Breaking Up Was a Choice I Planned All Along - Chapter 27
The entire rehearsal was a mess.
The teacher in charge kept coming up with new ideas one after another, causing major changes to the setup on site. Almost all the arrangements had to be redone, and progress fell far behind schedule.
The original plan was: a full day of rehearsal on the 15th, followed by rehearsals starting at noon on the 16th and continuing until 6 PM. The competition would officially begin at 6:30 PM on the 16th.
However, based on the rehearsal situation on the evening of the 15th, in order to ensure the final competition’s quality, we had no choice but to urgently notify all the contestants and staff present to start an additional rehearsal at 8 AM on the 16th.
At 8 AM the next morning, all 15 contestants had arrived-except for Chen Manman.
She didn’t answer her phone, nor did she reply to text messages. To make matters worse, her performance was scheduled as the third act.
As time inched closer to 8:30 AM, the teacher in charge grew visibly more upset. In the end, they had no choice but to call on the next contestant to fill in and start the rehearsal.
Around 10 AM, Ying Tiantian pulled me out of the dressing room.
Standing at the door were the teacher in charge and Chen Manman.
I hadn’t even steadied myself when the teacher began to lash out.
“Were you the one who notified the contestants yesterday?” She adjusted her glasses and glared at me. “Why is it that there’s still a contestant who claims they didn’t know about this morning’s rehearsal?”
I explained, “Teacher, we notified all the contestants on site after the rehearsal ended yesterday.”
She pointed at Chen Manman, her expression furious. “Well, now we have a contestant saying they didn’t receive the notification. As a result, she didn’t show up for rehearsal earlier. If something goes wrong during the official competition tonight, who’s going to take responsibility?”
Suppressing the anger rising in my chest, I stared at Chen Manman. “Classmate, are you sure you didn’t receive the notification?”
Chen Manman spoke softly, her voice slow and weak. “Maybe…”
I cut her off impatiently. “Classmate, please be clear. Don’t use words like ‘maybe’ or ‘perhaps’ that could lead to misunderstandings. Did I notify you yesterday or not?”
“No.” Chen Manman gritted her teeth.
She was lying through her teeth. But the frustrating part was that when I notified her yesterday, there was no one else in the dressing room.
I had no evidence.
The teacher in charge sighed. “What kind of student leader are you? You can’t even handle something as simple as notifying others. How can I expect you to…”
“But you clearly knew about this morning’s rehearsal.”
The teacher’s words were abruptly interrupted.
Meng Ce emerged from the corner, stopped, and glanced sideways at Chen Manman. “You clearly asked me last night whether we should come to the rehearsal together this morning.”
He pulled out his phone, opened a chat window, and handed it to the teacher in charge.
A perfect strike-Meng Ce was truly professional.
The teacher’s expression changed instantly.
Chen Manman’s body swayed, as if she might collapse.
Meng Ce, however, seemed completely oblivious to the tense atmosphere.
He put his phone away, turned to me, and winked.
The anger inside me vanished in an instant, leaving not even a trace.
