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The youth sat there, completely silent as he stared at the paper for a long time.
The hard work he put in… every sleepless night he spent, every experience he suffered because of dancing practice, every drop of sweat he shed… seemed to turn into a joke on this piece of paper. This was his reward? For all of that?
The staff hesitated and said, “Suisui?”
Jian Xingsui quickly came back to his senses, and smiled: “Well, I’ve finished reading it. So, then I’ll start the live broadcast.”
When the staff saw his expression, they only stiffly nodded. Judging by their reaction… they probably guessed it just by observing Jian Xingsui.
They probably also understand some of the unspoken rules of the program group. Trainees who were not pre-casted in the debut position would not be able to succeed with just hard work. Money always spoke the loudest. Fanciful “hopes” and “dreams” were just a fleeting leaf, blown by the gust.
Reality and dreams were like heaven and earth. Jian Xingsui should stop being delusional about his future.
The staff hesitated and said, “Suisui, you… erm… you can tell the fans what you want to say. You can also solicit votes for yourself, and then you have to let the audience see your ranking in this stage.”
Jian Xingsui nodded, and he clicked the “start live” button on the live broadcast app. As a participant who was always recorded by the live broadcast camera, this was his first time being able to see the live barrage.
After the audience saw that it was Jian Xingsui, many people were very excited:
[It’s Suisui!]
[Wuwuwu, I stayed up late until almost three in the morning, and I finally saw you, baby…] [cute crying sounds]
[Although he is not my bias, I’m fine with this! Hello Suisui~]
Jian Xingsui bowed politely to everyone with a smile, and said, “Hi everyone, I’m Jian Xingsui, nice to meet you.”
The live broadcast room was filled to the brim with comments. It was impossible for him to read it all.
Jian Xingsui handed out the card in his hand for everyone to see: “This is my ranking for this stage. I am very grateful for everyone’s support for me. I will work hard in the future.”
The audience could clearly read the words written on the paper.
Just as Jian Xingsui thought, they were shocked into speechlessness.
[Did I read it wrong???]
[Is it fifth or fifteen?]
[Why did his ranking drop so much?]
The fact that Jian Xingsui changed from third to fifteenth shocked the audience, including many neutral audiences and netizens. Not long ago, Jian Xingsui’s ranking was still hovering in the top six debut positions, why did he suddenly drop to fifteenth today?
They weren’t stupid. They actually have a guess they kept locked inside their heart. They just didn’t dare to say it outloud, lest it offend the other party involved.
Many fans also began to leaving questions and comments on the screen:
[Is it really fifteen? Could it be that I got it wrong?]
[How is it possible, the fanclub has spent millions on voting tickets.]
[“Why is it fifteen, my God… My friends and I even used our relatives’ phone numbers to help with voting1it’s implied, as it was the normal operation in China, that to have a legitimate vote, you need a verifiable Chinese phone number. And as for extra votes, you need to buy them with real money.!]
Jian Xingsui watched the barrage quietly for a while.
The staff next to him reminded him: “There are still two and a half minutes left, you are required  to say something to the fans.”
This was a very precious opportunity, after all. His ranking has dropped too much, so if he was smart, he should know how to mobilize the high emotions of his fans to canvass more votes to compete.
But the young man sitting on the chair has always been very calm. After taking a deep breath, Jian Xingsui smiled: “I am very grateful to everyone voting for me. From the depths of my heart, thank you. If possible, I would like to suggest… not waste your money on buying voting tickets for me. If you have extra spending money, use it for yourself. Go watch the new movies, buy a meal from a good restaurant, or something like that.”
Jian Xingsui’s unexpected words baffled the audience. However, he paid it no mind and continued, “Save the money to do more meaningful things. But still, thank you for liking me. If the lives of my fans are good, I too, will be happy. Very… very happy.”
He knew this kind of ranking was inevitable. His agent has said so. Even Fu Jinxiao had indirectly implied it.
That one million yen Wang-ge always used to threaten him… it’s clear to him that the debut position has already been pre-determined, even maybe since before the show started filming.
However, despite all the psychological preparation he had, he still felt wronged. He wanted to cry, but he couldn’t.
The audience exploded:
[What are you talking about, Suisui??]
[Are you crazy!]
[It’s not a waste of money, I am willing to do this!]
But the more the fans were like this, the sadder Jian Xingsui felt in his heart. He took a deep breath, not wanting to show any strangeness in front of the fans, so he did his best to continue in a softer voice, “If you have extra tickets in your hands, please use it to vote for Xingchen and Ning Ze instead. They are hardworking and excellent people. My dancing and singing are not very good, but both of them excelled at this. I hope everyone can support them.”
He knew that he would leave “Starlight” soon.
Along the way, he received a lot of love and care from his friends. As the inevitable goodbye slowly closing in, he realized there was nothing he could do beside this. He could only help his friends to debut. At least for them, it was still possible.
After coming out of the cabin, Shen Xingchen and Ning Ze came over: “How is it, what is your ranking?”
Jian Xingsui smiled and said nothing, he was afraid of affecting the emotions of his friends.
Seeing the unusually silent Jian Xingsui, Shen Xingchen was panicking. He immediately thought of the worst case scenario. With a bated breath, he commanded, “You talk!”
“It’s nothing, don’t worry, I’m entering the final stage.” Jian Xingsui said, “My exact ranking doesn’t really matter, okay? Instead, you two should hurry up and interact with fans. It’s time.”
Shen Xingchen and Ning Ze looked at each other, but Ning Ze went first.
After he went in, Jian Xingsui and Shen Xingchen sat outside. The two of them didn’t speak for a while. Jian Xingsui pretended to do something, in the stilted silence. However, he didn’t understand why Shen Xingchen didn’t speak at all.
The atmosphere became inexplicably tense.
All along, Jian Xingsui knew that Shen Xingchen was a carefree person. But this time, he was eerily silent. Although Shen Xingchen was always nervous, at this moment, he seemed to have guessed something.
With every meeting, there has to be a parting.
The time was near.
Perhaps soon, they would have to separate, and from then on, they would walk on two different paths. Maybe it would never converge, like two parallel lines, infinitely stretching, never towards the other.
Jian Xingsui tried to ease the atmosphere: “Do you still want to learn that acupuncture point? I’ll teach you.”
Shen Xingchen returned to his senses, and waited for Jian Xingsui to glance at him with a vicious stare.
Jian Xingsui innocently asked, as if nothing bad had happened, “Why? Is something the matter?”
The thing was, Shen Xingchen had spent quite a long time with Jian Xingsui. He precisely knew how the youth looked when he was desperately trying to avoid a topic. Once Shen Xingchen saw the fragile, glassy look in Jian Xingsui’s eyes, he understood. In return, his own eyes also reddened.
Ah… sure enough, he guessed it.
Jian Xingsui continues to pretend the elephant in the room doesn’t exist.
He sighed slightly in his heart: “Then don’t learn.”
Sometimes, things were just not meant to be said out loud.
Shen Xingchen snorted and lowered his head, “Teach me when you go back.”
Jian Xingsui replied, “Okay.”
“Forget it, when I go back, I want to practice dancing, how can I have time to learn another skill?” Shen Xingchen seemed to be deceiving himself.
Then, he got an idea. Now, he insisted on forcing Jian Xingsui to make a promise with him, “You will teach me after we debut together in a group.”
“…”
A short silence was his response.
Shen Xingchen became impatient. He scolded with a hoarse voice, “Speak up!”
Jian Xingsui looked up at him. In fact, there was no need to speak. The two sides already understood the situation. Shen Xingchen himself was sent by Shen Minglang to participate in this variety show. At that time, his older brother was talking about tempering his arrogance and character. And maybe, after experiencing some partings and bad, unfair things in the world, the ignorant yet just young master would understand the cruel way of the world, and would no longer be so naive.
But……
Jian Xingsui looked at Shen Xingchen staring at his eyes, and suddenly felt a little soft-hearted. He smiled softly and nodded: “Yes, I will teach you.”
Not long after, Ning Ze also came out.
The expression on his face was not very good either. Ning Ze was getting old, this was his last chance. If the result was not good, he might have to bid farewell to the stage forever.
Shen Xingchen stood up and said, “I’m going in.”
Jian Xingsui told him, “Ask for extra votes from the fans. If your ranking is not low, you will compete for the center position.”
Li Xu’an was his number one enemy, and he was committed to competing with him for the center position. The rankings of the two were also very close, and the competition was really fierce.
Shen Xingchen snorted lightly: “That’s not up to you.”
After entering the cabin, the staff handed him his stage ranking.
Shen Xingchen didn’t answer.
The staff looked at him suspiciously, but heard Shen Xingchen say: “I want to know the ranking of Jian Xingsui and Ning Ze.”
The staff had never encountered such a situation before, so he hesitated and said, “I can’t tell you, everyone can only look at their own ranking.”
“Okay.” Shen Xingchen opened up his own ranking. He was ranked second this time. It’s clear to him also, that the first place was either Anran or Li Xu’an. Since both of them were the people he hates, normally speaking, he must work hard to get votes and squeeze those two out of the first place in the final selection.
But when the live broadcast started, facing rows of the fan barrage, Shen Xingchen could only stare in a moment of silence.
After adjusting his mentality, he said: “Hello everyone, I am Shen Xingchen.”
The audience was very excited:
[My Xing-baby! Mommy loves you!]
[You grew so big!]
[I vote for you every day.]
The bad-boy young master smirked, making his fangirls go crazy. With his rogue-ish appeal, he spoke, “Isn’t it necessary to vote for me every day? That’s just normal operation, you bad girl.”
This young man was confident yet naive, childish yet had a wild appeal. His words always make people laugh or cry. He also was the type who knew what his fans like, so when he said those teasing words, his fans really appreciated it.
However, Shen Xingchen suppressed his smile a little. This young master who always ignored everything was looking at the live broadcast room seriously at this moment. He did not choose to canvass votes for himself to defeat his old enemy, but said, “Today, I’m here to solicit votes for my brothers, Jian Xingsui and Ning Ze. I don’t know their rankings, but I hope that if you have extra votes in your hands, you can vote for them.”
At the barrage, Shen Xingchen saw his fans give him Jian Xingsui’s ranking spoiler. Seeing it, his eyes darkened.
It was the fifteenth place.
At the last minute, Shen Xingchen was a little anxious, “If you are my loyal fans… can you save the votes you originally wanted to use for me and give Jian Xingsui a little bit? No need to give me too high of a ranking. So long as I can debut together with the two of them, not getting first place is fine.”
This was a little ancestor of young master who always put a lot of emphasis on winning or losing.
From childhood to adulthood, he has hardly experienced any setbacks and injustice. He has always had everything he wanted, and there was nothing he couldn’t get. It was this kind of environment that created a fearless young master.
His family sent him away because they wanted him to hone his character.
And at this moment, the willful young master lost his original pride. He didn’t have to win against Li Xu’an. He didn’t need to have the highest ranking possible.
Shen Xingchen held the ranking card and took a deep breath. He said to the audience: “I’m counting on you, my people!”
There was a burst of laughter in the live broadcast room.
Jian Xingchen saw that many fans in the barrage had promised to help his brothers to vote for him. He also smiled, and made a clasped fist on the spot, and he almost missed the target with the audience. The depressed atmosphere before was completely turned into a funny scene.
However, what Shen Xingchen did not know now was that the injustice of reality was the first lesson this world taught him. And soon, the cruelty of reality would be the second lesson the world taught him.
1it’s implied, as it was the normal operation in China, that to have a legitimate vote, you need a verifiable Chinese phone number. And as for extra votes, you need to buy them with real money.