Chapter 188: On Stage
When Li Mu returned to the sports field, she saw that the Top Ten Singers competition had already started on stage.
There were only two more performers before it would be her and Yu Fan's turn.
As soon as she stepped onto the field, she noticed that many boys were looking at her. Even though she had already gotten used to being stared at, the thought of her legs in stockings, the short skirt, and her chest under the sweater made her feel nervous and embarrassed again.
Li Mu looked toward where her class was sitting but didn’t see Yu Fan.
“He’s probably backstage getting ready. I should head over too.”
“Go for it! Good luck!”
She nodded shyly and turned to walk toward the backstage area.
As soon as she entered, the other performers and staff turned to look at her all at once. Then they started whispering to each other. Li Mu even saw one student rush over with his phone and ask, “Uh... can I add you on WeChat?”
“No, you can’t!”
Before Li Mu could even answer, Yu Fan jumped in and replied sharply.
After chasing the student away, Yu Fan finally turned to look at Li Mu. As soon as he saw her, his mouth dropped open in shock, and he even cursed in surprise.
“Holy crap?! What the—?!”
“Why are you wearing a skirt? And... wow, you look amazing!”
He looked completely stunned, and his eyes were full of surprise and admiration.
Maybe he never imagined Li Mu would wear a skirt and stockings. Now he was so shocked, he couldn’t even speak clearly. His eyes scanned her from head to toe, like he was frozen.
For some reason, seeing Yu Fan act like this made Li Mu feel a little shy, but also secretly happy.
Especially when he said she looked pretty, her mood suddenly became better.
Still, she lowered her head and brushed her hair aside, mumbling, “It’s just okay.”
“If this is just ‘okay,’ then the popular girls on TikTok might as well all quit now.”
Keep in mind, Li Mu had done her makeup quickly and didn’t use any beauty filter apps that make legs slimmer or the chest bigger. Even so, she looked just as good as those so-called “goddesses” on social media.
Li Mu didn’t reply. She just looked up at the stage with a slightly worried expression.
Back during the auditions a few months ago, the students who made it into the Top Ten Singers were just a little better than average, more like KTV-level singers.
But after months of practice and guidance from their teachers, all of them had improved a lot. Even the ones who used to be off-key could now sing well and on tune.
“Don’t worry, once Xiao Jing and I get on stage, we’ll crush the competition!”
Yu Fan spoke confidently while walking to the side to grab some hair gel. He sprayed a few times, then pushed up his bangs and styled his hair into a slicked-back look like a movie star. Then he turned to Li Mu with a cheeky grin.
“How’s this hairstyle?”
“Not good.”
“This one then?”
“Just go with your usual look.”
Originally, Yu Fan just wanted to quickly fix his hair before going on stage. But after seeing how pretty Li Mu looked, he felt a little self-conscious.
Before, he and Li Mu looked like a perfect couple. Now, he felt like he wasn’t attractive enough to match her.
“Oh, right, the skirt is so short, are you sure it won’t accidentally show anything?” Yu Fan suddenly asked.
“It’s fine.” Li Mu shook her head and paused, then added, “I’m wearing safety shorts.”
She clearly noticed a bit of both disappointment and relief in Yu Fan’s eyes. The disappointment was probably because he couldn’t sneak a peek under her skirt, and the relief was likely because that also meant no one else could either.
“That’s the worst invention in the world,” Yu Fan muttered, then changed his hair back to its usual side part.
“Yu Fan, Li Juan, get ready. After this song, it’ll be your turn.”
Yang Ye’s voice came from behind. Li Mu turned to look and saw that Yang Ye had frozen in place.
“You... you look really nice today.”
“Mm.”
Li Mu felt like there was a fire burning inside her, making her shame even worse. Especially since it was Yang Ye, someone she saw as an older figure, who saw her dressed like this. That fire felt like it got even stronger.
She lowered her head, looked down at her chest, and slowly followed Yang Ye and Yu Fan to the side of the stage to get ready.
The current performers finished, and Yang Ye, as the host, walked up onto the stage.
“I’ll hand my body over to Xiao Jing now,” Li Mu quickly reminded Yu Fan, then immediately closed her eyes.
Almost the next second, Yu Fan felt Li Mu cling tightly to his arm, pressing her body close.
“Xiao Jing, keep a little space, please,” Yu Fan said seriously.
Li Mu’s outfit was already hard enough for him to handle. If she stuck so close on top of that, it would be really awkward on stage.
“Nope~”
And with that, Yu Fan shut up and just enjoyed the soft feeling of Li Mu leaning on him.
“Next up, welcome to the stage, Team ‘Helping Ghosts is Fun’! Performing the song ‘The Rooftop’!”
Xiao Jing instantly showed an excited look on her face and pulled Yu Fan happily onto the stage.
Looking at the thousands of people in the audience, she gripped the microphone tightly, full of excitement about her performance.
Her sister had helped her get onto this stage, there was no way she could embarrass herself now!
She had always looked forward to performing on stage, but now she felt nervous too. She whispered to herself softly, “Just a bunch of radishes, just a bunch of radishes...”
The music started. Yu Fan began the love song first.
“Can’t fall asleep at midnight, so I turn my feelings into a song...”
He sang with his head slightly down, his voice soft and gentle. After finishing his part, he turned to look at Xiao Jing.
But Xiao Jing wasn’t looking at him, she simply started singing her part.
Down in the audience, Wang Ruoyan watched the two sing quietly with their heads down and muttered.
“Wow, I didn’t think Li Mu wouldn’t be scared at all on stage.”
“Didn’t you hear her say we’re just radishes?”
Chen Li covered her mouth and giggled.
“The singing’s just so-so though,” Lin Yuanyuan said without even lifting her head, still playing with her phone.
But when the song reached its big chorus, Wang Ruoyan noticed something had changed. The two on stage seemed to have completely gotten into the mood.
Yu Fan’s voice was now full of emotion and affection. As they reached the peak of the song, he looked at Li Mu again, and this time, she looked back at him with her bright crescent-moon-shaped eyes.
“I shape my love for you~ Singing your song on the rooftop, on the rooftop with the one I love...”
After so many rehearsals together, their timing and harmonies were perfect. Yu Fan even poured so much feeling into his singing that it sounded like he was really singing to his girlfriend or wife.
Unfortunately, Xiao Jing was just plainly singing. Besides being excited, her eyes didn’t show any other feelings.
“Look at Yu Fan’s eyes...” Wang Ruoyan felt a wave of jealousy wash over her.
“How can you see that from so far away?”
Chen Li laughed, but when she turned her head, she saw that even Lin Yuanyuan had finally looked up, now quietly watching the stage and listening to the love song.
“Maybe it’s not the best idea to let someone listen to a love song right after a breakup...”