You take care of it.

The surroundings were enveloped in silence; all the students stared wide-eyed at the scene before them. Bai Fanhao was leaning sideways over Mu Qingxi, and by some twist of fate, their heads were aligned, noses almost touching—so close that their lips nearly met. Both were stunned.

At that moment, the bell for class rang.

Those standing nearby hurriedly helped the two up, flustered. Mu Qingxi blushed and ran off, and Bai Fanhao walked away awkwardly.

No one mentioned the accident; everyone pretended it had never happened, though it was etched in their memories. In the end, the snowball fight concluded with her as the victor—she had hit Qin Yu three times more. Xi Haifei declared, “Come on, it’s Friday. I’ll treat you all to hot pot.”

So, after school, the seven of them gathered at “Little Fat Cow.” They sat in a circle; she and Qin Yu sat together, Dongzi next to Qin Yu, followed by Xiao Gang, Shen Bin, Bai Fanhao, and Xi Haifei.

Xi Haifei sat beside her, and Mu Qingxi felt a complicated tangle of emotions in her heart. After what had happened, she had thought Xi Haifei and Bai Fanhao would avoid her, but they hadn’t. They remained by her side, just as before.

Bai Fanhao had tried several times to switch classes, but as he was a current student and their class was a remedial group, his attempts had not succeeded.

New Year’s Eve Gala!

The abrupt announcement caught everyone off guard: each class was required to present a performance for the New Year’s Eve Gala competition, with the best program to be selected.

Confucius made the announcement and the students were shocked. At First High, seniors never participated in any arts events—why was this year an exception? Confucius continued, “Your confusion is shared by us teachers. But since the order has been given, let the class leaders discuss and decide. Anyone who wishes to participate, report to the cultural committee.”

“Confucius—uh, Mr. Kong, there are still fifteen days until New Year’s. Isn’t it a bit rushed to put together a program?” Xi Haifei raised a question, shaking his head and sighing inwardly; spending so much time with Mu Qingxi, even ‘Confucius’ slipped out naturally.

Confucius replied unconcernedly, “There’s nothing we can do. Just come up with something—anything, as long as it’s not too shabby. Our class has only about ten girls; see if there’s any dance you can put together. Girls learn dances faster.”

“Confucius, let’s do a fashion show. Both boys and girls can participate, and it’s simple.” Qin Yu jumped up excitedly and shouted.

Laughter erupted among the students.

She tugged at Qin Yu, exclaiming, “Wei Yu, how could you call him Confucius out loud!”

Only then did Qin Yu realize she had blurted out ‘Confucius.’ Mr. Kong disliked being compared to that rigid old sage; now Qin Yu had touched the tiger’s whiskers.

“In that case, let Qin Yu be in charge of this performance!” Confucius said angrily and strode out of the classroom.

Qin Yu furrowed her brow, on the verge of tears, and Mu Qingxi burst out laughing: “Wei Yu, you’re amazing! You landed such an easy job. When I start a company, you must come work for me.”

“Hmph, Mu Mu, you won’t escape either. Just wait!” Qin Yu glared at her and sprawled on the desk, drawing circles. “Hmph, I’m drawing circles to curse you…”

Mu Qingxi knew Qin Yu was worried no one would participate, so she comforted her. “Wei Yu, it’s fine. With me here, if no one else joins, we’ll go up ourselves.”

“Really?” Qin Yu asked, uncertain.

She smiled, “Of course! I’d never lie to you. Lying to you is as easy as fooling a three-year-old—no challenge at all. You know, I like things that are challenging.”

“Mu Qingxi, you’re calling me stupid again.”

“I didn’t.”

“You did.”

“I didn’t.”

“You did.”

“I didn’t.”

“You did.”

After several rounds of “I didn’t” and “You did,” she broke into a sweat—what resolve Qin Yu had! Helplessly, she finally said, “I did.”

“No, you didn’t,” Qin Yu retorted instantly.

“See? That’s it. I’ll just say I didn’t.” She grinned.

“You always do this. No, let’s start over,” Qin Yu pouted in protest.

Forget it. Every time they said “start over,” the result was always the same. She honestly didn’t want to do it again.