Caijunhuang's Path

South Sheep City Station.

The waiting hall in December had the heating turned up high. The station, having been open for only two or three years, still felt brand new everywhere.

From here, it would take just two and a half hours by high-speed rail to Xiangnan.

There weren't many people. No smell of cigarette smoke or instant noodles.

Cai Junhuang and her mother sat on the seats opposite Gate 16.

"Junjun, want some water?" Mother Cai pulled a thermos from her bag and handed it over.

Cai Junhuang shook her head. Earphones were playing music, and her toes tapped the floor in rhythm with the beat.

Her father still had to work and couldn’t take time off, so only mother and daughter were making this trip to Xiangnan Xingcheng for the competition.

Mother Cai was actually quite happy. She knew her daughter’s dream was drawing nearer, and she hadn’t stopped talking the entire way.

But Cai Junhuang clearly wasn’t in the mood for chatting.

The song switched to the next track. Cai Junhuang stared blankly at her phone screen for a while.

Without realizing it, her thoughts drifted back to the video she had opened at home the night before.

She unlocked her photo album again and tapped the saved video.

Then she dragged the progress bar straight to where Fang Jun was singing.

The video was still there.

In the frame, a person in a school uniform stood on a stage that wasn’t particularly large.

When the English lyrics came out of his mouth, the surprised exclamations of the girls recorded in the background couldn’t drown out his voice.

Cai Junhuang turned the volume up by one notch.

She didn’t close the video until the chorus picked up. Then she locked the screen.

Her phone rested on her knee.

"You... never sang an English song for me either."

The words came out so softly that they were swallowed by the noise of the waiting hall.

Mother Cai didn’t hear a thing. She just kept talking about her own affairs.

Cai Junhuang unlocked her phone again, left the album, and opened the competition schedule.

On the list of advancing contestants, her name was ranked third.

She scrolled further down to look at the event timeline: preliminaries, semi-finals, finals—the whole span stretched over several weeks.

Of course, if she didn’t make it past the preliminaries, it would all be over in a few days.

She closed the page and put her earphones back on.

"Dear passengers, the XX train bound for Xiangnan Xingcheng is now boarding. Please proceed to Gate 16 for ticket inspection."

"Hey! Junjun, they’re boarding. Let’s go quickly."

Mother Cai was faster than her daughter. She grabbed the duffel bag from the floor and pulled the suitcase along, already on her feet.

Cai Junhuang was startled by her mother’s speed. There was still over ten minutes left.

"Mom, no rush."

"No rush? What if we don’t get seats?"

"High-speed trains have assigned seats."

Mother Cai paused for a second, then gave an awkward laugh. "I know, I just don’t want to be late."

Cai Junhuang sighed helplessly, took off her earphones, and picked up her backpack to follow.

Mother and daughter lined up to board.

Mother Cai walked ahead, then suddenly turned back to ask, "Junjun, that boy who walked you home last time—what was his name again?"

Cai Junhuang’s steps faltered.

"Which one?"

"The one I saw downstairs in the evening before."

"His name is... Fang Jun."

"I haven’t seen him walk you home much lately. Did you two..."

Cai Junhuang’s expression didn’t change. She handed her ID card to the ticket inspector to scan.

"Nothing really. He’s just a classmate."

Mother Cai made an "oh" sound and didn’t press further.

Meanwhile, back in the classroom,

Fang Jun sat in his seat. His gaze occasionally swept toward the empty desk diagonally ahead of him.

The desk was neatly cleaned. Textbooks were stacked in a pile against the corner, and even the pen holder was arranged perfectly.

She had taken a week off.

He looked away, lowering his head to flip another page of his textbook.

Luo Ruiyu leaned on the desk, her chin resting on her arms, watching this scene clearly.

As soon as the bell rang, she started to tease him.

"When she’s here, you don’t look. Now that she’s gone, you stare like mad."

Fang Jun turned his head.

Normally, he would have snapped back. But this time, he didn’t.

"I’m not looking at her," he said.

"I was just thinking about something."

"What?"

"Why she can be so completely indifferent."

Luo Ruiyu’s expression turned subtle. "Are you sure she’s indifferent?"

Fang Jun didn’t respond.

He honestly couldn’t figure it out.

Before Cai Junhuang left, she had acted exactly the same as usual—attending class, doing assignments, without even an extra glance. As if...

Forget it. He didn’t want to think about it anymore.

He flipped to another page of the math test paper and forced his attention back.

Luo Ruiyu curled her lip. She poked his shoulder with her finger. "Fang Jun, are you kind of messed up or something?"

"You’re the one who’s messed up."

"A normal person would have given up by now."

"I have given up. I’m embracing new life, head-on."

Luo Ruiyu snorted and dropped the argument. But in her mind, she thought...

Down the hallway, Lin Mo leaned against the railing, scrolling through his phone.

He was looking up information about Cai Junhuang’s competition.

All of this could be found on the official website.

The competition region was Xiangnan Xingcheng, with the preliminaries taking place this weekend.

Lin Mo was well aware that if someone had let Cai Junhuang pass the auditions, someone would also make sure she got through the preliminaries into the semi-finals.

Lin Mo slipped his phone back into his pocket.

He hadn’t mentioned this to Fang Jun, nor to anyone else.

He didn’t believe Cai Junhuang had been selected purely based on talent, so he decided to go to Xiangnan himself, follow the clues, and see what he could uncover.

His action was discreet. No grass was stirred, no snakes startled.

Because Lin Mo knew the art of creating avatars.

Without anyone noticing, he had already set off for Xiangnan Xingcheng.

Xiangnan Xingcheng.

All preliminaries contestants paid for their own accommodation.

It was only for the preliminaries. Once they reached the semi-finals, the show organizers would start covering their food and lodging.

It wasn’t a rule—it was simply that there were too many contestants in the preliminaries.

As soon as Cai Junhuang got off the high-speed train, she rushed straight to the show’s production team to register.

This cooperation was between an entertainment company and a TV station.

At this time, high-budget online variety shows were still rare.

Most big-budget shows relied on television networks for development.

At the production site, there was no shortage of people.

Those as good-looking as Cai Junhuang were everywhere, and she was just a drop in the ocean.

Register, pick up her contestant number, and wait for the call schedule.

That was all Cai Junhuang had to do these few days.

But as soon as she registered, the names were already being sent up the chain.

After Heaven’s Mark Entertainment Company got the file, they forwarded it to the show’s director.

In a tea room, director Wu Daxu was making tea.

He held a file in one hand and dialed a number.

Clear Korean came through the receiver.

Wu Daxu responded in fluent Korean.

"It’s confirmed. The girl has arrived. Leave the rest to me. I’ll send her over to you."

"Mm, yes. It’s settled. Prepare the best teachers for her, smooth out the best path, and give her the biggest spotlight."