Page 15

Because they weren't quite used to the food in the south, Tang Shi and the other two discussed it for ages. Instead of going back to eat at the TV station cafeteria, they chose to have Kaifeng Cuisine at the bottom of an international mall across the street—

Cui Yujin had originally volunteered to take them to his grandmother's house, but Lu Hengzhi thought they still had to return to the TV station in two hours to sort out their accommodations, so he didn't want to make any more trouble.

With time so tight, it wouldn't be right to make Li Mei worry over them, only for the two of them to show up late and waste her time.

Besides, Kaifeng Cuisine wasn't bad at all. Two burgers, two pairs of chicken wings, a cola, plus assorted fries, egg tarts, and other snacks for each person—they ate with great relish. Afterward, they sat in the air-conditioned restaurant for nearly another hour. Only when every last crumb in front of them had been eaten, and the place was packed with customers looking for seats, did they reluctantly leave.

It really made no sense. It wasn't even mealtime—why were there so many people coming to eat?

Later, when they saw the three girls who danced street dance and had spoken with them in the waiting hall, Tang Shi and the others finally understood. Almost everyone who had come to eat at this time was a contestant who had just attended the Auditions at the TV station.

By the time they left Kaifeng Cuisine, it was already four-thirty in the afternoon. Yet the sky outside was still bright and clear as jade, the weather hot without the slightest breeze. They hurried back to the TV station before five. The lobby was still bustling with people, and Li Mei and the other station staff looked just as busy as before. Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi waited at the entrance for a long time, too embarrassed to go in and interrupt. It wasn't until Li Mei happened to spot them when she turned around that she remembered something. She waved over a staff member and had them take the two to collect their luggage and show them to their dorm.

Since special arrangements had been made in advance, the dorm building the TV station had prepared for National Finals contestants was still nearly empty. The staff member Li Mei had assigned brought the two of them to a dorm with good lighting and a good location, then said with a smile, "This one, then! What do you think?"

Naturally, Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi said it was great. To be fair, the room really was quite nice. The washroom was right inside the entrance. Further in were four single beds lined up side by side, their snow-white sheets and covers looking spotless. There was also a television and four sets of desks and chairs. At the very back was a large balcony with an expansive view.

It was already past five in the evening. Through the balcony's glass windows, they could still see the setting sun gradually sinking outside. Its warm golden afterglow stained half the sky red, even outlining the clouds in gold. The entire city seemed increasingly tranquil and peaceful beneath its glow.

Tang Shi stood on the large balcony, leaning half his body out as he narrowed his eyes and enjoyed the breeze against his face, his mood excellent. Lu Hengzhi walked over, frowned slightly at the sight, then wrapped an arm around Tang Shi's waist and pulled him two steps back. "Stop doing such dangerous things. What if you fall?"

Before he could finish speaking, there came a click. Cui Yujin stood across from them with his camera raised, smiling as he praised, "That shot just now was great. I made you two look really cool."

The staff member who had led them all the way there stood inside the room with his arms folded, quietly watching the boys on the balcony. Their outlines were traced by the sunset, making their already delicate features appear even more exquisite. He smiled faintly.

At last, he understood why Sister Li had so strongly recommended these two boys, who had only just passed the Auditions—though their dance had been novel enough, their technical foundation truly wasn't all that refined—to become seed contestants for the Southern Division.

Some people were simply born to stand before the camera. Because in front of a camera, they could draw everyone's gaze without question.

Author's Note: A little scene—

Tang Shi, wearing a charlatan's expression: "Believe in me, and you shall gain eternal life."

Lu Hengzhi, eyes sparkling: "Mm~"

Cui Passerby: "Tch."

A few days later...

Tang Shi, wearing a charlatan's expression: "Believe in me, and you shall gain eternal life."

Lu Hengzhi, eyes sparkling: "Mm~"

Cui Passerby: "Aoo!"

After calling Tang Shi and the other two back from the balcony, the staff member handed Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi two cafeteria meal cards and said with a smile, "These dorms were originally for interns and new employees at our station. But we haven't recruited many newcomers these past two years, so they've been vacant for a long time. We only cleaned them up temporarily this time for contestants in the National Qualifier Round. No one's lived here in quite a while, so I don't know whether everything works properly. If anything is missing or lacking, just tell us. We'll do our best to get it for you. Don't be polite."

That was what he said, but Tang Shi and the others didn't dare take politeness for granted. They all stood where they were, waving their hands with smiles. "It's already wonderful. We were worried about where we'd stay when we came here. There aren't many hotels nearby, and we didn't bring that much money—"

Before he could finish, Cui Yujin quickly cut in, "What are you thinking? Even if Aunt Li hadn't arranged accommodations for you, I was planning to take you back to my grandmother's house. How could I let you stay outside? It's expensive and unsafe."

The staff member laughed as well. "Exactly. Sister Li thinks very highly of you two. Not only did she strongly support making you seed contestants for the Southern Division during the meeting, she specifically instructed us to take good care of you. She said it wasn't easy for you two kids to come all the way from so far away without your parents by your side. No matter what results you achieve in the future, since you're participating in our station's program, we have an obligation to look after you properly. We can't just leave two children like you drifting around outside. Your parents would worry, too... Sister Li really treats you as if you were her own children."

Those words were truly comforting and warm. If Tang Shi hadn't retained memories of his past life, he might almost have believed the human touch the TV station was displaying. Still, it was easy enough to understand. In his previous life, Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi hadn't known Li Mei at all, nor had they shown any particularly eye-catching talent during the Auditions. The same street dance, slightly inferior fundamentals—under such circumstances, it was only normal that they hadn't received much care in the early stages.

By the later stages of the competition, when their popularity had grown higher and higher through the various PK matches and they were finally able to attract the TV station's attention, it was already the National Qualifier Round. Contestants who had made it that far were all eligible for arranged room and board. And by then, besides the TV station, many talent agencies that had caught wind of them were also squeezing in wherever they could to show favor to contestants they liked. The station's minor adjustments—providing food and lodging, reimbursing travel expenses, offering training, and so on—were no longer nearly as appealing...

Tang Shi had nothing to say about the TV station's approach. After all, this was not the era more than a decade later, when talent shows were everywhere. To improve their programs' competitiveness, many production teams had no choice but to use lodging, travel reimbursement, even free styling and training as incentives to attract talented young people from across the country to sign up.

Dance Miracle from more than a decade ago had already been the leader among all talent shows. Apple TV Station and Emperor Entertainment were among the first in the country to venture into uncharted waters. At that time, contestants' thoughts were also much simpler. They all felt that simply having a platform to showcase themselves was already difficult enough. No one thought to ask why the organizers didn't provide food and lodging, reimburse travel expenses, or even help with outfits, styling, and later training...

Everyone understood that the TV station was not a charity and had no obligation to lavish care on every contestant in the program. The organizers wanted ratings, while the contestants wanted a chance to become famous overnight. Therefore, apart from seed contestants specially selected by regional divisions for competition results and contestants who performed exceptionally well during the advancement process, everyone else had to cover their own costs.

Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi had accepted this in their previous life as well. But in this life, through Cui Yujin, they had first gotten to know Li Mei, the planner for Dance Miracle. And during the Auditions, their street dance performance blending Tai Chi and freestyle basketball had also been refreshing.

Since they had demonstrated strong competitiveness both through connections and their own ability, it was only natural that they would attract the attention of the TV station and production team, receiving goodwill and preferential treatment in return.

Thoughts flashed through Tang Shi's mind like lightning as the three of them stood before the staff member and thanked him repeatedly.

Some benefits were normal not to receive; receiving them was a favor. Even though Tang Shi had experienced a talent show once before and understood many things by now, he still couldn't bring himself to act thick-skinned and take such favors for granted.

Seeing Tang Shi and the others' attitude, the staff member smiled in satisfaction. Noting that it was getting late, he rose and said, "You'll stay here tonight. Tomorrow, the station will arrange for two more people to come over. They're both seed contestants selected from our Southern Division. You can exchange ideas with each other. When you have free time, you can also go to the dance rehearsal hall and practice more—Teacher Mo Zi sometimes goes there to rehearse as well. If you're lucky, you might run into her. She's one of the best choreographers in the country and has won many international awards. Be sharp and ask her for more guidance. It'll definitely help you."

This was the advantage of becoming seed contestants. Although the production team would not use any means to manipulate competition results in the early stages, they could still provide certain conveniences to contestants they valued from the sidelines.

Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi nodded and thanked him again. The staff member then gently reminded Tang Shi and the others about things such as, "Hot water is available twenty-four hours a day, and the cafeteria closes at nine in the evening, so if you want a late-night snack, go early..." He went on for another ten minutes or so. Only after he felt he had explained everything in sufficient detail did he leave them their space, waving as he turned and departed.

In an instant, only Tang Shi, Lu Hengzhi, and Cui Yujin remained in the dorm. With no outsiders around, Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi, who had been running around for days without a proper rest, relaxed at once. They threw themselves onto the beds in all sorts of poses and rolled around across them. Cui Yujin casually shut the dorm door, then wandered around the room, inspecting everything carefully. Afterward, he smiled in satisfaction. "This dorm is pretty good. It's much better than the ones at our school."

Then he pointed excitedly at a corner by the wall. "There's even an internet cable. Too bad we don't have a computer. Otherwise, it'd be nice to play around online."

"I brought a computer," Lu Hengzhi said casually. In truth, he had brought it for Tang Shi. He had originally thought that if their lodging had no internet, Tang Shi could finish writing and go to an internet cafe to post it. He hadn't expected there to be internet here already. That was really nice.

Tang Shi nodded in agreement with Lu Hengzhi's sentiment.

In terms of facilities, the employee dorm the TV station had arranged for them couldn't compare to the outrageously expensive star-rated hotel Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi had paid for out of pocket during the competition in their previous life—one that cost over a hundred yuan a night. There had only been a few similarly overpriced hotels near the TV station, while the rest were either too far away or in such poor condition that they were unlivable. But this place was completely free. They could also use the station's dance rehearsal hall for free, and even eat at the cafeteria without paying... All told, it would save them quite a considerable sum.

That amount might not mean much to Lu Hengzhi, but for Tang Shi, who was still climbing out of financial hardship, it was money worth saving wherever possible.

Li Mei's special care now gave Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi a deep understanding of what it meant to have connections in high places. Naturally, they became even more grateful to Cui Yujin—if not for him, Li Mei likely would not have cared for them so thoroughly. At least Tang Shi knew that they had not received such treatment in their previous life.

Exchanging a knowing look, Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi climbed off the beds at the same time, pounced on Cui Yujin as he wandered around the floor, and shouted, "Thank you, Student Cui, for your tremendous assistance! Please accept our heartfelt gratitude!"