Chapter 99: Attempt to Slap Backfires and Ends Up Trampled

“Clearly, you can’t sing, yet you insist on showing off and striking poses here. I see you’re dead set on making a complete fool of yourself today! But that suits me fine—the more you embarrass yourself, the happier I am. Too bad Zhao Yuan is still lying in the hospital; he won’t get to witness your humiliating spectacle…”

Ma Haojie was convinced that Li Sicheng couldn’t sing. Naturally, he dismissed Li’s attempts at gathering his emotions as nothing but pretense.

“Ah, I’ve got it. I can secretly record this moment on my phone. After the event, I’ll take it to the hospital for Zhao Yuan to see. I’m sure he’ll be delighted.”

Without hesitation, Ma Haojie pulled out his phone, opened the camera app, and discreetly aimed it at Li Sicheng.

Several minutes passed.

Li Sicheng remained with his eyes closed, still gathering his emotions, yet he hadn’t started singing.

This left the crowd surprised and puzzled. Though no one urged Li Sicheng, groups of people began whispering among themselves:

“What’s going on? It’s been several minutes, why hasn’t Li Sicheng started singing yet?”

“Exactly, is he even going to sing? Could he be stalling until the event ends? No way, I still want to hear a song or two more. There are too many people here today; I haven’t had my fill yet.”

“Looks like Brother Chen really can’t sing. Maybe we should just give up and stop putting him on the spot.”

At that moment, Lin Siyu turned to her best friend with a complaint: “It’s all your fault for pushing him to sing. Look at this mess—everyone’s so awkward; he can’t even get off the stage.”

Tan Xiaoxiao glanced at her and smiled. “What, feeling sorry for him now?”

Lin Siyu’s eyes flickered with panic as she hurriedly denied, “N-no, how could I possibly feel sorry for him?”

Tan Xiaoxiao didn’t believe her for a second. “Cut it out. Don’t pretend—I know you too well. Since we were kids, besides your sister and me, who else have you cared about? Don’t worry, I’m going up now to save little Li. I guarantee he won’t embarrass himself. How’s that? Satisfied?”

Ma Haojie sat not far from Lin Siyu and Tan Xiaoxiao. Since no one was singing at the moment, the room was relatively quiet, allowing him to easily overhear their conversation.

“Damn it, what kind of spell has that Li kid cast on our class? Not only do the teachers and classmates like him, even the arrogant school beauties Lin Siyu and Tan Xiaoxiao are giving him special treatment, even volunteering to help him out of trouble. No, I finally caught a chance to make Li Sicheng look ridiculous, and I won’t let him slip away now!”

Shaken but quick to act, Ma Haojie began plotting his next move.

But Tan Xiaoxiao didn’t give him the chance. She stood and walked toward Li Sicheng.

Seeing this, Ma Haojie panicked and blurted out, “Li Sicheng, how long are you going to keep pretending? You don’t actually believe that just by ‘gathering your emotions,’ your tone-deaf voice will suddenly produce a beautiful song, do you? Stop putting on a show. Don’t you see everyone’s getting impatient? Hurry up and sing—there are plenty of other students waiting their turn. We can’t just stand here watching you fool around forever!”

Lin Siyu’s expression changed instantly.

She detected the hostility and mockery aimed at Li Sicheng in Ma Haojie’s words.

Gao Zixi frowned as well.

As the homeroom teacher, she wished for the class to be harmonious and unified, like a family. Ma Haojie’s attitude was completely contrary to her hopes.

Besides Lin Siyu and Gao Zixi, many other students also grew dissatisfied with Ma Haojie’s behavior.

Especially the girls on the volleyball team.

To these girls, Li Sicheng was not only a major contributor but also their savior.

If it weren’t for Li Sicheng, they wouldn’t have won today’s match; they would have been utterly defeated and humiliated by Class 3-6 of the senior grade!

So when they realized someone dared to target their hero and savior, they erupted as one.

“Ma Haojie, what do you mean by that? We’re here singing to celebrate victory, all thanks to Li Sicheng! He can take as long as he wants gathering his emotions!” Deng Qian was the first to speak, nearly pointing a finger at Ma Haojie in fury.

Naturally, Zhang Xiaoling defended her male idol: “Qian Qian’s right. If you don’t like it, you can leave! Or better yet, pay for tonight’s celebration yourself! Otherwise, what right do you have to mock Li Sicheng, who’s hosting this party?”

The other girls on the volleyball team chimed in together, “Ma Haojie, who gave you the right to speak for us? Who said we’re impatient? We’re all enjoying the wait, thank you very much!”

The volleyball team members were all quite attractive. Once they spoke up, the boys in class who had feelings for them quickly stood with them, distancing themselves from Ma Haojie.

“You guys…”

Ma Haojie was utterly dumbfounded.

He never expected that Li Sicheng, a newcomer who had only transferred into the class a few days ago, would be so well-liked. He even saw some classmates who usually got along with him now siding with Li Sicheng...

Suddenly, Ma Haojie realized he was completely isolated. His mouth gaped open, wanting to defend himself, but his mind went blank, and he didn’t know what to say.

Though displeased with Ma Haojie’s words and actions, homeroom teacher Gao Zixi had to step in to smooth things over: “Alright, alright, everyone, stop blaming Ma Haojie. I believe what he said wasn’t meant to single out Li Sicheng intentionally. Right, Ma Haojie?”

“Y-yes…” Ma Haojie lowered his head, feeling utterly dejected.

With the teacher’s intervention, no one continued to openly criticize Ma Haojie, but their unfriendly gazes remained.

In this atmosphere, Ma Haojie had no face to stay any longer.

“I just remembered I have something to do. I’ll be leaving early. You all enjoy yourselves.”

He made an excuse to leave.

Just then, Li Sicheng, who had been quietly gathering his emotions with the microphone, suddenly opened his eyes.

A deep, stirring note burst forth from his mouth…

P.S.: Today there will be three updates; this is the first. Please support with rewards, recommendation votes, and favorites! Many thanks from Xiao Wu! Welcome to join Xiao Wu’s reader group: 168330720!