Chi Yan brought Chu Yang to sit beside him. Chu Yang looked at his makeup and reached out to tidy his clothes. "Nervous?"
Chi Yan shook his head. "Not too bad. I'll be performing in the middle, and the number I drew for my turn is decent."
"Mmm." After helping him tidy up, Chu Yang sat beside him, holding his hand. The two whispered to each other occasionally. By now, the student council president had arranged for the host to take the stage. "Hurry, hurry, it's starting!"
The host then walked to the front of the stage, and the competition began. Soon, the first performer took the stage - a female student. From backstage, they could vaguely hear her singing voice. It was alright, but not stunning.
Time passed quickly, as each performer only had about a minute for the preliminary round. Time flew by, and with two performers left before Chi Yan's turn, Chu Yang suddenly sensed something was off. A dark aura was surging from Chi Yan. What was going on?
Chu Yang held Chi Yan's hand, furrowed her brows, and closed her eyes. She saw something falling from the stage.
Opening her eyes, Chu Yang immediately said, "Don't participate. Let's withdraw."
Hearing Chu Yang's words, Chi Yan became anxious. "What's wrong?"
Chu Yang stood up and walked closer to the stage entrance, looking up. Right in the center of the stage hung a large light fixture, and it was about to fall straight down!
Chu Yang's expression was serious as she pointed at the light. "Stop the competition immediately. That light is about to fall."
Chi Yan immediately called out to the student council president Gu Xi, pointing at the large light. "Stop the competition right away. That light looks like it's going to fall."
Gu Xi looked at it and thought the light seemed fine. "It doesn't seem like it. How do you know it will fall?"
On the side, Zhao Hongfei scoffed, "Could it be you're just looking for an excuse to withdraw?"
Chi Yan never doubted his beloved Chu Yang's words. His expression was serious. "I'll take full responsibility for any consequences."
Gu Xi looked again but didn't think the light would fall. However, during this standoff, it became Chi Yan's turn to perform. Of course, Chi Yan couldn't go on stage. On the side, Zhao Hongfei said, "If he won't go, I will. I'm right after him anyway. Honestly, if you want to withdraw, just withdraw. No need to make excuses." With that, he went on stage.
Chi Yan was about to stop him when Gu Xi said, "Chi Yan, I don't see any issues..."
Before Gu Xi could finish, Zhao Hongfei had already started. "Hello, judges and teachers. My name is Zhao Hongfei..."
Then, a loud creaking sound erupted. Zhao Hongfei froze. On the other side, Chi Yan dashed forward and kicked Zhao Hongfei away, then rolled on the ground, covering his head.
With a crash, the light fixture exploded in the center of the stage, scattering shards of glass everywhere.
Many people stood up and shouted, creating a chaotic scene.
Zhao Hongfei propped himself up on his elbows, his eyes filled with fear and horror. He swallowed hard and looked towards Chi Yan, who was being tended to by Chu Yang. Chi Yan's arm had some glass shards embedded in it, and there were some on his body too, but his clothes had cushioned the impact. However, his arm was cut.
On the other side, the student council president Gu Xi's eyes were wide, his mouth agape, unable to speak. It was the vice president who pushed him. "President!"
Gu Xi immediately swallowed and ran over. "Quick, quick! Are you okay? Should we call an ambulance?"
Chu Yang had already helped Chi Yan up. "We'll go to the hospital. His hand is injured."
Gu Xi nodded immediately. "Okay, okay. Lin Shenghua, take your car and send Chi Yan to the hospital right away."
The teachers also rushed over, fearing more lights might fall from the stage. They quickly evacuated the crowd. "Hurry, hurry, don't stay here. Go to the backstage area."
Zhao Hongfei was helped to a chair backstage. Coming to his senses, he realized he was drenched in sweat. Two people were attending to him. "Zhao, are you alright?"
Zhao Hongfei took a sip of water offered to him and shook his head. "I'm fine. But Chi Yan..."
"Chi Yan has gone to the hospital. I heard his hand was just cut by some glass shards. It doesn't seem serious."
"Yes. The vice president took him. That was so dangerous! Oh my god, it's a good thing Chi Yan rushed over. Otherwise, you..."
Though unfinished, everyone understood that if Chi Yan hadn't intervened, Zhao Hongfei could have been the one lying in the hospital - or worse, he might not have survived.
There were quite a few people present, so within ten minutes, everyone knew about the accident. The school leadership had urgently convened a meeting to investigate. They had also sent people to visit Chi Yan at the hospital.
Chi Yan wasn't seriously hurt, just some glass shards stuck in his arm. But with Chu Yang by his side, Chi Yan acted pitiful. While the doctor was removing the shards, he kept saying, "Chu Yang, it hurts."
Chu Yang stood by, embracing his head. "It's okay, it doesn't hurt. It'll be over soon."
On the side, the male doctor said, "A grown man shouldn't be whining over such a minor injury."
Then the nearby nurse laughed. "Doctor Chen, you don't understand." With his girlfriend around, of course he'd want to act a little pitiful. Meanwhile, the vice president Lin Shenghua wore an expression of utter shock, never expecting Chi Yan to act this way.
Both of Chi Yan's arms were wrapped in bandages. Although the cuts were small, there were many, so his entire arms were bandaged.
When the teachers from the school came to visit and saw Chi Yan, they thought his hands were severely injured, their faces turning pale. "Is it very serious?"
Chi Yan quickly replied, "No, the doctor has removed all the glass shards. There were just many small cuts, so they bandaged my whole arms. I should be fine in a few days."
The teachers were relieved to hear this. "That's good, then."
After the teachers understood the situation and saw Chu Yang taking care of Chi Yan, they found an excuse to leave, as there were still matters to attend to. Lin Shenghua felt like a third wheel, so he left too.
Soon after, Wei Feng and the others heard the news and came over. Seeing Chi Yan's bandaged arms, they felt incredibly guilty. Wei Feng was almost in tears. "It's all because we made you participate in this competition. Otherwise, you wouldn't have..."
Chi Yan kicked him. "What's with that expression? My hands are fine. Just a few small cuts, that's why they're bandaged like this." Chi Yan moved his arms. "It's not serious at all. Besides, I participated of my own accord. It has nothing to do with you guys."
Wei Feng was stunned. "Really, you're okay?"
Chu Yang explained on the side, "It's nothing serious, just some small cuts. He'll be fine in a few days. It won't affect anything."
Hearing Chu Yang's reassurance, everyone finally relaxed.
"That's good, then."
Chi Yan added, "Originally, the light was supposed to fall on me. It was almost my turn when Chu Yang told me to withdraw and stop the competition because the light would fall. But then Zhao Hongfei thought I was making excuses, so he went on stage instead. And then that happened."
