There were six people in "The Whale That Became an Island". When the group was full, a mournful wail suddenly came from the remaining people.

"What should I do? I also want to be in a group with Yan Yan. It's all my fault for being ranked so low..."

"Add one."

"Although I also want to, the players in their group are all so amazing, they are all top players, I feel so insignificant."

Most of the people talking were from Class D, because Lin Qingyan had helped Class D during the theme song assessment. Although Lu Yuqi had also helped, Lin Qingyan was easier to get along with. Young Master Lu was as cold as an iceberg, and ordinary people couldn't approach him, so the Class D contestants had a better relationship with Lin Qingyan.

Lin Qingyan felt happy upon hearing this. He had never had any friends before, but now he had many. It was wonderful. "It's okay. We should all work hard no matter which group we're in. Maybe we can be in the same group next time."

"Okay, let's go! I'm going to create a miracle in 100 days!"

"Come on, you're kidding me."

Lin Qingyan watched them playfully bickering, a faint smile on his handsome face. An Nanyi, standing next to him, also smiled and said with emotion, "Qingyan, you've become much more cheerful now, and you've made many friends. I'm no longer your only friend, but I'm still very happy for you."

"Yes." Lin Qingyan smiled, but there was little joy in his eyes. He looked up at the hazy night outside the window, a distant and profound image surfacing in his mind, as if seen through a thin veil, indistinct.

He didn't really want to recall the past, because there were no pleasant memories worth cherishing. (Remember the website m.xswang.com)

Due to his upbringing, Lin Qingyan was introverted and had low self-esteem from a young age. He didn't like to talk and was even somewhat withdrawn. He had few friends growing up, and the same was true in high school.

He attended a well-known high school in the south of the city, where the students were either academically excellent or from wealthy families. Because of his good grades, he was exempt from tuition fees and received a monthly allowance for his meals.

High school was busy, so Lin Qingyan did part-time jobs to earn money in addition to studying. He rarely interacted with his classmates, but he was good-looking, so many female classmates liked him.

Several male classmates in the class are rich second-generation delinquents. Because they can't stand so many people liking Lin Qingyan, that poor boy, they lead the way in isolating him and even play pranks on him.

Even when bullied, Lin Qingyan could only swallow her anger and dare not tell her teachers or parents. Her teachers usually turned a blind eye and pretended not to see it.

And his mother... even if she found out, she would only blame him, saying that flies don't land on eggs without cracks, and that you should look for the reasons within yourself to see why others target you instead of others.

Back then, only An Nanyi took the initiative to be kind to him and befriend him. At that time, he really thought An Nanyi was a good person. When he was bullied by his classmates, An Nanyi would help him. When he was so poor that he had to eat steamed buns every day, An Nanyi would share half of his food with him...

Even when An Nanyi's wallet inexplicably appeared in his schoolbag, and he was wrongly accused of being a thief by the whole class and teachers, he never thought that An Nanyi was involved in the whole thing.

It wasn't until later that he saw the man's true colors.

His friend, whom he treated so sincerely, his only friend, turned out to have disliked him from the very beginning. All his kindness was insincere, and the naive boy was completely fooled by Annan's clumsy acting.

——

In the practice room, the six members of "The Whale That Became an Island" sat in a circle on the floor. In addition to Lin Qingyan, Lu Yuqi and An Nanyi, the other three members were Li Chuan and Liu Zihao from Class B, and Feng Liang from Class C.

Their overall strength is the strongest among all the teams, after all, they have two Class A members and three Class B members.

They need to discuss who should be in the center position and who should be the captain.

"Raise your hand if you want to run for the center position."

Lu Yuqi, Lin Qingyan, and An Nanyi raised their hands. Everyone wanted to be in the center position, since it was the easiest to stand out. However, the other three knew that their abilities were not as good as the others, so they did not raise their hands.

Lin Qingyan was originally a Buddhist-like person who never competed or fought for anything. After being reborn, his thinking changed. He wanted to try any opportunity he had. He was unwilling to live as incompetent and pathetic as he had in his previous life, being bullied by others.

“Then the three of you will each sing a chorus and perform the same dance, and the three of us will vote.”

Annan didn't sing off-key this time, performed steadily, and danced well. He felt he still had a chance, but in the end he didn't get a single vote.

Liu Zihao and Feng Liang voted for Lin Qingyan, while Li Chuan voted for Lu Yuqi.

Liu Zihao explained, "All three of you sang very well, but I think Qingyan's singing and dancing were the most moving, the kind that resonated with me."

Feng Liang nodded in agreement.

Although Lu Yuqi is the best in terms of skill, his usual style doesn't match this song. His singing and dancing are fine, but it just feels a bit lacking. As for An Nanyi... her skill is indeed a little... inferior to these two.

"So our center position is Qingyan, congratulations!"

"Thank you everyone, I will do my best."

"Congratulations, Yan Yan." An Nanyi also smiled and congratulated him, but Lin Qingyan noticed that the other's smile stiffened for a moment. His mood suddenly improved, and he smiled and said thank you.

Lin Qingyan felt that he had changed a lot, and had even become more wicked than before. Seeing An Nanyi's discomfiture made him feel genuinely happy.

"Now it's time to elect the captain. Anyone want to be captain? Please raise your hand."

Everyone seemed uninterested in the captain's position. Only An Nanyi, who had just lost the center position, raised his hand. He wanted to be either the center or the captain. "Am I the only one here? Is nobody else here?"

"Since there's no one else, then our captain is..."

“Someone’s here.” Lu Yuqi, who hadn’t said much until now, suddenly spoke up, abruptly interrupting the conversation. As he spoke, he raised Lin Qingyan’s hand and said, “He wants to run for captain.”

Lin Qingyan: "..." No, he didn't want to.

An Nanyi's smile froze for a moment. The other three exchanged glances and could only tentatively ask Lin Qingyan, "Then... Qingyan, are you going to run for team leader?"

Annan managed to maintain his smile and said, "Isn't Yan Yan the center? If you're the captain too, will you be able to handle it?"

Lu Yuqi said, "He can."

Lin Qingyan: "...Sure, I'd like to try."

Alright, let's give it a try. Since we've already raised our hands, we can't let them go to waste. I just don't understand why Young Master Lu doesn't raise his own hands when he has two.

Liu Zihao said, "Then... you two can each explain why you want to run for team leader?"

“Okay, then I’ll go first,” Annan said confidently, calmly, and sincerely.

"I was always the class monitor in school, and I was also the captain of our team during our first stage performance. I have a lot of experience, and my leadership and problem-solving skills are not a problem. I also hope to help you and make a small contribution to our team. Thank you everyone."

After the applause, everyone's eyes turned to Lin Qingyan. "Now it's your turn, Yan Yan."

Lin Qingyan smiled a little shyly, "Um... I don't know what to say. I have no experience before, but I want to try a different role and I will do my best to help everyone. If you trust me, please vote for me."

After everyone considered it for a while, Liu Zihao said first, "Then I'll choose Qingyan."

Li Chuan: "I choose Annam."

Feng Liang hesitated and ultimately chose to abstain.

With someone abstaining, the score is now tied one to one. Lu Yuqi has the most crucial vote. An Nanyi jokingly said, "Yuqi, you should think it over carefully. You can't just vote for Yan Yan because you're on good terms with him."

Lu Yuqi curled his lips and smiled at An Nanyi, "Then I'll choose Lin Qingyan." He paused, then added slowly, "Because I have double standards."

Upon hearing this, even the photographer was stunned, let alone the person involved. The air suddenly became quiet. The other three looked at each other, all of them realizing that Lu Yuqi and Lin Qingyan did not get along with An Nanyi.

Lin Qingyan really didn't expect Young Master Lu to be so fierce. He gently touched Lu Yuqi's arm, telling him to shut up.

Meanwhile, An Nanyi bit her lip, looking somewhat lost. Her eyes slowly reddened, her expression aggrieved and sad. She whispered, "Yuqi, Yan Yan, I don't know what I did wrong to make you hate me so much..."

Lu Yuqi looked at him in surprise, "So you knew we hated you?"

"I thought you didn't know, otherwise why would you always be following us?"

Annan Yi: "..."

Lin Qingyan: "..."

Everyone: "..."

Young Master Lu is definitely a master of being sarcastic and unpredictable.

In her past life, Lin Qingyan had heard that Lu Yuqi had made other contestants cry. Now it seems that it was not a rumor. Young Master Lu is truly fearless and really fierce.

Everyone present, including Lin Qingyan, was somewhat stunned.

The surrounding air was so quiet that you could hear each other breathing.

An Nanyi burst into tears, crying so pitifully and choking out, "I'm sorry, I... I just wanted to be friends with you all, I didn't mean it, I really didn't know..."

Just as everyone was at a loss, footsteps suddenly sounded outside. An Jing walked in and was stunned by the scene before him. "What's going on?"

Why is his brother crying? And why is he crying so sadly and aggrievedly?

An Jing's appearance broke the deadlock. He glanced at everyone, frowned slightly, and said in a serious tone, "Someone, tell me what's going on?"

Everyone stood up properly, and Lin Qingyan forced a smile and said, "We...we were just joking."