Jincheng, do you want my phone?

"Oh, right."

As though he had remembered something, Tan Xuguang lowered his head and rummaged through his desk, pulling out a few flyers.

"Here, this is for you. I asked the club president for these this morning."

Smiling, Tan Xuguang handed Jiang Nian a flyer for the competition.

Jiang Nian had not originally planned to enter, so she had not looked closely at the promotional poster.

Now that she had decided to go, she had to take a proper look at the competition rules.

She pulled out a flyer and handed it to Tong Chuhe, and the two of them began reading the rules.

The competition would be held in the academy auditorium three days later and would focus on modern dance.

Each contestant would prepare a dance routine, with no restrictions on style. Aerobics, pom dance, jazz, and street dance were all permitted.

Any modern dance routine could be performed, as long as it showcased Pluto Academy's youthful energy.

Teachers from the academy's relevant departments would serve as judges, while the audience would also have a share of the votes.

Scores would be calculated out of one hundred, with professional judges accounting for 70% and audience judges for 30%. The sum of the two would be each contestant's final score.

The top ten contestants would be selected to form the cheerleading squad.

Jiang Nian rubbed her chin. Learning an entire routine in three days was a pretty tight deadline.

She had only dabbled in jazz dance, so she would probably have to go in that direction.

It looked like she would need to find a teacher for some last-minute coaching when she got home that day.

She wasted no time getting started.

When Jiang Nian returned home after school that afternoon, she had the butler contact a dance expert to teach her and sort out the music selection and choreography along the way.

As a result, over the next few days, Jiang Nian spent practically all her time outside class in the dance studio, practicing her routine.

The dance teacher the butler had found was no pushover, either. One look at Jiang Nian, worn out until she could barely move every day, was proof enough.

Collapsing onto the dance studio floor in exhaustion once again, Jiang Nian sighed inwardly.

Tan Xuguang, I've really sacrificed so much for you.

If you still can't beat Canghai after all this, I'll pound you into a lion's mane mushroom.

After several days of practicing day and night, the day of the competition finally arrived.

Pluto Academy's auditorium was spacious and open. Not only could it accommodate three thousand people, but it was also fully equipped, so many academy events applied to use the venue.

The auditorium was now packed with spectators who had come to watch the competition. A voting device had been placed on every seat for the audience judges to cast their votes, and the data would later be uploaded for calculation.

The last time Song Jici and the others had come here was for the opening ceremony for new students.

Now, Tan Xuguang sat in his chair, looking around excitedly and muttering about why it had not started yet.

For once, Shen Hui did not mock him. He simply watched the empty stage in silence.

After all, he was looking forward to Jiang Nian's performance too.

Song Jici looked down at his phone and messaged Jiang Nian to ask how things were going backstage.

[Song Jici]: How's your preparation going? What number are you performing?

Jiang Nian replied quickly.

[Jiang Nian]: Pretty well. My teacher put so much effort into teaching me, she practically moved into my house.

[Jiang Nian]: We just drew lots. My luck was pretty decent-I got number twenty, right in the middle.

[Jiang Nian]: Chu He will be going on pretty soon, though. She drew number five, so she's fifth up.

[Jiang Nian]: Don't know whether to laugh or cry.jpg

Because so many people had signed up for the competition, the organizers had already eliminated some contestants during the preliminary screening for failing to meet height and appearance requirements, taking the future squad's overall coordination into account.

In the end, forty contestants would take part in the competition. With one in four making the cut, the top ten would join the cheerleading squad, and the first-place contestant would automatically become captain.

With forty contestants, Tong Chuhe's fifth-place slot was indeed quite early.

Song Jici quietly reassured Jiang Nian.

[Song Jici]: It's fine. With her skills, even going first wouldn't affect her performance.

Song Jici had barely sent his message when a message from Fu Zhenzhen arrived.

[Fu Zhenzhen]: Ji Ci, I'm so nervous! I actually drew number six, right after Tong Chuhe!

[Fu Zhenzhen]: Spinning in circles from nerves.jpg

[Fu Zhenzhen]: Tong Chuhe is so good, yet she's still entering this little competition. No one will even look at me when my turn comes. Ji Ci, will you vote for me later?

[Fu Zhenzhen]: Pitiful look.jpg

Song Jici pressed his lips together as he read Fu Zhenzhen's messages.

Ever since the incident at the birthday banquet, he had not paid Fu Zhenzhen any attention for a long time.

Although everyone's attention had ultimately shifted to Shen Lei, he had not forgotten that Fu Zhenzhen had taken it upon herself to push Jiang Nian into Shen Lei's room.

He had warned Fu Zhenzhen, but she had merely looked at him with an aggrieved expression and reminded him that she had once saved his life.

After hearing Jiang Nian's inner thoughts, he had already begun investigating what had happened back then. But until the results came in, it remained possible that Fu Zhenzhen had saved him.

He could turn a blind eye to what Fu Zhenzhen had done, but Jiang Nian should not have to repay that debt on his behalf.

So when Shen Hui suggested locking Fu Zhenzhen and Shen Lei up together, he had simply pressed his palms together, observed two seconds of silence for her, and then lent a hand.

He found dealing with Fu Zhenzhen exhausting and wanted to distance himself from her, but her status as his lifesaver weighed on him until he could barely breathe.

After all, without Fu Zhenzhen, he might not have survived to this day. That often made him wonder whether he was being too cold toward her.

These conflicting thoughts pulled him back and forth, leaving him at a loss.

For this competition, each audience member had only two votes. They could give one each to two contestants or both to the same person.

Song Jici had already decided to give both votes to Jiang Nian. Now that Fu Zhenzhen had come asking for votes, he did not want to give her even one.

But if he refused her, he would not be able to get past his own guilt.

After thinking for a long time, he turned to Wen Jincheng beside him and asked coaxingly:

"Jincheng, do you want my phone?"

Wen Jincheng gave Song Jici a baffled look. "What would I want your phone for?"

Song Jici stared straight at him. "Are you sure you don't want it?"

Under Song Jici's stare, Wen Jincheng fell silent.

"Am I... supposed to want it?"

Song Jici nodded kindly. "Yes, you want it. You want it so much that you snatch it right out of my hands."

Wen Jincheng looked at Song Jici as though he were an idiot for a moment, then took his phone.

"Fine. I've snatched your phone."

Relieved, Song Jici smiled at Wen Jincheng and said:

"I'll let it slide this time. You can play with it until the competition ends, but don't do it again~"

Then he turned away and focused on waiting for the competition to begin.

I'm really sorry, Fu Zhenzhen. It's not that I don't want to vote for you. I genuinely didn't see your messages.

Wen Jincheng: ...

What a lunatic!