On the afternoon when the New Year's Eve party officially started, Lin Jinran asked the class teacher for leave and went to the gymnasium for rehearsal. Lin Jinran was going to wear a smoky blue dress that evening. It was designed with a one - shoulder style and a large skirt. There was a small bow pinned under the cross - collar neckline, which set off her collarbone exposed in the air.
Under the twinkling lights, her skin looked fair and translucent. As she walked, the tiny sequins on the hem of the long dress fluttered gently.
She hadn't put on makeup yet. With her plain little face, clear and delicate features, she was extremely charming. Under the dim yellow lights, she was like a fairy coming on the waves, stunningly beautiful.
All the program groups gathered backstage, lined up and stood still, carefully listening to Lin Jinran and Song Langqing's announcements on the stage.
Teacher Li stood in front of the gymnasium stage, concentrating on the whole process.
After one round of rehearsal, there were no mistakes.
The wrinkles on Teacher Li's brow smoothed out. She greeted everyone with a smile, "Everyone has worked hard. School will be over soon. Remember to go and have dinner first. After dinner, come back here in time to put on makeup and change into evening gowns. The official start time of the party is seven o'clock."
"Okay, Teacher Li, you've worked hard too."
Lin Jinran and Song Langqing stepped off the stage and came to Teacher Li's side. Teacher Li looked at the young girl who had grown up in hosting. It was as if she saw a lotus flower persevering in the storm, charming and lovely.
She was extremely gratified, knowing that she hadn't misjudged the person.
At the beginning, she had insisted on choosing Lin Jinran despite the pressure from the leaders above and accompanied her all the way.
However, the girl in front of her was completely unaware of these things.
"You two go and have dinner quickly. You must be hungry after rehearsing all afternoon."
Lin Jinran shook her head and said, "I plan to ask Song Langqing to buy something for me. It's really inconvenient to keep changing this evening gown. Just ask him to buy me a steamed bun or something."
"I also plan to eat steamed buns. It's convenient and fast. After eating the steamed buns, please ask the makeup artist to do our makeup first. There will definitely be more classmates coming back later, and they also need the makeup artist."
Song Langqing was wearing a well - tailored black suit, which made him look handsome and mature.
He no longer had the naughtiness of a young boy.
"By the way, Teacher Li, for such an important rehearsal this afternoon, why didn't Qiao Songyue come for the rehearsal?"
Song Langqing was the one who read Qiao Songyue's rehearsal script. He asked doubtfully.
"Don't worry about her. She will come. There will be special people to carry her piano onto the stage. You two just need to host the party like you did this afternoon."
Song Langqing nodded. After saying hello to Teacher Li and Lin Jinran, he went out to buy steamed buns. Since the gymnasium was spacious and the heating wasn't well - distributed, Lin Jinran returned to the dressing room to wait for him.
After the two of them had eaten the steamed buns, the makeup artist started to do their makeup.
Maybe because it was still early for makeup, the makeup artist was extremely patient and painted carefully.
When the makeup artist said it was done, Lin Jinran slowly opened her eyes and looked into the mirror.
In the mirror, she had dark pupils and red lips, delicate eyebrows and eyes, and skin as white as paper. When she didn't smile and pursed her lips, she looked coldly charming with a sharp edge.
It was completely different from her usual casual self.
Coincidentally, Song Langqing had also finished his makeup. He looked at his own makeup excitedly and was very satisfied. Then he turned his head to look at Lin Jinran and exclaimed, "Sis, it's really a pity that you don't go into acting with this face. Promise me that you must play the male lead's first love in the future. You will definitely be a big hit."
Lin Jinran gave him a glare, and the cold charm just now dissipated.
"Hey, are you two siblings? No wonder I thought you looked a bit alike." The makeup artist said with a smile, looking at their faces.
"No, no. She's the daughter of my mom's friend." Song Langqing scratched the back of his head, looking a bit embarrassed.
Lin Jinran smiled faintly and didn't say a word.
"But I really think you two look a bit alike, especially before you put on makeup." Another makeup artist continued, "I was still thinking at that time how it was so coincidental that a pair of siblings came to host together."
"Yes, yes. It turns out I'm not the only one who thought so..."
The makeup artists were chatting there. Song Langqing and Lin Jinran glanced at each other and saw the helplessness in each other's eyes.
As time went by, the performers who had gone out for dinner came back, and the dressing room suddenly became busy.
Lin Jinran and Song Langqing didn't want to cause trouble to the people inside, so they voluntarily went out.
"I knew it. Sister Lin is over there. Sister Lin!" Outside the dressing room, Lu Youchuan's impatient voice came along with his footsteps.
Lin Jinran looked up and saw Lu Youchuan, as well as Su Qinian, Xie Wanyu and other good friends.
Song Langqing stood beside Lin Jinran and curiously poked his head out to look. As he looked, he clicked his tongue and said, "So this is Su Qinian. Why is he so noisy? He's not like the person I heard about."
"The one who's talking is his friend. The one beside him is Su Qinian." Lin Jinran glanced at him. "Haven't you seen him before?"
"I've seen him a few times at the grade assembly, but it was so far away. Who could see clearly? The teaching buildings of Senior One and Senior Three are also far apart. It's even less likely to see him."
While the two were talking in a low voice, Su Qinian and the others had already walked up to Lin Jinran.
The moment Lu Youchuan saw her, he exclaimed, "Sister Lin, you look so good in this outfit. You're just like a fairy descending to the mortal world. It's really a bargain for our Brother Su to be your deskmate."
Su Qinian: "..."
Tao Wan was bent over with laughter at this. She took out her camera, a bit proudly, "Jinran, don't worry. I'll take all the beautiful pictures of you tonight."
"No, there's me too. I can take pictures with my phone. They will definitely look good and won't bring you any negative comments. My phone is from the Starry Sky brand. It's mainly for taking good - looking pictures." Xie Wanyu popped out, not willing to admit defeat.
Jiang Xiubin walked out slowly from behind, looked at Xie Wanyu's phone and nodded, "Yes. I, the monitor and Xie Wanyu will take pictures of you with our phones. They will look good too."
Su Qinian, who had been standing silently in the crowd, just stood there quietly, looking at his sweetheart in front of him.
He felt that everything around him had turned into nothingness, and the whole world was just the two of them.
His heart was burning hot, like a bonfire lit on a spring night, or like fireworks exploding in the sky, making his whole body tremble.
"Monitor, why aren't you saying a word? Are you stunned by how beautiful Sister Lin is?" Lu Youchuan's mischievous laughter rang in his ear.
Su Qinian lowered his eyes slightly and casually responded with an "um".
Lu Youchuan: "?"
"Lin Jinran, you're more beautiful than the moonlight tonight."
The boy locked eyes with her and stared at her intently.
That deep and restrained look in his eyes caught Lin Jinran off guard. A current of electricity suddenly shot through her limbs, making her feel numb all over, from the spine to the toes.