After finishing a dance, Zhuang Chi was thinking it should be Olivia’s turn for the next one, but when she returned to the sidelines, she saw someone new beside Olivia.
“Ah, you’re back!”
Upon seeing them, Olivia cheerfully came forward to greet them, praising them with extraordinary enthusiasm: “I was just watching you two dance, what a beautiful dance! So full of emotion, truly like… like siblings—”
“…You were trying to say ‘sincere and heartfelt,’ right, sister.”
The barrage of words was interrupted by Lily, who slowly walked out from behind her. The little princess with beautiful, moonlight-like silver-white long hair had a cold and stern expression as she added, “Getting so close all of a sudden will make people not know how to react.”
“Oh, is that so,” Olivia took a half-step back in a moment of realization, offering an apologetic smile to Zhuang Chi and Gu Ximian. “I’m sorry, I think I got a little too excited… And thank you for reminding me, Lily.”
Lily shook her head. She must have already met Gu Ximian earlier, as she only gave a soft greeting before turning her gaze to Zhuang Chi. Zhuang Chi noticed that her pupils were a deeper shade than Olivia’s azure blue, like the deep sea.
“You’re Zhuang Chi, right,” her voice was crisp, but her tone was flat. “I heard my sister mention you just now. She has a very high opinion of you.”
Even though the other person was a girl younger than herself, Zhuang Chi felt a completely different kind of pressure than when she talked with Olivia, causing her to subconsciously tense her shoulders and neck. She responded a bit clumsily, “…Yes, that’s me, Lily… Your Highness.”
She almost called Lily by her first name, just as she did with Olivia. It was only after she said the name that Gu Ximian suddenly squeezed her hand, making her realize her mistake, and she hastily added the honorific. Zhuang Chi couldn’t tell if Lily’s expression was one of satisfaction or dissatisfaction. In any case, she gave a slight nod in response and then said, “I heard from my sister that you can already call each other by your first names, so you can just call me Lily as well.”
Zhuang Chi nodded in a daze. Her impression of this little princess was very faint—in her novel, besides her name, Lily only had the setting of “likes her sister Olivia very much,” and this single setting wasn’t elaborated on with even a drop of ink in the book. So, Zhuang Chi was particularly at a loss as to how to deal with her now.
“My dance partner had to leave for something, and I happened to see my sister standing here alone, so I came over.”
But at least she could be sure she hadn’t remembered this setting incorrectly; almost every sentence Lily spoke revolved around her “sister.” However, Zhuang Chi felt a wave of apprehension, unable to be sure if Lily’s words contained a condemnation for them leaving Olivia behind… But Gu Ximian took a small step forward and joined the conversation, “…Had to leave for something? Who was it, to commit such a rude act.”
“It’s fine, I don’t mind, and there’s no need to investigate.” Lily said this as she looked at Gu Ximian. After a long pause, her gaze slowly shifted down to her hand, which was still clasped with Zhuang Chi’s. “Are you two lovers?”
Zhuang Chi, who hadn’t dared to squeeze back and was merely being led, grew flustered again. Gu Ximian was quiet for a moment before finally letting go of her hand and shaking her head in response, “Not yet.”
…Yet?
Before she had time to dwell on that word, Zhuang Chi heard Olivia let out a sigh that could have been either regretful or relieved. “I see…”
“…In any case, you two are legitimate dance partners,” unexpectedly, without waiting for Olivia to continue, Lily spoke again, a bit forcefully. “I didn’t have time to stop my sister when she suddenly proposed a group of three. Since I happen to be free now, I’ll be my sister’s dance partner. I won’t disturb you two.”
Zhuang Chi was stunned, and Olivia seemed to have just heard this suggestion herself, appearing even more surprised than her. But she quickly beamed with delight, “Lily! That’s a wonderful idea!”
“Lily’s right, you two should continue dancing together! I’ll be with Lily!” Olivia said, hastily linking arms with Lily. As if afraid Zhuang Chi wouldn’t agree, she quickened her speech, “You two should get along well. Ah, but you haven’t taught me the rules of rock-paper-scissors yet… It’s okay, anyway, we’ll be in the same school soon, so you have to teach me more things then! I will, uh… not be ashamed to ask my inferiors—”
“…That idiom is used too rudely, sister. I’ll give you some remedial Chinese lessons when we get back.”
“…Mmm… W-well then, let’s talk later!”
After saying that, she hurriedly dragged Lily onto the dance floor. She was truly a person of strong action, seemingly faster than her thoughts. Zhuang Chi, who hadn’t been able to get a word in, silently watched the two princesses leave. She heard Gu Ximian’s light chuckle, “Olivia’s sister is really… not like her.”
She felt the emphasis Gu Ximian placed on the last three words was particularly meaningful, making Zhuang Chi unable to resist looking in the princesses’ direction a few more times. How should she put it? The two of them were indeed not very similar. Compared to Olivia, Lily seemed… more like a “princess” in the traditional sense.
“So what should we do now?” Her thoughts were interrupted by Gu Ximian’s voice. Zhuang Chi withdrew her gaze and saw Gu Ximian glance thoughtfully at the dance floor, then back at her. “Shall we go dance again?”
“Eh?”
A slightly panicked sound escaped her subconsciously. By the time Zhuang Chi realized and tried to compose herself, it was too late. Gu Ximian burst out laughing, trying to feign hurt but failing to completely hide the smile that filled her eyes. “So unwilling.”
Even knowing she was being teased, Zhuang Chi still felt helpless. Fortunately, Gu Ximian quickly let her off the hook, gesturing towards the rest area nearby and chuckling, “Alright, we just finished a dance. Let’s go rest for a bit.”
Zhuang Chi was of course very welcoming of this and followed Gu Ximian over without any objection. How to put it, she hadn’t lost much physical energy, but in terms of mental energy, she felt she couldn’t handle dancing two consecutive dances with Gu Ximian… So, getting to rest was naturally for the best. Besides, most of the others were still on the dance floor, so they wouldn’t be stared at by too many pairs of eyes. She should be able to relax properly—
“What a coincidence, Ximian. Are you two here to rest as well?”
…That thought was completely shattered by An Chen’s nonchalant appearance. Zhuang Chi watched An Chen, who was putting on a gentle and refined smile to strike up a conversation with Gu Ximian, pretending it was a chance encounter. She silently picked up a glass of juice from the side and started drinking, as if she were taking the opportunity to recharge.
Sigh, how could she have forgotten about this? An Chen hadn’t gone to dance; he was probably wandering around here and keeping an eye on them. So of course they would be targeted the moment they came over—after all, this person hadn’t willingly let her be Gu Ximian’s dance partner.
Right now was clearly the best opportunity to intervene without breaking the terms of their competition. An Chen probably thought so. While making some trivial small talk with Gu Ximian, he would cast a rather provocative glance at Zhuang Chi whenever he found an opening. But Zhuang Chi had no intention of strictly preventing them from talking. As long as An Chen didn’t deliberately come looking for trouble with her, anything was fine… Sigh, that shouldn’t be too much to ask, right?
She felt that she had indeed matured a bit after this past month. Zhuang Chi didn’t plan to insert herself into their conversation, just quietly sipping her juice and looking at the dance floor. She even spotted Ling Jing’s figure among the dancers and watched with great interest—her skirt was so large that it kept getting in her way, and she looked like she was on the verge of exploding. Zhuang Chi watched with a frequent frown, thinking worriedly, You have to hold on, Ling Jing.
In the end, it was An Chen who couldn’t hold back first. He turned to her, “…Why aren’t you talking, Zhuang Chi? Are you thinking about something?”
…Just from his wary gaze, she could tell that his “thinking about something” definitely included some paranoid delusions. Zhuang Chi closed her eyes, a bit of a headache coming on, and answered honestly, “…I’m just resting.”
“Hm? Was dancing with Ximian tiring? You two only danced one song.”
…So annoying, he was clearly picking a fight. Zhuang Chi sighed, mentally exhausted. Just as she was thinking about how to reply, she heard Gu Ximian’s voice, “You two… don’t get along?”
““…””
The question silenced both of them at once. Never mind why An Chen was silent, the reason Zhuang Chi was speechless right now was entirely because—shouldn’t Gu Ximian have known this already? Why did she have to ask specifically? Wow, Gu Ximian’s expression looked so innocent. What was this? Could she nod?
“How… how could that be?”
Surprisingly, An Chen spoke before she could nod. He deliberately stood a little closer to her, probably trying to create the illusion that they were on good terms. He even seemed to hesitate about whether to put an arm around Zhuang Chi’s shoulder, but after raising and lowering his left hand several times, he ultimately didn’t do it. He just put on a sunny, fake smile and said, “Zhuang Chi and I… get along quite well.”
Ah, so that’s how it is, Zhuang Chi thought. An Chen didn’t want to tear off his ‘nice guy’ mask in front of Gu Ximian, so he forced himself to act this way…
“I see, then I’m relieved.” Gu Ximian showed a gentle smile. “From what you said just now, I thought you were being sarcastic towards Zhuang Chi.”
“…”
Zhuang Chi silently pressed her lips together to keep her expression in check. An Chen’s fake smile almost slipped, but he managed to hold on, mumbling “no, nothing of the sort” to gloss it over. Gu Ximian nodded as if reassured, then casually threw out another topic, “By the way, you mentioned before that the Student Council is recruiting new members. Can Zhuang Chi apply too?”
“This—” Zhuang Chi, whose name was mentioned, had no idea what this was about, but An Chen had a big reaction, his words becoming less smooth. “B-but our Presidium only plans to recruit one new member, you…”
“But that person still has to be chosen from the applicants, right? It wouldn’t be right to just decide it internally.” As Gu Ximian said this, she turned her smiling eyes to Zhuang Chi. “Besides… one spot is fine, it’s quite interesting. I wonder who would be selected if Zhuang Chi and I applied together?”
She seemed to understand a little. So, the Student Council Presidium that An Chen was in planned to recruit a new member. He had probably already spoken to Gu Ximian about it, likely with the intention of having her join directly. But Gu Ximian planned to go through the formal application process, and she even wanted to ask her to join…? Zhuang Chi thought, half-understanding. She couldn’t see much else, only that An Chen was not very happy about it right now, but he couldn’t find any words to refute it, and his face turned red from holding it in.
“…You’re… you’re right,” he finally let out a breath in defeat, frowning as if having made a painful decision. “That’s how it should be done. It’s only reasonable for everyone to be able to apply… Zhuang Chi is no exception.”
As he spoke, he looked at Zhuang Chi, a familiar fighting spirit rekindling in his eyes. “The clubs will also start preparing for recruitment right after the holiday break. I’ll arrange for the Presidium to join in as well. Zhuang Chi… let me see how you perform.”
“That’s it for now, I need to go and properly consider the specific implementation plan…” An Chen sighed, rubbing his brow as if annoyed. “…And then do some self-reflection. Don’t worry, Zhuang Chi, as the Student Council President, I will definitely judge you fairly after you apply.”
…After saying that, he left on his own, looking as if he were about to go face a wall and reflect on his mistakes. He didn’t give Zhuang Chi any time to ask for clarification. She stared blankly at An Chen’s back as it disappeared from view, then had no choice but to turn and ask Gu Ximian, who had a calm expression as if it had nothing to do with her, “What was that all about…?”
“It’s the plot, I suppose,” she replied nonchalantly, ignoring Zhuang Chi’s horrified expression upon hearing that word. Gu Ximian said calmly, “Basically, the Student Council Presidium has an opening, so An Chen has been wanting me to join… I don’t think it’s a big deal to join, but…”
“If you apply too,” Gu Ximian looked at Zhuang Chi, a hint of slyness in her smile, “the plot should become more interesting, don’t you think?”
She actually didn’t think so, Zhuang Chi thought silently. In the end, this part about the Student Council… she remembered that in the book, Gu Ximian just joined directly. There was no recruitment process.
“It’s fine, you don’t have to decide so quickly. Anyway, An Chen just said they’ll open applications after the holiday, so it’s not too late to think about it then.”
As she said this, Gu Ximian added softly, “…I said that just now mainly to put some pressure on An Chen, and also because I’m curious about how the plot would develop that way…”
Realizing that the key word in her sentences was always “plot,” Zhuang Chi’s heart stirred. After hesitating for a long time, she finally asked, “What… what do you think about the plot? Do you want to escape it or something?”
“Hmm… not really,” she received a surprisingly simple negative answer. Zhuang Chi heard a casual indifference in Gu Ximian’s tone. “And even though it’s called the plot, I don’t actually know what will happen, and I don’t feel any constraints on my words or actions. So rather than wanting to escape the plot… it’s more like curiosity.”
It sounded quite peaceful. Zhuang Chi blinked and summarized, “So you’re saying… even though you know this is a novel, you don’t plan on doing anything particularly rebellious?”
“Rebellious…” Seemingly amused by the word, Gu Ximian chuckled lightly, but quickly composed herself, her expression turning thoughtful as she lowered her eyes slightly. “…Although it’s not something I’m planning to do, I do have an idea… perhaps it is quite rebellious.”
Under Zhuang Chi’s gaze, Gu Ximian picked up a glass of the same juice Zhuang Chi was holding, took a slow sip, her deep, night-like eyes reflected on the surface of the swirling, dark red liquid.
“I want to meet the author once.”
She said it calmly, as if she had already said it a thousand times in her heart.
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