Chapter 12: Battle Between A-Ranks (2)
Zhuang Yi wasn’t angry, but his tone was slightly melancholic as he said, “Shen Xiu, I’m begging you—could you please stop speaking in that light, effortless tone, like saying ‘who to take out first’ is something so casual? We know you’re strong, but are you really that strong?”
Shen Xiu looked like he’d lost the will to live. He really never said he was strong, okay!?
“No, I’m not strong. Really. You guys gotta believe me,” Shen Xiu said frantically, forcing himself to speak.
“Doesn’t matter who it is—just come at me and see for yourselves.”
That was the only way he could prove himself!
The other four besides Shen Xiu: …R-Really?
But… when he said he wasn’t strong, there wasn’t even a flicker in his eyes—no facial expression, no hint of emotion in his voice. He was so calm it was like he was a pre-programmed robot.
So… could they really trust what Shen Xiu said?
Jiang Yanxi was the first to speak up: “Can someone translate ‘So, who’s dying first?’ Did I get the vibe right?”
The four of them: “!”
“Yup, that’s exactly the vibe!”
Shen Xiu: “?”
Wait a minute—are they secretly exchanging coded messages right in front of him again?
Shang Yu, Song Chengwang, Jiang Yanxi, Zhuang Yi, and Xiang Yueting all stood facing Shen Xiu, eyes fixed squarely on him.
Jiang Yanxi: “So, who’s dying first?”
Song Chengwang stepped forward to stand in front of Shen Xiu, his voice firm and resonant: “What’s there to be afraid of? I’ll die—cough, no, I mean—I’ll go first!”
Even though Song Chengwang had positioned himself as an all-rounder ACE, he wasn’t actually that skilled in other areas. He was better at dancing, and when he first joined the talent competition, he had set his role as the dance lead.
He might not be able to match Shen Xiu in vocal or rap, but when it came to dance, there was no way Shen Xiu was better than him. He refused to believe someone could really be an all-around ACE!
The other four greatly admired Song Chengwang’s move and didn’t hold back on their encouragement.
Jiang Yanxi: “Please don’t let us down. Don’t force us to get on our knees and beg you—we really don’t want to do that.”
Xiang Yueting: “Ahem… no need for more words. Brother, good luck. You’re gonna need it.”
Shang Yu: “Hope you bring us back some good news.”
Zhuang Yi: “Brother… safe travels!”
Song Chengwang: “…Can you guys just mute yourselves already? I swear if I lose control of my temper, I’m beating you all up first!”
Seriously, what kind of nonsense were they saying? Couldn’t they have a little dignity? He was fuming.
The livestream audience was cracking up at the interaction between the six members of Class A.
[What Class A? These are obviously six comedians. If I didn’t know they just moved in together today, I’d think they’d been living together for years. No filter, all chaos—I’m laughing so hard it hurts.]
[What kind of plastic brotherhood is this, LOL]
[Song Chengwang: “Great speech. Don’t ever say that again. I’m pissed.”]
Song Chengwang closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, all the playfulness was gone. His dark eyes were now filled with nothing but focus and seriousness.
“Shen Xiu, you better be watching carefully. Don’t you dare go easy on me. Even if I lose, I, Song Chengwang, want to lose fair and square. And if I win, it’ll be a clean, beautiful win. I don’t need anyone’s pity—so give this battle your absolute 120%. Got it?”
“…Got it.”
Looking at Song Chengwang like this reminded Shen Xiu of that time he zoned out while watching another trainee perform, and Song Chengwang caught him. He’d come right up to him and seriously told him off.
Shen Xiu: Just… scared.
Scared Shen Xiu wouldn’t dare slack off in front of Song Chengwang. He instantly straightened his posture, swallowed hard, and forced himself to focus all of his attention. Once he was sure that the only person in his line of sight was Song Chengwang—and everyone else had faded into the background—he spoke up:
“I’m ready. Let’s start.”
Even though Shen Xiu’s voice still sounded calm and distant, like he was just making idle conversation, Song Chengwang could feel it—Shen Xiu’s eyes were locked on him. Shen Xiu was serious now.
That meant he had to be serious too!
Song Chengwang raised his hand. They had already discussed what dance he’d perform against Shen Xiu back when he entered the A-class dorm. Everything was in sync—Shang Yu immediately queued up the music Song Chengwang had requested.
The moment the familiar beat dropped, Song Chengwang’s body no longer belonged to him—it belonged to the dance.
At that moment, his body and limbs became prisoners to the rhythm. Sometimes he matched the fierce tempo with powerful, striking movements; other times, a fleeting gentleness would explode into a burst of sharp, dazzling flair.
After one minute, the street dance called “KING” came to a close, ending with a final Master Flex move.
The instant it ended, Song Chengwang’s gaze shot straight to Shen Xiu.
He wanted to see something—anything—in Shen Xiu’s eyes. Awe… surprise… even disappointment would do.
But—he was disappointed.
Shen Xiu’s eyes were completely unreadable. His face blank. He looked at Song Chengwang with a calm that felt cruel, as if the intense performance had left no impression on him whatsoever.
That stung.
Frustrated, Song Chengwang clenched his teeth inwardly. “Your turn.”
Shang Yu, Jiang Yanxi, Xiang Yueting, and Zhuang Yi all gave Song Chengwang looks of comfort and support, silently giving him a thumbs-up to show they thought his performance was amazing.
Song Chengwang’s wounded spirit was somewhat comforted.
Throughout the entire performance, Shen Xiu didn’t dare to blink, afraid he might miss any of Song Chengwang’s movements. His ears were focused solely on the music’s rhythm, not daring to let his mind wander for even a second.
Although the street dance was only a brief minute long, by the time it ended, Shen Xiu’s head began to throb lightly from being so focused, and his eyes were starting to feel sore from the strain.
But thankfully, his efforts had paid off. Every move, every beat of the music, was now firmly etched in his mind.
However—he hadn’t tried it yet. He needed to practice first. Shen Xiu turned to Song Chengwang and said, “Give me some time.”
As for the disappointment Song Chengwang had felt earlier, Shen Xiu hadn’t noticed it since he had been so absorbed in the dance. His mind was consumed with how to replicate it. He was afraid that Song Chengwang might feel let down if he didn’t perform seriously enough.
Song Chengwang shrugged. Although the dance had been short, it was difficult—fast-paced and intense. His adrenaline had spiked, and he was even sweating a little. He nonchalantly said, “Take your time.”
Shen Xiu took a deep breath and began to stretch his limbs.
It was his first attempt at street dance, and without music to accompany him, Shen Xiu mechanically mimicked the simple moves he had committed to memory, also trying some of the more difficult ones he had noted down with his eyes and mind.
Warming up before a street dance was common, and Shen Xiu was very familiar with the warm-up exercises. The four others, sitting in front of the multimedia console preparing to play the music, didn’t notice anything unusual.
Instead, they thought Shen Xiu’s warm-up was a bit over-the-top.
Xiang Yueting whispered, “I’ve never seen anyone warm up with high-difficulty moves like that.”
Jiang Yanxi: “Maybe… that’s just what it means to be a strong person.”
After trying each move once, Shen Xiu stood up straight, raised his hand toward Shang Yu, and said, “Music.”
When Shen Xiu uttered the word “music,” to the others, it was as if he were a king standing high above them.
The familiar music intro flooded the room, and to avoid being distracted, Shen Xiu automatically blocked out everyone else in the room. In his mind and eyes, the whole room consisted of just him and the music.
His limbs moved in perfect synchronization with the rhythm, replicating every single move his mind had stored.
Whether it was the high-difficulty breaking, the muscle vibrations that expressed the beat through popping, or the powerful rhythmic hip-hop, all of it was flawlessly presented in front of the five people present and the audience in the livestream.
One minute later, the music and Shen Xiu came to a standstill.
Shen Xiu turned to Song Chengwang and asked, “Is it good?”
He had truly given it his all, hoping that Song Chengwang would be satisfied, and not think he was slacking off. Shen Xiu silently prayed in his heart.
Song Chengwang: “……”
What did “Is it good?” even mean?
It was way more than good! Didn’t he notice that the water Song Chengwang had almost taken a sip of before Shen Xiu started dancing was still untouched?
Song Chengwang was completely convinced, his voice now calm as he spoke, “I admit it. You’re definitely strong.”
Shen Xiu turned to look at the four standing at the multimedia console. The moment they caught his gaze, they immediately raised their hands in unison and applauded.
Clap clap clap…
The loud applause expressed their admiration for Shen Xiu’s performance.
Although Shen Xiu’s stage presence and body expression technique were vastly different from Song Chengwang’s, the two had danced the same routine. While Song Chengwang brought an explosive energy, Shen Xiu showcased an explosive yet calm and composed coldness.
In fact, to the four present and even to Song Chengwang himself, there was no winner or loser in this dance.
But just based on the fact that Shen Xiu used “the opponent’s moves to defeat them”, he had already won.
Seeing that Song Chengwang was satisfied, the tension that had been weighing on Shen Xiu’s heart finally lifted.
Thank goodness!
But then, thinking about the next four people, Shen Xiu’s heart began to cry a storm.
This was so hard!
With the mindset of “the sooner it’s over, the sooner I’ll be free,” Shen Xiu asked the remaining four, “Who’s next?”
Shang Yu stepped forward toward Shen Xiu: “I’ll go.”
Out of fairness, neither Song Chengwang nor Shen Xiu dared to slack off, afraid of making him angry. Similarly, Shen Xiu didn’t dare to be dismissive toward the others.
So, over the next several minutes, whether it was Shang Yu, Zhuang Yi, or Jiang Yanxi, they all experienced Shen Xiu’s terrifying dance skills firsthand.
No matter what they danced, Shen Xiu could perfectly replicate their moves.
But every time, although his movements were identical, the emotions conveyed through his dance were vastly different from theirs.
Shen Xiu’s dance carried the steadiness and pride of the strong, exuding an air of “Who else but me?”—a calm detachment.
Even though their dance moves were on par with his, when it came to mentality and emotions, Shen Xiu captured the fearless mindset of the strong with a steady, unshakable composure, clearly surpassing them in this aspect.
Shen Xiu didn’t know what everyone was thinking, only that his head was buzzing, and his eyes were starting to hurt.
But thankfully, there was only one person left!
Victory was within reach! Once he finished the last dance, he could finally go rest!
Shen Xiu turned to the only person left who hadn’t danced yet, Xiang Yueting: “Let’s go.”
Xiang Yueting decisively raised his hand: “I forfeit!”
The other four: “What happened to your pride?”
Shen Xiu: “!”
Hearing Xiang Yueting’s words, Shen Xiu looked at him with eyes full of gratitude.
Shen Xiu: Xiang Yueting, do you see this? In this moment, you are my light!
The four of them exchanged glances. Although they joked about pride, they could all see in each other’s eyes the admiration for Shen Xiu and the understanding of why Xiang Yueting had forfeited.
Damn, Shen Xiu was just too strong. It was completely understandable that Xiang Yueting didn’t want to be defeated in a way that would affect his mindset for tomorrow’s main theme song practice.
Now, they finally understood why Shen Xiu had been hesitant to use his best dance moves against them.
On one hand, Shen Xiu definitely felt that “why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut?” On the other hand, he was considering their feelings, probably worried they’d be embarrassed by losing so badly.
At the beginning, they had been so aggressive, and Shen Xiu had still been considerate, not wanting them to suffer such an embarrassing loss.
The four of them felt deeply ashamed.
Trying to remember four different dances, Shen Xiu really felt like his head and eyes were aching. He thought he was going to explode!
This kind of situation only happened when he stayed up for three straight nights while studying for his scholarship finals, getting only five hours of sleep each day.
Shen Xiu shifted his gaze from Xiang Yueting, nervously looking at the other four: “What about you guys? Is that enough?”
