Chapter 12: Please Don’t Lift My Skirt 12

Xue Huai looked somewhat troubled at the girl who had spoken. “You mean Lin Chuchu? But she doesn’t come often, and she didn’t mention wanting to act this time.”

God knows why the two most decorative members of his drama club happened to be the best-looking ones.

He could accept having a club president like Qin Yan who only held the title without showing up after all, the previous president had invited Qin Yan to take the position and agreed to his conditions. Besides, having Qin Yan’s name associated with the club had indeed attracted a few more members this year.

Now that everyone knew Qin Yan was the drama club president, even if he never showed up, the club was no longer completely marginalized.

But as for the other decorative member, he didn’t know what to say or more accurately, didn’t dare to say anything.

That one was a young lady not to be trifled with.

The girl quickly insisted, “She’ll come! If Senior Qin starts coming regularly, she’ll show up!”

Qin Yan shot her with a cold glare. “What does that have to do with me?”

Shi Xingluo raised an eyebrow, teasing, “Senior Qin, you’re so handsome yet unaware of it. This Senior Lin must want to see you.”

Qin Yan clenched his jaw. “I’m not familiar with her.”

Shi Xingluo narrowed his eyes. “Then get to know her. I’d like to see what the most beautiful senior in the drama club looks like too.”

Lin Chuchu, Lin Chuchu so you’re the vicious supporting female character, the school bully’s sister, the one described in just a few lines who ruined the original host’s life?

Well, sorry to say, but I’ll pick out nice urns for you and your brother.

A cold glint silently seeped into Shi Xingluo’s eyes. The original plot hadn’t mentioned what happened to this character who was only referred to as “a certain student” in passing.

But the original host’s memories were complete.

Being stripped naked wasn’t the school bully’s first attack on him, it was the final one.

Before that, ever since accidentally bumping into Lin Chuchu, he had suffered daily bullying for a full month.

The original host, who had finally entered university hoping to escape his toxic family, was already burdened with filial duties caring for his bedridden mother. Enduring this school harassment too, he ultimately lost his education.

To him, it wasn’t just studying, it was his only way out and hope, the reason he kept struggling forward.

But that hope was destroyed when the school bullied and his gang stripped him naked and took photos that spread everywhere.

As those photos circulated online, people soon recognized him as a “hostess” who worked shifts at a certain bar.

When the original host’s father found out, he only felt ashamed and intensified his abuse.

Within days, the original host’s reputation was utterly ruined. Unable to endure his suffocating home life along with the endless online and real-world gossip and insults, he ended his painful life by jumping from a building.

This was the original host’s ending, too insignificant to even mention the warrant in the original plot.

This was the tragedy of an unknown minor character beyond the original storyline.

Qin Yan had no idea that while Shi Xingluo spoke of getting acquainted, he was already contemplating where to bury Lin Chuchu.

All Qin Yan heard was Shi Xingluo wanting to know Lin Chuchu, and his face immediately darkened. I brought you to the drama club to act, not to entertain messy thoughts.”

Shi Xingluo snapped back to reality. Damn, why was this guy getting angry again for no reason?

Even Lin Daiyu wasn’t this sensitive, was she?

No one noticed that the girl who had recommended Lin Chuchu for the female lead had already hurried out to make a phone call. “Hello, Senior Lin? Senior Qin is at the drama club! Yes! He might take a role I recommended you for the female lead!”

“Qin Yan is here. Why didn’t you tell me sooner!?”

The voice on the other end of the phone showed no gratitude for the girl’s timely call, instead sounding rather irritated. “Didn’t I say you should contact me the moment he appears? Otherwise, why would I have you staying in the drama club every day? I’m coming right over!”

The girl bit her lip, but her reply remained sycophantic. “Hurry, senior! I think Senior Qin might actually… You should know, when a new guy said he wanted to meet you earlier, Senior Qin got angry. It almost seemed jealousy.”

“Really!? Are you sure? Ah, I’m coming right now!”

The voice instantly brightened, and before the girl could say anything more, the call ended with a sharp click.

Unexpectedly, when the girl returned to the rehearsal room, both Qin Yan and Shi Xingluo had disappeared.

Panic set in – if Senior Lin rushed over only to find Qin Yan gone, she’d surely be blamed again. “Senior Xue, where’s Senior Qin?”

“He just left. Said something about needing to discuss acting techniques privately with Shi Xingluo.”

The girl’s hopes renewed. “What? Is Senior Qin really going to perform too?”

Xue Huai shrugged. “Not sure. But he took copies of both scripts with him.”

“What? You want me to play Zhu Yingtai!?”

On a campus park bench, Shi Xingluo sprayed out the water he’d just sipped before he could swallow it.

Qin Yan stood before him holding the scripts, but his eyes weren’t on the pages – they were fixed intensely on Shi Xingluo’s face, burning with predatory focus.

Shi Xingluo swept the stray hairs from his forehead back forcefully. “I’m a guy, look clearly. I’m all man here.”

Qin Yan leaned in closer, one hand subtly gripping his shoulder. “Zhu Yingtai requires someone who can appear both masculine and feminine. She’s originally female, but when she poses as a scholar, she convinces everyone she’s male. I actually think you and Zhu Yingtai share remarkable similarities.”

Tilting his head up, Shi Xingluo met that invasive gaze head-on, a smirk playing on his lips. “What similarities? If anything, Senior Qin with your noble elegance and cool demeanor – your bone structure tells me you were born for this role. With your exquisite features, you’d be perfect for Zhu Yingtai.”

Qin Yan’s eyes narrowed sharply, his voice turning husky. “What did you say?”

This prey had quite a nerve, daring to say and imply such things.

Was he teasing him back?

More importantly, he’d mentioned bone structure again.

Their gazes locked in silent combat, the air thickening with unspoken tension.

In the stalemate, Qin Yan suddenly spoke with ambiguous meaning. “You already know.”

He wasn’t foolish. Though he’d told himself this morning that Shi Xingluo probably wouldn’t recognize him, every one of Shi Xingluo’s glances had revealed his awareness.

Both had known all along, merely choosing not to expose each other.

Was Shi Xingluo really that sharp, or was his skill in reading bone structure truly that remarkable?

Qin Yan suddenly pressed closer, both hands now gripping Shi Xingluo’s shoulders, his warm breath dusting Shi Xingluo’s eyelashes. Such a treasure he truly wanted to devour him whole right then and there…

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