Page 20

At this point, the Southern Division's fifty-to-thirty Qualifier Round of Dance Miracle was already halfway through.

Author's note: Mini-theater—

Tang Shi (serious face): "From today onward, please call me rich ╭(╯^╰)╮"

Lu Hengzhi: "I swear I'll become rich—the man's man."

☆

The noisy, crowded backstage area was in chaos. Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi stood blankly in a dim corner, watching the frantic crowd around them, their heads still spinning—more precisely, ever since Tang Shi learned that he had won the lottery, his brain had remained in a state of oxygen deprivation, incapable of thought.

Even though he knew this would eventually become reality, even though he thought he had prepared himself mentally, when it truly happened before his eyes, Tang Shi realized that none of his psychological preparation had been enough.

Tang Shi unconsciously touched his chest and let out a low chuckle. His foolish laugh, as though his IQ had dropped by two hundred points, was utterly out of place in the anxious, tense backstage atmosphere. Fortunately, no one paid much attention to Tang Shi's abnormality. Everyone was busy with their own affairs and had no time to care about his joy.

His stomach was already growling with hunger, and his body was sending out weak, uncomfortable signals from starvation. But Tang Shi did not notice at all—at this very moment, his mind was filled with the joy of getting four million for nothing. His wild elation had even overwhelmed his body's demands. He had been like this for a long time. It would not be an exaggeration to say that all the way there and back from claiming the prize, Tang Shi had been blank-minded, walking on cotton, dazed and muddleheaded.

He had been unable to stay sufficiently clear-headed. Even when handling the prize claim procedures at the lottery center, he had been tense and spaced out. His mind, incapable of concrete thought, could only follow the staff's instructions, producing whatever documents they asked for and doing whatever they told him to do. Luckily, Lu Hengzhi, who had gone with him, remained fairly calm and carefully checked every step. Tang Shi was only lucid for a moment when signing his name and finally confirming the transfer account—

It felt just like a dream. He had become rich all at once.

Tang Shi grinned foolishly. Although four million was not even a drop in the bucket to truly wealthy people, to Tang Shi, it was already an astronomical sum. Across both his lifetimes, he had never seen so much money.

When they went to the bank to transfer the funds, he had even felt the urge to ask the bank staff to turn the four million into cash and pile it in front of him so he could truly see how much four million was. But after thinking it over, he felt that would be far too embarrassing, so he ultimately did not act on it—

Still, he was so happy that he felt as if this ecstatic emotion would drown him.

Anyone who had never experienced the dizzying sensation of a poor man suddenly becoming rich would never understand it.

What did a dry mouth matter? What did incoherent speech matter? What did a blank mind matter? Tang Shi only felt as though someone had pressed his legendary laughing acupoint. He wanted to laugh, only laugh—an uncontrollable, foolish laugh. By the end, even his face hurt from laughing, yet he still could not relax his facial muscles.

Compared with Tang Shi, Lu Hengzhi beside him was somewhat more clear-headed. Given his family background, while he could not be called immensely rich, he had still seen some of the world. Four million yuan was a lot, but compared with the Lu Family's assets of over a hundred million, it was merely a drop in the bucket. Besides, neither of them had actually seen a mountain of cash piled before them. It was only a number with a string of zeros at the end, transferred from a check into an account, along with the hefty tax receipt stuffed in their pocket.

It was only four million—

But how could that be the same? No matter how wealthy the Lu Family was, that money had been earned through Grandpa Lu's and Father Lu's hard work and sacrifice. It had nothing to do with Lu Hengzhi. But these four million had been earned because Lu Hengzhi believed in Tang Shi.

If Lu Hengzhi had trusted Tang Shi even a little less that day, if he had been like Cui Yujin and only bought his own birthday numbers, if...

As long as there had been the slightest change anywhere along the way, then today, he would not have been able to celebrate alongside Tang Shi with the same feelings. Wild joy, complete empathy. If that had happened, Tang Shi would have been disappointed too, right?

His best friend had not believed in him, had not supported him, and all that...

They had grown up together. Although Lu Hengzhi occasionally could not understand Tang Shi's especially delicate and sensitive nerves, he always did his utmost to look after Tang Shi's feelings. When they went out, although he had enough money to put them both up in the best hotels, Lu Hengzhi would rather squeeze into cheap inns with Tang Shi and eat street food than ignore Tang Shi's embarrassment and insist on enjoying the finest places. Though his parents gave him tens of thousands in monthly spending money, in order to make it seem as though they were in the same circumstances, he would rather leave that money in the bank to earn interest, taking out only ten or eight yuan a day for spending. Sometimes, he would even mooch off Tang Shi for flatbread or grilled sausages and other snacks, wolfing them down eagerly.

Although Tang Shi misunderstood those details as Lu Hengzhi not liking to spend money, not knowing how to enjoy himself, or even being stingy and miserly, Lu Hengzhi accepted it gladly and never explained.

He felt that sincerely making friends with someone meant trying to make that person feel relaxed and comfortable, rather than deliberately changing them or deliberately accommodating something.

So whenever Lu Hengzhi saw scenes in romance idol dramas where a rich young master lowered himself for a Cinderella-like heroine, forcing himself to eat street food and browse cheap markets despite being unaccustomed to it, only to move the heroine deeply, he found them amusing.

If someone truly liked another person and wanted to befriend them, how could they possibly make the other person feel that they were extending goodwill from a position of charity? Such an obvious declaration of, "I don't actually belong here; I'm only lowering myself for you," would make the other person feel awful if it happened in real life, wouldn't it?

Pulling himself back from his wandering thoughts, Lu Hengzhi turned to look at Tang Shi, who was trembling all over with excitement. His heart warmed, and he once again put his arms around the other's shoulders. Ruffling Tang Shi's hair, he said with a smile, "Don't get too excited. Just like Aunt Li said, these four million aren't even half the endorsement fee of a top star. As long as we work hard enough, we'll definitely earn a second and third four million very soon. The most urgent thing now is to calm down and get our emotions in order. When we go onstage later, we need to present the dance as perfectly as possible and advance directly into the top thirty."

As he spoke, Lu Hengzhi cast an ambitious glance toward the front stage, which was completely blocked from view. Looking through the gaps in the mass of people, he could only see the dazzling lights on the ceiling and the packed crowd below. The glow sticks and light signs, dim beneath the brilliant lights, swayed rhythmically to the music onstage. To Lu Hengzhi, they were an even more dazzling sight than the stage itself.

Lu Hengzhi hoped that one day, when he and Tang Shi stood on that stage, those glow sticks and light signs would rise only for them, forming seas of stars amid frenzied, hoarse cries, shining brighter than starlight in the dark studio.

A burst of coldness against his burning cheek startled him awake. Lu Hengzhi's unfocused eyes refocused, and he saw the worried Cui Yujin standing before him—with a plastic bag of food in his hand. There was bread, sausages, potato chips, and two bottles of chilled mineral water inside. The thing that had awakened Lu Hengzhi from his solemn fantasy was the other bottle of mineral water Cui Yujin held in his hand.

"You'll be competing soon, so hurry and eat something to fill your stomachs. You haven't eaten anything since this morning." As Cui Yujin spoke, he pulled bread and sausages from his pocket and tossed them to the two of them. He had gone down to the staff supermarket to buy them while they were spacing out.

Tang Shi blankly accepted the bread and thanked Cui Yujin. Then, woodenly opening the wrapper, he put the soft bread into his mouth. He chewed until he swallowed the first bite, and only when his body sent out a sighing, urgent response did Tang Shi suddenly realize just how hungry he was—

His stomach had hurt from hunger for a long time.

After sincerely thanking Cui Yujin again, Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi wolfed down the bread and sausages in their hands, then guzzled half a bottle of water each. Only then did they pat their stomachs in satisfaction, lean against the wall, and stretch lazily.

Seeing this, Cui Yujin smiled and said, "Eat something first and build up your strength. After the competition, let's go have a proper meal—you two can treat me to the most expensive banquet at the best hotel in Apple City. After all, you two won the lottery!"

Mentioning this still left Cui Yujin somewhat resentful. But there was nothing to be done about it. Who had told him not to believe Tang Shi back then? As his grandmother loved to say, it was fate. Maybe Cui Yujin simply was not destined to win the lottery, which was why he had missed out on four million. Though he regretted it so much his intestines were turning green, life still had to go on. He could not undo his past mistake, so he could only fleece Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi hard to ease the frustration in his heart.

This missed opportunity also became a shadow that followed Cui Yujin for nearly his entire life. From then on, for the rest of his days, Cui Yujin believed Tang Shi's every word. No matter what Tang Shi said, Cui Yujin never objected. Even later, after Cui Yujin successfully founded a first-rate fashion magazine and became the CEO of a multinational media group, he still joked with reporters during interviews that he had no faith in anything after living so many years—the only thing he believed in was Tang Shi—

Believe in Tang Shi, gain eternal life.

Hearing Cui Yujin's reluctant "extortion," Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi exchanged a smile and nodded. "Of course. Order whatever you want later. You've helped us so much; we have to reward you properly."

Besides, the two of them had prepared a surprise for Cui Yujin, but they could not tell him yet.

Cui Yujin smiled faintly at them, raised the camera in his hand, and continued faithfully recording everything happening around them. But his mood was still not particularly high—

That was normal. No one could remain carefree after missing out on four million.

The atmosphere fell quiet once again. Tang Shi stood blankly backstage, gazing absentmindedly at the light spilling in from the front stage. After a long silence, Lu Hengzhi placed a hand on Tang Shi's shoulder and asked with a smile, "What are you thinking about so deeply?"

Tang Shi came back to himself. He glanced at Lu Hengzhi, whose face remained calm and composed, though the hand on his shoulder was trembling slightly, then smiled. "Nothing. I'm a little nervous."

Lu Hengzhi smiled knowingly and nodded. "I'm nervous too."

Tang Shi smiled slightly and was just about to reply when Lin Zhaoran sidled over and asked mysteriously, "When did you get back? Did you collect the money?"

After Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi left, he and Song Lijia had not stopped talking about it. In Lin Zhaoran's eyes, Tang Shi's luck was absurdly powerful. Even something as unlikely as winning the lottery had happened to him, so supposedly using connections to pass the audition was nothing much—

Strangely enough, after thinking that, Lin Zhaoran actually felt much better.

Behind him, Song Lijia reached out and shoved Lin Zhaoran, saying in a low voice, "Don't talk nonsense. There are too many people here. It wouldn't be good if someone overheard."

At this point, he still did not know that Tang Shi had already arranged with Li Mei to reveal the lottery win. He was merely reminding Lin Zhaoran out of the belief that one should not flaunt wealth, not wanting to bring trouble to Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi.

Lin Zhaoran curled his lips dismissively but did not say anything else...

Song Lijia then asked Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi, "How is your dance preparation going? I noticed there are very few groups left in our division, and your dance style is so distinctive. There shouldn't be any problem, right?"

Lu Hengzhi wrapped an arm around Tang Shi's shoulders and said with restrained but complete confidence, "I don't know, but we'll do our very best."