Chapter 33

One by one, the guests arrived at the rehearsal hall. Seeing Zhao Yu teaching Zheng Wanyi how to dance, they all gathered around in amazement. Zheng Wanyi said excitedly, “I just had breakfast, and Xiao Yu already learned our entire routine!”

Everyone had heard about Zhao Yu’s skills, but they’d never seen her perform—it was just word of mouth. Now, watching her break down each move step by step, they finally understood what a true pro looked like.

Xia Yuan couldn’t help but worry for his goddess. “Xiao Yu, have you learned So Busy yet? You still have to rehearse your own stage—don’t run out of time.”

Zhao Yu gave him an OK sign.

Though Zheng Wanyi had no dance background, she was young and learned fast. By the morning, she’d picked up most of it. The bigger challenge was Chu Erping, who was older and slower to pick up moves.

Zhao Yu adapted parts of the original choreography to suit both of them better. After lunch, Zheng Wanyi and Chu Erping started practicing on their own.

Shen Junyi tossed his phone—heated from gaming—to his assistant, leaped onto the meter-high stage in one bound, and shoved Xia Yuan, who was hovering near Zhao Yu, aside with a look of disgust. “Shoo, shoo. Wanyi’s team has no stage experience, so that’s understandable. But you? You’re asking about blocking positions? Aren’t you supposed to be a singer-dancer idol? You should be embarrassed.”

Xia Yuan just wanted an excuse to interact with Zhao Yu. He stuck his neck out and said, “I’m asking for Teacher Ruan!”

Shen Junyi scoffed, not bothering to expose his little scheme, and turned to Zhao Yu. “Let’s rehearse.”

They still hadn’t practiced the adapted duet parts together from last night. Zhao Yu followed him, glancing back at Xia Yuan. “You and Teacher Ruan keep practicing. I’ll come check on you later and see if anything needs adjusting.”

Xia Yuan shook his fist. “Hmph! Next episode, I’ll definitely be paired with Xiao Yu!”

Zheng Wanyi, floating by with her dark circles, glared at him. “Get in line! I’m first!”

Xia Yuan: “…………”

While the guests rehearsed, stage setup was also in full swing. With such a big-budget show, every aspect had been prepped in advance. Time was tight but still manageable according to plan.

The hours slipped by in rehearsal.

The production team delivered the stage outfits, tailored to each guest’s measurements. Zhao Yu had chosen a simple white shirt paired with denim shorts—the lightweight fabric revealing a black tube top underneath, a mix of subtle and bold that exuded a cool sensuality.

When she came out after changing, she saw Shen Junyi leaning against the wall waiting.

Their outfits matched.

He was also in a white shirt, loosely draped over him, collar casually undone in a V-shape that revealed his collarbones. A silver chain necklace hung around his neck, paired with long black pants and sneakers—carefree yet effortlessly charming.

He really was beautiful, this person.

Zhao Yu secretly thought: this is basically a couple’s outfit, right?

Her thoughts had only wandered for two seconds before Shen Junyi pulled her back. “Done? I just thought of a change to one of the moves—let’s go try it out over there.”

The backstage was bustling with people. They found a relatively open spot, and Shen Junyi pulled up their rehearsal video, dragging it to the middle section. “Here—after your spin, there’s that backbend move.”

Zhao Yu nodded, watching the video.

He stepped back two paces. “Do the spin first.”

The move was similar to a ballet pirouette—spinning on the balls of the feet. Zhao Yu executed it effortlessly. After two spins, according to their earlier adaptation, she was supposed to bend backward into a backflip.

But this time, after she finished the spin, Shen Junyi suddenly stepped forward, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her into his arms.

His scent enveloped her.

Before she could process it, his arm was around her waist. He looked down and asked, “What if you do the backbend from here?”

The waist-grab.

His palm was warm, separated only by the thin layer of her shirt. When it settled on her waist, it felt like she was burning all over.

But the look in his eyes as he lowered his head was serious, almost intense. When it came to the stage, he always demanded perfection.

Zhao Yu gave the faintest nod. “Okay.”

He broke into a grin, that proud, triumphant sparkle returning to his bright eyes. “I knew the old move was off—too little interaction. This is way better, right?”

He let go and tugged at his crooked collar.

Zhao Yu replied flatly, “Yeah… way better…”

Shen Junyi said, “Let’s run it a few more times!”

Over and over, his palm found her waist, the warmth spreading inch by inch through her body. By the end, her entire waist felt numb.

All she could remember was the delicate sensation of his hand on her.

She’d been nervous and excited about performing with him for the first time, but now the thrill of the waist-grab had completely overshadowed any stage anxiety. While waiting in the wings, her mind was oddly calm—almost numb.

The audience had already filed in. A thousand seats were packed but not noisy. The stage play had just ended, and the host was warming up the crowd. They were scheduled to perform first.

This was probably the smallest stage either of them had performed on since debuting.

The moment Zhao Yu stepped onto the stage to the beat, the moment she stood under the spotlight—all thoughts unrelated to the stage melted away.

No matter the size, this was always the place where her dreams came true.

Every time she stood there, she felt like she was glowing.

The other guests watched from the wings, marveling. “These two are incredible.”

Even on a small, cramped stage with only a thousand people, they commanded the energy of a stadium show.

Zheng Wanyi cupped her face dreamily. “Ahhh, Xiao Yu is so cool! I’m in!”

Wei Chi sighed and pushed her head gently. “The camera’s on you.”

Zheng Wanyi planted her hands on her hips. “I’m in I’m in I’m in!”

Xia Yuan nearly died laughing. Looking at the stage, his eyes were full of admiration. “Xiao Yu is so strong. I was worried she couldn’t keep up with Junyi Ge’s stage presence and would end up a background dancer—but she’s even more explosive.”

A flawless performance ignited the entire venue.

Most of the ticketed audience weren’t fans of Shen Junyi or Zhao Yu. Some uncles and aunties had never even heard their names. But no one held back their applause.

For the two of them, a single dance was nothing. They weren’t even out of breath coming offstage. Shen Junyi, as if finally done with his task, immediately called out to his assistant: “Quick, quick—hand me my phone. I have a team battle scheduled!”

Zhao Yu: “…………”

Since they’d have to go back onstage later for closing remarks, neither removed their makeup. In the green room, Shen Junyi had already launched his game.

Zhao Yu, holding a water cup, heard the game start-up sound. Shen Junyi’s fingers tapped away, looking even more excited than when he’d been onstage.

Then, the moment he logged in, he froze.

His assistant read his expression. “Shen Ge, what’s wrong?”

Shen Junyi poked at his screen for a long time, then said, absolutely outraged, “They kicked me out of the team!!!”

Zhao Yu: “Pfft…”

She laughed too loudly. Shen Junyi glared at her, then continued fuming. “This is a provincial top-100 team! I logged in and checked in on time every day—why did they kick me?!”

His assistant thought to himself: Why else? Because you suck.

But he just smoothed things over. “Oh well, if they kicked you, they kicked you. Just join another one.”

Shen Junyi was not satisfied. “This is like the fourth one this month! I’ve practically joined every top-100 team in our province!”

His assistant suggested, “You could tell them who you are. Then no one would kick you.”

Shen Junyi said, with great pride, “No! I have to earn my spot with skill.”

His assistant muttered quietly, “That might be tough…”

The fuming golden retriever, grumbling nonstop, went back to applying to top-100 teams.

Zhao Yu sat diagonally across from him. She finished the warm water Lin Zhinan had handed her, took out her phone, muted it, glanced up at him, and seeing him completely absorbed, opened the game with confidence.

She’d only opened it once after downloading it—completed the tutorial and never touched it again. With two days of filming, she hadn’t had a chance. This was her first real login.

Lin Zhinan glanced at Shen Junyi across the room, then at Zhao Yu’s sneaky movements, and gave her an “I see you” look.

Zhao Yu had never played a MOBA game before. Candy Crush and match-3 were the extent of her gaming experience. Now, staring at the complex interface and the dense array of icons, she had no idea where to even tap.

Lin Zhinan leaned in and whispered, “This is a great opportunity! Ask him to teach you!”

Zhao Yu glared at her. “Shut up!”

No way would she let him know she was playing—and that she was a total noob! She had to get good first. Then she could strut up and say all cool-like: “Want me to carry you?”

Heh. That would feel amazing.

But she’d barely opened the hero selection screen and was just starting to explore when Shen Junyi’s surprised voice came from across the room. “Hey, you play King of Glory too?”

Zhao Yu didn’t register at first that he was talking to her. She kept pretending to scroll through her phone.

Then she heard him call out excitedly, “Zhao Yu, wanna duo?”

Zhao Yu nearly dropped her phone.

How did he know?!

Shen Junyi was already talking to himself. “I’ll invite you… let’s see… huh? Bronze? You’re only Bronze?”

Zhao Yu: “???”

Ahhhhh, what does that mean—why does he seem to know everything?!

Shen Junyi lost interest and leaned back. “Never mind. You’re only Bronze. Too noob. I won’t play with you.”

Zhao Yu: “???”

Lin Zhinan was about to die laughing beside her. She reached over and tapped the game interface, finally enlightening the confused gaming novice.

It turned out the game friends list synced with WeChat friends!

Shen Junyi’s name was right there in her friend list, not only showing he was in-game and at Diamond 2 rank, but even displaying that he’d been in the match for two minutes.

Zhao Yu was devastated.

She should have logged in with a dummy account!!!

Wait—what did he just say?! He called her noob?! And this guy who kept getting kicked out of teams had the nerve to call HER noob???

Zhao Yu was so mad she didn’t speak to him for the rest of the night.

After the closing stage, filming for this episode officially wrapped. Zhao Yu had a promotional event in Beijing tomorrow morning, so she said her goodbyes and headed to the airport.

As she got in the car, she heard Shen Junyi excitedly telling his assistant, “This team is even stronger. I definitely won’t get kicked this time!”

Zhao Yu slammed the car door shut, expressionless.

After finishing her work emails, Lin Zhinan leaned in, positively buzzing with gossip. “So? How was it? What are your post-show thoughts after performing with your idol?”

Zhao Yu gave her a long, wistful look. “Did you see it?”

Lin Zhinan looked around in confusion. “See what?”

Zhao Yu: “My shattered teenage heart.”