Chapter 84: YanYan Reveals the Truth (Extra Chapter)
Gu Fei asked An Jing and Lu Yuqi to wait outside. Only Li Chuan, his eyes still downcast, stood before him, not daring to look up.
The corridor was quiet; the man’s voice was calm, yet chilling. “I heard you accidentally bumped into Lin Qingyan.”
Li Chuan’s heart skipped a beat. He looked up at the man, meeting his handsome but cold face, especially those deep, indifferent eyes, as if seeing through his heart.
“Yes, it was me…” He nervously clasped his hands, his voice weak, “I was running too fast and didn’t notice anyone below. I didn’t mean to.”
“Oh really?” Gu Fei’s voice was cold and calm. “I remember you’re a Yi Hua trainee, signed a five-year contract.”
He said, “This is your chance. Otherwise, I have many ways to make you tell the truth.”
A threat from Gu Ye was never a joke. Li Chuan was already filled with regret and fear. Gu Fei was someone he couldn’t afford to offend. An Nanyi hadn’t told him that Lin Qingyan and Gu Fei had a close relationship.
“It was An Nanyi…”
“I never intended to do this. An Nanyi asked me to find a way to cause an accident for Lin Qingyan before the third performance, so he couldn’t participate. My parents both work at An Corporation, and An Nanyi is the heir; I couldn’t disobey him.”
“I only wanted to make Lin Qingyan slightly injured, like a sprained ankle. I didn’t expect him to fall down the stairs…”
“I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to. I was momentarily infatuated and listened to An Nanyi…”
Gu Fei’s gaze grew colder, his sharp eyes seemed covered in frost, his brows heavy with gloom.
—
News of Lin Qingyan’s injury quickly spread. He was currently very popular, and the incident caused a huge stir online, remaining a hot topic even into the next day.
【Wuwuwu, Mom’s good boy, how could such a good person fall down the stairs? Buddha bless him to be safe and sound!】
【I heard Li Chuan accidentally bumped into him. How careless can you be?】
【I wonder how YanYan is doing now? Can he still participate in the third performance? What if his injury is too serious and he can’t continue training?!】
【This devotee is willing to offer twenty jin of fat in exchange for YanYan’s safety!】
“Lingkang, the internet is saying that the child named Lin Qingyan is injured,” Song Shuman sat on the sofa looking at her phone, worry etched between her brows. “I wonder how he is.”
“The child who got first place?” An Lingkang stood in front of the mirror, tying his tie.
He said, “That’s a pity. I found him quite likable. But, he doesn’t seem to like our Nannan? Will he be able to perform later?”
“I don’t know, hopefully he’s okay. I don’t know why, but I feel a sense of kinship with that child… never mind.”
Song Shuman walked to her husband and helped him tie his tie, “Don’t dawdle, or we’ll be late. We need to leave.”
“Don’t I need to dress well to watch my son’s performance?”
“You’re already handsome enough. Let’s go, Mr. An.”
“Yes, Madam An.”
…
Today was the third performance of Tomorrow Star’s. It officially started at 7 pm, and the thousand audience members were already present.
An’s parents sat in the front row, surrounded by mostly young people, mostly girls, and two girls nearby were whispering.
“I really want to cry. It’s rare to be here, but YanYan is injured. All his hard work has been wasted.”
“I think it’s not that simple. How could YanYan get injured the day before the performance? Someone must be jealous and trying to sabotage him.”
“Could it be An Nanyi? He’s the only trainee who doesn’t get along with YanYan… No, I heard it was Li Chuan who accidentally bumped into YanYan.”
“Who knows?”
Although their voices were soft, Song Shuman and An Lingkang heard them. They exchanged glances, their faces looking bad. Song Shuman was quite angry, “That’s too much! How can they say such things about Nannan?”
An Lingkang comforted her, “Don’t get angry. Nannan is so good, he wouldn’t do such a thing. They’re just talking nonsense.”
“The child was accidentally injured. How can they spread rumors and blame our child?” Song Shuman was still angry until the performance was about to begin, and she temporarily put it aside.
The host was An Jing, who received loud screams as soon as he appeared. Then came the trainees’ performances. The recording was long, but every performance was eye-catching, and the audience maintained their enthusiasm.
Until Lin Qingyan’s team appeared. It was a five-member team, but the most important member was missing. Lin Qingyan wasn’t there; they lacked their center.
Lin Qingyan’s injury was too sudden; the team didn’t even have time to adjust their formation.
“Before the performance, we have two things to say. You may have heard that our center, Lin Qingyan, was accidentally injured and couldn’t participate in this performance, but we still want to keep this position for him. He is forever the best center in our hearts. Thank you.”
The girl next to An’s parents started crying, very sadly. “He really didn’t come. He worked so hard, and because of someone else’s mistake, he was injured and can’t perform. Why…”
Hearing this, An Lingkang couldn’t help but sigh, “It’s a pity. That child is very hardworking.”
Song Shuman agreed, “Yes.”
“Nannan’s team is up next, the last performance.”
The last performance was An Nanyi’s team. They performed a romantic love song, and their singing and dancing were excellent.
An Nanyi’s skills were among the top, so his performance was the best.
The most outstanding part was his piano playing at the beginning. An Nanyi, wearing a white suit, sat in front of a grand piano, his fingers dancing on the keys. The spotlight was on him, like a prince.
But this scene seemed somehow familiar.
In the final voting results, An Nanyi received the highest number of votes in his team and ranked among the top three overall. Fans in the audience cheered and applauded excitedly.
“An Nanyi, you’re the best!”
An’s parents were also clapping excitedly.
“Our Nannan did well this time, many people liked him.”
“Of course.”
At this moment, the two girls next to them spoke again.
“Copycat.”
“Imitation.”
“No matter how much he imitates, he can’t compare to YanYan.”
Viewers who watched the first episode knew that Lin Qingyan played the piano during his debut performance and even went viral because of it.
An’s parents exchanged a glance.
Song Shuman frowned unhappily, “How can they say that? Even if they support their idols, they shouldn’t belittle others.”
An Lingkang quickly comforted her, “Don’t get angry. Nannan played very well. Don’t listen to their nonsense.”
An Nanyi naturally didn’t know what the audience was discussing. He was in a good mood today, smiling and waving to his parents in the front row.
“Nannan waved at us.” An Lingkang and Song Shuman smiled back.
“Thank you all for voting for me. I’m really happy. It turns out that hard work really pays off.” An Nanyi said sincerely, “Here, I want to especially thank two people, my parents, who are sitting in the audience. They’ve been silently supporting me.”
An Jing, sitting on the judges’ panel, smiled and looked at the audience. Everyone’s eyes turned to them.
An’s parents, who were suddenly called out, stood up in surprise. An Nanyi walked over to hug them, but as he was halfway there, a clear, cold voice rang out from behind:
“Are you sure those are really your parents, An Nanyi?”
This voice, amplified through the microphone, resounded throughout the hall, reaching everyone’s ears: judges, staff, trainees, the thousand audience members, and An’s parents.
“What’s going on?”
“What’s happening?”
Moments later, two figures appeared on stage. Everyone’s eyes shifted again, with confusion and bewilderment. An Nanyi’s footsteps immediately stopped as he turned to look.
“Ah!! It’s YanYan! Lin Qingyan is here!!”
The girl who had been crying sadly just moments ago immediately stood up, screaming excitedly, causing an uproar in the venue.
Lin Qingyan was pushed out in a wheelchair. He was wearing loose pants and a short-sleeved shirt. Under the stage lights, his face was even paler, his head still bandaged, his fractured right arm in a cast, secured to his body with a sling.
Although the boy looked a little disheveled, even pathetic, his expression was calm. His delicate features appeared even colder under the lights, with a pale, fragile quality that evoked a protective instinct in others.
Pushing the wheelchair was Lu Yuqi, still wearing his performance clothes from just moments before.
In a few seconds, Lu Yuqi pushed the wheelchair to the center of the stage.
Everyone was puzzled. This wasn’t part of the program. An Jing, sitting on the judges’ panel, was also bewildered, “What’s going on?”
Even the director was confused, “What’s happening? Can someone tell me what’s going on!?”
Before anyone could answer, a familiar, cold, and calm voice rang out from behind, “Director.”
“Gu… Gu Ye?”
…
An Nanyi heard Lin Qingyan’s words clearly. He had a bad feeling, but he still smiled kindly, “YanYan, why did you suddenly come? Why aren’t you resting in the hospital?”
“Because I don’t want you to continue taking my rightful place for granted, An Nanyi.”