Rebirth: I Am Not the Movie Queen This Time-Chapter 107: Doing a Favor for Others

The preliminary audition for the welcome party went smoothly for Wan Chu’er and Mai Qiqi because their act was novel. Plus, Mai Qiqi played the Chinese zither well, and Wan Chu’er’s sword dance was exquisite, so they passed effortlessly. Ma Tianjiao’s singing act also made it through.

In the dorm, Ma Tianjiao was even more smug, humming tunes incessantly from morning till night.

"Look, Ma Tianjiao, can’t you just give it a rest? It’s driving me nuts," Lin Yufei shouted at her in a fit of anger, "starting your death wails first thing in the morning."

"Lin Yufei, you’re just jealous of me, jealous that I get to perform at the welcome party," Ma Tianjiao retorted.

"Jealous of you? Who knows what you did to get through the preliminaries."

"Lin Yufei, don’t talk nonsense and ruin my chances of winning."

Lin Yufei said mockingly, "Keep dreaming. You’d only win if everyone else was deaf and blind."

"Lin Yufei—" Ma Tianjiao, who wasn’t as sharp-tongued as Lin Yufei, always ended up yelling out of frustration.

...

Wan Chu’er had just returned from a run and could hear the verbal clash between Lin Yufei and Ma Tianjiao before even entering the dorm. She entered with an expressionless face, grabbed her toiletries, and headed to the washroom.

After freshening up without a pause, she packed her backpack and headed to the library; she didn’t have classes in the first two periods of the morning.

After classes in the afternoon, Wan Chu’er, not wanting to return to the dorm to hear Ma Tianjiao and Lin Yufei argue, just like Mai Qiqi, went straight home instead.

Over the following few days, Wan Chu’er started commuting from home. In the mornings, when she didn’t have classes, she would practice her sword dance in the nearby park.

She often encountered Old Man Ge taking strolls in the park. Seeing Wan Chu’er practicing the sword dance, Old Man Ge felt it was a pity, but noting her determined will and the lack of a smile on her face even when exchanging greetings, he knew that pressing his grandson’s issue any further would be futile.

The matter was in the past, and Wan Chu’er wouldn’t dwell on it; she nodded and greeted Old Man Ge when she saw him.

Time flew by, and the day of the welcome party arrived quickly.

From the moment she saw Wan Chu’er at school in the morning, Mai Qiqi abandoned her usual composure and grew nervous.

"Chuchu, do I look pretty, am I dazzling?" she asked Wan Chu’er repeatedly.

Mai Qiqi had chosen a traditional-style dress – a light purple long gown that appeared very elegant and eye-catching.

"You’re definitely the most dazzling one at the event."

Wan Chu’er’s attire was a simple set of plain white cotton-linen practice clothes. Although the design was plain, it exuded a brisk charm.

She had intentionally chosen the simplest outfit because the focus of the act was to highlight Mai Qiqi, which Qiqi was very grateful for.

Ma Tianjiao’s performance dress was a pink princess gown, which did make her skin appear even more translucent.

Casting a glance at Wan Chu’er’s practice clothes, Ma Tianjiao would snicker inwardly:

A bumpkin will always be a bumpkin — wearing such a rustic outfit on such an important occasion.

Of course, she didn’t dare say it to Wan Chu’er’s face, always waiting until she was out of earshot to share these thoughts with Lin Yufei and Mai Qiqi.

At the sound of a snort from Lin Yufei, who couldn’t be bothered with her, and a frown from Mai Qiqi, who also ignored her, Mai Qiqi’s distaste for her grew.

At 7:30 in the evening, the school’s cultural square was filled with lively music, bustling crowds, and dazzling lights.

The host, Wei Feng, wore a red knee-length dress and looked stunningly gorgeous.

After the opening remarks, Wei Feng began to introduce the performance schedule and judging criteria for the evening.

"At our First University, there is an unwritten rule for the welcome party: we always select the program that everyone liked the most.

Similarly, tonight, a champion will emerge as well. Each freshman from the ’98 cohort has a chance to vote, and we will determine the champion based on the final voting results. The prize for the champion this time is US$ 5,000."

As soon as ’US$ 5,000’ was mentioned, a gasp resounded throughout the venue, and the performers waiting to go on stage were also visibly excited.

Programs began to unfold one by one, with Wan Chu’er and Mai Qiqi’s performances scheduled for last, as the finale.

Mai Qiqi was a bit nervous, constantly scanning the audience.

Wan Chu’er thought she was looking for that very important person to her and didn’t pay it much mind. She had a great attitude and watched the programs before theirs attentively.

By the time half of the performances were done, Wan Chu’er regained her confidence to compete for the five thousand yuan.

Because they were performers, their seats were right in front of the stage, and Wan Chu’er could occasionally see Wei Feng. She noticed that Wei Feng kept looking in one direction.

Out of curiosity, Wan Chu’er followed Wei Feng’s gaze and saw Jiang Kechu casually dressed among a group of students.

Was he here to support Wei Feng?

Wan Chu’er thought about the conversation she overheard between Wei Feng and Chen Xiran and thought to herself that Jiang Kechu was quite nice to Wei Feng; look, he even came to support his girlfriend.

In her previous life, he had never accompanied her to any evening parties or movies.

Jiang Kechu had long noticed Wan Chu’er sitting in the front. Nothing special, just that among so many people, only Wan Chu’er’s back was always ramrod straight, her cool temperament standing out in the crowd.

Finally, it was time for Wan Chu’er and Mai Qiqi to perform.

The staff first brought Mai Qiqi’s zither onto the stage; then Mai Qiqi gracefully made her appearance at the center of the stage. As with every time a beautiful girl appeared, it always caused a stir among the audience.

Wei Feng, trying to look out for Mai Qiqi, even specifically praised, "What a ravishing beauty!"

Because of the lighting effects and Mai Qiqi’s ethereal outfit, the audience felt her figure was impeccable, like a fairy descending from heaven, provoking even louder wolf whistles.

Only when Mai Qiqi gracefully sat down in front of her zither and the music started did Wan Chu’er stealthily enter from backstage, performing the sword dance as the music flowed naturally.

Everyone thought it was just a zither performance but didn’t expect a sword dance accompaniment, especially from a delicate girl. It immediately drew everyone’s attention.

When the music stopped and the dance ended, the whole audience was silent for a few seconds before erupting into thunderous applause. Indeed, this program was far superior to the previous string of song and dance performances, some even shouted ’Champion’.

When leaving the stage, Wan Chu’er still quietly exited, leaving the spotlight to Mai Qiqi.

Jiang Kechu, observing Wan Chu’er’s low-profile departure, narrowed his eyes. He hadn’t expected the young girl to possess such a commendable virtue of humility.

As the party’s program concluded, it was time to vote and exit. The results would be announced the next day, creating a messy scene at the venue.

After changing her outfit, Wan Chu’er came out wanting to find Mai Qiqi, but after looking around the venue, she couldn’t find her. She wondered if Mai Qiqi was meeting with that important person?

She decided not to interrupt and thought she might as well leave through a less crowded path. She didn’t plan on returning to her dormitory to hear Ma Tianjiao’s screeching, opting to head straight to the school gate to take a taxi home.

As she approached the road in front of the Student Activity Center, she caught sight of Mai Qiqi standing alone against the wall. Wan Chu’er’s eyes brightened, and she ran over to greet Mai Qiqi.

But after taking just a few steps, she heard voices talking.

The voices were familiar—it was Wei Feng and Jiang Kechu.

It turned out Mai Qiqi was eavesdropping on these two. Wan Chu’er paused, bit her lip, and lightly stepped into the shadows behind a nearby column.

Wei Feng and Jiang Kechu were talking in an office of the Student Activity Center.

"Brother Jiang, I’m sorry, let’s break up," Wei Feng said with a sorrowful expression.