“Is Xiao Ran leaving?”
Gu Ge reached out to take Jiang Ran’s hand.
The latter hesitated for a moment, but seeing Gu Ge like that, she simply nodded.
“Yes, there are some things at school. If I have time to come back, I’ll come see you again, Sister Gu Ge.”
“It’s fine.”
Gu Ge shook her head.
“It’s a good thing that Xiao Ran has her own business to attend to. I can’t let myself delay the things you need to do.”
“Mhm.”
Jiang Ran stood up and began packing her things.
After checking her items and confirming nothing was missing, she stood up to say goodbye to Gu Ge.
As she left, she couldn’t stop thinking about Gu Ge’s condition.
She felt Gu Ge was very strange; she was perfectly normal most of the time, but when she was frantic, she was truly insane.
It was honestly a bit difficult to figure out.
Jiang Ran sniffled, stepped out of the building, and put on her jacket again.
The jacket she wore was just a thin layer intended purely for sun protection.
She hailed a Didi and sent a message to Su Wanqing after getting in the car.
“I’m in the car. About how long will it take to get there? You need to notify me about these things in advance next time. How can you tell me at the last minute?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t expect the leadership to suddenly come to inspect the program. It’s all the fault of that old woman, Tao Xixue. She didn’t notify us. By the way, don’t get too close to her later; that woman is terrifying.”
Jiang Ran was startled.
It was actually Tao Xixue who suddenly wanted to inspect the program.
Why would it be so sudden?
Jiang Ran felt a sense of unease, but since she wasn’t sure, she said nothing.
She simply told Su Wanqing to wait, as she would arrive shortly.
A lot of people had already gathered at the rehearsal site.
Most of them were part of the Freshman Gala, including both freshmen and older students.
The older students were mostly participating to earn Academic Credit, while some freshmen had actively volunteered to find a partner.
Su Wanqing held her phone, looking around to see if Jiang Ran had arrived.
With so many people around, what if some boy tried to hit on Jiang Ran?
No, girls wouldn’t do either.
Jiang Ran was so cute; she absolutely could not be hit on by anyone else.
Su Wanqing switched into radar mode, focusing all her attention on the people around her.
Soon, the appearance of a figure caught her eye.
Although the person was a bit blurry in the distance, Su Wanqing still recognized her as Jiang Ran.
“Jiang Ran, you’re finally here!”
The travel-worn Jiang Ran pressed her hands against her knees, panting heavily.
She didn’t even dare to take a deep breath as her chest continued to heave.
“Don’t make it so urgent next time. I almost died running on the way here.”
Jiang Ran couldn’t help but cough a few times.
Su Wanqing hurried forward to help rub Jiang Ran’s back and said seriously, “You actually didn’t need to push yourself so hard. This rehearsal was indeed very abrupt. Thank you for your hard work.”
Jiang Ran looked up, surveyed the surroundings, and couldn’t help but ask, “So where are the people for the rehearsal? I don’t see anyone. They couldn’t have not arrived yet, right?”
Su Wanqing opened her phone, her long eyelashes fluttering slightly.
Her snowy-white fingers pressed against the screen as she murmured, “This notification was also quite sudden. I expect they are still in the preparation stage. The notice said the inspectors would be here soon, but as for how soon, I don’t know yet. Let’s go inside first.”
“Okay.”
Jiang Ran nodded, and the two walked inside along the path.
The rehearsal site was inside the Sports Hall.
There were many people on the stage, all of them rehearsing.
It was the first time Jiang Ran had seen so many performers gathered together.
Presumably, only the Freshman Gala could attract this many people.
She had heard from a Senior that for previous programs, they often had to force a Club to provide a performance.
Only an event like the Freshman Gala could successfully recruit people.
“There are so many people, see?”
Su Wanqing led Jiang Ran to the audience seats on the Second Floor.
This was the spectator area, and there were also many dancers nearby touching up their makeup.
“Do we speakers need to wear makeup?”
“Probably not. You look great without it anyway, so there’s no need to do something unnecessary. Besides, we’re just giving a speech, not performing.”
“That’s true.”
Jiang Ran nodded, her gaze falling on the surrounding performing arts students.
The students were walking around, and some were whispering to each other.
“Hurry up! It’s almost time for our inspection. Our teacher is already here. Is yours here? I can’t see where they are.”
“They’re right down there. But our teacher left as soon as they arrived. They probably look down on us.”
“Ah, something like that actually happened?”
“Yeah, it’s quite normal.”
***
The idle gossip reached Jiang Ran’s ears.
The two watched the people rehearsing in the distance; it would soon be their turn.
Fortunately, they were only giving a speech, so there weren’t many procedures to follow.
Su Wanqing was the first one to go up.
As she stepped onto the stage, Jiang Ran sat in the waiting area.
During this time, she spotted Tao Xixue in the distance.
It turned out that Tao Xixue really was a judge today.
Beside her were several older men who appeared to be school leaders.
On the stage, Su Wanqing cleared her throat and followed the process in a broadcasting voice.
Jiang Ran looked at the script in her hand and realized that Su Wanqing had modified the speech.
Compared to last time, the examples in the middle section had been adjusted.
As Jiang Ran read, she observed the reactions of others.
Almost no one noticed them.
There were only some mischievous boys tentatively playing basketball on the edge of the area.
Jiang Ran sat in her chair, her thoughts drifting back and forth.
In a short while, Su Wanqing finished her speech, and then it was Jiang Ran’s turn.
Compared to Su Wanqing, Jiang Ran’s movements seemed much more stiff.
She stood on the stage, holding the script, and began reading the lines as agreed.
While she was reading, her voice wasn’t very loud, but with the help of the microphone, the sound was still amplified.
The people who were still preparing stopped in their tracks when they heard Jiang Ran’s voice.
Jiang Ran, who was still reading, was also dazed.
She was just reading from the script—why was everyone looking at her?
Jiang Ran, completely unaware that her Charm Value had increased too much and was already causing a backlash, continued to read the script mechanically.
After she finished everything, the host invited her to step down, and Jiang Ran scurried away.
Only then did the surrounding crowd gradually disperse.
The people around them finally reacted.
“That girl finished her speech. Her voice actually sounds quite nice. Is she from our class? It feels like I’ve never seen her before.”
“I haven’t seen her either, but that girl is definitely beautiful. I’m guessing she’s a freshman. Otherwise, she definitely would have been posted on the Confession Wall last year. I’m the Administrator of the Confession Wall, and I’ve never seen this girl.”
The surrounding discussions grew louder.
The passersby weren’t anxious, but Su Wanqing was.
She suddenly regretted letting Jiang Ran go on stage.
If she had known, she would have kept Jiang Ran by her side as an assistant.
At the same time, Tao Xixue watched the changes in the surroundings.
Fiddling with a Card in her hand, she said softly, “It looks like she really might be an Ability User.”