Volume 3 Chapter 17
by Golden DragonVolume 3 + Chapter 17: Changing Moods
“Finally managed to squeeze out half a day from student council work!”
At this moment, Bai Yuxuan was walking toward the music club, clutching her newly revised Culture Festival plan. She could hardly wait to tell Qianxue about it.
“Where should we go to hang out during this half day?” After all, school was out of the question, if the two of them were seen strolling around campus so openly, their relationship would surely arouse suspicion.
“Right, the Bai family recently opened a new commercial street in the northern suburbs. Since today’s a weekday and the school is busy with the Culture Festival, there won’t be many people there. I’ll take Qianxue there!” With that, Bai Yuxuan buried her face in the plan and snickered to herself.
“Hey, isn’t that President Bai? I think I just saw him smiling? And it looked really cute!” A passing female student happened to witness this and immediately said to her companion. Hearing the girls’ chatter behind her, Bai Yuxuan instantly tightened her expression.
“Not at all!” Her companion said, seeing Bai Yuxuan’s still-icy expression.
“Huh? I clearly just saw Bai Yuxuan smiling, though?”
“You’re hallucinating in broad daylight, aren’t you? Bai Yuxuan is famously cold and aloof. You actually claim he showed an adorable smile? You’d better get yourself to a hospital quickly. Otherwise, tomorrow you might start saying something like ‘Ouyang Qianxue is actually a boy’ or something.”
“Phew~” Bai Yuxuan finally breathed a sigh of relief after rounding the stairwell corner.
For some reason, ever since she had become friends with Qianxue, Bai Yuxuan found it increasingly difficult to maintain her usual cold expression.
“I never had to put in any effort to keep it up before. This is all your fault, Ouyang Qianxue!” Though her words were harsh, the corners of her mouth curled into a faint smile.
“It sounds like there’s a piano sound coming from inside?” Bai Yuxuan stopped outside the music club door and said.
“But it probably isn’t Qianxue herself performing. Qianxue’s playing is much more emotionally nuanced, and she would never make the tiny mistakes I’m hearing in this performance.”
Bai Yuxuan then leaned over to peek through the gap in the door. Inside, Qianxue was lying on a row of chairs, listening to a boy play the piano.
After the boy finished one piece, he took off his school uniform jacket and gently draped it over Qianxue, then continued playing for him. The scene looked incredibly warm and tender.
“Who on earth does that presumptuous boy think he is!” Seeing the boy’s actions, Bai Yuxuan suddenly felt an unusual surge of irritation. She pushed the door open and strode straight toward them.
“Bai Yuxuan?” Duan Haichen immediately stood up upon seeing who had entered.
“Bai… ah, I mean, Senior Bai Yuxuan. What business do you have at the music club?” Duan Haichen’s eyes held a hint of hostility as he stepped forward to greet her.
“I’m looking for your club president, Ouyang Qianxue. There’s something I need to discuss privately with her.”
“Senior Ouyang is resting. If you have something to say, I can pass along the message,” Duan Haichen said, pointing to Ouyang Qianxue lying on the chairs.
“What I have to say is important. You’re a new club member, aren’t you? What qualifies you to relay messages? What if you miss something?”
“Hmph, I, Duan Haichen, may not have many talents, but I am particularly confident in my memory!”
“You!”
“What’s going on?” Just as the two were arguing, Ouyang Qianxue sat up, rubbing his eyes.
“Senior Ouyang, you should rest some more!” Duan Haichen approached and asked.
“It’s fine, I’ve rested enough.” With that, Ouyang Qianxue looked up and saw Bai Yuxuan.
“Ah, Bai Yuxuan, you’re here. What do you need from me?” Ouyang Qianxue tilted his head and asked.
“Yes. Something important.” Bai Yuxuan snapped her fingers.
Ouyang Qianxue understood immediately. This was their usual secret signal, meaning they needed to have a private conversation as friends.
“I see. Duan Haichen, could you step outside for a bit? President Bai and I need to talk alone.”
“Okay.” With that, Duan Haichen shot a glare at Bai Yuxuan and prepared to leave the room. Just then…
“Ah, hello seniors!” Duan Haichen suddenly stopped at the door and greeted someone outside.
Standing before him were the vice presidents of the Go Club, the Music Club, and the Street Dance Club.
“Huh? What are all of you doing here?” Ouyang Qianxue asked in surprise upon seeing them.
“Well, we figured that the Sakura Academy Campus Culture Festival is coming up soon, so we wanted to discuss things with you, ” The vice president of the Go Club suddenly noticed Bai Yuxuan sitting beside Qianxue.
“President Bai is here too. Do you two still have important matters to discuss? Should we wait outside for a while?”
“It’s fine, we’ve finished. Isn’t that right, President Bai?”
“Let’s talk about personal matters another time,” Ouyang Qianxue said to Bai Yuxuan in a voice only the two of them could hear after the first half of the sentence.
“Yes, everything that needed to be said has been said.” After a moment’s silence, Bai Yuxuan said these words to Ouyang Qianxue in a perfunctory manner and then left the music club. Before walking away, she glanced back at Qianxue with a hint of disappointment.
(I feel like Bai Yuxuan seemed a bit sad just now… Oh well, I’ll find some time later to spend with him.)
With that, Qianxue called the three vice presidents over to him.
“You said you wanted to discuss the Culture Festival with me, right?”
“Yes. We didn’t want to bother you, but after all, you are the president of all three clubs. For such a large event, there are some matters we still need you to decide on.”
“Oh, okay. But since I transferred to Sakura Academy midway through the second semester, I’ve never experienced the Culture Festival before. You’ll need to explain the details to me.”
“Alright. I’ll explain.” One of the vice presidents began explaining to Qianxue.
“Sakura Academy’s Campus Culture Festival is also called Sakura Academy’s Open Campus Day. It’s somewhat similar to school festivals abroad and the group activity days at public schools. For clubs, the main activities are club and class presentations. Presentations mean putting on performances.”
“So all three of our clubs need to put on performances?” Qianxue sat up straight and asked seriously.
“That’s right. And before the Culture Festival starts, each student receives three ballots. They can vote for three different clubs at the same time. The voting results are one of the important evaluation criteria for clubs, aside from academic performance. So the performances absolutely cannot be subpar.”
“But what about clubs like the Go Club, which can’t really put on performances that showcase their club’s unique character? What should they do?”
“In that case, they can open a shop. They apply to the student council for a portion of the budget and then open their own store, selling goods or food, just like school festivals in Japan. The currency is ballots.”
“I see!”
“As for the performances, after discussion among us vice presidents, we hope that you, Qianxue, can perform one act for each of our clubs, except the Go Club. After all, most people visiting our clubs will be drawn primarily by your reputation.”
“No problem. But I’d also like to give some opportunities to the new members.”
“Don’t worry. We’ve already thought it through. The Culture Festival presentation period lasts three days. We’ll arrange your performances for the last day. If you performed at the very beginning, the audience would certainly think that after seeing your act, nothing else the clubs present would be worth watching. By putting you on last, we ensure that the audience won’t be disappointed while also leaving opportunities for the new members.”
“Okay. Let’s do it your way.”
“But Qianxue, there’s one thing you absolutely must pay attention to!”
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