VSROWDC Chapter 7 Part 2

Last update for today! Hope you enjoy ❤

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The last two groups were about to enter.

Among the two groups of contestants, Ji Zeyu was the well-deserved topical figure. After all, he got onto the top three of the hot search leaderboard after the first episode was broadcast, making him a notoriously famous contestant.

“Yu Bao is about to go on stage,” Ji Mingyun sat upright and fixed the headband on her head. The “Ze” and “Yu” words dazzled brightly.

Ji Zicheng put down his phone and said suddenly, “I’m starting to feel a bit nervous.”

“Don’t worry. Yun told me just now that Yu Bao will not forget his lyrics,” Ji Mingyun said calmly, “To him, this is already a miracle.”

Jiang Li, hearing their words, twitched the corners of her lips.

She really wanted to ask the duo sitting in front of her: Are you really not his haters?!

Tang Zhen’s team was the first to perform. The abilities of their group were very average, and Tang Zhen was the well-deserved center of group A; his performance was very prominent.

The audience, who was initially becoming tired, was immediately excited again, and screams came one after another.

After this group finished their performance, many people present became Tang Zhen’s fans. 

The contestants backstage all agreed that the result had been basically settled already. After all, if Tang Zhen had such a great performance, how could Ji Zeyu’s group win?

When the audience learned that Ji Zeyu was the last to perform, they all sat back and got ready to watch. A contestant who flunked his initial rating round would probably make a bigger fool of himself on such a large stage, right?

With faces portraying various expressions watching, the silhouettes of the six young men appeared at the entrance of the stage. Then, they strode confidently to the center of the stage.

“Hello, everyone. We are Group B of ‘Look At Me Now.’”

They said in unison and bowed towards the audience.

“I am the team captain and center, Ji Zeyu,” the young man in the center raised the corners of his lips slightly, introducing himself with a smile, “I hope that we can make you all focus your attention on us today.”

The camera adequately gave Ji Zeyu a close-up shot. 

Ji Zeyu wore stage makeup today, and the makeup was just right. His skin had a sense of transparency, and his dark amber eyes looked increasingly seductive. His whole appearance seemed somewhere between youthful and mature. No one could resist the urge to take a few extra glances at him. 

When this face showed up on the huge screen upstage, the impact became countless times stronger.

The fans, haters, and neutral observers all inhaled deeply at this moment. They could not help but involuntarily scream. 

“Oh, crap. This is too good-looking. How did he grow up to be like this?”

“Yu Bao! Ah! Look at me, your mother! Ah ah ah!”

“He’s too, too handsome. I cannot breathe! Is this a yan fan’s happiness?”

TL’s Note: A “yan fan” is a person who stans a celebrity because of their appearance.

The six young men had already formed their formation. The lighting dimmed for an instant before suddenly coming on.

The music sounded, and the entire stadium became quiet.

Ji Zeyu, right at this moment, looked up with a confident glow flowing through the bottom of his eyes. Then he slightly swayed his body according to the rhythm, demonstrating every move on stage with ease. 

His moves were accurate, and they were perfect.

Nobody had expected it.

When Ji Zeyu’s voice came through the microphone, his clear and clean timbre was refreshing to everyone. 

“I’m kickin’ the door now.”

“Better get out of my way.”

The young man’s voice was full of tension, making it particularly prominent to the ear among the six of them; at the same time, despite the extremely arduous choreography, his pitch was accurate the entire time.

If Lu Nanyun was a king born for the stage.

Then, when Ji Zeyu appeared at the center of the stage, the audience suddenly felt that—the stage seemed to have been invented for him.

The stage was only a real stage when Ji Zeyu stood there.

“I hope you open your eyes.”

“And take a good look at me now.”

Just as the lyrics described, everyone widened their eyes and focused on Ji Zeyu. They could not look away for even just one moment.

Lu Nanyun sat in the tall, red-velvet golden-framed chair, subconsciously clenching his fingers. His eyes were full of disbelief.

He could not help but feel attracted to the boy onstage, and his eyes followed his every move, blocking, and subtle alter of expression… and everyone else became nothingness.

All of this was telling Lu Nanyun that the boy he had an astonishing glimpse of that night was Ji Zeyu himself.

It was not a hallucination, and nor was it a dream.

In Lu Nanyun’s chest, his heartbeat was incessantly accelerating, like a rabbit running on the grassland.

Ji Zeyu’s performance onstage was much better than that in the practice studio. He had already formed muscle memory, with every movement accurately embedded in the drum beats and rhythm. The other five young men had also formed a tacit understanding with Ji Zeyu in the center, and their movements were extremely neat.

After the performance ended, the young men struck their ending pose, and the videographer gave Ji Zeyu a five-second close-up shot. Afterward, the audience fell into a long silence. Even Chen He had forgotten that he was the host.

The audience looked, stunned, at Ji Zeyu in the center of the stage. They all suspected that they were dreaming—

Was this really the Ji Zeyu they knew?!

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Translated by: Sydney

Edited by: Alex

VSROWDC Chapter 7 Part 1

The piece “Look At Me Now” was scheduled to be performed in the last round, meaning Ji Zeyu’s group would be the last to go onstage. 

Lu Nanyun was to perform in the first round due to the team’s scheduling. 

When the members of this group appeared on the live broadcast’s screen, even Ji Zeyu showed a stunned expression. He had seen many performing artists, but very few in the entertainment circle could look as handsome as Lu Nanyun. 

Lu Nanyun, in the center position, caused deafening screams to break out from the audience when he took the stage. 

He wore black clothes today and combed his hair backward, revealing his good-looking forehead and sharp brows. By merely raising the corners of his lips slightly, he could make several girls’ hearts skip a beat. 

“Oh, God. He is too handsome!”

“He’s way too alpha, he’s way too alpha. I’m going to die…”

“Nan ge! Nan ge! Look at me just once! Ah! Ah ah ah!”

The song Lu Nanyun’s group chose was very rhythmic to dance to. All the members in their group were tall, and each of them had strong, yet not exaggerated muscles. Their choreography was full of masculinity.

Gu Weicheng, one of Lu Nanyun’s roommates, was in this group as well. He was a man who could not appear more masculine, with a strong and tall stature and cool, handsome looks. His body’s strength was displayed fully as he danced.

But even so, as long as Lu Nanyun was onstage, nobody could take their eyes off of him. It was as if he was born to be the king of the stage. 

After the performance ended, cheers and applause lasted for a long time. The judges gave very high opinions in their evaluations—Lu Nanyun’s center was well deserved. The audience could not wait to vote for Lu Nanyun.

Not long after, the other group went onstage and performed as well. They had, obviously, spent much time preparing, but their dancing seemed inferior compared to Lu Nanyun’s group. 

After the two sets of performances ended, the audience had two opportunities to vote: one for their favorite group and one for their favorite dancer. The rule was very fair–as long as one performed well, they could still be a King even if their team lost.

Without surprise, Lu Nanyun’s group won. The top three contestants with the most votes were all in their group. 

And Lu Nanyun himself obtained 1,426 votes, which astonished everyone—there were only 2,000 people in the audience.

As soon as this number was revealed, all the dancers backstage instantly let out exclamations of surprise.

“Oh, crap. He’s too popular! He’s the first one onstage, and his number of votes reached four digits!”

“The people going after him shouldn’t even compete anymore. We should all just take a shower and go to bed…”

Ji Zeyu stared at the screen. Lu Nanyun walked to the tallest chair with a golden frame, bowed toward the audience, and sat down in a composed manner. 

Ji Zeyu suddenly felt stressed. 

This number of votes… truly was intimidating. Almost no votes went to the other contestants.

“Are you nervous?” Qi Aodong took the initiative to sit beside him today. Seeing that Ji Zeyu’s brows furrowed, he could not help but ask, “What are you thinking of?”

Ji Zeyu pursed his lips, then raised the corners of his lips and said, “I’m not nervous.”

As the captain and center dancer, he must assure everyone.

One had to admit that the contestants in this season of Shining Future were all very capable. The subsequent groups’ performances were remarkable as well, and people placing in second and third place were all nervously shifting. Only Lu Nanyun sat motionless.

When Wei Yichen appeared onstage with his teammates, the crowd roared. All the contestants widened their eyes, waiting to see if his number of votes would surpass Lu Nanyun’s. 

To be fair, there was no huge gap between Wei Yichen and Lu Nanyun, as they tied for first place on the popularity leaderboard. In terms of skill, they were on par with each other; both of them could compete for the final center position.

Some audience members said that the highlight of this show was the duo; nobody else could affect their rankings.

Wei Yichen’s group chose a light-hearted pop song as their competing piece. Their costumes and choreography were both very fashionable and handsome.

In private, Wei Yichen was quiet; however, when he performed, even Ji Zeyu’s eyes could not help but focus on him. He had to admit that compared to Lu Nanyun’s sharpness, Wei Yichen seemed gentler and more restrained, but he still had the necessary stage charm. The tear mole at the corner of his eye shone brightly. 

Wei Yichen won without surprise as well, with a shocking 1,407 votes. However, he still could not surpass Lu Nanyun and sat only on the silver-framed chair.

“Wow, not even Wei Yichen could surpass Lu Nanyun?”

“This is like watching Gods battle each other. That number of votes is so scary…”

At this time, someone said, “But since not even Wei Yichen could beat Lu Nanyun, nobody else should be able to surpass him, right?”

The room backstage became silent for a few seconds. An expression of affirmation surfaced on everyone’s complexion.

“I think so, too.”

“Who else has this level of skill?”

“This is so scary. Mom, I want to go home.”

Bai Shengjie suddenly got closer to Ji Zeyu and whispered in his ear, “Captain, I think you are capable. You can challenge them. Make sure to perform well.”

The rest of the team members looked towards Ji Zeyu. After training with him for the past three days, nobody knew Ji Zeyu’s current skills as well as they did. In their view, they believed Ji Zeyu did indeed possess the skills to surpass the winners. 

Tang Zhen’s team sat next to Ji Zeyu and his team. Someone overheard Bai Shengjie’s words and could not help but chuckle. However, due to the presence of cameras, he did not make it too obvious.  

The same person said Bai Shengjie’s words in a low voice, and Tang Zhen could not help but laugh, too. 

“Bai Shengjie must be mocking Ji Zeyu,” Tang Zhen said with certainty, “It sounds like he is speaking ironically.”

Everyone else around them started laughing as well, and a blatantly condescending look flashed through their eyes.

The public performance lasted for a very long time.

Ji Zicheng almost fell asleep as he waited offstage. His brother still had not gone onstage yet, so he sighed and told Ji Mingyun, who sat beside him, “Is this how it feels to be a celebrity’s stan? It’s too tiring,” He was a lazy man, and after such a torment, he almost wanted to die. 

“Deal with it,” Ji Mingyun, by contrast, seemed very composed. When she was younger, she had been a celebrity stan. This torment was not much for her.

Suddenly, Ji Mingyun asked thoughtfully, “How much do you think that golden-framed chair costs?”

“It looks quite cheap,” Ji Zicheng glanced at it and replied, “My assistant’s chair should be more expensive than that.”

“If that’s the case…” Ji Mingyun furrowed her brows and contemplated for a moment, “Then let’s buy Yu Bao one. We can present it to him after this ends to make him happier.”

Ji Zicheng, however, showed a disapproving expression. He said: “Why are we buying it? Can’t he, Xiao Yu, sit on it by winning?”

TL’s Note: “Yu Bao” and “Xiao Yu” are affectionate nicknames.

After a moment, he asked another question, “By the way, what does it take to win it?” He obviously did not even understand the rules. 

“There are 101 contestants. You must place the top three to sit in one of those chairs,” Ji Mingyun answered calmly. 

“Oh, then let’s buy it,” Ji Zicheng took out his phone, “I’ll let my assistant know to buy a diamond-framed one.”

Ji Zeyu’s club president, Jiang Li, sat behind the duo, her expression confused and perplexed.

Was she listening to a conversation between two ordinary people?

Before Ji Zicheng could send a message to his assistant, the third climax of tonight’s performance hit. The entire stadium, once again, erupted in fervorous screams of anticipation.

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Translated by: Sydney

Edited by: Alex

VSROWDC Chapter 6 Part 2

On the day of the first public performance.

The production crew started recording the first public performance after all the dancers had a chance to go through dress rehearsals in separate groups.

The location of the recording was an enormous stadium that could accommodate thousands of people, which demonstrated the show’s financial capabilities.

Outside the venue, the fans arrived one after another. Support signs and flower baskets were delivered to the stadium’s entrance one by one and placed in an orderly manner. 

“Oh, God. I’m so excited. It’s finally time for the first public performance!”

“I cannot breathe as soon as I think of being able to see Yichen in just a moment.”

“Nanyun’s support poster looks so pretty! I want to take a photo with him!”

“Where is Xiao Huai’s fan club? I want to get the merchandise…”

Although the contestants were still preparing backstage, their fans could not hold themselves back any longer. All the fan clubs started to distribute merchandise and other items to their fans. 

Jiang Li was a die-hard fan of Ji Zeyu’s. She used to be a fan only because of Ji Zeyu’s appearance, and she even went to the marketing summit. After the summit ended, she became a fan of Ji Zeyu’s charisma on stage, as if she had become possessed.

Jiang Li’s friends all thought she had become insane. How could Ji Zeyu have any stage charm? 

Jiang Li set up a club for Ji Zeyu out of spite, vowing to change everyone’s rigid impression of Ji Zeyu for the better.

Her club was named “Dazzling Season,” which meant “the season to shine.” Because she came up with a great name and took many pretty photos, she attracted many fans within three days. Everyone affectionately called her “Sister Dazzling,” and Ji Zeyu’s Supporting Club specifically sent her a ticket to the performance.

Carrying a camera on her back, Jiang Li went to the booth of Ji Zeyu’s Support Club and received a support banner and a headband. She blushed, and her heart palpitated upon seeing the cute cartoon figure of Ji Zeyu on the banner. At this moment, she heard someone exclaiming, “The quality of our support items is so high! Doesn’t it cost a lot of money?”

“A mogul gave us a huge amount of money when we were fundraising a few days ago,” a member from the support club said in a low voice, “that mogul told us that we must make Xiao Yu’s support items well.”

Jiang Li could not help but feel ecstatic for Ji Zeyu. Ji Zeyu is blessed to encounter such a rich and devoted fan.

Right at this moment, a luxurious car was parked outside the stadium. A mature woman with a sublime temperament stepped down from the car. Even though she wore a simple T-shirt, jeans, and wide sunglasses, she could not disguise her astonishing aura. She instantly attracted the attention of countless people. 

The woman scanned her surroundings before her eyes locked onto Jiang Li’s headband. She strode over to her and asked, “Young girl, where did you receive your support items?”

“Are-are you a fan of Xiao Yu’s, too?” Jiang Li was startled by her temperament and hurriedly pointed at the booth not too far away, “I, I got them from there…”

The beautiful woman nodded, thanked her, and joyfully went to pick up a full set of support items. She put on her headband and stepped into the venue. 

Then, another slightly high-profile racing car parked next to the stadium. A man wearing a mask stepped down and, once again, attracted everyone’s attention.

The man appeared very tall with perfect body proportions. He was dressed in black, casual attire, and his low profile exuded coldness and dignity. Although he wore a mask, he still made many turn their heads. He also picked up Ji Zeyu’s support items.

Jiang Li could not help but become stunned.

Nowadays, why do fans of celebrities… all have such good looks?

And just like her, they were both here to see Ji Zeyu!

After the duo exited, everyone else at the scene was whispering to one another.

“Those two people are too good-looking. Are they really not celebrities?”

“Those two cars look very expensive as well…”

“Oh, crap. I am here to see celebrities along with such powerful people. Yu Bao is too charming!”

TL’s Note: Yu Bao is just another affectionate nickname that fans came up with for Ji Zeyu. 

At this moment, Ji Zeyu was putting on makeup backstage.

His manager, Yun, suddenly appeared in the dressing room. She enthusiastically greeted Ji Zeyu and Qi Aodong, wishing them a successful public performance.

Then, Yun pulled Ji Zeyu aside and told him in a soft voice, “I heard from Mr. Ji that your second eldest brother and sister are both coming to watch the public performance. Mr. Ji has too many things to take care of lately, so he cannot come. He donated money to your club to demonstrate his support for you. You must be on your best behavior; do not forget your lyrics like you did in the initial rating round.”

Ji Zeyu was startled. 

He did not expect the Ji family to spoil their youngest son this much. Not only did they donate money to his support club, but they even came to watch his performance in person.

One should know that his eldest brother, Ji Zefeng was the boss of Starworld Entertainment; his second eldest brother, Ji Zicheng, was a successful real estate investor; his sister, Ji Mingyun, was the founder of a fashion brand… Their time was much more precious than his!

“Don’t you worry,” Ji Zeyu assured Yun, “I will not forget my lyrics.”

Yun nodded, feeling pleased, “You are showing improvement. Not bad.”

She did not have many expectations for Ji Zeyu, as she only hoped he could complete the performance—though she thought such a task was already very challenging for Ji Zeyu.

Not a lot of time passed until the recording for the public performance officially started. 

“Hello, co-founders of Shining Future. I am your organizer, Chen He, and I will also be tonight’s host,” Chen He was a popular, capable singer in the entertainment industry lately, and many in the stadium were his fans.

After briefly warming up the crowd, Chen He began to introduce the competition’s rules for today. 

All constants will be separated into sixteen groups and will compete in pairs. The viewers would show their approval, and the winning group would receive votes as a reward. The contestant with the highest number of votes would become the King, and there could be three candidates for the King in total. 

“To the right of this stage, there are three chairs,” Chen He continued to explain, “After each battle, the person with the highest number of votes will be qualified to sit on one of these chairs. There are three spots in total, and everyone has the opportunity to be in one of them.”

Spotlights hit the right side of the stage. The three chairs were crafted in the style of medieval thrones, with trims of gold, silver, and copper. Under the light, they appeared regal. 

“After all the battles end, the trio that sits on these chairs will be the three most capable contestants tonight,” Chen He looked towards the audience and put on a mysterious smile, “Who do you think will be the trio?”

The fans offstage began to scream the names of their idols; all kinds of names could be heard. 

The contestants sat in a grand room backstage. As they watched the live broadcast, they were inspired by the fans’ enthusiasm. 

Even Ji Zeyu felt inspired. Long-gone feelings of passion and desire for the stage rose in his mind, similar to what he felt when he first participated in a talent show in his previous life. 

At this moment, not only did Ji Zeyu want to win…

He also wanted to sit on that red-velvet, golden-framed chair that symbolized first place.

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Translated by: Sydney

Edited by: Alex

VSROWDC Chapter 6 Part 1

Not many people knew, but growing up, Lu Nanyun had always indulged in lookism. He was a very severe lookist.

This was all because his mother was a brilliant and attractive dancer. Ever since he was little, he was barraged by high beauty standards and expectations, making him worry about his attire since kindergarten. In fact, he would favor anything that looked pretty.

When Lu Nanyun saw Ji Zeyu for the first time, he was astonished by Ji Zeyu’s looks. 

Unfortunately, after the first glance, Lu Nanyun realized that Ji Zeyu’s soul did not match his appearance; Ji Zeyu was not among the people who could capture his attention. 

In other words, Lu Nanyun never encountered anyone who could make his heart skip a beat. He desired something beyond his high standards of appearance–charisma.

He always felt as if Ji Zeyu lacked the necessary amount of charisma. 

But at this moment, the young man standing under the lights resembled pure art–every detail of him was beautiful. 

The perfect and youthful profile, the Adam’s apple that rolled up and down when he drank, the chest that heaved as he breathed…

And the waist that passed him…

These details caught Lu Nanyun’s eye…

…and “sexy” was the only word he could think of to describe it.

So, Lu Nanyun felt as if he was going insane. 

After Ji Zeyu drank water, he exhaled softly, his muscles relaxing after finishing a dance. The soreness that overwhelmed him made Ji Zeyu deeply understand how his body had never spent so much time dancing. 

At this instant, he heard footsteps coming from the doorway. He looked up but could only see a silhouette that flashed by as it left. 

It seemed to have been… Lu Nanyun?

Ji Zeyu thought he must be overthinking. Lu Nanyun was trying his best to avoid him. Why would he come to watch him dance?

When Ji Zeyu left the practice room and returned to the dormitory, almost all of his roommates had gone to sleep. Only Qi Aodong was studying the music sheets under the dimmed yellow light coming from the lamp. He seemed to be still thinking about their first public performance. 

There was only a little more than a day left before the performance. It was normal to be nervous, Ji Zeyu thought.

When Ji Zeyu came in, Qi Aodong swiftly looked away from the music sheets towards the tall silhouette in the shadows. He quickly got off his bed and raised the lamp so Ji Zeyu could see better.

“You’re still up at this hour?” asked Qi Aodong in a soft voice. Ji Zeyu organized his clothes, preparing to take a shower. “Don’t worry about the public performance. Our group has been doing pretty well in rehearsals,” Zeyu replied.

Qi Aodong nodded and said in a low voice, “I know. You should go to bed early.” Under the warm yellow light, his cold eyes became a little warmer. 

Ji Zeyu felt that Qi Aodong was like his younger brother. Although he was usually expressionless, he always seemed very sensible when doing things. Ji Zeyu could not help but raise the corners of his lips and say to him, “Thank you, Xiao Dong.”

TL’s Note: “Xiao” is a word one adds before a name if they are affectionately calling someone younger than they are.

This was his first time considering Qi Aodong that way, which startled the young man slightly, but then he also started smiling. His smile was light, and happiness filled his eyes. 

Ji Zeyu felt very glad to turn someone, who in the original novel would have exposed his crimes, into a friend. 

Meanwhile.

On the way after leaving the practice room, Lu Nanyun pursed his lips tightly, and his brows furrowed. His mind kept pondering one question: Was he hallucinating just now?

He thought Ji Zeyu was sexy…

How is that even possible? 

Lu Nanyun suddenly realized that his fingers were clenched, and his palms grew sweaty.

Hallucination.

It must have been a hallucination. 

Lu Nanyun lay on his bed after taking a cold shower. He tried to stop himself from thinking about it further. 

Maybe it was due to his self-hypnosis, but when Lu Nanyun woke up the next morning and recalled the scene he observed last night, he could not distinguish between hallucination and reality. 

Perhaps he had been too tired and had a strange dream? 

After all… How could Ji Zeyu be that skilled at dancing?

But Lu Nanyun remembered how the young man had lifted his clothes, a move so realistic that it made him fall into a trance momentarily. 

After a moment, Lu Nanyun asked Bai Shengjie, “Xiao Bai, I’m going to ask you a question.”

Bai Shengjie had just woken up, and his hair was as messy as a fowl’s nest. He rubbed his eyes, trying to open them, and asked, “What?”

Lu Nanyun asked gravely, “Did Ji Zeyu recently improve his dancing significantly?”

Bai Shengjie instantly awakened, and he looked at Lu Nanyun with disbelief: he was asking a question about Ji Zeyu.

After a moment, Bai Shengjie recovered from the shock, stammering, “H-h-he is still the same. There isn’t really any difference.”

Lu Nanyun exhaled in relief.

Of course, it was a dream.

Except… Although it was a dream, he still felt his heart beating when he thought of Ji Zeyu lifting the hem of his shirt.

Lu Nanyun thought that he really must have been exhausted to receive such a dream. He should go to bed earlier tonight.

Bai Shengjie also breathed a sigh of relief.

In the past two days, Ji Zeyu’s dancing ability could only be described as improving by leaps and bounds. Everyone else in the group was shocked by his performance—

What happened to the good-for-nothing who slacked off all the time? What happened to his being a burden as heavy as an aircraft??

However, Ji Zeyu specifically told the group that no matter what, they must keep his progress a secret.

Ji Zeyu attributed his improvement to watching Group A’s dance for “Look At Me Now” that day. Tang Zhen and his teammates performed well, but all of them tended to underestimate their opponents. Keeping them in a state of ignorance would make it much easier to win.

So when Lu Nanyun asked about Ji Zeyu’s dancing ability, Bai Shengjie was surprised, but he acted according to Ji Zeyu’s wishes and hid the truth. 

There were twenty-four hours left until the first public performance.

After watching Group B’s performance, dancing instructor Nan Lin was so astonished that she remained slack-jawed for quite some time.

After a while, still stunned, she looked at Ji Zeyu and asked in disbelief, “Ji Zeyu… Are you really Ji Zeyu?”

“Of course,” Ji Zeyu gave a confident and handsome smile, “Is there any part of me that looks different?”

“Every part of you is different!” Nan Lin felt that she was dreaming, “How did you improve so fast?!”

Ji Zeyu thought for a moment and said, “This way, my teammates can spend less effort trying to drag me, an aircraft, onto the shore.”

Nan Lin was stunned. She wanted to say that, with Ji Zeyu’s current dancing skills, he could easily drag his five teammates onto the shore. 

Although she did not understand how Ji Zeyu could improve so quickly, she had a hunch… that after the first public performance, the current leaderboard would change significantly.

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Translated by: Sydney

Edited by: Kathrien & Alex

Chapter 283: Becoming Friends

Release 3/3 this week c:

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Wu Qu felt guilty, “Sorry, I should not have slandered you.”

“It’s fine. If I were you, I would have had the same suspicion. However, everything has been resolved now, and we are both proceeding to the next round. Nothing has been lost.”

The more tolerant Liu Man’s attitude was, the more Wu Qu felt that he was a villain, judging a gentleman with a villain’s heart. As he had already reached middle age, he thought had encountered enough people and experienced enough incidents.

TL’s Note: “Judging a gentleman with a villain’s heart” is a Chinese saying that indicates one is using their petty own mind to measure a gentleman’s intentions.

But Liu Man and everything that she had done today made him realize that his mind was too narrow. It turned out that there was such a kind girl in this world. She was not stupidly kind but rather noble.

Wu Qu could not figure out why this kind of girl would become a cyber star!

He learned who the Hanfu Goddess was from Weibo. He would sometimes teach himself calligraphy by scrolling through the internet, so he followed many Weibo accounts that posted about calligraphy.

In Wu Qu’s reserved concepts, being a cyber star was not a good profession. It was a bunch of people that danced around like demons; there were monsters of all kinds in that profession. Generally speaking, these people were in lower social groups, and most of them were lazy.

After all, he was getting old and did not share commonalities with the youngsters nowadays. Their generation had elders and children to take care of, keeping them busy. How could they find the time to pay attention to cyber stars?

But he then began to think that if all cyber stars were like Liu Man, who regarded the profession as an opportunity to display their optimistic qualities, versatility, and positive energy, it would be great. They would be great role models for children.

Wu Qu took out his phone and silently followed Princess Man’s Weibo. He even liked her recent posts one by one…

At the same time, Group 9’s evaluation had officially started.

Group 9 was the cursive script group. Excluding Zhou Budai, everyone else was thirty years or older. Zhou Budai, as the only young man, seemed very prominent as he stood there.

However, he proved using his ability that being young did not mean he was not capable.

Mo Qi, the cursive script judge commented on the line in the work he had submitted to the exhibition, “Tao Te Ching,” where his name had originated: “Silently standing in solitary, remaining unchanged. It cycles without peril,” and exclaiming,

TL’s Note: This line did in fact come from “Tao Te Ching,” and its phrasing is extremely hard to translate. If you want to read about it more accurately, search up “独立而不改，周行而不殆”! Also, “Zhou” kind of means cycling, and “Budai” means without peril, so that’s how Zhou Budai’s name came from this line.

“Such high-spirited and confident temperament.”

Excluding Liu Man’s situation, this was the only good comment Mo Qi gave to an author today.

Zhou Budai’s question was posed by Chen Jianqiu. He asked Zhou Budai to talk about his thoughts on the gracefulness of the two “Wangs.” The two “Wangs” meant Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi.

TL’s Note: Both Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi were great calligraphers in the ancient times.

This question was very broad. There were similar questions in the list of questions Su Yi gave to Liu Man; however, the answer column simply said: “N/A.” Everyone had different opinions, so there was no one-size-fits-all answer. The question poser from the calligraphy association was too lazy to put an answer there.

Zhou Budai said a lot in an eloquent manner as he quoted classics, including Wang Xizhi’s classic semi-cursive script, “Lan Ting Preface,” and Wang Xianzhi’s “Nine Posts in the Cursive Script.” He almost came up with an orally written professional paper on calligraphy on the spot.

Liu Man believed in Mo Qi and trusted that he definitely did not reveal the question in advance like Wang Qinghai had done. Zhou Budai was not like her, who could memorize the answers in advance. He really improvised on the spot. 

Wu Qu also sincerely admired Zhou Budai. Not only were the students of famous calligraphers not as ignorant as he had thought they were with his narrow mind, but on the contrary, every single one of them was genius. Besides, if they were not geniuses, the famous calligraphers would not have taken them. They indeed had connections, but the scariest part was that these people with connections were more talented and hardworking than he was! 

In the final on-site writing part, Su Yi could not resist the request of the four younger judges. He came up with the topic himself and said, “Please write a line from your favorite classics of the Jin or Tang Dynasties.”

The topic was not hard. Su Yi was not Su Xuezhen, who blatantly embarrassed people. 

Zhou Budai wrote the eternally famous proverb from Wang Wei’s famous poem, “Zhongnan Farewell”: “Walking to a waterless place, sitting and watching the clouds rise.”

At last, this poem helped Zhou Budai win first place, and he successfully proceeded to the next round.

As the face-to-face evaluation ended, Zhou Budai happily returned to sit next to Liu Man. Wu Qu felt embarrassed to face him, so he left. Before he left, however, he exchanged WeChat IDs with Liu Man.

“Are you pressured by my performance?” Zhou Budai asked Liu Man with a grin.

She smiled, “I need pressure to be motivated and beat you.”

“Hey, we are rivals right now, but I wanted to be friends with you.”

“Who says rivals cannot be friends?”

The innocent Liu Man fell right into the trap set by Zhou Budai, who laughed in a taunting way, “You’ve said it, we are now friends! Let’s add each other on WeChat and follow each other on Weibo. Also, give me your phone number.”

Liu Man: “…”

It had all been a trap!

Zhou Budai’s Weibo had been following Liu Man since a long time ago.

It was only when Liu Man followed Zhou Budai’s Weibo back did she realize that Wu Qu had also followed her. Wu Qu’s Weibo nickname was simply “Wu Qu” because of his straightforward personality. She casually followed him back.

Zhou Budai’s WeChat and Weibo nicknames were both “Zhou Xing Er Budai.” Liu Man did not expect his Wei Bo to be verified, as he had thirty thousand fans. Obviously, Zhou Budai was slightly famous in the calligraphy circle.

TL’s Note: “Zhou Xing Er Budai” is the line from “Tao Te Ching” about how it all cycles without peril. 

Every single one of his Weibo posts was related to calligraphy. Every week, he would always show off his pieces, and he would repost famous calligraphers’ copy slips. Many commented on his works, and some spammed “6666,” as if they were worshipping him. Some asked for advice, and some asked if they could repost his pieces. He replied to every single comment, not showing any attitude despite being a genius. 

TL’s Note: “666” is what a lot of Chinese netizens send when they are impressed.

As Liu Man scrolled through Zhou Budai’s Weibo, Group 10’s evaluation had started.

Since he had just seen Liu Man’s small seal version of “Yun Yang Ding,” Cheng Zikun was not interested in Group 10’s seal script works. None of them were satisfactory to him. If there were no contrast, such a harmful effect would probably not have appeared.

For that reason, Cheng Zikun basically did not comment, and Wang Qinghai was also as silent as he was. To be more exact, since Group 9, Wang Qinghai became so quiet that it was as if he, the judge, did not exist. His behavior was quite unlike that when Su Xuezhen was here; the two would steal the show, singing and harmonizing.

TL’s Note: “Stealing the show by singing and harmonizing” is a Chinese proverb for agreeing with each other and chiming in a lot.

The participants in Group 10 did not see Liu Man’s piece, but through observing the judges’ reaction, they knew that Liu Man’s seal script must have surpassed them by a lot.

They felt very fortunate that Liu Man competed using the regular script, so they were not sorted into the same group as her.

As if picking a general from dwarves, the judges carefully scrutinized the pieces until they selected two relatively capable authors to proceed to the next round. 

TL’s Note: “Picking a general from dwarves” is a Chinese idiom that describes when one selects the best from a group of not-so-good candidates.

At this point, the evaluation on the first day of the exhibition had finally come to an end. Due to the delayed additional testing of Group 8 and the punishment of Su Xuezhen, a lot of time was wasted. At this hour, it was completely dark outside of the Gudu’s Exhibition Center.

The external hall had already been closed. Liu Man, Su Yi, and the others collectively walked to the external hall and saw staff carrying ladders around. The place where they had set up the ladder was exactly where the “Po Fu Yao,” signed by Su Maolin, was displayed.  

The staff climbed up the ladder and took down “Po Fu Yao” without hanging up any other work, leaving a blank spot on the wall. Su Xuezhen had already been disqualified from being a judge, and Su Maolin, who had no calligraphy talent, naturally lost the qualifications to participate in the exhibition. In addition, his name was included in the list of permanent bans from exhibitions by the National Calligraphy Association.

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Translated by: Sydney

Chapter 282: Disqualified

We apologize for the extremely long hiatus.. and this is update 2/3 this week!

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Liu Man was surprised when she saw Su Maolin staring at the blank paper, scratching his head and not knowing what to do. Did he not know the last four lines of “Journey into the Wine?”

Even she, someone from the ancient Han Dynasty, could easily recite all the poems written by Li Bai, who was from the Tang Dynasty. Su Maolin could not memorize such a basic poem like “Journey into the Wine.”

With such little knowledge in his brain, he still dared to participate in a professional calligraphy exhibit.

Of course, he had confidence only because he was protected by his father.

Among the others, Wu Qu had already finished most of his writing, and he looked quite confident. The other seven had already moved their brushes, and they looked much calmer than when they faced “Yun Yang Ding.”

Only Su Maolin still faced a blank piece of paper.

The way the situation of the nine people completely reversed when the topic was altered was really a great irony.

Because the topic was simple, Ouyang Cen only gave everyone ten minutes.

Su Maolin had been learning calligraphy on and off from his father. He did memorize “Journey in the Wine” a long time ago, but because he had not been reviewing it, he had completely forgotten it. He only remembered the first line, and he could not remember what was said next even if he died trying. Initially, his memory had already been bad. He was already exhausted from memorizing the answer to the face-to-face evaluation topic and “Yun Yan Ding.”

Due to desperation, Su Maolin wanted to take out his phone and use Baidu, but Ouyang Cen was sitting in the judges’ seats and supervising in person, with his eyes fixed on him. His father and Uncle Wang had shrunk to the side like two younger brothers.

And people were staring at him from all aspects. Liu Man, especially, had been watching, as if she would expose him if he had any unusual moves.

He could not cheat even if he wanted to. He dazed off for so long that the ink on the tip of the brush in his hand dripped onto the paper, forming a big black lump.

Ten minutes passed very quickly. Excluding Su Maolin’s big black lump, everyone else’s paper was filled with words. Anyone with a discerning eye could see the conspicuous gap; Wu Qu’s accusation was not wrong, and Maolin did come through the back door. The topic of “Yun Yang Ding” was specifically chosen for him.

Su Xuezhen blocked the strange gazes from all directions with his hands.

The dignity and reputation he built in thirty years became ruined at this moment.

When the judging time came, Su Xuezhen remained still in his chair. Wang Qinghai hesitated for a moment before walking to the center of the venue from his judging seat and, along with the other three judges, evaluated the eight people’s “Journey into the Wine.” Su Maolin was excluded. 

This time, the four people had unanimous opinions without any discord. They all thought Wu Qu’s piece was the best, and combined with his outstanding performance in the question-and-answer part, he deserved to proceed to the next round.

So Chen Jianqiu represented the other judges as he announced, “Wu Qu has placed second in Group 8 and will enter the last free-response round with Liu Man.”

This time, the other seven contestants were convinced of their loss; their calligraphy was inferior, so they had no disagreements. The seven of them even walked up to and encircled Wu Qu, smiling as they congratulated him for advancing to the next round.

They admired Wu Qu for daring to challenge the judges. They had also known that something was suspicious about the topic, but they could only admit defeat and were too afraid to say a word. Wu Qu spoke up on their behalf, so they were very grateful and wanted to make him their friend! And so, the few of them exchanged numbers.

Wu Qu’s expression was no longer gloomy, for he smiled to the extent that his eyes could not be seen. This was the glory that he had earned with his efforts!

And Su Maolin had already left dejectedly from the side door.

They wasted much time on Group 8. The staff quickly came up to clean up the desks, but Ouyang Cen continued to say to the microphone, “Before we assess Group 9, I would like to announce something.”

This time, his tone was unusually grave. Everyone stopped their footsteps and movements to look at him.

“Judge Su Xuezhen has misconducted, abused his power for personal gain, and disrupted the order of the exhibition. In the name of the vice president of the National Calligraphy Association, I am now disqualifying his role as a judge on the spot.”

The entire hall instantly became quiet because everyone was too shocked. They did not expect Ouyang Cen to be so resolute; he did not even wait for the face-to-face evaluation to end before punishing Su Xuezhen.

Su Xuezhen was not mentally prepared. Even if he made a mistake, the usual approach would be to wait until everything was over and deal with it internally instead of announcing it to the public, in front of everyone else. With Ouyang Cen’s actions, how would he ever survive in the calligraphy circle in the future? Ouyang Cen was cutting off all his paths!

Su Xuezhen felt humiliated and angry. He stopped fictitiously respecting Ouyang Cen and interrogated him angrily, “President Zeng (the full-time President of the calligraphy association) appointed me to be this exhibit’s regular script judge. If my qualifications as a judge were to be revoked, it would have to be him!”

Ouyang Cen said coldly, “President Zeng is currently on a calligraphy exchange trip in the United States and cannot attend this calligraphy exhibition. He has specifically entrusted me to exercise his authority on his behalf. If you don’t believe it, you can call him from overseas right now to confirm.”

How could Su Xuezhen ever dare to dial this call? If he did, his career would really be over.

The oldest ginger would always be the spiciest. Ouyang Cen was not Su Yi, who spit out sharp words but had the softest heart. Otherwise, why would he have not immediately exposed Su Xuezhen’s evil deeds that year? He was clearly still thinking about their former mentor-apprentice relationship. 

TL’s Note: “The oldest ginger would always be the spiciest” is an adage that means the eldest tends to be more experienced and deal with things more efficiently.

Ouyang Cen would never show mercy to Su Xuezhen. He was a calligraphist, and he was a leader. He had to consider the bigger picture, so he must resolutely safeguard the calligraphy association’s interests and reputation, avoiding future troubles.

“For the last two groups’ face-to-face evaluation today, Mr. Su Yi will be appointed as the temporary regular script judge. Tomorrow, a new judge will take over,” Ouyang Cen looked at Su Xuezhen with cold, lofty eyes, “Please leave the judges’ table immediately.”

Su Xuezhen was extremely embarrassed, for he had suffered tremendous humiliation. He had not experienced this for many years. When Su Yi drove him away that year, he had also been similarly arrogant and aloof. It was as if he was an ant in their eyes.

Thirty years ago, he was as insignificant as an ant. He refused to be the same thirty years later!

Su Xuezhen abruptly stood up, his chair dragging on the floor and producing a harsh sound. He looked at Su Yi and Liu Man coldly, who were standing not too far away from him, and left without looking back like a homeless dog.

Su Yi felt he was too old and truly did not want to be a judge, but since Ouyang Cen avenged him, it would not cost him much to help out a little.

Su Yi walked to the judges’ table, and at this time, the other four judges had returned, too. Wang Qinghai followed cautiously in the back as if he was scared Ouyang Cen would disqualify him as well.

But Ouyang Cen seemed to have forgotten him. He only said to Su Yi, “Sorry for troubling you,” before returning to his seat offstage.

The interrupted evaluation continued, and the ten people from Group 9 took their places.

Liu Man had already retreated to the sidelines and sat on a plastic chair. She wanted to watch Zhou Budai’s evaluation. 

Wu Qu was about to leave, but after hesitating for a moment, he walked over to sit beside her. Liu Man smiled at him amiably.

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Translated by: Sydney

Chapter 281: Proving Her Innocence

We’re back?? Maybe? :eyes:

General note: Because of our long hiatus, our links on Novel Updates are currently a bit funky, so if you want to access earlier chapters, please go to our table of contents. Thanks for understanding!

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Cheng Zikun was a reserved and capable calligraphist. If he could directly say that “Liu Man would always be number one,” then that said something about the brilliance of her work. Chen Jianqiu and Mo Qi could not sit anymore and hurriedly walked over to examine the piece.

The three judges circled the table and perused the calligraphy; their attitude seemed even more cautious than when Su Yi and his doctoral students had studied seal characters with magnifying glasses.

Even Mo Qi, who was usually silent, exclaimed, “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such an excellent work written in the seal script.”

Chen Jianqiu wanted to take back his thoughts about how Liu Man would definitely be out by the free-response round. With her capability, if she competed against the rest of the fifty-nine people, there was a possibility for her to win.

No wonder Su Yi, who had not been taking in apprentices since ten years ago, would like this girl and accept her as his last-ever apprentice. Her talents really were shocking.

What Chen Jianqiu could not understand was why Su Yi would make Liu Man compete using the regular script.

His personality was so straightforward that he would ask whatever he thought of. He walked directly up to Su Yi and Ouyang Cen and asked Su Yi, “Mr. Su, why didn’t you let your apprentice compete using the seal script?”

Su Yi was straightforward, too. He said, “I did not teach her the seal script! I taught her the regular and the clerical script, so I would, of course, want her to compete using the regular and the clerical script. This way, I would feel more honorable!”

Ouyang Cen, who was standing beside him: “…”

But Chen Jianqiu felt that it made sense.

He turned around and saw Cheng Zikun was still studying Liu Man’s work, unable to pull himself back to reality. Mo Qi even took out his presbyopic glasses… And Wu Qu was standing a step away, his expression desolate with a hint of admiration.

Chen Jianqiu’s heart tightened; he very much sympathized, so he made up his mind and said to Ou Yangce, “Mr. Ouyang, I believe Su Maolin’s competing piece, ‘Po Fu Yao,’ was actually written by Su Xuezhen!”

Upon hearing these words, Ouyang Cen’s expression immediately turned grave, “Do you have any evidence?”

“Su Maolin’s ‘Ou Yang Ding’ is composed of clumsy and amateurish words, and compared with that ‘Po Fu Yao,’ the difference is similar to that between the earth and the sky. Besides, the font in ‘Po Fu Yao’ is square on the outside and round on the inside, which is Su Xuezhen’s symbolic writing style. He has probably intentionally suppressed his capability, but his writing still carries his style. Both me and Cheng Zikun have the same idea. We believe Su Maolin is not qualified at all to pass this round of evaluation.”

“Then why did you agree in unison just now for Su Maolin to proceed to the next round as the second place?” Su Yi’s words were sharp as always.

Chen Jianqiu felt embarrassed and told the two elders, “Cheng Zikun advised me to let it go, but now that Wu Qu has made such a fuss, I think he has a reason, so I’ve decided to just report it to you.”

And among the people present, only Ouyang Cen could do this justice.

Su Yi said to Ouyang Cen, “Look. Su Xuezhen is like a dog who cannot keep himself from eating poop. Thirty years ago, he exchanged Huaiyuan’s work for his. Thirty years later, he’s using the same trick, giving his work to his son so he can cheat. He really thinks his works are treasures.”

Chen Jianqiu was stunned as he listened, “Mr. Su Yi, please forgive me, but is Wu Qu right? Are you really related to Su Xuezhen in some ways?”

Su Yi did not want to mention his role as Su Xuezhen’s former teacher because he knew he would get angry at the mention of it. Ouyang Cen said, “You youngsters do not understand their past. Su Xuezhen was lao Su’s apprentice, but he got expelled by him, and they cut off all contact.”

TL’s Note: “Lao” is a sort of affectionate nickname one can use for a person, and usually that person should be slightly older than they are.

Chen Jianqiu was three years younger than Su Xuezhen, so he knew nothing back then. The status quo differed from thirty years ago; nowadays there was the internet, and one could put any gossip on websites. If the same thing had happened today, Fang Huaiyuan could have sent a post and ruined Su Xuezhen’s reputation in a minute.

Chen Jianqiu felt that no wonder he sensed something familiar about Su Xuezhen’s words. They were similar to how Mr. Su Yi wrote his regular script.

Ouyang Cen pondered for a moment, “We definitely will not condone such notorious behavior. We cannot let people like Su Xuezhen disrupt the exhibition’s order and ruin our association’s reputation!”

Ouyang Cen said before standing up and walking towards the judges’ table. The elder had a fairy-like manner, and his walking posture did not look old. His long flowing hair and robe made one’s eyes involuntarily follow him.

At this moment, only Su Xuezhen and Wang Qinghai remained in the judges’ seats. As soon as they saw Ouyang Cen, they immediately stood up and stepped forward to welcome him. Wang Qinghai said, “Mr. Ouyang, why are you here?”

“The fuss that results from this group’s face-to-face evaluation is going to turn into a farce if I don’t show up.”

Ouyang Cen’s eyes looked intimidating and angry, and Su Xuezhen and Wang Qinghai did not dare to refute him. They started hating Chen Jianqiu in their mind; it must have been Chen Jianqiu who had said something to Ouyang Cen that infuriated him. 

Ouyang Cen stood in the center of the judges’ area and said with one of the microphones, “Due to the way the questions were set up, a rare situation showed up where Group 8, as a collective, submitted blank paper on the writing round. To ensure the fairness of the assessment and after some discussions, the other judges and I decided to set up another topic. We are asking the other nine people, except for Liu Man, to write, from memory, the last four lines of Li Bai’s ‘Journey into the Wine’ using your preferred calligraphy.”

Since they all thought “Yun Yang Ding” was hard, they could surely write “Journey into the Wine,” which everyone should be able to memorize.

Excluding Su Maolin, the other eight people all smiled. This was an obvious opportunity for them to take a make-up test, and since there was no limit on what font they could use, the requirements were much less strict. The happiest person was, of course, Wu Qu. He had felt ashamed after seeing Liu Man’s almost-perfect work, and he was ready to give up his appeal. He did not expect that, in the blink of an eye, the judges had heard his request, and the vice president of the association, Ouyang, would seek justice for him regardless of his cold words just now. He was truly grateful. 

Su Maolin panicked and looked toward his father for help.

Su Xuezhen said to Ouyang Cen, dissatisfied, “Su Maolin has already finished writing ‘Yun Yang Ding.’ Why are you assessing him again?”

Ouyang Cen answered by asking him a question of his own, “Su Maolin and Liu Man were suspected at the same time of knowing the topic beforehand. Liu Man has already proven her innocence, and how would Su Maolin prove his?”

Su Xuezhen could not find an answer.

“Since he cannot find a way to prove his innocence, then he should go through the re-evaluation with everyone else. If he had true capabilities, his excellence would not be covered up by writing a simple poem from the Tang Dynasty. If he had gotten in by cheating…” As he said this, Ouyang Cen looked at Su Xuezhen meaningfully, “Then the lie would defeat itself, and he shall be naturally disqualified from entering the next round.”

Su Xuezhen started sweating. He was sure that Chen Jianqiu snitched on him to Ouyang Cen!

The exhibit participants from Group 8 had already returned to their respective desks, lifted their brushes, and got ready to write. The “Yun Yang Ding” Liu Man had written in the seal font just now was carefully taken away by Cheng Zikun. He said he would display it in the lobby once he had finished studying it.

Standing in the middle of the venue, Liu Man became the idlest person. However, the face-to-face evaluation was not over yet, and she could not leave, so she could only stand there and watch the people around her as they wrote.

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Translated by: Sydney