Chapter 129: I’m Going In!

This was grievance, a cry for help, and an accusation all at once.

A beautiful young girl stood on a stage under the gaze of nearly ten thousand people, sobbing uncontrollably. Yet, the lover she waited for, after repeated apologies and endless anticipation, remained absent. How could such a scene not incite public outrage?

"Young lady, step down. A boy like that isn't worth your affection. You are so beautiful; you can find someone much better."

To everyone's surprise, the first to speak up was a female dean sitting in the front row. Han Ling was the Dean of the School of Chemical Engineering. True to her field of study, she was known for her rigorous and serious demeanor, rarely smiling and always wearing a stern expression, as if everyone owed her money. When Qiu Yihan first took the stage to confess her feelings, Han Ling had no positive impression of her. She believed school was a place for learning, not for students to spend all day focused on romantic entanglements.

Yet, after the song ended, her attitude shifted completely.

Now, her eyes red, she loudly urged Qiu Yihan, who refused to leave the stage, to step down, telling her she deserved better. Those in the know speculated that she might have been thinking of her own daughter studying abroad—what parent could bear to see their child suffer such heartbreak in public?

Han Ling's words resonated with the entire student body and faculty. The audience, unaware of the full truth, turned the man who refused to appear into a public enemy.

"Beauty, come down. If he doesn't want you, come with me instead. I'll take you out for a drink—"

"Which department is that animal from? Get up on stage already! If you don't show up soon, I'm going to go up there myself—"

"Qiu Yihan, I like you!"

There were voices of reproach, yet many young girls yearning for romance hoped to see this union succeed. Someone started it, and a group of delicate yet resonant female voices chanted in unison: "Get on stage! Get on stage! Get on stage—"

Swept up by this wave, the entire Mingli Hall echoed with the chant.

"Get on stage."
"Get on stage."
"Get on stage—"

It wasn't just the others who were anxious. Liang Tao, sitting two rows in front of Tang Zhong, kept shooting him glances, urging him to go up and not waste the girl's devotion. Hua Ming had gone backstage to prepare for his own act; otherwise, he might have physically hoisted Tang Zhong onto the stage.

Li Yu, sitting beside Tang Zhong, only turned to look at him when the cheering reached its deafening peak, then sighed softly.

"Sigh." Tang Zhong let out a heavy breath.

To be honest, he was moved by this girl. For a girl of her status, with her gentle and indecisive nature, heaven knows what kind of courage it took for her to stand on that stage and say all those things.

Tang Zhong’s perception was sharper than most. He had noticed early on that when Qiu Yihan first stepped onto the stage, her legs were trembling. The reason she held the microphone with both hands—a posture lacking professional stage presence—was that her hands were shaking, and she was afraid she might drop it. When she spoke her first words, she stammered, her voice trembling along with her body.

This must have been her first time on stage.

But now, everything had changed.

The audience had been shouting for a long time, but the leading man remained absent, which only fueled their anger and frustration.

"Get on stage."
"Get on stage."
"Get on stage."

They shouted louder and more fervently, as if they wouldn't stop until the man was revealed. Strangely, no one stepped forward to intervene. No one wanted to interrupt the girl’s wait, and no one wanted to ruin such a romantic moment. Whoever did so would become a public enemy just like the man who refused to appear.

On stage, Qiu Yihan widened her eyes in astonishment, tears rolling down her long lashes. She hadn't expected things to escalate to this point.

She had only wanted to apologize.

"Please... don't do this," Qiu Yihan said nervously. "I... I don't want him to come up anymore."

She hurriedly bowed to the audience and rushed toward the backstage area. Nong Jun, whose face had long since stiffened into an awkward smile, also bowed and followed her off stage.

The hostess, Lin Weixiao, dressed in a red gown, walked out. With red-rimmed eyes, she said, "I am moved. Truly, I was crying the whole time backstage. The makeup artist kept telling me not to cry, that there was no time to fix my makeup—but I couldn't help it."

"I was clenching my fists, chanting 'get on stage' right along with you all, but he just wouldn't come up—I really wish I could show you how shattered my heart is right now."

"That lovely girl just now is called Qiu Yihan. She is beautiful, she sings beautifully, and—her attitude toward love is also beautiful. I don't know what kind of man she was waiting for, but I want to say that a girl like this is worth being waited for by any man."

"Like you, I am just a bystander. Logically, we have no right to interfere in others' relationships. Only the foot knows if the shoe is comfortable—but I still can't help but want to tell that man who didn't appear to think carefully. She is worth cherishing. For any man to lose such a girl is a great loss in life."

"Alright. Thank you to Qiu Yihan and Nong Jun for the beautiful song 'Crystal,' and thank you to Qiu Yihan for moving our hearts. Now, please enjoy the next act, a skit titled 'Lying'."

The first climax of the evening had passed, and the program continued.

Because of this interlude, Tang Zhong's heart could no longer find peace. There was music in his ears, but he didn't know what was being sung. There was dance in his eyes, but he didn't know what was being performed. He sat there in a daze, as if cut off from the entire world.

The buzzing of his phone in his pocket startled him. He pulled it out and saw it was a call from Li Qiang.

He answered, whispering, "Teacher Li, is something wrong?"

"Tang Zhong, hurry to the backstage area. I'm waiting for you at the middle entrance," Li Qiang said urgently.

Tang Zhong stood up and walked toward the middle entrance near their seats. By the time he arrived, Li Qiang and Wang Aiguo were already waiting.

"Tang Zhong, where is Hua Ming?" Li Qiang asked breathlessly. "His performance is up right after the next act."

"Isn't Hua Ming backstage preparing?" Tang Zhong asked, confused.

"No," Wang Aiguo said. "We saw him earlier, but then he just vanished. His phone is off—where on earth did he go?"

Tang Zhong tried calling Hua Ming again, and sure enough, it was off. Even Tang Zhong began to panic.

"Could he have gone to the restroom?" Tang Zhong asked.

"No," Wang Aiguo replied. "We checked both restrooms nearby."

"He couldn't have gone anywhere else at this time," Tang Zhong said. "Let's check the other restrooms."

When the three of them finally found Hua Ming in a restroom far from the stage, he was squatting there, looking miserable while dealing with an urgent situation.

"Hua Ming, what's going on? You're about to go on stage! Even if you had to go, there are restrooms backstage. Why run so far?"

"Teacher, I had no choice," Hua Ming said helplessly. "When I went to the ones backstage, they were all full. I couldn't wait, so I had to run to the ones further away."

"That doesn't explain why your phone is off."

"It's not off. I was playing games earlier today during rehearsals—the battery died."

"Hurry up! You're next," Li Qiang urged.

"Teacher Li, I can't. I don't think I can go on stage to sing," Hua Ming said, on the verge of tears. He had prepared for so long, hoping to make a splash, to become one of the top ten singers, to be a campus idol and a heartthrob—but now, it was all a dream. "I have diarrhea. Every time I try to stand up—I..."

Hua Ming didn't need to explain further. Before he could finish, a loud, explosive sound echoed, followed by a nauseating stench that filled the room.

*Bang.*

Tang Zhong quickly shut the bathroom door, preventing him from poisoning the innocent.

"What do we do now?" Wang Aiguo panicked. "It's too late to replace him."

Li Qiang was pacing anxiously. The program list had already been submitted, and every leader present had a copy. They couldn't change the song now, and more importantly, where would they find someone who knew how to sing it? By the time they found someone, the host would have already announced the act.

Postponing the act was one option—but it would be humiliating. If word got out, the Psychology Department would lose face. If their chosen singer couldn't perform because of diarrhea, how could they face the other departments' teachers?

Furthermore, Li Qiang had a lingering fear. He had been the one to host the seafood dinner that night. If Hua Ming's stomach trouble was caused by that meal, he would be the culprit. If the department's reputation was ruined, would the deans spare him? All his hard work would be for nothing, and he would likely face disciplinary action.

"This is a disaster," Li Qiang muttered, pacing in circles. He grabbed Tang Zhong by the shoulders. "Is there anyone else in your class who can sing well? Someone who can step in and sing Hua Ming's song. Forget about the Top Ten Singers award; we just need to get through this. Find someone, quickly! We don't have time."

Thinking back to how Hua Ming had defended him against Zhang Haiyang, and how Li Qiang had used his own body to shield Hua Ming from Zhang Haiyang's wife, Tang Zhong couldn't bear to see them suffer. After a moment of hesitation, he said firmly, "I'll do it."

"You?"

Li Qiang and Wang Aiguo asked in unison.

And, of course, there was Hua Ming, crouching in the stall, listening to their conversation.