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The last sentence had actually been directed at Chen Jie. His heart lurched again. He watched Brother Chen stroll out of the waiting hall and remained silent for a long while.

Tang Shi looked at Chen Jie's lingering fright and let out a scornful snort. Tilting his head, he said, "Is that all you've got?"

Chen Jie turned around. Tang Shi's words made his neck flush red with embarrassment and shame. He glanced at the other contestants in the waiting hall, cocked his head stubbornly, and muttered something under his breath without looking at Tang Shi. Tang Shi did not catch it anyway.

Seeing this, Lu Hengzhi asked irritably, "What are you mumbling about? You can't dance properly, and now you can't even speak properly?"

Chen Jie shot Lu Hengzhi a glare and said loudly, "What are you so smug about? Do you think I'm the only one who can't stand you? Let me tell you, there are barely any people in this room who like you. If you don't believe me, ask everyone. Haven't they all said those things? Whether you actually have any skill, you know that yourselves!"

His words made the faces of several other contestants change. Someone could not help saying, "That's enough, Chen Jie. You were the one who started picking a fight and insulting people, and what you said was so nasty. Tang Shi just didn't want to bother with you. Even when Brother Chen was here, he didn't say much. You're in the wrong, so don't drag all of us into this."

Several others echoed, "Exactly! What you said just now was really too much. Lin Zhaoran never provoked you or offended you, so why did you have to say such horrible things? His mother is still lying in the hospital, for heaven's sake. Watch your mouth."

"Who needs to watch their mouth?" Chen Jie swept his gaze over them and said disdainfully to the contestants who kept blaming him, "When you were talking behind their backs, I don't know who said worse things than I did. Now you know how to play the good guy? What a bunch of two-faced hypocrites."

As he spoke, he pointed at several contestants in the waiting hall who usually got along fairly well with Sugar Juice Duo. "You lot—when we had lunch yesterday, didn't you say Sugar Juice Duo only dared to act so arrogantly because they knew the show's chief planner? Didn't you say they were always showing off in front of you about how much face they had with the judges, how highly regarded they were, and how popular they were with the audience?"

"And you!" Chen Jie pointed at two other contestants who often praised Sugar Juice Duo for having personality and said furiously, "When Sugar Juice Duo went onstage just now, didn't you say their dancing was terrible, that their moves were stiff as hell? That if they hadn't had good-looking faces and absurd luck, there was no way they could have made it this far?"

His words left all the other contestants awkward. The way they looked at Chen Jie grew increasingly disgusted and annoyed. Some of them did dislike Sugar Juice Duo and were even jealous of their luck and opportunities, but that was something to say behind their backs. Did he have to shout it out so loudly?

Besides, Chen Jie was clearly the one in the wrong today. He had tried to stir up trouble, only to be cowed by Tang Shi and his partner at the last moment. He did not dare confront Sugar Juice Duo directly, so he dragged everyone else down with him like a rabid dog... The other contestants looked at Chen Jie as though he were a monkey in a cage, then turned their faces away and stopped responding to him altogether.

One contestant who was fairly close to Chen Jie carefully tugged at his arm and tried to persuade him. "Forget it, forget it. Everyone just got carried away in the heat of the moment. No one was deliberately trying to bully anyone, so stop saying things like that. We still have to get along for a long time. Why make things so tense? Apologize to Tang Shi and the others. They're probably generous enough not to hold it against you."

Chen Jie was both angry and enraged. With a smack, he shook off the person's hand and snapped, "Why should I apologize? I wasn't lying. You people can just keep sucking up to them. You have no self-respect, wagging your tails like lapdogs. I'd like to see what benefits you get out of it."

After saying that, he shoved through the people in front of him and strode out of the waiting hall.

Chen Jie's final complaint left the other contestants stunned. When they looked at Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi again, their expressions were somewhat embarrassed. Some offered friendly smiles and came over to exchange a few words, while others avoided Tang Shi's gaze and took a detour around them. Either way, it all felt rather pointless.

Still, there were a few who were confident they had done nothing wrong. Some had always been on good terms with Sugar Juice Duo and had never badmouthed them. Others had no particular relationship with Sugar Juice Duo but considered themselves above gossiping about people behind their backs. They came over and offered a few words of comfort—

"Don't take it too much to heart. People can say whatever they want. It's not like you can control their mouths. Just do your own thing."

"This is nothing. Society is complicated. Once you go through more of it, you'll get used to it."

Tang Shi heard them but did not care much. They had never intended to become especially close with these contestants anyway. As long as they could get along on the surface, that was enough. The Three Girls Group, however, was fuming nearby. They kept saying, "What kind of people are these? They praise you to the skies in front of you, then gossip behind your backs."

"Exactly! How can they be like this..." Another girl was even more upset than Sugar Juice Duo themselves, so angry that her eyes were nearly red.

Lu Hengzhi smiled faintly and said, "It's really no big deal. We don't know each other well anyway. We only gathered here because of the competition. Look at it another way—if no one envies you, you're mediocre. Doesn't that also prove that we're genuinely outstanding?"

The three girls were amused by Lu Hengzhi's shamelessness and laughed through their tears. "Who praises himself like that? Have you no shame?"

After calming down a little, one of the girls asked, "So you're just going to let it go?"

To be fair, the three girls were only eighteen or nineteen. They had just left school and had little experience with the world, so naturally they could not stand this sort of two-faced behavior. They still carried the reckless spirit of youth in their hearts and were unwilling to swallow their anger like this.

But if they were unwilling, how could Sugar Juice Duo be willing? They had never been the sort to let others stomp on their heads and throw their weight around. Naturally, they had to find a way to win back some face.

Just then, the host onstage called for the next contestant. Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi listened as Chen Jie answered the judges' questions onstage. Thinking about how Chen Jie kept claiming that Sugar Juice Duo had no ability, their anger flared.

The two exchanged a perfectly synchronized glance, ignoring the stunned looks from the other contestants in the waiting hall. They walked straight to the entrance of the studio and spoke quietly to the staff member guarding the door. The staff member looked at Sugar Juice Duo with some helplessness, then covered his earpiece and communicated with the production team for a moment. Finally, he stepped aside, opened the door for them, and whispered, "Good luck."

Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi smiled and nodded at the staff member, then pushed open the half-closed door and walked onto the stage. Chen Jie was still speaking with a broad smile about his dreams and hard work when he suddenly noticed that all the judges and audience members were staring behind him in astonishment.

A thread of unease immediately rose in Chen Jie's heart. He hurriedly turned around, then stared dumbfounded at Sugar Juice Duo as they emerged. They walked past him to the front of the stage, took the microphone from the host's hand, and said, "Hello, everyone. We're Sugar Juice Duo. We apologize for breaking the program's rules and coming back onstage. But we want to prove something."

At that, Lu Hengzhi turned toward Chen Jie, who stood onstage as stiff as a wooden chicken, and said with a smile, "We want to prove that even without all the other elements, our dancing fundamentals are worthy of the stage. We're not like certain contestants claim behind our backs—people who can do nothing but seek attention."

With a buzz, Chen Jie stared blankly at the calm and composed Sugar Juice Duo. Only two words surfaced in his mind—

It's over!

Chapter 30

As soon as Sugar Juice Duo finished speaking, another uproar swept through the judges and the audience. Though Sugar Juice Duo had not explicitly said what had happened backstage, Lu Hengzhi's pointed words and their request for a dance battle made it clear that the person who had clashed with Sugar Juice Duo backstage was Chen Jie, who was currently onstage.

People loved a spectacle, and most street dance enthusiasts were hot-blooded young people who enjoyed noise and excitement. A dance battle was the most basic way for street dancers to settle disputes.

If you say I can't dance, then we'll battle and see who's better.

Sugar Juice Duo's choice might have seemed unconventional and somewhat unruly to others, but it fit perfectly with the traditions of street dance. Because of that, even some contestants backstage who disliked Sugar Juice Duo had to admit that Sugar Juice Duo's way of handling the matter was beyond reproach.

They had neither relied on the production team's power to pressure another contestant and create the appearance of a rigged show, nor weakly swallowed their anger and pretended nothing had happened. Instead, they had struck back at everyone who gossiped behind their backs in the most direct and effective way possible. This hot-blooded choice might have been somewhat rash, but it absolutely suited the tastes of young people today.

As for the production team, although the incident had come rather suddenly, such a conflict would undoubtedly boost ratings. At the same time, it was another way to prove that Dance Miracle was absolutely not rigged.

The host had already spoken with the production team through his earpiece and roughly learned about the backstage conflict. Whatever he thought privately, he kept a bright smile on his face and asked, "All right, we've had a little unexpected situation onstage. Sugar Juice Duo, who just advanced into the top ten, has returned to the stage and challenged contestant Chen Jie to a dance battle. Now, I'd like to ask our three judges for their opinions—"

Before the host could finish, Qiao Lin nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, of course. I have absolutely no problem with it."

The other two judges also said with great interest, "No problem!"

After receiving unanimous approval from the three judges, the host turned back to Chen Jie and asked, "Then contestant Chen Jie... do you accept Sugar Juice Duo's challenge?"

Before he could finish speaking, waves of screams rose from the audience. Someone clearly shouted, "Accept it!"

Chen Jie's face alternated between green and white as he glared at Sugar Juice Duo. Things had reached this point; he had no second path to take. Chen Jie took a deep breath and said into the microphone, "I accept."

Amid another wave of screams, the host explained the rules. "All right, then. To ensure fairness, we'll randomly play a piece of music shortly. Both sides will improvise to the music. Whoever receives louder cheers during the dance will be the winner."

Because this dance battle had been Sugar Juice Duo's sudden idea, and because the dispute centered on whether Dance Miracle was rigged, the production team did not have the judges act as referees in order to ensure fairness and objectivity. Instead, they let the third party—the audience—serve as the judges. This highly interactive decision won the approval and enthusiasm of the entire audience. Even viewers watching at home began sending text messages to ask whether they could participate in the judging...

An intense, passionate dance track began to play. Sugar Juice Duo ignored Chen Jie, who stood blankly in the center of the stage. They leaped forward with a front flip, planted their hands on the ground, and spun upside down. Then they shifted their entire body weight from one hand to the other, whirling like tops at high speed until their feet touched the ground. With their right feet as pivots, they kicked their left legs up and spun sideways, then suddenly exerted force to perform two side flips in the air before landing. Next, with their left elbows as the center of balance, they flattened their bodies and spun while lifting both legs into the air to form splits, figure eights, and other moves. Finally, they landed onstage after a backflip, stretched out their right arms, and pointed challengingly at Chen Jie.