Caught Between Two Difficult Choices

Si Ming suppressed his complaints, picked up a large orange and took a sip. He immediately felt a fragrance rush to his brain, then spread to his limbs, making him feel much more refreshed. This crab-stuffed orange combined the richness of crab roe with the fresh fragrance of orange, along with a hint of wine and the delicate aroma of chrysanthemum. The soup was incredibly smooth, a true delight for the taste buds.

A surge of Primal Qi filled his limbs, making him want to dance and gesticulate wildly. In a daze, Si Ming felt as if he had turned into a giant crab, strutting domineeringly on a sunny beach.

Zhu Xuanhuai put his hands behind his back, straightened his upper body, and asked, "How does it taste?"

Si Ming thought for a moment and described it as follows, "Yellow in the center is in harmony with the principles of nature; its beauty lies within; it flows smoothly through the limbs, and that is the ultimate beauty!"

Those who are admitted to the Emperor Peak Academy are generally well-educated, Zhu Xuanhuai easily understood. He scratched his face and chuckled, "If you like it, that's good. My mother told me that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, so I'm studying cooking and drama, aiming to become a lady who can grace both the kitchen and the living room."

"Then you need to figure out how to grow taller first, otherwise you'll always be a girl."

Zhu Xuanhuai pouted and said, "It's all because they say women can still grow taller after twenty, otherwise I would have started practicing Bone-Growing Art long ago."

Si Ming estimated that even if the other party mastered the Bone-Growing Art, he would only grow to 1.6 meters tall, barely reaching the average height. However, considering that few people in reality would spend the effort to master a supportive martial art, as it takes several years, Zhu Xuanhuai would most likely not reach the average height in the future.

"In short, don't give up. It's always good to have hope; humans are creatures that need hope to survive."

"Although your words were meant to encourage me, I still feel very angry after hearing them."

Zhu Xuanhuai glanced behind her and chuckled, "Although I'd like to continue chatting with you, someone's getting impatient, so I'll have to go now. I'll cook you something delicious another time."

Si Ming thought she was talking about Si Huaruo, but it turned out that Nan Yang, with her long, straight black hair, was being pushed towards him.

"I... I wasn't impatient! In fact, I never intended to talk to him anyway," Nan Yang explained hastily.

Zhu Xuanhuai chuckled and asked, "So what's that you've stuffed in your pocket?"

Just as she was about to reach in, Dong Qian stopped her in time. "Junior Sister Zhu, digging into things isn't a good habit. A true lady should learn to think of others."

After apologizing to Nan Yang, Dong Qian forcibly pulled Zhu Xuanhuai away, also chasing away the girls who were eavesdropping nearby.

With the onlookers gone, Nan Yang finally relaxed a bit. She moved closer to Si Ming and said, "You've really worked hard these past few days. Even though it has nothing to do with you, you've been writing the script and directing our acting. You've given so much, and in the end, the award was only given to our Emperor Peak Drama Club... I know that perfectly well, but I still kept arguing with you. I'm so sorry."

It was less of an argument and more of a serious competition. Nan Yang was undoubtedly the most professional member of the drama club, demanding the best in every step.

Because of her family background, she was often criticized by her classmates as a nouveau riche. Therefore, she was extremely strict with herself and did not allow herself to make any mistakes. She often had to put in ten times the effort of ordinary people to get the same evaluation. Just for this play, she wrote a 50,000-word character biography, just to understand the role she needed to play more deeply.

Because of her personality, she often argues with Si Ming, who is her mentor. She meticulously analyzes every line and every action, pointing out what she thinks is wrong. If her opinion differs from Si Ming's, the two will engage in a heated debate.

"I understand that you're trying to make the performance better. Besides, your personality is similar to one of my friends. People like you are all about the issue, not the person, so I've never been truly angry."

Si Ming refers to Murong Qing. In comparison, Murong Qing's personality is actually more unbearable. Nan Yang is only strict with herself, and her status makes it inconvenient for her to care about how others do things. But Murong Qing never cares about such things. She does things meticulously, is strict with others, and even stricter with herself. She will definitely point out any mistakes she finds, and she will not be fussy or care about other people's feelings.

Having had experience dealing with serious people, Si Ming was able to handle Nan Yang with ease.

"Thank you, very few people understand me like this..."

Nan Yang looked away somewhat awkwardly. After a moment of silence, she gritted her teeth, took out a sachet from her pocket, and said, "This is my thank-you gift."

Si Ming took it, glanced at the texture on the surface, and smiled, "You sewed it by hand? I'll take good care of it."

"Um... no, don't misunderstand. I just felt that you've put in so much effort, and you didn't get the Nine Arts Phoenix Fledgling Award, so I wanted to give you a gift to make up for it. I didn't mean anything else, so don't get the wrong idea."

"I see. You have a lot of confidence in everyone. You guessed you would win this time, so you sewed this gift in advance."

Nan Yang blushed slightly and hurriedly said, "Of course, of course I have confidence in everyone. Since we've participated in the competition, we must win, isn't that just a matter of course! I have to go now, I'm hungry, I'm going to get something to eat." Then she left in a hurry.

Si Ming shook his head, put away the sachet, and was about to get some food when, unexpectedly, more girls came over after Nan Yang. They all said similar things, thanking Si Ming for his help during this period and giving him gifts as tokens of their gratitude. Some were handmade, and some were bought. One after another, girl A, girl B, girl C... basically all the members of the drama club told him the same thing.

Most of them said that if Si Ming wasn't already the president's man, they would definitely pursue him instead. A couple of bolder ones even hinted that they were willing to be his mistress, hoping that Si Ming would work harder and improve his Internal Cultivation as soon as possible.

After one round, Si Ming was stunned!

What's going on? Has my love life suddenly taken a turn for the better? How did I accumulate so much favorability? I had no idea! Author, how much plot did you skip over?!

Given the current situation, could it be the legendary "a lone green leaf amidst a sea of flowers"? That kind of setup where, to create a harem for the impotent male protagonist, they deliberately throw him into a secluded place filled with women, and incidentally introduce a background setting where only the protagonist possesses special abilities?

Judging from this situation, could there be a timeline where I build a harem at the Emperor Peak Drama Club?

Si Ming couldn't understand it, but to outsiders it was a perfectly normal thing.

Firstly, he's handsome. When a handsome man flirts with a woman, it's called charming; when an ugly man flirts with a woman, it's called lewd.

Secondly, he comes from a good family background. He is the younger brother of the young patriarch of the Si Clan. Although the Si Clan favors daughters over sons, that is the Si Clan's rule and has nothing to do with other Lineage. Being able to become related to the future patriarch of the Si Clan by marriage is not a loss from the perspective of the Lineage's interests.

Thirdly, he was skilled in martial arts. It wasn't that people knew about his elimination of the Anomalies creatures, but rather that his performance on the day of the funeral had already spread. He was at least at the level of a top-tier master. In this world where martial arts reign supreme, martial arts skills are a form of capital.

Fourthly, he is talented, which goes without saying; his two scripts are enough to prove everything. For artistic young women, this is the greatest charm.

Having two of the above four points is enough to win a girl's heart, let alone having all four. He's practically an enhanced "Prince Charming," and it's no surprise that he becomes a heartthrob in a drama club full of girls.

The reason Si Ming had never received such treatment before was because the female friends around him were not normal people. Murong Qing, Liu Qingqing, Hongdou, Yu Shuying... Their aesthetic sense was different from that of normal girls. Being handsome or skilled in martial arts was just that in their eyes, not an important bonus.

Si Ming was still comparing things to the past, and thus fell into a trap of preconceived notions, becoming somewhat complacent.

I'm so happy here, I don't even want to go back to my hometown! Director, I need to change the main storyline!

Chapter 310 Caught in the Middle

Even after the celebration banquet ended, Si Ming still hadn't eaten much and was still hungry. However, he had so many gifts in his pockets and arms that he could hardly fit them all in. Unfortunately, they were all gifts from girls, so he couldn't just throw them away. He would have to find a box to store them when he got back.

"We're entrusting our club president to you now; you must fulfill your responsibility to protect her."

"Don't take advantage of the club president while he's drunk. Be a gentleman."

"You're mistaken. If you don't make your move now, you'd be worse than an animal. I doubt the club president even wants him to be a gentleman. This is the perfect time to use alcohol to enhance the mood—don't misunderstand, I mean the sex in terms of gender, not the pleasure in terms of happiness."

"Who's misunderstood? Of course we know!"