I'm in the new anime chapter 12.

When Xu Xi stood in front of Xiao You, his eyes held a complex mix of emotions.

It was like a sense of resentment, and also like a sense of disgust and contempt.

Xiao You had no time to care about Xu Xi's thoughts at the moment. He was only focused on the competition. He was replaying the dance he had rehearsed countless times in his mind. He had almost developed muscle memory for every single movement.

Even if his mind forgets, his body will immediately pick up the dance moves he rehearsed.

Xu Xi looked at Xiao You and said to her, "You should withdraw from the competition."

He was still the same Xu Xi, never beating around the bush, always speaking to Xiao You in a straightforward manner, with the tone of a king commanding his subjects.

Xiao You's face turned pale when he heard Xu Xi's words. "What?"

As if incredulous, Xiaoyou asked again.

Xu Xi said each word carefully, as if afraid that Xiao You might not hear him clearly amidst the music, and repeated it again, "You should withdraw from the competition."

Xiao You has probably been spending a lot of time with Jiang Kai, and her speech has started to sound a bit like Jiang Kai's.

He looked at Xu Xi, somewhat rudely, "Are you sick in the head?"

Xu Xi hadn't expected Xiao You to rebel against him. It seemed he was used to Xiao You obeying his orders. Xiao You's refusal made his face darken instantly.

Then Xu Xi said to Xiao You, "You're with Jiang Kai now, and he loves you so much. If you want to enter the entertainment industry and become famous, it will be easy for you. He'll throw money at you. But Li Kai is different. He's worked hard for this competition for a long time, and his family situation isn't very good. If he can't win the championship, he can't really debut."

Xiao You wasn't good with words, but when he heard Xu Xi's words, he got angry, and his fists clenched tightly.

"so what?"

"So if you withdraw from the competition, Li Kai will be ranked second. As long as you withdraw, your mentor Deng Yuan is his benefactor, and the scoring will favor him. Then he will be the champion."

Xiao You laughed in exasperation at Xu Xi's words, "He doesn't have the ability himself, so why should I give in to him?"

“Because you don’t need the ten million in promotion and the one million in prize money for the competition. But Li Kai is different; he needs the prize money and he needs this opportunity.”

"What about me? Don't I need it?"

Xu Xi said matter-of-factly, "You have Jiang Kai. Even if you withdraw from the competition, he'll still treat you well, and you'll still live a comfortable life. You want to debut? I've said it before, he'll support you, you know that, Xiao You?"

Xu Xi grabbed Xiao You's shoulders and gently shook her, as if that would wake her up.

He wanted Xiaoyou to understand.

But Xiao You knew perfectly well how clear-headed he was at this moment. Ever since he discovered Xu Xi's betrayal, his mind had been crystal clear.

Xiao You kept a straight face, expressionless, as if he had erected a thousand-foot-high wall between himself and Xu Xi.

It seemed that by doing this, he could remain indifferent and keep Xu Xi's harm out.

Xiao You refused Xu Xi's request, saying, "I've put in a lot of effort and worked hard for this competition. You're asking me to withdraw now? That's impossible."

Xu Xi seemed not to understand Xiao You's thoughts. "Can you bear to see Li Kai suffer such a blow? Li Kai's parents are just ordinary workers. Do you know how difficult it is for an ordinary family to raise a college student? Do you know how much Li Kai has sacrificed to get to where he is today? He lost ten pounds for this competition, practiced dancing until the early hours of the morning every day, only sleeping two or three hours before getting up to train again. He could have been the champion, so why don't you let him be the champion? Why do you go to college? Why do you participate in this competition too?! Do you know how many years Li Kai has worked hard for this opportunity?"

Xiao You kept a straight face and expressionlessly shook off Xu Xi's hand that was pressing on his shoulder.

Xiao You took a step back and looked at Xu Xi with such unfamiliar eyes, because it was Xu Xi who made him feel unfamiliar first.

Xu Xi's words conveyed her indignation on behalf of Li Kai, her concern for Li Kai, and her sincere wish that Li Kai would have a smooth future, stand higher, and go further.

These heartfelt emotions were something Xiao You had never felt in the countless times he had heard him say things like, "Give me money," "Give me some more money," or "I'm a little short of money lately, give me some if you have any."

It turns out that the difference between loving and not loving is just a matter of comparison.

Xu Xi stared blankly at Xiao You, his eyes red with anxiety and frustration.

Xiao You tilted her head slightly, looking at Xu Xi who was anxious and upset for others, "The only one who can't bear it is you. All competitions are cruel. Too many people are eliminated. Am I supposed to pity them one by one?"

Xu Xi looked at Xiao You in disbelief, "How did you become so cold-blooded?"

Xiao You didn't even bother to mock Xu Xi anymore.

He told Xu Xi, "I'm standing here as the number one. What do you think I relied on? I relied on my own hard work. I started working at a young age. When I was learning to dance in bars, I cried countless times from the pain of stretching and bending over. I didn't start dancing from a young age, and I've always been less flexible than others. Have you seen how long I practiced in private? Xu Xi, why are you being so selfish and wanting me to withdraw from the competition? Is my hard work less valuable than Li Kai's? Just because you love him, does that mean I should give way to him?"

"But your life is clearly much better than his."

"But I have my bad days too. When I could only afford boiled noodles for my birthday, you immediately used the money I saved up to buy Li Kai a gift worth tens of thousands of yuan. Why do you only see the good in me? I've been miserable for so many years, struggling in hardship for so many years, without hope or even knowing where the future was, lost for so many years, never planning for myself or living for myself for so many years. How could you not see that?!"

Xiao You remained calm throughout; it turns out that the greatest sorrow is a broken heart—this saying is true.

"Next up, please welcome our champion from the last round—Jiang You."

Xiao You turned around and was about to walk onto the stage.

Xu Xi grabbed Xiao You by the collar, covered her mouth, and dragged her into the storage room.

In a panic but also calm, he found a rope, tied Xiaoyou up, gagged her, and then locked her in the closet.

Xu Xi knew perfectly well that Xiao You was afraid of the dark, but he locked her in a dark cabinet as if on purpose, because only when Xiao You was scared would she not dare to struggle.

Jiang Kai was sitting in the audience watching the live performance. After watching so many others, he was already losing interest and was about to doze off.

He was finally getting to see Xiao You make her grand finale appearance, and he was on high alert.

The host called out Xiaoyou's name three times, but she still didn't come on stage.

The host was also acting strangely.

The scene erupted in discussion.

Some even said that Xiao You was too scared to go and withdrew from the competition.

The scene started to get a little chaotic. Xiaoyou's fans who came to support her all stood up with light sticks in hand, seemingly unaware of what was going on.

After Li Kai finished the competition, he sat in the lounge, gripping his trouser leg tightly.

There was also a screen in the dressing room that showed the stage, but Xiao You hadn't shown up yet.

Li Kai's tense nerves finally seemed to relax a little. As long as Xiao You didn't come, he would be the champion. It seemed that Xu Xi had helped him achieve that.

Li Kai sneered inwardly, thinking that Xu Xi was still somewhat useful.

However, once he debuts and becomes a star, it's best to keep a clear distance from people like Xu Xi to avoid affecting his career.

Li Kai initially believed that Xu Xi was a rich second-generation heir, and that his family was very wealthy, which is why he agreed to date Xu Xi.

Later, when Li Kai discovered that Xu Xi was not a rich second-generation at all, he felt like he had been tricked.

He was originally trying to find a way to shake off Xu Xi when he received the notification to participate in the competition.

It was precisely because of the close relationship between Xu Xi and Xiao You that Li Kai set his sights on this.

The host and mentors discussed it and decided that since it was a live broadcast, they also needed to control the flow of the event.

Just as the host was about to announce that Xiaoyou had withdrawn from the competition so that the next procedure could begin.

Jiang Kai suddenly beat up the security guard and then rushed onto the stage.

He snatched the microphone from the host and whispered to him, "I'll try to get ten more minutes, then I'll go check it out."

Jiang Kai strode quickly towards the backstage area.

Sure enough, Xiaoyou wasn't in the background. He tried calling her, but her phone was switched off.

Jiang Kai immediately went to the monitoring room to check the surveillance footage.

To meet the requirements of the venue and the production team, this venue was temporarily set up, and the monitoring system was not perfect, with many blind spots.

Jiang Kai glanced through it briefly, activating all the brain cells that could function.

Then he pointed to several surveillance cameras, "Here, slow down, zoom in."

Xu Xi's face appeared in the surveillance footage.

Jiang Kai gritted his teeth and swore.

He stared at the monitor again and saw Xu Xi's figure disappear past the corner of the corridor. Then he didn't come out for a long time. The monitor was playing at six times speed. About twenty minutes later, Xu Xi's figure came out again and then disappeared.

Jiang Kai hurried over there, and he also mobilized his security personnel to search for him.

He shouted Xiaoyou's name.

When I passed by the storage room last time, I noticed that the cabinet door seemed to have moved slightly.

Jiang Kai ran over, covered in sweat. He pulled open the cabinet door and saw Xiao You huddled inside, her face pale, her body soaked in sweat, and trembling violently.

Jiang Kai hugged Xiao You tightly, patting his back and gently comforting him, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, I'm here, I'm here."

In Xiao You's eyes, Jiang Kai was like a ray of light, piercing through the darkness and illuminating her.

Xiaoyou's fear of the dark caused her emotional instability, preventing her from participating in the upcoming matches.

In the end, they withdrew from the competition.

He collapsed into Jiang Kai's arms and fainted, then woke up in a clean hospital room.

He looked at Jiang Kai and then burst into tears, as if he had suffered a great injustice.

Jiang Kai's heart ached from crying. He hugged Xiao You tightly and comforted her, "It's okay, it's not a big deal. I'll have their production team organize a 'revival competition' and the winner of the revival will directly compete against the champion. You'll still be the ultimate champion. Xu Xi can't outmaneuver me with these dirty tricks. It's okay, don't cry."