Chapter 40: This Ugly Old Lady Actually Dared to Make Him Stand at the Edge of the Stage Like a Clown!

An hour later, Chen Zhonglun stood in a huge clown costume at the corner of the stage. His face was nearly twisted in anger, his expression so fierce it seemed like he wanted to massacre everyone at the competition venue!

Unfortunately, no one could see it.

Because he was wearing a headpiece—no one could see his face, or the fury beneath the clown costume.

So this was what that ugly old lady meant when she said to listen to her? She had him stand at the side of the stage like a mascot… Alright then, lying to himself had completely failed…

This ugly old lady actually dared to make him stand at the edge of the stage like a clown!

He had thought she’d already planned the stage performance, and all he had to do was casually do a few dance steps and give her some pointers to elevate the dance a little more—that would’ve completed his task perfectly, and they’d even win a championship. Amazing.

But now? What did this so-called “collaborative performance” have to do with him, this clown standing at the edge of the stage?

What purpose did it serve for him to be dressed like this, standing there?

That ugly old lady was clearly getting revenge!

Young Master Chen had never suffered such humiliation in his entire life!

The judges and contestants in the audience, seeing only Old Lady Lin performing alone on stage, were initially confused.

“When will Chen Zhonglun come on?”

“No idea, maybe he’ll come out later.”

“I’m looking forward to it. I wonder what kind of sparks will fly between Chen Zhonglun and the old lady. Given how they usually interact, what if they end up fighting mid-dance?”

“No way—Chen Zhonglun probably wouldn’t hit an old lady. He just has a bit of a temper. They probably have something else planned. Let’s wait and see.”

But as they continued watching, they were slowly drawn in by Old Lady Lin’s expressive face and uniquely rhythmic dance moves, and gradually forgot that there was even a “Chen Zhonglun” involved.

When the music ended, applause erupted from the audience. Lin Qingqing gave an elegant bow in thanks and stepped off the stage.

Chen Zhonglun had waited forever, but no one called him. He couldn’t take it anymore—the inside of the costume was too hot and stuffy. He tore off the clown headpiece, only to realize the old lady had already left the stage.

She finished the performance without even calling him!

And no one in the audience was looking for him either?!

Did anyone even remember this was supposed to be a collaborative performance?!

Young Master Chen raged internally. Finally, someone in the audience noticed him clutching the clown headpiece and exclaimed in surprise:

“So the clown was actually Chen Zhonglun!”

Chen Zhonglun: “…” Oh, thank you very much.

That comment made Chen Zhonglun wish he could find a hole to crawl into.

He would’ve been better off sneaking offstage before anyone noticed.

He had no idea just how miserable he looked at that moment.

The costume was so hot that the brown short hair at his forehead and ears was soaked in sweat and stuck to his skin. His carefully styled high crown was squashed flat against his scalp. He looked utterly disheveled. Fortunately, his facial features were still defined and recognizable, so even in such a sorry state, he still had a bit of charm.

It’s just that his overall appearance was… a bit painful to look at.

Not far away, Lin Qingqing watched the scene with a smile that she couldn’t suppress.

This brat always went against her—she had to teach her unruly grandson a lesson!

Chen Zhonglun’s face was dark and stormy. When he came offstage and saw Lin Qingqing’s smiling mouth, his anger exploded to the top of his head.

He glared at the gloating old lady and barked, “You did this on purpose, didn’t you?! You just wanted to embarrass me!”

Lin Qingqing turned her head, her expression calm and breezy. “Of course not. How could such a handsome clown be embarrassing? Don’t sweat the details—as long as we win the championship, that’s all that matters.”

“Then why didn’t you let me perform with you? Why did you insist I wear this ridiculous thing and stand to the side!” Chen Zhonglun looked down at the clown headpiece in his hand and grew even more frustrated the longer he stared at it.

Why was he still holding this stupid thing?

He flung the clown headpiece away. It rolled to the base of the wall and stopped there.

Lin Qingqing curled her lips slightly and crossed her arms. “Because when I see your face, I lose the mood to dance.”

Chen Zhonglun clenched his teeth in fury, flames practically shooting from his eyes. “So you made me cover my face because you were afraid I’d ruin your performance?”

Lin Qingqing smiled and praised, “So clever of you.”

“I never said I wanted to perform with you in the first place! You think I’m willing to perform with an old lady like you?! This was supposed to be a two-person collaboration. Did you even consider what the judges and the audience wanted? They wanted to see something new and exciting—a performance with both a judge and a contestant!”

“Hmm? But they didn’t seem to care. You’re the only one bothered by it.” Lin Qingqing’s expression remained indifferent as she tilted her chin toward the audience.

Following her gaze, Chen Zhonglun saw that the judges, contestants, and staff members in the audience were all giving thumbs-up, smiling and chatting.

It was clear they weren’t talking about him—the clown.

Tch! He wasn’t a clown!

Chen Zhonglun closed his eyes. Was his blood pressure rising?

After a few seconds, he opened them again, utterly defeated, and stared at the old lady in front of him, too angry for words.

He couldn’t hit her. He couldn’t yell at her. All this temper he had—Young Master Chen had nowhere to vent it!

He could only glare at her, trying to pressure her with his eyes. But her calm expression and tranquil eyes gave him the strange feeling that she was looking at an idiot.

Infuriating!

The old lady didn’t respond. She turned around and left.

At that moment, Chen Zhonglun’s assistant walked over, cautiously eyeing his boss’s face, which was contorted in fury, and whispered, “Young Master, should we stir up some trouble so that old lady doesn’t win the championship?”

Chen Zhonglun shot him a glare and kicked him in the leg. “Are you stupid?! If she doesn’t win, then I was a clown for nothing! You want me to lose and look like a joke? That’s even worse!”

He couldn’t kick the old lady, but the assistant—he could kick and yell at him all he wanted.

The assistant clutched his leg, groaning in pain, and dared not say another word.

Chen Zhonglun looked in the direction where Old Lady Lin had disappeared and muttered darkly, “Next time, don’t let me see that old hag again. Otherwise, I will make her pay.”

If open confrontation didn’t work, he’d play dirty. One way or another, he was going to make that old lady pay dearly for what she did to him on that show!

After fixing his hair, Chen Zhonglun returned to the judges’ panel. Only then did the other three judges and the contestants notice him.

“You’ve worked hard. Not bad—your look was pretty unique.”

“That dance was so creative. Whose idea was it?”

Chen Zhonglun ignored the comment about his “unique” look and calmly answered the second question with a smirk: “Of course it was my idea. Though the old lady added a few creative elements, it was only after my overall adjustments and upgrades that it turned out as perfectly as it did.”

One of the male judges asked curiously, “Wow, that was awesome. Then how come you didn’t perform at all?”

Before Chen Zhonglun could respond, the female judge beside him chimed in, “Didn’t he? That clown on stage just now was him!”