Chapter 180: Rehearsal
The day before the New Year’s Eve event, around noon.
After having lunch, Yu Fan and Li Mu went to the playground.
At that time, the stage area was already set up, with a large backdrop that said, "New Year's Eve and Top Ten Singers Party."
The staff were adjusting the microphones and sound system. About a hundred people were gathered, all looking at a middle-aged female teacher.
This teacher was in charge of the event and was also Li Mu’s Moral Education teacher for the past two years. She was friendly and fun. She once promised her students that if they behaved well in class and didn’t make noise, she would buy everyone a cup of milk tea. Though the milk tea was cheap, the students still enjoyed it.
Today was the rehearsal. Each person had to walk across the stage in order, to get familiar with the process. The event hosts were a girl from the class next door and Yang Ye from Li Mu's class.
“This is so boring,” Li Mu said, standing in a corner of the playground in a women's jacket. She was a bit unsure and complained about the boredom, thinking about whether to sneak away early.
Wearing women's clothes felt very uncomfortable.
But on the list, her name was Li Juan, not Li Mu. Everyone knew Yu Fan was participating in the Top Ten Singers event with Li Mu’s “sister.” If she wore a male outfit, everyone would probably figure out she had been dressing as a man.
She had put on makeup this morning and even asked a few roommates for advice, trying to make her face look different from usual.
Unfortunately, even though she tried hard, she couldn’t change her face enough to look like someone else. She could only make herself look a little different from usual with makeup.
If other classmates saw her, they would probably think Li Mu’s sister looked prettier than before.
“It’s fine. Tomorrow, the school will do your makeup for you, right? No one will notice anything.”
Yu Fan laughed happily beside her.
“Why do I feel like you’re a bit nervous these days?” Li Mu asked, looking confused.
“......”
“No way,” Yu Fan quickly changed the subject. “A lot of people in class think you’re a girl now. Honestly, even if you wear women’s clothes, it won’t matter, right?”
“I don’t like wearing them.”
She shook her head without hesitation. Although she hadn’t tried it before, just imagining herself wearing a cute dress or beautiful skirt made her feel extremely embarrassed.
Even if she fully accepted her body, she didn’t think she could ever wear a skirt or cute clothes.
Anyway, these days, it wasn’t uncommon for girls to dress in a more masculine way, so it didn’t matter much.
“Li Juan, Yu Fan, it’s almost your turn.” Yang Ye walked over. “Just like the others, you need to go up from the left side of the stage and come down from the right. After that, there’s a ceremony where the Top Ten Singers will go on stage to give out awards, so go get familiar with that.”
“Okay.”
Yu Fan nodded and moved forward, while Li Mu hesitated and hid behind him.
“Li Mu, you...”
Yang Ye was about to speak, but after seeing Li Mu’s angry glare, he quickly changed his words.
“Li Juan, you should dress up nicely. Don’t look like you usually do. What you’re wearing now is not good. All black, it doesn’t look good.”
“Why do I need to look pretty for a singing contest?”
“All the school leaders will be there. It’s not just a contest, it’s more like a performance. If you dress like a guy, it won’t look good.”
He noticed that Li Mu still seemed a bit unhappy, so he added, "Doesn’t the school give you money? You should do a good job if you’re getting paid, right?"
"That’s a bonus," Li Mu mumbled, but didn’t argue further.
She had looked into the previous years’ Top Ten Singers. In those years, only the top three winners received money, and the others were just there for the ride. But this year, anyone who made it to the Top Ten would receive over a hundred yuan in rewards.
Even though this school is a vocational college, it often holds various competitions, and most of them offer prizes, ranging from dozens to hundreds of yuan, with no delays in payment.
If it wasn’t for Xiao Jing...
She sighed softly and reluctantly thought about what to wear for the competition tomorrow.
But her women's clothes only consisted of the outfit she was wearing now...
"Want to go shopping tonight?"
Yu Fan seemed to see her worry and said with a smile, "I’ll help you pick. I have great taste."
Men probably think women's clothes look better the more revealing they are, right? Or maybe the more seductive, the better?
Li Mu ignored him, walking with him to the left side of the stage, where they set up a simple preparation room with a few wooden boards.
"I let Xiao Jing come out, but I’m not going on stage. You can help me scold her a bit."
She mumbled, "If it wasn’t for her that night, it wouldn’t have been so embarrassing."
"Okay."
Soon, Yu Fan noticed that the shy expression Li Mu had from wearing women's clothes quickly turned into a more lively one. It was like a playful switch had flipped in her.
Her eyes were lively, looking around quickly, then she suddenly threw her arms around Yu Fan's.
"Brother Yu Fan~"
"Who’s your brother? Look at what you’re doing?!"
Yu Fan immediately put on a serious face and spoke in a very stern tone. Even though he was happy when Xiao Jing did what she did during Li Mu’s confession, he still had to keep up appearances because Li Mu was watching him from inside.
"I was just worried my sister might agree just because everyone was encouraging her," Li Mu said with a sweet smile, getting even closer to Yu Fan.
Yu Fan wasn’t used to seeing her act this way, but when his arm brushed against something soft, he felt a slight flutter in his heart.
His serious expression started to crack a little, and his face turned slightly red. He stammered, "Even though your thoughts are right, your actions were wrong, understand?"
"Next time, you should talk to Li Mu first. Otherwise, your sister will get a headache."
"Got it~ I’m sorry~"
“Li Mu’s” voice was seductive and cute, and her teasing manner made any man weak in the knees.
With Li Mu leaning against his arm like that, Yu Fan’s awkwardness and embarrassment grew stronger.
Yu Fan had been around girls before, but he never showed interest. Just like when Li Mu forced him to go on a date with Wang Ruoyan, he was completely indifferent.
But now, even his jeans couldn’t hide the growing bulge, and he instinctively bent his waist slightly.
"You... you..." he couldn’t even finish his sentence.
Xiao Jing was definitely doing this on purpose!
Li Mu’s expression changed slightly, as if she was about to take control of her body again, but just then, Yang Ye walked over and patted Yu Fan’s shoulder. "It’s your turn."
Yu Fan was stunned, and Li Mu immediately grabbed his arm and walked toward the stage.
Yang Ye watched the two students’ backs and shook his head.
"You still say you’re not a couple. Look at how Li Mu is behaving..."
"It’s rare to see Li Mu behave like that. You never know someone’s true feelings."