Chapter 153

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Chapter 153: Xie Qingxuan Understands the Truth, the Upcoming Stage Battle

At three o’clock in the afternoon.

Tang Liuli adjusted her mindset. She applied concealer to her eyes and used matte brown eyeshadow to lightly cover the red marks from crying. Then she put on brighter lip gloss and pretended nothing had happened as she walked out of the bathroom and into the living room.

The green-eyed cat was feeling very confident. Since she had been so abstractly emotional before, she did not realize how silly she looked while crying, and her two teammates, besides Chu Yuanqing, had already seen everything. In fact, she even felt a little proud now.

Hmph, I am too smart! Such detailed makeup techniques mean no one will know I cried! Rounding it off means I didn’t lose face at all!

Unfortunately,

"Liuli, don’t be sad! Today Little Qing and I will tell you bedtime stories!"

This lovely dream quickly shattered with her clumsy daughter’s comforting words.

On the other side, the sakura girl, whom she saw as a bad woman, even cast a compassionate and loving glance.

The brain of the green-eyed cat shook, for a moment imagining itself as the straw boat used by Zhuge Liang to borrow arrows. Amidst the chaotic and loud fighting, it was shot into a sieve, and it fell into great shame and despair, feeling as if it were turning gray under the intense pressure.

Chu Wang Shu felt that Liuli was moved by her and quickly pulled her back from the second and fifth dimensions. She gently patted the cat’s head, trying to comfort her like Honey Qing did, and said:

"Okay, don’t be sad. Sister Miyuki and I are both good friends of Liuli."

"And we are really, really good friends! No matter if we can smoothly perform together in the second public show, or how many of us can debut in the end, I will always consider Liuli as a good friend!"

"So, Liuli can rely on me more and share any unhappy things with me!"

Upon hearing this, the green-eyed cat was deeply moved. Just as it felt healed, it remembered its "impure" intentions for friendship, and suddenly its guilt swelled, making it even more discouraged, wishing to vanish on the spot.

Well, if not for Little Sakura nearby also reaching out to pet the cat, triggering Tang Liuli’s rival alert and causing her to cautiously hide behind Chu Wang Shu, glaring fiercely at (what she thought was) her opponent, the cat might have had another brain crash and started acting crazy.

Chu Yuanqing watched this "warm" scene and felt a sense of comfort. A harmonious and loving atmosphere is very helpful in relieving all kinds of mental pressure.

"Alright, let’s return our phones together and continue training in the practice room."

Chu Yuanqing interrupted the green-eyed cat’s pre-puff shake.

Kirimi Miyuki nodded in agreement.

Chu Wang Shu thoughtfully asked,

"Speaking of which, we should decide who to challenge, right?"

This makes a lot of sense.

A challenge needs the agreement of both teams; one team can’t just decide to fight on that day.

If we wait until two or three days after training to challenge another team, there might be an awkward situation where the other team has already accepted a challenge, so it’s better to find our challenge target early and let Dream Weaver Rabbit set up the Stage Battle rules.

Kirimi Miyuki seemed prepared; she said,

"I have looked into this. There are currently 12 teams in the A1 area, and I plan to avoid two of them: one is Chen Yining’s team, and the other is Xie Qingxuan and Ji Shuzhu’s team."

"Putting all that aside, I chose a few teams that had a moderate level of challenge, low risk, and could meet our needs. Later, we will all go to the practice room to pick one, and we can apply for a Stage Battle today."

How annoying, how did that Great Devil come back in just a few days?

Tang Liuli was greatly shocked. She recalled the look and words of the other person before they left, and a sense of crisis arose in her. She couldn’t help but complain:

"What kind of strange creatures are Xie Qingxuan and that choreographer?"

"Has it really only been five days? How can they practice two dances to the point of being able to perform officially and even win the Stage Battle?"

Chu Yuanqing wasn’t too surprised. She thought for a moment and said:

"Qingxuan’s dance skills are better than ours, and she has strong focus with always high learning efficiency. It’s not really surprising she can do this."

"As for Ji Shuzhu, she has a rare form of hyperthymesia, which means her brain has a library of dances. When she helped us choreograph a four-person dance, she finished the first version in just a few minutes."

"On that day, she could demonstrate all the positions and modified moves on her own, and with the technological equipment that helps create muscle memory in the A-level practice room, she really can do such amazing things."

The three of them fell silent after hearing these words.

What a powerful combination?

Thinking back, it seems they were able to defeat Great Devil, Miss Choreographer, and Chu Yuanqing because they had an advantage in song selection. Otherwise, if that team had picked the right songs, Ji Shuzhu could have created an amazing reaction.

At that time, the outcome would be hard to predict.

For a moment, all three had the same thought.

— They absolutely must not have another Stage Battle with them!

Chu Yuanqing also did not want to compete with Xie Qingxuan, not because she felt guilty for owing the golden retriever a few minutes of kisses, but simply because the Stage Battle in area A1 was too important.

If one side lost, they would drop down to area B1 and have to learn two dances in just a few days, while facing two more Stage Battles.

Even someone as strong as Xie Qingxuan or Ji Shuzhu would find it difficult to achieve quick success again with such tight time limits, and if they failed, they would face elimination.

Although considering the new rules added by the Dream Weaver Rabbit, as long as Liuli, Miyuki, and Qingxuan are willing, they are very unlikely to be eliminated in this round. However, many people do not realize that there are also conditions for this.

That is—there must be teams in the A1 area that are willing to take in each other.

At first glance, this seems like an easy condition to meet; who would refuse the chance to gain a strong teammate that falls from the sky?

But you must know, the contestants are not fools; no one would wait until the last day to start a Stage Battle. It is more likely for battles to begin a few days before the deadline, like what Little Sakura did.

In other words, the A1 area will clear out quickly in the next few days.

The winners will advance.

The losers will retreat.

The remaining teams are also likely to have scheduled a Stage Battle to make one last effort.

The crucial point lies in a detail here.

That means, in a Stage Battle, one side cannot cancel alone. Even if a holder of [Heart Flow] wants to join your team during the 4v4 match, they cannot just join. They have to wait for the Stage Battle to end or for both sides to agree to cancel the match.

So, if the opposing team hears you want to cancel, they will guess that there is a [Heart Flow] holder wanting to switch to your side. It wouldn’t make sense for them to risk not finding a team to challenge while letting your team easily advance.

Therefore, these two days are the best time to switch teams. After this point, it will be impossible to safely advance just by switching teams and preparing for the second performance.

Chu Yuanqing’s thoughts broke off, and she suddenly remembered the detail she had overlooked, realizing a possibility. She felt a slight headache but decided not to think about it anymore.

The four of them did not talk much more. After returning their phones, they went to the practice room and began their training for the second half of the day, gradually improving the dance called 《Pandora》.

On the other side, in Area A1.

Xie Qingxuan reluctantly handed her phone to the staff. She walked to the resting room next to the practice room and sat down, looking softly towards a certain place like a dog missing its owner, lost in thought and murmuring:

"Little Qing, I really need love."

This conclusion came from following Chu Yuanqing on a big account, openly liking all of her posts on Weibo, and after spending two hours in the fan community chatting.

Although being a public figure and doing this is not very wise, it directly led to a great deal of mourning from Xie Qingxuan’s many loyal fans and the excitement of a group of "Qing Cheng Qing Guo" CP fans.

But that doesn’t matter.

What matters is that Xie Qingxuan, who grew up with riches but lacked love and had her freedom controlled, could truly understand what Chu Yuanqing needed.

— It is love.

— It is love that includes family, friendship, and romance.

Xie Qingxuan lacked love, so she could understand the feeling of not being needed, liked, or cared for. She realized why Little Qing developed such a personality in this environment.

Because of the lack of love, she wanted to love others.

So her kindness does not need to be returned, and she never expects it to be.

Yet that feeling of distance comes from this; as long as one does not hold expectations, they will not be disappointed when love is not received. But if one holds onto this avoiding thought, when faced with love, they may panic, want to keep confirming it, and hesitate.

Realizing this will lead to expectations, and having expectations can result in being hurt.

Well, to some extent, this is exactly the predicament Xie Qingxuan has found herself in, which is why she can imagine it so vividly.

Xie Qingxuan felt a bit confused; she was clueless about relationships. Even though she thought Little Qing was lacking love, she didn’t know how to show it through her actions. She glanced at her teammates in the dance studio, stood up, walked in, looked at the three of them with a cool and indifferent face, and asked a very straightforward question:

"Can I ask a question?"

"How can someone feel that they are being loved?"

This question was like a bolt from the blue, even giving the usually emotionally dull Miss Choreographer a small shock.

Fan Qiuling was also taken aback.

Is this something her tyrant would ask? Isn’t that too innocent and girlish?

"Physical touch, like holding hands or giving a strong hug."

"But the premise is that you must not make the other person feel uncomfortable."

The first to answer the question was Fan Qiuling’s new teammate sitting next to her.

The young woman had a mature look, was tall and walked with a confident aura. She appeared older than everyone else present, likely around 23 years old, and was one of the older contestants in this youthful competition.

Chu Qiushuang.

This was the teammate chosen by Ji Shuzhu according to the ranking of shining qualities.

She performed well among the Grade B contestants and had been a trainee for three years. After feeling that there was no future, she broke her contract and switched to become a social media influencer. She was quite famous in the outside world as a popular blogger, so she could not be considered a complete amateur, but she hadn’t really entered the industry either.

Ji Shuzhu answered concisely:

"Take care of her."

"Give her what she wants, treat her as well as you can, and show your feelings through your actions."

This answer made Chu Qiushuang and Fan Qiuling feel something strange.

Miss Choreographer usually has a cold and distant attitude, and can go a whole day without saying more than three sentences. So how could she give such a simple and foolish answer about love?

Fan Qiuling complained:

"No way! That would just make you a ‘doormat.’ Being nice to someone has its limits and should have some freshness."

"If you are always nice to someone, at first they might feel touched, but over time, they will take it for granted. Then, if you do something a little less nice, you will just get complaints and blame."

Ji Shuzhu replied lightly:

"That just means you chose the wrong person."

This certainty, as if saying "I will not choose the wrong person," made Fan Qiuling feel oddly as if she was given empty love food. She decided to ignore those details and honestly answer Xie Qingxuan’s question.

"The simplest and most sincere way to make someone feel loved is to express it in words, just like telling someone ‘I like you.’ It’s best to also give flowers, and to have a sincere attitude to show you are serious."

Xie Qingxuan seemed deep in thought as she carefully considered her plan. The whole process was simple: send flowers, confess feelings, ask for support, and create close physical connections.

"Thank you all, I understand now."

Xie Qingxuan politely expressed her gratitude.

Fan Qiuling fell silent. She didn’t really know what the leader understood, but if she said she understood, then maybe she really did?

At the same time, the voice of Dream Weaver Rabbit rang out from the loudspeaker.

Everyone was used to it but still felt a heaviness in their hearts.

This was already the third notice for a Stage Battle in Area A1 today.

Whether from the perspective of practicing the dance or finding someone to challenge, they didn’t have much time left.

Xie Qingxuan glanced at Ji Shuzhu, the dark mist in her eyes swirling as she softly said:

"The teams in Area A1 have a very high quality. We can’t just take away their shine without going through the Stage Battle, but at the same time, we don’t have much time left."

"So, this time’s shining formula will not have any new materials. We must focus on the dances we have and create the best formula with the existing shine."

Ji Shuzhu reminisced about the lingering taste on her tongue; she enjoyed the shine created by yesterday’s 14 performances but responded with a hint of regret:

"You are right."

Miss Choreographer finished speaking and turned to the two, saying:

"I will recreate this dance, trying to add all the difficult moves that can’t be learned quickly onto me and Xie Qingxuan. If you have any opinions, you can share them."

Chu Qiushuang nodded in agreement, showing she had no objections.

Fan Qiuling did the same.

It’s hopeless; not to mention they have no say in the team, but considering the reality, they don’t even have a week to prepare for this team. This is even with the fact that they chose to wait until the very last day of the deadline; otherwise, they would only have three days.

In such extreme circumstances, being able to perform more actions on stage and show your best is a detail that can be temporarily ignored.

After all, nothing is more important than advancing to the next round; no one wants to be sadly eliminated without even stepping on the stage for the second performance.

Ji Shuzhu said:

"So the question is, which team are we going to challenge?"

Fan Qiuling sighed:

"If Dream Weaver Rabbit doesn’t send out a message, we would have many options, but now we can only look for strong teams that are very confident in their abilities. At the very least, we need to find a team that is all Grade B to accept the challenge."

Chu Qiushuang understood the implied meaning.

Xie Qingxuan, known as the Stage Tyrant, is still trending today after the remarkable achievement she made yesterday. The contestants can’t help but check Weibo when they get their phones, and there’s no way they wouldn’t see this.

In other words, this team’s terrifying record of 14 consecutive wins in one day must have spread to all the teams in the AI region.

Even though everyone knew that their team had just arrived in the A1 area and had very little time to practice dancing, due to Xie Qingxuan and Ji Shuzhu’s past successes, there were still very few teams brave enough to challenge them in a Stage Battle.

Xie Qingxuan spoke calmly:

"I never intended to challenge the weak."

"I rushed through the first two areas just to have another stage battle with Kirimi Miyuki."

Chu Qiushuang’s silence was deafening.

Seriously, do you even hear what you’re saying?

That team is an outrageous combination of 3A1B, you know? And unlike here, where Xie Qingxuan is the only one doing all the attacking with her single[Heart Flow], the enemy’s[Heart Flow] has three, plus they have trained for a whole extra week, so the chances of winning seem very slim, right?

Fan Qiuling actually thought it was possible. Unlike Chu Qiushuang, she had stood on the stage and experienced the charm of Xie Qingxuan, known as the Stage Tyrant. The way she turned her teammates into pieces of a game, gathering all the light to herself, radiating power like a taxing force across the land, was simply not something a normal team could compare to.

Even a 3A1B team setup might still have a chance to compete.

You should know that Xie Qingxuan holds nearly half of the brilliance of the competitors in this division, and she has not yet truly unleashed all her strength on stage. Otherwise, that day’s "Heart Flow" would not have lasted so long.

Just imagine, if all the focus and energy scattered across 14 performances were gathered and unleashed in just three minutes on one stage, what kind of miracle could be created?

It can be won!

Fan Qiuling was even more confident than Xie Qingxuan herself and immediately replied:

"I have no objections."

Ji Shuzhu felt the same way. She understood better than anyone what great move Xie Qingxuan was holding back. If the opponent wasn’t someone like Kirimi Miyuki, a high-quality and special rival, they wouldn’t unleash their full power, and she wouldn’t get to experience… her true brilliance.

Therefore, this battle must be fought.

Chu Qiushuang gritted her teeth and said:

"But they have been in A1 for a week. It’s possible they have already matched up with opponents and are ready to advance."

"And just like we feel threatened by competing with each other, Kirimi Miyuki has no reason to take the risk of agreeing, right?"

Fan Qiuling smiled, her eyes darkened with a shadowy hue, and softly said:

"You said one thing right, everyone feels threatened when they compete against strong teams."

"So… who in Area A1 do you think would take the risk to agree to compete with Kirimi Miyuki?"