Chapter 64
The dazzling awards ceremony was filled with rousing music and dazzling lights. The moment the presenter announced the winning group's name, the roar of cheers and screams from the fans threatened to overturn the entire venue. Ling Yao and his teammates instantly leaped from their seats, faces filled with uncontrollable excitement and incredible joy. They hugged and high-fived each other, then adjusted their clothes and, under the gaze of the crowd, stepped towards the center of the stage, where the light converged.
The trophy felt heavy, and holding it in my hand felt unreal. The microphone was passed to Ling Yao, the team captain. He took a deep breath, suppressing his pounding heartbeat and surging emotions, and scanned the countless expectant faces and flashing cameras in the audience.
He began his acceptance speech, a speech he'd rehearsed countless times. His voice trembled slightly with excitement, but he remained composed. He thanked the company for the opportunity and training, the production team for their hard work, and every member for their collaborative efforts and mutual support. Finally, he looked out at the sea of blue cheers from the audience, their group's support.
"Finally, and most importantly, thank you to all the fans who support us!" His voice rose a little, filled with sincere emotion. "Without you, we wouldn't be standing here! This honor belongs to you! Thank you everyone!"
After saying this, he bowed deeply, almost at a 90-degree angle, and remained standing for a long time. The screams and sobs of the fans in the audience merged into a wave of emotion. His teammates followed suit and bowed.
However, just as he stood up and looked at the blue ocean again, his gaze involuntarily and accurately passed through the noise and the crowd and fell on that specific area - the position that Xiao Chen cleverly arranged for Su Rui to be among the fans yet relatively safe.
Because of the distance and the flickering sign, he couldn't really see Su Rui's expression; he could only see a vague, quiet outline. But at that moment, all the noise seemed to suddenly fade away.
The trophy in his hands was cold and heavy, representing the expectations and dedication of countless people, and also symbolizing his irreversible path to idoldom. His ears echoed the overwhelming love and support of his fans, pure and passionate, something he must cherish and repay. Yet, deep down, he held the lover he could only hide in the crowd, unable to speak. The desire to stand by her side openly and honestly formed a sharp contradiction with the need for a perfect disguise at this moment.
Fans, future prospects, love... three of the heaviest and most precious emotions, fiercely intertwined and collided within him at that moment, like a tangled mess, impossible to cut or untangle. A profound sense of satisfaction, vanity, and responsibility, strangely blended with a hint of inexplicable guilt and loneliness, left him standing at the pinnacle of success, yet feeling an unprecedented sense of complexity and... confusion.
His gaze lingered in that direction for perhaps half a second, perhaps even less, so brief that no camera could capture this subtle abnormality. Then, he quickly suppressed all outward emotion, his face once again blooming into a flawless, grateful, and brilliant smile. He waved to the fans and cameras in all directions, hugged and celebrated with his teammates, and locked that deeply hidden secret and momentary vulnerability firmly behind the mask of an idol.
The stage lights were still dazzling, the fans' cheers were still fervent, and the trophy in his hand gleamed with the light of success. But only Ling Yao himself knew the complex and profound shadow cast by that brief glimpse in his heart. He must continue on this path, and he must go higher and further, so that he might one day have the true right to choose.
The award ceremony continued in a boiling atmosphere, but Ling Yao's heart seemed to be divided into two halves, one half bathed in the bright starlight, and the other half hidden in the quiet blue sea of people.
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