Chapter 65: Zhou Zhexiao, Assaulting the Kaleidoscope (Part 2)

Xia Chi-yi had no idea what everyone was shouting about, nor if they were mocking his cross-dressing for being completely amateurish and comically unconvincing at a single glance.

Zhou Zhe-xiao gently pinched the back of Xia Chi-yi’s hand with his thumb, as if telling him, "Don't be nervous."

When Xia Chi-yi settled into his seat, he let out a breath. As long as he sat in the correct position, he hadn't made a mistake.

"Xia Chi-yi... wrong, the bride sits on the right! The bride sits on the right..." the class monitor's voice echoed over.

The classmates nearby who were preparing to sing and dance also whispered reminders, "Wrong, wrong! Xia Chi-yi, you should sit on the chair beside him!"

A wave of amused laughter broke out among the students in the audience.

Xia Chi-yi desperately wanted to beat himself up. He had almost forgotten that he was currently the "bride," his mind entirely preoccupied with the groom's position he had seen in television dramas.

The intermission music was still playing, so Xia Chi-yi hurriedly gathered his skirt and stood up. Since he wasn't wearing any wig or headgear, there was little friction, and seeing the red veil slip forward again, he raised a hand to hold it down. Consequently, the hem of the skirt dropped, and as he stood up, he stepped right on it...

No way, was this a tragicomedy of life that simply could not be avoided?

"Ooh—"

Another gasp of exclamation rose from the audience, making Xia Chi-yi wonder if he had already completely embarrassed himself.

A hand reached around his back, and another slipped beneath the back of his knees, scooping him up into a bridal carry in one swift motion.

Screams echoed continuously from the stands.

"Who is the bride? Who on earth is the bride? To think they actually got carried by Zhou Zhe-xiao!"

"That is so alpha! Don't stop, don't stop, just carry him like that, I can watch this art festival until the very end!"

"Zhou Zhe-xiao is carrying the bride so effortlessly; the person in his arms looks just like a feather! Now that is true boyfriend material!"

Xia Chi-yi was completely bewildered.

What just happened? How was he moving without even walking?

Where did his chair go?

Xia Chi-yi was just about to struggle when he heard Zhou Zhe-xiao's voice drop from above, "Don't move."

Xia Chi-yi instantly froze, not daring to move a single muscle, until his back pressed against the back of another chair, his legs were lowered, and his feet touched the stage floor.

He didn't know how to exhale the breath trapped in his chest, and sweat began to bead down his back even faster.

Waves of commotion surged from the audience, but Zhou Zhe-xiao remained completely unfazed.

Zhou Zhe-xiao's hair had been entirely tucked away beneath his official hat, revealing his forehead and sharp facial features. His expression was composed, his eyes reflecting the stage lights as if liquid glass were flowing within them. Even without a trace of makeup, his face possessed a striking aesthetic that commanded everyone's attention.

Xia Chi-yi belatedly realized that he had just been carried by Zhou Zhe-xiao.

Even though it was only a single step between the two chairs.

The students in the audience had already broken into enthusiastic discussions.

"Isn't Zhou Zhe-xiao too handsome? He usually looks so ice-cold that I don't even dare look at him twice."

"Hahaha, now that he's on stage, we can look all we want."

"Without a doubt, he's the most handsome groom in the history of Ningchang University!"

Many people pulled out their phones, snapping pictures to their hearts' content.

"So who is the bride next to Zhou Zhe-xiao? The veil is covering their face so I can't see!"

"Zhou Zhe-xiao is like one meter ninety-four, right?"

"Wow... then the bride must be played by a guy. If a girl sat down, she probably wouldn't even reach Zhou Zhe-xiao's shoulder!"

"That's definitely taller than before, right? My boyfriend is one meter eighty-two, and when he walks past him, he suddenly feels like one meter seventy."

"That was his height before enrollment, right? He's definitely grown since then! So who on earth is the bride next to him?"

Everyone activated their inner Sherlock Holmes.

The first person to be ruled out was Ye Zhao-ying, who was currently wearing a suit and holding a camera, gleefully taking pictures of Zhou Zhe-xiao.

"Do we even need to guess? I saw the basketball shoes the bride exposed when lifting the skirt!"

"Basketball shoes? If it's not Ye Zhao-ying, then it has to be Xia Chi-yi!"

"I'm losing my mind. Has my little Chi-yi baby been married off already? Mama hasn't even prepared your dowry yet!"

"The CP our Economics and Management department has all been rooting for actually got married today?"

Xia Chi-yi sat on the stage with a straight back, his head buzzing.

The music had already started, accompanied by traditional vocal styles and the flashes of flowing water sleeves sweeping across the floor, but Xia Chi-yi could feel none of it.

He felt as though he had been sealed inside a small, airtight pot, simmering over a low flame. An indescribable emotion continued to brew and expand within his chest, making him yearn with a sudden impulse to lift the barrier before him and catch a glimpse of Zhou Zhe-xiao's expression.

The performance lasted roughly four or five minutes, but to Xia Chi-yi, it passed in the blink of an eye.

Before he could regulate his breathing or let the lingering heat dissipate, the music stopped.

The students in the audience began to playfully jeer.

"Do it again! If you can't do it again, leave the bride and groom behind!"

"Groom and bride, don't leave!"

"You guys are the school anniversary mascots—"

"Lift the veil! You haven't performed the veil-lifting yet!"

"Let us see the bride's face!"

Hearing their teasing, Xia Chi-yi wanted to grab onto the veil for dear life and never let go.

He sat rigidly in his spot, unsure when he was supposed to stand up. It was far too noisy around him, and he couldn't hear the class monitor's cues.

It wasn't until Zhou Zhe-xiao walked over, firmly grasped his hand, and led him step by step toward the backstage exit.

Once they reached the entrance of the passage, Xia Chi-yi eagerly ripped the veil off his head, causing a brief wave of dizziness.

"Let's go inside and change," Zhou Zhe-xiao said.

"Was I really embarrassing just now?" Xia Chi-yi clutched the red veil, looking up to the heavens with a long sigh.

By this time, the monitor and the others had already returned to the stage to perform the next act. The backstage area was bustling with other classmates, leaving only Xia Chi-yi and Zhou Zhe-xiao changing clothes in a quiet corner.

"Not embarrassing," Zhou Zhe-xiao replied.

"Really? I heard them going 'oooh, oooh, oooh' in waves."

"Because you satisfied their fantasies," Zhou Zhe-xiao said calmly.

"What fantasies?" Xia Chi-yi asked, raising his eyes.

Zhou Zhe-xiao pulled the layer of red gauze away from Xia Chi-yi's back. When the knot at his lower waist was untied, the friction of the cord against the fabric felt like someone's breath brushing across Xia Chi-yi's heart.

"They must be shipping our CP," Zhou Zhe-xiao said smoothly.

Next came the cord fastening of the innermost layer of clothing. The moment Zhou Zhe-xiao's fingers grazed the knot, Xia Chi-yi instantly clamped his hand around his wrist.

"I... I'll do it myself..."

"What's wrong?" Zhou Zhe-xiao turned his head slightly to look at him.

"What do you mean, what's wrong?"

Zhou Zhe-xiao, do you have any concept of this in your head at all? If even this final layer of fasteners is undone by you, doesn't that mean... my entire bridal outfit was taken off by you?

"Consummating the marriage?" Zhou Zhe-xiao's fingers were still pinching that cord knot, and those three abruptly spoken words sent a jolt of electricity through Xia Chi-yi's entire body.

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting again!"

"You're not even consummating the marriage with me, what are you nervous about?"

With that, the final knot was undone by Zhou Zhe-xiao.

Once the suffocating bridal costume was removed, Xia Chi-yi took a deep breath, feeling the air suddenly grow much fresher. He grabbed a bottle of mineral water, unscrewed the cap, and took several large gulps, finally calming his racing breath.

Taking another look, Zhou Zhe-xiao had already stripped off his groom's garments as well. As he turned his head slightly to pull off his last layer of clothing, the taut lines of his neck tensed with strength, and the muscular contours of his shoulders and back formed a pleasingly smooth extension.

When Zhou Zhe-xiao's gaze swept over, Xia Chi-yi was frantically gulping water.

Their class performance had concluded successfully, and they could finally return to the audience seats to watch the performances of other classes.

As Zhou Zhe-xiao and Xia Chi-yi bent down to walk toward their seats further inside, he noticed that several rows of students ahead of them had turned their heads to stare at him. That inexplicable, knowing smile made Xia Chi-yi lower his head even further.

Once they settled into their seats, the performance by the Anime Club began.

Ye Zhao-ying was cosplaying an anime character with a dual personality—a righteous assassin by night and a newspaper reporter by day.

Wearing vintage round glasses and a suit, he danced rhythmically on stage, every movement effortlessly cool and captivating, making Xia Chi-yi green with envy.

"I wish I could be that cool too..." Xia Chi-yi sighed.

The monitor in the row behind him leaned in and consoled, "You have your own kind of coolness. I have a hunch our class's program is going to be the most popular one!"

"Really?" Xia Chi-yi expressed doubt.

This wasn't a fairy tale where the prince wakes up Sleeping Beauty; there were neither stunning beauties nor dreamy romance plots.

When the art festival concluded, to Xia Chi-yi's utter disbelief, the photographs of his and Zhou Zhe-xiao's performance in bright red traditional wedding attire ended up on the front page of the school's official public account.

The number of likes instantly broke a thousand, and the share count made Xia Chi-yi feel like he was about to become an overnight internet-famous bride.

Even Ling Huanzhen sent congratulatory remarks: [The kid has grown up, getting married and didn't even bother to tell his coach and master? You haven't even come to kowtow to us yet, this is what they call a secret marriage!]

This photo was quickly circulated to Xia Chi-yi's fan chat group, inevitably downloaded by Yang Huaiyu and Ke Yan, who were lurking inside.

After seeing it, Yang Huaiyu laughed until tears were streaming down his face, immediately sending a WeChat message: [I treat you like my own younger brother, yet you get married without even letting your big brother know? I've already prepared several large chests of dowry for you!]

Upon receiving the message, Xia Chi-yi let out a long sigh and replied: [What dowry? Gold bars?]

Yang Huaiyu: [Pan-fried oyster omelets.]

Xia Chi-yi: [Just you wait, I'm blocking you right now.]

Ten minutes later, Yang Huaiyu actually sent a WeChat red packet. Opening it, it turned out to be a mere 0.88 yuan.

Xia Chi-yi was so furious he practically puffed up like a pufferfish.

Yang Huaiyu: [Just testing if you'd actually block me.]

Xia Chi-yi gritted his teeth; now he really, truly wanted to block him.

The next day, the voting results for the art festival were announced. The program by Economics and Management Class 1 received over three thousand votes, leaving all competition in the dust and clinching first place in the art festival. Every participant in the performance would receive a super luxurious breakfast coupon.

The class monitor almost wept tears of joy, never expecting such a phenomenal outcome from his very first year organizing the school anniversary events.

Xia Chi-yi was astonished by the final voting results.

"Was our program really that good?"

"Good? It was overflowing with chemistry and atmosphere," Ye Zhao-ying said with a cheeky grin. "If there's another school anniversary event next year, I suggest we just go straight for a wedding dress fashion show. You and Zhou Zhe-xiao walk out hand in hand, and you're guaranteed first place..."

Xia Chi-yi pulled out a tissue, pretended to blow his nose, rolled it into a ball, and threw it right at Ye Zhao-ying's bed.

"Xia Chi-yi, that's disgusting! You bad piece of work!"