Chapter 24

After realizing the power of the “world’s consciousness,” Qin Xiaoxiao felt a trace of fear and unease.

She didn’t want her life to follow the same path as the “Qin Xiaoxiao” in the original story.

Being inexplicably sent into this novel—was it so that she, who knew the original owner’s ending, would walk the same trajectory as the original owner?

No.

Qin Xiaoxiao gradually calmed down. So far, her actions and style had differed significantly from the original owner’s, yet she hadn’t faced any unscientific punishment because of it.

So, did the “world’s consciousness” only care about the plot involving the two protagonists while ignoring the changes of a minor character like her?

Qin Xiaoxiao felt like her brain wasn’t equipped to handle this.

She wasn’t the type of person to obsessively delve into things outside of her studies, so if she couldn’t figure it out, she simply stopped thinking about it.

After all, her current life was still roughly proceeding according to her intentions and hadn’t been affected.

…

The day after changing seats, they switched classrooms and dormitories.

The classrooms and dormitories previously used by the final year students were now vacated, and the soon-to-be final year students moved in.

It was all within the same building. The classrooms were relocated from the lower floors to the higher floors, and the dormitories were moved from the higher floors to the lower floors. The teachers explained that the classroom switch was to provide a quieter study environment, while the dormitory adjustment was to reduce the time spent going up and down the dormitory floors.

However, many students felt that compared to before, the number of staircases they had to climb daily—from the dormitory to the classroom and back—hadn’t actually decreased.

The third period that afternoon was allocated for the entire grade to move their dormitories.

In the hallways of the girls’ dormitory, various belongings were scattered everywhere, piling up on the floor.

Girls were going in and out, carrying things in their arms while having to keep their heads down to avoid stepping on someone’s boxes or containers.

Yang Min sat on a suitcase and complained, “If we weren’t moving dorms, I wouldn’t have realized I had so much stuff!”

“Exactly…” a classmate passed by, rubbing their arms. “And we still have to make two trips—so exhausting.”

“Why won’t the dorm matron let the boys come in and help…”

“Hurry up, Yang Min. Your athletic skills are so good—how could your stamina be that bad?”

“That’s different, okay? Hey! Xiao ah, how many more trips do you have left?”

Qin Xiaoxiao, whose forehead was already covered in a layer of sweat, replied, “One more trip, I think.” She leaned against the wall, intending to rest for a bit before continuing.

“Wow, that’s fast…”

“Ah—”

Yang Min was startled by the abrupt scream, her scalp tingling. She turned her head and saw a group of girls gathering around the dormitory room where the scream had come from, pointing and gesturing.

What happened?

Driven by her innate curiosity for gossip, Yang Min quickly joined the crowd.

One look, and her eyes widened in shock.

“Xiaoxiao, come here and look at this!” Yang Min called out, tugging Qin Xiaoxiao over to join the crowd.

In the messy dormitory, the storage cabinet under the bed near the door was wide open. Several phones had rolled out by the cabinet door, and it was easy to see that the cabinet was still half-full of electronic devices.

“Ah! That’s the iPhone 6s that was stolen from me half a year ago!”

“This is terrifying. I never thought she was that kind of person…”

“Everyone, move aside! Move aside!” The two dorm matrons who had quickly arrived sternly dispersed the crowd.

Qin Xiaoxiao stepped back and tugged at Yang Min. “Let’s go.”

“Wow! So many phones!” Yang Min was still in shock. “She stole all of them!”

Previously, some people had gossiped and speculated that it was her deskmate who had stolen the phones. Yang Min had immediately shut them down harshly, telling them not to speak recklessly without evidence.

Who would have thought it was actually a student from the neighboring dorm who had stolen them?

“Isn’t her family pretty well-off? Why would she do something like this?”

Qin Xiaoxiao didn’t like discussing such matters, so she changed the subject and reminded her, “When do you plan to move your stuff?”

“Ugh, I don’t feel like moving it.”

Qin Xiaoxiao raised her eyebrow and returned to her dorm to continue packing her belongings.

The incident was so shocking that people in the dorm were also talking about it.

“If Linlin hadn’t accidentally bumped into that unlocked cabinet while moving things, no one would have known it was hiding so many phones!”

“Two tablets and thirteen phones!”

“Why do you think she stole so many things and just hid them?”

Everyone’s words were filled with both anger and curiosity: the string of electronics thefts in the dormitory over the past year had actually been committed by a classmate who usually seemed decent.

…

The next day, the dorm matrons informed everyone to come and retrieve their lost belongings.

The school did not publicly announce who the thief was, though everyone already knew. Teachers strictly forbade the students from discussing the matter.

A few days later, the girl whose storage cabinet was found to be hiding electronic devices transferred to another school.

…

On June 12th, Guangjian City’s Second High School celebrated its 90th anniversary.

That evening, there was an anniversary gala held at the Huaguang Hall.

Students participating in the performances had to arrive at Huaguang Hall at 5 p.m. to prepare.

Fu Chunying found an open space and directed the club members to rehearse both dances one more time. Then she instructed, “We can still go on stage for one last run-through. For now, go get your makeup done. Meet at the east side of the stage at 6:30.”

The club members dispersed.

Fu Chunying called out to Qin Xiaoxiao, “Ask the makeup artist to give you a pink-themed look. Here’s your hair accessory.”

Qin Xiaoxiao took the hair accessory and said, “Got it.”

“I’m going to pick up my boyfriend. I’ll be back later.”

“Okay.” Qin Xiaoxiao smiled, even though she had no idea when Fu Chunying had gotten a boyfriend.

The makeup artists were a team hired by the school from outside.

As soon as Qin Xiaoxiao approached the makeup area, two young makeup artists, who were chatting idly, lit up.

“Student, which performance are you in? What kind of makeup do you need?”

“Come to me, come to me!”

Their pay had already been agreed upon regardless of how many people they worked on, so their eagerness to help Qin Xiaoxiao wasn’t about money—it was because this girl was exceptionally beautiful and eye-catching.

Qin Xiaoxiao chose the female makeup artist out of the two.

“Wow, your skin is so clear and flawless.”

“Your double eyelids are fan-shaped, paired with peach blossom eyes—gorgeous.”

“How did your nose grow to look this perfect? It’s amazing.”

…

From applying the base makeup to finishing with the setting powder, the makeup artist kept throwing out compliments nonstop.

Qin Xiaoxiao: “…” She started to feel like she had chosen the wrong person.

“Alright, next, let’s do your hair,” the makeup artist said, removing the hair tie from Qin Xiaoxiao’s hair. She ran her fingers smoothly through the strands. “What hairstyle do you want?”

“Something low…”

“Xiaoxiao, are you hungry?” Yang Min, who had skipped half a self-study session, arrived at Huaguang Hall with a takeaway of wontons to “visit” her.

Students participating in the performances didn’t have time to go to the cafeteria for dinner. Some brought their own snacks, while others asked classmates to bring food for them.

Qin Xiaoxiao had planned to eat after the performance, but she hadn’t expected Yang Min to be so thoughtful and caring.

“Your classmate is here?” The makeup artist, understanding the situation, said, “Then I’ll do your hair after you’re done eating. You can wipe off the lipstick, and I’ll reapply it later.”

“Thank you.”

“No problem at all!”

While Qin Xiaoxiao ate her wontons, Yang Min looked around curiously.

“Your vice president came back to school?”

“What the—? Jiang Zhousi and your president are together?!”

Qin Xiaoxiao swallowed her food and lifted her thick lashes to glance over. Fu Chunying and Jiang Zhousi entered through the north side door, chatting and laughing cheerfully.

She couldn’t help but raise her eyebrow—so the “boyfriend” Fu Chunying mentioned was him.

“Looks like they’re together now,” Yang Min sighed. “Summer really is the season of love…”

Is it?

Qin Xiaoxiao lowered her eyes and continued eating her wontons.

At 6:30, the former president of the dance club, Bai Yushi, who had already graduated, appeared to the surprise of the club members.

“Senior Bai, long time no see!”

“How was your vacation at home, Senior?”

“Wow, it’s such a nice surprise to see you again, Senior!”

Bai Yushi put on her signature senior smile and said, “Vacation was so boring, so I came back with Wang Xin to watch your performance… Wait, where’s Wang Xin?”

“Ugh, that girl! She disappeared without even telling me. Forget her—hurry up and get on stage for your final run-through. I’ll watch and guide you from the audience.”

Under Bai Yushi’s supervision, the group completed their final run-through without any major issues.

Time was running short, so the girls hurried off the stage and ran to change into their performance costumes.

Qin Xiaoxiao found the black bag with her name on it from a pile on the table, opened it, and pulled out her dance costume.

Around her, some club members had already taken off their clothes and were directly putting on their costumes.

In this small room with the door closed, it was just the members of their club, all girls, so there was no reason to feel embarrassed.

Out of habit, Qin Xiaoxiao always checked the stitching around the neckline, underarms, as well as the buttons and zippers, before changing clothes.

When she touched the zipper on the pants, something felt off.

She tried pulling the zipper again, giving it a gentle tug, and the stitching on one side of the zipper unraveled with a soft ripping sound.

Qin Xiaoxiao’s eyes sharpened. If she hadn’t checked and had gone straight on stage, a few moves would have caused the zipper to come undone, and the pants would have loosened and slid down…

“Qin Xiaoxiao, why aren’t you changing yet…” Fu Chunying walked over and noticed the pants in Qin Xiaoxiao’s hands. “What’s wrong with this zipper?”

A few club members standing nearby saw what happened and looked surprised.

“The zipper came off!”

“Can these pants even be worn?”

“What kind of lousy quality is this?”

Was it really a quality issue? Qin Xiaoxiao’s gaze shifted to the bag on the table. She hadn’t paid much attention earlier, but now she noticed that the bag’s opening looked like it had been tampered with.

And for the stitching to fail so embarrassingly—would the store really be so careless as to ship it out like this?

Fu Chunying also felt that something was off.

“Between five and six forty, did anyone come in here?”

“I’m not sure.”

“I didn’t notice.”

“The door wasn’t locked during that time, and quite a few people came in, right? I saw at least a few…”

Fu Chunying asked, “Who?”

“Liu Kun, Ou Tingting… Oh right, I think I also saw Senior Wang…”

“I saw Senior Wang come here too. I wanted to greet her, but she was walking quickly.”

“As for the others who came here, I don’t know their names.”

“Isn’t there a security camera outside? President, if you want to know who came in, you can check with the security office after the event to see if they’ll let you review the footage.”

“But what about Xiaoxiao’s pants now?”

Fu Chunying interrupted the members’ chatter. “You all go change into your costumes first and then get your hair done.”

As for Qin Xiaoxiao…

Performance dance costumes were hard to find. Fu Chunying had ordered them on Taobao, but the seller had unexpectedly shipped them slowly, and they had only arrived this afternoon. Even if they switched to a more expensive store now, there was no way it could be delivered within fifty minutes.

Besides, Qin Xiaoxiao was the lead dancer, and the performance of 《Flowers in the Rain》 absolutely couldn’t go without her.

How could she perform on stage without dance pants?

Fu Chunying was at a complete loss.