Idol Chapter 177

The twin fans resembled wings, shattering the daylight as they soared.

Chen Yuanqing’s profile was enshrouded in a smoky kiss, coated in a dream-like veil.

Gu Shaochu lifted his eyes to the camera, even the edge of his lips outlined with sharp contours.

A steel-boned fan, its cold, bloody gleam brightly shining.

A golden-threaded fan, its splendid elegance taming the wind.

The two youths advanced side by side, dancing with their wrists lifted, their arms and fans moving in unison like geese soaring through the clouds.

Thin, rainbow lights poured from all directions, with the snow rising like dust on the wind.

As the youths split to either side, the two on the platform were highlighted.

Huo Ren watched Fu Mingnian intently, chuckled lowly, and began a perfectly synchronized mirror dance with him.

No mirrors, no partitions, just a thin curtain of water separating the two sides.

From the angle of their tilted heads to the sudden stops and twists of their hips, it was as though one person was dancing with his reflection.

Shocked exclamations had already started rising from below.

The mirror dance of the duo was clearly visible to the audience, who could see who was out of sync by even half an inch.

The closer they were, the more the details were magnified.

—And this was a fully mic’d up singing and dancing stage.

To the layman, these two seemed as if their souls were perfectly aligned, but the experts could spot the intricacies at a glance.

Fu Mingnian was the leader, while Huo Ren played his phantom.

Regardless of how Fu Mingnian danced, Huo Ren could follow every move in an instant, seamlessly integrating his perfect capabilities honed through years of sweat and blood.

He didn’t even consider how much applause this would win.

Backstage, Feng Jin watched intently for a long time, then lowered her voice to Mei Heng, “You can’t tell at all.”

“Hm?”

“He doesn’t look like someone who took a year off.” She watched the stage and said, “Such muscle memory… truly a gift from the ancestors.”

“It’s not any muscle memory.” Mei Heng smiled lightly. “It’s all hard-earned.”

The music exploded like thunder in the center of the stage, and as the water curtain disappeared, the youths surged forward again. Chen Yuanqing, with a stable breath, took the high notes and shifted the key, maneuvering the fan among the dazzling drums, narrowly dodging Gu Shaochu’s probe.

The youths seemed like scattered wild geese, and the two of them frolicked by the wind’s side, playing freely.

The piano quickened, the steps hastened, and the youth by Huo Ren’s side suddenly brightened at the chorus, releasing all his fierceness.

He was originally restrained and peaceful, a figure of calm.

But at that moment, all his sharpness burst forth again.

His usually mild eyes flashed fiercely as he looked at Huo Ren, his pupils blazing as if to seize everything from the other.

Like a great white shark baring its teeth, the youth’s vitality was fully ignited.

His dance steps became aggressively pressing, and Huo Ren merely smiled, swaying to dissolve the force as if it mattered little.

In that second of pause, Fu Mingnian suddenly raised his hand to press on Huo Ren’s right shoulder, his thumb pressing the side of the neck, forcibly locking their gazes for a second.

Teacher, in this second, you can only look at me.

I only allow you to look at me.

This is an uprising!

The tense atmosphere burst forth, and the audience, as if witnessing a battle, roared ceaselessly.

“Fu Mingnian—!!”

“Ah ah ah ah ah—”

“So cool! Exploded!!!”

Huo Ren had not expected Fu Mingnian to add that move spontaneously, but he responded as if provoked, his smile sharp as he spun around and broke free, returning a warning look.

Fu Mingnian, seizing the advantage, retreated back into his gentle facade, seemingly submissive, but something in his gaze had changed.

Even though the dance was full of aggressive pulls and pushes, it did not hinder the three trainees from seamlessly taking the high notes and letting Huo Ren perfectly finish.

—It was undoubtedly a concert-level performance, worthy of high scores even at the OSC reviews.

In the last second, as snow wildly scattered, Huo Ren turned against the wind, his fluttering robe like the long feathers of a phoenix.

Fireworks burst like flowering trees, and nearly everyone uncontrollably stood up, shouting his name.

“Huo—Ren—!!!”

“Huo God! So strong!!”

“Ren Ren I love you ah ah ah—”

Huo Ren took a few breaths, then ended with a fixed pose, leading the trainees in a line, bowing to the audience.

Pei Ruye also walked up slowly, holding an A3 folder, casting a meaningful glance at Fu Mingnian.

The youth only snapped out of his role when the music stopped, withdrawing his sharpness, his head lowered, silent.

Huo Ren took it as a spur-of-the-moment performance, not overthinking it, even introducing the song as his own independent work from lyrics to mixing.

“Mingnian has always been diligent and eager to learn, I see great potential in you,” he encouraged with a smile. “Keep it up.”

Down below, some fans of the mischievously paired duo were already exchanging glances at lightning speed, while others were still too caught up in the excitement, screaming like groundhogs regardless of what was said on stage.

The audience was so enthusiastic that every few words spoken on stage had to be paused.

Pei Ruye shook the total score sheet in his hand, hinting that everyone could guess what changes would occur after the fourth group’s performance.

Huo Ren quickly sought to shift the focus: “Let’s pull in some more votes, Gu Shaochu, you start.”

The young men took turns cooing and acting cute to the audience, with the two instructors standing by, occasionally whispering with a smile.

When it was Pei Ruye’s turn, he looked at Huo Ren and drawled, “Curious about who has the highest total score?”

Huo Ren nodded quickly.

But it seemed that would only be revealed after the four teams gathered, right…?

The man’s smile deepened, teasing him in front of everyone.

“Come here, I’ll tell you quietly.”

Pei Ruye opened the triangular barrier-like A3 folder, and Huo Ren leaned in to see the scores.

But as he leaned in, he saw only a blank paper.

He paused for a second, then the man looked down and kissed him.

The lips were warm and soft, the touch felt like it was ironing on his heart, addictively inappropriate.

Behind them was only a neon wall, but countless cameras and eyes were in front of them, just a paper’s distance away.

Huo Ren had never been so recklessly defiant, his mind going blank.

“Ren Ren,” the man kissed him again slowly, his lip-reading clear: “…so good.”

From the audience’s perspective, they could only see the two talking behind the folder, bubbling with happiness.

Saying scores but leaning so close!! Pei must be whispering jealousy in his ear!!!

Is Ren Ren being coquettish haha, why take so long to check a ranking—

They are real!! I can go crazy with them today!!!

Pei Ruye slowly removed the folder, allowing the barrier to close and dissolve.

Huo Ren instinctively glanced at the other, his cheeks heating up.

He felt a sinful joy, as if breaking a taboo.

All the disciplines of the past decade seemed meaningless before this man.

All the audience and trainees were watching them, and a lively young man raised his hand to ask the teachers if the score had been overturned.

The girls in the front row thought they had shared a secret, their smiles laden with insinuation.

Huo Ren forced his rationality back, even though the residual warmth still lingered on his lips, and casually diverted the topic.

This is too much—

To do such a thing??

What if it was caught on camera!!!

Fortunately, it was the end of the show, and with other teams’ Teacheres and trainees coming on stage, the cameras no longer focused solely on them.

The highest professional score went to Shi Jianian, while the top spot for live audience votes was claimed by Fu Mingnian.

Both were undoubtedly deserving of first place, their stage performance flawless, stunningly memorable.

The teachers presented the awards at the front of the stage, with Zhou Xi helping Han Yang remove glitter flakes stuck in his hair.

“Shh… don’t move.”

The show producers intentionally created a spectacle, even awarding a ‘Most Popular Teacher’ on the spot.

The scores were quite close among the three Teacheres, but Huo Ren, with that one dance and his gaze when touched on the shoulder, significantly pulled ahead.

Mei Heng handed out the awards with a spectator’s glee: “Your face is still a bit red.”

Huo Ren silently accepted the trophy: “You must be seeing things.”

No, definitely not.

Back in the dressing room, Huo Ren hurriedly drank some water, and even after sitting still for several minutes, his mind was still replaying that scene.

Just now—they had actually done that during the live broadcast—

The man’s kiss replayed in his memory, touching a nerve, burning him, making him restless.

“Don’t remove the makeup yet,” he stood up and said, “I’ll be back later.”

Pei Ruye’s dressing room was just diagonally opposite.

Huo Ren knocked twice quickly and pushed the door open, seeing the hairstylist and makeup artist were both there.

“You guys… take a break for a moment.”

“No need.” Pei Ruye glanced sideways: “Is there something you wanted to say, Teacher Huo?”

This title, ‘Teacher,’ coming from the kids was not strange, and from Feng Jin and Mei Heng, it carried an inexplicably close and gentle tone.

But when Pei Ruye used it, it felt forbidden and strangely alien.

Huo Ren had called him ‘Teacher’ for many years, and now after being teased once more, he thought this man must have taken the wrong medication today.

“You explain,” he deliberately lowered his voice, flatly asking: “What was that about asking for scores just now?”

“Hm? Scores?” Pei Ruye started laughing: “Just a little internal reward, don’t you like it?”

Huo Ren vaguely felt something was off.

Though he usually enjoyed kissing the ‘Teacher’… giving rewards wasn’t usually done in such a work context.

He rubbed his forehead, unconsciously reassuring the other: “I do like it, but that was almost a performance mishap just now…”

The man casually picked up a tube of hand cream, nonchalantly smoothing it over the back of his hand and fingertips.

“If you believe it’s right, then there’s no accident.”

Huo Ren let him hold his right hand and apply the cream, suddenly remembering the makeup artist was still there, and instinctively turned to look.

The room was already empty; no one dared to stay and play third wheel.

“You—” he paused for a few seconds: “You’re too wicked.”

“Hmm,” the man leaned down and kissed his hand: “So soft.”

“…!!”

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Author’s Note:

Probably update around 8 p.m. tomorrow