Chapter 157: The Winner
“I think, for someone who can say that, you must be a master! Just let this little person go…”
Chen Ran felt he should find a chance to slack off. He had a feeling that the next dance would be a disaster.
“Cut the crap.”
Rarely catching Chen Ran at something he couldn’t do, a sly glint flashed in Nicole’s eyes. She took the initiative to pull Chen Ran onto the dance floor.
“Hey, I’m warning you. I’m not responsible if I step on your feet.”
“Let’s see if you can,” Nicole retorted provocatively.
This immediately stirred Chen Ran’s blood. He felt that if he didn’t step on that foot, he would be letting himself down, especially since she was so confident.
They wrapped their arms around each other’s waists. When the dance began, Chen Ran unceremoniously stepped forward, wanting to see if it was as magical as the legends said!
Huh, he really didn’t step on it…
Nicole’s steps were unexpectedly nimble. Chen Ran deliberately tried to step on her small feet a few times during the dance, but unfortunately, he was always just a little bit off. No wonder this girl was so confident. It seemed she had some skill.
Chen Ran had no interest in dancing. On the contrary, he had an appetite for the special snacks of the Deep Blue Palace, and his attention was not very focused.
“Watch where your hands are,” a voice from the side warned during the dance.
Chen Ran came back to his senses and looked at his left hand. He found that his hand had, at some point, slipped to Nicole’s perky butt. No wonder the feel had been getting better and better. He had even unconsciously squeezed it a few times. It seemed he had put it in the wrong place…
“A little touch won’t kill you,” Chen Ran said fiercely. “Who told you to have such a good figure? My arm got tired, so it naturally slipped down. Why are you so stingy? At most, I’ll let you touch me back.”
A cold, sharp glint appeared in Nicole’s eyes. She gritted her teeth and said, word by word, “My dear, I think we’re dancing too slowly. You see, aren’t the others dancing with so much energy?”
There was a murderous intent…
Chen Ran instinctively wanted to refuse, but before he could say anything, he felt a super centrifugal force suddenly brought on by Nicole, and his whole person couldn’t help but spin rapidly.
A spinning storm seemed to have swept through the dance floor. The waltz steps of a pair of man and woman became faster and faster, their steps large, their spins fast. The high-speed rhythm was amazing, so much so that many people stopped dancing and watched the two in the center of the floor dance a stunning spinning dance. Some even applauded.
With a sudden, sharp stop, Chen Ran finally caught his breath. Fortunately, he was supported and didn’t fall. He just felt his head was in a daze, and his center of gravity was unstable. This girl Nicole was really ruthless. Women were truly vengeful animals.
Chen Ran quickly went to the side and sat for a while to alleviate the dizzy and nauseous reaction. The only pity was that his appetite for the night was gone.
While everyone was dancing, various musical instruments and props were pushed onto the dance floor, and the so-called interactive session began, which was to have the beautiful girls who had been brought perform, with Sayven personally judging.
Soon, a beautiful, brown-haired girl jumped onto the dance floor. Her talent was hot dancing. Then, her amazing performance and hot dance quickly stirred up the atmosphere in the hall. Even a group of men and women nearby began to sway with the music.
To maintain the atmosphere of the venue, the competition process was seamlessly integrated. One performance was followed by another. The judges watched and commented.
“This is not bad. She dances with a lot of energy. Her strength is rare. I’ll give her a high score, nine lives…”
“Mmm, your singing is very clear and beautiful, but it lacks a bit of penetrating power. I estimate that in a few years, you’ll be truly mature. Seven lives…”
“Your zither skills are very well-maintained, and your emotions are very integrated, but it’s not fast enough, which limits your development. Compared to me, you still have some way to go. Eight lives…”
“This big sister, I admit that this kind of dance is very creative, but I really can’t accept this taste. Three lives…”
Seeing that the scene over there was getting more and more lively, Chen Ran felt that Nicole, who was standing beside him, was too passive. Just as a girl had finished her performance, Chen Ran walked behind Nicole and gave her a hard push.
With a cry of surprise, Nicole was pushed into the center of the floor, stumbling. But with her skills, she naturally wouldn’t fall. She steadied herself with one step.
Her white clothes fluttered, and a fan wheel flashed by, as beautiful as a fairy.
The Crown Prince was moved. He smiled and walked to the grand piano at the side, deciding to accompany her personally.
“I wonder if you can keep up with my rhythm. There’s a prize if you win.”
He hadn’t expected the Crown Prince to act personally. It seemed that the next performance would be very exciting. Experienced people knew that whenever the Crown Prince decided to accompany someone, it would definitely be a classic collaboration.
The fingertips of those perfect hands gently flowed over the piano keys. A soft rhythm sounded, ordinary, but it touched people’s hearts and was in perfect sync with the white figure on the dance floor.
The music began. The gentle rhythm played a magnificent piece. The sound was beautiful, but the spirit on the dance floor was even more beautiful. The long, pink sleeves danced in a beautiful, open arc.
Nicole’s dance was very simple. She was just spinning, but she was spinning with a great rhythm. The sleeves fluttered like butterfly wings, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes long, sometimes short.
The various large and small circles drawn by the sleeves looked very unusual due to the speed. The occasional alternating steps made it impossible to tell how they were changing.
The tune gradually rose, and the rhythm became faster and faster, making one’s breath short. Looking at the Crown Prince’s fingers, they were so fast that only a pile of afterimages could be seen moving back and forth on the keys, almost reaching the limit of performance. But the performer on the other side was still keeping up with this crazy speed.
On the dance floor, the dancing girl was still drawing beautiful circles, but her figure had already blurred, leaving a pile of clear blue afterimages. The performance could only be described as shocking. Everyone was enjoying the extraordinary audio-visual feast, which was still rising…
Suddenly, the accompaniment stopped.
“I lost. My fingers can’t keep up with your steps…” the Crown Prince said, standing up from the piano stool. He looked at his ten bloody fingers, no frustration in his eyes. “You’re the first one to push me this far.”
A drop of blood quietly dripped from his fingertip to the floor.
Nicole also slowed down at the same time.
A round of warm applause resounded throughout the dance floor.
The only person who didn’t applaud had a gloomy face and said unhappily, “Damn it, is this girl even human? She’s not dizzy after spinning so much. I should have added double the speed…”
The Crown Prince admitted defeat very readily.
Seeing Nicole’s miraculous dance, everyone in the hall was speechless. There was probably no need to say who the winner of the night was.
“Very good. The selection ends here. Everyone, continue. I’ll take the winner to get her prize first.”
The Crown Prince pointed his bloody fingers at Chen Ran and Nicole and said, “You two, follow me.”
They walked out of the dance floor. Chen Ran and Nicole followed behind Sayven.
“Damn, that’s good…” surprisingly, Sayven stretched out his claws and said to Chen Ran, “Can you still use that spell? Hurry up and heal me…”
Hearing the familiar, lewd voice after the change in tone, Chen Ran finally confirmed who this person was…
“It really is you…”
Speechless, Chen Ran cast a Heal. The bloody fingers finally returned to normal. Sayven even blew on his few fingers and found that they were really completely healed.
“Don’t tell me you thought I was someone else? How could a handsome person like me have such a scruffy beard? Now that you see me standing here so domineeringly, don’t you have the urge to worship me?”
This time, Crown Prince Sayven used Chen Ran’s accent, exactly the same, a perfect voice change.
Chen Ran hadn’t recovered from his speechlessness for a moment.
Sayven turned his head and looked at Nicole at the side. This time, he imitated Nicole’s own accent. Even the woman’s voice was lifelike. “Hey, cloak girl, I didn’t expect you to come with him this time. It’s a bit of a surprise to me.”
Sayven pointed at Chen Ran and Nicole and said, “It’s only been a few days. Don’t tell me you two have already…”
“No!”
A sentence in unison. But Nicole’s reaction was much more intense than Chen Ran’s. The clever Sayven instantly sensed something. “I see.” He squinted his eyes, a sly look on his face. “I didn’t ask anything…”
“Can you stop imitating our accents? I admit you’re very good,” Chen Ran said, looking at this handsome-to-a-fault Crown Prince. He couldn’t connect him with the sloppy and comical painter from before. He could only say that his makeup was too good. His eyes, hair color, nose bridge, and even his height had all changed. Except for that familiar pair of hands, there were almost no similarities. ‘Oh, I just didn’t expect that the dignified Crown Prince would actually sell paintings on the street and eat cheap roasted meat with me…’
“There are many things you don’t know,” Sayven returned to his original accent and said proudly, “Who says a Crown Prince can’t eat roasted meat? Who says a Crown Prince can’t enjoy the life of an ordinary person? Do I have to stay in this stuffy iron cage and accept the worship of everyone? No, no, no. What I pursue is that kind of extraordinary feeling, which always lets me find my true self.”
Chen Ran said, “I just find it a little incredible. As a Crown Prince, you are indeed very special.”
“Life is often boring and needs some new inspiration…” Sayven shrugged and said, “I’m a madman who pursues extreme artistry. When one world can’t satisfy me, nothing can stop me from pursuing a new life. Most of my inspiration comes from life. Even though I’m a Crown Prince, my exposure is too narrow and superficial. It was only after I sneaked out and started as a wandering musician that I felt a whole new realm, a beauty in simplicity. So I changed roles again and again, and have been a wandering singer, a painter, and sometimes even a part-time worker, and have learned some things I had never felt before.”
“And then, you met us…”
“Perhaps this meeting is not just a coincidence…” Sayven blinked, a different meaning in his eyes. He looked at Nicole, who was not saying anything at the side. “You are all very interesting guys. I feel very interesting and lucky to have met you. It’s rare to have such an open chat for the first time.”
