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Then, amid the shrieks and thunderous applause from below the stage, Lu Hengzhi smiled as he calmly released Tang Shi and waved to the audience, even as Tang Shi glared at him with knife-sharp eyes where the cameras could not see. He gave his final farewell: "And thank you to all the River Crabs who have supported me from the auditions until now. Thank you for your support. Because of you, I was able to keep going until today. Thank you."

Then he strode off the stage.

Of course, he also failed to notice someone's interested, appraising gaze from the audience.

Chapter 40

The first PK match for the national championship of Dance Miracle ended with Sugar Juice Duo's victory and Su Minghe's elimination.

Next came the second match: Three Girls Group versus Luo Jinfeng. Due to the enormous gap in their dance foundations, Luo Jinfeng won by an overwhelming margin and earned the chance to compete for the championship. Three Girls Group, meanwhile, regretfully stopped in the top six.

But to Three Girls Group, this result was an unexpected delight.

In terms of dance fundamentals, Three Girls Group had actually been the weakest team among the top ten contestants. The key reason they had managed to make it into the top six was that, during the press conference held by Dance Miracle, they had firmly supported Sugar Juice Duo and stepped forward to clarify the so-called "bullying contestants scandal" involving Sugar Juice Duo, Lin Zhaoran, and Song Lijia during the auditions.

After the press conference, the Dance Miracle production team returned the favor by giving them a chance to participate in the revival round. Sugar Juice Duo's enormous fanbase had also developed a favorable impression of the three girls because of their "righteous act," so during every revival round, they voted like crazy to help them advance smoothly.

And for Three Girls Group, given their talent and foundation, they were already very satisfied to have come this far. Even if they had no chance to compete for the top three now, they had no regrets.

So the three girls stood onstage and graciously recounted their journey and their feelings about parting. Then, following Su Minghe's example, they left the stage cleanly and stylishly. There was no dragging things out, no tearful reluctance to leave. Their crisp, carefree manner instead won over many fans.

The contestants in the third PK match were Lin Zhaoran and Song Lijia, versus Ming Xiang—two sides who both danced street dance. However, compared with Lin Zhaoran and Song Lijia, who had both won awards in international professional street dance competitions, Ming Xiang was an amateur dancer who had started halfway through. The gap in their dance foundations was vast. Once they competed on the same stage, the difference was immediately obvious. Naturally, Lin Zhaoran and Song Lijia advanced with an absolute advantage.

At this point, the competition was already halfway over. The remaining PK would involve the production team randomly playing a piece of music, while Sugar Juice Duo, Luo Jinfeng, and Lin Zhaoran and Song Lijia danced improvised routines. The final winner would be decided through a round-robin battle.

This competition format looked fair on the surface, but upon closer consideration, it clearly favored Sugar Juice Duo. After all, since entering the competition, what Sugar Juice Duo had been most praised for was their powerful learning ability, masterful choreography skills, and superb foundation that allowed them to draw parallels across any style of dance...

Therefore, being tested by hearing a random piece of music and improvising on the spot was nothing to them. But for contestants like Lin Zhaoran, Song Lijia, and Luo Jinfeng, who were only skilled in their own professional dance styles, the chances of their improvisation being dazzling were much lower.

Sure enough, the final result was that Sugar Juice Duo won the championship with an overwhelming advantage. Lin Zhaoran and Song Lijia came in second, while Luo Jinfeng claimed third place.

The wildly popular Dance Miracle finally came to an end. Host Xiao Hua returned to the stage and looked at the audience, who were constantly screaming the names of their idols, as well as the three judges, whose expressions were wistful and reluctant. He said, "First, let us congratulate Sugar Juice Duo on winning this season's Best Dancer title of Dance Miracle. Let's give them a round of applause."

Amid the deafening applause from below the stage, Xiao Hua continued, "Now, let us turn our attention back to the big screen. As of now, the text-message voting for the Best Popularity Award of Dance Miracle has officially ended. Let's see who has won this year's Best Popularity Award of Dance Miracle—"

"Sugar Juice Duo, 1,685,662 votes."

Three Girls Group, who came in second, had received only 875,552 votes—not even half of Sugar Juice Duo's total. It could be said that Sugar Juice Duo had claimed the Best Popularity Award with an absolute advantage, truly living up to their nickname as the "ratings guarantee."

As everyone screamed wildly, host Xiao Hua once again invited the nine eliminated contestants back onto the stage. The eleven groups of contestants lined up in a row as he announced, "Now, please welcome our award presenters—Sima Le, director of Apple TV Station, and Zhou Boyun, executive president of Emperor Entertainment Media Co., Ltd.—to present tonight's Best Dancer award to Sugar Juice Duo."

Following Xiao Hua's introduction, two middle-aged men in suits came up from the audience. One was broad and sturdy, with a tough, commanding air, while the other was somewhat shorter and plumper, though he looked kind and amiable. The two men steadily walked to the front of the stage and handed the pure gold trophy for Best Dancer of Dance Miracle to Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi. Then they stepped back slightly, giving the stage to the two boys for their acceptance speeches.

As he looked at the stadium, where the atmosphere had completely descended into celebration, Lu Hengzhi pondered briefly before finally opening his mouth—only to be abruptly interrupted by Xiao Hua. "No advertising during the acceptance speech!"

That one sentence made everyone burst out laughing. Even Lu Hengzhi, who had carefully prepared his emotions, could not help breaking into laughter. All the heartfelt words he had intended to say became impossible to utter, and in the end, he simply said, "First of all, I naturally want to thank Tang Shi's and my family—our parents and grandparents. Thank you for giving us such a relaxed and supportive environment, allowing us to pursue our dreams without restraint. Then, I also want to thank Apple TV Station, Emperor Entertainment, and the platform that is Dance Miracle for giving us this chance to show ourselves. At the same time, I want to thank all the judges, staff members, fellow contestants, and our fans. Without your company, we could not have made it this far. Thank you, everyone."

This acceptance speech was rather plain and unremarkable, so naturally it did not stir much resonance among the crowd. But Lu Hengzhi had always given people the impression of being steady, powerful, and confident, so no one said much. Instead, they turned their expectant gazes toward Tang Shi, wanting to see what tricks he could pull out at this final moment.

After Tang Shi took the microphone, his gaze swept over the three smiling judges, then over the other contestants onstage, whose eyes were filled with envy. Listening to the fans below shout crazily, "Sugar Juice Duo, we love you!" and "We'll always support you!" he cleared his throat and, living up to expectations, teased, "First, I want to tell everyone this—don't worship me. I'm just a legend."

This powerful internet catchphrase had not yet been spoken by anyone else, and when Tang Shi said it, the people on and off the stage immediately burst into laughter again. Qiao Lin, seated at the judges' table, was so worked up that she even pounded the table. Then she cupped her hands before her mouth like a megaphone and shouted, "So shameless~~~~"

The fans below seemed to have been provoked. Their screams and cheers grew even louder, practically drowning out even Qiao Lin's amplified voice.

Apple TV Station's director and Emperor Entertainment's president, Zhou Boyun, watched the slender, exquisite-looking boy before them with interest. Sugar Juice Duo's reputation for being quirky and brimming with personality was already widely known, but to people at their level, they were merely newcomers with a few distinctive traits. They had not yet developed to the point of deserving special attention. Yet now that they had seen this so-called "real person" for the first time, every move he made indeed carried the wild, unrestrained vigor of youth. With such sunny and pure temperament, that face, and that bit of talent, it was no wonder he had those fans completely infatuated.

He really did have the potential to become an idol.

As the saying went, fame came best when young!

Tang Shi paid no attention at all to the two big shots beside him and continued, "Lu Hengzhi has already said all the thank-yous, so I won't waste any more breath. I just want to share how I feel right now, which is—happy, happy, happy, so happy!"

As Tang Shi spoke, he began jumping up and down onstage, constantly waving his hands to vent the excitement in his heart. Seeing their idol behave so excitedly and frankly, the fans below became even more excited and shouted at the top of their lungs.

After venting some of the excitement in his heart, Tang Shi hurriedly turned to the host and asked, "Um... when will I get the five hundred thousand prize money?"

Before his words had even faded, the contestants and audience both erupted into laughter once more. Xiao Hua looked at Tang Shi with a mixture of amusement and exasperation. Director Sima, beside him, picked up the conversation and said with a smile, "Don't worry. When you sign with Emperor later, the contract and the cash check will be handed directly to you."

The next part of the proceedings naturally turned to the contract signing. Emperor Entertainment's president Zhou Boyun gestured for an attendant to bring the prepared contracts onto the stage. In fact, even before the national finals, Emperor Entertainment had already approached the contestants to discuss signing them. After a series of negotiations and discussions, both parties had signed the contracts on the spot. Today's signing ceremony was merely for show.

Among all the contestants, Sugar Juice Duo's "champion contract" naturally came with the most generous terms. Not only did they negotiate the issue everyone cared about most—the revenue split, which was forty-sixty. There was not much difference from the industry standard on that point. But it also stated that after the national finals of Dance Miracle, Emperor Entertainment would immediately begin preparing the filming of the subsequent Big Movie of the same name. At the same time, it guaranteed that Sugar Juice Duo would star as the male leads in that Big Movie.

Moreover, the contract explicitly stipulated that before Sugar Juice Duo turned eighteen and entered university, their right to attend classes and study would be preserved. Under those conditions, the company would arrange one film and one televised drama series for Sugar Juice Duo every year. Since Sugar Juice Duo possessed a natural talent for songwriting, Emperor Entertainment also agreed to release an album for them every two years on average and guarantee its quality, with every album containing at least one song produced by a top producer. It would also tailor an idol drama specifically for Sugar Juice Duo within a year of their debut.

After Sugar Juice Duo turned eighteen and entered university, the company would naturally be able to provide them with even more opportunities to appear in films and television dramas. As for more trivial matters such as negotiating endorsements, attending promotional events, and performing at commercial appearances, there were far too many to list. But all of it would still depend on the results Sugar Juice Duo achieved after their debut. Emperor Entertainment was not a charity, after all. There was no reason for it to promote Sugar Juice Duo unconditionally.

In short, the entire contract ensured that for at least the next three years, Emperor Entertainment would use all of the company's resources to push Sugar Juice Duo to the top.

Naturally, since the contract terms were so favorable, the signing period and penalties for breach were correspondingly harsh. Setting aside the compensation fee—which would be one hundred times Sugar Juice Duo's value at the time if they breached the contract—the ten-year contract alone was enough to make most people shy away.

However, after consulting the lawyer sent by Lu Hengzhi's father, Sugar Juice Duo still signed the contract without hesitation.

After all, if the two of them wanted to develop in the entertainment industry, they would definitely need to sign with an agency. Emperor Entertainment, as a major force in the industry and one that Lu Hengzhi's father's thorough investigation had found guilty of relatively few cases of coercing artists, had been their first choice from the start. Moreover, during their several rounds of discussions, Emperor Entertainment had left Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi with a fairly good impression.

As the saying went, it was better to deal with the familiar than the unfamiliar. If they were going to make it in the entertainment industry, of course they needed to find a company with the strongest backing and the most powerful background, so they would not be bullied in the future.