Chapter 12

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Low murmurs in the room broke out.

“God, look at her. It’s as if she’d just walked out of a painting. She’s even more attractive than the celebrities on TV.”

“She’s so d*mn fine. Her looks, her elegance—she’s my high school goddess!”

“I can’t believe she’s in our class. Tell me I’m not dreaming.”

…

“Doing great, people. Let’s see if we can aim for one-take.”

Jiang Sheng lowered his head, pretending to be busy scrolling his phone. Yet, he was distracted. He had been peeping at Ning Xue out of the corner of his eye. It was then he received an aggressive poke from the back.

“Supporting lead, you’re up. Don’t forget your lines!”

Jack looked over his shoulder and saw his best friend back from middle school winking and wriggling his face, cueing him to head outside with him.

“And now the next scene—let’s all take some time to breathe before we move on.”

When the two boys had sneaked into the toilet, the supporting lead punched Jack. “Dude, did you know what just happened back there? A hot girl asked to sit next to you. I don’t think you understand what it stands for, especially the boys in our class—they were dead jealous.”

Jack chuckled. “What’s so special about it?”

“Amazing. And that’s our one-take.”

It was always customary for the guys to ballot for the prettiest girl in their class or school. And now, the lead’s first crush had been voted with both titles. One morning, he noticed how her desk got bombarded with love letters. Something welled up inside of him. None of the words on the page he was reading made any sense.

It was until she came—Jiang Sheng had noticed Ning Xue had a change of clothes—that his emotions went on a rollercoaster ride. First, he saw her brows furrowed, then she gathered all of the letters and relocated them to their new home—the trashcan. Every. Single. One of them.

He rejoiced, unable to hide the corner of his lips twitching up. Teenage love—how sweet, naive and beautiful it was.

“Ready, Mrs. Smith.”

Perhaps it was how he was emitting smug vibes all day long, the math teacher, Mrs. Smith, found him too hard to miss and was about to call his name while she raised her chalk.

Shoot.

He hadn’t been paying attention. He didn’t know how to solve the question on the board. He tried to avoid eye contact.

She lifted her head from her textbook, eyeing Mrs. Smith. “Mrs. Smith, I know how to solve the question.”

“And cut! Bravo, Ning Xue. Flawless! You’re a genius!”

Though the camera had already stopped rolling, the cast had remained in their position, reminiscing about the leads’ performances.

It was a perfect sunny day.

The breeze rustled through the trees in the school compound with students anchored under the shade trees chattering, the buzzing cicadas’ songs high pitched.

Jiang Sheng turned to the woman next to him. What would’ve happened if she had appeared earlier? It would’ve tinted his early manhood, uneventful and boring with bright and vibrant colors.

“What’s on your mind?” Ning Xue knocked on his forehead.

“Sometimes, I can’t help but wonder that you’re too good for me.”

She grabbed his hand. “Silly you. Don’t get distracted just yet. We still have another half session left.”

After the second half of the filming, all crew and paparazzi were enchanted by Ning Xue, leaving Lucy enraged. She stomped her feet in anger, but no one cared.

The next scene transition came.

After school, Jack was rushing to the balcony when a gang of his seniors—boys and girls combined—stopped him at the corner of the stairwell.

“So you’re the guy sitting next to Jessica? I heard she’s on cleaning duty today. You tell her our gang leader’s into her and ask to meet at the balcony. Go, now. We’ll be waiting upstairs.”

Jack cocked his eyebrow—they messed with the wrong person. He smiled understandingly. “Sure.”

The guy leading the group felt something strange—why did the kiddo seem off?

Jack pretended to turn the opposite way. But once he was sure that the group had left, he tagged along.

His best friend caught up with him, saying, “Why didn’t you wait for me? Why are you headed to the balcony?”

“To kick some *ss.”

“What? Who? Whoah, hold on. Let’s take it easy. Who stepped on your toes?”

“Butt out.”

The delinquents on the balcony were talking about how pretty Jessica was when someone kicked the door open.

“Hey. Where’s Jessica? Oh, I see what’s going on now—you like her, don’t you? Are you tryna to be a hero here? No problem. We’re graduating anyway. Get him, boys!”

Jack had an unreadable expression on his face, his nimbus fueling the tension in the atmosphere. He smirked. Two versus six—he had never been afraid of losing.

Seeing Jiang Sheng’s immersion in the role, the director almost thought he was portraying his real emotions—it was a commendable skill of an experienced actor.

Jack threw his fist, hitting the leader right at his cheek.

“Body contact, people. Make sure you don’t get hurt!”

It was chaotic. Jack was unharmed except for the punch he’d received at the corner of his lips.

The three boys got beaten up badly, begging for mercy, and the three girls stood rooted to the ground.

“Remember,” Jack said. “Jessica belongs to me.”

And Ning Xue belonged to Jiang Sheng..