Chapter 18

“What’s the condition?”

“The boss willing to pay for this wants to use the results for publicity. I guarantee it will be a legitimate business. What they mean is that they want to use the 3D projection part of your performance as material to promote a project for their company.” Gu Han said.

“Can I ask which company?”

“Actually, it’s the sponsor of this individual competition, Shengyi Gaming Company. They have a major project launching next month, and your plan coincidentally overlaps with the content of the project they’re about to promote.” Gu Han didn’t hide anything, he knew that if he didn’t clarify, Yan Ning would still have reservations.

“Deal.” Yan Ning said decisively.

“Okay, I’ll contact them right away. We have three days to deliver what you need. I can’t do this alone.” Gu Han said.

With the deal settled, Yan Ning still had to spend time going over the details with Gu Han. She estimated they would be busy until late, so she told a few of her teammates to leave first.

They still had tasks to do: Zhao Xiaolu and Qiao Yingxue needed to prepare the instruments Yan Ning required, while Shi Lei and Zhou Ye were in charge of costumes. The three teams split up to get to work.

Gu Han was very efficient. After the phone call, he immediately took Yan Ning to a glittering high-rise building.

On the 17th floor, Yan Ning met three technical staff members. With Gu Han, that made four people. She explained every detail of her idea to them, breaking it down bit by bit. Before she knew it, it was already late into the night.

When Uncle Zheng called, she realized how late it had gotten. After providing her location, Uncle Zheng said he would come pick her up.

“I’m leaving now. Contact me when you’re done. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.” Yan Ning packed her things and left first.

For certain reasons, she had told Uncle Zheng to meet her at the dance studio, so she left early to wait there.

When she got home, no one was downstairs. Yan Ning went straight upstairs, and after taking a shower, she lay down on the bed, only to remember that there were a few messages she hadn’t had time to check earlier in the afternoon.

She opened WeChat, and besides her newly added friend, Gu Han, there were two other message windows, both with several new messages.

She opened the chat window with the name “Tutu,” whose profile picture was a blue penguin plush toy. The other person had sent several photos, the last one being a poster without any promotional text, showing her and Lu Fengfeng.

Yan Ning replied with “Thank you,” saving all the photos into her album.

The other person who messaged her was Lu Fengfeng. He had also sent photos. The two had taken some photos under the big banyan tree at noon, some of which were solo shots of her and others of the two of them together.

Compared to the somber and serious promotional photos, the ones Lu Fengfeng sent showed her smiling slightly in the scattered sunlight, looking more like her usual self.

【Thank you! Sorry, I’ve been a bit busy this afternoon, just saw your message.】

She thought she wouldn’t get a reply immediately, but soon a new message popped up: 【It’s fine. How’s the preparation for the next round of the competition going?】

【Still preparing…】

Yan Ning suddenly remembered there was still one role in her program that hadn’t been assigned. Many faces flashed through her mind, but none seemed suitable. Then, suddenly, Lu Fengfeng’s face popped into her thoughts.

If it were him, whether in terms of image or emotions, he should be able to meet the expectations she had in mind.

But they were competitors, and asking a competitor for help seemed a bit too much. Perhaps because she had already settled on the best candidate in her mind, no other possibilities came to mind.

Would he be willing?

Should she ask him?

Yan Ning felt conflicted.

【What’s wrong? Did you run into a problem?】

He was quite perceptive.

Looking at the message, Yan Ning furrowed her brows slightly. This was the only opportunity.

She wanted to ask. If the other person refused, she would look for someone else.

【Hmm… I have something I’d like to ask for your help with, it’s about the performance for the next round of the competition. If you don’t want to, you can decline.】

There was no reply for a long time. Yan Ning stared at the screen, her light gray eyes calm, but beneath that calmness, there was a tension she hadn’t noticed herself.

After a while, the number in the top-right corner of the phone, indicating minutes, blinked three times. Yan Ning placed the phone aside, dimmed the light next to her bed to a soft setting, then lay under the covers and closed her eyes, preparing to rest.

“Dong—”

The sound of a new message notification rang out, and Yan Ning immediately sat up, grabbed her phone, and opened the latest message: 【Sure, what do you need me to help you with?】

【Can you really?】

【Mm.】

【Thank you. It’s like this…】

Yan Ning’s emotions were like a roller coaster, going from low to suddenly soaring high. She wasn’t used to bothering others, and felt unusually nervous when making the request. But when the other person agreed, her mood relaxed. It turned out asking for help wasn’t as scary as she had imagined.

Her fingers quickly moved, typing swiftly to explain the situation. But before she could send it, the other person directly called her with a voice message.

She got out of bed, put on her earphones, and answered the call: “Hello, Lu Fengfeng?”

A soft laugh came from the other end, followed by a deep voice: “It’s me, still not asleep?”

“Mm, not yet.” Yan Ning spoke bluntly, “About the performance, it might be a bit complicated, let me explain…”

Lu Fengfeng listened attentively as Yan Ning spoke seriously. Her voice, along with her soft breathing, came through clearly and gently over the call, like canned honey tangerines sold in a supermarket, with a sweet, refreshing taste.

Fingers gently brushed over the freshly developed photo beside her. It was a solo promotional photo of Yan Ning, and her gaze lingered on the silver restraint on the girl’s wrist. Her eyes were dark and unclear.

“…This is roughly it. I think your temperament really suits this role,” Yan Ning explained her thoughts as briefly as possible.

In her performance, besides herself, there were two other characters required—one male and one female. She had already asked Qiao Yingxue to help with the female role. If Lu Fengfeng agreed to play the male character, they could start practicing tomorrow.

“Mm, I understand. I can help, but with one condition.”

Lu Fengfeng’s voice came through. Yan Ning couldn’t help but feel that, compared to his cheerful and gentle tone during the day, his voice in the evening was colder and softer, like a night without stars or a moon—chill and calm as water.

However, his request was reasonable. She didn’t like owing favors to others. Since the other person also had a request, it actually made her feel relieved.

“Okay, as long as I can do it,” Yan Ning responded.

It seemed that he could sense her nervousness. Lu Fengfeng chuckled softly, his voice like a spring breeze, soothing her: “Don’t worry, I won’t make you do anything bad.”

“I’m not… worried,” Yan Ning muttered, wondering if this person had some superpower to guess her thoughts just from her voice.

“The thing I want you to do will be explained after the final list is out. It’s getting late, goodnight.” Lu Fengfeng seemed to have seen through Yan Ning’s embarrassment, but he didn’t tease her further. He quickly ended the call with the matter settled.

Yan Ning also felt tired. It was much later than her usual bedtime. There were many things to do tomorrow, and the plans she had been thinking about were now in place. She put down the phone and almost immediately fell asleep.

—

The next day was the school sports day. All students were required to gather on the field for the opening ceremony and listen to the principal’s speech.

Afterward, students participating in sports events warmed up and prepared for the competitions, while others sat in their designated class areas as cheerleaders.

No one was allowed to leave early or take leave without a valid reason, as class representatives would be taking attendance.

If there was really nothing to do, they could write articles. Each class had specific requirements, and students who met the criteria could submit their work to be read by the announcers, earning extra points.

Yan Ning knew she didn’t have much ability in this area. Sitting in the crowd, watching others compete, she quietly calculated how much effort to save for her turn.

She had signed up for three events: long jump, the 50-meter sprint, and the 800-meter run.

Given her physical condition, competing against first-year students might seem a bit unfair. But she had to win—and by a large margin. Ideally, her performance should match the level of the high school group.

Overall, it felt like she was bullying the others, but compared to the embarrassment of losing, she chose to bear the shame of winning.

At around ten o’clock in the morning, the sports committee member, Chen Kai, came to call Yan Ning for the long jump, which was starting for the first-year students.

When Yan Ning arrived at the competition area in a corner of the playground, standing among a group of little girls who barely reached her chest, she felt an overwhelming sense of embarrassment.

What am I even doing?

The shame was so intense that Yan Ning couldn’t help but cover her face.

In the crowd waiting in line, a girl with twin pigtails kept glancing at Yan Ning. When it was Yan Ning’s turn and she was about to jump, the girl suddenly said, “You’re that 17-year-old transfer student from Class 5, right? Don’t you feel ashamed competing with us?”

“You’re so much older.”

“Even if you win, there’s nothing to be proud of, right?”

“Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—” Yan Ning felt as though three sharp arrows had pierced her chest, almost causing her to collapse.

“Hey, are you okay?” Chen Kai, standing nearby, looked at her with concern.

Yan Ning raised her hand and looked at the physical education teacher overseeing the competition: “Teacher, can I do a one-legged jump?”

The teacher hesitated, this situation was indeed special.

Yan Ning’s age and her physical and developmental level were more in line with that of a high school student, but she was actually still in seventh grade.

From a rule standpoint, Yan Ning’s participation in the competition couldn’t be considered unfair. But by common sense, it was indeed a bit unfair to the other normal seventh graders.

The teacher thought for a moment and tacitly agreed.

Now it was Chen Kai’s turn to cover his face. He thought Yan Ning was overthinking it. Even if she was a bit older, as long as she was indeed part of Class 5 in seventh grade, no matter how dissatisfied others were, there was nothing they could do. The procedure was followed.

What was the point of this kind of concession? It was neither practical nor would it earn any positive feedback.

If she tried to show off and lost, it would make the situation even worse from Yan Ning’s perspective.

Yan Ning patted Chen Kai on the shoulder: “It’s fine, a small issue. I can manage with the one-legged jump.”

Chen Kai was not at all reassured.

He had never seen anyone attempt a one-legged long jump. Even if she was a bit older and her physical fitness was superior to that of a 13-year-old girl, if she managed to jump over 1.5 meters with one leg, he would consider it a loss.

The long jump was organized according to the class order. Four girls had already jumped before Yan Ning, and none of their distances had exceeded two meters.

Yan Ning estimated the distance. She didn’t need to go all out but had to ensure that no one would surpass her.

She bent her knees and stood tall, gathering strength twice.

Because it was a one-legged jump, it looked particularly ridiculous, but Yan Ning didn’t care much about that.

On her final crouch, she launched herself: “Whoosh—” and landed steadily.

“How much?” Chen Kai asked, leaning over to the supervising physical education teacher, while a student council volunteer was measuring the distance.