Chapter 75
"I'm sorry, Yayoi."
"Mom can't give up on either of you, so it's understandable that she's become a CP fan and cheers for you both, right?"
As night fell, the final day of rehearsals came to an end.
Exhausted, the contestants boarded the special vehicle and headed back and forth to the underground base in Zhelong Town.
The atmosphere in the three cars was quite different.
The contestants who were assigned Little Sakura as the sub-center were in high spirits, feeling refreshed as if they had just finished eating watermelon at the beach. Their expressions and eyes were full of anticipation, and even their fatigue could not suppress their longing for the stage.
It was obvious that during the week-long rehearsals, everyone was immersed in Kiriwake Yayoi's stage presence, as if they had been transformed into a unified whole, resulting in increasingly better performances and excellent mental states, with laughter frequently heard from the bus.
The contestants under Chen Yining's management were rather average, neither particularly outstanding nor dejected; the atmosphere was simply normal.
The contestants on Chu Yuanqing's side were the most silent; most of them closed their eyes to rest or stared blankly at the scenery outside the window.
The dazzling lights of Sea Capital are particularly striking against the night sky. In the distance, beneath a pure white wall that stretches across the sky, the nearly 1,000-meter-tall tower is the most eye-catching building. Standing on the opposite bank of the shimmering river amidst the neon lights, it seems to reflect the desires of an entire city.
The Dream Weaver Rabbit floated in mid-air through the in-vehicle equipment, also looking at the night view outside the window. It looked just like a tour guide who would introduce the stories of the attractions to the tourists, as if it was considering what kind of past to tell, and revealed a wonderful smile.
Finally, it took in the expressions of all 56 contestants, sensing their dark, melancholic, gloomy, and volatile emotions, and whispered to itself:
"A little over a week is enough time for initial fermentation."
"Is it Calamity Shell, or fuel? Is it an idol, or Witch?"
"This will all be decided by your own hearts, isn't that fair?"
The entire carriage was eerily silent, a gloomy atmosphere pervading the air, which only intensified the feeling of exhaustion.
Today is the final rehearsal. Tomorrow they will face two thousand audience members and present what may be their last performance.
However, as the main stage, they became increasingly aware during rehearsals that their brilliance would be swallowed up and devoured by the two secondary stages during the actual performance.
I'm not reconciled.
I'm very unwilling to accept this.
If...
It would be great if Xie Qingxuan were the main Center position.
Dark energy swirled in Luo Chan's eyes, and her desires swelled as she stared at the dazzling lights of Sea Capital as if possessed.
That is the manifestation of desire, the greed in one's heart, and a hopeless future.
The girl understood that if she were eliminated from Flash Dance, she might never experience such a luxurious life again.
Therefore, I can't help but blame, resent, and hate.
Even though she personally voted for Tang Liuli and actively participated in malicious vote manipulation to push Xie Qingxuan out of the Center position, the ugly side of her emotions kept repeating the result that was most beneficial to her.
Luo Chan's pupils flickered with dark energy. She looked at Chu Yuanqing to her side. His profile was perfect, and his expression was calm. His features were like those sculpted by God. Even if one only caught a glimpse of his outline, it would leave a beautiful mark on one's heart, like a flower in the mist.
She's so beautiful. If she had a face that pretty, wouldn't she be among the most popular contestants and easily change her fate from coming from a small town?
I'm so jealous. Even if she finished Public Performance with that kind of talent, with that face, she could still win the world's hearts and compete for a Debut Spot in <Flash Dance>.
It's disgusting. She clearly has no foundation whatsoever. How could she possibly surpass my five years of hard work and create such an incredible stage?
I wish Chu Yuanqing would just disappear.
If the Center position could be changed to Xie Qingxuan, no, I'd prefer it to be changed to me.
I wish everyone's attention could always stay on me.
Even as a barrage of negative thoughts overwhelmed him, his moral compass and basic reason restrained his actions.
Luo Chan realized something was wrong, but the avalanche had abruptly stopped. However, when she met the mascot's smiling, scarlet eyes, she completely lost any chance to struggle.
The string of reason snapped.
Instead, there is a bizarre, almost psychotic logic.
There are no cameras inside the car. The only way to shatter Chu Yuanqing's Dao heart without ruining his public persona is before arriving at the base, which is now.
Consumed by malice, Luo Chan abandoned her usual composure, rose expressionlessly, and amidst the bewildered gazes of those around her, walked to Chu Yuanqing's side. Under the shocked stares of the other contestants, she bluntly mocked him:
"Chu Yuanqing, as the main Center position, you have the best position, yet you can't even compete with the other two sub-centers. Every rehearsal ends in complete defeat, allowing the other two groups to gain more and more momentum. Don't you feel ashamed?"
Are you pretending not to know, or are you really so stupid that you can't even realize that everyone is troubled by you?
Luo Chan suddenly burst into laughter, then hysterically shed tears, and continued:
"That's right. Before you joined Flashdance, you weren't even a trainee. You can't possibly understand how hard we work or how much we value this opportunity, right?"
"Do you know how rare it is to Public Performance stage? Do you know that because of the rules of Flashdance, it might very well be the last stage we ever get to perform on? Do you know how much attention the main stage will receive tomorrow because of your incompetence?"
The darkness in Luo Chan's pupils seemed about to materialize. She reached out to touch those clear eyes, her lips parted, and she whispered in a trance-like voice:
"Chu Yuanqing, you don't deserve to be the center Center position. You might as well give it to someone else."
Clatter
--My wrist was gripped.
Luo Chan lowered her eyes subconsciously, only to find that the person holding her hand was the very name she was about to utter.
-- Xie Qingxuan.
The girl's platinum blonde hair swayed, her expression was indifferent, and the black energy in her eyes was like a vortex. Her pupils seemed unfocused, and the oppressive feeling she brought in an instant was just like that of Demon King descending from the sky.
That [Flow State] state, acquired by chance as if through a botched evolution, displayed extremely terrifying qualities at that moment.
Luo Chan remained silent in a daze. The black energy that had just filled her pupils seemed to have encountered a higher-level demon, and was suddenly drawn away and devoured. But most importantly, even her other emotions were regarded as food, forcibly plundered, chewed, and swallowed.
Luo Chan took a step back, then suddenly collapsed to her knees. She clutched her empty chest, her expression blank, unable to even feel confusion.
Xie Qingxuan was also somewhat stunned. The sound of rain falling continued to echo in her subconscious, and a complete fragment of her personality was established in an instant. Along with it, a piece of the puzzle of her long-sought-after dream was also formed.
--I actually... stole her brilliance?
Chu Yuanqing watched this scene, bewildered and confused.
At the same time,
The Dream Weaver Rabbit's eyes were crimson, and it excitedly revealed a joyful smile, whispering:
"Is she the complete opposite of Kiriwake Yayoi?"
"This region... seems more interesting than I expected."
Volume 1: Chapter 86. Chu Yuanqing's Decision, the Undying Calamity Shell. (5K views, please vote!)
[Flow State] is also known as Mental flow.
In psychology, this refers to a psychological state that a person exhibits when focusing intently on a certain behavior.
However, from some unknown point in time, it gradually underwent a bizarre evolution in the Idol Domain, imbuing the emotions and thoughts of users in a state of "Flow State" with a property that possesses objective interference, thereby amplifying personal charm, stage presence, and emotions.
This is a piece of common knowledge that was widely publicized a long time ago and explored in detail through scientific principles, causing several waves of public discussion.
Therefore, the serious rectification of the Chinese Entertainment Industry through "Flash Dance" certainly caused a major upheaval at the time, but many people saw it as a harbinger of what was to come and something that was bound to happen sooner or later.
After all, if an idol were to achieve "Flow State," their influence as a public figure would be greatly amplified, and if they were to be exposed for any real misconduct, the negative social impact would be even more severe.
To prevent this from happening, the government will eventually intervene to regulate and standardize the process.
The lack of a platform for Chinese Entertainment Industry is partly due to this reason.
Xie Qingxuan knows more about "Flow State" than most people. Her older sister grasped "Flow State" during a talent show three years ago, won Great Xia Center position, debuted strongly, and became the Center position and leader of a top-tier girl group.
The vortex of Black Mist in the girl's eyes was slowly dissipating. She lowered her head and looked down at Luo Chan on the ground, muttering to herself:
"Does my sister's [Flow State] state have a similar effect?"
"No, according to the process of how [Flow State] occurs, its existence, as the name suggests, is a vortex phenomenon stirred up by the mind, and no two people's [Flow State] experiences will be exactly the same."
"So... what kind of ability is Kiriwake Yayoi's [Flow State]?"
"Is Xiao Qing's ability to perform on stage like that also due to her [Flow State] ability?"
Xie Qingxuan suddenly realized why her sister disregarded her so much, even regarding her inability to enter [Flow State] as an inferior product with absolutely no chance of debuting in <Flash Dance>.
Because... when the competition between idols involves the element of "Flow State," the basic values that have been built up in the past can only become the foundation and lower limit for their standing, and cannot reach the higher-dimensional Stage Battle.
Therefore, she was destined to be defeated by the Sakura Girl who were inferior to her in every way, and to be crushed by Chu Yuanqing, who clearly had no singing or dancing skills.
But things are different now.
Xie Qingxuan lowered her eyes, her soul imprinted with a spiral of pitch-black ink. From the depths of her Sea of Consciousness, she grasped the piece of Luo Chan's dream puzzle, breathing in the unique charm of [Flow State]. Her lips curled slightly, revealing a pure smile.
[Flow State] -- Stealing the brilliance of others.
[Meditation State] -- This simulates fragments of personality, instantly forging the puzzle of dreams.
The combination of these two elements could lead her to a whole new realm and onto a higher stage.
Sister, I will walk step by step to you, steal the brilliance from your heart, trample on the bones of your dreams, and ascend to a higher place you have never reached.
Ultimately, you use the pieces of your dream puzzle to achieve your dream, then carelessly discard them, completely trampling on all the beauty you possess.
On the other side,
Tang Liuli saw the whole thing; her heart was in turmoil, and she swallowed hard in fear.
This child, who was hailed as a genius in her childhood, was different from Chu Wangshu, who had originally intended to stand up and confront them but was now confused because she couldn't understand the situation. In that instant, she empathized with Luo Chan and Xie Qingxuan's emotions and sensed the horror and strangeness within them.
In that instant, Luo Chan's evil thoughts and emotions were swallowed up into nothingness, leaving only a vast expanse of blank bewilderment.
Xie Qingxuan, on the other hand, simultaneously received the exact same emotion, which he instantly dismantled, devoured, and vanished. Only that ugly emotion, like a raging demonic flame, echoed in his chest, almost staining his consciousness black.
This is too shocking and too terrifying.
Moreover, there's something very strange. Because he constantly basks in Chu Wangshu's maternal love, his talent remains in a state of being fully nourished and never passively activated.
The moment Luo Chan's arm was grasped by Xie Qingxuan, it activated on its own, almost engulfing itself into a "Flow State" mode, which was terrifying no matter how you looked at it.
Tang Liuli became increasingly panicked. Like a cat hiding in a cardboard box in a downpour, she hugged Chu Wangshu, burying her head in his arm. She didn't dare to look at Xie Qingxuan, and even the dark clouds above her head seemed to droop, too cowardly to even rain.
The little girl muttered to herself:
"What a terrifyingly wicked woman! Xie Qingxuan is ten times, no, a hundred times worse than that Sakura Girl!"
"This terrifying Great Demon King disguises herself as a natural Golden Haired Doggy all day long, she's so cunning! She must be plotting something, I need to find a way to keep her away from Qing Bao!"
Chu Yuanqing blinked, looking confused and tired. She had just finished rehearsing today when the curse recurred, and she had only recently escaped the illusion of the Sea of Truth, nearly fainting. So she was completely out of sorts.
Although I was instinctively listening attentively to Luo Chan's nitpicking out of respect, her voice, lingering in my ears like a mantra, made me unconsciously doze off.
So... it wasn't until the child collapsed that she belatedly began to use her brain to think.
Huh? What happened? Why did the child suddenly collapse?!
Chu Yuanqing seemed to wake from a dream, and squatted down in a slight panic. She touched Luo Chan's head, but the other girl seemed to have lost consciousness and did not react at all.
No way? Is this some kind of staged accident scam?
Or is it that venting these feelings takes a lot of courage, so you feel completely exhausted afterward?
Chu Yuanqing fell silent.
She recalled the song "Little Deer Bumping" that received 11.79 million likes during the battle for the Center position, and suddenly felt that it was quite reasonable for other contestants to be afraid of being cyberbullied by their fans.
In an instant, it felt as if my heart had been stabbed hard.
Chu Yuanqing felt increasingly guilty and even began to feel sad.
Luo Chan's somewhat vehement accusations were, in her eyes, absolutely correct.
Flash Dance is brutal. Out of 168 contestants, only a handful may debut. The rest of the trainees will be stripped of their right to perform on stage and will never have the hope of becoming idols again.
This Public Performance of the theme song may be their first and last time on stage in their lives. It's impossible for them not to value it, not to care, and not to strive for perfection.
All those assigned to the main stage were trainees who had fought their way through numerous challenges and worked hard to rank among the top 168 contestants.
If, because of my incompetence as the main Center position, they lose the spotlight, applause, glory, and praise they deserve, then it is only natural that I would be criticized, resented, despised, and accused.
Rather, it's excessive that she only realized everyone's thoughts so late, forcing this young girl to withstand the pressure of cyberbullying and muster such courage to make a accusation.
Chu Yuanqing dislikes idols and the stage; she's not even a half-baked talent, just a thief who deceives the public, misunderstood and misinterpreted, and gains false love.
But precisely because we are in the wrong position, we must do everything we can to make amends.