The Finale
Why can't you? Zhu Yu stared at Shi Ru's forehead, feeling a little dizzy.
She seemed to be carsick... Was she having tinnitus and not hearing clearly, or...?
"You, can... what?" Zhu Yu's eyes darted around, avoiding Shi Ru's burning gaze, and her fingers unconsciously began to twist the hem of her clothes.
"Don't joke around, you're not going to say you like me, are you?"
"You don't actually think I'm doing all this for you just because I'm interested in your commercial value, do you?"
Actually, these words sounded a bit harsh. Seeing Zhu Yu's face tremble and then suddenly turn pale, Shi Ru felt a little regretful.
But the person in front of me was clearly a tortoise; he would never peek his head out of his shell unless all four limbs and tail were completely pinned down.
Shi Ru gritted his teeth, leaned slightly forward, and looked at Zhu Yu's face, which was awkwardly turned to one side: "From the beginning, my purpose was not pure."
When Zhu Yu first met Shi Ru, she had a bad reputation and even worse professional skills. In fact, she could sense that this person was not approaching her because he was "lacking friends" or had discovered a "hidden gem".
At that time, she was so focused on accomplishing something that she didn't care about anything else and accepted any usable resources that came her way.
Now it's time to pay back the debt.
"Heh, just kidding."
Seeing Zhu Yu lower her head and remain silent for a long time, Shi Ru's eyes flashed with disappointment. He offered a way out and prepared to change the subject.
"This time, we've put you on the promotional ambassador role for V's spring new products. Their brand has always had excellent resources in the fashion industry, so barring any unforeseen circumstances, you won't have to worry about red carpet looks for the next year."
Shi Ru turned his head away from Zhu Yu, adopting a businesslike demeanor. Zhu Yu, however, stared at Shi Ru's profile, her heart pounding uncontrollably.
Her hesitation just now did not mean that she disliked Shi Ru. On the contrary, after Shi Ru said those words, she belatedly realized from her pounding heart that her feelings for Shi Ru were not simple either.
Is this what love feels like? Zhu Yu pressed her hand to her heart, completely bewildered. The strong, pounding feeling wasn't unpleasant.
Instead, it gave her the illusion that she had come back to life.
It's as if the heart inside the body has been on strike for many years, and the old gears have suddenly been wound up again.
Zhu Yu didn't hear a word of Shi Ru's rambling afterward. She looked at Shi Ru, who was now looking down at his tablet, seemingly operating something, and abruptly spoke:
"You like me."
"Huh?" Shi Ru turned his head in surprise, unexpectedly meeting Zhu Yu's sparkling eyes. He was momentarily stunned, then heard her continue:
I like you too!
Before Shi Ru could react, or even change the look of confusion on his face, Zhu Yu threw out the last few words like a cannonball:
Let's be together!
...
Shi Ru was completely taken aback by Zhu Yu's nonchalant remark, which came out as if she were saying, "It's so cold, let's go get some ice cream!"—a nonsensical statement.
"You...I, this seems to be..."
Shouldn't he be the one to confess his feelings? It's not like the man has to take the initiative in a boxing match.
The main thing is that he should always consider the order of things! He was the one who confessed first!
"What's wrong?" Zhu Yu saw Shi Ru stammering and thought he had regretted it, or that what he said about "liking" was just a joke.
"Are you really kidding?"
"No, it's just that in these kinds of things, shouldn't I be the one to speak first?"
"Hmm? Is there some special meaning behind this?"
Zhu Yu thought it was because there were some traditions in Shi Ru's hometown that needed to be followed.
“No, it’s just…” Shi Ru looked at Zhu Yu with a complicated expression.
Oh, the human desire to win!
Zhu Yu nodded knowingly, then patted Shi Ru on the shoulder: "It's okay, you can confess again later."
"So are we all together now?" she asked immediately.
"Yes, of course it counts!"
-
The talent show is a talent development program, and Zhu Yu, as the initiator, does not need to accompany the contestants to train together at the training base.
When the first round of training was completed and the preliminary rounds began recording, Zhu Yu returned to the familiar studio once again.
Shi Ru remained seated in the audience, watching. His departure date had been set. Once the variety show recording was completed and Lu Xiaoxiao officially debuted as part of the group, he would temporarily put aside his business here to pursue further studies abroad.
Several new agents have been selected for the time being, but he is also trying to cultivate Zhu Yu's abilities so that she won't be easily fooled.
Shi Ru glanced at Lu Xiaoxiao, who was standing on the front row under the spotlight and was still blinking at him restlessly, and nodded reassuringly at her.
After a brief opening speech by Zhu Yu, the entire student body presented their theme song on stage.
"It's a pity that Xiaoxiao couldn't get the center position."
After Zhu Yu finished hosting, she sat down next to Shi Ru. Their seats were right next to the judges' table, with Shi Ru sitting slightly behind Zhu Yu.
Therefore, it doesn't seem out of place.
Because it's an official program, there are many hidden talents among the contestants this time. If Lu Xiaoxiao hadn't undergone several months of intensive training before recording, she might not even have been able to keep her current position.
"Her initial performance score was actually due to clever manipulation in the program's design."
Compared to Shi Ru's regret over the traffic data, Zhu Yu had a clearer perspective.
Lu Xiaoxiao's skills are certainly not bad, but they wouldn't be considered exceptionally strong, after all, she is just a music student.
The center position this time belongs to a girl who has been a trainee abroad since she was a teenager. She is good at both singing and dancing, her dance moves are powerful, she learns dance moves quickly and well, and her voice quality is also quite high.
While she was getting her makeup done backstage in the same dressing room as the judges, she made a point of asking them something.
Several teachers had a very good impression of this person in the center position.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, there's a high probability that the initial C will be the final C.
Shi Ru had investigated these matters, but he could only find out the judges' opinions now that Zhu Yu had spoken about them.
"It's okay. Her goal this time wasn't to compete for first place. She just wanted to make it into the final group."
——
After saying that, the contestants' performances ended, and it was time for the center's reward stage.
Zhu Yu crouched down and quietly left her seat. As the initiator, she would also have a few minutes to showcase her personal talents, just like the judges.
I need to get a new makeup and styling done first.
Backstage, he brushed past the vibrant young women and nodded to Lu Xiaoxiao in the crowd.
Zhu Yu sat down at her personal vanity, and a makeup artist immediately came up to touch up her makeup.
"Zhu Yu, how about you try your hand at musicals?"
Sitting next to Zhu Yu was Ao Xue, one of the judges who came from a musical theater background.
She possesses considerable individual skill and is considered a member of the national team.
It's a pity that musicals are not a popular performance art form these days.
Clearly, Ao Xue herself was aware of this, which is why she used a joking tone when speaking to Zhu Yu to conceal her true emotions.
"Does Sister Ao Xue have any good projects to recommend?"
Through constant exposure, Zhu Yu felt that spending so much time with Shi Ru had made her speech more tactful.
Hearing this answer, Ao Xue's expression remained unchanged: "In terms of exposure, it definitely can't compare to TV dramas and movies, but you know..."
Ao Xue didn't continue speaking. She stopped looking at Zhu Yu through the reflection in the mirror and turned her head to look at her profile.
This girl acted in stage plays in her early days, so she probably wouldn't be too resistant to using her fame to promote musicals now, right?
Ao Xue felt uneasy.
Like plays, musicals, though not a current trend, represent the highest realm in the hearts of artists like them.
Zhu Yu's smooth career path after entering the industry can be attributed to one-third of her initial stage play.
No editing, no retakes—that's when an actor's basic skills are truly showcased.
"I know you mean well, but I've only acted in one play, and I'm not a professional singer—musicals, so let's just forget about it?"
Ao Xue wasn't discouraged by the rejection. She took out her phone and said, "How about this, let's exchange contact information. I'll invite you to watch my show later."
Zhu Yu took out her phone as instructed.
"I believe you will be interested."
Unfortunately, Ao Xue misjudged the situation. She went to see several musicals at Zhu Yu's invitation, and Zhu Yu did indeed like this way of telling stories.
But that doesn't mean she can master such performance skills.
At Ao Xue's strong invitation, Zhu Yu participated in the rehearsal of Ao Xue's new play. In just one week, Zhu Yu experienced a great sense of frustration.
She simply couldn't maintain accurate pitch while also delivering a perfect acting performance.
"In short, you seem flustered but don't know what you're busy with."
This is how Shi Ru described her when he came to pick her up.
"Perhaps you can try this form of performance in the future, but for now, you should still focus on television dramas and movies."
Before going abroad, Zhu Yu's agent was Shi Ru. Naturally, he also knew that Ao Xue wanted to invite Zhu Yu to perform in a musical.
Shi Ru wasn't exactly disgusted by Ao Xue's undisguised intentions, but he certainly couldn't bring himself to give her a friendly look.
"I know, actually I refused when she first invited me."
Zhu Yu felt somewhat aggrieved, probably because Shi Ru's voice sounded too serious.
Realizing this, Shi Ru cleared his throat awkwardly: "I'm leaving the country next Wednesday."
Shi Ru couldn't help but sigh whenever he talked about this.
His career was just getting started, but his elderly mother had already been urging him to come back again and again...
Ms. Shi was so eager for him to graduate as soon as possible, but her biggest goal was to get him to take over the overseas expansion task.
This will serve as a pledge of allegiance for joining the board of directors in the future.
Forget it, I still need some power to protect the people I want to protect!
Shi Ru sent a WeChat message from one of the contacts on his phone to Zhu Yu.
"The agent has been chosen. Add her on WeChat. I will hand over all the follow-up work to her in the next few days."
"good……"
Zhu Yu lowered her head, not daring to look at Shi Ru, afraid that if she met his eyes, her tears would fall uncontrollably.
Zhu Yu couldn't stop Shi Ru, and couldn't even say a word to persuade him to stay.
After all, you can't stop others from striving for improvement, can you?
"Alright, you can go back now. I've reviewed the script for this afternoon's live stream, and it's fine."
In the last second before boarding the plane, Shi Ru looked into Zhu Yu's eyes, hesitant to speak, as saying goodbye would seem too sentimental.
He's just going abroad to study, not settling down there. He can come back during holidays, and even if he can't, they can video chat.
So if you really want to talk about the sorrow of parting, there really isn't any.
only--
"Wait for me to come back."
Shi Ru still owes Zhu Yu a formal confession.
END
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