Chapter 9 I have everything you need

That one sentence was enough to sound the alarm among the judges sitting in front. Yu Siming couldn’t help but glance back, but Cen Shi had already closed his eyes again, his expression unreadable. The judges up front were in a complete mess. What did the commander mean by that? No one could figure it out. In the end, Chen Li, pressured by Cen Shi’s comment, changed her score. Yu Siming also unconsciously lowered Jiang Fei’s score a little. The rest of the judges gave their scores normally, so at least they submitted them with a clear conscience.

In the end, Jiang Fei’s total score was 94. Upon hearing the result, her already pale face turned even whiter. Still, she knew her place. After saying thank you, she stepped down from the stage. But before leaving, she looked at Yu Siming with tear-filled eyes. A twinge of guilt stirred in his heart. Fine, he thought—he’d take the girl out for something good to eat next time.

In the waiting room after the performance, Jiang Fei saw Jiang Qingrou dozing off. Her little head bobbed up and down, and the loose strands of hair at her forehead swayed with her movement—like an unconscious display of elegance, adding a touch of purity to her already beautiful face.

Normally, Jiang Fei would’ve walked up and pretended to chat warmly with her in front of everyone. But now, she only wanted to cry. Nothing else. She just hadn’t expected her score to end up lower than Jiang Qingrou’s.

Some people noticed Jiang Fei was crying, but after what happened earlier, no one dared approach her to comfort her. Jiang Fei usually got along with people, but after what she did today… it was a different story.

A few people instead went over to talk to Jiang Qingrou. Woken up by the noise, she looked a little annoyed, but knowing some of them had bad intentions, she still responded sweetly in a soft voice.

Someone asked, “Qingrou, we never really saw you practicing before. How did you score so high this time? Did you just perform exceptionally well today?”

Jiang Qingrou smiled. The passive-aggressive undertone couldn’t have been more obvious. But she blinked and said humbly, “It’s not like I didn’t practice. You know I’m not great with the basics, and I was afraid of embarrassing myself in the studio, so I’ve been getting up really early and practicing late into the night at home. I guess it paid off a little.”

Claiming an unusually good performance in dance wasn’t believable—this wasn’t a written test you could luck out on. Dance evaluations depended entirely on foundational skills.

Another girl said in surprise, “But Jiang Fei said you go to bed early and wake up early every day to rest and recharge?”

Jiang Qingrou curled her lips slightly. Probably trying to imply she was lazy and only got a high score by pulling strings?

She pursed her lips and shook her head, speaking in a very troubled, quiet voice. “I don’t know why my sister would say that about me, but I really did work hard.” As she spoke, she glanced at Jiang Fei, her large eyes shimmering with a bit of timidity. Then she turned back and whispered, “Maybe my sister just didn’t notice. But I promise I’m telling the truth. If you don’t believe me, you can ask my brothers.”

When Jiang Fei heard that, her face turned green with rage.

The two families lived next door to each other. Jiang Fei’s house was smaller, so she lived on the balcony with only a curtain separating her “room.” Right across from her was Jiang Qingrou’s large bedroom.

She saw it clearly—Jiang Qingrou always turned off her lights and drew her curtains before 8 p.m., and in the mornings when Jiang Fei got up, the pink floral curtain on Jiang Qingrou’s side still hadn’t moved an inch.

How could she have the gall to claim she was practicing hard morning and night?

And asking her brothers? Everyone knew Jiang Qingrou’s elder brothers always sided with her over logic. Even if she claimed the sun rose in the west, those two would back her up.

The other girls had initially doubted Jiang Qingrou’s story. But after today’s events and seeing her “bunny-like” expression, their skepticism slowly gave way to sympathy. A beautiful girl looking so wronged—it moved even the other women a little.

One of them turned and asked Jiang Fei, “Jiang Fei, maybe you just didn’t notice? You can’t fake dance skills. I heard even some people from the army were part of the judging panel today.”

Another girl quickly chimed in, looking very secretive, “You don’t know? Apparently there was a big shot in the audience today—still really young, but already an officer. The leadership picked him because of his strong ability and strict fairness.”

“But why would they invite someone from the military? Would he even understand dance?”

“I guess it’s to make sure the selection is fair? I didn’t see him either, maybe he was hiding?”

The conversation seemed to drift off-topic but was quickly pulled back: “But… doesn’t that mean Jiang Qingrou really did earn her score on merit?”

With that, everyone turned to look at Jiang Qingrou again. She wore an innocent expression and asked confusedly, “What else could it be?”

Exactly—rumor had it that this big shot was even more impressive than Jiang Qingrou’s older brother. With someone like that present, if it wasn’t based on true ability, then what was it?

The girls, stunned, couldn’t help but glance back at Jiang Fei.

She opened her mouth to explain, but couldn’t figure out where to start. The problem was—she was telling the truth. So why did she have to explain anything?

Her usual sharp tongue now seemed sewn shut. After a long pause, she forced a dry laugh and said, “Maybe Qingrou practiced a lot on her own time, so none of us really knew how good she’d gotten.”

Zhao Xiaozhi couldn’t take it anymore and came over to help Jiang Fei out. “They’re sisters, but they don’t live in the same house, so it’s normal not to know. And anyway, didn’t Jiang Qingrou hardly ever come to the studio to practice? Maybe she was hiding her skills all along.”

Right, how could she have known the details when they didn’t even live in the same house?

Jiang Fei took the opportunity to duck behind Zhao Xiaozhi, her eyes lowered meekly as she whispered, “It’s okay, Xiaozhi. I was the one who misspoke.”

Jiang Qingrou’s eyelashes fluttered slightly as she frowned and asked, “Sister, you sure seem to say the wrong things easily, and you’re quick to misunderstand people too. If you keep doing this, who will still believe what you say?”

Jiang Qingrou kept calling her “sister” in that sweet tone, which made Jiang Fei grind her teeth in anger. But on the surface, she still wore an apologetic expression and said, “Sorry, Qingrou. It was my fault. I’ll make it up to you next time.”

Jiang Qingrou gave a perfect smile, her delicate oval face glowing with a mix of purity and charm. “No need, sister. There’s nothing you have that I lack. And between sisters, let’s not talk about compensation or anything. Just try not to badmouth me next time, okay?”

She even stuck out her tongue playfully and stopped looking at Jiang Fei.

The others only registered the second half of what she said and began to chime in:
“She’s right, Jiang Fei. Family matters should stay private, especially personal ones like this.”

Jiang Fei was so furious her back molars were nearly crushed. She couldn’t even force a smile, just barely nodded and leaned against Zhao Xiaozhi to rest.

What hurt the most was that line from Jiang Qingrou: “There’s nothing you have that I lack.”
It stung deeply. Jiang Fei’s eyes welled up with red again.

Yeah. Same surname, same two older brothers, same parents—how could things be so different?

Jiang Qingrou was the darling of the family. Everything she had was the best. Even if she was dead last in something, her parents and brothers adored her regardless. But Jiang Fei? Her family’s financial situation was dozens of times worse. She was their only daughter too, yet treated like some weed growing in the cracks.

She fought so hard to be the best at everything, but ended up with nothing. Jiang Qingrou only needed to flutter her lashes and open her mouth, and her whole family would scramble to meet her every whim.

What was even more unbearable was that Jiang Fei’s score in the assessment had ended up lower than Jiang Qingrou’s.

At that moment, Jiang Fei felt like dying.

How was she supposed to face her parents when she got home?