Is It a Secret Offer

Today, the number of promotion slots was tightly restricted. Out of the first few hundred people who went up, only a handful managed to secure a spot to advance.

So when Cai Junhuang heard with her own ears that she had made it through, she felt like the blood flowing through her veins had finally smoothed out.

She didn’t dare to shout or cheer on stage. She just clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms.

That solid sense of relief was more effective than any calming pill.

Her eyes reddened involuntarily as she scanned the crowd below for Sister Mian.

Then she suddenly snapped back to reality, realizing she was still on the audition stage.

“Thank you, thank you to the three judges.”

Cai Junhuang pulled herself together and bowed in appreciation.

The male judge in the middle adjusted his glasses and, rare for him, cracked a smile. “Nice dancing. Keep up that form. You’ve got the best foundation I’ve seen so far.”

As Cai Junhuang exited the stage, the waiting area on both sides was packed with contestants.

The usually noisy backstage had quieted down considerably. Those who had come just to test the waters were now looking a bit dazed.

Her dance had set the bar for the auditions at a height that some people simply couldn’t reach.

“Let’s go. Why even bother competing? Might as well go home and hit the sack,” said a girl in the back row, who had just changed into her dance outfit. She slung her bag over one shoulder and walked past the staff toward the exit.

That kind of invisible blow was the most crushing.

Many people had self-awareness, but others had no clue how outmatched they were.

Lin Mo leaned on the railing upstairs, watching the whole scene unfold.

He glanced sideways at Fang Jun, who was still staring blankly, and gave him a light slap.

“She’s already off stage. Aren’t you going to call and congratulate her?”

Fang Jun snapped out of it and fumbled for his phone in his pocket. “Right, right! I’ll call now!”

After watching Cai Junhuang dance, Fang Jun was still buzzing with excitement. He hadn’t really seen her dance much before—just waited for her downstairs as usual.

He had always thought she was just a girl who loved to practice. But up on that stage, the fierce intensity and beauty of her performance made him feel like there were several streets’ worth of distance between them.

He poked at the screen a few times and dialed.

Back on Cai Junhuang’s side, she had just gotten her belongings back from Sister Mian.

Before she could even unzip her bag, a ringtone with a heavy throwback vibe started playing from inside.

“Love you, love you, love you, never enough—I can love you every day, every month, every year, until forever...”

Sister Mian couldn’t help but laugh. “Caicaizi, your taste... that ringtone must be at least twenty years old, right?”

Cai Junhuang didn’t get annoyed. She quickly fished out her phone. “My mom insisted on setting it for me. She said the song is fun. I’ve gotten used to it, and it’s actually pretty catchy.”

The screen lit up, showing three words: Fang Shazi.

“Oh, the fool’s calling,” Sister Mian said, glancing sideways with a teasing smile. “Timing’s spot on—like he’s got a surveillance camera on you.”

“It’s probably something else,” Cai Junhuang said, but her finger moved faster than her words as she hit the answer button.

As she answered the call, Cai Junhuang said, “What’s up?” She tried to keep her tone low, aiming to sound as normal as possible.

Sister Mian crossed her arms and watched with amusement.

This girl had been nervous just a moment ago, but now—that unconscious curl of her lips was impossible to hide.

“Congratulations, big star. Your dance was amazing.” Fang Jun’s voice came through the receiver, carrying a rare earnestness.

Sister Mian watched Cai Junhuang’s blush spread from her neck all the way up to her face in an instant.

Cai Junhuang bit her lower lip and subconsciously traced circles on the floor tiles with her toe. “Where did you see it?”

She instinctively wanted to lift her head and scan the crowd for that familiar figure.

But just as she started, she froze.

Fang Jun was probably lurking nearby. If she looked up now, she’d be telegraphing her feelings to him.

She quickly lowered her head, staring at the sparkles on her shoes.

“Old Mo and I came over here to grab a bite, spotted a competition, and decided to check it out. Turned out you were performing,” Fang Jun said. He paused, wanting to say something else, but settled on, “Congrats on making it past the auditions!”

Cai Junhuang loosened her grip on the corner of her clothes. “Thanks.”

“So, do you want to join us for a meal? It’s just me, Old Mo, and Lao An—no one else.”

Cai Junhuang glanced at Sister Mian and turned him down flat. “No, I’ve got to go back with the girls from the dance studio.”

“Alright then.” There was a hint of quiet disappointment in Fang Jun’s voice, like a golden retriever who didn’t get a treat.

As soon as she hung up, An Yuexin sidled up to Fang Jun and started mocking him in a singsong voice.

“Alright then~ So pitiful! Your Caicaizi definitely turned down dinner with you. This meal’s going to be tasteless now.”

Fang Jun wiped the expression off his face and said seriously, “She’s with her dance studio friends, so of course she should be with them. Have some tact, will you?”

But Lin Mo, at that moment, was more curious.

In his previous life, he couldn’t recall whether this event had ever happened. He didn’t remember Cai Junhuang passing the auditions at this point.

Because as far as he remembered, Cai Junhuang’s participation in a talent show came later—not at this G2 stage.

Though it was possible she just didn’t go, so no one in their class knew about it.

He didn’t dwell on it.

“Old Mo, what are you spacing out for? Come on up! Master Fang’s feeling down today. Don’t we need to order a couple of hearty dishes to console him?” An Yuexin called out from the escalator.

After Cai Junhuang’s competition ended, the group lost interest in watching more and headed upstairs to find food.

Fang Jun, meanwhile, kept texting on his phone. Who he was texting was obvious.

Lin Mo, however, let his spiritual sense drift around the audition judges.

Sure enough, in a temporary break room, one of the judges who had just rotated off spoke up.

“That girl dances really well. Even without the designated slot, she would have advanced anyway.”

A female judge snorted. “And yet, she still wanted the safety net. It’s not surprising—pretty girl, pretty dance. She might have been prepping to sign a contract. This Cai Junhuang is definitely talent worth grooming.”

“Good talent still needs resources to back it up. Anyway, let’s just take our cut and keep our mouths shut. If this gets out, none of us will escape unscathed.”

“Come on, it’s not like this is our first time pulling this kind of thing...”

Lin Mo frowned. Cai Junhuang was a fixed candidate?

But she didn’t have that kind of pull, did she?

If she had such resources, she wouldn’t have failed to debut overseas and slunk back in disgrace.

Lin Mo didn’t quite understand.

If someone was setting a trap for Cai Junhuang, that didn’t add up either. A competition of this scale wasn’t something you could just rig on a whim.

Even Zhou Nianqian, back then, didn’t have the power to pull off something like this.