As the words fell, the air fell into a deathly silence for a moment.
He Jin smiled lazily and crooked a finger at him. “Alright, come here.”
Zhou He obediently leaned in, like a well-behaved husky.
The next second.
His neck was seized in a tight grip.
He Jin’s fingers tightened, his knuckles turning white. His voice was icy, an overwhelming pressure descending as he spoke each word deliberately:
“Are you looking to die?”
Zhou He: “…”
So terrifying!
The dance ended.
Shen Yutang stood at the center of the stage, her chest rising and falling slightly, a thin sheen of sweat glistening on her forehead under the spotlight.
She resembled a black rose blooming in the night—noble, elegant.
Her gaze swept across the audience, over the sea of dark figures and countless blurred faces.
Unintentionally, her eyes landed on He Jin’s face.
He Jin was actually here too?
Shen Yutang’s gaze lingered on him for two extra seconds, a flicker of surprise flashing in her eyes.
At the same time, the boy beside Fu Hansheng quickly grabbed his arm.
“Hansheng, Hansheng, I really feel like Shen Yutang was just looking at you—she secretly stared at you for two seconds.”
“Honestly, she danced really well this time, even better than Ruanruan! Talent really is such a cruel thing…”
It was as if she was born for ballet.
“Hey, hey, Hansheng, do you think Shen Yutang entered this competition just to perform specifically for you?”
But Fu Hansheng didn’t even lift his eyelids. He leaned back casually in his chair, hands folded over his abdomen, his tone reserved and indifferent:
“She does enjoy trying to get my attention.”
During the judges’ scoring moment, they exchanged glances, their eyes filled with unconcealed awe and admiration.
They quickly gave Shen Yutang the highest score of 9.8, completely crushing Su Ruanruan’s 8.9!
Almost the instant the scores were announced.
Su Ruanruan’s face grew even paler. Her vision darkened, and she nearly fainted.
The applause from below grew louder and louder, like slaps striking her face one after another:
“Oh my god, truly well-deserved! Shen Yutang is practically goddess-level!”
“Holy crap, amazing! As expected of our school’s belle—she’s got me hooked like a fish.”
“She’s like a delicate work of art from a music box—so perfect, ahhh!”
“Her figure is insane! She must be at least a D-cup, right? Damn… Why can’t she be into girls? I’m so sad. What’s so great about Fu Hansheng? Couldn’t she chase me instead? I’m easy to get, wuwuwu…”
“I feel like Fu Hansheng isn’t even worthy of her. She’s actually really nice—she once gently lent me a sanitary pad. Nothing like the rumors of her being vicious, domineering, and spoiled.”
On the forum, the post Qin Xiaoya had made earlier was completely flooded:
【LMAO, someone even booked a celebration banquet private room. Don’t make me laugh. Who’s the ugly duckling and who’s the real swan? Crystal clear.】
【Celebrating halfway through—so hilarious.】
【So awkward, this post is so awkward. I could dig out an entire school building with my toes.】
【One should still be humble. Su Ruanruan brags all day about being the dance department’s belle, but in the end, wasn’t she completely outclassed by Shen Yutang?】
Qin Xiaoya’s face alternated between green and pale, her fingers trembling as she clicked into the post and swiftly hit delete.
She turned to comfort her: “Ruanruan, it’s okay. You did great!”
Su Ruanruan clenched her fingers, watching helplessly as Shen Yutang raised the trophy, watching helplessly as she shone with dazzling brilliance.
Her eyes were completely stung.
Why did Shen Yutang… not only try to steal Fu Hansheng and He Jin, but also take away her championship trophy?
Why did all the light fall on her alone?
Su Ruanruan bit her lip and finally couldn’t hold back anymore. With tears streaming down her face, she sobbed and ran away.
She deliberately ran outside the hall and crouched down right in front of Fu Hansheng, waiting for him to come and comfort her.
But no matter how long she waited, Fu Hansheng never came after her.
Su Ruanruan instantly cried even harder!
On the stage.
The moment Shen Yutang held the trophy, she finally felt the reality of winning the championship.
The trophy was made of crystal, heavy and solid.
A complex emotion welled up in Shen Yutang’s heart.
Since childhood, she had always placed first in every dance competition—until she met Su Ruanruan in college. Her body would stiffen as if controlled, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t break free from the restraints.
Because a vicious female supporting character cannot escape the author’s control.
In the original plot, she injured her leg in this competition and could never dance again, becoming a lifelong regret.
Fortunately, in this life, everything was fine…
After the competition, the person in charge of the jewelry advertisement came to add her on WeChat.
“Miss Shen, congratulations on winning the championship. We plan to shoot the jewelry advertisement next Saturday. The specific time and signing method will be communicated to you later～”
“Okay, thank you all.”
After exchanging contact information, Shen Yutang changed out of her ballet dress in the dressing room and put on her original light pink dress.
She looked at herself in the mirror, smoothed her curly long hair, and reapplied her peach-colored lipstick.
By now, the audience in the venue had gradually left, and there were almost no people left. The surroundings were very quiet.
Shen Yutang walked out of the dressing room and entered the corridor.
At the entrance of the corridor, a man stood vaguely.
Fu Hansheng stood in front of her, exuding a condescending sense of oppression.
His white shirt glowed with a cold white light under the dim corridor lighting, making his face appear even more ethereal and aloof.
If it were the old Shen Yutang, she would have been pleasantly surprised and overjoyed.
But the current Shen Yutang only felt her vision darken.
Seriously… why did she run into the male lead again for no reason?
Was it really such a coincidence?
Fu Hansheng stared at her, the surrounding atmospheric pressure was quite low, like the suffocating low pressure before a storm.
Shen Yutang couldn’t be bothered to deal with him and tried to walk around him to the left.
Unexpectedly, Fu Hansheng deliberately took a step to her left, blocking her path without any deviation.
Shen Yutang moved to the right.
Fu Hansheng then took a long stride with his leg, blocking her again.
The man’s cold, aloof eyes stared directly into her eyes.
He didn’t say a word.
Just stared.
Shen Yutang was truly speechless.
Bro, what kind of game are you trying to play with her?
She was utterly exasperated. Suppressing her anger, she forced a deathly smile: “Do you have something to say?”
Logically speaking, the male lead should be sweetly and affectionately entangled with the female lead. What’s the point of coming to bother a vicious female supporting character like her all day long?
A good dog doesn’t block the way. Was this dog purely looking for trouble?
Shen Yutang sized him up from head to toe.
She had to admit, Fu Hansheng’s appearance was truly handsome.
His features were exquisite and cold, with a straight nose bridge and thin lips slightly pressed together. He had exquisite, cold eyes, with light-colored pupils like a lake covered in thin ice in winter.
He was like a piece of flawless jade—smooth and refined, yet distant and untouchable.
A faint, crisp scent of pinewood lingered around him.
Which was… the smell of a 2B pencil.
Fu Hansheng waited for a long moment before speaking calmly, his tone carrying an air of unquestionable authority. “Don’t you have anything to explain to me?”
Shen Yutang: “……?”
Explain your thunderous nonsense.
Before Shen Yutang could even respond.
In the next second, Fu Hansheng took a step closer, as if seeing right through her thoughts.
“Shen Yutang, did you wait here on purpose for me?”
“……”
So it was true—when people were utterly speechless, they really did feel like laughing.
Shen Yutang looked at him with an expression reserved for idiots, her voice rising a notch. “Are you insane? Who’s waiting for you?”
Sometimes, she really wanted to crack open the male lead’s head to see if there was actually a brain inside.
This male lead was a pig!
But in Fu Hansheng’s eyes, Shen Yutang’s scolding expression was nothing but a sign of guilt.
It seemed he had hit the mark.
Fu Hansheng sneered, the corner of his lips curling into a disdainful arc, laced with certainty and mockery:
“If you weren’t waiting for me, then who were you waiting for?”
Just then, a deep, magnetic voice suddenly sounded from behind Fu Hansheng—
“She was waiting for me.”
Shen Yutang instinctively turned toward the voice.
He Jin stood expressionlessly behind Fu Hansheng.
He was slightly taller than Fu Hansheng, nearly 190 centimeters, his presence imposing under the dim corridor lights.
The zipper of his black windbreaker was pulled up to his chest, the collar slightly open, revealing a glimpse of his firm collarbone.
His strikingly handsome face showed no emotion, his peach blossom eyes slightly narrowed, the tear mole at the corner of his eye looking like a drop of dark blood under the light.
He Jin reached out, passing by Fu Hansheng, and extended his hand directly toward Shen Yutang.
Shen Yutang didn’t quite react in time.
But she instinctively took He Jin’s hand.
In the next moment, He Jin casually brushed past Fu Hansheng’s shoulder, his thumb pressing against Shen Yutang’s wrist bone, tightening slightly with an undeniable force as he pulled her directly toward him.
“Ouch…”
Shen Yutang stumbled, nearly colliding with his chest.
Her nose brushed against the fabric of his windbreaker, catching the familiar scent of cool mint.
“He Jin, you…”
But He Jin leaned down, bringing his face close to her ear, speaking in a tone that was neither too soft nor too loud:
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
With that, He Jin firmly grasped her hand, his grip unyielding, and led her away without hesitation.
Just before leaving the venue.
He Jin slightly turned his head, his sharp eyes lifting slightly as his gaze swept indifferently over Fu Hansheng’s face, a faint upward tug at the corner of his lips.
Fu Hansheng met his gaze, his lips pressed tightly together, his eyes icy cold.
The two men’s stares clashed in the air.
One scorching, one frigid, inexplicably sparking a tense, confrontational atmosphere.
Even the temperature seemed to drop several degrees.
Fu Hansheng watched helplessly as Shen Yutang was taken away, his expression darkening further, his jawline taut like a string about to snap.
Once outside the venue.
Shen Yutang’s hand was still held by He Jin.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that he seemed to be in a bad mood and asked softly, “Why did you come?”
He Jin: “I came to catch you cheating.”
Shen Yutang: ??