The Person I Love Who Has Been Missing For Three Years - Chapter 40

Chapter 40: A Grand Confession (2K Words…)

The show Dancing with the Stars invited a total of 32 contestants, divided into 16 amateur groups and 8 professional groups, featuring an all-female lineup.

As the first live-streamed competitive dance show in the entertainment industry, it successfully captured significant attention.

#Looking Forward to Chief Lu Peiling#

#Please Support New Dancer Su Chenxing#

#Su Chenxing’s Entrance is Stunning#

Song Xiangwan’s Dog: Have you guys seen the hot search? “Stunning” before the broadcast even started?

My Wife is Song Xiangwan: Cough, cough, see it but don’t say it.

Wanwan’s Visual Fan: LOL, a pre-arranged hot search?

Space Walker: Her company seems quite rich… bought several spots…

A Grain of Sugar: Hey, I haven’t been paying attention lately. Wasn’t she filming Allure? Why is she participating in this show?

My Wife is Song Xiangwan: Allure has stopped production, didn’t you know?

My Wife is Song Xiangwan: After Wanwan withdrew, it stopped production a few days later. They said it was a script issue and paused for refinement.

My Wife is Song Xiangwan: But, the internal news is that a big boss seems to have withdrawn funding.

A Grain of Sugar: Thankfully, our Wanwan withdrew early and gracefully.

Space Walker: Her rival is causing such a fuss. Aren’t we buying a hot search? What’s the studio thinking?

My Wife is Song Xiangwan: The studio hasn’t contacted us yet. We don’t know what to do.

Song Xiangwan’s Dog: She just changed companies, everything hasn’t gotten on track yet, and we haven’t connected with the studio.

My Wife is Song Xiangwan: We still have some money in the account. Should we buy a hot search too?

Due to several past conflicts with Su Chenxing, Song Xiangwan and Su Chenxing were already subtle rivals, and their respective fans were competing fiercely.

Song Xiangwan’s Dog: What keyword should we buy? We can’t let ourselves become such a big joke.

The phrase was firmly stuck in the top three spots, even higher than the bought hot search positions, practically becoming a joke across the entire internet.

Less Ice, Slight Sugar: You don’t need to worry about it.

Less Ice, Slight Sugar: Just watch. I’ll keep an eye on the hot searches.

The group went silent for a moment, then a message popped up. A Grain of Sugar: Who are you? Such a commanding tone…

My Wife is Song Xiangwan: Good evening, rich sister.

Song Xiangwan’s Dog: Good evening, rich sister. Have you already arranged everything?

Song Xiangwan’s Visual Fan: Long time no see, rich sister.

A Grain of Sugar: [Recalling a message.]

Song Xiangwan, lurking in the group with her burner account, was still thinking of how to stop them from doing anything foolish when she saw Ming Jin’s message.

She was paying attention, very much so.

Song Xiangwan’s lips were practically stretched to her ears.

Happily logging into WeChat, she messaged Ming Jin’s main account—the one she had just re-added: Have you had dinner?

Ming Jin: Mmm, I have.

Song Xiangwan: Will you watch the live broadcast later?

Ming Jin: No time. Probably not.

Song Xiangwan pursed her lips and scoffed. She didn’t believe it. She just said in the group that she would be keeping an eye on the hot searches.

Song Xiangwan persevered, sending another message: After the recording is over, can I stay at the Ming residence tonight?

The other side seemed to hesitate for a moment before a reply came: No need. I don’t need you right now. Get some good rest.

Song Xiangwan’s brow furrowed instantly.

Ming Jin: Focus on recording the show. I need to rest now.

Meaning, the conversation was being cut off.

“Sister Wan, time to go.” Cheng Cheng knocked on the door, her voice carrying through from outside.

“Okay.” Song Xiangwan put her phone back into her clutch bag and took one last look at her makeup in the mirror.

Her eyebrows were meticulously shaped with a faint charcoal line. The small mole at the corner of her eye was brightened with shimmer, making her eyes look like black obsidian steeped in honey. Bright red lipstick filled her lips. When the corners of her mouth curved up slightly, she looked wrapped in a soft-focus filter, highlighting the bright beauty of her red dress.

Song Xiangwan had chosen a red dance dress. She had worn a red dress for her graduation performance, and most importantly, Ming Jin had said she loved her in red.

Song Xiangwan left the hotel, got into the car, settled into her seat, then obediently pulled the seatbelt over and fastened it carefully.

She gave a bright, beautiful smile and a peace sign to the camera in the car. Her eyes were full of deep affection, her rich makeup and her phoenix eyes conveying a captivating charm.

Holy sht, Song Xiangwan’s beauty truly holds up.*

Sister, kill me.

Did Sister just flirt with me?

I’ve been shot by Cupid’s arrow.

No, it’s obviously not flirting with the audience. That wink was for Ming Jin, Xu Zhiyan asserted, because the seatbelt incident had been a bit problematic before…

Xu Zhiyan peeled an orange segment, tossed one into her mouth, and instantly grimaced.

She turned to glare at Lin Rong. Which dog told her the oranges today were sweet?

Lin Rong suppressed her laughter, lowering her head to record the numbers on the blood pressure monitor, and said: “Blood pressure has been well-maintained these past two days, but the heart rate is a little fast.”

“Keep this up until the surgery, and I’ll give you the ‘Most Obedient Patient’ award.”

Her words lacked conviction, as Ming Jin had never been the most obedient patient, but rather the one who caused the most trouble.

She stood up, looking at Xu Zhiyan provocatively: “Little girl, was the orange sweet?”

“CEO Ming, look at her. She stole my orange and now she wants to hit me.” Lin Rong had too much free time to tease Xu Zhiyan.

Usually, Ming Jin would mostly side with Lin Rong, telling Xu Zhiyan to be more polite.

But this time, it clearly didn’t work. CEO Ming completely ignored what the two of them were doing, merely saying flatly: “Please move.”

She added: “You’re blocking my TV.”

Lin Rong: “…”

She paused, then crouched down: “I’ll measure your heart rate again.”

“Poor medical skill?” Xu Zhiyan teased.

“Inaccurate data.” Lin Rong pouted. That previous data was definitely affected by the screen in the TV.

Song Xiangwan wasn’t the only person in the car. Soon after she got in, another person joined them.

Her eyes were gentle and warm. She wore a light blue long dress, exuding an aura like a gentle sea breeze.

Long, slender arms. The fitted skirt highlighted her graceful, elegant curves. She walked in step by step, with an elegant and composed demeanor, and slightly nodded to Song Xiangwan.

“Hello, Teacher Lu,” Song Xiangwan immediately greeted her. She was a student at the Central Dance Academy, and this was her teacher.

Following Lu Peiling was a young girl wearing a sequined performance outfit. Her eyes sparkled with bright makeup, her pigtails bounced up and down, and her round eyes were filled with elven-like vitality: “Hello, Teacher Lu. Hello, Sister Song. My name is Zhou Xintong, and I’m also a student at the Central Dance Academy.”

The three of them were grouped for the entrance. Being from the same academy seemed logical.

Task: Please evaluate your first impression of the people in the same car.

In terms of status, Lu Peiling naturally spoke first.

“My first impression of Xiangwan was probably during the Central Dance Academy admissions. She performed a Peacock Dance, full of spirit, and so beautiful it was immediately striking.”

“As for Xintong, this is my first time meeting her. She’s a vibrant little sister, making me feel that she has a promising future.”

For the initial evaluation, everyone was flattering each other.

Some of the cuts went into the show, others didn’t, but Lu Peiling’s two sentences were clearly carefully planned.

An old video was dug up, a bit blurry. The audition venue was just an ordinary classroom, and the background music was somewhat noisy.

In the video, the young woman’s toe lightly tapped the ground, like a peacock crossing a dew-covered meadow. The sound of tiny silver bells accompanied the gentle rustle of her skirt. The blue-green gauze sleeves flowed around her arms. As she spun, the skirt layers bloomed, the interweaving blue-green and bright yellow patterns highly resembling the scattered spots on a peacock’s tail feathers.

Her chin was slightly raised, displaying arrogance and pride. Every pause landed precisely in the beat of the drum. She was as lively as a peacock elegantly strolling across a lawn.

I didn’t know she was professionally trained at the Central Dance Academy. She was the top student in her graduating class and the lead in the major performance. No wonder her posture is so outstanding in period dramas all these years. It wasn’t until she appeared that I realized how well I’ve been eating all these years.

Yes, what have I been eating all these years? Can the camera focus on Sister more? It’s been less than a minute since the start.

I feel bad for Sister. Was she blacklisted all these years?

After all these years since her debut, Song Xiangwan accompanied us through our entire youth. Counting her screen roles, they are all brilliant.

Why is Su Chenxing currently ranked first in audience votes? Teacher Lu Peiling is second to last? This show is clearly rigged by capital.

She is my childhood goddess! I must vote for her this time.

Let the capital see who the audience really loves. The internal entertainment industry’s posture standards should all conform to Song Xiangwan’s!

I owe Song Xiangwan a vote. If you vote and I vote, we’ll send Song Xiangwan to the top.

Cao Xin kept track of the online activity and couldn’t help but gasp at this series of marketing moves.

Is this the scale of CEO Ming’s promotion? Just a few moments on screen, followed by several marketing campaigns. The show hadn’t even started, and Song Xiangwan’s popularity had skyrocketed.

Song Xiangwan was still in the middle of recording and hadn’t checked her phone, so she was unaware of the fervor online.

The car stopped at the entrance of the studio. Lu Peiling walked in the center, flanked by Song Xiangwan and Zhou Xintong.

They weren’t the first to enter, nor the finale.

The studio was already quite full. Su Chenxing had entered and was chatting with people, smiling brightly and appropriately in the crowd. Her gaze swept over Song Xiangwan’s figure on the screen, and the curve of her lips slightly hardened.

“Someone’s coming, someone’s coming,” someone reminded.

“I wonder how they’ll vote.”

“They definitely don’t know we’re watching them right now.”

On both sides of the entrance aisle were 32 photos and corresponding ballot boxes. Upon entry, everyone received three voting cards.

Internal voting to select your personal TOP 3.

While Song Xiangwan was still looking at the photos, Zhou Xintong hopped forward and cast one vote each for Lu Peiling and Song Xiangwan.

Then, she protected her own ballot box: “Teacher Lu, Sister Song, you absolutely can’t play politics. I know my limits.”

Song Xiangwan, aspiring to be a red rose, blooming through an entire summer.

No one had ever told her this before. Song Xiangwan chose this phrase as her personal signature.

She felt a fierce flame igniting in her chest, making her heart race and her entire chest feel hot.

Song Xiangwan and Lu Peiling stepped forward together, held Zhou Xintong down, and each cast a vote for her.

After voting for each other, they each had only one card left.

Everyone would mostly engage in polite voting, so the decisive factor would be this one remaining vote.

Song Xiangwan walked past the ballot boxes, her eyes skimming past Su Chenxing’s box. Her steps paused, and the camera immediately zoomed in.

She held the card at the opening of the ballot box, hesitated for a moment, then released it. It slid inside.

Cao Xin had a moment of intense anxiety. She knew this ancestor wouldn’t make things easy for her. Since the two were rivals, this action was too controversial.

In the past, Song Xiangwan’s fan community would have been completely overwhelmed by the opposing side.

She nervously refreshed the page several times. Nothing. The entire forum was lively, full of videos of her art school audition and promotional clips for her dramas. Old fans were welcoming new ones, and new fans were creating content. There wasn’t a single ripple of disagreement.

She had been through too many hard times and was too stressed.

Now, with Song Xiangwan’s backing, no one could cause trouble on her fan forum.

After the entrance was complete, Song Xiangwan also smiled and greeted Su Chenxing. There was no sign of sparks flying, only an atmosphere of complete harmony between the two.

Song Xiangwan was the type to hold a grudge. She hadn’t forgotten how much Su Chenxing had lorded her status over her these past two years.

I was showing off, but you didn’t hold back either. You practically cursed me out by name on social media.

Song Xiangwan, capable of eating people behind a smile, is no joke.

With the entrance completed, the host walked out, read the sponsor’s advertisement, greeted everyone, and held up the envelope in his hand: “The internal voting results are now in my hand. Next, I will announce the rules for the first competition.”

“This round will be divided into four camps, eight people in each camp. Each camp will have two performances.”

“The first public performance will be held seven days from now, and the entire process will still be live-streamed.”

“The camp ranked first based on the live audience vote will receive three revival cards, which can be used to revive members of that camp before the semi-finals.”

“The camp ranked last will have all members enter the danger zone, and four individuals will be eliminated based on their personal votes.”

“Therefore, the overall strength of the camp is very important. Next are the rules for dividing into camps, which relates to your internal voting.”

“The top four contestants in the internal voting will automatically become captains and will take turns selecting their team members.”

There were many people in the studio. Even though the weather hadn’t fully warmed up yet, the air conditioning was running high, keeping the temperature very low.

Song Xiangwan’s dress was sleeveless. She felt herself becoming thoroughly cold after sitting for a while. Perhaps due to the temperature shock, the pain in her stomach also flared up.

It had been hurting for almost three days now, coming and going, sometimes severely painful, sometimes subsiding. She had been taking medicine constantly, but it wasn’t helping much.

“Are you okay?” Lu Peiling seemed to notice her discomfort and asked quietly.

“I’m fine, just a little cold. I’m going to the restroom…” Song Xiangwan replied softly, hurrying out of the camera’s view.

Cheng Cheng was monitoring her from the side and immediately rushed up: “Sister Wan, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Song Xiangwan quickly moved through the crowd. The instant she entered the restroom, she leaned over the sink.

She wanted to vomit, but she hadn’t eaten much in the evening, so she couldn’t throw anything up.

She just felt her stomach churning like the sea, wave after wave surging upward, and uncontrolled dry heaves in her throat.

She dry-heaved until her eyes were slightly watery. She looked in the mirror and quickly took a few deep breaths, suppressing the stinging in her eyes.

She couldn’t let the tears fall. They were still recording the show. If her eye makeup smeared, she would have to reapply it.

Cheng Cheng quickly rubbed her back, her voice urgent: “I’ll go talk to the production team, get you a leave of absence. Let’s go to the hospital now, okay?”

“Don’t…” Song Xiangwan only managed one word before another wave of nausea surged through her.

She was bent very low. This time, she did manage to expel something. Her eyes paused slightly. Before Cheng Cheng could see, she turned on the faucet and washed it away.

It was just some watery bile-like substance, mixed with a faint trace of blood.

Something serious is happening. Regardless, she had to finish recording the show first.

When Song Xiangwan returned, the top four had already been announced. Lu Peiling was ranked first.

Whether in the amateur or professional group, no one had any objection to Teacher Lu’s professional skills.

After the fourth place, the rankings were announced in reverse order. They had just announced the 16th position.

Zhou Xintong’s ranking had already been revealed: 30th, almost last.

But she didn’t look unhappy, her smile was bright.

Song Xiangwan stood up, nodded to the camera, and then sat down with a smile.

Her complexion was noticeably unwell.

Cao Xin frowned. 15th place. That ranking was acceptable. Song Xiangwan didn’t seem like the type to get angry over this.

Song Xiangwan had a slight headache and felt dizzy from vomiting. She had tried her best to maintain a smile, but her back was covered in a cold sweat.

The cold air made her feel even colder. The sharp pain in her stomach seemed to have been triggered again. The host was laughing and joking with everyone, but she hadn’t joined in a single conversation. Right now, the pain was making her mind drift.

She didn’t know when, or if it was her imagination, but the cold air suddenly stopped.

The temperature in the entire venue slowly began to rise.

It was late spring, early summer. The people in the studio were dressed haphazardly. Some wore long sleeves, some short sleeves, and some wore two layers.

The crew members outside the camera’s view were fine. When they got hot, they rolled up their sleeves or took off their jackets.

The people on camera, however, were in trouble.

Some were wearing two layers. They couldn’t just take off their clothes while filming.

Not only would it break continuity, but their styling and makeup today had been meticulously done. Taking off a jacket would ruin the look.

But Song Xiangwan felt much better. With the cold air gone, it wasn’t so freezing, and the cramping pain in her stomach seemed to be pushed down.

Next was the individual 30-second solo. The captains would select members based on the solo performance. It was essentially their debut on the show.

Song Xiangwan gathered her focus, lifted her red dress, and entered the stage with the music.

The dance was simple, a waltz. Forward and backward spins. Her red skirt bloomed like a red rose. Her slender arms stretched out. Her slightly raised neck, her delicate swan neck, and slender collarbone looked like perfect works of art.

Compared to the creative, attention-grabbing dances around her, she wasn’t trying to compete. It felt as casual as shooting a short video.

The camera rotated with her movements, finally settling on her upper body. Her arm swept past, her fingertip lightly grazing the lens, a fleeting touch like a dragonfly skimming the water.

Her red lips curved up slightly, her eyes twinkling. The rouge-red mole at the corner of her eye was layered with shimmer, making it shine beautifully.

Sister is seducing me.

How is she so good at charming people?

But everyone else is showcasing their professional skills. Won’t this put her at a disadvantage?

Yeah, it doesn’t look like she cares much about her score.

Never mind, never mind, I’m just going to stare.

This dance was a routine Song Xiangwan had practiced impromptu today, only practicing for half a day.

She didn’t care about other people’s evaluations. She was simply trying to seduce Ming Jin.

She was recreating the short video Xu Zhiyan had shown her.

It was the first video she posted when she opened her short video account while filming her first drama in college.

She wore a red dress, bathed in the light of a streetlamp. Her toe tapped lightly. She spun, performing an elegant waltz.

It was only when Xu Zhiyan showed her this video that she realized their first meeting could be traced back even further.

This morning, after Ming Jin and Xu Zhiyan left Clear Water Bay, Xu Zhiyan returned and placed two items in front of Song Xiangwan.

She said: “Song Xiangwan, I am begging you, no matter what, you must give her the will to live.”

“I…” Song Xiangwan was initially stunned. Was she that important in Ming Jin’s world?

Xu Zhiyan said: “Yes, just you. She only cares about you now.”

Ah-Jin, right now, only cares about me.

This phrase echoed in Song Xiangwan’s heart all day.

This suddenly changed dance routine wasn’t for scores. It was a grand confession.