Having almost been caught red-handed last time, I realized I had to be extra careful about the time when practicing at school.

She managed to deceive everyone right under the man's nose and, together with the dance teacher, spent more than a month revising and perfecting the dance.

Meanwhile, Fang Zhen also got her wish and obtained from Chen Hengtai which department Fang Zhi was in.

Inside the emergency exit, Chen Hengtai held Fang Zhen in his arms. "Baby, are you sure you're looking for Fang Zhi from the art department?"

Fang Zhen's heart tightened. "Are you sure? What's wrong?"

Chen Hengtai looked at her face suspiciously. "The tuition for the Art Department at Ocean University is not low every quarter..." He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was self-evident.

Art students don't necessarily come from wealthy families, but their circumstances should at least be decent. Two people from the same village, one studying art, the other almost ending up homeless?

If I told anyone, who would believe me?

Fang Zhen forced a smile. "Didn't I tell you that our village was developed before, and every household received compensation?"

“My family was down on its luck and ran out of money. Maybe that’s when we found out that her family had used that money to support her art education.”

Chen Hengtai thought about it again and realized it made sense. News reports had mentioned that Qingshan Village had produced several millionaires back then. Based on prices at the time, a million was not far off from being worth tens of millions today.

Knowing which department Fang Zhi was in, Fang Zhen couldn't wait to go and find out. Before the students' lunch break, she coaxed Chen Hengtai, changed into casual clothes, and slipped out.

-

Class 1, Classical Dance Department, Arts School

During the break, the dance teacher called Fang Zhi aside for a private chat in front of everyone.

After a period of one-on-one interaction, the dance teacher became more familiar with Fang Zhi's attitude. She asked, "Have you decided what to name this dance?"

"Xueqing," Fang Zhi said, revealing the name she had thought about for a long time. "It's taken from Su Shi's poem 'Pear Blossoms by the Eastern Railing': 'A solitary pear tree by the eastern railing, a melancholy sight; how many Ming and Qing dynasties does one see in a lifetime?'" After saying this, she looked at her teacher and gently asked, "What do you think?"

"Very good, very evocative." The dance teacher smiled as she looked Fang Zhi up and down. "Fang Zhi is quite a talented girl."

"No," Fang Zhi said, bowing her head shyly after being praised.

She rarely has the opportunity to go out.

On weekends or holidays, I spend most of my time practicing dance or reading in Nangong.

"I don't have much more to give you. Although I was the one who finalized the dance, it was you who suggested the best parts later on. Fangzhi, you must practice this dance well."

"Yes, I will not let my teacher down."

Summer is already a third of the way over. With summer vacation drawing ever closer, the teacher hasn't announced anything about the autumn arts festival yet, but has been frequently contacting Fang Zhi. Everyone is starting to get a sense of what's going on.

They glanced at Fang Zhihe, the teacher, standing next to the speaker.

Then, his gaze fell subtly on Guo Shuyao, who had been the lead dancer in previous years, with a mixture of schadenfreude and pity.

Apart from her two companions who remained silent, the rest of the class whispered amongst themselves, heads huddled together.

"Although I don't appreciate Fang Zhi's aloof and detached attitude, I dislike Guo Shuyao's haughty and condescending attitude even more."

"Now this is going to be interesting. She probably won't be the lead dancer this time. Look how green her face is."

Guo Shuyao had had enough of their stares and couldn't concentrate on class. Taking advantage of the teacher's inattention, she got up and walked out of the classroom with a cold face, calming herself down at the corner of the restroom.

The restroom is located in the middle of a row of classrooms, with an embedded design. The left side is for men and the right side is for women. The central open space is for the washbasins. She leaned against the right wall and looked at the corridor.

It was during class time when a furtive figure appeared in the previously empty corridor.

The person walked along, glancing into the classrooms they passed. Their short-sleeved shirt was rough and looked like a cheap find from a street stall.

Guo Shuyao narrowed her eyes.

She could tell from this person's clothes that she wasn't a student in this department.

Fang Zhen looked up and immediately noticed Guo Shuyao staring at her from ten meters away. After recognizing her as the girl who had given her a hard time at the restaurant, she turned around and walked back.

Guo Shuyao remained silent and followed closely behind her.

The two walked further and further away from the classroom and came to the garden.

"Stop." Guo Shuyao called out to the girl who had no redeeming qualities in her eyes, strode up to her, and stared into her eyes. "Have I seen you somewhere before?"

“Young man, I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else.” Fang Zhen tilted her head, trying to cover her face with her hair.

Guo Shuyao frowned. The woman's voice sounded familiar; she felt like she had heard it somewhere before.

"I remember now." Her beautiful eyes sharpened as she scrutinized Fang Zhen's face, becoming increasingly certain. "You're that waiter from the restaurant. What are you doing here?"

Unexpectedly, this girl had such good eyesight; she recognized her after just one meeting. "I..." A flicker of panic crossed Fang Zhen's eyes as she feigned composure and looked at Guo Shuyao, "There's no rule on campus that outsiders can't come into the art department, right? I just wanted to come and watch the dance performance."

"Watch a dance?" Guo Shuyao's red lips curled into a contemptuous smile, her sweet voice sarcastic, "Are you sure you can understand it?" As if that wasn't enough, her words became increasingly explicit and vicious, "You have absolutely no artistic talent whatsoever, and you dare to say you're watching a dance?"

Fang Zhen trembled with anger at her words. Just as she was about to strike back, the person opposite her curled her lips and said casually, "You're here to see Fang Zhi, aren't you?"

"You..." Fang Zhen's pupils shrank, afraid that she would turn around and mention her to Fang Zhi, so she quickly denied it, "No, I have no idea who you are talking about."

"No." Guo Shuyao lowered her eyes to admire her newly done manicure. "You know her, and you hate her."

Now, recalling that moment in the restaurant, the woman's incredulous reaction upon hearing Fang's name was a complex mix of emotions, but not excitement.

Although she didn't know how Fang Zhi knew someone who worked at a restaurant, her intuition told her accurately:

They know each other, but they don't get along.

Fang Zhen took a step back, staring warily at the beautiful but poisonous girl in front of her.

What exactly do you want?

"How about we chat sometime?" Guo Shuyao chuckled, offering her some reassurance. "Because I dislike her just like you do, maybe we can have a pleasant surprise."

Fang Zhen looked closely into her eyes, and the disgust and jealousy in them seemed genuine.

Fang Zhen's eyes flickered.

Instead of targeting Fang Zhi alone, she might as well drag someone else into it. Coincidentally, this person is Fang Zhi's classmate, so if something really happens, they can be used as a scapegoat.

"What's your decision?"

“Okay.” Fang Zhen pursed her lips. “Come find me at the back door of the restaurant at nine o’clock tonight.”

"No problem." Guo Shuyao walked past her, her eyes lightly sweeping across her face. "Don't be late, my time is very precious."

Fang Zhen squeezed out three words, "I understand." She secretly resented her contemptuous attitude.