Well, at least Dream Weaver Rabbit hadn't pulled any flashy tricks with precisely projected comments this time.
Otherwise...
Kiriwake Yayoi's lingering disappointment and pure, overwhelming emotion hadn't yet had time to fade. They would probably have been tainted at once by the deranged literary works of a foreign land.
After bowing and waving politely to the camera, Little Sakura turned and left. Her figure disappeared into the dark corridor. She used her access card, took the elevator back to the enormous floor that housed the dormitories and practice rooms, then climbed into a hovercar by the road and headed straight for the practice rooms.
Along the way, she passed many B-Class contestants who were preparing to go onstage.
But the staff had deliberately warned her not to reveal what the Second Evaluation truly tested. So even when she ran into Chu Wangshu, all she could do was smile, wave hello, and continue on her way.
In the Live Broadcast Room, many viewers kept their cameras trained on Kiriwake Yayoi:
"Everyone, this is the moment of truth: is this ship real or not???"
"Guess who Little Sakura will look for first to share the joy of her victory????"
"Why even ask? She's heading toward the C-Class practice rooms, right? She's definitely going to find Qing Bao, hehe???"
"Reporting from the lurker squad: Qing Bao just left the practice room and has already gone back to the dorm."
"Holy crap, back to the dorm? The Great Demon King went straight back to the dorm after her competition too???"
"Wait! Qing Bao and the Great Demon King's personal channels are both blacked out. Either they covered the cameras in their dorm rooms, or they're in the bathroom together???!"
The viewers' imaginations ran wild. And since fans who shipped couples often had the observational skills of Sherlock Holmes, many of them immediately deduced from the sound levels on the two channels that there was a ninety percent chance the two were in the bathroom.
"I can't take it anymore! What are Qing Bao and Xie Qingxuan doing? I want to see too???!"
"So this is what it means to lose onstage but win in love? You wicked Great Demon King, can you be any more wicked? Let me hear something???."
"Little Sakura is setting out to deliver justice and catch them in the act???!"
"But Yayoi took the wrong path. What if she doesn't even find them? Hilarious, she's such a loser!"
The comments never stopped.
The viewers had Kiriwake Yayoi figured out perfectly, too. She had no idea a crowd of shippers was spying on her. Light on her feet, she went to the C-Class practice room and peered inside with anticipation.
Someone was practicing in there, but after looking around for quite a while, she still couldn't spot Chu Yuanqing.
The curve of her lips faded a little, and disappointment showed in her eyes. But she soon clenched her fist and quietly cheered herself up.
Xiao Qing must be in the dorm!
After all, according to Chu Yuanqing's training habits these past few days, since she was reluctant to wear little skirts, she always put on her dance clothes and finished all her basic training first. Only then would she go back to the dorm to change into her skirt before practicing candy.
So she'd probably just missed her while she was going back to shower and change.
With that thought, Kiriwake Yayoi headed toward the other girl's dormitory.
The official team behind Flash Dance probably wanted to get extra behind-the-scenes footage and encourage the contestants to form more couples on the show. They allowed the trainees to visit one another's dorms.
Well, they hadn't said so outright, but the fact that everyone had full access made it easy enough to figure out.
As for why Chu Wangshu hadn't visited the dorms that day, it was simply because she was too polite and didn't want to disturb Chu Yuanqing's rest.
Along the way,
Kiriwake Yayoi's thoughts swirled. She couldn't figure out why, after coming offstage, her first instinct had been to find Chu Yuanqing.
Thinking it over, she'd never been one to show off. Even if she saw the other girl, she probably wouldn't tell her how well she'd danced, and there was no reason to think she'd earn the other girl's praise.
But somehow,
the girl's slender hand rested on her chest, as if to steady her breathing. She quietly clutched the fabric beneath her collar. The heart that had just overflowed with joy and emotion now felt like a withered kingdom stripped of all its splendor. Step inside, and you'd find every ornament crumbling into ruin.
During those three minutes onstage, she'd felt as if she'd finally achieved a dream she'd held for so long. The desires and longings she'd kept sealed away and suppressed, like water behind a dam, had suddenly found an opening and surged out like a flood, giving rise to a pure, overwhelming [Flow State].
That was certainly a good thing.
She'd gained that moment of emotion, and she'd also performed extraordinarily well in the Second Evaluation.
But happiness that was like a fleeting dream, tasted only briefly before it was gone, could only stir up an even greater longing for happiness.
Kiriwake Yayoi had experienced the beauty a real stage could offer. Naturally, she was hooked and wanted more. This craving was like a poison, and now that the happiness had just drained away, it gnawed at her more fiercely than ever.
And somewhere in her heart, an intuition seemed to tell her that as soon as she saw Chu Yuanqing, this feeling of loss would resolve itself, vanish without a trace, and be replaced by emotions unrelated to the stage.
Little Sakura, who didn't understand girls' love, firmly believed this was the power of friendship.
Kiriwake Yayoi smiled.
That's right. Friendship was a beautiful thing.
If the stage was a beacon gathering fireflies, then the bond between people called friendship was a precious thing that could shine on its own. It was only natural that it could drive away the loneliness in her heart.
Our friendship is stronger than gold!
Kiriwake Yayoi relaxed more and more. Without the slightest hesitation, she walked step by step to Chu Yuanqing's dorm room under the viewers' watchful gaze and knocked on the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
The girl knocked lightly and politely.
But perhaps the door hadn't been shut properly. After only a few knocks, it swung open a crack. Then, as if pushed by a breeze, it swayed wider and revealed most of the scene inside.
Inside the dorm,
Chu Yuanqing sat ramrod straight in a chair at the desk, her back to the door.
She had changed into a white blouse and short skirt. Her slender, graceful figure was also beautifully curvy, and her back was so perfect and distinctive that it was unmistakable.
One glimpse of the elegant line of her spine and the hazy curve rising suddenly from her tailbone, hidden and outlined by her skirt, was enough to identify whose body it was.
But the most attention-grabbing person in the scene wasn't the girl's back.
It was the person standing in front of her.
Xie Qingxuan bent forward. From a distance, her hand seemed to be stroking the other girl's cheek in a flirtatious manner. Her long, white-blond hair fell against the other girl's translucent, pale pink earlobe, nearly blending with her soft, black hair. The sight looked rather intimate.
From behind, Chu Yuanqing had her head tilted slightly upward, like a delicate doll being handled by someone else. She obediently met Xie Qingxuan's gaze, looking perfectly willing, without a trace of displeasure.
This opening scene hit like a lightning bolt and left plenty to the imagination. As a thousand emotions welled up and swelled inside her, her mind went blank. She stood frozen in place, unable to say a word.
At that moment,
the viewers in the Live Broadcast Room were frantic.
When Chu Yuanqing had gone to get her skirt, she'd switched off the camera in the dorm.
And to prevent any mishaps, the Program Group hadn't sent out any nanocameras to follow the contestants. That meant Kiriwake Yayoi's channel was constantly switching between camera views in different areas.
In other words, they couldn't see what was happening in the dorm at all.
"This camera angle doesn't show Yayoi's expression, but I still feel like something's off."
"I'm so anxious, I'm so anxious, I'm so anxious! Why is Little Sakura standing there without moving???!"
"Crap, crap, crap. Did she really catch Qing Bao cheating red-handed?"
"Quit yelling. My Qing Bao can do whoever she wants. What's this 'cheating' nonsense?"
"Jesus, I feel like I missed some legendary scene. Was this really an NTR in front of her face?"
"Who knows, but my panties are already off. I'm ready to build a power plant."
While the viewers in the Live Broadcast Room were beside themselves and Kiriwake Yayoi's mind had crashed, the two people in the dorm were completely unaware. They continued their conversation as if nothing had happened.
Xie Qingxuan lowered the hand that had been stroking the other girl's cheek and said thoughtfully,
"Your skin is the best I've ever seen. Your complexion also looks naturally fair. No wonder I never realized you weren't wearing makeup."
"Since that's the case, let's save time and just put on some lipstick."
Chu Yuanqing blinked, looking a little resigned.
She'd showered quickly, rinsing off in less than ten minutes. Then she'd changed into her skirt and was about to head to trainee practice.
But when she came out, she'd found a damp golden retriever puppy staring at her reflection, as if pondering some profound truth of life. She'd looked so adorably dazed that it was obvious she couldn't be trusted to look after herself.
Chu Yuanqing had no choice but to dry her hair before leaving.
She'd thought that would be the end of it.
But just as she was about to go, one soul-searching question from Xie Qingxuan made her stop in her tracks.
"You're going onstage soon. Why aren't you finishing your makeup?"
Then the girl had solemnly deployed the excuse she'd used on her assistant.
The result was...
After admiring that smooth, flawless face for a while, Xie Qingxuan had paused to think, then silently pulled an unopened box of cosmetics out of the cabinet. She clearly meant to take matters into her own hands.
And looking at the box's luxurious, exquisite packaging and all the big-name logos, she could probably have paid six months of Chu Yuanqing's salary if she sold it.
What a wicked rich woman!
Chu Yuanqing had actually wanted to refuse. She hated having strange things on her lips, and she always felt as if she were taking one more step toward ruin, sliding down into an abyss.
But then she thought of how seriously the other contestants took the stage. Xie Qingxuan had even brought out half a box of cosmetics. If she refused, she'd seem fussy and unwilling to make the effort—and she'd also reveal that she didn't take the stage seriously.
In short, it could turn into a major crisis that would shatter her public image.
Her public image had probably already collapsed in the outside world, but she'd just given such a serious answer to that weird question. If she acted like this now, she'd seem way too two-faced!
For all those reasons, the great Savior decided to endure the humiliation.
"What shade do you like?"
Xie Qingxuan's question interrupted her thoughts.
Chu Yuanqing was completely stumped.
What shade? Weren't they all red?
She tried her best to act like a girl who knew these things, but before long she gave up and tried to study the other girl's lips, hoping to make up some description at random.
The girl's lips were dewy. Their basic red hue had flecks of orange and brown scattered through it as accents. Looking closely, there was also a subtle shimmer that gave them a rich texture without making them look overdone. It made her skin look even fairer and more alluring.
Now that she thought about it, lipstick really was amazing. It could make someone look prettier with hardly any effort.
Hmm... So what shade was it?
Xie Qingxuan looked at those innocent eyes and saw the clear gaze of someone whose mind had never been sullied by cosmetic knowledge. After a moment's thought, she casually took out a bunch of products Chu Yuanqing couldn't identify and didn't bother to explain.
The girl lowered her eyes in concentration, the other girl's lips reflected in her pupils. She took out a new lip balm and spread it over them as a base. Then she had Chu Yuanqing purse her lips while she applied a layer of foundation around them.
After that, she applied lipstick to about half of Chu Yuanqing's lips, picked up some clean water with a makeup brush, and carefully blended it in. Only then was it done.
It was obvious.
Though Xie Qingxuan couldn't even be bothered to dry her hair, she had at least picked up a few idol-related skills. She could handle the most basic makeup looks on her own.
Xie Qingxuan looked at Chu Yuanqing's face with satisfaction, momentarily dazed.
The shade she'd chosen suited the other girl's complexion perfectly. The color was light, like a pink peach oolong tea, full of summer vibes. Its soft, creamy texture was completely matte with no hint of fluorescent color, giving it a distinctly girlish look that went perfectly with the theme of candy.
On Chu Yuanqing's face, the change was the perfect finishing touch. In online parlance, she was so cute you couldn't help wanting to scoop her up and smother her with kisses.
And paired with her serene, lake-like eyes, it somehow blended with a hint of bewitching allure. She had a natural, come-hither look that made it hard to tear your eyes away. You'd keep looking at her for a long, long time.
Just like now.
Xie Qingxuan stared for quite a while. Only when Chu Yuanqing's expression gradually turned strange and her eyes grew wary did she finally look away. She calmly stood up, put the lipstick on the desk, and said,
"You can have these. Remember to use them more often from now on."
As she finished speaking,
Xie Qingxuan happened to raise her eyes and meet Kiriwake Yayoi's gaze from the doorway.
For an instant, a powerful pressure bore down like a gloomy shadow, making her heart skip a beat.
But then it vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, like a fleeting dream or a spark of light.
A sweet smile appeared on the girl's innocent, pure face. As if she'd merely been passing by, she gave a polite nod and turned to leave, her footsteps gradually fading into the distance.
Chu Yuanqing couldn't see what was behind her. She was pursing her lips to get used to the feel of the lipstick. Hearing the noise, she simply asked,
"Did someone come by?"
Xie Qingxuan found that a little odd. She tilted her head and answered honestly,
"Yeah. The door wasn't fully closed. Someone passed by."
At the same time,
Before you continue