Chapter 68: An Nanyi Is Made to Cry
“Whale Turned into an Island” had six members. When the team was full, a wave of mournful wails immediately erupted from the remaining crowd.
“What to do, I also want to be in a team with Yan Yan, it’s all because my ranking is too low…”
“Me too.”
“Although I want to, but the members in their group are so strong, all big shots, I feel so insignificant.”
Those speaking were mostly from Class D. Because Lin Qingyan had helped Class D during the theme song assessment. Although Lu Yuqi also helped, Lin Qingyan was easier to get along with; Young Master Lu was cold as ice, difficult to approach, so Class D had a better relationship with Lin Qingyan.
Lin Qingyan heard this and felt a sense of pleasure. He had never had many friends before. Now he had many friends; it was wonderful. “It’s okay, you have to work hard no matter which group you’re in, maybe we can be in the same group next time.”
“Okay, let’s work hard! I’ll create a miracle in a hundred days!”
“Yeah, right.”
Lin Qingyan watched them playfully bicker, a faint smile on his handsome face. An Nanyi, standing next to him, also smiled and sighed, “Yan Yan, you’ve become much more cheerful now, and you have many friends. I’m no longer your only friend, but I’m also very happy for you.”
“Yeah.” Lin Qingyan smiled, but there wasn’t much joy in his eyes. He looked up at the hazy night outside, distant and profound memories surfaced in his mind, as if separated by a veil, indistinct.
He didn’t really want to recall the past, as there weren’t any good memories worth cherishing.
Due to his upbringing, Lin Qingyan had always been timid, introverted, and somewhat withdrawn. He had few friends since childhood, and it was the same in high school.
He attended a famous school in Nancheng, where the students were either academically excellent or wealthy. He was academically excellent, which exempted him from tuition fees and provided a monthly food allowance.
High school studies were demanding, and apart from studying, Lin Qingyan worked part-time to earn money, rarely interacting with his classmates. But because he was handsome, many female classmates liked him.
Several wealthy and rebellious “second-generation rich kids” in his class disliked the fact that so many people liked Lin Qingyan, a poor boy, so they took the lead in isolating him, and even played pranks on him.
Even when bullied, Lin Qingyan could only endure it silently, not daring to tell his teacher or parents. The teacher usually turned a blind eye.
And his mother… even if she knew, she would only blame him, saying that flies don’t land on a seamless egg; why would others target you and not others? You need to find the reason in yourself.
Only An Nanyi was kind to him and befriended him at that time. Lin Qingyan truly thought An Nanyi was a good person. When he was bullied, An Nanyi would help him. When he was so poor he only ate steamed buns, An Nanyi would share his food.
Even when An Nanyi’s wallet mysteriously appeared in his schoolbag, and he was wrongly accused of being a thief by his classmates and teacher, he never suspected An Nanyi.
It wasn’t until later that he saw the man’s true colors.
The friend he treated with such sincerity, his only friend, had actually disliked him from the start. All his kindness was insincere. At that time, the naive Lin Qingyan was completely deceived by An Nanyi’s poor acting.
——
In the practice room, the six members of “Whale Turned into an Island” sat in a circle on the floor. Besides Lin Qingyan, Lu Yuqi, and An Nanyi, the other three members were Li Chuan and Liu Zihao from Class B, and Feng Liang from Class C.
Overall, they were considered the strongest team, with two members from Class A and three from Class B.
They needed to decide on the C position and the team leader.
“Those who want to compete for the center position, raise your hands.”
Lu Yuqi, Lin Qingyan, and An Nanyi raised their hands. Everyone wanted the C position, as it was the most eye-catching. The other three knew their skills were not as good as the others, so they didn’t raise their hands.
Lin Qingyan was originally a laid-back person, never competing. After being reborn, his thoughts changed. He wanted to try whenever there was an opportunity. He didn’t want to live as helplessly and pathetically as in his previous life, being bullied by others.
“Then you three will each sing a section of the chorus and perform the same dance segment. We three will vote.”
This time, An Nanyi didn’t sing off-key, and his performance was stable. His dancing was also good, and he thought he had a chance. But in the end, he got zero votes.
Liu Zihao and Feng Liang voted for Lin Qingyan, while Li Chuan voted for Lu Yuqi.
Liu Zihao explained, “You three all sang very well, but I think Qingyan’s singing and dancing had the most feeling, the kind that resonated with me.”
Feng Liang nodded in agreement.
Although Lu Yuqi’s skills were the best, his usual style didn’t match this song. His singing and dancing were flawless, but it lacked a certain feeling. And An Nanyi… his skills were indeed slightly… inferior to the other two.
“So our C position is Qingyan, congratulations!”
“Thank you everyone, I will do my best.”
“Congratulations, Yan Yan.” An Nanyi also offered congratulations, but Lin Qingyan noticed a momentary stiffness in the other’s smile. His mood suddenly improved. He smiled and said thank you.
Lin Qingyan felt he had changed a lot, and he had become more mischievous. Seeing An Nanyi’s frustrated expression, he felt genuinely happy.
“Next is the team leader election. Who wants to be the team leader? You can raise your hand.”
Everyone seemed unenthusiastic about the team leader position. Only An Nanyi, who had lost the C position, raised his hand. He had to get either the C position or the team leader position. “Only me? No one else?”
“Since no one else wants it, our team leader is…”
“Someone does.” Lu Yuqi, who hadn’t spoken much, suddenly interrupted, unexpectedly raising Lin Qingyan’s hand and saying, “He wants to run for team leader.”
Lin Qingyan: “…No, I don’t.”
An Nanyi’s smile froze for a moment. The other three looked at each other, tentatively asking Lin Qingyan, “Then… Qingyan, do you want to run for team leader?”
An Nanyi managed to maintain his smile. He said, “Isn’t Yan Yan the C position? Will you be able to handle being the team leader as well?”
Lu Yuqi said, “He can.”
Lin Qingyan: “…Yes, I want to try.”
Okay, try it then. Since his hand was already raised, he couldn’t just leave it at that. He just didn’t know why Young Master Lu had two hands of his own but didn’t raise them and instead raised his.
Liu Zihao said, “Then… you two should explain why you want to be the team leader.”
“Okay, I’ll go first.” An Nanyi said confidently, calmly, and sincerely:
“I was always the class monitor in school, and during the initial stage performance, I was also the captain of our team. I have a lot of experience, and my leadership and problem-solving abilities are no problem. Also, I hope to help you all and make a small contribution to our team. Thank you everyone.”
After the applause, everyone’s eyes turned to Lin Qingyan. “Next, it’s your turn, Yan Yan.”
Lin Qingyan smiled somewhat shyly. “Um… I don’t know what to say. I have no experience before, but I want to try a different role and will do my best to help everyone. If you believe in me, please vote for me.”
Everyone considered for a while. Liu Zihao spoke first, “I choose Qingyan.”
Li Chuan: “I choose An Nanyi.”
Feng Liang hesitated, eventually choosing to abstain.
With an abstention, it was now a tie. Lu Yuqi held the deciding vote. An Nanyi jokingly said, “Yuqi, you need to think carefully. Don’t just vote for him because you have a good relationship with Yan Yan.”
Lu Yuqi curled his lips, smiling at An Nanyi. “Then I’ll choose Lin Qingyan.” After a pause, he slowly added, “Because I’m biased.”
With that remark, even the cameraman was stunned, let alone the people involved. The air suddenly fell silent. The other three looked at each other, all realizing that Lu Yuqi and Lin Qingyan didn’t get along with An Nanyi.
Lin Qingyan truly didn’t expect Young Master Lu to be so bold. He gently nudged Lu Yuqi’s arm, signaling him to stop talking.
On the other side, An Nanyi bit his lip, looking somewhat bewildered. His eyes gradually reddened, his expression both wronged and sad. He whispered, “Yuqi, Yan Yan, I don’t know what I did wrong to make you hate me so much…”
Lu Yuqi looked at him in surprise. “So you knew we disliked you?”
“I thought you didn’t know. Otherwise, why are you always following us?”
An Nanyi: “….”
Lin Qingyan: “….”
Everyone: “….”
Young Master Lu was definitely a master of sarcasm.
In his previous life, Lin Qingyan had heard that Lu Yuqi had made other contestants cry. Now it seemed it wasn’t a rumor. Young Master Lu was truly fearless, truly bold.
Everyone present, including Lin Qingyan, was somewhat stunned.
The surrounding air was so quiet that they could hear each other’s breathing.
An Nanyi burst into tears, crying aggrievedly. He sobbed, “I’m sorry, I… I just wanted to be friends with you. I didn’t mean to… I really didn’t know…”
Just as everyone was at a loss, footsteps sounded from outside. An Jing walked in, saw the scene before him, and paused. “What’s going on?”
Why was his brother crying? And crying so sadly and aggrievedly?
An Jing’s arrival broke the deadlock. His gaze swept over everyone, his brows slightly furrowed. He said seriously, “Someone tell me what happened?”
Everyone stood up properly. Lin Qingyan said stiffly, “We… were joking.”