Stepping into the preparation room again, He Qingqi no longer felt the excitement and passion she had last time, but the moment she stepped onto the stage, adrenaline surged through her, and the audience’s cheers ignited her enthusiasm.
The outfits for the “Last” group were quite uniform today, with crop tops and ultra-short shorts, except He Qingqi had an extra black sheer blouse.
Liu Ningzhao and the others said He Qingqi looked particularly alluring when she took off her clothes, and the audience would probably love to help her do it. That beautiful set of abs made them all envious.
So they made her wear this blouse, intending to throw it to the audience before the duet part of the dance.
They were performing the finale today.
Backstage, Zhuo Zhiwei carefully helped He Qingqi put on her in-ear monitors.
“Good luck! I won’t let you down.”
“Thank you, you too.” He Qingqi smiled softly, her gaze slightly lowered, watching the girl intently focus on her ear.
Zhuo Zhiwei’s perfect looks were so close that He Qingqi could even smell the perfume on her, making her a bit nervous. She couldn’t help but stare blankly at the girl’s face.
Then she snapped out of it, blushing and quickly averting her gaze.
She once loved a perfume, Byredo’s Super Cedar, a faint and cool woody floral scent, followed by the romantic rose fragrance hitting the wood.
It felt like pure white snow on pine branches, giving a sense of distance while having an indescribable noble elegance, like a cedar standing proudly in winter.
It was very similar to Zhuo Zhiwei’s scent.
She wanted to buy it for Zhuo Zhiwei, hoping she would like it.
“Now, please welcome the ‘Last’ group!”
Hearing Yan Huan’s voice, He Qingqi snapped back to reality, took a deep breath, and walked toward the stage.
A wave of cheers greeted them as soon as they stepped on stage, with one side shouting He Qingqi’s name and the other Zhuo Zhiwei’s, completely drowning out any other voices as if it were a concert just for He Qingqi and Zhuo Zhiwei.
Ning Meng heard the cheers and couldn’t help but smile wryly: “Even though we expected this, it still feels a bit disheartening.”
Yan Huan: “After all the anticipation, you’ve finally got what you’ve been waiting for. Let’s have the ‘Last’ group introduce themselves.”
According to their plan, Zhuo Zhiwei introduced herself first.
“Hello everyone, I’m Zhuo Zhiwei, one of the C-positions chosen for my looks with 91 votes.”
“Hello everyone, I’m He Qingqi, the other C-position who thinks I should be the face of the group every day.”
“Hello everyone, I’m Ning Meng, the vocalist who must admit Zhuo Zhiwei is the face of the group.”
“Hello everyone, I’m Liu Ningzhao, the rapper who insists He Qingqi is the face of the group.”
…
Yan Huan continued the banter:
“Qingqi, I heard that the directors did a poll.”
“They asked our 98 contestants who they thought was the face of the group among all 98 girls.”
“91 chose Zhuo Zhiwei, but seven chose you. I heard that out of those seven, five were from your ‘Immigrant Song’ A team, and one was you, their captain.”
He Qingqi pretended to be in pain: “It could have been eight, but who knew Zhang Xiaoyu, that traitor, chose Zhiwei?”
“Oh? So, who was the remaining person?” Yan Huan asked knowingly.
“Our own Zhiwei!” He Qingqi proudly put her arm around Zhuo Zhiwei’s shoulder, who smiled and ruffled her hair.
The audience started jeering, “Your Zhiwei!”
Some believed in their good relationship, while others thought He Qingqi was pretending.
But whether others believed it or not, He Qingqi truly considered Zhuo Zhiwei a friend, regardless of the competition or rankings.
…
After the introductions, the lights dimmed, and the seven took their positions.
As expected, the audience went wild for their dance, and He Qingqi’s blouse toss started the most seductive part of the performance.
The swaying hips, the dangerous fingertips, the suggestive glances, and He Qingqi’s mischievous smile told a story of flirtation, pushing the atmosphere to its peak.
The previous performers sighed, “It’s like gods battling, mortals watching. These two are incredible.”
“They dance in perfect sync; the stage effects are extraordinary; no wonder they’re the finale.”
He Qingqi was also very satisfied with their performance; it was better than ever, exceeding expectations.
Her gaze fixed on Zhuo Zhiwei, whose alluring yet cold eyes seemed to draw her in entirely. Even she couldn’t help but marvel at how beautiful this girl was.
Just as she was catching her breath, her face suddenly changed, her pupils contracted, and she felt a weight on her heart; her breathing became labored, her fists clenched, and her whole body paled.
She stared in disbelief at a figure in the audience that shouldn’t be there, her gaze sharp as a knife.
Fang Xuanyao…
Zhuo Zhiwei, thinking she was unwell, quickly supported her arm.
She whispered, “Are you feeling really bad? Can you hold on a bit longer?”
He Qingqi shook her head, hiding the despair in her eyes. “I’m fine.”
She was fine; the reminder of certain past events and memories still caused her subtle pain.
Her pain wasn’t about love, but hating her foolishness; her sorrow almost overwhelmed her, her eyes dry and aching.
Gradually.
It was as if her younger self, whom she thought had long disappeared, walked out.
A downpour.
She was drenched.
Her nineteen-year-old self cried, complaining about her, or maybe about some of their past.
…
When she was five, she met the nine-year-old Fang Xuanyao, realized she liked her at fourteen, officially pursued her at sixteen, thought she had won her over at nineteen, and lost her at thirty because the beauty died in A City.
Fang Xuanyao wasn’t always so cold to her, and He Qingqi couldn’t remember exactly when it started.
She only remembered that many people in her childhood bullied her because of her age, often pushing her to the ground and making her cry loudly.
From a young age, she seemed to understand that crying children get candy, and Fang Xuanyao would always gently pull her up, dusting off the dirt.
She remembered Fang Xuanyao this way.
Even after learning martial arts and becoming unbeatable among the local kids, she never forgot that person.
As she grew older, Fang Xuanyao became increasingly distant. At fourteen, she flew to America, and they didn’t see each other for months.
Her heart filled with frustration, and she realized she might like this older girl.
In her rebellious teenage years, she skipped classes and got into fights regularly, deliberately scoring poorly on exams. Her father wanted to discipline her but couldn’t bring himself to do it.
She seemed to enjoy seeing her father’s exasperation, so she and her childhood friend, Chai Xu, became punk rockers with colorful hair, almost angering her grandmother to the point of fainting.
She flaunted her colorful hair until they couldn’t stand it anymore, then called Fang Xuanyao for help.
After Fang Xuanyao’s call, she immediately shaved her head and promised to get good grades.
Everyone in A City knew that the He family had raised a troublemaker who feared nothing, except for the eldest daughter of the Fang family.
Fang Xuanyao was once He Qingqi’s respected sister and beloved partner, but eventually told her that it was all a lie, saying, “I’ve never liked you since we were young.”
He Qingqi dared not imagine how young.
So why is Fang Xuanyao here today?
He Qingqi didn’t want to think the worst of human nature, but excluding the possibility of love, Fang Xuanyao’s presence only left one answer.
Because she hadn’t contacted Fang Xuanyao for a long time, the latter feared losing her grip on her.
He Qingqi might have only this use for Fang Xuanyao.
He Qingqi didn’t want to admit it, but she had to. Blood and tears had long crushed her arrogance and naivety.
She leaned slightly against Zhuo Zhiwei, her long eyelashes trembling, looking forlorn like a wounded wolf licking its wounds.
Zhuo Zhiwei didn’t know why He Qingqi suddenly became like this, but she let her hand rest on her waist, gently stroking He Qingqi’s back, silently comforting her.
Fang Xuanyao frowned deeply; her gaze darkened as she stared at the intimate duo, her nails almost digging into her flesh.
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