Huayu: That year, I withdrew from the Super Boy competition.

In the office, Long Danny sat alone behind his desk, motionless.

She looked at the unsigned contract in front of her, and then at the closed door.

She suddenly realized that she didn't understand this child named Su Wei at all.

Seventeen years old.

A seventeen-year-old shouldn't have that kind of look in their eyes.

There shouldn't be such a resolute decision to back down so easily.

She picked up her phone, found a number, hesitated for a moment, and then put it down again.

Forget it.

It's just one contestant; every year there are dozens or even hundreds of contestants in talent shows.

The game will continue even without him.

She put the contract in the drawer, turned the walkie-talkie back on, and her voice had returned to normal.

"Attention all groups, there is still half an hour before the live broadcast starts. Let's do a final check of the procedures."

7 PM.

The No. 1 studio of Hunan TV was brightly lit.

The 2,000-square-meter venue was packed with spectators.

Glow sticks and light boards merged into a sea of ​​light.

Su Wei's name was shining brightly on the light board. Some people were holding it up, some were waving it, and some even balanced the light board on their heads, as if afraid that the camera would miss it when it panned across the room.

On the giant LED screen in the center of the stage, a golden dragon appears and disappears in the clouds, with the words "Descendants of the Dragon" displayed next to it.

In the backstage waiting area, five chairs were placed side by side in front of the monitor.

The top five contestants tonight are all here.

Number 01, Su Xing, sat on the far left, legs crossed, humming the song she was going to sing that night.

Chen Chusheng, number 09, sat next to him, holding a guitar and practicing fingering, repeatedly pressing several chords.

Number 06 Zhang Jie and number 10 Wei Chen sat next to each other.

Zhang Jie was looking at his phone, probably browsing fan support posts on Tieba, and the corners of his mouth occasionally curled up.

Wei Chen, on the other hand, couldn't sit still. He would stand up and walk around for a while, then sit down again.

The chair on the far right is empty.

Su Wei hasn't returned yet.

As Wei Chen stood up again, the door finally opened.

All eyes turned to that direction.

Su Wei walked in, her pace neither fast nor slow, her face expressionless.

The performance costume was provided by the production team. It was a black Chinese-style stand-up collar with cloud patterns embroidered on the cuffs. Surprisingly, it suited him well, making him look slender and tall.

Wei Chen stood up to greet him, lowering his voice: "What does Director Long want with you?"

Su Wei glanced at him, a slight smile playing on her lips. "It's nothing, we just talked about the contract."

Wei Chen was stunned for a moment.

He took a couple of steps beside Su Wei, wanting to ask her something more, but seeing her expression, he swallowed his words.

In the past two months, he and Su Wei have been spending the most time together.

The two came out of the Chengdu competition area together, eating and living together. He knew that Su Wei didn't want to talk about things, and he couldn't get the answers out of her by asking.

Su Wei walked to her seat, sat down, picked up a mineral water bottle, and unscrewed the cap.

Wei Chen stood to the side for a while, and finally only said one sentence: "Sing well later."

Su Wei smiled: "Don't worry."

Wei Chen didn't know what he meant by "Don't worry".

Are you sure he'll sing well?

Or are you still confident that he will handle the contract matters well?

Wei Chen wanted to ask, but didn't know how to start.

Chen Chusheng paused on the guitar strings for a moment, then looked up at Su Weiyi.

Their eyes met briefly in the air. Chen Chusheng nodded slightly as a greeting, then lowered his head to continue practicing the piano.

Zhang Jie put away his phone, cleared his throat, and said in a low voice, "Let's all work hard tonight."

Su Weichong smiled at him but didn't say anything.

The atmosphere in the waiting area was different from usual.

Before a live stream, everyone is usually nervous, but they will at least say a few jokes to lighten the mood.

Everyone was on edge tonight, speaking in hushed tones. Occasionally, someone would crack a joke, but it was just a dry laugh followed by silence.

Tonight is the five-to-four elimination round.

Someone will definitely leave.

But nobody wanted to leave.

Wei Chen sat down and secretly glanced at Su Weiyi.

Su Wei leaned back in her chair, holding a mineral water bottle in her hand, her gaze fixed on the monitor.

The monitor was showing live footage of the studio, with the audience's light boards appearing as a blurry patch of light.

Wei Chen suddenly felt that Su Wei was acting a little strange today.

I can't quite put my finger on what's wrong, but it just feels too quiet.

Although Su Wei is usually not very talkative, her quietness today is different from usual.

"Su Wei".

Wei Chen called to him in a low voice.

"Um?"

Are you alright?

Su Wei turned to look at him, her lips curving slightly, a smile that looked no different from usual.

"What could possibly be wrong with me?"

Wei Chen stared at him for two seconds, but ultimately didn't press the matter further.

At this moment, a staff member pushed open the door and came in: "Contestants, you have ten minutes left. Get ready to wait."

The five people stood up almost simultaneously.

Su Wei straightened her collar.

The buttons on his stand-up collar were a little tight, so he adjusted them and then followed the others toward the waiting area.

The lighting in the passageway was dimmer than in the waiting area, with only the floor guide lights providing a faint glow.

Various equipment boxes and cables were piled up on both sides of the passageway. Staff members jogged past them, and the voices of the directing team came through their earpieces. They spoke very quickly, and it was hard to hear what they were saying.

The five people walked to the side platform and stopped.

Warm-up music was playing from the speakers, and the audience was buzzing with excitement.

"Are you really going to sing that song tonight?"

Wei Chen leaned closer and asked Su Wei.

"certainly."

Wei Chen raised an eyebrow: "How did you change it?"

Su Wei thought for a moment and then said only two words: "Guess."

"Tch, what's with the mystery?"

Wei Chen then added a sarcastic remark.

"Luckily, I specifically asked beforehand and found out you had changed the song, so I quickly changed it to another one, otherwise I would have definitely embarrassed myself tonight."

Before Su Wei could answer, a staff member jogged over: "Number 10, Wei Chen, it'll be your turn soon."

Wei Chen took a deep breath and straightened his collar.

Before leaving, he patted Su Wei on the shoulder again.

Su Wei watched him walk onto the stage.

The lights came on, the music started, and cheers erupted from the audience.

From the side stage, Wei Chen on the stage looked like he was standing in another world.

A world surrounded by light.

For the next hour, people came and went on stage.

Su Wei stood in the corner of the side stage and watched everyone's performance.

When the staff ran over for the fourth time, they called his name.

"Number 5, Su Wei, you're next."

Su Wei nodded and walked towards her waiting area.

He paused as he passed a corner piled high with equipment boxes.

Long Danny stood there, wearing a black suit jacket, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

The side stage lighting was dim, and half of her face was hidden in shadow, making it impossible to see her expression.

The two looked at each other for a moment, a few steps apart.

Long Danny opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just shook his head slightly.

Su Wei did not respond.

He withdrew his gaze and continued walking forward, disappearing into the shadows of the waiting area.