The next morning, sunlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains.
Lin Lu was awakened by the alarm clock on her phone beside the pillow.
Groggily, she reached out, turned off the alarm, got up, brushed her teeth, washed her face, and prepared to go to school for class.
Lin Xiaoxi had already taken the high-speed train home alone early in the morning.
As for Lilith… last night, after she had already gotten into bed, Lin Lu suddenly remembered she seemed to have forgotten Lilith at the theater.
Lilith then flew back angrily and came to her room to demand an explanation.
In the end, Lin Lu had to promise to cook three big meals for Lilith to calm her down.
Lilith was still sleeping in now.
When she arrived at the classroom, there were still five minutes until class.
Su Tang had already saved a seat, once again in the last row, and waved at her.
“Little Lu! Over here, over here!”
Lin Lu walked over and sat down.
“Morning.”
“Morning, Little Lu. By the way, have you seen the news?”
“News? No, I haven’t. Is it about what happened last night?” Lin Lu glanced around, then lowered her voice to ask Su Tang.
“Yes, it’s all over the news.” Su Tang shoved her phone in front of her.
The screen showed a page from a news app.
The headline was written in bold font: [Rookie Magical Girl Chiyoyuki’s Debut Event Suddenly Attacked by Shadow Beasts! Starlight Magical Girl Group Bravely Saves the Day!]
Lin Lu took Su Tang’s phone and scrolled down.
The entire report was almost entirely positive praise.
It detailed last night’s sudden incident, also stating that there were no fatalities, with only a few audience members sustaining minor injuries during the evacuation.
All injured parties had received proper treatment, and the official Magical Girl organization had provided appropriate compensation to them.
The comments section was also full of praise.
[Chiyoyuki is so strong! I glanced back while running away, and she was like a sword immortal, moving through the Shadow Beasts as if they were nothing, destroying them all in her path…]
[Are you writing a novel, person above?]
[Starlight Magical Girl Group is the best! Such a sudden attack and no one died? The people who got hurt were injured while running away themselves, that’s insane!]
[666, I’m so jealous of you guys who were there. One ticket gets you both an idol performance and an idol action movie, that ticket price was totally worth it.]
“Ah… that’s good, all positive reports. But honestly, it’s a good thing no one died last night, otherwise today’s reports might have been very different.” Lin Lu breathed a sigh of relief.
“Things should calm down a lot after the debut event ends, right?”
“Hmm… pretty much. We just need to hold team idol activities together from time to time. As for individual activities…” Su Tang thought for a moment and said, “It’s just occasional things like shooting personal photo books.”
“Pho… photo books…”
Lin Lu’s mouth twitched.
She actually had to shoot photo books too.
But after going through so much, Lin Lu didn’t really care anymore.
Shoot them if she must.
They’re Chiyoyuki’s photos, what does that have to do with Lin Lu?
“Buzz….”
Her phone vibrated.
She picked it up and looked.
It was a message from Chen Yuwei.
[Chen Yuwei: Lin Lu, are you free this afternoon? Please come to the Piano Club activity room. I have something to discuss with you.]
[What is it? Can we talk about it over the phone?]
[Chen Yuwei: It’s a bit complicated. It’s better if you come.]
[Alright.]
“Hmm? What’s up?” Su Tang leaned in from the side.
“Nothing much. Chen Yuwei just asked me to go to the Piano Club this afternoon. Not sure what it’s about.”
“The Piano Club…” Su Tang pondered for a while and said, “Speaking of which, it seems like the Beijiang High School Piano Competition is coming up soon. Chen Yuwei wouldn’t be thinking of having you participate, would she?”
“How is that possible?” Lin Lu rolled her eyes and said, “I’ve only been learning piano for a short while. How could I compete with those who’ve been learning instruments since childhood?”
Su Tang shook her head meaningfully.
“That’s not necessarily true. We Magical Girls have a natural talent for learning these things. Don’t forget, Little Lu, you only studied singing for a few months and already reached a level fit for debut. An ordinary person could never achieve that speed. Besides, Chen Yuwei is the Piano Club president. She must have her own plans.”
Lin Lu nodded suspiciously, ‘What Su Tang said made sense. Given Chen Yuwei’s personality, this was indeed a possibility, and not a small one. She might have even submitted the application form already.’
At four in the afternoon, Lin Lu arrived at the Piano Club on time.
Chen Yuwei was sitting in front of the piano, her fingers lightly gliding over the keys, playing a piece Lin Lu had never heard before.
“You’re here?”
She stopped playing and turned to look at Lin Lu.
“Yeah.” Lin Lu nodded and walked over to the piano, “What did you need to see me about?”
“Hmm… It’s nothing major. I just wanted to ask if Lin Lu would be interested in participating in a piano competition.” Chen Yuwei stood up.
Sunlight streamed through the window, falling on her face.
Though she was asking, the confident, knowing smile in her eyes was completely unconcealed.
Lin Lu sighed inwardly.
Su Tang had called it.
Chen Yuwei wanted her to participate in some competition.
“Can I refuse?”
“Are you sure? If you participate and win an award… you won’t have to earn credits anymore. It’s a permanent solution~”
“But I’ve only been learning piano for a few months. How could I possibly…”
Chen Yuwei interrupted her, “Lin Lu, don’t worry about that. Based on my observations and judgment over this period, your level might still have some uncertainty about winning the championship, but securing an award is practically guaranteed.”
She then smiled slightly and added, “As the Piano Club president, I wouldn’t gamble with our club’s and our school’s reputation, would I?”
“Then why don’t you participate yourself? If you went, winning the championship would be more certain than me, right?” Lin Lu made a final attempt to struggle.
“Sigh, I wish I could. But the competition rules don’t allow the same person to participate for three consecutive years. So… Lin Lu, you’ll have to represent the school.”
There was no way out.
Chen Yuwei had put it that way, and Lin Lu couldn’t think of any other reason to refuse.
“Well… alright.”
“Here are the competition regulations. Look them over when you get back. The competition is on the fifteenth of next month. The venue is our own school, so you don’t have to travel far. It’s quite convenient.” Chen Yuwei smiled, picking up a piece of paper from a nearby table and handing it to her.
“Teachers and students will come to watch, of course. Lin Lu, you can also invite family or friends to come watch.”
“Sigh… fine. So, is there any information I need to fill out?” Lin Lu sighed, taking the competition regulations Chen Yuwei handed her.
“Application form or something?”
“No need. Because the application form was already submitted a long time ago.”
“Huh? When?”
Lin Lu, holding the documents, was stunned.
She didn’t remember filling out any competition application form.
“Haha, your information was filled out very clearly when you joined the club.” Chen Yuwei took a small object out of her bag.
It was a badge.
Lin Lu recognized it.
It was the badge Chen Yuwei had given her when she joined the club, though the design and pattern were slightly different.
But what did this have to do with the badge?
“This badge is the symbol of the qualification to compete.” Chen Yuwei looked at the badge in her hand with a trace of nostalgia and said, “This badge was my proof of participation in last year’s competition. Each school only has one slot. Whoever has this badge represents Beijiang University in the competition. So, when you received that badge, the participant was already decided to be you. The application form was submitted then too.”
“What? But you said back then it was just an ordinary club badge? So… you planned for me to compete from the very beginning?”
Lin Lu was somewhat incredulous.
“That’s correct.”
Lin Lu was momentarily at a loss for words.
“You really are…”
Back then, she was just a beginner, and Chen Yuwei dared to enter her into the competition.
“I believed in you.” Chen Yuwei said calmly, her tone filled with strong confidence, “My judgment has never been wrong. The people I see potential in, whether in talent or… other aspects, are absolutely uniquely excellent. I’ve never misjudged anyone.”
Lin Lu silently put away the documents and waved at Chen Yuwei.
“I understand. But let’s be clear, if I don’t win any award, don’t blame me.”
“It’s fine. The probability of that happening is almost zero. If it really does happen, then it’s my fault.”
Walking on the road, although the feeling of being calculated by Chen Yuwei wasn’t great, she had given Lin Lu her complete trust.
This feeling… was strange.