Just as the other teammates were expressing their feelings, a staff member came in and said, "Everyone can take off their clothes now that you've changed. We're going to the training room to practice dancing next."
Everyone echoed in agreement.
For this first performance, there will be a live audience. Many of the trainees come from relatively wealthy families. So, while it seems like there will be a lot of audience members, there will also be quite a few trainees' family members. Even before the official stage started, many people were already whispering about who from their families would be coming.
Jian Xingsui practices dancing in the dance studio. He has the worst dance foundation and is the student that the dance teacher pays the most attention to.
"Jian Xingsui, you're doing it wrong."
"Slow down, slow down."
"Star Year, look this way."
After all the other teammates have finished, Jian Xingsui usually chooses to stay behind and practice privately.
In fact, Jian Xingsui felt quite guilty for dragging down his teammates' progress. He practiced until late every night, which was still a form of holding them back. However, his teammates were all good-natured and did not blame him.
On the third day of rehearsals, the team leader called a small meeting.
Shen Xingchen sat cross-legged in the middle and said, "The lyrics of the song we chose are actually not bad, but its melody is a bit slow, which will limit our dance moves. You have all noticed that, right? These moves are relatively simple, and compared to the explosive dances of the other groups, we are at a disadvantage."
The other teammates echoed this sentiment.
An Ran is very good at this kind of traditional Chinese dance, and he is sure he can shine. So he tentatively said, "We can work harder and make the stage even better, and we can still beat the other groups."
Shen Xingchen has a fiery temper, and his specialty is sarcasm: "What are you saying? Which group's stage performance was bad? The point of the problem isn't even that."
An Ran lowered her head somewhat aggrievedly, looking rather pitiful: "I just don't want everyone to be too pessimistic."
Shen Xingchen didn't have time to pay attention to him: "Now is not the time to be pessimistic. No matter how well we do, it's not as impactful as the more energetic performances from other groups. Actually, I have an idea. Sui Sui, you could turn Zhou Xun's energetic song into a love song during your initial performance. Could you perhaps slightly modify this song?"
Jian Xingsui did not expect Shen Xingchen to entrust her with such a heavy responsibility.
The other teammates, however, slowly realized what was happening:
"yes!"
"Xing Sui, I still remember your arrangement to this day!"
"You're a god!"
"Can you help us adapt it?"
Jian Xingsui was stunned. He didn't expect everyone to trust him. Before this, he was the one who was dragging the team down, but now he could actually make a contribution to the team.
Seeing Jian Xingsui's hesitant look, An Ran smiled and said, "Never mind, Sui Sui is busy practicing dance every day, so let's not make things difficult for him."
Shen Xingchen asked Jian Xingsui directly, "Are you sure you can do it?"
Adding music arrangement to dance practice would indeed be a considerable workload, and even if he refused, no one else would see any problem with it.
However, Jian Xingsui remained silent for a moment before saying, "I can do it."
Everyone else smiled, but An Ran's smile faded slightly. He said, "Xing Sui, will you still have time to train? Isn't this delaying you?"
He certainly knew about Jian Xingsui's composing abilities.
If he were to reveal his abilities, would I still have a chance to shine?
Jian Xingsui said softly, "My dance foundation is poor. Even if I practice more, I will still hold you back. If I can revise the song to help the team, I am willing."
After saying that, the teammate who had secretly thought Jian Xingsui was a burden wanted to slap himself!
Shen Xingchen came over and put his arm around Jian Xingsui's neck, saying, "What nonsense are you talking about, dragging us down? There is no such word as 'losing' in my team. Hurry up and finish composing the song. I'll stay up with you for three days and three nights to figure out your movements."
The other teammates also put aside their differences because of this conversation.
"We also practice with them."
"So what if I can't dance? I'm a pro at it."
"Come practice with me every year!"
Everyone gathered around, completely ignoring An Ran.
Just a few days ago, everyone was praising An Ran because of his excellent traditional Chinese dance. But now, everyone is treating him like he's invisible and focusing on Jian Xingsui instead.
Where no one could see her, An Ran's usually gentle face turned cold, and a fierce glint flashed in her eyes.
...
A few days later—the performance day.
The backstage area of the show was bustling with activity. The contestants were all ready and waiting backstage. Because everyone was quite nervous, they chatted amongst themselves.
During a break, Wen Shenge leaned over and said, "Sui Sui, do you know what? I heard that the online voting list is out now. There are only six debut spots available this time. Do you know who the top six are?"
Jian Xingsui honestly replied, "I don't know."
"I have some inside information," Wen Shenge leaned closer and whispered, "The first place is Brother Chen, and the second place is An Ran."
Jian Xingsui was not surprised.
Wen Shenge was surprised by his calm demeanor: "Aren't you surprised at all?"
Jian Xingsui was not surprised at all. He knew that the protagonist's smooth sailing would not stop there. He would debut as the center of attention, and then participate in a variety show to become a hit, reaching the pinnacle of his life.
"I felt something was off about this, so I did some more research and found out some shocking news. Do you want to know?" Wen Shenge leaned closer and said, "That An Ran, he's actually the younger brother of the superstar Jian Zhi!"
Jian Xingsui paused in her drinking.
"Jianzhi, I'm so envious. No wonder An Ran is so popular, she must have someone supporting her." Wen Shenge sighed. "He's so lucky, we can't compare to him at all. And most importantly, he's so low-key. If I had a brother like that, I'd be bragging about him every day, right?"
He shows off every day.
Jian Xingsui lowered her head, vaguely recalling her past life. When some fragmented memories were picked up again, they felt like shards of glass, piercing her heart with pain.
"My brother is Jane!"
Why are you insulting my brother? Do you want to fight?
"Brother, brother..."
From childhood to adulthood, his favorite people were his older brothers, but he was slow-witted and always made mistakes, which made his brothers angry.
"It's all because you came to see me, and the paparazzi followed you and got photos of my scandal."
"Why are you fighting for no reason? Now the media is saying that my brother is acting like a big shot."
"Jian Xingsui, can't you just give me a break?"
In fact, he had long known that he was an ordinary and unremarkable person inside and out, but his brothers' excellence made him feel proud and he always thought it was his blessing. He never expected that it would become a lifelong pain and shackle. Perhaps many things were wrong from the very beginning.
Wen Shengge continued rambling, "Actually, quite a few people's parents came today. I heard that Brother Chen's mother also came. She's the young mistress of the Shen family. I heard that Mrs. Shen is very beautiful. I really want to see what kind of woman can raise Brother Chen with that kind of temper."
Jian Xingsui was in a low mood and not very interested. He said, "I'm going to the bathroom."
Wen Shengge said, "Oh, then hurry back."
"Um."
When Jian Xingsui learned that she might have to perform in front of Jian Zhi, her feelings were mixed. After using the restroom, she rinsed herself with cold water at the sink. While she was washing herself, a voice came from behind her: "Jian Xingsui".
The familiar yet unfamiliar voice made me freeze.
Jian Xingsui slowly turned around and saw a face that made him tense all over. He took a deep breath and said, "Second Brother... Mr. Jian."
Jian Zhi stood by the sink, dressed in a suit. He looked very handsome and dashing. He was actually quite delicate-looking, the kind of pretty boy, which was completely different from Fu Jinxiao's mature and steady style.
Jane turned on the water in the sink and said in a low voice, "Not bad, you've improved. You even know to call me Mr. Jane now."
Jian Xingsui didn't say anything.
"I heard you didn't take the money your older brother and father gave you when you left?" Jian Zhi always seemed to be mocking when he spoke: "You left quite decisively, but then Ranran's variety show came up right after, and you've been targeting him at every turn. What are you trying to do?"
Jian Xingsui asked suspiciously, "When did I target him?"
“You know he’s afraid of you, yet you deliberately came to participate in this variety show, saying you didn’t want the millions your older brother and father gave you. What kind of pitiful persona are you trying to create here? Are you trying to gain sympathy or disgust people?” Jian Zhi looked at Jian Xing Sui with disgust: “You really disgust me.”
As hurtful words fell into her ears, Jian Xingsui thought she had long since stopped caring, but unexpectedly, her heart was still stung.
He turned his face away, not wanting Jian Zhi to see his injured eyes, and stubbornly said, "I don't need to explain what I do to you. As for the persona or not, if that's what you think, I have nothing to say."
Jian Zhi didn't expect Jian Xing Sui to be so stubborn.
He chuckled, turned off the tap, and then slowly wiped his hands with a paper towel: "If you weren't trying to create a persona for publicity, I would really respect you. But I came here to warn you: don't even think about bullying Ranran in this training camp. He's my brother now."
Jian Xingsui's heart was growing colder and colder.
Jianzhi raised his head, looked directly at him, and said, "Also, in the entertainment industry, never mention that I am your brother."
After speaking, Jian Zhi waited for Jian Xing Sui's reaction, but the boy just stood there blankly, unresponsive. His face was calm. Perhaps he had also been in pain, but after too much pain came numbness. For some reason, at this moment, Jian Zhi vaguely remembered many times when a warm-hearted boy with a touch of expectation would always follow behind him, softly calling, "Brother, brother."
However, the child simply bowed silently to himself, then turned and left.
For some reason, Jian Zhi had only come to settle things with Jian Xingsui, and now that he had achieved his goal, his feelings suddenly became complicated as he watched Jian Xingsui leave.
...
Meanwhile, Jian Xingsui, who appeared to have no reaction on the surface, turned around and entered the stairwell, which was unmonitored, after leaving the bathroom.
He had been holding back his tears, but now, leaning against the cold corner of the wall, his lips trembled slightly, and his eyes were red. In the end, he couldn't hold back and two tears streamed down his face. The boy's shoulders leaned against the white wall with a hint of suppressed emotion. He tried to suppress his sobs and not make a sound when he heard footsteps passing by outside, trying his best to process the surging pain in his heart.
Just then, the sound of high heels came from the stairwell, followed by a gentle female voice talking on the phone: "Chenchen, where exactly is the place you're talking about? Mommy can't find it..."
The phone call suddenly stopped.
The woman who had just walked over stopped talking and met the gaze of the boy in the corner. On the other end of the phone, Shen Xingchen was still saying, "Hello, Mom? Why aren't you saying anything?"
Xu Enzhen gave a few perfunctory replies and hung up the phone. She took a few steps forward to Jian Xingsui and asked softly, "Child, what's wrong? Are you alright?"
A woman's gentle voice is more likely to break down a person's psychological defenses.
Jian Xingsui shook her head haphazardly, her voice choked with emotion: "It's nothing, it's nothing..."
Because he had his face down and the light in the stairwell was dim, for a moment Xu Enzhen thought she saw her youngest son. But Jian Xingsui was clearly more immature and younger than Shen Xingchen. He squatted there, wiping away tears in a somewhat disheveled manner. Although they were complete strangers, Xu Enzhen felt an inexplicable pity and heartache for him.
She suddenly had a daze and thought that if her third child hadn't died, he would probably be the same age as this child now.
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