Chapter 9: The Prince

The young man’s eyes curved into a smile: “Classmate Jiang, what do you think about this…”

Fang Chuning didn’t know where this rumor started, so she asked Gao Qiong.

“Wasn’t it because recently, when he handed you water and wiped your sweat, you didn’t refuse at all, so everyone thought you two were dating.”

“Wiped my sweat?” Fang Chuning was dumbfounded, “When did he wipe my sweat?”

“Did you lose your memory? Recently you were absent-minded and kept losing to me in ball games, did you forget?”

Fang Chuning frowned in thought, but couldn’t recall what she had done those few days. She turned around to look at the boy sitting behind her, and just as he raised his eyes to meet hers, he averted his gaze the next second.

His earlobes were so red they seemed about to drip blood.

Fang Chuning didn’t expect he could be so shy, making her too embarrassed to ask.

After class, the class monitor, Xu Muzhou and her gathered in the president’s room to discuss the school’s literary performance event, but Fang Chuning felt she couldn’t get a word in.

The monitor said, “I think our class can perform a well-known fairy tale, with some slight changes to give people a fresh feel.”

Fang Chuning said, “Mm, I…”

“So what does the monitor think we should perform?”

The young man’s gentle voice interrupted the words she hadn’t managed to say yet.

The monitor said, “I’ve thought it through already. How about Sleeping Beauty? What do you think, president?”

Fang Chuning said, “I think…”

“The monitor’s suggestion is very good. Then let’s just decide on that.”

“……”

Fang Chuning turned to look at him, not understanding how she had offended him again.

Xu Muzhou didn’t spare her a single extra glance, smiling amiably at the monitor.

Although the monitor sensed the atmosphere was off, seeing the beautiful young man give her a gentle smile, she couldn’t help but be captivated. “Ah, mm, then, then let’s do that…”

At this moment, Fang Chuning felt very superfluous.

On the way back to the classroom, the two walked in front chatting and laughing. Whenever the monitor spoke, the young man would tilt his head slightly to listen attentively. The light shining on his face highlighted his exquisite features, making it hard to look away.

Fang Chuning suddenly felt a bit stifled. She lightly coughed to interrupt their harmonious conversation. “By the way, when we get back to the classroom, let’s ask them and see who is suitable for which role, select them and start rehearsing early.”

The monitor agreed with a smile. Fang Chuning glanced at the young man, only to see his attention was already on the documents in his hands. He replied with a noncommittal “okay” and said nothing more.

The displeasure in her heart intensified. Fang Chuning shifted her gaze, her expression turning indifferent. She strode ahead with her long legs. “Then let’s hurry up, don’t waste time.”

When Fang Chuning went cold, her aura somewhat resembled Fang Hong’s – steady and commanding, making people involuntarily want to bow their heads.

The monitor hurriedly agreed and wanted to quicken her pace to catch up, but found the person beside her had suddenly stopped. She turned around and saw the young man biting his pink lips, his fair white fingers tightly gripping the paper documents as if wanting to crumple them.

The glare on his glasses prevented her from seeing his eyes clearly. She was even more puzzled by his sudden change. “What’s wrong, classmate Xu?”

Xu Muzhou stared fixedly at the person walking away, gently quirking his lips: “It’s nothing, let’s go.”

The young man’s voice was still soft and gentle, only missing that deliberately injected emotion.

The class was very interested in performing Sleeping Beauty, especially the boys. The two lead roles, the slumbering prince and the princess who rescues the prince, were decided by class vote.

The girls voted for the prince, the boys voted for the princess. The result was Fang Chuning being unanimously chosen, while Xu Muzhou was unanimously chosen as the prince.

The two of them standing together were like a match made in heaven, so well-suited it made people envious but unable to be jealous.

Originally Fang Chuning thought Xu Muzhou would be averse and decline, after all he disliked her so much. But unexpectedly, he actually acquiesced and cooperated well in rehearsals.

Besides the two of them, some other roles were determined by classmates drawing lots. The original villain in the story was male, but Gao Qiong fought hard to play this “male sorcerer”. Since the performance was meant to have a fresh feel to begin with, having a woman play a man’s role was unopposed.

To get into character during rehearsal, Fang Chuning had everyone get their costumes on early. Hers was a neat and dashing red and white princess outfit. Gao Qiong’s was much simpler, just a pitch black cloak.

“Wearing it like this is too plain, I should wear a mask and hold a magic wand, that would be more imposing!” Gao Qiong swished her cloak in front of the mirror.

Fang Chuning slowly buttoned up the clasp on her neck. “You’re not performing in kindergarten, no need to be so flashy.”

“Then give me a little fairy, the strong always have followers!”

“You’re just someone sneakily doing bad things, you don’t need followers.”

“Then my entrance needs to be shocking, the kind that dazzles the audience!”

Fang Chuning raised her eyes to look at her through the mirror. Just as she was about to mock her, she glimpsed the young man, already in costume, entering the rehearsal room. Her eyes widened slightly as she turned around to gaze at him in amazement.

The white fitted prince outfit perfectly showcased his slender, well-proportioned figure. His legs were long and straight. The golden accents on the outfit and the high collar buttoned all the way up encased his elegant swan neck, making him look abstinent and refined. He wasn’t wearing glasses, his bangs were combed up, revealing his ample forehead. Under it, his slightly upturned peach blossom eyes seemed to be perpetually moist, shimmering beautifully as his gaze shifted.

He looked like he had stepped out of a comic, everyone’s eyes involuntarily glued to him.

Gao Qiong gulped and whispered to the person beside her who was staring in a daze: “Hey, if I pursued the vice president, what would my chances of success be?”

Only then did Fang Chuning react and avert her gaze. She ignored her and clapped her hands to indicate they should prepare for rehearsal.

The rehearsal process went quite smoothly, except for Gao Qiong’s exaggerated acting, everything else was fine. When the rehearsal ended, the remaining classmates who weren’t participating also came over, including Jiang Luoyu.

“You must be hungry. This is milk pudding I made, want to try some?”

Fang Chuning didn’t know when it started, but the relationship between the two of them had become a bit ambiguous. The boy didn’t seem to mind at all the rumors at school about him and her, giving her food even more diligently than before.

This seemed to be some kind of hint.

Fang Chuning discreetly sized him up. The boy gave off a gentle, refined air. His features weren’t as delicate and pretty as Xu Muzhou’s, but his clean, fresh temperament was pleasing to the eye.

Having a considerate and gentle boyfriend like him seemed quite nice too.

Fang Chuning, who had never considered this aspect before, suddenly had some out of the ordinary ideas.

She didn’t refuse the boy’s goodwill and ate the pudding he handed over. The sweet fragrance of caramel and the smooth, tender texture whetted one’s appetite. Seeing the boy’s expectant gaze, Fang Chuning was generous with her praise: “It’s very tasty.”

Jiang Luoyu showed a shy smile. “Then I’ll make more for you tomorrow.”

“No need, it’s too much trouble. If I want to eat it I’ll just go buy it myself.”

“It’s no trouble at all. As long as you like it, it’s not troublesome in the slightest.”

The boy said softly.

This roundabout confession made Fang Chuning fall silent, not knowing how to react. Just as she felt a bit awkward, a pair of white boots stopped in front of them. The two raised their heads at the same time. Entering their view was the young man’s sweetly smiling face.

“Classmate Fang, the class monitor seems to be looking for you.”

It was rare for Xu Muzhou to show her a smile. Fang Chuning paused blankly for a moment. “Looking for me? Did she say what for?”

The young man shook his head slightly.

Fang Chuning returned the food container with the pudding to Jiang Luoyu and got up to find the class monitor.

The rehearsal room was very spacious, not seeming crowded even with many people. Jiang Luoyu had originally wanted to wait here for Fang Chuning to return, but the young man in front of him made him feel very uncomfortable, not wanting to stay a moment longer.

“Classmate Jiang doesn’t seem to like seeing me much?”

Ever since the cake incident last time, Jiang Luoyu had changed his view of this seemingly gentle and shy young man. He put the lid back on the food container, just lowering his eyes and shaking his head in denial.

Xu Muzhou seemed to believe him, his face instantly breaking into a light smile. “That’s good then. I was afraid classmate Jiang was still blaming me for what happened last time.”

“Classmate Jiang,” he suddenly raised his arm like an ordinary young boy, happy because of the beautiful clothes: “What do you think, does this look good on me?”

Jiang Luoyu looked at him. The magnificent outfit seemed tailor-made for the young man, truly making him as noble and elegant as the princes in fairy tales. It was Jiang Luoyu’s first time seeing him without glasses. He was like a peacock sensing a threat, frantically fanning his tail to attract his favored mate.

“It looks very good.” He spoke truthfully.

Xu Muzhou smiled.

The next day when they were preparing to continue rehearsing, something suddenly went awry.

Fang Chuning looked at the rehearsal outfit in front of her that had been cut to shreds beyond recognition, her brow tightly furrowed. “Who did this?”

Quite a few people were standing in the rehearsal room. Everyone glanced around at each other, but no one spoke.

“I know who it was!”

Amidst the collective silence, the boy’s voice was especially clear. Fang Chuning’s gaze fell on the boy beside Xu Muzhou. “Who?”

Qin Shaoqing was just about to speak when his sleeve was lightly tugged. Between Xu Muzhou’s brows was a hint of dejection, his tone weak: “A-Qing, you can’t make reckless accusations about this kind of thing.”

“What reckless accusation? I saw him staring at your outfit yesterday, looking like he wished he could take your place. He must be jealous of you.”

As soon as he said this, someone immediately chimed in agreement.

“That’s right, I saw it too yesterday!”

“Not only that, I also saw Jiang Luoyu walking this way after school yesterday. Seeing it this way, it was definitely him.” The boy spoke as if he had personally witnessed the outfit being shredded.

Once the first person says this kind of thing, it only spreads more and more, becoming more real the more it’s said. They don’t care about the truth of the matter, just joining in to stir up excitement, completely unconcerned about what harm these rumors might cause the parties involved.

“I think… Classmate Jiang doesn’t seem like that type of person.”

The pure kindness between the young man’s brows made one’s heart flutter. Fang Chuning couldn’t help but give him a few extra glances.

Qin Shaoqing was a bit angry. “It’s precisely because you have too good of a temper that someone like him would dare to do this. He must have guessed that even if you found out, you wouldn’t pursue it. Muzhou, you can’t be so kindhearted. Wouldn’t you feel awful letting someone like this get away with it?”

“Enough,” Fang Chuning interrupted him. “Don’t rashly jump to conclusions here without evidence.”

This attitude that seemed to be protecting him made Xu Muzhou lower his eyes.

Qin Shaoqing gave a dissatisfied snort but didn’t say anything more.