Chapter 126 - 122: Brother Zhengran, We Meet Again

Chapter 126: Chapter 122: Brother Zhengran, We Meet Again

On the morning of the fifth, Lin Zhengran and Jiang Xueli met up and took the music studio’s car to the competition venue together.

Before they left, the owner of the music studio, a woman, very seriously stressed the importance of this competition:

"Let me be clear with everyone. Originally, this competition wasn’t meant to be so formal, just a small town-level event. But after a series of changes, the scale has become much larger than before.

If you can survive today’s eliminations and get your original songs onto the Little Nova Chart, you may have a future opportunity to get on the Music Candidates stage. This is a rare and incredible chance."

The owner looked at the contestants from her studio. "I won’t say much more. I’ve seen all your discussions in the group chat over the last few days, so you’re all well aware of what’s at stake in this competition. Now, let’s go give it our all."

Her words only stretched their already frayed nerves even tighter.

On the way to the venue, the others in the car were chattering away, but Jiang Xueli’s hands were gripping her knees as she kept taking deep breaths.

Lin Zhengran handed her a piece of candy he had brought from home.

Jiang Xueli turned to look at Lin Zhengran.

She met his gaze, amazed that he never seemed to get nervous. She smiled. "Thank you."

She unwrapped the candy and popped it into her mouth, and most of her tension melted away.

The music competition was held in a huge, spacious indoor venue with a large stage.

A large platform stood at the front, with rows upon rows of audience seats spread out below it.

It looked like it had once been a theater for stage plays, but had since been renovated and converted into a venue for music competitions.

When Jiang Xueli and Lin Zhengran walked in, they saw that the place was packed with people. There were probably four or five hundred of them, all crammed together and making a huge racket.

At first, everyone from the studio assumed most of them were audience members.

But after asking around, they discovered there was no audience for today’s competition—everyone here was a contestant.

Jiang Xueli was stunned.

The other contestants were stunned too, with many of them quipping, "I thought I’d signed up for a major TV production..."

Even the studio owner felt the pressure as she looked at the sheer number of contestants. "It looks like there are plenty of people from out of province, too. They’ve really gone all-out with this competition."

Amid the buzz of conversation, a staff-only door opened in the distance, and two celebrity judges emerged, immediately drawing the crowd’s gaze. They were, of course, Sty and Lun Jie.

With them was the biggest investor in today’s competition, Jiang Jingshi.

The two celebrities were chatting with Jiang Jingshi as they walked, likely just exchanging pleasantries.

Jiang Jingshi offered a few polite responses of her own. "I’ll be counting on you both for the next two days of the competition. I hope we can find some contestants who meet your high standards."

The two judges nodded in agreement.

From within the crowd, Lin Zhengran gazed toward Jiang Jingshi. Jiang Xueli, standing beside him, was curious about the beautiful woman. "It really is Sty and Lun Jie! And who’s that with them? She’s gorgeous."

"That’s President Jiang," the studio owner said. "Don’t let her age fool you; she’s the biggest investor in this competition. She also has her own team of professional singers, which makes them the toughest competition you’ll face here."

The words sounded familiar.

Jiang Xueli stared at the beautiful woman’s face. Even though she was too far away to see clearly, she felt there was something familiar about her.

She couldn’t quite place it, but the woman reminded her of someone she’d seen before.

"All right, let’s go to our designated area and sit down," the owner said. "When the judges call your names, you’ll go up on stage one by one. Our studio has twenty singers competing, and we need at least ten of you to survive today’s elimination round."

"Let’s do it!" everyone cheered in unison.

Lin Zhengran started to follow the group toward the seating area.

But just then, Jiang Jingshi, who was some distance away, turned her head and happened to spot him. When she saw it was really him, a resigned smile touched her lips.

Her curiosity was piqued when she noticed the young girl by his side.

She slowly walked over.

When Jiang Xueli and the studio owner saw Jiang Jingshi approaching, they prepared to step aside to let her and her entourage pass. To their surprise, however, she walked straight toward Lin Zhengran.

With a slender, graceful figure poised on high heels, Jiang Jingshi stopped in front of Lin Zhengran, her gaze gentle and full of admiration. "Zhengran, we meet again. It seems we’re really fated to cross paths."

The studio owner was shocked. ’How does President Jiang know Lin Zhengran?’

Jiang Xueli was just as surprised. ’How does this woman know Zhengran?’

Lin Zhengran grinned. "Jiang, we meet again."

Jiang Jingshi looked down at the pretty Jiang Xueli. Though Jiang Xueli was normally proud and standoffish, in a situation like this, she wasn’t one to stand by and watch silently like He Qing. She took the initiative and asked, "Zhengran, who is this?"

"This is Jiang," Lin Zhengran said by way of introduction. Then, he whispered in Jiang Xueli’s ear, his voice low enough for only her to hear, "She’s Jiang Qian’s older sister."

It finally clicked for Jiang Xueli. She stared at the woman in astonishment, now understanding why she had seemed so familiar.

’So she’s *that* Jiang... No wonder.’

Jiang Jingshi looked at Jiang Xueli with a gentle smile. "You must be Jiang Xueli, right? Hello. I’ve heard about you—your musical talent is outstanding. I suspect you might just be the biggest dark horse in this competition."

Jiang Xueli just smiled. She didn’t think of herself as a dark horse; she was simply trying her best.

"You’re too kind, Jiang..."

But Jiang Jingshi clearly wasn’t joking. The very fact that Lin Zhengran was standing here with this young woman was proof enough of her talent. The loss at the taekwondo competition last week was still fresh in Jiang Jingshi’s mind.

She absolutely could not afford to underestimate him this time.

Jiang Jingshi turned her attention back to Lin Zhengran.

"It’s not convenient to talk with so many people around, but we’ll find time later. For now, let me give you a little insider tip: today’s elimination rounds are extremely strict. Of these five hundred and thirty contestants, only fifty will make it through the two rounds to be put on the Little Nova Chart for voting. So, good luck."

Lin Zhengran nodded. "Thank you, Jiang."

"I have to get back to it. See you."

Jiang Jingshi gave Lin Zhengran a meaningful look before turning to leave with her entourage.

That simple glance did not escape the notice of the girl in love. Jiang Xueli blinked, her mind going blank.

She looked at Jiang Jingshi, then at Lin Zhengran. Then back at Jiang Jingshi, and back again at Lin Zhengran.

"What was that all about, Zhengran?!"

Lin Zhengran looked down at her. "What was what all about?"

"I mean... how do you two know each other? And why did she seem so friendly with you?"

"Well..." Lin Zhengran felt a sense of déjà vu. It seemed like He Qing had asked him this exact same question before.

A moment later, Lin Zhengran was sitting with a pouting Jiang Xueli, explaining how he’d met Jiang Jingshi and, while he was at it, telling her about the taekwondo competition from last week.

Jiang Xueli was floored. "Huh? So you’re telling me that last week, you and He Qing defeated this Jiang’s team?!"

Lin Zhengran nodded. "That’s probably why she came over to speak with me privately. In any case, you should be careful."

’No wonder she was giving him that strange look,’ Jiang Xueli thought. ’So that’s what it was.’

’That makes sense, too. Zhengran is technically engaged to Jiang Qian, so of course she’d pay attention to him. That, and the fact that he beat her team.’

Jiang Xueli clenched her little fists. "Don’t worry! I definitely won’t lose this time!"

Lin Zhengran took her small hand in his. "You’ve got this."

The sudden touch left Jiang Xueli so flustered she could barely form a coherent thought. His large, gentle, warm hand made her little heart pound as if a dozen rabbits were bouncing around inside her chest.

"O-Okay..." she stammered.

But as soon as he’d said it, Lin Zhengran pulled his hand back. Jiang Xueli looked down at her now-empty hand with a pang of regret, puffing out her cheeks in disappointment.

’Why’d you let go?’

’It’s not that I was desperate to hold your hand or anything, but... since you already grabbed it, couldn’t you have just kept holding it? Ugh! Just you wait. Once I win this competition and earn the confidence, I’m going to hold your hand and never let go.’

A judge on stage spoke into the microphone. "All right, would all contestants please take your seats! Today’s competition is about to begin. Let’s have a warm welcome for President Jiang and our esteemed judges who have traveled a long way to be here, Sty and Lun Jie, as they come to the stage to say a few words!"

The venue fell silent in an instant.

Everyone watched as the three on stage gave their pre-competition words of encouragement. Lin Zhengran also watched, noting the way Jiang Jingshi stood on stage—utterly poised, her speaking style both graceful and commanding.

He couldn’t help but marvel at her. ’This woman really is one of the most outstanding figures of her generation.’