Page 40

It was clear that Su Minghe was truly enjoying the stage now, having cast aside all distracting thoughts.

Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi stood in the waiting hall, watching Su Minghe's stunning movements on the big screen—graceful as a startled swan, agile as a soaring dragon—and could not help clicking their tongues in admiration.

However, Tang Shi did not know that Su Minghe's outstanding performance tonight was actually related to them. Ever since learning after the draw that he would be competing on the same stage against the Sugar Juice Duo, Su Minghe had been under immense pressure, even lying awake night after night. He knew that in terms of dance fundamentals, he was certainly no worse than the Sugar Juice Duo. But when it came to popularity and public appeal, he absolutely could not compete with them.

In fact, it was not just him. Among all the contestants on Dance Miracle, who could confidently claim to be more popular than the Sugar Juice Duo?

With their dance foundations being nearly equal but his popularity clearly falling short, Su Minghe felt that his defeat was practically inevitable.

So, since advancing seemed hopeless anyway, he might as well relax and enjoy tonight's stage—enjoy the experience of dancing freely beneath the gaze of countless people.

Yet by letting go of his desire to win and focusing wholeheartedly on the dance itself, Su Minghe inadvertently freed his emotions. With such rich feeling poured into his performance, he instead rose to an even higher level, filled with love and longing for dance.

This was precisely the kind of emotion Su Minghe had never been able to reach before, no matter how hard he tried.

As the saying went, when the mind and spirit became one, intent and energy blended together; when energy and strength joined, strength and form followed. That was dancing with one's soul—the difference between an artist and a mere technician.

Naturally, Su Minghe's dance earned everyone's approval and recognition. From the thunderous applause, cheers, and screams below the stage, Su Minghe sensed it as well. A satisfied smile tugged at his lips. As he walked offstage, he held out his fist toward Tang Shi's and said softly, "Good luck. I believe you'll amaze everyone tonight too."

Su Minghe's words were overly gentle, carrying faintly implied meanings beneath them. The feeling made Lu Hengzhi purse his lips in discomfort, though he did not show it. He merely thrust out his fist ahead of Tang Shi's and bumped it against Su Minghe's. Then he said with a smiling expression, "You danced really well, but we'll work hard too."

Whether intentionally or not, he emphasized the word "we."

Unfortunately, Tang Shi noticed none of the undercurrents between the two. He merely nodded at Su Minghe, then slung an arm over Lu Hengzhi's shoulder as they passed by him and strode onto the stage.

Watching Tang Shi's slender yet carefree back, Su Minghe stood there for a long moment before returning backstage with a bitter smile.

And at that moment, all the lights and cheers above and below the stage belonged to the Sugar Juice Duo.

Chapter 39

The ancients said, "Ten years studying in obscurity, then one success brings fame across the land."

For the Sugar Juice Duo, becoming famous overnight was much the same.

Three months ago, they had still been ordinary high school students. Though they had a few talents and hobbies, their grades were average and their studies unremarkable. Every day, they struggled and fretted over textbooks and homework, not even qualifying as model students of both character and learning.

But three months later, they had become the most popular contestants on Dance Miracle. The name Sugar Juice Duo had spread throughout Huaxia along with the broadcast of Dance Miracle.

Looking at the countless fans in the eighty-thousand-seat stadium waving glow sticks and light signs bearing the Sugar Juice Duo's name, looking at the expectant and encouraging gazes of every judge at the panel, looking at the countless cameras trained on them and the dazzling lights overhead, Tang Shi gripped the microphone before him and said, "First of all, we have to thank Apple TV Station and the Dance Miracle platform for giving us the chance to show ourselves. Three months ago, we were high school students no one would notice in a crowd. Three months later, we can stand here, enjoy the lighting of the country's top stage, receive the treatment of first-tier celebrities holding concerts, and enjoy the cheers and screams of our fans... I have to say, this feels pretty damn great."

His words made the entire stadium burst into laughter. Amid everyone's good-natured laughter, Sugar Juice continued, "Second, I want to thank the three judges and all the staff of Dance Miracle. Throughout the competition, the three judges have always encouraged us, given us great advice, helped us choreograph, and supported us all the way to this point. The production staff have also been incredibly tolerant of us and helped us a great deal. Since the competition began, our duo has basically never stopped causing trouble... We've given you a lot of headaches, made you work overtime more than once, and forced you to handle PR crises..."

As Tang Shi said this, the camera appropriately swept across the three judges and the production staff. Several judges wore different expressions, but all appeared moved. Some staff members smiled with emotional nostalgia, while others shook their heads with amused smiles... Just as the camera turned back toward the Sugar Juice Duo for a close-up, preparing to capture some sentimental footage—

Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi suddenly pulled out frozen food packaging covers from the pockets of their loose street dance pants. Then, facing the camera, they spoke rapidly but clearly: "When you're touched, when you miss home, don't forget to eat Good Taste Dumplings. Good Taste, Mom's taste!"

The cameraman: "..."

The three judges: "..."

The audience: "..."

The host stood nearby, stunned speechless, while Lu Hengzhi took advantage of everyone's daze to continue, "Good Taste Frozen Foods—the taste of the Northeast, the taste of hometown, the taste of Mom. Your most thoughtful choice!"

After saying that, he deliberately shook the poster in his hand.

Only then did the host finally react. He hurried onto the stage to stop Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi from advertising, saying with mixed laughter and tears, "What you're doing violates the competition rules."

"No, it doesn't! The competition rules never say contestants can't advertise during their pre-performance introductions!" Tang Shi widened his eyes at Xiao Hua and defended himself with an innocent expression.

That was because no one had ever imagined that contestants would think about advertising their family business instead of properly competing during a competition, okay?

Did you think everyone was as bizarre as you?

Still, it was no wonder Tang Shi had come up with such a shameless, thick-skinned idea. Dance Miracle was incredibly popular now. Its ratings were over ten percent nationwide, with more than twenty percent of the national market share! Once the program aired, how many viewers across the country would see it and immediately remember the name "Good Taste"?

Xiao Hua looked at Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi with helpless amusement, reached out, and took the posters from their hands. Then he stared at their oversized pockets. Seeing this, Tang Shi hurriedly said, "That's all. There are only these two."

Xiao Hua shook his head, clearly unconvinced, and made a gesture as if he were about to search them. Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi quickly shoved their hands into their pockets, then turned the pockets inside out to reveal the white lining within. Spreading their hands, they said, "Really, there aren't any more."

Host Xiao Hua stood beside them, looking helplessly at the Sugar Juice Duo as they clowned around to entertain the crowd, utterly at a loss for words.

Meanwhile, Qiao Lin, who had already been laughing herself silly at the judges' table, wiped tears from the corners of her eyes and said directly into the microphone, "All right, all right, don't let them talk anymore. Hurry up and dance!"

Seeing this, Xiao Hua could only point a finger at the Sugar Juice Duo, then turned and walked offstage holding the two Good Taste Dumplings posters.

At that moment, the stage lights dimmed. Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi immediately retreated to the center of the stage, standing on either side of a tall, narrow solid-wood "mirror frame" covered in carved openwork decorations. They bent at the waist, spread their arms, and struck their opening pose. After a harsh mechanical sound that made people instinctively frown, Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi slowly straightened up, turned around, and faced each other. Their movements were identical yet reversed, creating the effect of a person in the mirror looking into a mirror.

At the beginning, the dance music had a slow rhythm, its electronic melody seeming to come from a music box. Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi's movements were likewise elegant, expansive, and slow, using the stiffness of street dance to perform ballet, jazz, and classical dance movements one after another. They looked like two wind-up puppets whose springs lacked enough power.

The stage was completely dark, with only two beams of white light shining down from above onto the pair. Together with the music, it created a tranquil yet beautiful feeling, as if the audience were watching a story from a fairy tale, but one carrying an inexplicable sadness.

Only when the accompaniment gradually faded into silence did Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi, standing face-to-face onstage, tentatively extend their arms beyond the "mirror frame" and begin carefully reaching for each other. Finally, Lu Hengzhi, playing the person outside the mirror, reached out and yanked Tang Shi, who was inside the mirror, out into the world beyond it.

At that moment, the dance music suddenly turned fiery and explosive. Following a succession of thunderous drumbeats, Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi stood side by side and, following the rhythm of street dance, performed the various classical dance movements they had deliberately slowed down earlier. Then they moved together, launching into all kinds of well-known, high-difficulty street dance moves, such as the Windmill, Thomas, Headspin, and Knee Spin. Since they were playing the person inside the mirror and the person outside it, all their movements were identical but mirrored in opposite directions. Beyond that, whether lifting their legs, swinging their arms, or turning, every angle was perfectly symmetrical, as though one person were truly dancing before a mirror.

The visual brilliance of that symmetry once again brought thunderous applause from the judges and audience. People even could not help rising to their feet, screaming and clapping along with the pair's movements. It was clear that they had been completely captivated by the duo's dancing charm.

In the end, the music became slow and elegant once more. Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi returned in perfect unison to the mirror. Then one stood still while the other stepped through to the opposite side of the mirror. They looked back, turned, raised their arms, pressed palm to palm, and finally separated. With their backs to one another, they returned to the opening pose from the start of the dance. Then the lights went out, leaving only scattered traces of dim light across the pitch-black stage, as if suggesting that the passionate dance and explosive atmosphere from moments before had been nothing but a dream.

After the Sugar Juice Duo's dance ended, the eighty-thousand-seat stadium remained silent for more than thirty seconds before scattered applause began to sound. Then the applause grew louder and louder until it became a rolling roar. The stage lights came back on, and the Sugar Juice Duo stepped forward once more, bowing toward the judges and audience below.

Amid everyone's cheers and screams, the host returned to the front of the stage and said, "Thank you to the Sugar Juice Duo for that wonderful performance. Once again, they have lived up to expectations and brought us a visual feast centered on dance. From the cheers below the stage and the amazed expressions of our three judges, we can tell that these two children have once again successfully captured our hearts. It seems there's a reason why the Sugar Juice Duo can cause so much trouble yet remain beloved by all the Dance Miracle staff."

Host Xiao Hua's jab made the entire audience burst into laughter again. Laughing himself, Xiao Hua continued, "Now, let us invite contestant Su Minghe from the waiting area back to the front of the stage as well. At this point, the dance battle portion of the first group has concluded. Let's hear the opinions of our three judges. Teacher Mo Zi, please."

At being called on, Mo Zi leaned forward slightly. Looking at the two groups of contestants onstage, she paused in thought before saying, "First, let me talk about how I feel about Ming He... I do have to admit something: perhaps I was biased against Ming He. Before today, I always believed he was not a pure dancer. He did not even dance simply for the sake of dancing. He carried too much baggage and too many distracting thoughts. To put it bluntly, his desire for fame and profit was too strong. But dance, this kind of art... we all know it is something pure, something that comes from within, from the heart, something that touches the soul. Your dancing may not be perfect, your technique may not be that refined, but if you do not dance with your heart, it will be difficult for you to move others. That is why, throughout so many rounds, although Su Minghe has always been far ahead in dance fundamentals and received much praise, I have never thought highly of him."