"Hic… hic… It's all my fault. Just now, I uploaded a few pictures of Royce and Camellia… hic… to the Royce FC group chat… hic… So Class 12C used them to create a voting promo clip - based entirely on our photos. The girls in our school are going crazy over that fake video and swore to vote for 12C."
Cherry spoke through her sobs, choking on each word in frustration and regret.
"Let me see that!"
Ethan dropped the fruit tray decorations and focused on Cherry's phone screen.
"I don't get what's so appealing about this clip. It's just two boys chasing each other around, and then the taller one pins the slimmer one to a wall and locks his arms. Okay, yeah, the visuals do kind of mirror those photos we took of Royce and Camellia. Oh! What's with the look on their faces? Oh no! My eyes! Someone gouge them out! AAAAA!"
Ethan shoved the phone back into Cherry's hands and let out a scream even louder than hers.
"What are we going to doooo?!"
Cherry was panicking now, seeing Ethan lose his usual calm and collected demeanor.
"Ethan! What if you, uh… sacrificed yourself a little? Royce is completely immobilized right now. You could go over there and, you know… recreate the same scene from Class 12C's clip. We'll record it and edit it better. You two look way more attractive than those guys from 12C. I promise the votes will come flooding in."
Amy - Vice President of the Royce FC - pitched in enthusiastically.
"Nooo! Everyone in Harmony High says I look like a mountain monkey!!"
Ethan winced and shook his head, clearly refusing. The look on his face was so pitiful it was almost cute.
"No way! You look fine! Anyone who says otherwise is either jealous or has terrible taste."
"You've got fair skin, smooth complexion, tall build, and those broad shoulders."
"And don't forget the adorable dimples when you smile."
"Ugh! That nervous little head-scratch thing you do? Super cute!"
The girls of Class 11D all chimed in at once, trying to convince Ethan.
"Nooo! I've never kissed anyone before! I want to… I want to save my first kiss for someone I love!"
Ethan screamed in desperation as the girls of 11D gradually pushed him toward Royce.
"Autumn! Hey, hey… What if you kiss Ethan? Help unlock him for the rest of us, please. Once he's lost his first kiss, it won't matter who else he kisses after that. Right, Ethan?"
Cherry pulled Autumn into the scheme without hesitation.
Camellia couldn't help but admire Cherry's uncanny ability to sniff out romance. Sometimes, even the people involved didn't fully understand their own hearts, and yet Cherry already had the whole picture figured out.
"Noooo… I'm… I'm not Ethan's girlfriend!"
Autumn muttered in protest. But the girls of Class 11D refused to let her off the hook.
"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"
Cherry and Amy led the chant as the rest of the girls joined in, forming a tight circle around Ethan and Autumn.
The two stood face-to-face, their faces flushed red like drunkards at a festival.
Were they really going to go through with it?
As Ethan leaned in, his gaze locked onto Autumn's beautiful brown eyes, Camellia had to look away to hide the ridiculous grin spreading across her face.
Just a few more seconds now…
After that Bloodbound boy and the slightly-over-five-foot-tall Vampire girl unlocked a brand-new achievement…
"First Kiss: Lost Forever"
…then it would be time for that smug, arrogant, hot-tempered Vampire to have his most cherished treasure stolen - by a mere human boy.
Oh, how Camellia couldn't wait to see that scene unfold.
"Everyone calm down! Now that they've made a video like that, we can't just copy them. We need to come up with something more creative, something even more engaging if we want to beat them."
Ethan shouted over the crowd as he furiously typed something on his phone. He seemed to be messaging someone.
His eyes lit up when he received a reply, making Camellia all the more curious about what the message said.
"Cherry! That last clip - the one where Royce falls on top of Camellia and then gets bitten unconscious - did you upload that one to the Royce FC group yet?"
"No, not yet, Ethan. That scene kinda ruins Royce's cold CEO image. It makes him look like a regular lovesick fool who got played. So… I didn't dare post it."
"Hey, Camellia, you okay being the bad guy?"
Ethan turned to her, asking the question with surprising politeness.
"I'm fine with whatever. I'm not afraid of gossip. My reputation's always been bad anyway."
Camellia answered vaguely.
For some reason, she had the feeling that whether she agreed or not, this human boy was going to follow through with his plan regardless. Oh well - she might as well let him do what he wants. After all, Camellia trusted that Ethan would never cross his own moral lines.
She was only slightly disappointed that Ethan had come up with a new plan instead of following the girls' original suggestion.
With Camellia's approval, Ethan and the girls of Class 11D huddled together in a top-secret discussion. A few minutes later, they dashed off with a laptop and mouse to find a quiet spot - ready to work on a brand-new promotional video.
As for Autumn, she took off like a bullet right after Ethan whispered something in her ear.
Hmph, in chess, isn't the queen the most powerful piece on the board?
It seemed Ethan had just sent out his queen on the most critical mission.
Camellia quickly raised her phone to record as Autumn bolted toward the Art Club room - clearly forgetting herself and running at Vampire speed through Harmony's schoolyard.
Meanwhile, Ethan calmly continued his work with the fruits, star lanterns, flowers, and ribbons that Lucas and Simon had collected for him.
Every single student in Class 11D had a job, and all were moving in perfect rhythm under Ethan's coordination.
Fifteen minutes later, Autumn returned, her hands and sleeves smeared with paint, holding a handcrafted standee. On it was a printed image of Royce's glorious six-pack, accompanied by a bold caption:
"1 Vote - 1 Touch - 5 Seconds"
Below that, in slightly smaller text:
"No Vote - Still Okay - Just 50K"
And, most importantly, there was a QR code neatly attached to the bottom.
Camellia's phone buzzed.
Every Telegram and Discord group of Harmony students she was in had just received the same message at the same time:
An image of the standee and a photo of Royce sitting perfectly still - his handsome, aloof, arrogant face frozen in time - courtesy of Autumn.
Moments later, Camellia grinned wide like the Cheshire Cat as she watched the crowd - boys and girls alike - form a massive line in front of Class 11D's Five-Fruit Tray.
Ruby even got in line multiple times, just to rest her hand on Royce's six-pack for five whole seconds.
"One, two, three… ten, twenty, fifty, one hundred… one hundred and two…"
Camellia counted under her breath.
Looks like every girl in Harmony High had gathered here. Well, except maybe a couple… Anya and Yara were probably still unconscious in the nurse's office - or already sent home by now.
At this rate, even after paying Camellia her bounty of thirty 2High milk teas…
…Class 11D just might walk away from the Five-Fruit Tray Decoration Contest with a serious profit.