Rebirth of a Girl in a Boys' School

"Brothers, I'm off now!" Lin Ruofei said, waving goodbye to the three Tao brothers as she walked away.

The three Tao brothers were excitedly hugging each other, and even the face masks covering their faces couldn't hide their joyful expressions.

"It seems like the three of them really want to join the drama club..." Lin Ruofei muttered to herself, "They're absolutely thrilled!"

"Whether you want to or not and whether you can or not are two completely unrelated things at any time!" Gao Qiang said firmly.

“Since you know the head of that drama club,” Lin Ruofei whispered, “why don’t you say a good word for the three of them?”

“You don’t know Hong Wei,” Gao Qiang said as he stepped into the elevator, then shook his head. “He’s notoriously stubborn at Yucai Boys’ High School. Last year, a teacher’s child wanted to join his drama club, but the child didn’t pass the audition. The teacher talked to him for almost a whole semester, but in the end, he didn’t accept the teacher’s child. He didn’t give the teacher any face!”

"Then you should think of more ways!" Lin Ruofei followed her in with a grin, exclaiming dramatically, "Who doesn't know that Gao Qiang is the top student at Yucai Boys' High School? You're sure to come up with a win-win solution!"

"Stop flattering me!" Gao Qiang pushed Lin Ruofei, who was leaning against him, away and said, "The other team members are already waiting on the playground. Let's hurry up!"

When Lin Ruofei followed Gao Qiang to the playground in front of the dormitory building, there were already many students exercising after dinner.

"They're all over there!" Gao Qiang pointed to a small group of people on the edge of the playground, then urged Lin Ruofei to walk faster.

Before Lin Ruofei could even get close, she heard someone loudly calling her name: "Lin Ruofei, you've finally shown up!"

There were five people in this small group. Lin Ruofei recognized three of them: one was the "stone steps man" who was sitting on the steps of "Qianji Mountain" keeping watch, whom Gao Qiang called "Hua Di"; another was the future reporter Zheng Dayu who had just shouted his name; and the last one was Ding Yilin.

"Didn't they say there were already 8 people in the group?" Lin Ruofei thought to herself, "Now it seems there are only 7 people!"

When Lin Ruofei's eyes met Ding Yilin's, she couldn't help but ask loudly, "Why are you getting involved too?"

"It's...it's Gao Qiang who said we don't have enough people," Ding Yilin said timidly, "He...he asked me to help you..."

Lin Ruofei pulled Gao Qiang aside and whispered in his ear, "This little Dingding is very timid. It wouldn't be good if something unexpected happened and he got scared!"

"There's nothing we can do," Gao Qiang said helplessly. "We just don't have enough people."

Lin Ruofei became a little anxious and said with a worried tone, "I promised his father that I would take care of him when he enrolled. Besides, he is my best friend. How could I bear it if he fell or got hurt?"

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing!" Gao Qiang said sincerely, "He's just a figurehead, I won't let him do anything real, I can definitely guarantee his personal safety!"

"Is it really impossible to recruit anyone?" Lin Ruofei said unwillingly, "The three Tao brothers clearly agreed to come, but you disagreed..."

Before Gao Qiang could answer, Zheng Dayu, who was standing to the side, interrupted with an unhappy expression: "Hey Lin Ruofei, you haven't even done anything yet and you're already acting like a big shot? You made us all wait for ages, and when you finally arrive, all you do is nag. Tell me, besides being good at scaling walls and playing basketball so-so, what other skills do you have?"

"As for me... I can go anywhere, from the sky to the depths of the earth to the depths of the sea!" Lin Ruofei glanced at Zheng Dayu, then patted her chest and said playfully, "I don't know any of those skills!"

"What are you saying if you don't know?" Zheng Dayu said angrily, "Are you deliberately teasing us?"

"Alright, alright," Gao Qiang hurriedly interjected, "Let's get down to business!"

“Yeah, let’s quickly come up with a plan!” Hua Di, the ‘steps man,’ said. “Right now, almost all the capable students have been recruited by that first-year student, He Zhiheng…”

"And he's been spreading the word that no one else is allowed to join our group," Zheng Dayu said worriedly. "If this continues, our group will only have eight people left, and we won't be able to participate in any of the projects that have minimum number of participants. This will mean our group will earn significantly less during the 'anniversary celebration' season!"

Then, everyone fell silent.

Others remain silent because they are worried about their current passive situation, but Lin Ruofei remains silent because she has no idea what's going on!

After a moment, Gao Qiang broke the silence first: "Don't worry, everyone! I'll figure out how to recruit people. I guarantee that our team won't miss a single project during the 'Anniversary Celebration Season'!"

"Then you'd better hurry up!" Zheng Dayu urged. "The school will ask us to report the number of participants and events tomorrow. If we can't get at least ten people by the end of school tomorrow, we're doomed!"

"I know." Gao Qiang nodded, then said, "Let's divide up the track and field events for the 'Anniversary Celebration Season' first!"

"Although the prize money for track and field events isn't much," Gao Qiang added, "every time you win first place in an individual event, ten points will be added to your total score, laying the foundation for winning the overall championship. We shouldn't let any event that could potentially earn us points go to waste!"

"What do track and field events include?" Lin Ruofei asked curiously.

"In addition to the regular 100-meter and 200-meter sprints and the 400-meter, 1000-meter, and 5000-meter middle-distance races, the top four teams in the total track and field events can also participate in the 200-meter and 400-meter relay races. As for field events, there are discus, shot put, high jump, and long jump," Gao Qiang patiently explained to Lin Ruofei.

"Hey!" Zheng Dayu turned to Lin Ruofei's side, patted her on the shoulder, and asked, "Which of these projects are you good at?"

"As for me..." Lin Ruofei immediately put on a playful smile again: "So-so is acceptable!"

"Keep bragging!" Zheng Dayu said dismissively.

"Let's get serious, which project are you best at?" Gao Qiang asked Lin Ruofei with a serious expression.

"I definitely can't participate in things like shot put or discus, which involve strength," Lin Ruofei said with a nonchalant expression, waving her hand. "I don't have the strength in my hands, so I'll just withdraw from those kinds of events."

"What about sprints and long-distance running?" Gao Qiang hurriedly asked.

"Sprinting... I'm not very good at it..." Lin Ruofei said hesitantly.

Actually, Lin Ruofei isn't bad at sprinting; it's just that she doesn't yet know the strength of her other opponents, so she doesn't dare to say she's good at it rashly. If she doesn't get a good result, it would be a huge embarrassment. After all, she's only thirteen years old and is competing against eighteen or nineteen-year-old boys; the outcome is really hard to predict.

"You mean you're good at middle and long-distance running?" Zheng Dayu asked, glancing sideways at Lin Ruofei.

"I think getting into the top three shouldn't be a problem..." Lin Ruofei said, her confidence clearly lacking.

"The top three are definitely not enough!" Zheng Dayu shouted angrily. "In Yucai Boys' High School, only the first place can win! Only the first place winner will receive a prize and points!"

"Does it have to be first place? Does second place mean... can't we get less prize money and points?" Lin Ruofei asked timidly.

Everyone shook their heads in unison.

"Oh..." Lin Ruofei nodded and said softly, "Then... I'll try my best!"

"After everyone registers for their teams tomorrow, the preliminary rounds will start one after another next week..." Gao Qiang thought for a moment, then said, "Wait until the day after tomorrow to see the actual situation before deciding which event to sign up for!"

"Can contestants decide which event to register for on the spot?" Lin Ruofei asked in surprise. "Don't they have to register in advance?"

“Yes,” Gao Qiang nodded, then said, “Any member of our team can be substituted in at any time.”

"The policy is quite lenient," Lin Ruofei nodded and said, "Then I'll see how things go when the time comes!"

“Let’s exclude Lin Ruofei first,” Gao Qiang then called to the other group members, “Each group can register two people for each competition item. Let’s each of us first talk about the items we are relatively good at, and then divide the competition items equally among the participants…”

Before long, Gao Qiang had assigned the competition events. Since there were too few team members, each person was assigned about two or three competition events.

"That's all for today's meeting. Just wait for my notification. Go back and rest now!" After the project assignments were completed, Gao Qiang called everyone back to their dormitories to rest.

Lin Ruofei was about to return to the dormitory building with Ding Yilin, and was about to go to the rest hall to get her math book and toiletries back to the dormitory when Gao Qiang suddenly grabbed her.

"Don't rush back," Gao Qiang said, grabbing Lin Ruofei's arm. "Come with me to see someone!"

"Who is it? Ah...ah...who is it? Can't we not go? I need to go back to study!" Lin Ruofei struggled, not wanting to go with Gao Qiang, but Gao Qiang held her firmly and showed no intention of letting go. Lin Ruofei had no choice but to tell Ding Yilin to go back by himself first.

After leaving the playground, Lin Ruofei followed behind Gao Qiang, constantly asking him:

"Hey, where are you taking me? Who are we going to meet? Is this person very impressive? Could they join our group during the 'School Anniversary Season'?"

"What are you asking, you know a million questions!" Gao Qiang said impatiently. "Just follow me obediently, and you'll know everything in a bit!"

"They're just curious!" Lin Ruofei muttered softly, "Can't you at least give me a little bit of information first?"

"Curiosity kills!" Gao Qiang glared at Lin Ruofei and said, "Be careful you don't get into trouble!"

"Tch, no worries!" Lin Ruofei patted her chest and said, "I have no taboos!"

Gao Qiang stopped chatting with Lin Ruofei and simply walked away with his head down. Lin Ruofei could tell that Gao Qiang was preoccupied, so she stopped bothering him and silently followed behind him.

In the blink of an eye, the two arrived at the gate of Teaching Building No. 4.

"This is going to..." Before Lin Ruofei could finish speaking, Gao Qiang, who had been silent, had already walked through the door first.

"Upstairs...?" Lin Ruofei had barely finished speaking when she saw Gao Qiang already climbing the stairs.

"Okay, let's go upstairs!" Lin Ruofei nodded and followed after him, muttering to herself.

Gao Qiang led Lin Ruofei past the fourth-floor conference room where the opening ceremony had been held, then through a tightly closed door on the fifth floor, and up to the top floor—the sixth floor.

The sixth-floor corridor had many large doors, but only the one at the very back was open, letting in bright light. Gao Qiang led Lin Ruofei straight to the only open door…

"Chess and card club... Poetry and painting club... Broadcasting group..." Lin Ruofei muttered softly as she looked at the door signs, "So this floor is all the activity areas for various clubs!"

As Lin Ruofei approached the open doorway, she heard a man's voice angrily shouting from inside the room:

"Lights, where are you shining them? Who told you to make the female lead's face so bright? This isn't 'Zombies Return,' why are you making her face look so pale? Male lead, where are you standing? Quickly move to the left, you're blocking the female lead's view!"

As soon as Gao Qiang entered the room, he called out with a smile, "Old Hong, why are you so angry? Be careful you don't get pimples on your face!"

"So this is the drama club!" Lin Ruofei suddenly realized, thinking to herself, "Gao Qiang must be here to try and win over the three Tao brothers!"

"What brings you here?" A thin, bony boy stood up from a sofa chair with its back to the door, smiled at Gao Qiang, and said, "The 'school anniversary season' hasn't even started yet, so you're in such a hurry to borrow clothes from me?"

Lin Ruofei followed behind Gao Qiang, approaching the thin, wiry boy as she carefully examined him:

This kid was not only thin and small, but his skin also looked extremely dehydrated, covered in wrinkles, with droopy eyebrows, downturned eyes, upturned nostrils, and a big, forked mouth...

Because the man looked so 'creative,' Lin Ruofei recognized him without much effort: this man was Hong Hong, who would become the most famous idol drama director in China more than ten years later.

"So his real name isn't Hong Hong..." Lin Ruofei thought to herself. "No wonder everyone says that people in the entertainment industry like to use stage names, even directors change their names before they start out..."

Gao Qiang simply smiled slightly, not in a hurry to answer Hong Wei, and casually asked, "What drama are you filming this year?"