Chapter 78 : Dancing

Mu Qianqian replied honestly, “I think I’ll skip it. I’m not very pretty anyway.”

Her response nearly choked Li Siyu.

“Cough, cough, what did you say? You think you’re not pretty?”

Mu Qianqian smiled gently and said, “Yes, I’m just an ordinary person. Participating in the campus beauty contest would be humiliating for me.”

Li Siyu earnestly advised, “Sigh, Qianqian, you really should… take a good look at yourself.”

“I finally understand why Fang Yanran kept urging you to get your eyes checked. I have the same thought now.”

It wasn’t because Mu Qianqian had poor eyesight, but because her taste was so unique.

If her face, which seemed to be made for a first love role, wasn’t considered beautiful, then who was?

“Qianqian, if you went into the entertainment industry, you’d definitely become popular.”

“I’m not that good-looking. You must have a friend filter for me.”

Mu Qianqian didn’t believe Li Siyu’s words at all.

After all, she had always heard criticisms and put-downs in the Mu family, never any praise.

Years of deeply ingrained insecurity couldn’t be changed overnight.

“Anyway, participating in this selection isn’t a bad idea. I heard that some big shots in Bei City will be paying attention to this selection, maybe looking for promising talents to boost into the entertainment industry.”

“That has nothing to do with me. I just want to focus on my studies.”

Li Siyu changed the subject, “But there’s a cash prize for this selection.”

“Cash prize? How much?” Mu Qianqian immediately became interested.

“The school’s campus beauty prize is 20,000 yuan. If you win first place in all of Bei City, the prize is a whopping 100,000 yuan! You also get a contract with a top agency, making it easier to enter the entertainment industry and earn as much as you want.”

“I don’t want to enter the industry. But if I could get 20,000 yuan, that would be great.”

Mu Qianqian, who had been uninterested before, did a complete turnaround the moment she heard there was money involved.

Who wouldn’t want more money?

Besides, she still owed the Mr. so much money, she needed it the most.

“Alright, I’ll sign you up! You’ll definitely overcome all obstacles and win first place!”

……

Many people signed up for the contest this time.

Not only Mu Qianqian, but also her rival Yao Xuan’er and Liu Xi.

Students from the financial school whispered among themselves, “Looks like there will be a good show. Who will be better, Liu Xi or Mu Qianqian?”

“I think it should be Mu Qianqian. Her face is just stunning, pure and sweet, absolutely lethal!”

“But the campus beauty selection isn’t just about looks. It also considers talent and popularity. Liu Xi has Feng Song backing her, so she might really get promoted.”

“Doesn’t Fu Qianxing like Mu Qianqian? The Fu family’s finance resources are much stronger than the Feng family’s. If it comes down to it, the Fu family would definitely be more formidable.”

“You don’t know this, but Fu Qianxing still has a powerful figure in the Fu family above him. I’ve heard that this person is averse to women and keeps all the younger generation in line, with everyone as abstinent as monks. If Fu Qianxing dares to interfere in the campus beauty selection, he’d probably be kicked out of the family.”

Mu Qianqian stood in line, feeling a bit nervous.

She wasn’t worried about the campus beauty contest itself but was afraid of whether the Mr. would find out about it.

She hadn’t dared to tell the Mr. about this.

If he found out, she wasn’t sure if he’d be angry.

“Next, number 233.”

“Coming.”

As Mu Qianqian was about to step up to register, someone bumped into her shoulder from behind, pushing her aside.

“233, Yao Xuan’er.”

Chewing gum, Yao Xuan’er cut in line arrogantly and stood in front of Mu Qianqian.

Mu Qianqian rubbed her sore shoulder and frowned.

“Why are you just standing there? Hurry up and register!”

Yao Xuan’er shouted.

The senior responsible for registration didn’t dare to argue with her, so she wrote Yao Xuan’er’s name down.

After Yao Xuan’er completed her registration, she swaggered over to Mu Qianqian.

“So, a blind person like you came to sign up for the campus beauty contest? What are you going to perform? A blind person’s version of ‘touching the elephant’?”

Yao Xuan’er’s words provoked laughter from the crowd.

Mu Qianqian’s face turned cold. “What I choose to perform is none of your concern. You should worry about yourself instead.”

“Wow, did you take the wrong medicine today? Dare to talk back to me?”

Yao Xuan’er didn’t expect Mu Qianqian, who usually seemed so soft, to stand up for herself.

She spat the gum onto the ground and maliciously asked, “Do tell, what should I be worrying about?”

Mu Qianqian’s expression was innocently soft, but her words were infuriating.

“I just heard you’re signing up to sing, but your voice sounds like a duck’s quack. Can you really sing well?”

Her tone was sincere, as if she was genuinely concerned for Yao Xuan’er.

This infuriated Yao Xuan’er even more, making her want to slap Mu Qianqian across the face.

“Are you insulting me?”

Mu Qianqian looked innocent. “I’m just speaking the truth.”

With that, she bypassed the furious Yao Xuan’er and went directly to the person in charge to register.

Yao Xuan’er stared at her back, wishing she could burn a hole through her with her gaze.

In the past, she would have led a gang of troublemakers to teach Mu Qianqian a lesson.

But with Fu Qianxing backing Mu Qianqian, if she dared to make a move against her in public, she’d never set foot in the Fu family’s door again!

Yao Xuan’er, fuming with anger, said, “We’ll see about that!”

Her voice became even more like a duck’s quack when she was upset.

Laughter came from the crowd, and Yao Xuan’er glared fiercely, leaving in a huff.

—

“Qianqian, have you decided what talent you’ll perform?” Li Siyu asked with concern.

Mu Qianqian hesitated. “I haven’t figured it out yet.”

“With a voice as good as yours, singing would definitely be a solid choice. But I remember, back in high school, you also learned a bit of dancing, right?”

Mu Qianqian nodded. “Yes. That’s why I’m torn.”

However, the Mu family was so harsh on her that they didn’t send her to learn dancing. Instead, Mu Qianqian had a classmate from a wealthy family who was preparing for arts exams. Mu Qianqian would help her with homework, run errands, and get a bit of pocket money. While waiting outside the classroom, she would secretly follow along with the dance lessons inside.

One day, her dancing was seen by the teacher, who praised her highly. The arts exam student was unhappy with Mu Qianqian stealing the spotlight and kicked her out of the training center.

“It’s okay. There’s still some time before the selection, so you don’t need to rush. You can think it over slowly.”

“Mm-hmm.”

At home, Mu Qianqian put on a pure white lace dress and danced barefoot on the floor, fully immersed in the music.

She was so absorbed in her dance that she didn’t even hear the door open.

When Fu Sichan came home from work, the first thing he saw was the young girl gracefully dancing.

She was on tiptoe, her legs straight and slender, and her neck elongated, resembling a pure and flawless white swan.