I'm going to enter~

Jiang Nian tilted her head as she looked at Feng Xing, who was asking for her contact information.

Yikes, something's off with this hothead, isn't it?

She remembered that with Fu Zhenzhen, Feng Xing was supposed to be the type whose harsh words belied his true feelings, right?

Wasn't he supposed to be a hot-tempered, impatient young guy who secretly worried about Fu Zhenzhen all the time?

But the Feng Xing in front of her showed no sign of temper or impatience. Instead, his eyes sparkled with anticipation.

While Jiang Nian was still puzzling over this, Feng Xing, who was waiting for her answer, suddenly froze.

Hothead? Was she talking about me?

But Jiang Nian hadn't said anything yet...

He watched Jiang Nian closely, certain that she hadn't opened her mouth just now.

Jiang Nian had intended to turn him down outright, but remembering Feng Xing's ending in the original novel, she agreed instead.

"Sure. I'm Jiang Nian."

If we become friends, at least I can talk him out of transferring to Pluto Academy and putting himself through all that misery.

The distinguished young master of the Feng Family ends up reduced to a tool for the heroine's love life. She calls him over when she needs help and tells him to get lost when she doesn't. That's honestly pretty tragic.

Feng Xing's pupils contracted when he heard that. Forcing himself to stay calm, he casually took out his phone and added Jiang Nian's contact information.

"I'm Feng Xing."

Running a finger over Jiang Nian's profile on his phone, he gave an intrigued smile.

Me? A tool for the male and female leads? Interesting.

This trip to Pluto had certainly been worthwhile. Not only had he met a girl who piqued his curiosity, he'd also learned about his own future.

Not a bad deal.

Seeing his newest teammate actually asking someone from their rival academy for her contact information, Chen Dan broke into a cold sweat on his behalf.

When he saw Feng Xing still standing there like an idiot, Chen Dan could only hurry to call him away.

"Feng Xing, let's go!"

If you don't leave now, they're going to tear you limb from limb!

Only then did Feng Xing realize that all the Pluto students around him were glaring at him.

Apparently, they saw him as a pig trying to steal their prized cabbage.

But so what?

I don't care.

He smiled and nodded to Jiang Nian, then strolled back to the main group from Canghai Academy.

Under the Pluto students' furious stares, the Canghai group left at lightning speed, leaving only the sound of the students gnashing their teeth.

"Unbelievable. Coming straight to our academy to steal our girls, huh? Do they really think there's no one at Pluto who can stop them?"

"People from Canghai Academy really have no shame."

"Let's crush them in next week's match!"

Once Jiang Nian had finished talking to Feng Xing, Fang Qiu sidled over with a gleeful, teasing grin.

"Ooh~ Another budding romance~ Our Jiang Nian is so popular~"

Jiang Nian pointed at her forehead and laughingly scolded her. "What on earth is that tone?"

Her voice swooped up and down like a winding mountain road.

Fang Qiu whined, "I'm just jealous. Two gorgeous girls sitting here, and he only had eyes for you."

Jiang Nian sighed helplessly. "If you wiped that teasing look off your face, I might actually believe you."

Fang Qiu leaned closer to Jiang Nian, looked at Feng Xing's profile on her phone, and made a flippant suggestion.

"Seriously, I think you could give him a try. Feng Xing comes from a good family, so he's a suitable match, and he's pretty good-looking too. Have some fun with him. If you don't like him, just dump him."

Jiang Nian gave her a thumbs-up. "Dude, you're so trendy."

Fang Qiu looked utterly unconcerned. "What's the big deal? Men are made to be replaced. It's not like I've done anything terrible. Dating is something both people agree to. If it doesn't work out, just break up."

Then she patted Jiang Nian's shoulder like a worldly elder and said earnestly, "Young lady, don't be so old-fashioned. The Qing dynasty fell ages ago."

Jiang Nian could only shake her head helplessly.

"I can't win an argument with you, but I'm not thinking about any of that right now."

I'd better figure out how to keep my head down first. Staying alive until the plot ends is my top priority.

Tan Xuguang, who had finished his club activities nearby, packed up his things and came over too. "Finally done. Let's head out together. Our drivers should be here by now."

Jiang Nian and Fang Qiu nodded, and they headed toward the school gates together.

Tan Xuguang chatted with them as they walked.

"The club president seems to want to make a bigger occasion of this match. He's even planning a competition to pick a cheerleading squad to cheer us on."

He turned to look at Jiang Nian.

"Are you interested? He'll probably post the match and event announcements tomorrow."

Both girls shook their heads in unison.

Fang Qiu folded her arms. She only wanted to admire the handsome guys. "Pass. I'll just watch the match from the stands."

Jiang Nian nodded too.

Yeah, right. That cheerleading competition is one of Fu Zhenzhen's big moments in the story. Steal her spotlight? Do I have a death wish?

Tan Xuguang looked a little disappointed and pouted. "Oh. Okay."

He'd wanted to see Jiang Nian cheering him on...

The next day.

The Basketball Club worked quickly. Not only did they announce the friendly match against the neighboring academy, they also planned a small cheerleading tryout competition.

As Jiang Nian passed the bulletin board, she could see the oversized bold lettering on the promotional poster from a long way off.

Seeing Jiang Nian staring at the cheerleading tryout poster, Tong Chuhe assumed she wanted to enter and asked curiously,

"What, do you want to enter the competition?"

That didn't seem like Jiang Nian at all.

Jiang Nian shook her head frantically. "No, I don't."

So you'd better not enter either.

Tong Chuhe's steps faltered. What did she mean, she'd better not enter either?

In the original novel, Tong Chuhe only entered the competition to get back at them for me. But Fu Zhenzhen hasn't managed to frame me this time, so she shouldn't have any reason to enter, right?

With her dancing skills, she should've had victory in the bag. But in the end, she lost to Fu Zhenzhen's heroine halo. What an absolute humiliation.

If she enters, she'll just be used as a stepping stone. Better not to go at all.

Remembering how Tong Chuhe had served as a supporting player in Fu Zhenzhen's championship win in the original novel, Jiang Nian pursed her lips.

What internationally award-winning dancer loses to a complete beginner in an academy cheerleading competition? I can't believe the author came up with that. Talk about forcing someone into the spotlight.

Tong Chuhe looked at the indignant Jiang Nian and thoughtfully rubbed her chin.

She hadn't intended to enter the competition, but after hearing Jiang Nian's thoughts, she did.

She wanted to see exactly how she was going to lose to Fu Zhenzhen.

As a dancer, she would never concede defeat.

After recalling the plot, Jiang Nian looked hopefully at Tong Chuhe. "Chu He, you're not going to enter, are you?"

Tong Chuhe slowly gave Jiang Nian a gentle smile.

"No, I'm going to enter~"