Thinking of a certain possibility, Yan Mian’s body instantly stiffened, her palms clenched, feeling cold.
A warm body pressed against her, and the constant “Lexing” ringing in her ears made Zhu Lexing feel incredibly annoyed.
She really hadn’t expected to run into Lin Yang just by returning to the classroom to get her backpack.
Lin Yang’s class was in another group, but she didn’t mind at all. The first thing she did upon seeing Zhu Lexing was to directly state that she wanted to act with her.
The teachers would turn a blind eye, but Zhu Lexing wished Lin Yang was as far away from her as possible, so she naturally wouldn’t agree.
She tried reasoning with Lin Yang, both kindly and harshly. Lin Yang looked very aggrieved, seemingly wanting to cry. Seeing that Zhu Lexing showed no reaction, she then compromised: “Then take me to see your rehearsal place, and I’ll leave.”
Zhu Lexing had no liking for her and was about to refuse, when Lin Yang said, “If it’s still not okay, it doesn’t matter if anyone participates in this event. Academics are more important, aren’t they?”
This threat was very childish.
If Yan Mian hadn’t said she wanted to participate, Zhu Lexing would most likely have forcefully shaken her off, leaving quickly with a “whatever you want” ; but Yan Mian said she wanted to, so this event couldn’t be messed up.
Zhu Lexing could only bring her to see.
But she underestimated Lin Yang’s tendency to push her luck. On the way there, she wanted to talk about the stage play, which immediately made Zhu Lexing even more depressed.
After settling on the “Snow White” theme, she said she wanted everyone to express their opinions, and questions poured in like a tide. Some complained that the queen’s methods of framing the princess were too old-fashioned and low-level, suggesting it would be better to just burn her; some were dissatisfied with the dwarves being “dwarves,” demanding them to be tall and mighty and more upscale; others thought the prince’s role should be changed to a princess, as equally as heirs to the kingdom, with consistent gender, a powerful alliance would be better than a useless person suspected of necrophilia.
The two rehearsal classes were essentially spent arguing. By the end, “Snow White,” except for the protagonist still being a princess, bore no resemblance to the original text whatsoever.
It was only after the rehearsal ended that Zhu Lexing learned from Song Yingying that the popularity of “arson” was entirely due to a revenge-themed drama that had recently gone viral.
The protagonist killed people in exactly that way.
As her thoughts drifted, Zhu Lexing suddenly heard the system prompt: [Yan Mian is within 10m of the Host—]
Zhu Lexing: ???
She looked down at her phone, it was seven at night. Hadn’t Yan Mian gone for a medical examination today? Why was she suddenly at the auditorium?
Zhu Lexing looked towards the end of the corridor; a left turn led to the restroom.
Lin Yang followed Zhu Lexing’s gaze. A few seconds later, she suddenly spoke: “Who’s in there?”
Without waiting for Zhu Lexing to speak, Lin Yang had already stepped forward—