Chapter 6: The Prince and the Princess
That strange and ambiguous night with Sister Yameng felt like a fleeting dream. Neither of them mentioned it again after their eyes met that morning. The siblings continued their lives as usual, but there was an unspoken understanding between them. Lu Li was troubled by his absurd thoughts, unable to eat or sleep properly. Countless times he wanted to bring it up, but he was always stopped by an inexplicable cowardice. The more he cherished a relationship, the less he dared to cross the line.
“Lu Li? You’re spacing out again?” Wen Hupo’s voice brought him back to reality. Lu Li put down the book about gender differences he was holding and rubbed his temples in distress. “What time is it? I zoned out again…”
It was late December, more than half a month had passed since he returned to Chuanhai City. He went to school every day, did some unskilled part-time jobs on weekends, and occasionally had dinner at the Chu family’s at Chu Jingyi’s invitation. He left his laptop in the school’s activity classroom and put a new lock on the door so he could work on his indie game during his free time. Naturally, this meant interacting with the blonde girl who had claimed the classroom as her own.
However, Wen Hupo was very aloof and often just huddled in a corner, drawing, not bothering to talk to him. Until one day, Lu Li forgot to plug in his headphones while testing his game, and the sound played out loud. He thought Wen Hupo would scold him, but to his surprise, the blonde girl came over with interest and asked him what he was doing. From then on, they gradually started talking more. However, Wen Hupo still wasn’t very talkative. Most of the time, she would just ask a question or two and then yawn tiredly, as if even speaking was exhausting.
“It’s three in the afternoon. You’re skipping class again, aren’t you?” Wen Hupo put down her paintbrush. “I really don’t understand why Chuanhai No. 1 High School would accept a student like you. You skip four out of seven classes a day.”
You’re the last person who should be saying that. Lu Li thought to himself. Wen Hupo was even worse. She hadn’t attended a single class since transferring. Every day, she just hid in the activity classroom, drawing, reading, or listening to music.
“Maybe because I have good grades, the teachers turn a blind eye.” Lu Li said shamelessly.
“That’s a very ‘you’ answer, outstanding representative.” Wen Hupo laughed, her voice like silver bells. She truly found Lu Li interesting. How could such a seemingly decent young man be so shameless?
“So, what troubles our brilliant outstanding representative?” Wen Hupo put down her paintbrush, walked behind Lu Li, and stared at the computer screen for a while. “Why is the progress so slow? You were already working on this haunted house scene last week.”
“Good things take time. I can’t be careless now that the game is nearing completion.” Lu Li scratched his head, suddenly realizing that Wen Hupo might be a good consultant. “Miss Wen Hupo, do you think love can blossom between two people who are like family?”
“Outstanding representative, don’t you find that disgusting?” Wen Hupo’s expression turned disgusted. “Humans spent thousands of years evolving an anti-incest mechanism to avoid genetic defects. Are you trying to single-handedly overturn that mechanism?”
“They’re not really family, they’re not blood-related…”
“Then wouldn’t that be childhood sweethearts?”
“Yes, that’s right, childhood sweethearts.” Lu Li slapped his forehead, realizing something.
Wen Hupo pondered for a moment before saying, “It’s normal for two people who have always been close to develop romantic feelings. The difference between love and friendship lies in sex. Once there’s a sexual desire, it’s no longer just friendship.” It was rare for a girl her age to talk about sex and love so frankly.
Lu Li naturally followed up, “And young men rarely don’t think about sex, so this might just be one-sided love?”
Wen Hupo looked at him in surprise. How many times had this happened? Lu Li always seemed to be able to say the things she was thinking, as if he could read her mind. Yes, she just wanted to mock Lu Li for his strong desires and promiscuity. She always thought he was a scumbag who didn’t respect girls’ feelings.
“Not necessarily. If the girl also has that kind of desire, then it’s mutual love.” Wen Hupo looked out the window and saw Chu Jingyi running towards them. “Lu Li, I truly feel sorry for Chu Jingyi.”
Lu Li, however, asked, “Then how can you tell if the girl has that kind of desire?”
Wen Hupo’s face flushed red, a rare sight. “Are you sexually harassing me?”
Just then, Chu Jingyi burst through the door, her expression hurried. Seeing Lu Li leisurely sitting in front of the computer, she pouted. “You big liar, always slacking off!” Before Lu Li could respond, the anxious Chu Jingyi grabbed Wen Hupo’s hand. “Hupo, Hupo, we need your help!”
“What happened? Let me handle it!” Seeing Chu Jingyi’s panicked expression, Lu Li wanted to be helpful and stood up, puffing out his chest with a heroic air.
Silly Goose gave him a reproachful look, then turned to Wen Hupo. “Hupo, we can’t decide on the actress for Sleeping Beauty in the play. Everyone is arguing, so we can only ask for your help.”
Hearing this, Lu Li slumped back into his chair and pretended not to hear.
The New Year’s Eve party was approaching, and each class was busy rehearsing their performances. Class 1 of the second-year liberal arts program had chosen the play Sleeping Beauty. Chu Jingyi was the director and wasn’t participating in the performance. Lu Li and An Baili had opted out early on, showing no sense of collective honor. Wait, was Wen Hupo also a student in their class?
As Chu Jingyi explained, Lu Li and Wen Hupo finally understood the situation.
After deciding on the play, the class started voting for the cast. Roles like Maleficent, the King, and the Queen were less contested. But when it came to Prince Phillip and Princess Aurora, the class erupted into heated arguments. What Lu Li didn’t know was that this small, elite class was actually divided into several cliques, each resembling a mini political party.
The girls all wanted to nominate their close friends for the role of Princess Aurora, to prove that their clique was the prettiest and most popular in the entire grade. Of course, with An Baili and Chu Jingyi out of the running, they could argue until they were blue in the face, but they couldn’t reach a consensus. No one was willing to concede.
The boys also had their own agendas, adding a touch of romantic fantasy to this love story. They dreamed of developing a more-than-friends relationship with the prettiest girl through this performance. It was a very innocent perspective on love. At least they hadn’t yet become jaded enough to realize that money could solve most problems.
This kind of naive and comical bickering was what high school life was like in Lu Li’s memory. After listening to Chu Jingyi’s explanation, he chuckled. “So how is our esteemed Class Monitor going to solve this problem?”
Chu Jingyi was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. Seeing Lu Li’s amused expression, she couldn’t help but punch him with her small fist.
“Why are you hitting me?”
“Just because!” Silly Goose snorted.
“Anyway, we just need to find a ‘princess’ that everyone agrees on.” Chu Jingyi counted on her fingers. “Baili would be perfect, but you wouldn’t let her stand out, would you? Besides Baili, Chen Luoluo could also work, but she would have to dye her hair back and take off her earrings… After thinking about it, I remembered Hupo. If Hupo plays the role, no one would object!”
Indeed, Wen Hupo not only had outstanding looks, but her temperament was also ethereal and refined. She was also Caucasian, perfectly matching the image of Princess Aurora.
But could she play the role of a princess? Lu Li could imagine Wen Hupo standing on stage with a cold expression, reciting her lines without any emotion. The image was so cruel that he couldn’t help but laugh.
“Silly Jingyi, aren’t you perfect for the role too?” Lu Li couldn’t help but pat the anxious girl’s head. “Who would dare to say they’re prettier than you?”
“No, no way…” Chu Jingyi couldn’t handle compliments. Her ears turned red. “I… I don’t…”
“But I don’t want Jingyi to play someone else’s princess.” Lu Li changed his tone. “Silly Jingyi should just focus on being the director.”
Hearing this, Silly Goose felt as sweet as honey. She hummed in agreement, her voice soft and gentle, completely different from her anxious self just a moment ago. Wen Hupo looked back and forth between the two, finally understanding how Lu Li had wrapped Chu Jingyi around his finger. Sigh, Chu Jingyi, you’re so hopeless! Just a little coaxing from him and you’re ready to count his money for him?
Silly Goose looked at the blonde girl with pleading eyes. “Hupo, please…”
To be honest, Wen Hupo didn’t like participating in this kind of play. It wasn’t because she was shy, but because she simply hated this kind of contrived fairy tale. She disliked the idea of a princess waking up and having to spend the rest of her life with a stranger. It was a tragedy filled with fatalism. People always thought that heroes should be paired with beauties, princes with princesses, that Huang Yueying must have been a beautiful woman who veiled her face, and that there must have been a hidden story behind Liang Hong and Meng Guang. It was like a mental shackle, binding individuals and telling them: You’re not worthy.
But seeing Chu Jingyi’s pleading eyes, Wen Hupo’s heart softened, and she actually agreed. “Okay.” Damn it, she realized that Chu Jingyi had her figured out. She was terrible at dealing with people like Chu Jingyi, who were so pure and innocent. All her tricks were useless against her.
Lu Li is much easier to deal with. Wen Hupo thought to herself.
Lu Li was grinning from ear to ear. He could already imagine Wen Hupo making a fool of herself on stage. After all, Wen Hupo definitely wouldn’t cooperate obediently. She would definitely mess up the class’s performance.
But before he could gloat for too long, Silly Goose gently took his hand. “Lu Li, you’re going to play the prince.”
Lu Li’s smile instantly froze.
“I nominated Lu Li for the role of the prince, and no one objected.” Chu Jingyi said proudly, like a child seeking praise from her parents.
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