Stand up to save the scene, trust me once

Chi Qingchi: "!!!"

The rest of the club members: "!!!"

Lin Yu: "???"

A broken guitar string? Now of all times?

Classic trope alert!

What’s youth without a little drama, right?

Only two more performances before their turn.

Without their lead guitarist, how the hell were they supposed to pull this off?

This wasn’t some anime where a busted guitar could magically pull off slide techniques with a flick of the wrist!

Even if Lin Yu could manage, the performance would still take a massive hit.

Lead singer absent!

Guitarist’s string snapped!

This timed mission was turning into a nightmare.

One cliché after another—could it get any worse?

Lin Yu quickly asked,

"Xiao Ou, did you bring spare strings?"

All eyes immediately locked onto Xiao Ou, waiting for his answer.

Xiao Ou, flustered, nodded while racking his brain:

"They should be in my backpack upstairs, but…"

"Changing strings takes at least ten to twenty minutes. There’s… there’s no way we’ll make it in time…"

Only two acts stood between them and the stage, each lasting about five to six minutes.

Add in scoring and the host’s transitions, and they had fifteen minutes at most.

As a guitarist, Xiao Ou knew exactly how long restringing took.

Switching their performance order last minute? Nearly impossible.

Just as despair settled in,

Lin Yu suddenly exclaimed,

"Perfect! We can make it!"

"I’m fast with strings—five minutes!"

"Give me five minutes, and I’ll hand you a fully functional guitar!"

Chi Qingchi grabbed Lin Yu’s arm, her hands trembling uncontrollably:

"Lin Yu, r-really? Just five minutes? You’re sure?"

Lin Yu patted her hand reassuringly:

"Trust me. Five minutes is all I need."

Zhao Yuhao reset his watch, setting a new countdown: [00:15:00].

They had to be backstage before the timer ran out.

Zhao Yuhao: "Move! Upstairs, now. If Lin Yu says he can do it, then he can."

Lin Yu: "!!!"

At a time like this…

Zhao Yuhao actually had his back?

Now that was a man with taste!

Zhao Yuhao’s reasoning was simple.

Standing around backstage talking wouldn’t solve anything.

Right now, trusting Lin Yu was their only option.

Ever since Xiao Lie, their lead singer, lost his voice to a fever,

Hadn’t Lin Yu been stepping up like some god-tier protagonist, saving the entire club?

If they couldn’t trust today’s "main character," who could they trust?

The group immediately dropped what they were doing and bolted for the third-floor lounge.

Who could just sit around waiting at a time like this?

Of course they all ran, desperate to see if their crisis could be resolved in time!

Nearby, the Shiman Dance Team was touching up their makeup.

They’d overheard everything.

Little Flower #1: "Their guitarist’s string broke? So unlucky, right before their turn!"

Little Flower #2: "They’ve got like, what, fifteen minutes? No way they’ll fix it in time."

Little Flower #3: "Might work in our favor. That song of theirs hits hard."

Xiang Tiange cut in sharply:

"Knock it off. We don’t win by default just because someone else messes up. Focus on yourselves."

Her expression darkened as she watched Chi Qingchi’s figure vanish through the backstage door.

---

Countdown: [00:13:50]

Turns out,

Getting from the first floor to the third took 1 minute and 10 seconds.

Since they were moving as a group, Lin Yu had to match their pace.

If he’d sprinted alone—ignoring the chaos it’d cause—

He could’ve made it in under 30 seconds.

Countdown: [00:13:09]

The three otaku girls from Hejia Huan also returned to the lounge.

Jiajia, watching the show from the audience, had noticed the group rushing out.

Sensing trouble, the trio ditched their seats and hurried back.

Countdown: [00:12:20]

Countdown: [00:11:15]

Countdown: [00:10:29]…

In the lounge,

Xiao Ou was sweating bullets, dumping his backpack’s contents onto the floor.

Wire cutters, string winder—both crucial tools were there. But…

"I swear I packed spare strings before leaving!"

"Did I leave them at home?!"

"Ugh—let me check again!"

Lin Yu sighed.

Of course.

Nothing ever went smoothly.

Even the most skilled hands couldn’t fix a guitar without strings.

Worst-case scenario?

Xiao Ou’s parts would fall to Lin Yu.

He could adjust the dual-guitar harmonies—the impact wouldn’t suffer much.

As for the solo? Handing it to anyone else might’ve been risky, but Lin Yu?

No problem.

The real shame was this:

They’d already lost Xiao Lie, who’d prepped for months. Now Xiao Ou might miss out too.

Shining on stage, captivating the crowd—

That didn’t matter much to Lin Yu.

But for the others who lived for this? It meant everything.

Reality was just that cruel.

Lin Yu: "Xiao Ou, if we can’t find them—"

Zhao Yuhao cut in: "013-056 phosphor bronze strings! Xiao Ou, that’s what your guitar uses, right?"

The entire room whipped around to stare at him: "???"

Xiao Ou, stunned, nodded:

"Y-yeah, that’s right. But Vice President, how did you—"

Zhao Yuhao: "I have some. In the minibus parked out back."

Club members: "!!!"

No time for explanations.

Zhao Yuhao reset his timer, urgently confirming with Lin Yu:

"Lin Yu, five minutes to restring—you’re absolutely sure that’s enough?"

Lin Yu glanced out the window at the rain-soaked parking lot.

Their minibus hadn’t moved.

"Five is plenty. If we’re tight, four will work."

"I’ll go get them. I’m faster."

Sprinting from the third floor to the back lot, grabbing the strings, then rushing back—

For most people? Over three minutes each way.

And that didn’t account for the pouring rain and slippery pavement…

Even if they brought the guitar downstairs, the others wouldn’t make it back in time.

But Lin Yu could.

He was their only shot.

Yet—

Zhao Yuhao snapped: "No!"

"You’re the lead singer. You can’t risk getting drenched!"

Chi Qingchi jumped in, voice shaking:

"I-I’ll go! I’m fast too! And I’m not performing!"

Zhao Yuhao shook his head, turning to her:

"3 minutes and 47 seconds!"

"Little Chi, you don’t know where the strings are placed—just trust me this once..."

"Lin Yu! Wait right here for me, I’ll definitely make it back in time!"

"I swear..."

"I’ll get those strings into your hands on time, I promise!"

Lin Yu’s eyes widened:

"Vice President, we... Huh? Hey!"

Before he could finish his sentence, Zhao Yuhao had already sprinted off.

What Lin Yu wanted to say was...

We could just wait on the first floor!

This is the third floor—won’t that just waste more time?

3 minutes and 47 seconds!

Running out into the pouring rain to grab something and then rushing back?

With Brother Hao’s build, Lin Yu couldn’t help but worry!

Why is this suddenly turning into some kind of dramatic moment?

...

(First update for today. There will still be bonus chapters later, so keep supporting with your power-ups! The convention arc is wrapping up today!)