Chapter 336: It’s Obviously Rigged!
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Anyone who had been dancing for years could tell how good Jin Zhao was.
Her ability was obviously average, but she had gotten votes from all three judges and was immensely popular online.
How did that happen?
Since the show was still going on, the contestants had to swallow any grievances they had.
The next contestant, Number 44, Yao Xuan, ranked third in terms of popularity, performed a modern dance. Ruan Qi liked her performance and clapped for her.
That was a worthy applause because the contestant was good and others would admit defeat wholeheartedly to her!
Fu Jin told them that Yao Xuan was already an artiste of an entertainment company. She had made a name for herself from acting in television dramas, so she had many supporters.
She took part in this dance competition to win the championship.
But she was still behind by Jia Ran and Jin Zhao with the total score of 87 points.
Fu Jin told them very calmly that minor dance competition like this were meant to entertain, and there was no point arguing about fairness.
He asked his trainees to participate in such an event so they could get used to being on stage and gain experience.
Ruan Qi said with disdain, “This is obviously rigged! Isn’t the production team worried about any backlash when they do this?”
Fu Jin said, “They’ve already run the competition like this for a few years. This isn’t something new.”
“I heard some insider news that Jin Zhao is related to someone from the advertising company. If all goes well, she will be the champion. If there’s any mishap, she will be the 1st runner up.”
“Hah.”
Ruan Qi let out a scoff. This was such a joke.
The competition was obviously rigged. This kind of production was really disgusting!
After all 50 contestants performed, the top 25 were revealed and the remaining 25 were eliminated.
In the end, Tang Beibei ranked 16th and Ruan Qi ranked 20th.
More than half of Fu Jin’s trainees who took part were eliminated.
The emcee invited the top 25 contestants to go onstage. Tang Beibei and Ruan Qi went over. There were many people at stage entrance, so it was a little crowded.
Someone stepped on Tang Beibei’s foot. She cried out softly and looked up at the culprit. It was Jin Zhao, who was on the phone.
Jin Zhao stepped on Tang Beibei’s foot, but she had no intention of apologizing and looked at her with disdain instead.
Tang Beibei frowned and stood still to let the others go first.
However, the emcee was inviting the contestants out one by one, so everyone had to wait here.
Jin Zhao got impatient and said brazenly, “Why won’t the idiots in front move faster? Who wants to look at their stupid internet celebrity faces anyway?”
Tang Beibei and Ruan Qj looked at each other. Ruan Qi rolled her eyes, covered her nose, and moved to the side.
The perfume on Jin Zhao was very pungent.
Dancers usually sweated a lot and would not wear strong perfumes.
Tang Beibei knocked into Jia Ran beside her and quickly apologized.
Jia Ran smiled and shook his head. He looked up at Tang Beibei and said, “Your classical dance is very nice, and your ideas are very unusual and have inspired me.”
“You’re too kind. Your skills are the best. You’re my idol.”
Jia Ran smiled modestly and had a gentle temper. “I’ve been doing this since primary school. It’s been more than ten years, and you’ve only practiced for a few years. Besides, the style you’re going to master in the future should be modern dance, right?”
“Oh, how can you tell?”
Jia Ran was also interested in talking with Tang Beibei. “Your basic skills are good but compared to those professional dancers who have been training for years, you still lack the professional feel.”
“But this is an advantage. Without being boxed into any style, you have more freedom to create sequences that are more imaginative.”
“I really admire your storytelling and creativity. Can you add me on WeChat later?”
“Sure.”
Tang Beibei had no reason to refuse the big shot’s initiative to add her on WeChat.
A disdainful sneer sounded in front of them. The two of them looked over and saw that it was Jin Zhao.
Tang Beibei pursed her lips and kept quiet.
Jin Zhao turned to look at Jia Ran. “Jia Ran, do you want to eat together after this? I’ll invite the top few out to dinner. It’ll be my treat.”
Jia Ran looked at Tang Beibei and Ruan Qi. “Are you guys coming too?”
Ruan Qi’s lips twitched, and she chuckled. “We’re apples and oranges so we’d better not hang out. We’re not hungry.”
What Ruan Qi meant to say was that even if Jin Zhao invited her, she wouldn’t go-
Jin Zhao never thought of inviting them anyway.
She looked at Tang Beibei contemptuously. Tang Beibei’s popularity ranking almost surpassed hers, but she didn’t get Mu Zhi’s vote. So, Tang Beibei was still a loser.
“They’re not going. Jia Ran, come with us.”
There was a hint of flattery in her tone.
Jia Ran smiled and waved his hand. “No, thank you. I still want to practice when I get home.”
Jin Zhao was a little upset at being rejected.
“You can still practice after having dinner with us. I have a car; I’ll send you home.”
Jia Ran waved his hand stubbornly and started discussing dance stories with Tang Beibei. Both of them practiced classical dance, so they had more topics to talk about.
Jia Ran was curious as to why she was able to combine some movements so cleverly without being too stiff.
He wanted to do something new, but he hadn’t had any real breakthrough. He was trying to get new ideas by talking to people.
Tang Beibei explained, “We practice many dance styles at the studio. The teachers also train our choreography skills. After a few lessons, they would force us to tell stories using dance.”
“When we feel that we haven’t learned enough, we can only stitch together movements we have learned. After we got used to it, we realized adding other dance moves on top of our forte dance style is like putting icing on the cake.”
Tang Beibei was more talkative when the conversation was about dance.
“Most dance styles actually don’t have hard barriers. When the story needs it, we will naturally use some iconic moves from other dance styles to help us express ourselves better.”
“This is the most amazing thing about our captain. He has always emphasized that before you dance, don’t think about the movements, but the story you want to tell.”
“The story was the core of a dance.”
“For example, in ancient times, when sacrifices were performed, the dance had a purpose and a certain sense of ritual.”
“He always emphasized that dancing was ultimately about expression, not about fancy or cool movements.”
Jia Ran listened carefully and suddenly felt enlightened.
“I’ve practiced to many rigid basic skills in school and ignored many of the simplest principles. On the other hand, people like you who have simple ideas and express themselves freely can dance the most touching and infectious dances.”
From his comment, it was obvious that he admired Tang Beibei’s dancing and talent.
Jin Zhao looked at Tang Beibei coldly and scoffed. What a show-off!
Tang Beibei was a woman who relied on public opinion and online clicks to get to the front of the pack. What profound logic could she understand? She was just spouting nonsense to get close to Jia Ran.
Jia Ran was also too much. He actually listened to Tang Beibei’s nonsense but refused to eat with her.
It was really infuriating!
The people in front went up on stage, and the people behind followed. When all top 25 contestants were on stage, the emcee announced the rules for the finals.
Contestants would be divided into two groups. They would form their own teams within each group and go against other teams within the group.
Each group would then send their two top contestants into the finals. There would be four contestants fighting for the championship.
The popularity rankings would continue online. The more popular contestants would get a chance to save themselves.
The emcee then said some touching closing words to draw today’s ranking competition to an end.
Jia Ran and Tang Beibei got off the stage together. He still wanted to talk to her.
Before they went down the stairs, they met Yao Xuan, who was ranked 3rd after today’s ranking competition. She extended her hand to Tang Beibei.
Tang Beibei was a little embarrassed and shook her hand politely.
“Let’s be friends. Can I add you on WeChat?” Yao Xuan said.
“Yes, but I don’t have my phone with me. I’ll need to find my captain.”
“Okay.” Yao Xuan didn’t mind and walked with her.
Because Yao Xuan was walking beside Tang Beibei, Ruan Qj walked a few steps behind. Jin Zhao walked over and saw that Tang Beibei was still in her Han costume. A wicked look flashed across her eyes.
She took a step forward and stepped on Tang Beibei’s dress.
Tang Beibei, who was walking down the steps, suddenly staggered. Her ankle twisted, she lost her balance and fell..
