The Frail, Alluring O Always Wants Me to Mark Her (GL) - Chapter 20: 020

Zhu Lexing initially thought, Haha, just public embarrassment. It’s really nothing.

Life is short. Just bear with it, and it will pass, right?

But when Yan Mian showed a look of confusion, she still couldn’t stand the toe-curling awkwardness: “What do you care which ‘Mian’ it is? What’s wrong with the ‘mian’ in ‘soft and cottony’?”

In this world, they also had Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf. However, it had been adapted from a children’s cartoon to a violent war between sheep and wolves.

Qiao Qiao: “Oh—”

The drawn-out sound was “Oh,” but her face clearly expressed two words: I don’t believe it.

Zhu Lexing’s thoughts were still a bit muddled. She didn’t care if Qiao Qiao believed it and forcefully changed the topic: “Why are you here?”

Xu He, who met her gaze, knew when to back off: “The dressing room is empty now. I asked someone to save our spot. Also, the host told us to think of a combined team name so they can announce us later.”

“…What’s the name of the team next door?”

Xu He thought for a moment: “I think it was… ‘Fireworks’?”

Zhu Lexing: “Then we’ll be ‘Invincible Fireworks Team’!”

“Let’s call ourselves ‘Invincible Zhou Yang Team’,” Qiao Qiao chuckled. “He even deleted his forum account.”

Can you please stop bringing up sensitive topics!

Zhu Lexing could only mimic her in forcefully changing the subject: “Alright, stop wasting time.”

The group was thus forcefully dragged away by Zhu Lexing.

In fact, Yan Mian didn’t understand the cheerful point of the conversation at all. She had interpreted “Mianmian’s fan” as a fan of a brand and didn’t think much of it.

It wasn’t until she caught a keyword from Qiao Qiao’s words.

Forum.

At Li Nian’s strong urging, Yan Mian also registered on the forum, but she rarely checked it.

On the way back to the dressing room, she opened the forum. The post was still on the homepage, thoroughly humiliating Zhou Yang. In just a few minutes, she read the whole story, but her eyes lingered on the @username.

Mianmian’s fan was Zhu Lexing.

This Mian…

…Is it me?

Yan Mian was a bit hesitant to imagine it.

“Fan” was a vague and abstract concept to Yan Mian.

She didn’t understand the intention of Zhu Lexing choosing that ID, and what made it even harder for her to understand was the “respect” the ID conveyed.

In the past, Zhu Lexing would never have used a name like this. On the contrary, if she were in a bad mood and Yan Mian happened to cross her path, she might even choose a name to humiliate Yan Mian.

Mianmian’s fan… How is that possible?

Zhu Lexing, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped and said awkwardly, “That Mianmian’s fan isn’t me, it’s Song Yingying.”

She faced Qiao Qiao but glanced at Yan Mian at the back: “…She really likes Yan Mian. I was just using her account to argue with people. What? Zhou Yang posted a thread to curse me, and I can’t even fight back?”

The attempt to cover up was so sudden. Qiao Qiao didn’t believe it, but Xu He was gullible and asked, “Why didn’t you use your own account to argue?”

Zhu Lexing: “…Of course, I was afraid of being banned.”

This kind of self-serving behavior somewhat fit Zhu Lexing’s personality.

Xu He no longer had any questions. Yan Mian’s doubts were also slightly eased by the sudden cover-up.

After the dressing room was cleared, the “Invincible Zhou Yang Team” began their final line-reading session.

Zhu Lexing said, “For the actual performance, everyone act normally. Don’t mess up your lines, take the wrong path, make the wrong movements, and definitely don’t fall asleep on stage!”

Recalling the previous rehearsals, Zhu Lexing’s bl00d pressure rose again.

The sudden anger completely suppressed the earlier embarrassment.

The group lazily agreed. Yan Mian still had a speech to give, so she was only wearing light makeup now.

The costumer simultaneously brought in the costumes and props for the group. The crown and jewels for the Snow White character glittered, and the long dress was adorned with intricate white gauze. It looked quite extravagant at first glance.

Seeing the costume, Xu He was still a bit envious: “It’s so beautiful!”

Qiao Qiao rolled her eyes, not understanding her disappointment: “Don’t you have prettier things at home?”

Xu He: “…That’s not the same!”

Compared to the costumes of other teams, Yan Mian’s dress was practically a premium edition, one dress being worth more than ten. She had wanted to perform well, which was why she wanted to play the lead. At the moment, she was inevitably disappointed.

It wasn’t until Xu He looked sideways and saw several casual clothes labeled [Snow White] placed next to the gauze dress.

She realized belatedly, shocked: “Are these supposed to be worn together?”

In a stage play, the scenes are too fast-paced for the character to change costumes, so they had to resort to the old-fashioned method of wearing all the necessary costumes at once and taking one off after each scene.

In the first two rehearsals, the school-provided costumes were also layered, but to accommodate them, the clothes were very close-fitting, so they weren’t hot in the air-conditioned auditorium.

But Yan Mian’s current outfit was clearly the real deal.

Xu He suddenly felt that playing a dwarf who didn’t need to change clothes was an excellent idea.

The group immediately started laughing and teasing Xu He. Yan Mian heard them but only responded with a smile.

In this group, neither she nor Li Nian were particularly sociable. Apart from an obligatory smile, she wasn’t sure how else to respond.

As she was about to look away, she saw Song Yingying sitting in the corner, quietly flipping through her script. She was reminded of Zhu Lexing’s earlier explanation.

Mianmian’s fan… was Song Yingying.

Song Yingying “likes” her.

Noticing her gaze, Song Yingying looked up blankly. She hadn’t been with Zhu Lexing and was soon pulled into the dressing room by Xu He, so she hadn’t witnessed the earlier farce.

The exquisite, beautiful girl in front of the mirror smiled at her. Song Yingying felt, perhaps due to her own misinterpretation, that the smile was very gentle and even carried a hint of comfort.

It could be lonely when two people weren’t sociable.

But when a third person appeared in the group… it wouldn’t be anymore.

The system couldn’t eavesdrop on the protagonist’s thoughts, so Zhu Lexing naturally didn’t know Yan Mian’s plan to bring Song Yingying into her “friends” circle.

She just rested her chin on her hand, secretly letting her gaze drift between Song Yingying and Yan Mian, feeling a subtle sense of… jealousy towards Song Yingying.

If only Yan Mian had looked at her like that.

Poor Mianmian’s fan, about to have a glorious funeral after only a few appearances.

Zhu Lexing sighed deeply.

The Snow White stage play was scheduled to be the fourth performance, preceded by the student representative’s speech.

When a host came to call for them, the group learned that Yan Mian was also giving a speech. Qiao Qiao said, “Oh—” and added, “Good luck.”

Xu He said, “As expected of someone who can play the lead! Excellent in virtue, intelligence, physique, aesthetics, and labor!”

Qiao Qiao said meaningfully, “You can definitely get into a good university.”

Every time Zhu Lexing heard Qiao Qiao speak, she wanted to tape her mouth shut.

In a team, those who spoke up only offered encouragement.

Zhu Lexing quietly shrank back, making room for Yan Mian: “Don’t disgrace Class 2.”

Yan Mian walked out behind the host. There were other participants in the hallway. Seeing Yan Mian, they all exclaimed “Wow” to varying degrees.

After the footsteps faded away, Zhu Lexing also stood up, preparing to leave.

Qiao Qiao said, “Yo,” and asked, “Where are you going?”

Zhu Lexing said profoundly, “It’s a dark and windy night. I’m going to beat up Zhou Yang.”

Qiao Qiao: “…”

Beating up Zhou Yang was, of course, just a joke.

All day, Zhu Lexing hadn’t seen Zhou Yang himself outside of her phone.

Days ago, she had already scouted the auditorium, finding a blind spot that would definitely not be noticed. It connected to the backstage but also allowed her to watch the stage performance.

Taking advantage of the time before the show started, Zhu Lexing slipped into the audience area, standing in a corner where the curtain was slightly drawn.

She glanced sideways and saw Zhu Lin in the front row, with Jiang Yue sitting next to him. The two were talking to a middle-aged man who looked extremely similar to Lin Yang. The system introduced him: [This is Lin Yang’s father, Lin Qingxing.]

These characters were essentially irrelevant in the original work, so Zhu Lexing was done once she recognized them.

She wasn’t interested in their polite exchange. As she withdrew her gaze, she noticed the cameras scattered throughout the venue.

Zhu Lexing then remembered that the school anniversary was being live-streamed in its entirety.

Before the official start, Zhu Lexing had already found the school’s live stream room. There were only about a hundred viewers. Judging by the profile pictures and IDs, most were Qiao Qiao’s fans.

When is Qiao Qiao going on stage?

I only came to watch the live stream for Qiao Qiao.

/Qiao Qiao/ /Qiao Qiao/ /Qiao Qiao/

Are we all Qiao’s troops? Follow each other! Let’s follow Qiao Qiao together later!

The school anniversary began with a lengthy speech from the principal and faculty. As the same old phrases were repeated, the live stream lost another third of its viewers.

Zhu Lexing was bored and focused on the live stream room. She looked down and saw the universally understood fan jargon in the bullet comments. After being utterly shocked, she felt a little tempted.

Mianmian’s Fan 2.0 is born!

But given the painful experience of public embarrassment half an hour ago, this time, Zhu Lexing chose a much more discreet name.

In just a few minutes, Qiao Qiao’s fans watching the school anniversary live stream discovered that a user named [Night Who Loves Mian] began spamming the live stream room, praising a person named “Yan Mian” from every angle.

The fans tried hard to figure out which celebrity Yan Mian was. After finding no results, they started to complain dismissively:

Who is Yan Mian??

Never heard of her.

No way, is someone trying to latch onto Qiao Qiao’s popularity here too?

Others were unhappy with Zhu Lexing’s spamming. They copied and pasted the comments cheering for Qiao Qiao, trying to push Zhu Lexing down.

Zhu Lexing thought angrily, What are you talking about!

This is a scholar’s business. How is this “latching onto popularity”? Besides, in the book, the achievements Yan Mian eventually gains are beyond the reach of most celebrities. Combining “past and present life,” if anyone’s latching onto popularity, it’s Qiao Qiao!

However, being peaceful brings wealth, so Zhu Lexing decided to let them have their way.

After the faculty speeches, it was the student representative’s turn.

Zhu Lexing was getting increasingly sleepy. When she finally managed to stay awake until the end and yawned, the system’s tone suddenly became excited: [She’s here!]

Zhu Lexing instinctively looked up and saw Yan Mian slowly walking onto the stage from below.

Yan Mian had delicate features, and her school uniform fit her perfectly. She was a quintessential beauty. As she walked closer in the light, her elegant demeanor became even more pronounced, like a towering pine tree that had stepped out of a painting—aloof and refined, captivating at first sight.

The silent bullet comments instantly erupted like a surging tide.

Holy crap! What a gorgeous girl!!! Is she still a student???

I heard the announcer say she’s the 11th-grade student representative! Her grades must be excellent.

Is she really not an artist about to debut??? What’s the beautiful lady’s name? I only caught the name “Mian.”

It seems like… Yan Mian?

In an instant, the crowd connected this to the earlier passionate comments from [Night Who Loves Mian] and fell into silence.

Accompanying this was the prompt that many users were sharing the live stream.

Zhu Lexing was also momentarily captivated.

But she quickly recovered, continuing to dominate the live stream by praising Yan Mian’s beauty.

This time, no one refuted her. Instead, a few people started spamming with her. Many also asked for Yan Mian’s social media accounts.

Zhu Lexing breathed a sigh of relief.

It was Yan Mian’s first time on such a large stage.

She was nervous before going up, but when it came time to speak, she was much calmer.

She knew the speech by heart and spoke almost without looking at the script. Throughout the process, she ignored the gazes of others, focusing intently, just like taking an exam.

It wasn’t until the end of the speech, when she gave a slight bow and the thunderous applause came from the audience, that Yan Mian seemed to recover with a hint of bewilderment. Below the stage, Zhu Lin clapped happily. Jiang Yue, next to him, had a faint smile on her face, but her eyes were full of encouragement.

Behind them, many people were holding up their phones and recording.

Yan Mian paused, then gave a slight smile to the camera closest to her.

With the speech over, half the burden in her heart was lifted. As she turned to walk off the stage, an extremely faint light below the stage caught her attention.

Yan Mian looked sideways. It was an unlit area, and the curtain seemed to be concealing something, but upon closer inspection, it looked like it was just her imagination.

Zhu Lexing never expected that the original owner’s phone camera would automatically flash when taking photos.

By the time she realized it was emitting a faint light and hastily covered the camera, Yan Mian had already noticed the area. But because of her quick action, Yan Mian didn’t linger in curiosity and walked straight off the stage.

On the way back to the backstage, Zhu Lexing felt more and more uneasy and asked the system: [Why didn’t you remind me about such a small detail? It’s already bad enough that I was chosen as your host. You’re not helping me optimize my transmigration experience, and I’m constantly on the verge of public embarrassment. If I actually die, where will you find a second host who is so hardworking and compliant?]

The system was rare speechless.

After venting her frustration, Zhu Lexing didn’t expect it to improve. She pushed open the door to the dressing room. It was empty inside. Just as she was looking around, wondering where Qiao Qiao and the others had gone, Yan Mian walked out of the fitting room, already dressed in her costume.

The girl’s hair flowed softly. Under the light, her eyes looked brighter, her teeth whiter, and her lips a vivid red.

Zhu Lexing was stunned.

Yan Mian wanted to purse her lips but remembered the lipstick and held back. She took the initiative to break the silence: “Were you… out just now?”

Zhu Lexing finally snapped back to reality. She thought, As expected of +20 favorability! Yan Mian didn’t seem afraid of her like before, and she even spoke to her first.

A moment of great gratitude!

But that face was too beautiful. Zhu Lexing looked away and said sullenly, “I went out for some air. What? Not allowed?”

“…No,” Yan Mian quickly said.

Yan Mian wanted to walk out, but Zhu Lexing was blocking the doorway, so she could only sit down nearby.

It’s a public space anyway… even if they are the only two people in the dressing room, Zhu Lexing won’t do anything to her.

“Where are the others?” After a long while, Zhu Lexing spoke again.

Yan Mian shook her head: “I’m not sure.”

When alone with Yan Mian, Zhu Lexing always felt an awkwardness that made it hard to speak. Given their current relationship, anything she said would sound strange.

After a long time, she said casually, “The school anniversary is being live-streamed today. I just casually opened the live stream room and found that quite a few people think… you’re very beautiful.”

The more she spoke, the more embarrassed Zhu Lexing felt. Her voice became softer.

Yan Mian only heard half of it. She frowned: “…They think what?”

Am I… very ugly? Or did I make a fool of myself?

Zhu Lexing could only look at Yan Mian and said in a low voice, “They think you’re very beautiful.”

The girl in the mirror slowly blinked her eyes, which were filled with clear confusion, like a bewildered young deer.

So cute.

Zhu Lexing thought this to herself, then quickly added, for fear that Yan Mian would think she was showing her greasy Scum Alpha nature, “The netizens think so. It has nothing to do with me.”

Yan Mian: “…Mhm.”

“…A lot of people are also asking for your StarNet account.” Zhu Lexing glanced at her, relieved to confirm that Yan Mian’s expression was still calm and not horribly bad. “They seem to really like you. If you’re interested, you can register an account and interact with them.”

It took a while for Yan Mian to realize that this seemed to be a suggestion.

A suggestion… from Zhu Lexing.

Thinking of Zhu Lexing’s words in the car last time, Yan Mian thought this might be a variation of Zhu Lexing telling her to establish her own path.

With fans, she can slowly build her base, and then she won’t need to rely on the Zhu family’s resources.

Previous experiences led Yan Mian to assume the worst in any situation.

But this time, Zhu Lexing’s suggestion—the worst-case scenario… wasn’t bad at all.

On the contrary, Zhu Lexing had reminded Yan Mian.

If…

If my mother truly wants me to enter the entertainment industry.

Then why can’t I use this opportunity and rely on myself?

Yan Mian didn’t dwell on it: “I understand. Thank you.”

The more polite she was, the more embarrassed Zhu Lexing felt. Just as she was awkwardly trying to find an excuse to leave, footsteps came from the hallway. Xu He peeked through the door and said, “Yan Mian! It’s time to go on stage! Hurry up!”

Zhu Lexing’s role as the neighboring country’s princess appeared quite late. Xu He ignored her, grabbing Yan Mian’s hand and pulling her away.

Looking at their embracing figures, Zhu Lexing felt a pang of jealousy. She still put on a cool facade and reminded them, “Don’t mess up the performance.”

This time, Zhu Lexing was rightfully standing on the side stage next to the main stage. This area was concealed from the audience, serving as a waiting and changing area for the actors.

The curtain fell, and the host’s voice was sweet as she announced, “Next, please enjoy the stage play, Snow White, performed by the 11th-grade ‘Invincible Zhou Yang Team’.”

The audience below was full of students. They were momentarily stunned by the team name, and cheers erupted.

Amidst the cheers, the curtain opened. The first scene was Qiao Qiao’s confrontation with the Magic Mirror.

Qiao Qiao didn’t understand why a Queen would go to such lengths to kill her stepdaughter just because she was jealous of her beauty.

Similarly, why would a kingdom’s princess, who was clearly a princess, be utterly powerless and have to rely on the pity of others to survive?

Not only was she unable to protect herself, but why didn’t she even have the idea to fight back? She only wanted to run away the whole time.

Cowardly! Too cowardly!

At her strong request, and taking into account the ideas of the other team members, Zhu Lexing mixed in all the types of web novels she had read.

Thus, what was presented to the audience was a European-style revenge drama.

The Queen was originally the only daughter of a frontier town, but her family was wiped out because of a casual remark made by the King. Because of this, she saw the King as her enemy. She endured for years, married into the royal family, secretly built up her power, and finally, when her power was strong enough for her to seize control—

She stabbed the King with a knife.

Qiao Qiao pulled out the dagger. The actor playing the King clasped his hands over his chest, stumbled back a few steps, let out an exaggerated “Ah—” and fell down.

Under the cold light, Qiao Qiao was dressed luxuriously, her hair pinned up, her expression cold. She stood at the boundary of light and shadow, with prop bl00d smeared on the bright half of her face.

She had been holding her breath, but the King’s lines almost made her lose her composure.

“…Magic Mirror, oh, Magic Mirror,” Qiao Qiao bit her tongue, forcibly suppressing a smile. She toyed with the bl00d-stained dagger in her hand and looked at Song Yingying, who was playing the Magic Mirror not far away. “Who is the fairest woman in this world?”

Song Yingying: “Your Majesty’s beauty is renowned, but I have seen a maiden. She is the fairest woman in the world, Snow White.”

Snow White was the child of the King and the former Queen. She was beautiful, with hair as black as ebony and skin as white and smooth as an egg.

Thinking of the maiden, Qiao Qiao sneered, throwing the dagger next to the prostrate King. She then called her trusted assistant, the Huntsman.

“Kill her.”

The first scene ended there.

While the crew hurriedly moved props on stage, the audience and the live stream room reacted tepidly. Revenge dramas like this were common in the market. Snow White, aside from not having the secondary gender setting and the beautiful actors, was no different from these shows.

In the live stream room, Qiao Qiao’s fans had been screaming and praising her in the bullet comments since she first appeared. But now that Qiao Qiao was off stage, the excited fans inevitably brought up the earlier topic out of boredom.

So, has anyone found Yan Mian’s StarNet account? She’s really so beautiful.

My focus is more on whether anyone recorded it… I was too excited and completely forgot.

I have a recording. I’ll upload it to Z-Station later. Everyone can search for it there.

May good people live long and prosper! But… why are there so many people in the live stream now??? Five hundred???

It seems like someone bought a live stream promotion, right? Who’s so generous?

Before Qiao Qiao approached her, Zhu Lexing closed the payment interface, keeping her good deed a secret.

Qiao Qiao was still excited and didn’t notice her quick movements. She smiled happily at Zhu Lexing: “Acting is quite fun. Are you going to be a director in the future? Sign me on as the female lead again.”

Zhu Lexing thought she was planning too far ahead.

But Qiao Qiao’s stage performance was indeed good. She perfectly portrayed the cold and vicious side of the Queen. Zhu Lexing didn’t want to argue with her and said perfunctorily, “Mhm, mhm. Okay, next time for sure.”

Qiao Qiao noticed her perfunctory response, but Zhu Lexing’s attention was fully on the stage. Her eyes lit up: “She’s here.”

Qiao Qiao looked up. Yan Mian had already entered the side stage on the other side.

The girl wore a jeweled crown, and her long dress fluttered. The moment she appeared in front of the camera, the live stream room instantly exploded.

Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap! Mianmian, ahhh, take me with you!

I was just thinking who could live up to such shameless physical descriptions… Turns out someone really can.

I just joined. Which celebrity is this? She’s so beautiful.

Asking without knowing, does a school anniversary stage play have to be this intense? The supporting role is Qiao Qiao, and the lead is a non-celebrity beauty. This is too ridiculous!

Isn’t that an exaggeration? She’s just average. And she hasn’t even started acting yet. Why are you all so agitated? Maybe she can’t even say her lines right.

But when Yan Mian spoke, these sour remarks instantly crumbled.

Her voice was very gentle, but her lines were not weak. Instead, they were perfectly articulated and powerful.

Every word was filled with emotion, and her gestures and eyes were full of drama.

She was like a born actress.

Zhu Lexing had heavily edited Snow White’s character development, making her a clear-headed and decisive character who had learned swordsmanship from a tutor since childhood and possessed strong combat skills.

Since “being physically strong” didn’t match the current Yan Mian, Yan Mian didn’t actually perform any swordsmanship, only brandishing a dagger to end the scene.

In the original work, Snow White was deceived by the Huntsman and was only spared because of his pity.

In the adaptation, Snow White wasn’t deceived but went into the forest to practice her swordsmanship. On the way, she realized someone was following her. She cornered the Huntsman and held her dagger to his neck, saying coldly, “Why are you following me?”

In the eyes of most people, the gentle Yan Mian had no connection to a decisive character, but out of respect for Zhu Lexing, they only dared to think it and not speak it.

Until this moment.

The girl in the camera had a detached gaze. The hilt of the dagger pressed against the Huntsman’s neck, looking like she could end his “life” at any moment.

One look eliminated all the previous dissatisfaction and doubt.

In the side stage, even Xu He whispered a scream: “Yan Mian! Yan Mian!”

In rehearsals, Yan Mian’s performance was unremarkable. Both her movements and acting were ordinary.

The contrast surprised Qiao Qiao. The next second, she looked at Zhu Lexing beside her.

The girl did not share her emotion.

She just raised an eyebrow and started taking photos of her own accord.

Although she didn’t say anything, her every action showed that she was very proud.

On stage.

After learning of the Queen’s plan, Snow White knew she couldn’t stay here any longer. She let the Huntsman go and ventured deeper into the forest alone. She discovered the dwarves’ dwelling there.

Snow White learned from the dwarves that they were always robbed of the minerals they worked hard to mine every day by passing bandits, so they always waited until late at night to return home, avoiding the bandits. If Snow White was willing to help them guard the house during the day and protect them, Snow White could live there and live with them.

Snow White agreed.

As time passed, she grew closer to the dwarves. On a night of talking by the fire, she finally opened up and confided her past to the dwarves.

The dwarves already considered Snow White a friend. Their first reaction was to support her, and they spoke indignantly:

“Do you want to be the King? That way, no one will bully you.”

“We are willing to support you.”

The dwarves were small and didn’t understand schemes and calculations. But they had a heart that loved Snow White.

Snow White looked at them, and for the first time in her life, she had a genuine thought of “resistance.”

The scene ended there.

Up to this point, everyone had performed well. Zhu Lexing breathed a sigh of relief, finally feeling a great sense of relief.

By the time Zhu Lexing’s role as the neighboring country’s princess needed to appear, it was already the third scene.

This was the climax of the entire stage play.

After several days of contemplation, Snow White formed a meticulous plan. For the first time, she raised her sword for herself and her friends. She would return to the kingdom and reclaim her power.

However, the journey was long, and accidents were inevitable.

This was the day Snow White encountered the neighboring country’s princess.

When writing this part of the script, Zhu Lexing was focused on highlighting Yan Mian’s moment of glory. She immediately thought of an old trope—whenever a princess ventured out, she would be kidnapped by bandits, and when the night was dark and windy, the male lead would descend from the sky, rescue the princess, and capture her heart in the process.

Since she was playing a princess anyway, a modification was completely feasible.

However, the stage play was short on time, and there wasn’t time for another full scene.

What was presented to the audience was the neighboring country’s princess and her entourage, who were on their way to a small town for a vacation, but were kidnapped by bandits. Snow White happened upon the bandits attempting to commit violence. She quickly drove them away and rescued the princess.

Upon hearing the Snow White revenge plan relayed by the dwarves, Zhu Lexing coughed twice and instructed her maid to pass on the message that she was willing to help Snow White.

She played a socially awkward character, sitting on a chair the whole time pretending to be a “salted fish.” The only required expression was to look at Yan Mian.

Zhu Lexing was very satisfied with this persona. However, Yan Mian, whose gaze met hers, paused briefly before looking away.

Following this, Snow White returned to the kingdom with her supporters.

She rescued the King, who was imprisoned in the basement by the Queen, and also learned about the Queen’s past. After asking about the King’s specific injuries, Snow White used a dagger to wound the Queen in the same place.

She did not kill the Queen but let her go.

The Queen looked at her in disbelief, but Snow White only smiled faintly.

The Queen’s departure greatly displeased the King. He tried to scold Snow White, but the entire kingdom was surrounded by the neighboring country’s aid forces. The troops only obeyed Snow White’s orders, so he could only express his dissatisfaction vaguely.

The nobles and dukes who had been playing dead while the King was imprisoned now found their voices.

They were convinced that Snow White was inherently weak, a cotton ball they could bully at will. They demanded that she quickly return to the palace to embroider and study, and stay away from them.

How could a woman work alongside them? It was an insult to them.

How could a woman rule the kingdom? Even as a temporary regent, it would be a sin, an unbearable act of riding over their heads.

Yet, when the previous Queen was in power, no one had any objection.

Snow White understood. So, that night, she walked into the King’s room.

With the dagger the King used to kill the first Queen.

With the dagger the Queen used to gravely wound him.

Looking at the sleeping man’s heart, Snow White plunged the dagger down decisively, without hesitation—

The lights went out.

The funeral bell tolled for the King.

The vulture celebrated for the Princess.

After that day, Snow White became the new ruler on the throne.

No one dared to utter a word of criticism again.

In the darkness, painful screams echoed, and occasionally, severed hands were thrown onto the stage.

Snow White wore the crown, walking naturally past them. She looked out the window. She had hair as black as ebony, skin as white as snow and as red as bl00d, and her eyes were like warm, brown jade.

She played with an apple.

The curtain slowly fell, as if this were the end.

The live stream and the audience below had been utterly speechless since Snow White committed patricide.

In this world, revenge dramas were popular, but similar plots were still rare.

Moreover, this was a live performance. The shock and horror of the contrast were completely unavoidable.

When the bl00d splattered on Yan Mian’s face, one person turned ashen and asked the school administrators, “Is this appropriate for children?”

The administrator choked.

In the live stream room, the official platform had noticed the play and started promoting it as soon as it officially began.

The scene of patricide instantly brought the live stream traffic to its peak. Among the onlookers were self-media accounts that had casually clicked on the live stream, intending to pass the time, but were then captivated by the story unfolding on screen.

That night, any active StarNet account would see the Snow White stage play on their homepage.

Whether it was a live stream replay or on-site footage—

Without a doubt, Snow White was a massive hit. It was a sudden, shocking success.

But on the stage, the curtain, which had been down for several minutes, was pulled open again.

Snow White’s nature was originally righteous and kind. Her sudden shift to darkness was too abrupt.

To prevent accusations of a poorly executed ending, and to prevent Zhu Lin from feeling his part was too small and giving her trouble later, Zhu Lexing had specially added an end-credit scene.

The script was very simple.

One afternoon, the neighboring country’s princess came to visit Snow White. The two went for a walk, and the neighboring country’s princess asked to stay in the palace for a while.

Snow White agreed.

Under the light, the girl’s smile was gentle, as if she had returned to her initial purity.

The audience’s expressions finally softened a bit.

Although everyone knew that this Snow White was not the same as the original, the ultimate display of truth, goodness, and beauty was barely enough to compensate for the previous psychological trauma.

Just as everyone was about to applaud, thinking this was the end, the curtain on the stage got stuck halfway, neither fully up nor fully down.

Zhu Lexing looked blankly towards the side stage. Xu He had been standing there a moment ago. Now, only Lin Yang’s face was visible in the darkness.

She smiled at Zhu Lexing, making a gun shape with her right hand and pointing it slightly into the void.

Zhu Lexing subconsciously looked in the direction of her gesture—

It was the chandelier hanging high above Yan Mian.

The light was blinding. Zhu Lexing frowned. Just as she was about to look away and ask what was wrong with Lin Yang, the hanging light suddenly swayed, and then, at an extremely fast speed, it began to fall—

And directly beneath the light.

Was Yan Mian.

Zhu Lexing thought, As expected of an old-fashioned, melodramatic ABO angst novel!

This is going to fall too???

Author, are you sick!!!!

A split-second thought flashed through Zhu Lexing’s mind.

She instinctively grabbed Yan Mian’s hand and pulled her towards herself. Yan Mian’s face still held a faint smile. She hadn’t expected Zhu Lexing’s movement to be so sudden. The next second, as their bodies collided, the chandelier crashed to the floor with a “bang.”

Yan Mian’s mind went blank. She instinctively looked at the position where the chandelier fell, and then subconsciously looked up to say something, but her lips touched Zhu Lexing’s lower lip.

The moment she failed to grab Yan Mian’s hand, Zhu Lexing’s mind went blank. She almost thought something terrible had actually happened—

Only when the girl was truly in her arms did she snap out of the daze of near-collapse. Zhu Lexing looked at the fallen chandelier, then turned a dark face towards the side stage.

Lin Yang was no longer there.

The audience below burst into gasps due to the sudden accident.

The curtain fell. Zhu Lin yelled furiously, “Xingxing?! Xiaomian? School administration, is this the quality of your props?!”

Zhu Lexing was about to answer, but her lips were suddenly touched by something soft. It was like a feather, light and gentle.

She didn’t immediately realize what it was until Yan Mian in her arms struggled and took a few steps back.

Their eyes met in the air. Yan Mian touched her lips with the back of her hand. She was stunned for a long time, then turned and walked away.

Zhu Lexing belatedly touched her own lips.

The next second, Zhu Lexing, who had finally recovered, felt all her senses were waterlogged. She was dizzy and flushed.

Her thoughts were tangled. She thought of a line: T-There was once an opportunity to avoid public embarrassment placed before Zhu Lexing, but she failed to cherish it.

If the heavens gave her another chance—

Zhu Lexing still couldn’t help it. Recalling that moment, she thought blurrily.

…Yan Mian’s lips are so soft.