Page 13

The judges believed that contestants who looked like this, even if their dance foundations were a little weak, would still be pleasing to the eye onstage as long as they could pull off some flashy moves. This unique quality that drew people's attention was called audience appeal.

That was why Li Mei had taken special care of the two earlier. Aside from her friendship with Cui Yujin, it was more because she thought highly of their prospects. Li Mei was certain that even if they could not make it to the end on the stage of Dance Miracle, Imperial Entertainment would definitely sign them and bring them into the entertainment industry.

Of course, Li Mei was not the only one who felt this way. At the very least, the three judges in Dance Miracle's Southern Division perked up, all developing a measure of anticipation for the pair. After all, judging by Dance Miracle's target audience and Imperial Entertainment Agency's signing requirements, most people who came to participate in Dance Miracle were street dancers. Over the past few days, the three judges had watched countless audition performances. No matter how well everyone danced, the routines and movements were all roughly the same. Watching them one after another inevitably led to aesthetic fatigue. Thus, Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi's outfits had caught the attention and curiosity of many judges from the very beginning.

At the very least, their appearance was certainly distinctive.

One of the female judges lowered her head to look over their registration forms, then asked with a smile, "You're the Sugar Juice Duo? You plan to use hip-hop to dance Tai Chi and perform freestyle basketball?"

Her soft voice carried a strong coquettish lilt. With her pretty face and petite body that concealed tremendous power, Qiao Lin was only twenty-six this year, yet she was already a highly famous young queen of Asian song and dance. In five years since her debut, she had released three albums with combined sales exceeding one million copies. She was a female singer with an extremely bright future.

In Tang Shi's memories, Qiao Lin had remained active in the music scene more than ten years later. By then, the domestic record market had already fallen into decline, yet every one of Qiao Lin's albums could still sell two hundred thousand copies upon release. She truly deserved her title as a queen of the music industry.

She had also been the shared idol of Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi many years ago.

Hearing their idol ask a question, Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi exchanged a glance and obediently answered, "Yes."

The three judges raised their brows with interest. After exchanging looks, Zhang Chujie, the only male judge, asked, "What made you think of dancing this way?"

Zhang Chujie was thirty-three this year. Back then, he had also been a hugely popular king of love songs, but times had changed, and now his fame had faded. Still, to Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi, he had also been an idol they greatly admired in their youth.

Hearing their idol press the question, Lu Hengzhi turned to look at Tang Shi. Tang Shi said, "We wanted to be a little innovative. After all, dance is a way of venting emotions. Since that's the case, what matters most is the mood and what we want to express. What we dance and how we dance are only forms of expression."

The three judges nodded, neither approving nor disapproving of Tang Shi's answer. The only female judge who had not spoken waved her hand, signaling to them. "Begin."

At that, Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi immediately picked up the basketballs painted with Tai Chi patterns and struck their poses. The moment the music began, they moved.

They had chosen the theme song from the once wildly popular film Tai Chi Master as their dance music. The moment the three judges heard the familiar orchestral accompaniment, their eyes lit up again. Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi stretched out their bodies and spread their arms. A set of Cloud-Piercing Hand movements flowed softly and smoothly, while the basketballs rolled lightly and skillfully between their palms and arms. With a turn, a backward toss, and a backflip, the basketballs kept bouncing through the air before landing on different parts of their bodies. Their movements flowed like clouds and water, carrying a touch of carefree elegance that made the three judges nod repeatedly.

As the music gradually reached its climax, Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi moved faster and faster. The soft, flowing Tai Chi movements gradually decreased, while the smooth, powerful street dance movements—continuous yet punctuated by sharp breaks—gradually increased. The basketballs in their hands spun even faster. The graceful pauses amid that extreme speed, where they stopped with crisp decisiveness, made the three judges start clapping unconsciously. At the very end, Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi tossed the basketballs into the air, lay on the floor to perform Windmills, Thomases, and even Headspins, all while spinning the balls with their feet. Watching the small basketballs fly all over Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi's bodies, as nimble as though they had come alive, the judges forgot their jobs and cheered and applauded loudly like ordinary audience members.

At the end of the music, Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi threw the basketballs into the air, then reached behind themselves and flicked their jacket hems before striking a still pose with clasped fists.

The three judges swayed as they looked behind the pair, but they could not see the basketballs anywhere. Unable to help themselves, they asked, "Where are the balls?"

At that, Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi grinned at the same time and turned around. The three judges stared in astonishment at the basketballs tucked perfectly into the backs of their jackets, then burst into laughter.

"Amazing." Mo Zi, the female judge who had remained silent until now, finally spoke up in praise. Shaking her head with a smile, she said, "I've worked in choreography for so many years, but I've never seen street dance performed like this. Slow, soft Tai Chi and street dance with its clear rhythm and frequency are fundamentally different things, yet you managed to combine them perfectly—and dance it so coolly. You're simply fantastic. Do you know that? You are absolutely the rarest kind of creative dancers. I have very high hopes for your future."

Qiao Lin beside her nodded vigorously in agreement. "That's right. Since Dance Miracle's auditions began—no, even among all the dances I've watched over the years—this is absolutely one of the most distinctive. You actually blended freestyle basketball, street dance, and even Tai Chi movements together, and it was so smooth without the slightest sense of mismatch. You really are such a wonderful surprise."

Zhang Chujie, the only male judge, gave them both a thumbs-up as he praised them. "This is the most brilliant dance I've seen since becoming a judge for Dance Miracle's Southern Division. I absolutely have to give you this opportunity, and I believe you will definitely make it to the end. You're incredible."

Chapter 14

The unanimous approval of the three judges made Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi breathe a sigh of relief. Since the program still needed to be recorded afterward, they did not have much time onstage. Still, they seized the last few moments to ask Qiao Lin and the other two judges for autographs before happily running out of the recording hall.

It was worth mentioning that when Tang Shi asked Qiao Lin for an autograph, he also specifically asked her to sign one and offer blessings for Cui Yujin, who was waiting below. It counted as compensation for Cui Yujin's long journey, because for a shut-in like him, the appeal of a goddess adored by shut-ins was anything but small.

Meanwhile, Mo Zi, the only choreography teacher among the judges, once again affirmed the pair's talent for dance—

As someone in the field, Mo Zi knew that there had never been a shortage of skilled dancers in the country. However, creative dancers who could dance well, have their own ideas, and combine those ideas with practical performance to express them were truly too rare. That was why Mo Zi thought highly of their future. Still, she also clearly understood that they were too young, and dancing was such a difficult profession that the chances of these two children entering the industry in the future were simply too slim. Even so, Mo Zi hoped that Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi would persist. Even if it only remained a hobby, they would still be contributing something to the industry.

Faced with Teacher Mo Zi's high expectations, Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi could only express their gratitude and do their best to perform outstandingly on future stages, never wasting any opportunity to perform.

After bidding farewell to the three approachable judges who seemed to think highly of them, Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi felt far more energized when they emerged from the recording hall again. Perhaps because they had successfully earned their audition qualification, Tang Shi suddenly felt that the weather was not nearly as stifling and his mood was no longer so irritable.

The listlessness caused by his earlier discomfort gradually faded as well. His expression quickly shifted into a bright, sunny smile that showed off a mouthful of white teeth. As he walked, he even gestured animatedly at Lu Hengzhi as though chatting idly. Cui Yujin, who had rushed out from the audience seats as soon as he saw them leave the stage, caught the whole scene on camera. When Tang Shi pulled out Qiao Lin's signed photo and handed it to Cui Yujin, Cui Yujin let out an excited scream. He threw his arms around Tang Shi and pounded hard on his back as he said, "You're my best bro! I love you to death!"

"But I'm not into that!" Tang Shi struggled out of Cui Yujin's arms with difficulty. Rubbing his back, he complained nonstop, "You hit so hard. What, is this love-hate violence?"

Cui Yujin scratched his head awkwardly and chuckled. Raising his camera toward them, he said, "You passed the auditions successfully. How do you feel? Say something."

"What is there to say?" Lu Hengzhi awkwardly pushed the camera aside and said, "Let's get out of here quickly. Our luggage is still in the lounge."

"Auntie Li is there. What are you worried about?" Cui Yujin said as he continued filming them from behind.

When the three of them strolled back into the hall, the girl group that had been waiting outside hurriedly gathered around them. Learning that Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi had advanced smoothly, the three girls congratulated them with both happiness and envy. The two boys who had previously argued with Tang Shi's group, however, changed expressions slightly. The foul-mouthed one spat lightly and muttered something about "pulling strings." Since Tang Shi and the others were in a good mood, they could not be bothered to pay them any attention.

Tang Shi truly could not understand people who had not even tasted their own grapes yet insisted that someone else's grapes were sour. In his view, rather than staring at others all day, studying whether they had problems out of envy, jealousy, and resentment, it was better to steadily improve oneself and do every task within one's responsibilities well. True success had never come overnight. Even those big stars who became famous overnight had put in untold effort behind their success. In his previous life, Tang Shi had stood beside Lu Hengzhi and watched him struggle for many years, so he understood this deeply.

In this life, Tang Shi also wanted to walk this path. Even though he himself did not possess any remarkable talent, all he could do was seize every opportunity and create the right conditions. As for whether opportunity would choose him in the end, that was beyond anyone's control.

Whenever he had done his best and began anxiously waiting for the results, Tang Shi particularly envied the protagonists in his novels. Those people would become overwhelmingly domineering the moment they transmigrated or were reborn, gain boosted intelligence and exploding luck, and sail through life without much effort. With brains like CPUs powered by cheats, they could remember every major and minor event from their previous lives, including Lottery numbers, every stock that would hit its daily limit, and... wait—

A thought flashed through Tang Shi's mind, and he felt as though he had overlooked something. The consequence of focusing intently on digging out that fleeting inspiration was that Tang Shi gradually slowed down and fell far behind Lu Hengzhi and Cui Yujin. The crowded mass of people slowly swallowed him up. By the time Lu Hengzhi and Cui Yujin realized what had happened, no one was behind them anymore.

"Where's Tang Shi?" Lu Hengzhi and Cui Yujin looked at each other in alarm, then anxiously squeezed back through the crowd. After searching for quite some time, they finally found Tang Shi, who had somehow hidden himself in a corner with his head lowered, apparently lost in thought.

Lu Hengzhi stepped forward, suddenly threw an arm around Tang Shi's shoulders, and said loudly, "We thought you'd gotten lost. What are you standing here like an idiot for?"

Tang Shi came back to himself. Seeing Lu Hengzhi and Cui Yujin covered in sweat from worry, he hurriedly said, "Sorry, I was thinking about something just now. I stopped without realizing it."

"What were you thinking about so intently?"

"Lottery."

"Huh?"

"Ah, I was thinking that passing the auditions proves we're lucky. Do you think we should buy a couple of Lottery tickets?" Tang Shi stammered, his eyes flickering.