“Xiaoyan-jie, don’t you think Xianyun seems to have a story?”
Behind the folding screen.
Chen Xiaoyan and Chongchong were sitting close together. The latter held a cup of juice, nudged her arm, and asked softly.
They had seen the whole scene just now.
That emotionally charged singing had left Chen Xiaoyan quite shocked and surprised.
She hadn’t expected that Xianyun would actually have a story behind her.
Was it heartbreak?
Or was it unrequited love?
“We shouldn’t meddle in other people’s business.”
“I’m just curious, not trying to meddle.”
“Oh.” Chen Xiaoyan replied flatly with a single word, then continued to watch the performance.
Aside from the first group, the other groups on stage were mostly unfamiliar to her.
“It’s already noon. When are we eating lunch?” Chongchong placed her empty juice cup to the side, propped her chin with her hand, and groaned.
These boring performances held no appeal to her at all.
“Isn’t there food on the table over there?”
Chongchong pouted in disdain. “I want to eat steaming hot white rice.”
“Go ask the Service Staff to bring you some.”
“No.”
“???” Chen Xiaoyan looked at her in confusion.
Chongchong flashed her pearly teeth in a smile. “Xiaoyan-jie, why don’t we go out to eat together?”
Chen Xiaoyan laughed at that.
So this girl wanted to go out for a meal with her.
“It’s such a hot day, why run around? Is the Dapeng’s air conditioning not cool enough for you? You want to go out and get some sun?”
“It’s fine, I’m not afraid of the heat.”
“But I am.”
“Well… fine, let’s just eat here.” Chongchong’s mood visibly dropped.
Chen Xiaoyan’s eyes glimmered with amusement as she poked Chongchong on the forehead.
“Alright, don’t make that pitiful abandoned face. I’ll go eat with you.”
“Really?” Chongchong’s eyes lit up, looking at her in delight.
“Mhm.” Chen Xiaoyan nodded, then added, “Should we invite Qingxue and Hongchen, too?”
Chongchong immediately shook her head. “No, I just want it to be us two.”
“Isn’t it a bit inappropriate to eat by ourselves like that?”
“What’s wrong with it? I think it’s perfectly fine. We can just bring some food back for them after we’re done.”
“Come on, let’s go.”
Chongchong impatiently grabbed Chen Xiaoyan’s hand and started heading outside.
“Don’t rush, let me inform Qiuxue first.”
“Hurry, hurry.”
Seeing the girl’s impatience, Chen Xiaoyan could only shake her head in exasperation.
They walked over to give Qiuxue a heads up, telling her they were going out to eat.
“No way, Xiaoyan-dalao, your turn is coming up soon.”
Chen Xiaoyan was stunned.
What?
There’s actually a part for me in this program?
“Qiuxue, are you sure you’re not mistaken?”
Qiuxue pointed toward the large screen on stage, signaling Chen Xiaoyan to look.
[Next contestants: A Curtain of Dreams, Chen Xiaoyan]
Seeing her name on the big screen, Chen Xiaoyan was immediately dumbfounded.
“Xiaoyan-dalao, the second act is a dance battle. Are you ready?”
“I can’t dance at all, just forget it.”
Qiuxue laughed, obviously gloating.
Can’t dance?
Even better. There’s no way you’re escaping this time.
Normally, a social death for most people wouldn’t make much of a splash, but for someone like Chen Xiaoyan, it was bound to be explosive.
“Dalao, think about Yutian.”
Chen Xiaoyan: “…”
Between dancing and singing, which is more mortifying? Definitely the first.
If you sing badly, you torture the audience.
But if you dance badly, you torture yourself, turning into a clown for others’ amusement.
“Qiuxue, is there really no way out?”
“No can do, the names are already up. If you swap now, everyone will look down on you.”
Chen Xiaoyan gritted her teeth, caught in a dilemma.
On one hand, she didn’t want to embarrass herself. On the other, she was worried her disguise would be exposed. Dancing in front of a crowd was far more risky than singing or giving a speech.
Once she started moving, there was a real danger her prosthetic breast would fall out.
And it would be even easier for people to notice it was fake.
“I’ll go on stage for Xiaoyan-jie,” Chongchong spoke up.
She seemed like a ray of light, saving Chen Xiaoyan from the darkness.
Chen Xiaoyan’s eyes brimmed with gratitude as she looked at Chongchong.
As the Web Celebrity Queen of Tianfu, Chongchong wasn’t just cute—her dancing was pretty decent, too.
She wasn’t exactly a top dancer, but she could definitely hold her own among ordinary folks.
“Sorry, substitutes not allowed.”
“Uh…” Chongchong had nothing to say, giving Chen Xiaoyan a look of helpless sympathy before stepping aside.
Then she quietly snickered to herself.
Chongchong had only made a symbolic gesture of volunteering. If Qiuxue hadn’t said that, she wouldn’t have stepped up at all.
Just thinking about Xiaoyan-jie fumbling on stage in a moment, a wicked grin crept onto her face.
What?
Eat?
Forget eating. There’s no way food could be better than watching Xiaoyan-jie make a fool of herself.
After all, you can eat any time, but a once-in-a-lifetime moment like this isn’t something you see every day.
“Xianyun-jie, is heartbreak that painful?”
A Curtain of Dreams was wiping away tears, moved to crying by Xianyun’s singing.
Xianyun rolled her eyes at her.
“I’m not heartbroken.”
“Don’t hide it. People without a story can’t sing like that.”
“I really am not heartbroken.”
Xianyun was completely exasperated. She hadn’t even been in love—where would heartbreak come from?
“Sigh, Xianyun-chan, don’t bottle it up. We’re all here to listen to you now.” Hongchen Rumeng patted her on the shoulder and sighed.
“You think I’m heartbroken too?” Xianyun looked at her in surprise.
“Blame it on you, Xianyun-meimei. Your singing was just so emotional that everyone thinks so.” Hongchen Old Dream said with a smile.
“Exactly, exactly. I was totally dumbfounded just now—I thought I’d wandered into a heartbreak concert.” A Letter of Love chimed in from the side.
A Letter of Love’s words seemed to touch something deep in Xianyun. She gave a bitter smile.
“It really was a bit sad.”
“See? I knew you were heartbroken.” With that, A Curtain of Dreams threw her arms around Xianyun, gently patting her back.
“Don’t be sad, Xianyun-jie. You’re part of our Guose Tianxiang Squad. If that guy doesn’t like you, it’s his loss. I’ll introduce you to a bunch of handsome young men in the guild, guaranteed you’ll like one of them.”
“Don’t give up the whole forest for just one tree!”
“Wait, what’s the Guose Tianxiang Squad?” Xianyun asked, completely puzzled.
“Ahem.” A Curtain of Dreams released Xianyun, coughed a few times, then explained, “Guose Tianxiang is the name I just came up with. Look at our squad—you, Xiaoyan-jie, Chongchong, and me. Which one of us isn’t good-looking? Which one isn’t beautiful?”
A Letter of Love’s eyes lit up instantly. He rubbed his hands together and asked, “Sister Youmeng, can I join your squad?”
“Scram. Guose Tianxiang doesn’t accept men.”
“Hey, that’s gender discrimination!!!”
A Curtain of Dreams stood tall and glared at him. “I am discriminating, so what are you gonna do about it?”
“Not a thing, not a thing.” A Letter of Love immediately chickened out.
He couldn’t afford to offend any of these girls.