Transmigrated as the CEO's Top-Tier Stand-in - Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Dream Chasing 100: Results Announcement Live

In the live broadcast room for the results announcement of Dream Chasing 100, the five girls from Ji Yu and Rong Bai’s team sat on the left, and the five from Chu Nanxing and Chang Xue’s team sat on the right. Both groups performed the song Sun. The question of who performed better was entirely up to the live audience.

Rong Bai rested her elbows on her knees, leaning slightly forward. The long black ribbon with English letters on her sleeve hung down, spinning slightly. Her makeup was heavy, and she wore gray-blue contact lenses. Although she didn’t show much emotion, the way she intently stared at the results screen without looking away showed she was nervous.

The remaining three girls from her group sat behind her. One was a girl who had previously been in F-Class and broke down crying in the restroom due to the intensity of practice. During the theme song assessment, this girl performed exceptionally well and advanced directly to C-Class. Now, she was selected for Ji Yu’s team and practiced even more diligently.

She leaned forward, hugging Ji Yu’s neck, and whispered to her:

“Teacher Ji…”

“I’m so nervous.”

Ji Yu patted her hand behind her back. Before she could say “It’s okay,” the fifth-place vote counts for both teams flashed on the screen.

The fifth place in Ji Yu’s Group A was the nervous girl hugging her, with 26 votes.

The fifth place in Chu Nanxing’s Group B had 17 votes.

The difference was not large.

Chang Xue nervously held Chu Nanxing’s hand, continuously exhaling: “I hate this atmosphere, my heart can’t take it…”

As soon as she spoke.

The fourth and third place votes for both teams were simultaneously announced.

Group A’s fourth and third place votes were 33 and 35.

Group B’s were 21 and 40.

The current total votes for Group A were 94, and Group B was 78, a difference of 16 votes.

The four members yet to be announced were all A-Class members: Chu Nanxing, Chang Xue, Ji Yu, and Rong Bai.

On one level, Rong Bai and Ji Yu were similarly strong, so vote splitting was possible. In contrast, Chu Nanxing occupied the center position, and Chang Xue wasn’t as prominent on stage. The majority of Group B’s votes were highly likely to be monopolized by Chu Nanxing.

Relevant speculations flashed through their minds.

In the VIP front row, two middle-aged people sat in a slightly off-center location. Although they symbolically held support banners, it was evident that, compared to the young fans, they were more likely family members of some of the contestants.

Judging by their attire, they were clearly wealthy and influential. The camera never panned over here, effectively protecting their privacy.

The male on the left had neatly combed temples with subtle signs of age, but not too much white, which was well-hidden by his black hair. Only the slightly deep nasolabial folds on his face, and a hint of loose skin visible at the collar of his suit, revealed his age.

Compared to him, the woman on the right was slightly better preserved, but her figure was somewhat thin, looking delicate and vulnerable.

Currently watching the backstage vote count on the split screen, she nervously clenched her husband’s arm, involuntarily creasing the expensive suit fabric. She usually never lost her composure like this, but today, she seemed to have forgotten such details.

She stared intently at the stage, muttering:

“Huaide…”

“Did, did you see just now?”

“She, that child, when she was dancing… she’s so much like, so much like…”

Chu Huaide had also been stunned by Ji Yu’s stage just now. His gaze lingered on her, trying to find a shadow of his late eldest daughter in her, but this was both absurd and difficult.

Chu Jianyu was only sixteen when she left.

Though tall and graceful, she had not yet been fully sculpted by time, like a summer lotus flower in bud, only having opened two or three pink-white petals. One could only glimpse a tiny fraction of her future appearance in her still-tender face.

However, Ji Yu on the stage.

Every expression, smile, and movement was a posture meticulously honed by society for years.

Chu Huaide had actually investigated this girl. She lost her parents at a young age, bouncing between relatives, never experiencing a complete family environment, and perhaps never knowing what paternal or maternal love was.

Furthermore, the friend who grew up with her later suffered such treatment in the industry, leaving her life shadowed by this for a long time. He even heard that the girl had depressive tendencies.

The information on the file was sparse, barely filling three pages. People like her could be found everywhere on the street; after all, who growing up in this society didn’t have some untold pain?

Chu Huaide could guess the personality of this girl named Ji Yu with his eyes closed.

She should have a people-pleasing personality, accustomed to showing kindness to others, hoping for reciprocity, yearning for acceptance, and rarely creating enemies. She would bottle up all difficulties and hardships. Every time fate tortured her, she tried to scream, but no one heard her voice. Even if she disappeared from this world one day, she would die in silence, receiving no one’s attention.

At least, that’s what the information told him.

However, Chu Huaide recalled the stage performance just now. Even though both of his daughters were passionate about dancing, he was actually ignorant about dance. When he came today, he was prepared to find the performances noisy and boring.

But Ji Yu’s dance conveyed a… an indescribable power.

Chu Huaide never realized he possessed hidden artistic cells. Now, upon recollection, he could still recall the high note Ji Yu sang during the chorus and the gaze that looked down at the audience.

It was as if a natural ball of energy existed within her, and once she tapped into it, she could scatter this energy around, making everyone empathize with her…

Perhaps this was the result of her struggle out of those hardships.

Chu Huaide thought that Ji Yu had the potential to become an excellent artist.

But.

This was not his daughter.

Chu Jianyu, since birth, was held in the palms of their hands, raised with all the love. She should be confident, flamboyant, and capable of captivating all her peers.

He would shield her growth under the name of a father, and his wife would give her sufficient love. Growing up in such an environment, Chu Jianyu could easily possess resources and wealth that others could never obtain in a lifetime, and her personality and temperament were enough for her to easily leverage these resources without being easily tempted by fame and fortune.

Thinking of this, Chu Huaide couldn’t help but touch his styled hair, coincidentally finding a spot of white at his temple. That was during the six months after Chu Jianyu left, when he was overwhelmed by grief, combined with his wife’s body rapidly deteriorating from the shock, and Chu Nanxing being especially rebellious. He bore the pressure in his heart, the pressure from the group, and the responsibility of caring for his family… His hair turned grey in half a year.

Later, no matter how many times that patch of hair was dyed or regrown, it never turned back to black.

“A-Su…”

He sighed as he spoke, as if deeply empathizing with his wife’s emotions: “We are here to see Nanxing. Didn’t you want to ask how she’s been living here?”

Reminded by him, Yu Su’s eyes flickered, and a deep sense of guilt emerged.

She knew she was always immersed in the pain of losing her eldest daughter, to the extent that she neglected her youngest daughter’s growth. Even when Chu Nanxing went abroad, she ultimately followed Meng Rendong’s advice and convinced Chu Huaide to agree to the choice.

But she knew she wasn’t a sufficiently responsible mother, at least not to her youngest daughter.

In the years after losing Chu Jianyu, whenever she saw Chu Nanxing, she would be reminded of her late eldest daughter. She couldn’t help but bring up topics about Chu Jianyu, as if forcing others to mourn with her, share her guilt for not taking good care of her eldest daughter, and even compel everyone to feel as guilty as she did.

Chu Nanxing couldn’t tolerate this suffocating feeling. Initially, she endured and stayed by her side, but eventually, she couldn’t help but hysterically lash out at her:

“Chu Jianyu, Chu Jianyu! Mom, you can only ever see her!”

“When she was alive, you thought she was your best daughter. Now that she’s gone, you still refuse to look at me… You pray for her, light lamps and set up memorial tablets for her in the temple, even copy scriptures and eat vegetarian food for her. If you want to torment yourself, fine, but why make me do it too?”

“I didn’t kill her!”

“You’re like this too, both of you. Are you both suspecting that I was the one who killed her back then! The police have already proven my innocence, so what right do you have to press me and convict me!”

“If you love Chu Jianyu so much, why did you even give birth to me!”

“Are you secretly hoping that the one who died in that lake was actually me!”

Yu Su was startled by her youngest daughter’s outburst then.

She sat there blankly, as if meeting this youngest daughter, who also came from her womb, for the first time. She immediately started blaming herself along with Chu Nanxing’s words, feeling that she tried to take good care of everyone in the family, but ultimately failed to protect anyone.

Later, Chu Nanxing couldn’t stand being in the same room with her anymore, nor did she want to hear the name Chu Jianyu again. This brought back Yu Su’s sense of helpless self-blame. She even suspected that perhaps her excessive grief and constant urge to pull her youngest daughter into reliving the tragedy of that day led to her youngest daughter’s avoidance and resistance toward her eldest sister.

Later, during Chu Nanxing’s time abroad, every time Yu Su wanted to visit her, she would fall ill. So, one year led to the next, and she never managed to visit even once.

It wasn’t until this year that her physical and mental condition improved slightly—

Now, Yu Su had come to understand that the departed are gone, and the living are always more important than those who have left.

She wanted to learn to be a good mother again, so she was keen on mending the strained relationship between Chu Nanxing and the family. It was just… just the surprise of Ji Yu.

Yu Su murmured in agreement with her husband: “Yes, how is Nanxing doing here? Is anyone bullying her? Is she having a hard time?”

Seeing her absent-minded state, Chu Huaide patted her hand reassuringly:

“She is fine.”

“The director of this show is a friend she knows, the Wang family’s daughter. You know, she used to play with her… and Jianyu.”

Yu Su breathed a sigh of relief. She subconsciously recalled the previous incident and slowly said: “Do you know, Huaide? I used to take Jianyu and Nanxing to the dance studio. I watched them dance. The way Ji Yu dances is so much like Jianyu… I couldn’t be mistaken… How could I mistake my own child?”

Chu Huaide sighed inwardly.

He secretly thought that perhaps, under normal circumstances, his wife truly wouldn’t mistake anyone.

But.

He had witnessed Yu Su’s health condition over the years, and he personally managed the entire funeral process for the child back then. How could he allow this absurd speculation to continue?

So, Chu Huaide changed the subject, signaling her to look at the screen: “The results for first and second place are out—”

Yu Su indeed quickly looked up, wanting to know if Chu Nanxing could win the crown.

The content that popped up on the broadcast screen made her eyes widen.

Group A.

Second Place: ??? Votes: ???

First Place: ??? Votes: ???

Group B.

Second Place: Chang Xue Votes: 82

First Place: Chu Nanxing Votes: ???

Seeing the perfunctory ellipses for Group A, refusing to even reveal the names for everyone to see, the entire audience was filled with question marks.

What does this mean?

The scene became restless. Fans whispered to each other below. Someone exclaimed in shock, guessing: “In the previous groups, only the first-place winner wasn’t announced, awaiting the final reveal of the group with the highest total votes—”

“Could it be… a tie between Ji Yu and Rong Bai?!”

“It’s not incomprehensible, right? Boss Bai’s center performance was indeed explosive, but Sister Yu really delivered a completely different yet equally stunning style of performance. Plus, her fans showed up in good numbers today. A tie is possible…”

“But in that case, Group A isn’t guaranteed to win. Look at the previous groups. After the strong performers in the same group perform, the gap between the top two is very small, actually making them less dominant than the center leader in the other group… Thinking about it this way, don’t you feel their probability of losing is higher?”

“True, and Chu Nanxing’s Group B performed first, with that as a foundation, Ji Yu and Rong Bai might not be able to beat it.”

“I heard the Star Lights (Chu Nanxing’s fans) have already started celebrating!”

Chu Huaide relayed some of the news he heard to Yu Su. Seeing that there was a break time after these performances before they would go to the main hall to watch the broadcast, he stood up with Yu Su. After notifying a staff member, they were discreetly led through a small corridor towards the backstage area.

The members of both Chu Nanxing’s and Ji Yu’s groups sequentially exited the small results announcement room.

They were immediately met by the approaching Chu couple.

Rong Bai, walking at the front, subtly glanced at them, nodded politely, and made way for them. At the same time, she gently pressed down the head of a curious girl who was leaning forward behind her, looking at the couple, and then continued walking.

Once they were further away, she heard the girl lean in and whisper:

“Wow, who were that couple just now, they looked so imposing?”

Rong Bai lazily replied: “Chu Nanxing’s parents.”

She turned back, wanting to see if the rest of her group had followed.

She happened to see Ji Yu, walking at the very back, making eye contact with the couple.

Ji Yu was actually about to ask the system if Si Tian was still around, and subtly think about how to sweet-talk a staff member into secretly bringing Si Tian in, as many contestants had friends secretly visit them backstage.

Just then.

She ran into Chu Huaide and his wife approaching.

She first noticed Yu Su’s appearance. This woman had such a refined aura and was so beautiful, seemingly treated with extra kindness by time. Her eyes were warm and bright, clearly the image of a well-cultivated and good-tempered wealthy lady.

What was strange was.

When the other person looked at her, her eyes were inexplicably red-rimmed. Her eyelids fluttered slightly, as if she had many things she wanted to say to her but couldn’t speak. Eventually, the man beside her gently patted the back of her hand, and then they passed her, calling out softly to the person behind her:

“Nanxing.”

Ji Yu stood there motionless, feeling the fragrant breeze pass by as the couple walked past her, heading towards the person behind her.

It wasn’t until a while later, when the staff in the corridor reminded her to quickly return to the main hall if she had nothing else to do, that she turned back to look, seeing nothing.

“Yuyu?”

The system spoke in her mind, sounding confused.

Ji Yu belatedly snapped back to reality, touching her chest. She felt a strange bitterness rising when she made eye contact with the woman just now. She blinked, realizing her eyes were dry from staring too long, shedding a few physiological tears.

She thought.

Could it be that Chu Nanxing’s mother was too beautiful and friendly, making a perpetually love-starved child like herself a little jealous of Chu Nanxing’s main character treatment?

After a while, she followed the staff’s reminder to walk out, a bit slow on the uptake, and asked the system: “Who were those two people just now?”

The system said: “Chu Nanxing’s parents.”

Ji Yu said “Oh” and asked again: “What did you call me for just now?”

The system was slightly confused: “Didn’t you call me first?”

Ji Yu: “Did I?”

The system: “Yes!”

Ji Yu: “Then what did I call you for?”

The system: “I… you… Yuyu, what’s wrong?”

Ji Yu pinched the bridge of her nose. She seemed to realize she had been drifting too much. After thinking for a long time, she finally grasped the main point: “Right, ask you, is Si Tian still around here?”

In a small private room of a high-end café outside the venue.

Meng Rendong slowly stirred the coffee in her cup with a spoon. Si Tian heard the faint, granular “shh-shh” sound as the granulated sugar in the coffee dissolved, like stirring white sugar.

She suddenly and subconsciously pressed her abdomen.

She couldn’t bear to imagine how much sugar Meng Rendong, with such a sweet tooth, had consumed and piled into her stomach during those years.

Meng Rendong noticed the unusual look on her face, and assuming she was uncomfortable, asked. After asking, she had the waiter bring a cup of hot water and confirmed: “Are you really okay?”

Si Tian controlled her gaze to avoid looking at the sugar-laden coffee cup and nodded.

Meng Rendong then straightforwardly redirected the conversation:

“Alright, let’s continue—”

“Seven years ago, I entered your body, used your identity to meet and spend time with Ji Yu, and even took her onto the stage, debuting unexpectedly before her… Is that correct so far?”

Si Tian nodded.

Meng Rendong cross-referenced this with her dreams, then scrutinized her with some hesitation, almost suspecting Si Tian to be a dream-eating demon or a master hypnotist.

If not for the fact that her records showed this person was just an unremarkable member of a disbanded girl group.

“But…”

Meng Rendong narrowed her eyes, saying very calmly: “To be honest, I’ve investigated you. Putting aside the strange supernatural topic of me transmigrating into your body, the girl group you claim I entered under your identity leaves no trace on the internet.”

Si Tian, however, calmly swept her gaze over Meng Rendong, casually dropping a bombshell:

“Because—”

“I wasn’t originally from this world either.”

She extended both hands, first holding her index fingers parallel to each other, then crossing them. Finally, as if she herself couldn’t fully grasp the complex space-time theory, she simply spoke the truth she knew:

“I checked.”

“This world and the world I originally remember are broadly similar in terms of technology and civilization development, but there are discrepancies in the details. For instance, I remember the names of several wealthy individuals from my original world, but they leave no trace here. The same businesses were accomplished by other people.”

Although Meng Rendong’s mind was already persuaded by this bold hypothesis, she didn’t show it: “You have a history of mental illness. How am I supposed to believe that what you’re saying isn’t something you’ve fantasized about?”

Upon hearing this.

Si Tian didn’t rush to respond. Instead, she just held the cup of hot water in front of her, gently blowing on the steam.

She neither brought up the matter of mental evaluation to Meng Rendong nor the fact that they shared an 80% similar appearance despite having no blood relation. After taking a sip of the still-hot water, she fixed her gaze upon Meng Rendong with emotionless eyes, like a pool of stagnant water.

Then she asked: “You really don’t remember?”

Meng Rendong: “…”

Si Tian looked at her with the same pair of black eyes, as if she could see through her heart and soul. After a long pause, she gently shook her head: “The fact that you could find me means you’ve recalled some things… or found some clues.”

“And I am only willing to tell you these things because you are Meng Rendong.”

“The fact that you and I are sitting here talking right now isn’t because you already believe these absurd premises and simply want to hear more details from me to verify your memory?”

Meng Rendong was silent for a moment, as if persuaded, or perhaps having already conceded the truth of her words.

She paused the stirring of her coffee. She picked up the cup, brought the heavily sugared and creamed Americano to her lips, and used her tongue to savor the lingering bitterness within the sweet milky taste, finding it somewhat novel.

She had actually never tried drinking it this way before.

Due to her Meng family upbringing and her current status, she was naturally forbidden from adding sugar to good coffee in front of outsiders, thus ruining its original flavor.

Today’s meeting.

Perhaps from the moment they made eye contact, it was already destined that she would entrust Si Tian with her trust.

After all, they had once shared a body, and even maintained a close “roommate” relationship for a long time. They seemed to be able to sense each other’s feelings relatively easily.

Meng Rendong rarely let down her guard. She let out a contented, soft sigh, and when she spoke to Si Tian again, the feigned indifference in her voice had quietly melted away:

“Please continue.”

She wanted to know the rest of the story.

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