He tricked the female lead into becoming his boyfriend, but then went on to criticize the male lead.

Sang Jiuning shook her head slightly upon hearing this, her tone frank: "I didn't see it. I set it to Do Not Disturb during the summer vacation, and I haven't changed it back yet."

Qin Ying then picked up the conversation and clearly repeated the notification from the group chat: "It's a notification from the school that there will be a school anniversary gala at the end of September. This time, it's voluntary to sign up for a talent show, and everyone in the school can participate."

The school anniversary gala is the school's grandest annual event, with thousands of teachers and students in attendance, making it a particularly solemn occasion.

After a moment's thought, Sang Jiuning asked softly, "Is there a limit to the number of programs? If anyone signs up randomly, there will definitely be too many programs to schedule."

Tang Tongtong nodded, giving her a "you've hit the nail on the head" look, and explained bluntly, "Of course there are limits! There are tens of thousands of students in the school. If two or three thousand people sign up to go on stage, let alone one night, we couldn't finish watching even if we didn't eat or drink for three days and three nights!"

"How many programs can one class sign up for?" Sang Jiuning continued to ask.

"The school has a unified rule that each class can only nominate one program," Qin Ying replied earnestly. "The class encourages everyone to sign up, and then the whole class votes to select the best and most outstanding one to represent our class on the school anniversary stage."

After understanding all the rules, Sang Jiuning's gaze fell on her two best friends in front of her, and she asked curiously, "So, are you two planning to sign up? Have you thought about what you'll be performing?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Tang Tongtong and Qin Ying shook their heads in perfect unison, their faces full of reluctance.

Qin Ying let out a soft breath and admitted, "I wouldn't dare! Such a big stage, with all the lights on, everyone's eyes will be on me. If I stood on it, I would be so nervous that my legs would shake and I wouldn't be able to finish my sentence, let alone perform a show."

Tang Tongtong also gave a wry smile, shrugged, and was extremely frank: "I have absolutely no talent. I'm tone-deaf, stiff-limbed, and can't do anything. Even if I wanted to go on stage to make up the numbers, I have nothing to perform, so I have no chance at all."

After saying that, her eyes lit up, instantly fixing her gaze on Sang Jiuning. Her eyes were full of expectation and approval, and her tone was earnest: "But Ningning, you're amazing! You have such a great presence and a beautiful figure. Why don't you sign up and give it a try? You'd definitely be stunning if you danced on stage!"

Sang Jiuning, burdened with high expectations, couldn't help but chuckle awkwardly before quickly waving her hand in refusal, her eyes filled with helplessness: "You think too highly of me."

She silently mocked herself. She was nervous about going on stage. Let alone stunning the audience, she would be lucky if she could just avoid making a mess of things.

"I'm really not good at it. I'm totally uncoordinated. My dancing is more like calisthenics. Going up there would just be embarrassing. I'd better not."

Sang Jiuning, Tang Tongtong, and Qin Ying walked into the dormitory side by side.

The dormitory was quiet, with only a soft lamp shining from the desk by the window.

Su Qingyan wore white Bluetooth earphones, sat quietly at the table with her back straight, twirling a pen casually with her fingertips, seemingly listening to music or lost in thought, exuding a cool and aloof aura.

No one made a point of speaking, and there was no unnecessary noise.

Everyone tacitly kept the dormitory quiet, each returning to their own place and doing their own thing.

The night was uneventful.

The next morning, the jarring alarm clock shattered the tranquility of the early hour.

The dreaded 8 AM classes arrived as scheduled, a nightmare that no college student could escape.

Sang Jiuning couldn't wake up on her own.

Fortunately, Tang Tongtong is the dormitory's personal human alarm clock, who faithfully clings to her bed curtains every day, calling her to wake up over and over again.

"Ningning! Wake up! Get up! You'll be late if you don't get up now!" Tang Tongtong urged the person who was lying in bed, while packing her schoolbag.

Sang Jiuning buried herself in the soft blankets, her eyelids feeling as heavy as lead, her head so dizzy she just wanted to close her eyes. She mumbled incoherently, "Ugh... just two more minutes... just two more minutes..."

"Two minutes is two minutes late! The class monitor checks classes at 8 AM the strictest!" Tang Tongtong sighed, then reached out and shook the edge of her bed. "I'm really fed up with you. You have to be right on time every day. Can't you get up early just this once?"

Despite her complaints, she patiently waited for Sang Jiuning to hurriedly wash up, change clothes, and pack her books.

Even with her personal alarm clock urging her on, Sang Jiuning was still in a chaotic rush, finally bursting into the classroom at the very last second before the class bell rang, barely managing to sit down on time.

She rushed to class, leaving no time even to go downstairs to buy a steamed bun or have a cup of soy milk.

During the break between the first and second periods, I wanted to take the opportunity to go to the cafeteria to buy some breakfast to fill my stomach, but my schedule was already fully booked.

The classroom for the second class was in another teaching building that spanned most of the campus, which was quite far away.

Almost all the students set off immediately after class, hurrying on their way.

Sang Jiuning pinched her empty stomach, suppressing the surging hunger, and hurried with the group to the next class.

She taught two classes back-to-back in the morning, moving between two teaching buildings, and was busy the whole time, without even having a single bite to eat.

The moment the school bell rang at noon, Sang Jiuning's hunger exploded. Her empty stomach cramped, and she felt so dizzy from hunger that she felt like her chest was touching her back. She was so weak that she didn't even have the strength to walk.

She could no longer chat with her roommates. Grabbing her backpack, she rushed to the cafeteria, filled a plate with food, found an empty seat, and began to wolf down her food without a care for her ladylike image.

I stuffed mouthfuls of rice mixed with side dishes into my mouth. The scalding hot food soothed my empty stomach and slightly relieved the unbearable hunger.

Tang Tongtong and Qin Ying across from her were eating slowly. Seeing how hungry she looked, they couldn't help but exchange a smile.

Tang Tongtong, biting her chopsticks, glanced at Su Qingyan, who was quietly eating beside her. Suddenly remembering the registration notice in the class group yesterday, she casually asked, "Qingyan, I saw your name on the talent show registration list in the class group yesterday. You registered, right?"

Su Qingyan slightly raised her eyes, her cool and aloof expression remaining calm. She nodded gently, her voice light and pleasant: "Yes, I've signed up. It'll be a solo performance."

"Wow! That's amazing!" Qin Ying's eyes lit up, and she immediately declared with a smile, "Then our whole dorm will support you! We'll definitely vote for you right away and support our dorm's superstar!"

Upon hearing this, Su Qingyan's lips curved into a barely perceptible smile, and she opened her mouth to whisper a thank you.

But just then, an unexpected accident occurred.