Chapter 20

The slap was crisp and loud.
It felt as if the entire world had fallen silent...
Caught off guard, Bai Muyu’s face was knocked to the side. When she lifted her head again, her expression was one of shock and disbelief. For a moment, she didn’t even think to get angry, merely clutching her cheek in agitation as she demanded, "How dare you hit me?!"
Shen Yu had been waiting for those very words. Withdrawing her hand and lifting her chin, she replied coldly, "I hit you precisely because I am the Empress, the mother of this nation. How could I allow a petty person like you to stir up trouble before me?"
Well, she was still fully immersed in her role!
Bai Muyu covered her face, finally realizing what had happened. She had been struck, struck by Shen Yu! Damn it, this wasn’t in the script at all!
Immediately, she reached out to strike back, but as her hand shot forward, Shen Yu caught it firmly, using her eyes to signal toward their teacher. Bai Muyu took several deep breaths, barely suppressing her overwhelming fury.
Because the emotional turmoil inside her was too intense, her facial expression gradually twisted into a distorted look.
Shen Yu watched her transformation coldly, then let out a mocking laugh, brushed her hand away, turned around, and walked off without a backward glance.
The performance was over,
"Not bad!"
The two invigilators generously applauded.
Shen Yu walked back calmly, put on her glasses, and stood in front of the teachers, waiting for their feedback.
Bai Muyu covered her face. Though she wished she could strangle Shen Yu, she had no choice but to hold it in for now.
"Although the plot was quite ordinary, both of you performed well. Shen Yu, your portrayal of the empress was spot-on, especially in that moment when you slapped her. You captured the emotion perfectly: she struck out for her dignity, yet she could foresee the troubles that would follow. Excellent acting."
"Muyu, you also impressed me this time. The expression you showed after being slapped, getting up with such realism and vividness, was remarkable. It seems your usual training on set has really helped hone your acting skills."
In the end, both received an A+ grade.
Later, they found out that only two people in total had earned an A+.
As soon as they stepped out of the classroom, Bai Muyu immediately turned hostile and raised her hand to slap Shen Yu. But Shen Yu was prepared, she caught Bai Muyu’s wrist and sneered, "I think you should be thanking me, not hitting me."
"Are you insane?! You hit me, and now you want me to thank you?!" Bai Muyu gritted her teeth in fury.
Shen Yu replied, "If it weren’t for that slap, with your lousy script, would you have gotten an A+?"
Bai Muyu snapped, "Fine. As long as you let me slap you back, we’ll call it even."
Shen Yu looked her in the eye and said, "Only if you go tell the teacher your A+ grade doesn’t count, then I’ll let you hit me back."
Bai Muyu: "You!!"
Shen Yu flung her hand away and fixed her with a sharp, piercing glare that sent a chill down Bai Muyu’s spine, instantly extinguishing much of her bravado.
Without another word, Shen Yu turned and strode away calmly.
Since the morning was all exams, anyone who finished early could leave. She needed to slip away before Bai Muyu snapped out of it.
Still, that slap had felt incredibly satisfying. Even as she walked off, Shen Yu couldn’t help but smirk to herself.
Only after Shen Yu had left did Bai Muyu realize she’d been intimidated, and hadn’t dared to retaliate! She was so frustrated she nearly exploded on the spot!
But with Shen Yu gone, she had no one to vent her anger on. She could only sit on the steps and stew, thinking that next time she ran into Shen Yu, she’d tear that little bitch apart!
A few of her close friends noticed Bai Muyu’s sour expression and assumed she’d done poorly on the exam. They hurried over to comfort her and took the opportunity to badmouth Shen Yu.
Bai Muyu, being prideful, didn’t want to admit she’d been slapped, it was too humiliating. So she kept it to herself, her face turning purple with suppressed rage.
Seeing her so upset, her friends dropped the topic of Shen Yu and switched to something else.
One of the girls, the class entertainment committee member, suddenly remembered something and said to Bai Muyu, "By the way, have you finalized your performance? I need to submit our class’s program list, we can’t delay any longer. The school anniversary is coming up, and there are still a few rehearsals left."
Bai Muyu nodded. "It’s the dance we talked about last time. Lin Ling isn’t joining, so there will be seven of us."
The other person nodded, "Alright, I'll submit it today."
"Wait." Bai Muyu narrowed her eyes and said, "I'm signing up for one more performance."
Everyone looked at her curiously upon hearing this, "What else do you want to perform?"
Bai Muyu sneered, "Not me. I'm signing up for Shen Yu, just her alone!"
The entertainment committee member was startled, "That's not appropriate, is it?" If this was Bai Muyu's new prank, it would be way too harsh!
After all, in their impression, Shen Yu was introverted, timid, and had a sturdy build. Making her perform alone on stage was practically the most malicious attack!
Bai Muyu was still brooding over that slap. Shen Yu had delivered it cleanly and decisively, but it had also stirred up all the old and new grudges in her heart. Compared to that slap, any form of retaliation felt justified!!
Thinking this, Bai Muyu gritted her teeth and said, "Just write Shen Yu's name down. Don't notify her for the first two rehearsals either. Don't worry, I'll take full responsibility for any consequences."
Everyone exchanged uneasy glances. Though they all felt Bai Muyu had gone too far this time, no one dared to argue. After all, if anything went wrong, Bai Muyu would be the one to blame, it wouldn't be their problem.
The entertainment committee member asked uncertainly, "Then... what performance are you signing her up for?"
Bai Muyu lowered her head and thought for a moment. Singing? No! What if she actually could sing??
"Let's go with dancing!" she said.
The thought of a severely nearsighted, burly girl dancing on stage was just too thrilling!!
Everyone: ...
Shen Yu, who had left early, naturally had no idea about this major conspiracy involving her.
When Shen Yu chose to slap Bai Muyu, it had felt satisfying in the moment, but afterward, she couldn't help feeling a bit apprehensive. After all, Bai Muyu had many allies, and there was no telling how she might retaliate in the future.
For the next two days, Shen Yu stayed on high alert at school, ready to fend off any trouble Bai Muyu might stir up.
Strangely, though, Bai Muyu made no moves over those two days, she didn't even bother to glance at Shen Yu.
On the third day, Bai Muyu took leave to go film, and Shen Yu didn't see her at all.
Though Shen Yu found it odd, she was glad for the peace. Whatever came her way, she would handle it as it arrived.
Soon, Shen Yu's attention was drawn to something else.
Well, not exactly something else, it was about her eccentric older brother, Shen Xiao.
She hadn't paid much attention for a few days, and now he had made it to the entertainment headlines!!
"Popular actress Bai Muqing spotted holding hands with a mysterious man while shopping, sparking rumors of a relationship..."
Shen Yu nibbled on an apple as she finished reading the passage, then clicked on the photos. The angles of the shots were quite tricky, several pictures clearly showed Bai Muqing’s face, but the mysterious man was always captured from behind or in profile, making it impossible to see his features clearly.
Others might not be able to guess who it was, but Shen Yu recognized him at a glance.
That height, those broad shoulders, that narrow waist, those impossibly long legs…
Who else could it be but her psycho brother?!
It was just after dinner, and Shen Yu didn’t dare return to her room right away. Based on past patterns, the psycho would inevitably stir up some trouble, either force-feeding her fruit or ordering her to do chores. Truth be told, ever since she’d suffered from menstrual cramps, Shen Xiao hadn’t been as demanding, but she still didn’t dare act carelessly. After finishing her meal, she grabbed an apple and obediently sat on the sofa, munching on it while playing on her phone, waiting for the psycho to make his move.
And that’s when she stumbled upon this trending topic.
Given Bai Muqing’s current status, news of a relationship could indeed make it to the trending list.
Shen Yu glanced over at Shen Xiao, who was sprawled lazily on the adjacent sofa. His long legs were habitually propped up on the coffee table, his eyes half-closed as he used a cotton swab to clean his ears.
Handsome people were just unreasonable, even the act of cleaning his ears looked like a scene from a blockbuster film. Too bad he was a psycho!
After a moment’s thought, Shen Yu said softly, “Brother, the internet says you’re dating Bai Muqing.”
Shen Xiao cracked one eye open to glance at her, then closed it again, continuing to fiddle with the cotton swab in his ear.
Shen Yu: “…”
A few minutes later, unable to resist, she asked again, “Is it true?”
Shen Xiao opened his eyes to look at her, let out a cold snort, and said, “Why should I tell you?”
Shen Yu felt her curiosity burning. “I want to know.”
Shen Xiao raised an eyebrow, ignoring her question. Instead, he adjusted his posture, sitting up straighter, and patted the spot beside him. “Come here.”
Shen Yu immediately went on high alert. “What for?”
Shen Xiao frowned, his tone growing more insistent. “Come here.”
Not daring to argue further, Shen Yu stood up, placed the apple core and her phone on the coffee table, and walked over to sit beside him.
But Shen Xiao wasn’t satisfied with her position. He commanded, “Lie down. Put your head here.”
Shen Yu: “…”
Help! This psycho actually wanted her to rest her head on his thigh?! What was he planning?!
When she didn’t move, Shen Xiao urged impatiently, “Hurry up.”
Shen Yu stiffly lay down, placing her head on his lap, and pretended to be a soulless statue.
Inside, she was trembling with fear. Was the psycho finally going to use her head for some twisted experiment?!
But after a moment, instead of a blade, she felt a cotton swab.
Damn it, this psycho was actually using the cotton swab to clean her ears!!
Shen Yu’s heart screamed in refusal. It had been days since she last cleaned her ears, what if he dug out a huge chunk of earwax? She’d never be able to face anyone again!!
Despite her inner turmoil, she remained outwardly calm and obedient, letting him gently swirl the cotton swab in her ear.
Did she dare move? If she angered the psycho and he accidentally poked her eardrum, she could go deaf!
Shen Xiao had a terrible temper and seemed impatient, but his movements were unexpectedly gentle. The soft cotton swab twirled in her ear, making her so comfortable she couldn’t help but close her eyes.
Uncle Li passed through the living room and, seeing the scene, couldn't help but tread lightly, afraid of disturbing the siblings.
Just then, Shen Xiao's phone, placed nearby, suddenly rang. He glanced at it but paid no mind, continuing to focus on cleaning her ear.
The phone, however, persisted stubbornly. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, paused his movements, leaned over to answer the call, and put it on speaker.
Bai Muqing's sweet voice came through the phone, "President Shen..."
"Hmm," Shen Xiao replied with little enthusiasm, then patted Shen Yu's shoulder, signaling her to switch to the other ear.
Shen Yu obediently turned around, but her attention was entirely on the phone call.
Bai Muqing said, "President Shen, are you free to hang out tonight? Let's go sing karaoke."
Without a second thought, Shen Xiao refused, "I'm busy."
Bai Muqing chuckled softly, "What are you so busy with?"
Shen Xiao replied, "Cleaning my sister's ears."
Bai Muqing: ...
Shen Yu: “…”
It seemed that Shen Yu turning around made it awkward for him. Shen Xiao leaned in closer again, his warm breath gently brushing against the side of her face, making her slightly uncomfortable.
"You two siblings have such a good relationship," Bai Muqing said. "Well, I'll go have fun then. Don't forget about the school anniversary celebration next Sunday."
Shen Xiao replied impatiently, "I know."
Without even saying goodbye to Bai Muqing, he hung up the phone directly.
Shen Yu looked up in surprise and asked him, "You're attending our school's anniversary celebration?"
Shen Xiao pressed her head back onto his lap and said, "None of your business."
Shen Yu: “…”
After a while, Shen Yu couldn't help but whisper, "Are you done yet?"
Shen Xiao snorted coldly, "What's the rush? Is your ear a garbage dump? It's so dirty!"
Shen Yu: “…”
Shen Yu hadn't had much of an opinion about the school anniversary before. She only knew there would be a cultural performance in the auditorium that day, and Bai Muyu from their class had a dance performance. But from her professional perspective, a dance performance at this level was definitely not worth watching.
Now that she knew Shen Xiao would be accompanying Bai Muqing to the school anniversary event, she started paying more attention. She realized that the anniversary was less than a week away, and many parts of the school had already begun preparations.
On Thursday after school, as Shen Yu packed her things to leave, the class entertainment committee member stopped her. After hemming and hawing for a while, the committee member finally said, "Tomorrow afternoon is the final rehearsal for the evening performance. You must attend."
To prove the authenticity of her words, the entertainment committee member showed Shen Yu the finalized program schedule.
Shen Yu was baffled by her words and glanced down at the program schedule, asking, "Why should I attend the rehearsal?"
The other person said awkwardly, "Don't you have a solo dance performance here? You missed the first two rehearsals. If you skip this one again, you’ll have to explain it to the director."
"Solo dance?!" Shen Yu couldn’t comprehend her words at all. "Why didn’t I know about this?"
The entertainment committee member’s eyes darted around nervously as she said, "Didn’t you sign up for it before? The program list was submitted a long time ago. How could you not know?"
Know? She knew nothing about it!
Shen Yu narrowed her eyes and stared at her until the other girl lowered her head guiltily. Only then did Shen Yu sneer coldly and ask, "Was it Bai Muyu who signed me up for this?"
This clearly seemed like a conspiracy! And she was the last one to find out!
The other girl didn’t answer, but her expression said it all.
Shen Yu was furious and asked, "Can this performance be canceled?"
The girl looked up at her and hesitated, "It’s a bit troublesome, but... we could try to talk to them."
Shen Yu thought for a moment, clenched her fist, and said, "Forget it, don’t bother. I’ll go to the rehearsal tomorrow afternoon."
This time, it was the entertainment committee member’s turn to be stunned.