Chapter 59. Beauty

On the day of the school festival, the dancers went to the logistics office to collect their uniforms, and Chen Du appeared in the midst of all the other dancers. He was a big man with broad shoulders and long legs, which made him stand out very much.

Chen Jiashu did not come, saying that she had a matter to take care of, and she asked Chen Du to collect the costumes on behalf of her.

So Chen Du stood in for Chen Jiashu, and Dai Yining was in front of him. One by one, the people in front of them left after receiving their clothes. The queue in front of them slowly shortened, while the queue behind them slowly followed.

The man behind her remained silent from the beginning to the end. He didn’t say a word, nor did he make any big movements, but he still invisibly gave people a sense of total oppression. Dai Yining was terrified of him. She stood in front of him with bated breath, not daring to breathe out. Her heart was very weak.

Yesterday, he almost saw her.

Dai Yining was still frightened when she thought about what happened at that time. If she had reacted a little slower, if she had stood a little off, she might have been exposed.

She didn’t know how these two, surnamed Chen, got into the same household registry. Anyway, the last time she tried to deduct Chen Jia Shu points, and in the end she didn’t get to deduct it. Yet, he looked at her like she owed him money and his face was as long as a donkey. He was extremely protective of that calf. Dai Yining could see it. If Chen Du saw what she did yesterday, he would tear her up.

Chen Jiashu was not coming. Dai Yining had been on tenterhooks for a long while before she arrived. She could see Chen Jiashu’s defeat, but when a dog was desperate, it could jump the wall. In case she exploded, Chen Jiashu might beat her up on the spot. If Chen Jiashu beat her up on the spot, it would be self-defeating.

With Chen Du around, it would be a nice buffer in the middle. After all, he did not know. The clothes from the school to the instructor and then to the logistics department. The clothes had changed hands in the middle so many times that the folds and tears and so on can not be investigated. There was no proof of anything so it absolutely could not be blamed on her head. If they wanted to suspect, it was only suspicion. Could they really do anything to her?

After thinking about it for a while, she finally put her mind at ease as nothing had gone wrong.

The actors were all eager to spread out their clothes and try them on, covering their bodies. Chen Du took the bag of clothes and held it in his hands. He didn’t open it. Even if he didn’t open it, he knew what type of mess was inside. He didn’t say a word, but Dai Yining pretended in front of him. “Chen Jiashu looks so good in that dress.”

“……” He looked at her inexplicably and pulled the corners of his mouth, “Oh, yeah.”

Dai Yining nodded repeatedly, her expression looking sincere, “Yes, yes, during the rehearsal, the way she walked out from backstage dressed as a black swan was really beautiful.”

This was indeed true. As much as she tried to screw up Chen Jiashu’s dance, she couldn’t scratch her face as well.

The Black Swan and White Swan costumes were actually of the same class. The same fabric and the same workmanship, but with different colours and styles of decoration. Chen Jiashu looked better in the white feather dress than she did, and she looked equally good in the black feather dress. Even the black matched a certain temperament in her. It was a brooding, cold sophistication, like a black diamond that was left alone. It was more tentative than white, making people unable to look away.

It was at that moment that Dai Yining’s jealousy, which had just been suppressed a little, popped up again like a spring. Jealousy attacked her and she went back and tore up her group, making a public spectacle of her.

When she mentioned Chen Jiashu to Chen Du, she was more or less uncertainly tentative and hid a twisted pleasure, but she kept her face quiet. She smiled quietly and said that Chen Jiashu was beautiful as a black swan.

“Hmm.”

Chen Du hmmed and walked away, carrying the clothes.

There was absolutely no intention to chat with her further.

Dai Yining: “……”

After making a fool of herself, she rolled her eyes silently at his back, collected her dress, and walked away with a sneer.

At three o’clock that afternoon, the centennial celebration of the school’s cultural performance began in the auditorium.

While the school song was playing in the auditorium, the leaders and student representatives were guided to their seats by the receptionist. The backstage was a bustling mess, with shadows of people coming and going like pins and needles. Make-up was being touched up, lines were being memorised, movements were being practised, and whispers were mixed in with the sounds of talking and shouting, making it as lively as a pot of boiling porridge.

Teacher Chen was in a hurry. The hosts were already announcing in front of the stage, but Chen Jiashu was late and there was no sign that he was going to be there. She called several times but no one answered.

Dai Yining sat in front of the dressing table, refilling her mascara, brushing it up and down patiently. The two little sisters next to her knew about it and were a little worried, “Why hasn’t she come yet, will he be okay?”

“Yeah, she’s an important character anyway. The show isn’t even complete without her.”

“Yining, you are so …… isn’t that a bit too much ……”

Dai Yining turned her mascara back to the table and threw it. The corners of her mouth rose and her eyes were cold, “What do you mean? What’s wrong with me? Did I do something?”

“……” The girl silenced her voice.

Dai Yining swept a glance towards Teacher Song’s side and withdrew her eyes without moving, “She’s not coming. Naturally she’s the one to take the blame for what happened to the show. What do we have to worry about?”

She did not expect Chen Jiashu to be so courageous, but there were all the leaders of the school sitting on the stage. At the centennial celebration ceremony, there were several bigwigs from the capital. It was such an important performance stage, she would not come.

However, on second thought, instead of making a fool of himself in front of so many people, why not really stay away? If she wore that kind of dress on stage, I’m afraid it would go down in history as a joke.

“That’s right, she’s on her own. What’s there to worry about?” A little sister spoke up for Dai Yining, “It’s better not to dance like that. It’s a disgrace to Swan Lake even if she does.”

“What Swan Lake? It’s a pheasant lake.” A few people burst into laughter again.

“If she’s here today, she’s embarrassing us. If she’s not, she’s ruining her own career.

As soon as the words left her mouth, the backstage door creaked open and a girl pushed her way in.

Everyone looked up.

With just one glance, everyone’s eyes were instantly fixed, stunned by the beauty in front of them to the point of losing their voices.

The backstage commotion suddenly became quiet.