“But without Zhang Xinxin leading the dance, the rest of them are like a pile of loose sand. They might as well not go on stage at all.”
“Exactly. If we pull out, at most there’s an empty slot. But if they go up and turn the stage into chaos, wouldn’t that be even more humiliating?”
“Good point.”
“Maybe with the distance and all the flashing stage lights, the audience won’t notice?”
“Sure, we can’t see clearly from here, but don’t forget—the city and school officials are all sitting in the front row. From there, they’ll have a crystal-clear view.”
“We’re screwed! No matter how great the previous performances were, the leaders may not remember them. But if we mess up? They’ll definitely remember that. Are we going to become the laughingstock of the whole school?”
“Is Zhang Xinxin really completely unable to perform? Maybe she can grit her teeth and power through?”
“Her foot’s swollen like a radish! Who knows if there’s a sprain or even a fracture. How do you expect her to keep dancing?”
“So what now? We can’t pull out, but we also can’t charge in blindly. There’s gotta be a solution, right?”
“Actually, it’s simple—either someone replaces Zhang Xinxin, or we make the entire audience suddenly go blind.”
“Wow. Great idea—go blind. What is this, Hogwarts? But replacing Zhang Xinxin… that might work. Wait, do we have anyone else in class who knows dance?”
“Hao Xue! She’s an arts-track student. Does ethnic dance.”
“Right… Hao Xue, you’ve seen their rehearsals, haven’t you? Do you remember the moves?”
Hao Xue quickly waved her hands. “I only saw it once! How could I possibly remember all the choreography? And Zhang Xinxin has a solo—it’s super hard. Even if I remembered the steps, I’d still flop without practice.”
“Great. Nothing works. Guess we’re doomed.”
“You can’t just throw a random warm body up there. Who can memorize all those moves instantly? Unless they had a photographic memory…”
The speaker didn’t mean anything by it, but the others caught on. Many glanced—subtly at first, then more openly—toward Jiang Fuyue.
Photographic memory… wasn’t there someone who fit that description?
Wan Xiutong was the last to catch on. When she noticed where everyone was looking, her eyes widened: “…You guys aren’t seriously thinking of having Sister Yue go up as lead dancer, are you?”
“Hey! You said it, not us!”
“Sister Yue, save your poor classmates!”
“Yeah, Class 3’s dignity is hanging by a thread! We need salvation, now!”
“Think of Teacher Xu too! If we blow it, he’ll be mocked by every other homeroom teacher again. This’ll be the third year in a row his year-end bonus gets slashed. First teacher in school history! His pride is already gone, and his hair’s following fast. Show some pity—not for him, then for his poor Mediterranean hairline! If he makes it through our class, he’s going to be literally ‘brilliant on top’!”
At that moment, the sound of applause rolled up from the audience—Class 2, Grade 11 had finished their performance.
The two MCs took the stage again. It was almost their turn.
Everyone glanced at Jiang Fuyue, who still hadn’t nodded. Their hopes deflated.
Forget it. It is what it is…
Suddenly—
“I’ll try.”
She left those two words behind, picked up her backpack, and strode off toward the backstage.
“…Did Sister Yue just agree? Did I hear that right?”
“Is it still in time? They’ve started announcing our class!”
“But Sister Yue’s never even watched a rehearsal…” someone whispered.
“What?!”
“Even if she has a photographic memory, she’s never seen Zhang Xinxin dance. During breaks, she’s either doing practice problems or reading. She’s never once stopped to watch a rehearsal. Isn’t this pushing it too far?”
“D*mn it! Why didn’t you say that earlier?!”
“What do we do now?!”
“Wait… if she doesn’t know the choreography, why would she agree to this?”
Everyone was baffled.
They looked at each other, confused and silent.
The truth was, they all knew the “photographic memory” excuse was just a crutch. They instinctively viewed Jiang Fuyue as their last resort, unloading all their hopes onto her shoulders.
But really—just memorizing the moves… was that enough to perform?
She hadn’t practiced. She wasn’t a dance student.
Hao Xue had already said—the solo was extremely difficult.
And on top of that, Jiang Fuyue had never even seen a rehearsal.
Yet she still went. And she said, “I’ll try.”
“…Were we too much?”
Wan Xiutong’s eyes welled up. Usually so quiet and reserved, she suddenly exploded:
“So you do know you went too far?! Just because she has a photographic memory, does that mean you get to morally blackmail her into doing everything?! She’s good—so that means she has to be good at everything?! She must take the lead, take first place, and clean up everyone else’s messes?!”
“What right do you have to dump this disaster on her? Does she owe you anything?!”
Everyone looked ashamed.
“…We’re sorry. We were just panicking, trying to protect the class’s reputation. We didn’t mean to pressure Jiang…”
“Yeah! No matter how this turns out—even if the school scolds us—we won’t blame Sister Yue. Just the fact that she stood up for us is already amazing.”
“If we get criticized, we take it as a class.”
“Yeah! Together!”
Wan Xiutong froze, then smiled and nodded. “Mm!”
Liu Bowen rubbed his chin. “Tch… who would’ve thought Wan Xiutong had that fire in her? Unbelievable.”
Lin Qiao snorted, lifting her chin: “Let me tell you—don’t underestimate girls. When we get fierce, we’ll scare you so bad you’ll pee yourself. Got that?”
Liu Bowen twitched at the corner of his mouth.
Lin Qiao then frowned. “But… do you think Sister Yue can actually pull this off? I honestly can’t imagine her dancing on stage. It just doesn’t fit her vibe. It feels… weird.”
Liu Bowen: “What if she doesn’t dance?”
“Huh? Doesn’t dance? Then how’s she going to save the show?”
He shrugged. “You tell me. Just watch and see.”
At that moment, the MCs finished their introduction. They exited the stage.
The lights dimmed.
Seven performers in denim jackets and hip-hop caps strode out and struck their poses.
But—
The center spot was empty.
“Huh? Sister Yue’s not going on?”
“It’s fine. Maybe she really doesn’t know the moves. Nothing she can do.”
“Yeah, we can’t blame her. Just going backstage when we asked was already super kind of her.”
“Totally. Don’t blame Sister Yue. Keep your expectations realistic. It’s just a performance—we showed up, we tried, that’s what matters.”
“But the school’s criticism…”
“Let them criticize! It’s not like we did it on purpose. Emergencies happen! Poor Mr. Xu, though. He’s going to have to tighten his belt again…”
Just as everyone started to resign themselves to failure—
BOOM! The lights cut out completely.
The entire auditorium went pitch black.
“What’s going on?!”
“Power outage?”
“No way…”
“So dark—I can’t see anything…”
Suddenly, a single beam of blue light exploded from center stage.
It shot upward like a rocket, piercing the ceiling, and then burst into countless stars, scattering across the entire hall.
The deep blue background enveloped the room, unfolding like a map of the universe.
Stars filled the space—some large, some small, some faint, some bright. At first glance they seemed random, but on closer inspection, they moved along mysterious magnetic paths, rotating in fixed orbits.
“My god—what is this?!”
“Am I seeing the Milky Way?!”
“They’re moving! It’s a 3D effect! Look—there’s a star on your face!”
“Huh? Where?”
“Your nose!”
“I see one on you! Right side of your neck… a little higher… there! Got it!”
“This is stage design? Why didn’t the other performances have this? We don’t have projectors here! How is this image so clear?! Look at the ceiling—it’s even more beautiful than a real night sky! And it’s on our clothes, on the floor… how is this possible?!”
“Ah! I saw a comet tail! Is that Halley’s Comet?!”
“Where?!”
“Outer ring! The orbit’s a thin light line—it made a crazy sharp curve. See it?!”
“I see it! I see it! And there’s Orion! And Andromeda! Holy—this is insane! It’s like… like we’re actually in space!”
“The Milky Way beneath my feet, the stars in the palm of my hand.”
Just then, the music kicked in. Lights began to pulse.
Amid the shimmering galaxy, an elegant, old-school jazz dance began—bold, dazzling, and filled with life.
