Chapter 103
"Results are everything; victory or defeat on stage is everything."
"I won't wait for you anymore. It doesn't matter if it's not you, as long as I can reach the highest stage. It doesn't matter if someone else achieves this dream."
"Xiao Ning, from the moment I participated in <Flash Dance>, I decided I wouldn't wait for you anymore."
"If you really want me, then... come and take me yourself."
After Ji Shuzhu finished speaking, she dared not look at Chen Yining any longer. She turned around and walked to the winners' group, her eyes filled with sorrow. She paused for a moment, then continued to follow Xie Qingxuan and left the stage.
Chen Yining stood still, watching the other person's figure disappear. Her expression was blank, and she clutched her empty chest, whispering:
"There's absolutely no reason for anyone else to be on stage except for you."
"Just for you, is that not enough?"
That complex, pent-up, and obsessive emotion, after ten years of gestation and fermentation, finally coalesced in the Sea of Consciousness the moment those words were uttered, unleashing a terrifying wave of idealism that swept across the empty stage.
A sea of fire seemed to spread within the girl's soul; deep red patterns bloomed in her rose-red pupils like lava, and with each breath she took, the world was reduced to only black and white, incredibly clear.
Chen Yining's eyes were vacant, and she murmured to herself:
"Ji Shuzhu, I will take you back and make you... something that belongs only to me."
PS: I recommend listening to "Three People's Trip" and "After All ~Tsuru Omoi~ '13" (White Album insert song) for this chapter and appreciating them carefully.
PS: Since some people have been asking, let me clarify that the "Childhood Sweethearts" pair is an independent couple and is not part of the "Qing Bao Harem" category. Their purpose is to diversify the stage and provide the twisted fun that everyone loves to see, so this pair is definitely pure love.
Volume 1: 108. You only have six days left to live. (5K2)
The Live Broadcast Room.
The last frame of the video happens to freeze on a distant view of the childhood sweethearts parting ways.
Countless comments flooded the remaining black screen of the Live Broadcast Room, leaving not only "Ri Yi Yue Shu's" fans but also other casual viewers stunned and shocked by this twisted feast that far exceeded the elements of a stage performance, blending family, friendship, male and female idols, promises, and dreams.
"Damn it, all you minotaurs, die!"
"It hurts! It hurts so much! Even I, a pure-hearted warrior, couldn't help but cry when I saw Ningbao's tears!"
"Damn, am I really watching an idol performance? It's just about stealing a teammate, why is it twisted into something that makes me feel so happy, so painful, and so sad all at once?!"
"I'm crying my eyes out, Ji Shuzhu, what's wrong with you! If you don't want to team up, fine, but why are you bullying Ningbao like this? Aren't you childhood sweethearts who have known each other for over ten years???"
"Hilarious! It's just a script. How could 'The Ri Yi Yue Shu' possibly have a bad ending? It's all a conspiracy by Dream Weaver Rabbit! Haha, it's the Dao of Oblivion! It's The Truman Show! They're lying to me! They're all lying to me! How ridiculous! You think you can fool me???"
"Waaah, don't be stubborn, I'll take off your sunglasses, let's stand up and cry together..."
"Fake, fake, fake, fake! I don't believe it, I don't believe it, I don't believe it???!"
"Aaaaaaah??? My favorite ship has been ruined???!!!"
Although a few indifferent bystanders are still excitedly savoring this twisted holy book that can only be described as a feast.
But many more people felt the sorrow, pain, despair, and loneliness of being rejected, trampled on, and abandoned in the emotions that erupted when Chen Yining tears.
This is the infectious power of [Flow State] that is about to be amplified. It fully releases the enormous emotions accumulated from the collapse of more than ten years of faith. In this wonderful way outside the venue, it overwhelms the two amazing stages in front and changes the main theme of this live broadcast.
In an instant, the fan groups of "Ri Yi Yue Shu" went completely crazy, and the fan groups of the two individuals were also dragged into the war of words, showing a tendency to go insane for their idols, and pushing the live broadcast to the top of the trending searches.
--1. Ri Yi Yue Shu BE#
--2. #Green Plum Can't Beat a Fall from the Sky#
--3. Chen Yining Cries in Public#
--4. #The Great Demon King? The Tyrant on Stage!#
--5. #Stage Mishap, Chu Yuanqing's First Kiss?#
At this moment, on the "Ri Yi Yue Shu" super topic site, countless speculations and cries about the bad ending are becoming increasingly rampant as public opinion ferments.
While many pure love fans were losing their resolve, too many eccentrics were invading and causing trouble, and some were leaving the fandom and turning against it, the true warriors began to post and fight, analyzing the Live Broadcast Room frame by frame, and raising the banner that declared pure love is not dead.
"The Ri Yi Yue Shu is BE? That's wrong!"
Have you ever seen any other couples publicly break up?
Have you ever seen other couples shed tears and grieve over the departure of one of them?
"This incident proves precisely that we not only didn't make a mistake, but we also made a conservative one!"
These consecutive rhetorical questions suddenly made some people realize the truth.
Yes, the tears, arguments, torment, and betrayal actually prove that this couple wasn't just putting on a show.
It's worth noting that, putting Ji Shuzhu aside for now, Chen Yining has been a trainee under Yunlan Entertainment for many years. Her facial expressions are always perfectly controlled, and she is a poised and elegant Young Lady even when being interviewed by the media on the street.
The fact that someone could have such an emotional breakdown only proves that the relationship between these two childhood sweethearts is indeed very good, even to the point of developing into a romantic relationship. Only then would they be able to lose control of their emotions in front of a large audience and reveal astonishing true feelings in those few dozen seconds.
As for the script? Who would design a script that benefits neither side?
Moreover, if Chen Yining has such explosive acting skills, why bother struggling in the idol world? She should just enter the film and television industry.
In this entire episode of <FlashDance>, only one particular Green Eyed Cat had a chance of producing this effect.
Therefore, Chen Yining's tears do not symbolize the shattering of the tragic ending, but rather the purity of her feelings for Ji Shuzhu!
In an instant, countless fans of pure love seemed to have grasped the truth, becoming open-minded and cheerful:
"Yes, you're right, OP! We love you so much! The purity of 'Ri Yi Yue Shu' far surpasses all those other fancy pairings!"
"Ah, I get it! Isn't this just a young couple arguing because of differing values? Just because they're not on the same stage or in the same team doesn't mean it's a bad ending! What a joke! Don't underestimate pure love!"
"Haha, put on your sunglasses and wait for Ningbao to make a comeback, snatch Ji Shuzhu back, and thoroughly train and control this bad thing until she is completely molded into her own shape???"
"Heh heh, I won't accept this punishment unless Ji Shuzhu gets a dunk. It would be best if they didn't remove her manicure and didn't even allow her to wear finger cots???"
On the other side,
The aftermath of "Dangerous Party" is still lingering, and fans of all other CPs except "Qing Cheng Qing Guo" are lamenting. "Wu Zhong Jian Qing," who had just recovered, has suffered another blow, only to regret that their other favorite character wasn't up to par.
"I'm really furious! The Great Demon King and Qing Bao have already exchanged their first on-screen kiss, what about Little Sakura? Check Little Sakura's status!"
"Oh my god, Qing Bao said that kiss was a pre-arranged choreography change, so how many times did she and the Great Demon King actually kiss in private?!"
"Waaaaah, stop imagining that scenario! I'm panicking, I'm breaking down! I just watched Little Sakura lose everything and get her base completely destroyed?!"
"Where are the bloggers, the big names, the creators? Help! If I don't see fanfiction of Qing Bao getting dunked on by Little Sakura soon, I'm going crazy!"
Similar erratic behavior has also occurred in the "Ri Yi Yue Shu" and other CP supertopics related to Chu Yuanqing.
Xie Qingxuan has become a nightmare for countless CP fans. He is being dubbed the "Bull Demon King" by various CP fans, who are mobilizing eighteen armies to condemn and attack him with fervent anger.
At the same time,
Underground base, area B1.
Xie Qingxuan was unaware that she was being mistaken for a NTR (Netorare, a Japanese term for a person who is profaned or misrepresented). Otherwise, she would probably find it strange that something as pure as a stage competition could be mixed with so many fancy and complicated elements.
This innocent Golden Haired Doggy is currently packing its luggage and some miscellaneous items, tidying up its new dormitory with the choreographer and Chu Yuanqing.
Because it's a long-running show, the contestants usually have quite a lot of personal belongings.
After all, cosmetics and skincare products suitable for one's skin type, as well as a bunch of personal clothes to suit different occasions, take up a lot of space. Not to mention that some people also need to prepare props in advance to disguise their persona.
Therefore, moving dorm rooms is indeed a troublesome physical task. Only Chu Yuanqing, being an oddball, could manage with just one suitcase. Fortunately, he could ask the staff for help, so it didn't waste too much time.
Xie Qingxuan looked at the choreographer sitting on the edge of the bed, flipping through a book without saying a word. She recognized the choreographer's value as a teammate and, for the sake of the team's chances of winning, politely struck up a conversation:
"Ji Shuzhu, aren't you going to talk to Chen Yining more? If you miss this opportunity, you won't see each other again for at least another week."
Chu Yuanqing felt extremely uncomfortable upon hearing this. She tugged at the other person's sleeve, wishing she could shove the Golden Haired Doggy's innocent question back into her mind.
Although she wasn't particularly sensitive to neodymium or female friendships, the behavior of Chen Yining and Ji Shuzhu earlier just seemed off, didn't it?
Especially the way the Young Lady shed tears, and Ji Shuzhu's subtle expression when she looked back, made her and Xie Qingxuan seem like some heinous villains who were trying to break up a loving couple.
Mentioning the other person at this point is rather tactless.
Ji Shuzhu slightly raised her eyebrows. The emotions that had burned like a raging fire before had long since been extinguished, even further depleting her emotional mechanisms. She was like an empty shell, burned out completely, the emptiness deep in her chest dulling her perception of everything. Upon hearing this, she simply replied indifferently:
"It would be better not to see him."
"That would be the optimal solution for both of us."
Xie Qingxuan couldn't understand.
For her, "friend" is an unfamiliar word, a novel relationship that she has never had the opportunity to build. Childhood sweethearts like Chen Yining and Ji Shuzhu, who have known each other for more than ten years, are on a higher level and can be considered enviable.
Unlike Little Sakura, her personality is naturally innocent, and coupled with her Meditation State- like state of mind, which is detached from worldly concerns, she is completely unaware of this, even though she lacks close relationships. She is rather slow-witted and clumsy.
Therefore, she bluntly asked the question that Chu Yuanqing dared not ask at all:
"It's strange. We're just not on the same team, which doesn't affect our friendship. Why do you and Chen Yining seem so serious?"
Chu Yuanqing couldn't hold back any longer. She grabbed Xie Qingxuan's arm, pulled the child to the door, and interrupted the conversation:
"Alright, now that we've moved on to the next stage, there must be a lot of things to do, right?"
"First, we need to get all the dance music for this phase, and then we need to figure out how many teams have reached area B1 and choose our next challenge opponent."
Xie Qingxuan's attention was successfully diverted, and he said seriously:
"Xiao Qing, you're right."
Ji Shuzhu skillfully ignored the question someone had just asked and continued:
"Dream Weaver Rabbit said that the dance music can be drawn from the assigned practice rooms."
"Now that we've packed our luggage, let's head to the practice room first."
Xie Qingxuan thought for a moment and said:
"Let's bring a change of clothes. We can just stay in the practice room; it'll make our dance practice much more efficient. That's what Xiao Qing and I did before."
Ji Shuzhu didn't see anything wrong with it. She and Chen Yining had always treated the practice room like their home, so she nodded in agreement, acquiescing to the suggestion.
Chu Yuanqing breathed a sigh of relief. She suddenly felt fortunate that she hadn't lost this stage competition. Otherwise, having this natural-born Golden Haired Doggy join the pair of childhood sweethearts would have inevitably led to some rather absurd and awkward interactions.
Even now, it's best not to leave these two alone together. Otherwise, it's one thing if the silence becomes so thick that the air freezes, but if Xie Qingxuan were to ask some direct questions, it's hard to imagine what kind of atmosphere it would create.
Just as the three were preparing to pack their clothes, there was a knock on the door.
Chu Yuanqing opened the door and saw a familiar assistant.
Chen Xiaoxiao looked around at the three of them and got straight to the point, saying:
"Chu Yuanqing, Xie Qingxuan, Ji Shuzhu, the three of you pack your bags and prepare to leave the base for a few days."
After Chen Xiaoxiao finished speaking, she smiled and said:
"Don't worry, it's good news. The Program Group is going to keep the promise they made to everyone."
Ji Shuzhu reacted the fastest; she asked:
"Is this the endorsement deal that Dream Weaver Rabbit mentioned before, the one she wanted to specifically negotiate for A-Class players?"
Chen Xiaoxiao nodded and said:
"Yes, you can go outside the base and talk to your agent about the specifics."
"Don't worry, the Program Group's producers haven't placed any restrictions on the endorsements they've chosen, and they've all thoroughly investigated their backgrounds. If any problems arise later, FlashDance will be responsible for resolving them."
"Furthermore, considering the format of this round of competition, the advertising shoot will take a maximum of two or three days, which won't significantly affect your stage performance."
Xie Qingxuan did some mental calculations.
There are still 24 days left until the end of the competition. Even if we deduct 3 days, we still have exactly three weeks to spare. Assuming we finish filming, train for a week, challenge someone again, and win, we will still have two weeks left to deal with the final battle.
Chu Yuanqing didn't think much of it. According to the contract signed before the competition, shooting endorsement advertisements could be considered part of her job. Moreover, shooting advertisements was easier than relying on cutting-edge technology to keep going and practicing dance for 15 hours a day.
Well, as long as the products she endorses aren't too suggestive, it should be fine. After all, <FlashDance> can't exactly endorse swimwear, can they?
Chu Yuanqing was relieved and asked:
"So, we're endorsing a whole product line?"
Chen Xiaoxiao answered seriously:
"No, at least none of the three of you are."
"Alright, get ready to pack up, we'll be meeting up shortly."