The Stage Performance Begins

After Huang Zhao and the other person left, Ye Shuang glanced at their hurried retreat before turning to ask Zhixia beside him, "Are those two acquaintances of yours?"

Zhixia nodded, though she seemed somewhat downcast. "Yeah, former club members. They left to join another club... Linlin even had a big argument with him when he left."

Ye Shuang was a little surprised that someone as quiet as Linlin would get into an argument, but he didn’t press further.

"So... is their club doing a singing and dancing performance?" Ye Shuang turned to look at Huang Zhao’s "IKUN Music Group." Unlike their own Light Music Club, which was preparing instruments for their performance, the other group seemed to be doing a dance routine—each member even held a basketball.

"Should we try singing and dancing too?" Tang Keke chimed in, holding up her phone. "Look, this dance is really trending right now."

Keke’s phone played a short video—a petite girl dancing for just over ten seconds, yet the clip had already amassed five million likes.

"Huh?" Ye Shuang took a closer look at the girl’s face, particularly the familiar golden twin-tails, before slowly registering who it was.

Wasn’t this the same Alice from last night?

"This girl… she dances?" Ye Shuang asked.

"She’s kind of a famous child star. See? She has over twenty million followers." Keke tapped on the profile, where the follower count clearly displayed 23 million.

Though follower counts could be inflated, the sheer number of likes suggested she was genuinely popular.

Ye Shuang glanced at the name again and noticed a Chinese name in the bio: Zhou Aili.

"Brother?" Tang Keke tilted her head, puzzled by Ye Shuang’s dazed expression.

"It’s nothing. Our performance format isn’t really suited for dancing." Ye Shuang snapped out of it and gestured to their instruments. They couldn’t just drop them mid-performance to start dancing, could they?

But the lead singer could incorporate some extra movements. With that thought, Ye Shuang glanced at Linlin, who immediately understood his meaning and shook her head vigorously like a rattle-drum.

"Let’s just drop the idea."

Seeing how resistant Linlin was, Ye Shuang didn’t push further.

Though they hadn’t known each other for long, Linlin’s quiet, introverted nature made dancing far too demanding for her.

After a short break, they resumed practicing their setlist.

They had prepared two songs for the performance: "Slippery Egg" and "Out of Control," both fairly well-known and within Linlin’s comfort zone. Originally, they had planned to include "Call of Silence," but Linlin lacked confidence in singing it, so they had shelved it for now.

"......"

After another round of practice, Ye Shuang, who had been playing the piano, suddenly sensed something off. He paused, then turned to Linlin, who was holding her guitar. "Linlin."

"Yes, what’s wrong?" Linlin looked back.

"Are you... feeling unwell?" Ye Shuang asked. He had noticed her hitting several wrong notes in a row, and even her singing sounded strained.

Linlin’s expression darkened slightly, but she lowered her head and murmured, "I’m... fine."

Ye Shuang didn’t press further, simply glancing at the others. "Let’s keep going then."

"Linlin..." Zhixia watched her with concern.

Another break came and went.

Linlin still hadn’t regained her usual form, prompting Zhixia to approach her. "Are you okay, Linlin? Is this about Huang Zhao?"

"Mmm." Linlin seemed downcast but managed an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Zhixia. I need to use the restroom."

With that, she set down her guitar and hurried off toward the bathroom.

"Linlin!"

"Zhixia." Ye Shuang walked over. "What’s going on with her?"

"Probably because of Huang Zhao. We used to be really close, but after he quit the club, Linlin had a huge falling-out with him." Zhixia sighed. "She’s always wanted to prove the Light Music Club’s worth... I think Huang Zhao’s taunts got to her. She probably wants to perform well to show him up."

"So the pressure’s making her underperform?" Ye Shuang mused.

"Yeah. When Linlin’s stressed, she makes mistakes, and the mistakes just stress her out more." Zhixia understood the issue but had no solution—Linlin had always been the type to bottle things up.

Soon, Linlin returned, seeming slightly more composed, and they resumed practice.

Compared to Linlin’s struggles, Bai Yuyou and Tang Keke were faring much better. The two girls diligently practiced their guitar parts, with Bai Yuyou—still a beginner—staying up late every night to rehearse for the performance. Sometimes, even Yi Wan could be seen sleeping in his nest, paws clamped over his ears.

"I want to perform well..." Bai Yuyou murmured to Ye Shuang during a break.

"Of course. Aunt Xian is coming to watch, and I heard Chen Qin and Chen Hai will be there too." Ye Shuang smiled. "With so many people watching, we’ll have to give it our best."

Bai Yuyou shook her head. "Not because of them..."

"Because I’m performing with Ye Shuang... so I want to do well..."

Ye Shuang blinked, then gently pinched her soft cheek. "Alright."

Time flew, and evening soon arrived.

The sky burned with streaks of crimson as dusk settled, the heavy clouds unable to smother the lingering glow.

The campus buzzed with energy, the air thick with the lively clamor of students—this was their favorite festival, so much so that even the usual "go-home club" members weren’t in a rush to leave.

After grabbing a quick dinner at the food stalls, Ye Shuang and the others returned to the gymnasium.

The stage was set up just outside, and as another round of seventy fireworks lit the sky, rows of chairs—hauled in by students—filled the area. The front seats were reserved for special guests: the principal, faculty, school board members, and invited celebrities.

At the side of the stage, student hosts rehearsed their scripts for the upcoming acts. The performance schedule placed music-related shows near the top.

Ye Shuang checked the posted lineup—the Light Music Club was slotted at 16th, right after the IKUN Music Group.

As students took their seats and night fully descended,

The stage performances finally began.