Chapter 256: The Ice Flower Blooms

“Old Ma, this show is quite something.”

“It’s really opened my eyes.”

On the main stage, a stylishly dressed middle-aged woman stood beside Principal Ma, watching the performance with admiration as she spoke.

“In Hong Kong City, a guitar is just a guitar, and traditional dance is just traditional dance.”

“I never imagined a guitar could play music that fits so well with a traditional dance.”

“And the key thing is—it sounds amazing.”

“Really, really impressive.”

Hearing this, Ma Jian’s smile grew even wider.

Truth be told, eighty percent of the reason the school anniversary celebration was such a grand affair today was because of this woman—Ji Ruting.

She was Ma Jian’s elementary school classmate.

After graduating, she had moved with her family to Hong Kong City. Over the years, she’d ridden the waves of business, building a sizable enterprise and amassing considerable wealth.

Perhaps it was a desire to return to her roots.

She wanted to come back and do some charity work.

Coincidentally, Ma Jian had also been thinking that some of the school’s outdated facilities needed upgrading.

So he invited his old classmate to attend the school’s anniversary celebration.

To be honest, during the earlier performances, Ma Jian hadn’t dared to say much in front of Ji Ruting.

The choir was off-key, the street dance looked like someone having a seizure, and that skit “Fan Jin Passes the Imperial Examination”—what was the message supposed to be?

If you want to say something, say it on a regular day. Why bring this kind of act to a school celebration?

Ma Jian had nearly blown a gasket.

All of it had made him seriously reconsider asking his old classmate for sponsorship.

Until that freshman’s performance just now.

That was when the idea reignited in his mind, and he couldn’t stop praising the student.

Said the voice was great—youthful and full of energy.

Said the stage presence was solid—shy on the surface, but not the least bit timid.

Said the guitar playing was decent—every note was right on pitch.

He nearly praised the song choice too.

However, Ji Ruting didn’t say much. She just gave him a look, half-smile, half-not.

“Old Ma, don’t tell me that was your grand finale?”

Old Ma would never admit to that.

Besides, the girl named Qi Wen who was going to dance next—he’d seen her perform in person.

She might not be on par with professional stars, but among student performers, she was in a league of her own.

As for Jiang Ning playing guitar, as long as she wasn’t intentionally sabotaging the performance, there wouldn’t be a problem.

Moreover, with Jiang Ning’s looks, Ma Jian figured, even if she just stood there doing nothing, she’d still be more captivating than most of the other acts.

And just as Old Ma had guessed, Ji Ruting was indeed taken aback by Jiang Ning’s appearance.

She said that even in Hong Kong City, girls like her were rare.

But what happened next took Ma Jian by surprise.

Jiang Ning could actually play the guitar.

And not just play—she played with precision and professionalism.

Even more surprising was her voice.

It was unexpectedly beautiful.

Easily on par with those celebrities on TV.

Ma Jian was stunned.

It wasn’t until his old classmate praised her bel canto style that he finally snapped out of it.

As the performance neared its end, Old Ma thought for a moment.

Then he pulled out his trump card.

“Old friend, have you heard of the National Olympic Math Competition?”

Ji Ruting didn’t understand why Ma Jian suddenly brought that up, but she smiled warmly and nodded.

“Of course.”

“It’s the top math competition for high school students in the country.”

“Students selected from it are among the best in the world.”

At that, Ji Ruting paused.

Because she noticed the expression on her old classmate’s face had suddenly taken on a deeper meaning.

He pointed at the pretty girl on stage with the guitar.

“The 16th National High School Olympic Math Competition, held recently in Haicheng.”

“She, Jiang Ning, was one of the seven gold medalists.”

———

In the end, Guan Dan still couldn’t save her future.

She stared blankly at the shattered videotape in her hands, at a complete loss for words.

Should she blame that girl for being careless?

For ruining the first half of their recording?

Or should she drag the girl to the school leaders and demand severe punishment?

What was the point?

Because that girl was Ye Na.

The little princess of the Sanmu Group.

The kind of person who’s treated like a delicate treasure.

Forget accidentally breaking a camera—if she’d smashed it on purpose, the TV station wouldn’t dare say a word.

What’s more, she’d already said she would send over a brand-new camera shortly, so they could continue filming the rest of the event.

Given that, Guan Dan couldn’t say anything.

Though she had her suspicions that Miss Ye had broken the camera on purpose.

Otherwise, how could she have a replacement ready so quickly?

But then again, there was no reason for her to do that.

The TV station was only here to film the school’s anniversary celebration.

Nothing more, nothing less.

So breaking the camera served no purpose.

There was nothing she could do.

As frustrated and furious as she was, Guan Dan had no choice but to swallow the bitter pill.

She even had to coax and flatter Miss Ye.

Just to maintain the connection.

Little did she know.

The pale-faced girl in front of her, pearls nearly falling from her earrings, was already lost in a fantasy.

Imagining how she and her white knight would spend a romantic evening together.

……

At that moment.

On stage.

The final notes of the music faded away.

Jiang Ning stilled the trembling strings of her guitar, and beside her, Qi Wen landed her final move with perfect synchronicity.

Then—

The entire auditorium fell into a long, heavy silence.

A second later—

A single clap rang out from somewhere in the crowd.

And then—

Thunderous applause erupted like a tidal wave, rolling across the hall in wave after wave.

Cheers followed.

“That was amazing!!!”

“Perfect!!!”

Shouts echoed through the space.

“Encore!!”

“Beautiful!!”

Even declarations of love rang out.

“Fairy!! I love you!!”

“Queen of the Night!!”

“I want to have little monsters with you!!”

So many voices.

Rising and falling like the tide.

For a moment, Miss Jiang almost felt like she was hallucinating.

She closed her eyes.

It felt as if she were standing at the edge of the ocean, facing massive waves crashing toward her, one after another.

In truth—

This was her first time revealing herself in front of such a large crowd.

It had been a bit impulsive.

But she didn’t regret it.

After all, it was just a school performance.

In an era where even cell phones were rare, it wasn’t realistic to expect her name to spread far just by word of mouth.

As long as she controlled the only channel of publicity, it wouldn’t have much impact on her life.

So—

The only real problem now was—

How to get Little Tao to willingly spend the night under Little Ye’s arrangement.

That was going to be tricky.

As she was lost in thought—

Miss Jiang suddenly sensed something.

She opened her eyes.

Qi Wen, dressed in a flowing chiffon dress, her cheeks flushed, had somehow appeared right in front of her.

She reached out and took Jiang Ning’s hand.

Her soft palm was slick with sweat.

Whether from nerves or excitement, it was hard to tell.

Seeing this—

Miss Jiang smiled.

That bright face of hers now carried a hint of allure.

Then she stood up.

Holding her little wife’s hand.

She gave a small bow to the audience of over a thousand people.

…

Even after the two graceful figures had left the stage for several minutes—

The cheers, applause, and chatter from the audience still hadn’t died down.

“So this is the legendary ‘Skill: 5’? What a load of crap!”

“Exactly! That performance was incredible! Only 5 points? The judge must be blind!”

“For real! Aside from clothing and personality, all the other scores are way off!”

“What do you think, Brother Luo?”

Hearing the question from the classmate beside him, Luo Chengming smiled but didn’t answer.

As if silently agreeing.

However—

In his mind, another image surfaced: a graceful girl dancing with elegance and poise.

He unconsciously licked his lips…

…

“Jiang Ning’s got god-tier looks, a brilliant mind, and a killer voice.”

“Only downside is her bad temper and lack of fashion sense.”

“Otherwise, she’d be the definition of a perfect goddess.”

Hearing the murmurs from some boys in another class behind them—

“Ah,” Hu Gugu sighed softly, patting Li Mingwei’s shoulder and whispering in consolation,

“Bro, maybe it’s time to stop torturing yourself…”

At the sound of his voice—

Li Mingwei lowered his head and stayed silent for a long time.

Just when Hu Gugu thought his words had gotten through—

Li Mingwei suddenly looked up.

He smiled.

But there was a trace of melancholy in that smile.

He pointed to his chest.

“I tried.”

“It didn’t work.”

“Because she’s already carved deep into here.”

…

Elsewhere—

Over in the second-year section—

Amid the still-buzzing chatter around her, Xia Zhi seemed to think of something.

She glanced down at her phone.

Sure enough, the call was still connected.

After a moment’s thought—

She cupped her hand over the receiver.

“Hey, are you still there?”

A soft “Mm” came from the other end.

Hearing that—

Xia Zhi swept her gaze across the grand auditorium.

The corners of her lips lifted.

“Tao Tao, starting today…”

“The ice queen has officially bloomed.”

“Do you regret transferring schools now?”

(End of Chapter)