Chapter 50: The End of Legitimate Slacking

“Zhong Tian! Over here, over here.”

Jiang Nanjin, holding the feline class president by the classroom door, waved to Zhong Tian.

Once Zhong Tian reached her side, Jiang Nanjin lowered her voice and said, “Later, you and the vice class president will find a place to practice singing. Of course, you won’t need to practice, nor will you have to join in the preparations in the classroom. Feel free to slack off!”

Upon hearing this, Zhong Tian’s mood instantly brightened.

‘Thank you, Jiang Nanjin!’

‘Legitimate slacking off!’

‘Once Yu Naixi sorts out the singing competition, wouldn’t I be completely free?’

‘Oh, wait, I still have to be a maid…’

‘Never mind, at least it’s better than before.’

Having resolved his thoughts, Zhong Tian maintained his good mood. He returned to his seat, retrieved his sketchbook and mechanical pencil from his canvas bag, then exited the classroom door to await Chen Chenchen’s arrival.

Inside the classroom, Chen Chenchen and Qin Dong had just finished discussing the arrangements for the class’s scene setup.

Qin Dong clapped her hands, raising her voice to rally everyone, and quickly assigned groups and tasks to the students.

The classroom slowly grew lively.

Zhong Tian glanced around, noticing similar situations in other classes; everyone seemed quite enthusiastic.

‘Hmm… it seems everyone has a task, while I’m just slacking off.’

‘Suddenly, I feel a little embarrassed.’

Zhong Tian chose to turn his back, holding his sketchbook, and gaze at the scenery outside the teaching building.

‘Out of sight, out of mind, as they say. Avoidance may be shameful, but it’s effective.’

A moment later, Chen Chenchen emerged.

“I apologize for the wait, Zhong Tian,” he said with a polite smile. “I plan to borrow an empty practice room from the music students. We’ll probably practice for an afternoon, then return to the classroom to help out in the evening.”

‘Only practicing for one afternoon?’

‘However, upon reflection, it seems sufficient. After all, in his arrangement, Zhong Tian isn’t actually meant to sing, so Chen Chenchen doesn’t need much practice himself. He just needs to choose a familiar song with a chorus part.’

‘Right, after this afternoon, I can just find somewhere else to hide and work on my drawings.’

‘Perhaps Li Jianren’s dorm would be a good spot.’

With this plan in mind, Zhong Tian set off with Chen Chenchen.

Although Zhong Tian was well aware that Chen Chenchen’s plan was entirely designed to create an opportunity for them to be alone, this arrangement genuinely benefited him—providing a whole afternoon of legitimate slacking off. It was, in essence, a win-win situation, so Zhong Tian decided to go along with it.

Moreover, if things went smoothly with Yu Naixi, he wouldn’t even have to go on stage, making it an absolute triumph.

The two entered the music building, heading directly to the fourth floor, where music students practiced vocals.

Since there weren’t as many music students as anticipated, many practice rooms were left vacant; some had been repurposed as club activity rooms, while others remained entirely empty.

Zhong Tian had frequented this building for both the cultural festival and the school sports meet last year. The environment was pleasant, free from disturbances, and had no drawbacks apart from being a bit warm in the summer.

The two walked down a long corridor, arriving at a small practice room almost at its end.

Chen Chenchen opened the door and led Zhong Tian inside.

The room was bare, with only two chairs placed to one side.

The room appeared to have been recently cleaned, as there was little dust on the chairs or the floor.

Maintaining his persona, Zhong Tian sat expressionlessly on one of the chairs, placing his sketchbook on his lap.

“Are you planning to draw, Zhong Tian?”

Chen Chenchen naturally took the chair beside Zhong Tian and struck up a conversation with him.

Zhong Tian remained silent, merely nodding.

Observing Zhong Tian begin to draw, Chen Chenchen, adept at reading the atmosphere, closed his mouth and quietly watched him work.

Zhong Tian didn’t particularly enjoy being watched while he drew, especially by a boy who clearly held an interest in him.

“Aren’t you going to practice?”

Zhong Tian asked him in as detached a voice as possible.

It wasn’t that he disliked Chen Chenchen; rather, Zhong Tian felt it was crucial to maintain a sufficient distance to gradually discourage his pursuit.

‘It’s also for his own good.’

“No, I was afraid I might disturb you.”

‘Sigh… maintaining a peaceful distance from this type of boy is truly exhausting.’

Faced with such a reply, Zhong Tian chose to sigh softly and say, “Just practice.”

Given Chen Chenchen’s emotional intelligence, he should have understood the message Zhong Tian was trying to convey through his words and actions.

As expected, he displayed a somewhat awkward expression, averted his gaze, gave a slight cough, and sat up straighter.

“Alright then, I’ll go practice.”

He stood up, walked to the side, took out his phone, and opened a music application.

While searching for a song, Chen Chenchen took a deep breath and relaxed his jaw, seemingly warming up his voice.

‘He looks quite professional.’

The prelude began, a light and gentle melody.

‘Oh, it’s “Bare Face.”’

Within mere seconds, Zhong Tian recognized it.

‘Sigh, I remember hearing this song back in elementary school. I used to think songs like this were quite pleasant and would play them on repeat all day, but I haven’t listened to them since fifth or sixth grade.’

‘It brings back memories.’

Chen Chenchen began to sing along.

‘Oh, he sings even better than I expected.’

His singing was steady, imbued with an artistic flair, and bore a resemblance to the original artist’s rendition.

When it came to the female vocal part, his vocal cords almost instantaneously shifted, transforming into a sweet, feminine voice.

Zhong Tian admitted he was thoroughly impressed.

While a careful ear could still detect a hint of a male voice, it was convincing enough to be mistaken for real.

Zhong Tian’s voice naturally resembled a girl’s; he merely needed to raise his pitch slightly to produce a lovely female voice. Yet, Chen Chenchen, lacking this natural advantage, still managed to mimic it so perfectly, which was truly remarkable.

‘This guy, is he really not planning to switch to being a music student?’

Zhong Tian gently twirled his mechanical pencil, using Chen Chenchen’s singing as background music as he continued to draw.

‘Indeed, his vocal skill and falsetto are undeniably captivating. Coupled with his fresh and handsome appearance, he could genuinely win over many girls’ hearts.’

‘But this guy… he’s directing all these moves at me, a cross-dresser!’

‘Thinking about it this way, Chen Chenchen is rather pitiable.’

‘Perhaps, like I helped Bai Ruijin, I should help Qin Dong win over Chen Chenchen?’

This idea surfaced in Zhong Tian’s mind for only a few seconds before he dismissed it.

‘Sigh, helping just one Bai Ruijin was draining enough. To then help a girl who genuinely considers me a romantic rival? That would be inviting trouble.’

‘I’ll just take things as they come. Anyway, once we graduate, he won’t have a choice but to give up.’

With these thoughts, Zhong Tian resumed working on his manga manuscript.

He had barely finished one page of sketches, and Chen Chenchen had only gone through two songs, when the practice room door suddenly opened.

Zhong Tian looked up, his gaze falling upon the newcomer.

It was Qin Dong.

Vice Class President Qin Dong first glanced at Chen Chenchen, then shifted her gaze to Zhong Tian, who was seated and drawing.

Zhong Tian’s heart sank.

“I’ve heard about your situation from Jiang Nanjin,” she stated. “Zhong Tian, if you don’t need to practice, please come back with me to help in the classroom.”

‘Ah, there’s no escaping it after all!’

Though disappointment welled within Zhong Tian, he maintained a composed demeanor, nodding as he rose.

“Wait,” Chen Chenchen interjected, stepping forward. “While Zhong Tian doesn’t need to sing, we still need to perform together on stage. There are some details we need to work out between us.”

Qin Dong merely raised her eyes to glance at his face, then turned away, letting out a faint hum.

“This is merely a singing competition; you don’t need to do anything on stage besides sing. Furthermore, since Zhong Tian isn’t even performing vocally, what details could possibly require an entire afternoon to ‘work out’?” Qin Dong retorted. “The class is very busy right now, and an extra person means extra help. I hope you understand, Vice Class President.”

With that, she immediately took Zhong Tian’s hand and led him out.

Chen Chenchen watched their retreating figures, momentarily speechless.

“Qin Dong… my hand.”

As his hand was still held firmly by Qin Dong, Zhong Tian had to speak up and signal for her to release him.

Upon hearing him, Qin Dong immediately let go of Zhong Tian’s hand.

Observing her expression, it seemed she was carefully choosing her words, intending to say something.

“Zhong Tian, you’ll be leaving school shortly with a few classmates to purchase some items,” she began. “I’ll send the shopping list to you all on WeChat.”

‘Leaving school to buy things… it doesn’t seem like strenuous work, just a bit troublesome. Sigh, what’s meant to happen always happens eventually. Looks like I won’t be able to slack off after all!’

With a sigh of resignation in his heart, Zhong Tian nodded to show his understanding. He returned to the classroom with Qin Dong, put away his sketchbook and mechanical pencil, took out his phone, and joined Class Three’s shopping team.

The team consisted of Li Jianren, Wu Rui, Long Tao, and Lin Han.

Wu Rui and Long Tao were the tallest and strongest boys in the class, so their presence was a given for any task involving physical labor.

As for Li Jianren, he undoubtedly just wanted an excuse to leave school and goof off.

Bringing along himself and Lin Han, ‘the two girls,’ was likely a consideration that girls tend to be more meticulous, ensuring nothing was forgotten or bought incorrectly.

Vice Class President Qin Dong truly was quite thoughtful in her considerations.

Zhong Tian naturally positioned himself beside Li Jianren, a familiar face.

“We’re off!”

Seeing Zhong Tian join the team, Long Tao waved enthusiastically to their homeroom teacher, Wang Changgeng, who stood with his hands clasped behind his back in the distant corridor, gazing up at the clear sky, and shouted loudly.

“Stay safe.”

Wang Changgeng continued to stare at the empty sky, seemingly lost in a myriad of thoughts.

‘What a strong sense of déjà vu.’

‘Zhong Tian was almost hallucinating his shirt and trousers into traditional cloth robes.’

He quickly reined in his thoughts and silently followed the team downstairs.

Just as they reached the ground floor, the five encountered another class’s shopping team.

Those five seemed to be discussing something at the stairwell.

Zhong Tian focused his gaze and recognized two familiar faces.

It was Bai Ruijin and Zheng Qiao.

Long Tao, who was leading the way, stepped forward and greeted them.

“Are you guys also heading out to buy things?”

His gaze then shifted to Zheng Qiao, revealing a hint of surprise. “Oh, Big Sis is here too.”

“What, I can’t be here?”

Observing Zheng Qiao’s change in expression, it seemed she wasn’t particularly fond of the moniker “Big Sis.”

However, Long Tao apparently didn’t notice her shift in mood, still smiling as he said, “Of course you can, absolutely.”

Zhong Tian almost couldn’t resist twitching an eyebrow.

‘If I didn’t know Long Tao was so straightforward, I’d genuinely think he was being sarcastic and provoking Zheng Qiao…’

‘Speaking of which, how did Zheng Qiao end up with the nickname “Big Sis”?’

“Hey, why don’t our two classes team up and go out together?” Long Tao suddenly suggested, turning back to the four behind him. “What do you all think?”

“Sure, the more the merrier!” Li Jianren immediately replied.

“You’re acting like we’re going out to play…” Wu Rui shot Li Jianren a sidelong glance.

“What’s the difference?” Li Jianren shrugged. “Shopping inherently has an element of entertainment, doesn’t it?”

“We have no problem with that either.” Zheng Qiao’s voice was quick to respond.

‘She’s probably seen that Li Jianren is also on the team and wants to create an opportunity for Bai Ruijin.’

“Alright then, let’s go!”