Her eyes were round, dark, and bright. After hesitating for a moment, Jiang Jinran said as gently as she could, "I'm not pitying you. You definitely can't eat this expired stuff. I'm worried you won't be able to focus in class if you don't have enough to eat, so... here..."
"I'm not helping you for nothing, either. You can give me one next time."
Afraid of bruising the male lead's pride, Jiang Jinran had racked her brains to come up with those words.
Lu Tingshen merely tilted his head and looked at her silently.
His dark eyes were unfathomable, revealing no emotion.
Under the boy's deep, piercing stare, Jiang Jinran actually felt her scalp prickle.
Was this the male lead's oppressive aura?
Just as she was about to withdraw her hand-
Lu Tingshen suddenly reached out and accepted Jiang Jinran's cake.
Jiang Jinran immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
She turned to take out her textbook and began preparing for class.
What she failed to notice was that the boy beside her, eating his cake at a leisurely pace, would casually let his gaze fall on her for a second or two.
As though observing her, or perhaps scrutinizing her.
Jiang Jinran finally joined the full-cast rehearsal that day.
The Hope Cup finals were that weekend, only a few days away.
But she still hadn't put on the costume. She planned to wear it just once, on the finals stage.
"We have a ticket to the Hope Cup finals for everyone in our class. Anyone who wants to go can come get one from me. If you're going, just head straight to the Central Theater this weekend. I hope everyone can make it. After all, our class has a performance in the competition, so you can all cheer them on from the audience." The homeroom teacher stood at the podium with a stack of tickets, speaking at length.
"Nice! I'm going to watch in person and see how Jiang Jinran plays a tree!" Some of the boys were already unable to resist running their mouths.
At that, everyone burst into knowing laughter.
Jiang Jinran didn't let it affect her mood. With her fingers in her pocket, she quietly felt the cold iron plate inside.
What exactly did that person lurking in the shadows want by making me enter the Hope Cup finals?
She had a feeling that the person would definitely appear again on the day of the Hope Cup finals.
Perhaps she would find out then.
Jiang Jinran sighed softly to herself-
I just wanted to save up money quickly and enjoy letting it rot...
Now I can't even properly let it rot. I'm only halfway through playing dead before these unknown outside forces drag me out to rise from the grave...
Beside her, Lu Tingshen keenly caught the fleeting dejection and helplessness on Jiang Jinran's face, while the classroom's shrill, unrestrained laughter rang in his ears.
The boy couldn't help clenching his fingers.
The weekend arrived, bringing the day of the Hope Cup finals.
Jiang Jinran got up bright and early and headed to the Central Theater ahead of the others with the students performing in the play.
The Central Theater was a magnificent domed building. At the thought of performing on such a large stage, everyone couldn't help growing excited.
Once backstage, everyone busied themselves at a feverish pace, organizing props, applying makeup, and changing clothes.
"Jiang Jinran doesn't need makeup, does she? She's a tree, after all. She needs to look a little plainer." Seeing a makeup artist about to approach Jiang Jinran, Shi Hui suddenly spoke up to interrupt.
The makeup artist stopped in her tracks, a hint of uncertainty crossing her face.
That was true enough, but all the children going onstage needed makeup. Leaving only Jiang Jinran without any seemed a little...
Jiang Jinran glanced at the bright red blush on everyone's faces and waved with a smile. "Exactly. I'll pass on the makeup."
Whoever wants that delinquent-girl stage makeup with blush piled sky-high can have it.
I look pretty good barefaced, too.
Suddenly, a commotion arose backstage.
Quite a few people stood up excitedly, craning their necks toward the door.
"What's going on?" A little baffled, Shi Hui caught someone who was heading out and asked with a frown.
"I heard a huge celebrity is joining the Hope Cup judging panel today!"
"Which celebrity?" A spark of curiosity lit up Shi Hui's eyes, too.
"Jiang Chuji."
"Jiang Chuji?" Shi Hui's eyes widened involuntarily.
Anyone who didn't know the name Jiang Chuji these days must have fallen out of step with the times.
Jiang Chuji, the hottest top-tier celebrity of the moment, a superstar actor with multiple Best Actor trophies, and the dream man of hundreds of millions of girls.
Hearing that name, Shi Hui couldn't contain herself either and squeezed toward the door with her companions.
Only Jiang Jinran remained where she was, not moving an inch.
If I heard that right, the big celebrity coming to judge today is my brother...
Her second brother, Jiang Chuji.
Oh-ho.
I really can run into a brother wherever I go!
The news that Jiang Chuji was coming caused a sensation throughout the backstage area.
But everyone waited by the door for quite a while without catching sight of him and could only return to their seats in disappointment.
Jiang Jinran sat on the sofa, watching with interest as they rushed back and forth, all for nothing.
Come on, a big celebrity obviously isn't going to wander over here for you to run into him. What are you thinking...?
Right now, Jiang Chuji is either in his personal van or already waiting in the VIP lounge.
With nothing to do, Jiang Jinran flipped through the Hope Cup rulebook and suddenly spotted a rule-
Anyone without lines onstage would not be eligible for awards.
In other words, if their play won an award in the end, Jiang Jinran would be excluded because her character had no lines. Unlike Shi Hui and the others, she wouldn't get her name engraved on the trophy.
What a freaking rip-off!
No wonder Shi Hui was so comfortable letting me perform and wasn't worried about me riding their coattails to an award. I was never eligible in the first place!
That Shi Hui only wants to see me embarrass myself. She'd never let me share in any benefits.
She really has it all calculated!
Jiang Jinran put the rulebook aside and took out her schoolbag, intending to grab a snack to tide her over.
But instead of finding a snack, her fingertips touched a cold iron plate.
She had put the previous plate in her pocket, so this one in her schoolbag was...
Jiang Jinran's gaze flickered.
She instinctively looked around, then carefully avoided everyone's eyes as she took the iron plate out of her bag.
A completely new message was engraved on it-
"After the competition ends, step on the master lighting switch in the center of the stage to turn it off."
Today's date was still in the lower-right corner.
Sure enough, this was a brand-new iron plate, placed in Jiang Jinran's schoolbag at some unknown point.
That mysterious person had actually "issued" her new instructions.
Sure enough, things weren't that simple.
So what exactly am I? A tool for completing missions?
What gives this person the right to keep ordering me around?
Does he have something on the original owner, or did he promise her some kind of benefit...?
Jiang Jinran gritted her teeth, a trace of darkness in her tense expression.
She wasn't sure whether she should do as instructed.
If I do it, what will the consequences be?
If I don't, what consequences will I face...?