"Quick, quick, let’s go!" Tang Wanbai urged the performers from their class, giving special attention to Jiang Wei, who was currently sprawled lazily across his desk.
It was only then that the students of Class One realized Jiang Wei was actually participating in the performance.
"Remember to cheer for us in the auditorium!" Tang Wanbai didn't forget to call out to her classmates as she reached the door.
"We will!"
The students' enthusiasm was surprisingly high. After all, they had been buried in their studies for so long that they cherished any chance to catch their breath. Of course, most were likely more curious about what kind of program Jiang Wei could possibly perform with a group of girls.
Sister Yang seemed to see right through them. Knowing that few would pay attention to the afternoon lessons, she simply chatted with the students for a while before dismissing them twenty minutes early. Under the lead of the sports representative, they headed to the auditorium to rest and wait.
Backstage in the dressing room, Jiang Wei spent a long time fussing over his appearance. The clothes themselves weren't difficult to put on; the struggle was that for every minute he spent dressing, he had to stop for thirty seconds of mental preparation. During this time, Tang Wanbai even came by to "offer her regards," wondering if he had run into any trouble.
Once he had finally straightened out his outfit, he unhurriedly put on his sunglasses. With a flick of his wrist, he snapped open his folding fan and admired himself in the mirror for a few seconds before neatly folding his school uniform and placing it into a bag.
A knock sounded at the door right on cue. "Hello? Is someone in there?"
Jiang Wei pulled the door open. From behind his dark lenses, he boldly met the other person's gaze, enjoying their stunned, wooden expression. He then offered a polite smile. "Not anymore. Please, come in."
When Jiang Wei arrived at the dressing room for Tang Wanbai’s group, he was greeted, as expected, by a wave of deafening screams.
"Holy crap!" Even Tang Wanbai, who rarely swore, couldn't help but blurt out, "This looks too good! Oh my god, it suits you perfectly!"
"Incredible, incredible, incredible!"
"Brother Jiang, those legs... if I could trade mine for yours, I’d worship them for the rest of my life! Ahhh!"
Jiang Wei raised both hands, making a 'T' sign for a timeout, then sat on a nearby chair with his legs crossed. "When are we going on stage?"
"Oh, I just drew the lots. There are thirty-two acts in total, and we’re seventeenth—the very first act of the second half." Tang Wanbai waved a small slip of paper with the number eight on it. "Our luck is pretty good."
"As long as we're not last. That way, I can change back into my own clothes early once we're done," Jiang Wei noted with satisfaction.
"Actually, no~" Tang Wanbai gave a mischievous smile. "You're the center, so you have to stay until the very end~"
The smile on Jiang Wei’s face froze instantly. "What do you mean?" he asked in disbelief.
"It’s a tradition for the No. 4 Middle School Double Festival Gala. Every act has to send a representative to stay until the end for the flower-giving ceremony. Members of the Student Council present flowers to represent the gratitude of the faculty and students for our hard work."
"We’ve all unanimously decided that the person for the job is you."
Tang Wanbai pointed her fan at Jiang Wei and then gave him a thumbs-up. "Good luck!"
No, no, no. Jiang Wei felt this position could definitely be handed off to someone else.
But no matter how many excuses he came up with, Tang Wanbai shut him down with a single sentence.
"We already filled out the form. It should have been handed to the Student Council President ages ago. It can't be changed."
The subtext was: *Accept your fate. We believe in you.*
For what felt like the hundredth time, Jiang Wei felt a deep sense of sorrow over his poor choice of friends and lapsed into a pained silence.
Fortunately, the moment he stepped onto the stage, he lost all opportunity to dwell on such things.
The spotlights in the auditorium converged on the stage. Jiang Wei felt the row of lights diagonally in front of him stinging his eyes. He barely suppressed the urge to hide his face behind his fan. As the intro began, his body—which had long since developed muscle memory—began to move like a metronome, hitting every beat with precision.
This was likely the craziest thing he had ever done. In the front row sat President Shi, Sister Liu, and a whole string of teachers who knew him. Below the stage were countless faces he didn't recognize but who likely knew him, along with dozens of phones held high above the seats. Among thousands of students, he was able to pick out Tang Zihe’s figure in a single glance. The distance was too great to see the other's expression clearly, but he could feel Tang Zihe’s eyes fixed on him, clapping softly along with the cheering crowd.
Jiang Wei suddenly couldn't help but flash a provocative smile.
*This birthday gift... are you satisfied?*
While Jiang Wei was busy captivating the audience on stage, he had no idea that the school's internal forum had already exploded into a frenzy following their performance.
[Image]
[Holy crap!!! Is this a program from Class One, Grade Twelve??]
[When did Class One get such a hot girl?! I have classes right next door every day, how did I not know!!]
[WTF WTF! That waist! Those legs! As an Omega, I’m already catching feelings! Sister, please take me!!]
[Why the sunglasses though! I want to see her real face, ughhhhh]
[Who recorded a video?! Upload it, upload it! Share the wealth, and may you get full marks on every exam!]
[Good things must be shared.]
[I have it, I have it! It’s uploading now, almost done!]
[Too hot, too hot. I could stare at this for a year!]
...
Tang Zihe stood up and headed toward the backstage area.
Xu Qian was standing guard at the door near Class One’s seating area that led backstage, preventing performers from escaping and stopping non-performers from sneaking in.
"You're looking for our President?" Xu Qian, who was playing on his phone, repeated Tang Zihe's question with a smile. "Go in, turn left, and walk to the end. Don't mention it."
"That scared me. At least I didn't mess up." Jiang Wei was sitting in the backstage dressing room, fanning himself like an old man, lacking even a hint of the "youthful beauty" he had displayed on stage.
"More than just 'not messing up,' it was fantastic!" Tang Wanbai excitedly pulled out her phone. "I’m going to find the highest-definition video of the performance on the site and send it to you guys. It was amazing!"
Jiang Wei originally wanted to politely decline the gift, but then he realized he had never actually seen himself dance from start to finish, so he remained silent, effectively agreeing.
Suddenly, a camera flash went off outside the door.
It only lasted a few seconds. Even someone as sharp as Jiang Wei, who reacted in the very first second, didn't have time to hide his face with his fan—and he had already taken off his sunglasses after coming off stage.
"Should I go out and stop them? Tell them not to post the photos or something?" Tang Wanbai already had her hand on the doorknob, ready to bolt.
"Forget it, there's no point." Jiang Wei waved her off. He never really thought he could keep this a secret. The fact that it only started spreading after the performance was already a good result.
Seeing his indifferent expression, Tang Wanbai could only shrug and find a seat to continue chatting with the girls.
Thus, just a few minutes later, when Jiang Wei opened his phone and logged onto the school website, he was overwhelmed by an explosion of discussions.
[Image]
[I’m a performer backstage. I was so blown away by Class One’s act that I decided to sneak over to their dressing room to see the beautiful sister’s true face.]
[And guess what? It’s not a beautiful sister at all—it’s the famous Brother Jiang!]
[I’m literally worshipping him. Is this the man I can never have? It’s one thing to have good grades and looks, but he’s even prettier than us girls when he cross-dresses. How are the rest of us supposed to live? Ughhhhh]
...
[WTF WTF WTF! What?! Brother Jiang?! Is it the Brother Jiang I know???]
[How are even the candid photos this good! Brother Jiang’s face is truly top-tier!!!]
[As a member of Class One, I finally dare to speak up. I was worried I’d be beaten to death if I outed him earlier. Thank you, OP, for saving my life. Yes! This is him! From our class! Brother Jiang! Jiang Wei!]
[Crap, I’m jealous. My male god and female god turned out to be the same person... I thought everyone in Class One only knew how to study...]
[??? To be honest, what kind of freak show is this? No wonder I always thought Jiang Wei was weird. Turns out he’s this kind of person. A male Omega wearing a skirt and dancing on stage—don't you guys find it disgusting? I’m speechless.]
[The person above, why don't you go take a leak and look at your own reflection first? Stop being a keyboard warrior clown. Is it because you can't compare to our Brother Jiang in real life that you have to come here to seek attention?]
[If the person two floors up doesn't have eyes that can appreciate beauty, hurry up and gouge them out and throw them in the trash. Giving them to anyone else would be a waste of a good life. If you don't know the address of the recycling center, I can DM it to you.]
[Brother Jiang is too much, ughhh. Brother Jiang, please take me! I don't care if you're an Omega, I can totally accept it!]
[Careful, the floor above might get assassinated by the Academic God in the middle of the night.]
[At this point, not even a god can stop my determination to sleep with him, ughhh.]
...
While the internet was in total chaos, a "god" named "Catalytic Alcohol" posted a compilation on the site. It specifically featured high-definition, steady footage of the entire performance and the most widely circulated candid photos. He even sought out Jiang Wei to explain his intent and took a few more photos. He subtly set the tone in the thread, stating that Brother Jiang’s performance tonight was the icing on the cake, adding a stroke of brilliant talent to his already perfect image. He added that those who didn't like it could leave immediately instead of embarrassing themselves in the comments.
After finishing his work, Xu Qian silently put away his phone, hiding his merit and fame as he continued to guard the backstage entrance.
The flower-giving ceremony wasn't as long a wait as Jiang Wei had imagined. Since his "true identity" had already spread online, he simply grabbed a small stool and sat openly in a corner where he could see the stage, enjoying the show along with the audience.
Then, it was time for the representatives of each act to go on stage.
Jiang Wei intended to stay out of the spotlight by standing in a corner, but after some shuffling on stage, he was collectively arranged into the center position by the host and the other representatives.
Even though everyone already knew who he was, he still wore his performance sunglasses. He stood in the center with a blank expression, looking as prickly as a hedgehog, radiating an aura that clearly said "do not approach."
Tang Zihe twirled the flowers in his hand a few times before finally hearing the host call for them to go on stage.
He spotted Jiang Wei standing in the center immediately, and a smile unconsciously tugged at the corners of his mouth.
His boyfriend was so dazzling, no matter where he was.
Thus, holding the flowers, he walked up to the other boy and met his startled gaze with a look of immense pride.
After a brief moment of shock, Jiang Wei also began to smile. "Why is it you?"
He remembered that Tang Zihe wasn't in the Student Council.
"I had to beg and plead for the chance to give flowers to my boyfriend," Tang Zihe said, presenting the bright red roses to Jiang Wei. "I wonder, is my boyfriend satisfied?"
"I should be the one asking you that," Jiang Wei said, snatching the sunglasses off his face. "I'm very satisfied. Here's an extra little gift."
Tang Zihe didn't reach out to take them. Instead, he leaned down slightly, letting Jiang Wei put the glasses on him.
"Will the Student Council members who have finished presenting flowers please stand next to the representatives? Let's take a group photo together—"
The host's voice rang out in front of them. Jiang Wei watched as Tang Zihe took his place on his left, and then... he felt his pinky finger being gently hooked—
"One, two, three—"
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 双旦晚会 | Double Festival Gala | A gala celebrating both Christmas and New Year's Day. |
| 打call | Cheer for / Support | Popular Chinese slang derived from Japanese idol culture. |
| 施总 | President Shi | A nickname for a teacher/administrator (likely the Dean). |
| 刘姐 | Sister Liu | A respectful/familiar way to refer to a female teacher. |
| 催化酒精 | Catalytic Alcohol | Xu Qian's online handle/username. |
| 学神 | Academic God | A term for a student with god-tier grades (Tang Zihe). |
| 献花仪式 | Flower-giving ceremony | A ceremony where flowers are presented to performers. |
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