Chapter 186: It Begins
In the afternoon, Wang Ruoyan and Lin Yuanyuan also came back to class.
After the first class ended, an announcement came from the school speaker asking all students to bring their chairs and go to the sports field.
The school, which had been fairly quiet, suddenly became noisy. The students all picked up their chairs, talking and laughing as they slowly left the classrooms and the school building.
Li Mu walked empty-handed between her three roommates, while Yu Fan followed behind her, carrying two chairs, one in each hand.
"You guys will probably be on stage around five, right? That means you have to go get your makeup done around four," Wang Ruoyan said excitedly, walking next to Li Mu.
"What do you mean ‘you guys’? I’m not performing," Li Mu quickly corrected her. "It’s my sister and Yu Fan who are competing on stage."
"Right, right, your sister."
She looked around carefully to make sure no classmates heard their conversation, then let out a sigh of relief.
They followed the crowd to the sports field and sat down in the area marked for their class, under the directions of their homeroom teacher, Yang Ye.
Li Mu felt nervous. She was worried that going on stage might cause her classmates to find out her true gender. She also felt very uncomfortable about wearing women’s clothes on stage.
She rested her elbows on her knees and held her face with both hands, looking worriedly at the growing crowd of students around her.
Last time, during the audition, she had also performed on that stage, but only about 100 people were watching. This time, it seemed like almost every teacher and student in the school had come.
Li Mu sat with her roommates. Yu Fan sat next to them, and behind her were Wu Lei, Wang Chen, and Chen Zhihao, her old roommates from the boys’ dorm.
She could faintly hear Zhao Pan chatting with someone, saying how jealous he was that Li Mu got to sit among so many girls.
Behind her, Wu Lei was still trying to talk Wang Chen into sneaking off to the internet café.
Next to her, Lin Yuanyuan’s eyes were red, and she looked emotionless as she played with her phone. She had just broken up with someone, and it was clear her mood wasn’t good.
"Everyone stay in your spots. Don’t run off. After the event ends, I’ll come down and take attendance. If I can’t find you, you’ll be on classroom cleaning duty after the New Year holiday."
Yang Ye was very busy today. Not only was he the homeroom teacher, but he was also the host of the event and had to go on stage soon.
He was wearing a blue suit today. It didn’t fit him very well, but it still made him look sharp and energetic. His short hair was styled with hair gel, and even though he usually looked average, today he could pass as a bit handsome.
"Hey, handsome! Give me your WeChat!"
Wang Ruoyan suddenly shouted, making the whole class burst into laughter.
Yang Ye glanced at her but didn’t say anything. He just turned and jogged toward the stage.
The school speakers were playing songs by Jay Chou, students were chatting, and the whole place was loud and lively.
"You bought three outfits yesterday. Have you decided what to wear today?"
Yu Fan leaned over and asked in a low voice.
"What did you say?"
Li Mu frowned slightly. The music from the speakers was too loud, she couldn’t hear him at all.
So she leaned over, bringing her ear close to Yu Fan’s lips.
"I said, what are you planning to wear today?"
His warm breath brushed against her ear, and Li Mu shivered slightly. Then she rubbed her ear, looking annoyed.
Her ears were probably the most sensitive part of her body, except for the private areas, of course.
"I haven’t decided yet. I’ll go back to the dorm around four and check again."
"Too bad you didn’t buy a skirt."
"It’s winter! Why would I buy a skirt?"
Li Mu’s heart skipped a beat. She suddenly remembered what Chen Li said to her earlier that morning.
She stayed quiet for a moment, then turned and asked, "Do you like skirts?"
"They’re okay, I guess."
"Wearing a skirt in this cold weather… I’ll catch a cold for sure."
Li Mu quickly came up with an excuse.
But on the other side, Wang Ruoyan had overheard what she said and excitedly joined in, adding fuel to the fire. “It’s fine! You can wear stockings!”
“What do stockings help with?”
Yu Fan asked curiously. Li Mu was also pretty curious about that question.
“You’re a guy, what would you know?” Wang Ruoyan rolled her eyes. “There are different types of stockings for winter and summer! You really think so many girls aren’t afraid of the cold and still wear short skirts in winter? It’s because the stockings are warm!”
Really? There’s such a thing?
Li Mu looked shocked.
“What’s with that surprised face, Li Mu?” Wang Ruoyan teased. “Don’t tell me you’ve never worn stockings before?”
The roommates didn’t think of Li Mu as someone who used to be a boy. They just believed she had lived in the boys’ dorm for some special reason in the past.
Li Mu really hadn't worn stockings before.
Her ears turned a little red, and she looked at the stage to avoid answering.
Just then, Yang Ye, their homeroom teacher, stepped onto the center of the stage with a woman in a formal dress and announced the start of the event.
“He actually looks kind of handsome when he’s all dressed up,” Li Mu couldn’t help but say.
Wang Ruoyan nodded strongly, “Yeah! And he’s not even married yet. Doesn’t even have a girlfriend.”
Chen Li joined in, “I heard he already bought a house, but it’s a bit far, just near the school.”
“I think he’s not even 30 yet? And he has a master’s degree!” Wang Ruoyan’s voice was filled with a strange excitement. “So that means he hasn’t been working for many years, right?”
These girls were clearly into looks!
In the past, Yang Ye just looked neat and clean. As a homeroom teacher, he was always worrying about students and handling school tasks. He also worked in the school’s administration office and was always dealing with rules and discipline. Even though he wasn’t even 30, the stress made him look like he was in his 40s.
Now, just because he dressed up a little, this group of girls was all over him.
“Hey, Chen Li, didn’t you write a romance novel about a student and a teacher before?”
“No way!”
“Li Mu, Yang Ye talks to you a lot~”
Li Mu was suddenly dragged into the conversation. She looked up at Wang Ruoyan, who seemed like she was waiting for some drama to happen, and twitched the corner of her mouth.
“That’s just because I’m in the competition.”
Just then, Yu Fan coughed lightly to interrupt their talk. He sat up straight, smiled warmly like a spring breeze, and tried to look his best.
“He’s okay, I guess. Still not as handsome as me.”
“It’s fine, we all know Li Mu is your girl,” Chen Li said, laughing with her hand covering her mouth.
Wang Ruoyan also kept giggling, while Li Mu quickly and seriously said, “Don’t say nonsense!”
She nervously looked around and then finally glanced at Yu Fan’s slightly annoyed face.
Li Mu stared at his expression for a moment, then turned to Wang Ruoyan and asked, “Is Yang Ye really single?”
“Li Mu, what does it matter to you if he’s single or not?”
Yu Fan quickly cut in, “He’s a teacher, okay? We’re students, why should we care about that?”
Li Mu frowned and waved her hand near her nose. “Where’s that strong smell of jealousy coming from?”
Just then, Yang Ye and the female host walked onto the stage. The music from the speakers stopped, and the big speakers on both sides of the stage played the two hosts’ opening speech.
The chatter around them quickly became quieter. Li Mu didn’t dare joke around anymore, afraid other students might hear what they had been saying.
“Now let’s welcome the first performance: a dance called Youth in Motion!”
The New Year’s celebration had officially begun.