Chapter 117: The Cross-Dressing Cafe and a Sudden Revelation

The lunch break quickly drew to a close. Today, students had a special event to look forward to, unlike their usual classes: the School Festival Theme Vote!

Although the class monitor had already collected everyone’s proposals and organized them by noon, the voting could only officially commence during the fourth self-study period, owing to the day’s class schedule.

During the interim, some students, unable to suppress their burning curiosity, stealthily tried to extract information from the class monitor.

They were desperate to know what theme activity Class Six would ultimately host!

Yet, the class monitor’s lips remained sealed, as tight as a clam shell—utterly impossible to pry open.

Not even the lure of snacks could loosen their tongue.

This only heightened the students’ curiosity, leaving them feeling as though ants were crawling all over them—an unbearable itch they couldn’t scratch.

All they could do was wait.

Even Liu Hong, who had initially shown no interest in the school festival, now found his heart brimming with anticipation. Like everyone else, he waited with burning impatience, wishing the fourth self-study period would arrive instantly.

Under the eager anticipation of the many students, the afternoon classes quickly flew by.

In the blink of an eye, the fourth self-study period arrived.

“Classmates, the homeroom teacher has fully entrusted me, your class monitor, with handling this voting activity,” the monitor announced. “Now, without further ado, after screening all the proposals at noon, we have five excellent suggestions.”

“They are currently listed by their overlap rate, from highest to lowest, but the final outcome will be determined by the total number of votes.”

The previously noisy classroom fell silent the moment the class monitor stepped onto the podium.

After hearing the class monitor’s words, everyone’s gaze grew even more expectant, their faces alight with excitement as they watched the monitor begin writing on the blackboard.

[1: Cross-dressing Cafe]

[2: Takoyaki Stall]

[3: Haunted House]

[4: Alien Research Lab]

[5: Muscleman Exhibit]

Immediately after all five proposals were written, everyone couldn’t help but erupt into chattering discussion.

Upon seeing his own proposal listed at the very bottom, Liu Hong immediately frowned in dismay.

‘Four people wrote the same theme,’ he thought. ‘The overlap rate shouldn’t be low! Why is it at the very bottom?’

Still, it was good that it had been selected; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to vote for it at all.

‘Next, I definitely have to vote for it!’ he resolved.

As Liu Hong mused inwardly, the young class monitor moved to each student’s desk, asking them to write down the number of their preferred theme on a piece of paper. Afterward, the monitor meticulously recorded each choice in a small notebook.

When the monitor passed Lin Qing’s seat, Lin Qing lifted his hand, revealing the number ‘1’ on his paper without hesitation.

This caused the class monitor to raise an eyebrow in surprise. ‘I hadn’t expected Lin Qing, this seemingly quiet student, to possess such a restless heart!’ they thought.

Reflecting on the votes tallied so far, the monitor realized there were many such restless hearts among their classmates.

Consequently, they were no longer surprised.

The bizarre Muscleman Exhibit, for instance, had garnered the fewest votes—a pitiful single one. Who had even proposed that?

Mulling over these thoughts, the class monitor quickly finished tallying and then wrote the corresponding vote count for each proposal on the board.

“This is impossible!” Liu Hong exclaimed. “Why does the Muscleman Exhibit only have two votes? That crappy Alien Research Lab has five votes! There must be a mistake!”

However, just as the class monitor finished writing the vote counts, Liu Hong, with a look of utter disbelief, abruptly stood up.

His loud outburst made the class monitor flinch.

Then, the monitor raised a hand to adjust their glasses. Facing the delinquent student whom everyone in class feared, the class monitor’s attitude was remarkably firm, devoid of any fear.

“Liu Hong, you may question other things, but you cannot doubt the fairness of this theme selection,” the monitor stated firmly. “Everything was handled by me alone; there’s no possibility of any foul play.”

Having their personally handled work questioned filled the class monitor with a surge of suppressed anger.

‘It was fair, just, and transparent throughout,’ they fumed inwardly. ‘What nonsense is Liu Hong spouting?’

Upon hearing the class monitor’s words, Liu Hong was about to retort, but unexpectedly received a cold, warning gaze from Su Yao.

It advised him not to make a fuss.

Liu Hong, who had been a furious, raging wolf just moments before, instantly transformed into a trembling puppy with its tail between its legs after Su Yao’s glance.

He sat back down, looking wronged and utterly unhappy, not daring to speak another word.

“Alright, I believe all of you have seen the vote results,” the monitor continued. “The top proposal is the third one: [Cross-dressing Cafe].”

“Because wearing skirts is what true musclemen do, the cafe, having secured 29 votes, will be our class’s theme activity this time.”

Seeing that Liu Hong did not speak further, the class monitor then directly announced the results.

Upon seeing the Cross-dressing Cafe take first place, the students in class did not share Liu Hong’s disappointment.

Instead, their faces lit up with excitement as they discussed the amusing aspects of cross-dressing.

At this moment, Su Yao suddenly stood up and spoke with a smile.

“Since this is my first time participating in our school’s festival,” Su Yao announced, “and to ensure our class stands out, all the costumes, tableware, and other necessities for the cafe will be sponsored by a subsidiary of the Comet Group! I hope everyone can have a fun and happy school festival.”

Upon hearing Su Yao’s words, the students in class immediately raised their hands in surprised applause.

Although the school had provided a generous budget this time, the costumes for the cross-dressing cafe would still incur considerable costs. While some money could be recouped by selling coffee, the initial investment was still substantial.

Now, with the Comet Group’s sponsorship, they no longer had to worry about these expenses, and could even look forward to their future transformations.

Indeed, clinging to the coattails of a powerful figure was truly an effective way to achieve success!

They were truly fortunate to be in the same class as Su Yao.

Not only was she pleasing to the eye, but at crucial moments, her financially independent status smoothed the way, clearing all difficult problems.

However, upon hearing Su Yao’s generous offer, Liu Hong immediately cast a suspicious glance her way.

‘Why is Su Yao suddenly concerned about something like this?’

Though Liu Hong no longer liked Su Yao, during the time he was infatuated, he had understood her every move.

He knew she wasn’t someone who enjoyed participating in lively events.

To be precise, she disliked ‘boring’ lively events.

Activities like organizing a school festival could definitely be categorized as one of those boring lively events.

Yet, this time, she was incredibly proactive!

‘Could it be that the Cross-dressing Cafe was Su Yao’s idea?’

At this thought, Liu Hong abruptly looked at Lin Qing.

‘Has Lin Qing betrayed their pure brotherhood and compromised with Su Yao?’

‘Lin Qing has bowed to the forces of evil!’

The Muscleman Exhibit only received two votes.

Besides his own vote, the other one must have come from Zhou Lin.

As for that fellow Wang Jian, he definitely voted for the Takoyaki Stall.

Liu Hong wasn’t the only one feeling down. After hearing Su Yao’s words, Liu Ying lowered her head, concealing the anger on her face, her heart seething with imbalance.

A considerable expense, to Su Yao, was like a trivial matter, insignificant.

Yet, for them, it was already an enormous sum.

However, times had changed; she was no longer the Liu Ying of the past.

Now, with ample money, she could act according to her own desires.

For instance, approaching Lin Qing.

If being ‘Xiao Fish’ outside of school wouldn’t work, then she would approach him as a classmate!

She shared the same life as Lin Qing, endured the same painful experiences.

Therefore, Lin Qing couldn’t refuse her.

He had to be with her.

He shouldn’t be captivated by a rich girl like Su Yao.

A lavish life didn’t suit Lin Qing; rather, hiding in the sewers with her was the natural progression of things.

Mulling over these thoughts, when the dismissal bell rang, Liu Ying watched Lin Qing packing his bag.

She immediately decided that she would definitely speak to him today.

After leaving school, she would speak to Lin Qing for the first time as Liu Ying.

Just thinking about it made her excited.

“Brother Liu, don’t be sad. The Cross-dressing Cafe isn’t so bad, you know.”

“Exactly! Even the Takoyaki Stall didn’t get chosen, and I was only sad for a little bit.”

After the dismissal bell rang, while other students packed their bags, Zhou Lin and Wang Jian quietly approached Liu Hong’s seat.

Seeing Liu Hong with his head buried in his arms, showing no intention of looking up or acknowledging them, Zhou Lin and Wang Jian exchanged a glance, realizing Brother Liu was truly disheartened this time.

Zhou Lin then winked, pulled out his phone, and initiated their backup plan.

“An effective way to attract girls’ attention now is cross-dressing! By attracting them closer, then…”

As Zhou Lin read aloud the haphazard notes he’d scribbled in his memo, he managed to reel in Liu Hong, the ‘big fish,’ with his serious demeanor.

“Are you serious about that?”

Liu Hong lifted his head, still looking sullen, and expressed his doubt about Zhou Lin’s words.

‘Do girls nowadays really like men in cross-dressing? What kind of weirdness is that?’

“Of course! Experts say so! Brother Liu, you’re very handsome, so you wouldn’t look ugly even in women’s clothes. Girls especially like your type.”

“Hmph, you’re not wrong, I am indeed handsome! Alright then, I’ll look forward to it. I’ll blind everyone with my brilliance!”

Upon seeing Brother Liu’s mood instantly brighten, Zhou Lin and Wang Jian exchanged a glance and secretly high-fived behind their backs, celebrating their successful plan.

Brother Liu was truly gullible!

Meanwhile, Lin Qing, having observed Zhou Lin’s subtle actions from the side, shook his head helplessly.

He was starting to worry about how the school festival day would unfold.

Afterward, Lin Qing didn’t linger in the classroom. He said goodbye to Liu Hong and the others, then left school with his backpack.

Su Yao was busy preparing the necessary items for the Cross-dressing Cafe, leaving her no time to pester him. This meant Lin Qing now had ample free and easy time.

However, something felt off.

Su Yao didn’t need to do everything herself.

Even if preparations for the school festival were required, it would be more efficient for Su Yao to simply delegate tasks to others.

She had been her usual self in the morning, but after coming to school in the afternoon, she had become somewhat abnormal.

‘Did something happen at noon?’

As Lin Qing pondered what might have happened to Su Yao, a female voice suddenly called from behind him. He turned to see Liu Ying, dressed in her school uniform and glasses, jogging towards him.

Her face wore an undisguised excitement, and her eyes, behind her lenses, seemed to sparkle with exhilaration.

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