Chapter 36 Rap: Rebirth - I Became a "Trainee" at Rikkai University...
Inside the auditorium of Rikkai University Affiliated Junior High School, the preliminary round of the 33rd Campus Image Ambassador Selection Competition is in full swing.
In the backstage players' lounge, Risa looked at the competition rules card:
[Round 1: First Impressions on Stage]
Format: TED-style talk + talent flash mob (300 seconds limited)
Topic: "If I were a campus spokesperson, I would ______".
Time limit: 90-second speech + 210-second talent flash mob
Judges: Special Invited Artistic Director, Drama Department Advisor, Student Council Representative, Fan Committee Representative, and Previous Champion (Niou Masaharu)
Behind the curtain, Chika nervously peeked through a crack into the packed auditorium.
"Oh my god, the auditorium is packed. I'm so nervous," she muttered to herself, her fingers unconsciously twisting the curtain.
Asuka adjusted the lens of her DSLR camera, replying without looking up, "What are you nervous about? You're not the one performing on stage."
"Alright, today's makeup is perfect." Jieyue put away her makeup brushes, took a small step back, and nodded with satisfaction, as if admiring her own work of art.
Chinatsu and Asuka came over at the same time and exclaimed in unison, "Wow~ No wonder she's a master of head transplants."
Risa turned around in front of the makeup mirror, her usual image completely different today, appearing as a sophisticated magician.
"How was it?" Risa twirled around. "Preliminary round look."
"Absolutely stunning!" Chika cupped her face in her hands. "However..."
She hesitated and pointed to Risa's makeup, "Isn't it too androgynous? Aren't campus ambassadors usually sweet and cute?"
Asuka snapped a photo: "According to reliable information, the special guest art director prefers unconventional and unorthodox artistic styles, which increase their chances of winning in the competition."
Yuzuki took a pair of playing card-shaped earrings from the prop box and put them on Risa: "We're going to break the rules. We'll start the preliminary round as the 'Fraudster Buster' and catch them off guard."
"Next up is our twelfth contestant, Risa Matsuno from Class 2A." The host's voice came through the microphone from behind the curtain.
Risa took a deep breath, and the four girls instinctively formed a circle, their palms overlapping.
"Go for it!" the four of them said in unison.
Risa nodded, her gaze resolute: "I entrust my back to you, my friends."
The auditorium lights dimmed, and a spotlight shone on the center of the stage.
Risa stood in the side of the stage, waiting for the previous contestant to bow and leave. Then she picked up a laser pointer and walked briskly towards the stage.
As she stood in the center of the stage, the spotlight shone on her, and the noise from the audience gradually quieted down.
"Good afternoon, judges and students. I am contestant number 12, Matsuno Risa."
She raised her hand and pressed the page-turning button, and the large screen lit up.
The PPT title boldly proclaimed: "If I were the campus spokesperson, I would—turn the Haiyuan Festival into a large-scale immersive murder mystery game."
After he finished speaking, the audience fell silent. Then a murmur broke out.
On the judges' panel, the silver-haired youth—former champion Masaharu Niou—raised an eyebrow, seemingly intrigued by the opening.
"Imagine walking into school in the morning, and your school uniform is no longer a uniform, but a character card—"
She clicked to turn the page, and several chibi-style character portraits appeared on the screen.
• Genichiro Sanada: Disciplinary Committee Member (Hidden Identity: Descendant of a Samurai)
• Yagyu Hiroshi: Student Council President (Real Setting: The Mastermind)
Niou Masaharu: The Conman NPC (randomly triggered side quests)
• All students: players
A burst of laughter erupted from the audience, and Renwang's teasing "Pfft~" came from the judges' panel.
"For example, our disciplinary committee member, Sanada, hides a hellish samurai soul beneath his serious exterior..."
A burst of laughter erupted from the audience. Sanada, sitting on the judges' panel, looked even more serious than usual.
"Student council president Yagyu, on the surface, is a calm student leader, but his true nature might be—"
At this point, she deliberately lowered her voice to create an air of mystery: "The mastermind?"
"Otherwise, how do you explain how he can always appear in every corner of the campus in an instant and catch you when you're about to do something naughty?"
Yagyu, sitting in the center of the judges' panel, twitched his lips almost imperceptibly, while the audience erupted in laughter and applause.
“And one of our judges today, Niou,” Risa’s gaze met the silver-haired con artist’s, “the con artist NPC, who randomly triggers side quests, such as—”
"Puri~ Want to hear my secret?"
The male voice, perfectly natural, was just like Nioh himself, possessing a subtle magnetism that stirred a stir in the audience.
The magician on stage walked to the edge, his deep, magnetic voice captivating: "Truth or lies, or—"
She suddenly stopped, made a graceful turn, and gave a close-up wink: "You only want me?"
A deafening roar erupted from the audience. The boys jeered and cheered, while the girls excitedly clenched their arms together.
Niou himself rested his chin on his hand, his silver hair swaying slightly, and a meaningful smile appeared on his lips.
"XX-chan~ Why did you choose him instead of me?"
The magician pointed to the void, squinting under the spotlight. Then, she withdrew her finger and placed it on her heart. "Possess me, and you possess the whole world!"
This declaration, with three parts provocation, seven parts jest, and a ninety percent performance, perfectly replicates Niou's usual mischievous tone.
As the background music took a playful turn, Risa's expression instantly switched to an innocent look, and her voice returned to normal.
"You ask me, what is my mission as a campus ambassador?"
The magician on stage tilted his head, tapped his fingertips, and a chibi self-portrait appeared on the screen behind him—wearing a detective hat and holding a magnifying glass.
"My mission is to uncover everyone's secrets."
"certainly--"
"In the most interesting way." In her final ending pose, she raised her index finger and gently touched it to her lips, as the spotlight began to dim.
In the final moments before darkness fell, she slowly lowered her hand, her voice low and hoarse as a murmur:
"Don't even think about escaping!"
This farewell speech, with its chilling magnetism, successfully ignited a frenzy of screams and applause from the entire audience.
On the judges' panel, the specially invited art instructor silently smiled and circled the four characters "Matsuno Risa".
Drama club advisor, Mr. Takahashi, raised his eyebrows, while Niou rested his chin on his hand, his silver t-shaped braid swaying, and his fox-like eyes, with their inward and outward curves, gleamed.
Risa's 90-second speech ended with enthusiastic applause. She bowed gracefully, then stood up straight, waiting for the talent show to begin.
"Next up is a 210-second talent flash mob segment. Time's on—start!"
The moment the countdown began, Risa raised her right hand high, and a crisp snap of her fingers cut through the air.
The next second, a vibrant red rose appeared out of thin air between her fingers.
"Ahhhh—"
The audience erupted in cheers and screams.
"Whoever receives the rose, you have to play along with my act!"
Risa's voice carried a playful laugh as she lightly flicked her wrist.
The roses traced graceful arcs in the air.
Amidst gasps of surprise, it fell into the hands of Kirihara Akaya, who had seaweed-like hair.
Kirihara stood up in a daze, looking at the rose that had suddenly appeared in his hand, which caused the whole room to burst into laughter again.
Little Seaweed's face immediately turned bright red, and in her panic, she instinctively turned to her senior for help.
Renji Yanagi was scribbling furiously in his notebook, seemingly enveloped in an aura of academic genius. And sitting to his right was Captain Yukimura—
He crossed his long legs, rested his chin on his left hand, and lightly tapped the armrest of the seat with his right index finger. His amethyst-like eyes were slightly narrowed, gleaming with a deep light in the dim light.
Kirihara blinked and subtly shrank his neck.
He was all too familiar with that expression on the minister's face—
Whenever he encounters a serious opponent on the court, Yukimura-senpai would show this focused, almost dangerous look in his eyes.
But at this moment, there seemed to be something else mixed in that gaze, making Xiao Hai instinctively feel that it was wiser not to disturb them.
The performance officially began.
[0-30 seconds]
Risa gracefully turned in the center of the stage, making a stunning move: her body was light and suspended in the air, her legs naturally crossed, as if she were sitting on an invisible chair.
This highly difficult suspended sitting posture immediately drew gasps from the audience.
Risa, holding the microphone, suddenly switched to the standard tone of a news anchor: "We now have an breaking news report: Rikkai University's famous con artist has announced his permanent retirement from the entertainment industry due to the accidental leak of his cross-dressing photos!"
On the judges' panel, Niou Masaharu suddenly sat up straight.
At the same time, the stage's large screen "coincidentally" projected a photo of him winning a women's clothing competition last year—his blonde twin ponytails paired with an exaggerated lace dress made him particularly eye-catching under the spotlight.
The entire audience erupted in laughter and cheers, the sound deafening.
[31-120 seconds]
Risa nimbly rose from her suspended position, and the music rhythm abruptly changed. As if by magic, she pulled a baseball cap from behind her back and stylishly flipped it over her head. An impromptu rap began to play in time with the drumbeats:
I heard there's a bunch of weirdos in Rikkai University's tennis club.
One of the three giants, the emperor, always had a dark face.
The smile of the child of God can kill without leaving a trace.
Squinting eyes hiding in the shadows, secretly watching you.
A con artist's tricks never end.
The student council president always appears at crucial moments.
Dessert fanatic, rising star, and hairy boy /
The honest man sighed helplessly, rubbing his forehead.
But they believe the most dangerous thing is—
The sound stopped abruptly, a finger mysteriously pointed to the audience, and a spotlight swept across the crowd.
Just as everyone held their breath in anticipation, the beam of light suddenly fell back, finally striking her precisely.
[This transfer student on stage is pretending to be well-behaved!]
When the rap rhythm started, Yukimura's fingers, which had been lazily resting on his chin, suddenly paused.
When Risa sang "The Smile of the Child of God," several girls in the audience sitting in front of Yukimura turned around and clearly saw his radiant smile and the black lilies blooming behind him.
“This is…a very interesting impromptu performance.” He leaned forward, a low laugh escaping his throat, like the barely contained excitement of a treasure hunter who has discovered a treasure.
Several people gasped, and the girls exchanged glances:
[Matsuno-kun is awesome! He dares to defeat all the regulars in the tennis club on equal terms.]
The final 30 seconds were nothing short of magic.
Risa pulled a stack of blank playing cards from her pocket, flicked her wrist, and the cards flew into the air like snowflakes.
When the cards land, each one transforms into a banknote image printed with "200,000 yen" (actually, it's a carefully designed sticker).
“I’ve reserved the prize money.” She twirled her finger, and a “banknote” appeared out of thin air, which she waved defiantly at the camera.
The timer stopped exactly at 210 seconds, down to the second.
The moment the performance ended, the auditorium erupted in thunderous applause and cheers. At that moment, she was undoubtedly the brightest spotlight in the entire venue.
Risa, slightly out of breath, gracefully bowed to the audience in thanks, her bangs damp with sweat.
On the judges' panel, Niou Masaharu was the first to speak: "...Pfft, this contestant is quite daring."
The more nonchalantly he speaks, the more turbulent the undercurrents in his eyes.
Sanada clapped his hands with a dark expression, offering a concise and powerful assessment: "Fully creative and highly interactive."
Drama club advisor Takahashi admired the performance, but questioned, "While the improvisational skills and stage presence are certainly top-notch, isn't it a bit too provocative to the judges?"
The man sitting next to Liu Sheng, the mysterious special art director, gently stroked his chin with his slender fingers, remaining silent throughout.
But his hawk-like gaze never left Risa from the moment she first took her first leap into the air. The excitement of discovering a rare treasure was boiling in his blood, yet perfectly restrained by years of professional training.
“Interesting…” the man murmured softly, his voice fading into the applause.
The pen twirled between his fingers, leaving deep ink marks on the grade sheet.
It wasn't a rating, but a line of small print:
[Absolutely a stage presence, a natural performer. Needs... special attention.]
In the audience, Kirihara Akaya was still holding the red rose in a daze.
Was the promised interactive performance actually a lie?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
