Hannah chuckled softly, straightened her body to leave, but as she passed by May Hoffman, she suddenly stopped, stepped back, and turned her head to see the look on her face.

She didn’t miss the fleeting resentment in May’s eyes, just slightly curved her lips and said, "There’s always someone worse off than you. If everyone is unwilling to accept their fate, then the world really would become a purgatory."

Accepting one’s mediocrity and contentment with it is not that easy.

But you force yourself to do so.

The bathroom door was opened, and for a moment, the bright white light from the corridor slanted in and fell on Hannah’s clean face. She turned her head and glanced at May’s back.

The light fell at her feet, yet she kept her head low, always in the dark.

Hannah withdrew her gaze, seemingly in a good mood, the smile in her eyes deepened, showing a little mischief, and she hummed a tune.

The tune was both innocent like a nursery rhythm and oddly haunting, echoing in the empty corridor, fading away until it disappeared.

Under the light, May clenched her hands and made a decision.

"I...am still not willing to give up."

*

According to the notice from the program team, the initial stage recording started at eight in the morning, and the order was not fixed, so anyone could possibly be the first.

Of course, since this was not a voting stage, those who performed earlier generally had the advantage as the audience would gradually get tired and the later performances may not be as perfect.

Although the time was set at eight, many people started getting ready from three or four in the morning due to the large number of participants, preparing their make-up, or practicing in advance.

Lucy Taylor was the earliest to get up from the dorm, when it was still dark.

The six-person dormitory was only equipped with one bathroom, but each floor was equipped with one additional, larger bathroom for multiple users.

Lucy didn’t want to crowd with others in the public bathroom, so she got up early, but unexpectedly, there was already someone in the bathroom.

Impatient, she knocked on the door, "Who’s in there?"

No one answered.

She took a deep breath, her eyes glanced at the beds.

Only Hannah’s bunk was empty.

She knocked on the door again, this time with a sense of urgency, "Hannah Winter, can you hurry up? I’m waiting to change clothes."

There was still no response from inside, but the sound of the faucet being turned on could be heard.

A few seconds later, the bathroom door was opened from inside, and Hannah, holding a book in her hand, walked out. Her loose hair was a bit messy, and under the dim light, her eyes seemed particularly vivid.

Lucy frowned, glanced inside the bathroom, "What were you doing in there?"

Hannah yawned, her tone lazy, "Reading."

Lucy’s brows furrowed deeper, clearly unable to understand Hannah’s logic, "You hid in the bathroom just to read?"

Hannah closed the book in her hand and smiled slightly, "It’s quiet in there."

From the second day of checking in, Hannah hardly let the book leave her hand, as serious as a diligent student, which Lucy obviously disdained.

In this era, any kind of persona is fine, just not the "top student", not only is it easy to fall, but also easy to be mocked after falling.

Truly innocent and foolish.

Lucy gave a cold snort, her eyes unintentionally glancing over the book Hannah was holding in her hand.

The cover was printed with the title in fancy script.

"The Overbearing President Loves Fiercely"