Dispute

"Look, teacher, I already promised my son that if he improved on this exam and scored at least 550, I'd agree to let him take part in that talent show. He's worked so hard at his studies lately. As parents, we should keep our promises, shouldn't we? If I break my word this time, how will he trust me in the future?"

Tang Shi stood to one side, watching Mother Tang lie without even needing a draft, and his admiration was beyond words.

Old Yu fell silent as well. In truth, he had never expected Tang Shi to make such enormous progress in just two months. Still, seeing the weakest student in his class, the one least interested in studying, improve so dramatically made him very happy. In education, teachers generally held higher hopes for boys than girls. They always felt boys were smarter and more rational; even if they had not studied properly before, it would not be too late for them to turn over a new leaf and work hard during the second semester of first year or the first semester of second year. Didn't Tang Shi's performance prove exactly that?

Having seen Tang Shi's potential and developed a fondness for talent, Old Yu had wanted to include him in the group receiving extra tutoring. He had thought about it for so long, only for things to go wrong on Tang Shi's end. After struggling with it for quite a while, Old Yu could only say awkwardly, "Since you promised the child, you really should keep your word. You have to set a good example for him, so that he can grow up to be a responsible man who stands tall... Since that's the case, we'll let it go this time. But Tang Shi still needs to do his homework seriously during summer vacation and preview next semester's material. He built a good foundation this term, so he absolutely mustn't fall behind."

Mother Tang repeatedly agreed. After hanging up, she reached out and tapped Tang Shi on the head, pretending to be angry. "All you know how to do is cause trouble for me."

Tang Shi rubbed his completely unaffected forehead and put on that guileless smile again. "Mom, don't worry. No matter what I do, I'll never neglect my studies."

"As long as you know that." Mother Tang spoke helplessly, then changed the subject. "Have you packed your luggage? Let me check it."

Never mind how regretful and angry Old Yu was, or how calm Mother Tang appeared while worrying inside. At the beginning of summer vacation, while everyone else was discussing where to travel or which dramas to binge, Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi had already packed their bags. Amid their families' reluctant farewells, and with the tagalong Cui Yujin following every step, they boarded the train for Apple City.

When the train's long whistle rang through the sky, and their families on the platform waved with concern and anticipation, let us end with a clichéd phrase—

The gears of fate had begun to turn. A new life was about to begin.

Dispute

In the waiting area for the Auditions recording of Dance Miracle in the first-floor lobby of Apple City Television Station in Apple City, Apple Province, people packed the place. Groups of fashionably dressed, striking young men and women filled the originally spacious area until it was a dense black mass. From afar, all one could see was shoulder-to-shoulder crowds holding numbered signs, sitting or standing, whispering among themselves, waiting patiently or impatiently.

The heated, excited atmosphere also carried threads of unease and restlessness.

Although the contestants here had all qualified to record the Auditions after passing the initial video auditions, that did not guarantee they would truly make it through. More than three hundred people were waiting, while each division had only fifty slots. That meant only one-sixth would advance. In other words, five-sixths of the contestants here would be eliminated.

In a concealed corner behind a pillar on the northernmost side of the waiting area, Tang Shi sat on his suitcase with one leg bent and the other stretched out, his eyes closed as he leaned back against the wall, which had already absorbed his body heat. The afternoon sun shone directly down. Though the pillar in front cast some shade, the overly intense sunlight still spilled across him without restraint, hazing into a thin halo that made Tang Shi's already exquisite features even more dazzling. The contestants waiting nearby could not help sneaking glances at him. Cameras weaving through the crowd occasionally focused on him. A few reporters even squeezed through the packed crowd to interview him, but Tang Shi, in no mood for it, politely refused them all.

After years of calmly isolating himself in the world of anime and games, Tang Shi was somewhat unaccustomed to such densely crowded living. School had been easier, thanks to its simple atmosphere and pleasant environment. But suddenly arriving in a place like this, combined with the scorching weather and the long journey, had left Tang Shi restless and irritable, his temper gradually growing impatient.

After all, both his body and soul had been accustomed to a pampered life for years. Tang Shi felt that his current tolerance was not even as good as that of the childhood friend across from him, who had never traveled far from home—at least Lu Hengzhi had remained excited and high-spirited the whole time. Young people really did have endless energy.

Tang Shi leaned lazily against the wall and gave Lu Hengzhi a weak glance. His wilted appearance made Lu Hengzhi's heart leap. Lu Hengzhi reached out to touch Tang Shi's sweat-soaked forehead and asked, "Did you get heatstroke? Should I go buy you some medicine?"

"No need. Maybe I'm just not used to the local climate. It's nothing serious." Tang Shi shook his head, a little embarrassed. Adding both lives together, he was already over thirty. He had originally thought that on this trip, he would need to take care of the other two, but in the end, he was the one being looked after.

This was so embarrassing. Tang Shi tried to straighten up, his face flushed red.

After traveling nonstop, either on the train or under the blazing sun, while dragging heavy suitcases and carrying several large bags of unfinished food from the railway station, he honestly did feel as though he had gotten heatstroke.

It had been years since he had come south during the hottest part of summer. Tang Shi was deeply unaccustomed to this stifling sauna weather, where temperatures reached thirty-seven or thirty-eight degrees Celsius. He leaned in the corner with a flushed face, feeling weak all over. Waves of dizziness and nausea struck him from time to time, making him purse his dry, pale lips in increasing discomfort. Sweat covered the tip of his nose, and the clothes against his chest and back were soaked through. It felt as though even his hair was giving off heat.

Lu Hengzhi, sitting beside Tang Shi, was also drenched in sweat. He was using a stack of registration forms to fan Tang Shi. The hot air blew over his face and body, and along with the dense, burning stares from those around them, it only made him more irritated. Tang Shi tugged uncomfortably at his collar and waved at Lu Hengzhi. "Stop fanning me. The more you fan, the hotter it gets."

Lu Hengzhi scratched his neck. "Wouldn't it be even hotter if I didn't fan you? Just bear with it. How about another sip of water to help you feel better?"

"I don't want any. Stop fussing and come lean over here to rest for a while!" Tang Shi lowered his head and glanced at the plastic bag on the ground. It held the water and bread they had bought outside Apple City Railway Station, and now it lay there pitifully, completely ignored.

Lu Hengzhi shook his head. "If we sit together, it'll be even hotter. This way I can at least fan you, and I'm not that hot either."

As he spoke, Lu Hengzhi wiped away the sweat that was practically streaming down his face. Looking at the vast sea of people before him, he said in a low voice, "It's already the last day, and there are still this many people. This is ridiculous."

Tang Shi murmured in agreement and impatiently tugged again at the black satin training outfit he wore. He undid another button, revealing an even paler neck and the hollow at his collarbone. They had arrived in Apple City shortly after six in the morning. They had thought that coming early to register would mean finishing early, but there had been a problem during yesterday's recordings, and some people had not finished. The filming had to continue until this morning. Tang Shi and the others had gotten up at dawn. Even though they were first in line to perform today, they still had to wait until at least two in the afternoon to go onstage.

What terrible luck. If he had known, he would not have changed clothes yet.

Tang Shi irritably tugged at his collar and raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead. The handsome motion made many of the girls nearby light up, and the frequency of their peeking and whispering increased.

Lu Hengzhi turned his head and struggled to look through the sea of heads toward the entrance. Frowning, he said, "Cui Yujin only went out to buy two bottles of water. Why hasn't he come back yet? Didn't he say there was a convenience store inside the television station?"

Just as he spoke, someone outside the crowd suddenly shouted, "Make way, make way, let me through..."

As the voice drew closer, Cui Yujin squeezed through with two large bags in hand. He casually set them down in front of them, pulled out two chilled drinks that still had bits of ice in them, and stuffed them into Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi's hands. "Have some water first. I specially asked the cafeteria chef to make us some cold noodles. It isn't mealtime, so there wasn't much good food. Make do for now. Hurry and fill up, so you'll have the strength to record the show this afternoon."

As he spoke, he bent down and took two packed cylindrical paper meal boxes from the other plastic bag, handing them over as he said, "One is extra numbing and spicy, and the other is mildly numbing and spicy. Divide them yourselves."

Before he could finish, someone beside them suddenly asked, "Hey, where did you buy those noodles?"

Without turning around, Cui Yujin replied, "The cafeteria."

"I went to the cafeteria just now. Isn't it only for television station employees to buy things there?"

Cui Yujin froze, then vaguely brushed the question off with a few words. He took two bags of grilled sausages from the plastic bag and handed them to Lu Hengzhi and Tang Shi before sitting down to eat as well.

Lu Hengzhi took the cold noodles, opened the lid, and looked them over. After thinking for a moment, he said to Tang Shi, "It's so hot. Don't eat anything too numbing or spicy. You'll only get more overheated."

With that, he handed the mildly numbing, mildly spicy cold noodles to Tang Shi. He mixed the chili into the other box himself and began eating in large mouthfuls.

Seeing this, Cui Yujin quickly pulled a camera from his backpack and started recording. While filming, he narrated, "We need to leave evidence so they know how hard we've had it. Give me a migrant worker squatting by the roadside to eat pose, will you?"

"Get lost." Lu Hengzhi raised a hand to block the camera. "Stop playing around and eat. We've been at this all morning."

Cui Yujin curled his lip and muttered to them, "You brought this on yourselves. I told you I could ask my mom's friend to move us up front so we could record early, but you two wouldn't do it! If you'd agreed sooner, would we have had to suffer like this? We'd be back at my grandma's by now, enjoying air conditioning and eating watermelon."

Tang Shi smiled and shook his head at Cui Yujin's constant complaints. "Didn't I tell you? We don't want to trouble people. We don't know him, and you're going to ask him for special treatment. What if it affects his work? Besides, everyone else can line up. Why can't we?"

Cui Yujin raised a brow and snorted without speaking. He turned to flash a mouthful of white teeth at the group of girls sneaking looks at them, then turned back and whispered, "I'll forgive you two for the sake of getting to look at pretty girls longer by staying with you."

Several girls in the crowd looked at one another, then finally could not hold back any longer. Pushing and shoving each other, they came over to strike up a conversation. "Are you here for Dance Miracle too? What kind of dance do you two do? Classical dance?"

Lu Hengzhi smiled and shook his head. "No. We dance hip-hop."

At that, several other girls who had gathered with the first girl widened their eyes in astonishment. They looked Lu Hengzhi and Tang Shi up and down and asked, "You two dress like this to dance hip-hop?"

Cui Yujin quickly waved his hands in clarification. "I don't dance. I'm here to film them."