Chapter 26

The cold and ruthless king played by Lu Fengfeng made his appearance.

His features were already exquisite and flawless, and his charm was seductive and enchanting. Dressed in extravagant attire, his presence became even more striking.

The background scene shifted from the gloomy and oppressive ancient battlefield to a resplendent European-style palace. From the vast and solemn palace to the arrangements, murals, curtains, carpets, and even the king’s wine glass, every detail had a unique design that left people in awe.

“How is this even possible? It’s so beautiful!” Zhao Xiaolu couldn’t help but pinch Shi Lei.

“Don’t pinch me. The climax is coming,” Shi Lei said, his eyes fixed on the stage, afraid to miss even a single moment.

On stage, after the protagonist buried her friend, she was seen alone on a boat late at night, a mournful flute melody emanating from the short flute in her hands.

There was also a thoughtful subtitle: The Nine-Tone Flute, a musical instrument from another world.

The Nine-Tone Flute was a traditional instrument from a certain planet. Its tone was similar to a flute, but in some scenes, it sounded even more ethereal and sorrowful. It also looked different, and Zhao Xiaolu had someone modify it to resemble a short flute. At this moment, Yan Ning was playing the Nine-Tone Flute, which had the appearance of a short flute.

The king held a lamp as he boarded the boat, his tall figure standing at the bow, silently accompanying her.

When the song ended, tears fell from the girl’s eyes.

In the original scene, the protagonist made up her mind to avenge her friend, wiped away her tears, and bid farewell to the king.

But here, Lu Fengfeng, who should have been still and motionless, suddenly raised his hand, extending his thumb to gently wipe away her tears.

Yan Ning was stunned, and as she leaned back to avoid him, she almost fell into the water, clearly startled.

Lu Fengfeng’s movements were gentle yet firm, not allowing her to escape. He simply gazed into her eyes, which were dark and deep, with a cold and restrained intensity.

Some people started to swoon, clutching their chests, wishing they could shout aloud: “This is killing me!”

“I swear!” After completing his task and retreating, Qiao Yingxue hadn’t even changed her clothes and hurriedly ran down to the stage. Seeing this scene, for the first time, she forgot her lady-like composure and couldn’t help but curse inwardly.

This was the place where Lu Fengfeng had originally suggested adding a romantic subplot, but Yan Ning had rejected it. Who would have thought this jerk, although agreeing verbally, showed no sign of it during rehearsal but had this moment during the actual performance?

Just a simple action of wiping away tears, coupled with the expression, completely developed the emotional connection between the protagonist and the aloof king.

As Qiao Yingxue listened to the sound of people quickly pressing the voting buttons nearby, she had to admit that this change had really tapped into the audience’s psychology.

Living in the mundane world, who isn’t intrigued by love and passion? Who doesn’t long for it? Who doesn’t get immersed in it?

Lu Fengfeng had also mastered the subtle balance, being deeply affectionate without saying anything, which only made it more alluring and left plenty of room for imagination.

Watching the young ladies both swooning and voting, Qiao Yingxue couldn’t help but smile. She thought to herself, “It’s just as easy to cry when the knife falls later.”

Yan Ning’s shocked and confused reaction was also quite amusing. Even though Qiao Yingxue knew that Yan Ning might truly have been startled, this reaction fit perfectly with the scene.

The early stirrings of love and gentle watching—just imagining it felt beautiful.

The story continued. The girl donned her armor once again and bade farewell to the king, preparing to go back to the battlefield.

Before leaving, she stood before the king, ready to bow as a parting gesture.

Suddenly, she reached out to take the king’s long, jade-like hand. With a tender and devout gesture, she lowered her head and gently kissed his fingertips.

Lu Fengfeng’s expression showed surprise because this scene hadn’t been in the rehearsals.

In the original script, there was no romantic involvement between the king and the protagonist. The departure was solely for revenge and to protect the kingdom, so the scene had no such romantic moments.

At that moment, a subtitle appeared: “A kiss on the hand, an oath of loyalty from a lower rank to a higher rank in an otherworldly ceremony.”

This is what she had asked Gu Han to add at the last minute?

But didn’t she just kiss his fingertips? That’s different from before!

Lu Fengfeng’s internal struggle was clearly written on his face. To others, it looked like he was overwhelmed with surprise, as if the long-awaited affection had finally been returned, but they couldn’t be together…

The audience: “So sweet, so sweet!”

Then the scene changed, and the story entered its final climax. The protagonist fought off various alien creatures on the battlefield.

Most of the monsters here were inspired by extraterrestrial beings, making them look especially real and terrifying. The audience couldn’t help but hug their arms, goosebumps rising, yet they couldn’t tear their eyes away.

The fight scenes were intense, pure close combat. The sounds of weapons clashing were crisp and clear, matching perfectly with the background music, each clang ringing with satisfying precision.

Yan Ning’s movements were quick and precise, skilled and fluid. She didn’t seem like she was performing at all, it was as though she had actually fought these creatures before.

When ^[1] “Black Neck” is “Hēi Jǐng” (黑颈).Black Neck saw this part, he whistled.

In the front row, Tang Chengtian rubbed his thumb against his index finger, deep in thought. The young actor beside him, Xun Liming, was clearly not calm either.

The girl’s armor was torn and slid off, blood staining her white clothes beneath. She was physically exhausted, dropping to one knee, as the lights dimmed until the stage was completely black.

When the lights came back on, the desolate battlefield was empty, with only a broken blade stabbed into a mountain of corpses. The tattered red tassel on the blade fluttered in the wind, the setting sun as blood-red and desolate as the day the girl arrived in this world.

Meanwhile, the king sat alone in the court, resting his chin in his hand while listening to the minister’s babble. He still didn’t know that the girl who kissed his fingertips would never return…

This was the ending.

The audience below was completely silent for several seconds, with only the occasional sound of strange sobs. After a while, thunderous applause suddenly erupted like a tidal wave.

On the stage, which had been illuminated again, there were no more monsters or palaces obstructing the view, and the votes on the screen had stopped at 8,000.

Yan Wan, who had been gripping her fists tightly to control her emotions, let out a slight sigh of relief when she saw the vote count. But the next moment, the votes started skyrocketing, rising from 8,000 to 12,000, and still climbing.

It turned out that many of the audience had been so absorbed in the performance that they forgot to vote, and now, while wiping away their tears, they were furiously pressing the voting buttons.

Among the four, Shi Lei cried the most bitterly. Qiao Yingxue had also been a little teary-eyed, but when she saw Shi Lei’s pitiful state, she managed to swallow her tears and even laughed.

Although it was only a brief four minutes, and the ending was tragic, the music, performance, and grand, almost epic, set designs created an atmosphere so incredible that the audience received the ultimate dual experience of sensory and emotional fulfillment.

Overall, tonight’s performance was a huge success.

On the big screen, the final vote count stopped at—

14,795 votes.

Backstage, Yan Ning, Gu Han, Tutu, and the others were all exhausted.

The constant changes in scenes, the lighting, and the background music transitions—everything was managed by them backstage, and they were incredibly busy.

Yan Ning had also put a lot of effort into the final fight scene. The exhaustion wasn’t from the fighting, but from the acting.

Although the monsters on stage looked real, they were only projections and had no physical form. She had to act as if she were struggling and fighting fiercely, which was far more tiring than actual combat.

But when the results came in, Yan Ning felt that all the fatigue was worth it.

After each performance, the vote count for every contestant was announced, so the rankings were already clear by then.

Yan Ning ranked first with 14,795 votes, followed by Lu Fengfeng with 12,385 votes in second place. Qin Li, Yan Wan, Chen Nuan, and a few others who Yan Ning didn’t recognize made up the rest of the top ten, who advanced to the third round.

This ranking surprised everyone. No one had expected the transfer student, Yan Ning, who had been mocked by the whole school, to take first place— and to do so undoubtedly, with everyone voting willingly for her.

It was at this moment that they realized—Yan Ning was truly beautiful, dazzling like the sun.

But it seemed that her beauty wasn’t the only thing that stood out. Watching her performance, her talents, and the action movie-like fight scenes—where had she learned all of this?

Why didn’t she say a word when she was being mocked, even though she’s so full of personality?

Yan Wan stared at the screen displaying the vote rankings, with various voices around her discussing the final performance and Yan Ning. Her nails dug deep into her palm.

Yan Ning lied to her!

All that talk about practicing dance was a lie. She actually believed that scheming woman was so innocent.

Yan Wan was furious, feeling as if she might explode with rage. She almost wanted to rush backstage and slap Yan Ning right then and there.

A country bumpkin girl dared to scheme against her like this?

The system, sensing Yan Wan’s anger, could relate to her frustration. It also felt that both it and its host had been played by that country girl.

Having been a system for many years, it had always looked down from above at mere mortals struggling with their lives. It had watched Yan Wan use the golden fingers it gave her to control the situation—when had it ever been slapped in the face like this?

—

Backstage.

After resting for a while, Yan Ning noticed that Lu Fengfeng was gone. She hadn’t seen him since he left after the performance.

Gu Han and Tutu were still cleaning up the equipment, looking like they had a lot of work to do. Yan Ning decided to get up and look for Lu Fengfeng.

She walked down the long corridor, passing through rooms with open doors, but all were empty.

It was already past nine in the evening, and most of the backstage staff had already left, leaving the place feeling very empty. Yan Ning thought about going further down the hall to look. If she couldn’t find him, she would go back—he might have already left.

As she passed the staircase, she suddenly heard someone talking, but it seemed like the conversation had already ended. She only heard one sentence: “…Just to be safe, you should prepare as early as possible.”

Then, a strange man with a cigarette in his mouth walked out from the staircase, deliberately avoiding eye contact as he passed by her.

Yan Ning thought it was strange. The man’s face and the skin on his body below the neck looked completely normal, but his neck was entirely black—pure black, with no patterns.

Was it some avant-garde tattoo?

She didn’t understand.

“Ah, you’re here.” A familiar and pleasant voice.

Yan Ning turned around, walked toward the staircase, and sure enough, saw the person she was looking for. “What are you doing here?”

Was the person the man had been talking to Lu Fengfeng? And what was he preparing for?

Lu Fengfeng sat lazily on the stairs and patted the spot beside him. “Come sit here. I have something to tell you.”

Yan Ning could sense from his tone that it was serious, as if he was about to say something important. She obediently sat down next to him. “What is it? Tell me.”

Lu Fengfeng straightened up, his charming peach blossom eyes fixed on her without blinking. “Do you remember our agreement? I will help you this time, and in return, you agree to one condition of mine.”

“Mm.” Yan Ning nodded.

“I originally planned to tell you my request after the third round, but the situation has changed. I need to make my request now.”

“Okay, go ahead.”

“I request…” Lu Fengfeng lowered his gaze, his long, thick lashes fluttering slightly. He couldn’t meet Yan Ning’s eyes. His right hand clenched into a loose fist, resting beneath his lips, and he coughed lightly. “Ahem, I request that you—”