Chapter XIX
When God closes a door, he will open a window for us. He closes the biggest wish, but only meets a smaller wish. I would have to thank God, but I'd rather not.
- Xiao Lin to God
Xiao Lin had finally waited for today, the ballroom dance competition at the school party member service station. Xiao Lin had spent more than a month on this, but this wasn't the most important thing. What was important was that he hoped that Bai Bingying and the two of them would be rewarded for their efforts and receive the honor they had promised her. Even though Xiao Lin didn't care at first, he was determined to get a place after becoming Bai Bingying's dance partner.
Today was a special day. Other than the social dance competition, it was also the second segment of the marketing plan presentation competition for the club's participation in the Wahaha Campus Marketing Competition, the National Zhongcheng University. Even though Xu Xiao had promised Xiao Lin that as long as he sold 40 boxes of pear candy, the International Business Club would win first place. The second round of the competition was just a formality, so there should not be a problem.
However, Xu Xiao had informed Xiao Lin that the teachers from the school's Youth League Committee would be the judges. He had asked Xiao Lin to instruct the teams from the International Business Club to prepare for the competition. Xiao Lin had to worry about this. Fortunately, Murong Yan was leading the team. Murong Yan expressed that he was very confident and assured Xiao Lin.
Early in the morning, Xiao Lin felt refreshed, in a particularly good state, and in a carefree mood. The people he met that day were all very friendly, such as the uncle in charge of the building, the auntie in the canteen, and the senior he met on the way…
Xiao Lin specially told a few of his brothers to go over and help take photos. Xu Zeng, Xie Wenhao, and the others had agreed to go ahead of time. His roommates, Yang Yu, and the others were also willing to go. Xiao Lin was full of confidence in winning the award.
In the evening, Xiao Lin changed into a shirt, trousers, and black sneakers. After doing his hair, he went to the competition venue, the dance hall, with his roommates. When Xiao Lin and the others went to the dance hall, there were already many people inside. There were contestants and cheerleaders.
The ballroom was very spacious and could accommodate more than 400 people. Before the competition began, the stage was illuminated by yellow lights, and the lights below the stage were all white. The middle of the viewing area was surrounded by five-colored ground lamps. The chairs were also arranged into a circular dance floor, leaving a wide path leading to the stage.
On the stage, there were some boys who were still busy pulling up a banner. The banner read," I wish the school party members 'service station a complete success in the ballroom dance." A few girls stuck balloons on the stage wall. On the left side of the stage was a piano. A girl was playing, and the beautiful sound of the piano jumped out of the noisy human voice.
Xiao Lin and the other three sat down in the corner facing the door so that they could easily find Xu Zeng, Xie Wenhao, Bai Bingying, and her best friend. Xiao Lin was waiting quietly, looking up at the door from time to time.
After sitting for a while, his phone vibrated. Xiao Lin thought it was from Xu Zeng and the others. He took it out and saw that it was Murong Yan. Xiao Lin stood up and told Yang Yu that he was going out to take a call. If he saw Xu Zeng and the others, he would ask them to come over and sit down. Then, he would go outside.
"Hey, Flamy, has the competition started yet?”Xiao Lin asked.
"Not yet. Are you coming over later? The few of us were in the lecture hall.”Murong Yan's voice was also very noisy.
"I won't come over. The ball competition here is about to start. I believe that you guys won't have any problems. Good luck!”Xiao Lin firmly believed that Xu Xiao would definitely give the first prize to the International Business Club no matter what, because Xiao Lin had already sold all 40 boxes of drinks and had not given him the money. He was also thinking about the interests of the International Business Club. "After you get the first prize, come over to the stage and support me.”
"Hey." Xiao Lin was on the phone when he felt someone pat him on the back. He turned around and saw Bai Bingying and her two best friends, Yuanyuan and Shuyu.
Xiao Lin smiled and nodded at them. He said into the phone,""That's all for now. I'm hanging up."
Xiao Lin stared at Bai Bingying. She was so beautiful. Her skin was fair, her cheeks were pink, and her lashes were so attractive. The scales on her eyebrows were shining under the light. Her light red lipstick was so charming. Her sky-blue dress made her slim figure even more prominent. Xiao Lin almost couldn't help but praise her loudly. She was so beautiful that he couldn't help it.
"Handsome, it's really you. I told you it was you, but Bingying didn't believe me.”Shu Yu said," It seems like you two are not well-coordinated enough.”
"Alright, Wang Lin, stop staring at our Yingying. Her face is red.”Yuanyuan teased Xiao Lin, and Bai Bingying lowered her head, blushing.
Xiao Lin quickly apologized and led them to Yang Yu's seat. As soon as Xiao Lin entered the door, he looked at the original seat and saw that Xu Zeng and the others were also there. He was even happier.
"Wenhao, when did you guys get here? I didn't even see you come in.”Xiao Lin arranged for Bai Bingying, Yuanyuan, and Shuyu to sit down. He walked to Xie Wenhao and asked.
"You only care about chatting with beautiful women. Why would you care about us?”Xu Zeng adjusted the focus of the DSLR in his hand and interrupted," Bingying, Xiao Lin only has you in his heart.”Xu Zeng put down his DSLR and shouted at Bai Bingying. Bai Bingying pretended not to hear him and continued chatting with Yuanyuan and Shuyu.
"Xiao Lin, come here." Zhao Ruixu tugged at Xiao Lin's clothes and called him to his side. He lowered his voice and said," Work harder and win Bingying over. This girl is really pretty."”
Xie Wenhao also came over and agreed. He also hoped that Xiao Lin could get Bai Bingying and become her boyfriend.
At this moment, Senior Lai Yonghua's voice interrupted Xiao Lin and the others 'whispers. Lai Yonghua held a microphone in his hand and stood in the middle of the decorated ballroom. He said in a loud voice,"Good evening, judges, students, and audience. There are still 20 minutes before the start of our dance competition. Please wait for a while. The wonderful dance will be presented to you soon. Now, please send a representative from each group to the middle of the stage to sign in and draw lots. We will perform according to the order of drawing lots.”
Xiao Lin said to Bai Bingying and walked onto the stage. There were more than 30 people on stage, including Xiao Lin. Everyone surrounded Lai Yonghua and took turns to sign in. After Xiao Lin signed his name, he looked at the sign-in sheet. There were a total of 40 groups of contestants.
"Alright, everyone, after signing, come over here and draw lots. We've decided on a total of eight pairs, with five pairs in each group. The first team will go to the front row and wait. The other teams are not allowed to walk around or leave the ballroom. If it's your turn to perform and you don't go on stage, you will be disqualified. After the first team left the stage, the second team followed closely. Does everyone understand?" Lai Yonghua picked up the drawing box on the chair." Line up. Eight people in a team will take turns drawing lots.”
After Xiao Lin drew the lot, he looked at the lot in his hand. He didn't know whether to be happy or worried. Compared to being happy, he was more worried about Team One's number three. Xiao Lin walked down from the stage and showed Bai Bingying the lot he drew.
Bai Bingying took a look at it and said," Team One, it's pretty good. Because we won't get tired of our eyes at the beginning, the judges will watch our dance seriously. Xiao Lin, I really like to perform in front of the other teams. This way, it won't feel like we're imitating others. I really like it.”
Xiao Lin didn't know if Bai Bingying was comforting him. On the contrary, he knew that from the perspective of fairness, the first team would be at a huge disadvantage. He remembered reading in a book that the judges would be relatively cautious at the beginning because they were worried that the best performance was still to come. If the score in the front was too high, there would be no room for the later performance. Therefore, most of the judges found it difficult to convince themselves to jump out of this potential framework.
After the emcee finished his speech, the first group of five walked onto the stage in turn. Xiao Lin and Bai Bingying stood in the middle of the stage as number three. Xiao Lin saw hundreds of pairs of eyes looking at him from below the stage, but he didn't feel uneasy or nervous at all. He held Bai Bingying's hand, and he could see the trust in her eyes. At this moment, Xiao Lin felt that he was so lucky.
They paused on the stage for a few seconds and stood in formation. The music suddenly sounded, and the audience quieted down, looking forward to the start of the performance. The familiar melody flowed in the middle of the stage. Xiao Lin and Bai Bingying began to dance in tacit understanding. In Xiao Lin's eyes, only the long-haired Bai Bingying in front of him could realize his existence by holding her soft hand.
Xiao Lin and Bai Bingying didn't look like they were here to participate in a competition. It was more like they were performing a beautiful body language. They were the main characters on the stage, leading the others. The team next to them seemed to be just a foil.
Xiao Lin and Bai Bingying were completely immersed in their movements. When the music ended, Xiao Lin held Bai Bingying's hand and made the final gesture of thanks. Then, he confidently walked down the stage and returned to his original seat.
"Bingying, you and our Xiao Lin are a perfect match. You'll definitely be the most beautiful scenery tonight.”When Xu Zeng saw Xiao Lin, Bai Bingying walked over and showed her the photo that he had taken with the DSLR.
Bai Bingying didn't seem to pay much attention to Xu Zeng's words. She took the DSLR and sat down with Yuanyuan, Shuyu, and the others. She flipped through the photos and looked at them. Xiao Lin stood and looked at the judges 'seats, anxiously waiting for the results of the first team to come out.
Before the second team got into formation and began the game, the host appeared on the stage again with a paper card in his hand. He nodded slightly to the judges and said," Now, I will announce the results of the first team. The highest score of the first team is Xiao Lin and the Bai Bingying dance team. After removing the high score of 96 points and the lowest score of 85 points, the final score is 89.78 points. Congratulations to them. The next team…"
Xiao Lin heard the cheers of his brothers and roommates. Although Xiao Lin was quite gratified, he knew that he couldn't be happy too early. After all, the performance hadn't started yet.
After Xiao Lin and the others 'scores were out, Yang Yu and the others informed Xiao Lin and left. Xu Zeng, Xie Wenhao, Zhao Ruixu, and Zhao Yuanguang watched another three or four sets and felt that they were not very attractive. They did not want to continue watching. Xu Zeng helped Xiao Lin and Bai Bingying take a group photo and asked others to take a group photo for everyone. Then, he left. Only Bai Bingying and her two best friends were left. Xiao Lin sat at the side and waited for the final results.
During the long wait, more and more people left the ballroom, and fewer and fewer people stayed. The audience was not as enthusiastic as before, and even some of the judges were looking around casually. Xiao Lin quietly listened to the conversation between Bai Bingying, Yuanyuan, and Shuyu. Suddenly, a ringtone interrupted their conversation. Bai Bingying took out Xiao Lin's phone from her handbag and passed it to him. Xiao Lin guessed that it would be Murong Yan and the others, and it was indeed Murong Yan.
Xiao Lin took his phone and walked out of the door. He picked up the call and Murong Yan told Xiao Lin in a cheerful tone that they had successfully won the first prize. They had also received the recognition and praise of the Youth League Committee teachers. They would participate in the finals at the University of Finance and Economics next week. Hearing Murong Yan's words, Xiao Lin was also quite happy. Although it was predicted, it was still worth celebrating.
"Brother Lin, everyone in our team, including me, wants to come and watch your dance competition. It's at the dance hall, right? Why don't we come over now?”Hearing Murong Yan call him " Brother Lin " for the first time, Xiao Lin couldn't help but feel touched when he thought about how their friendship had improved.
"Thank you, thank you so much. Maybe next time. We've already finished our performance. We've drawn lots to get the first group to go on stage. But it doesn't matter. I'll perform for you one day. The premise is that you have to pay for the appearance. Haha, you're tired too. Go to the cafeteria and have some supper.”Xiao Lin said.
After the call, Xiao Lin returned to Bai Bingying's seat. Xiao Lin didn't tell Bai Bingying about the club's first prize immediately. He wanted to wait until the results of the dance competition were out before letting Bai Bingying know. Xiao Lin asked about the other couples that Bai Bingying had yet to perform.
"Other than this group performing on stage, there's one last group. It should be soon.”Bai Bingying said as she looked at the stage.
Xiao Lin hoped that the competition would end soon, but he was also worried about the final result. He had heard that the first place of the other groups had scored more than 90 points. Finally, after waiting for more than ten minutes, the last team finished their performance.
The host walked onto the stage and asked the contestants to wait patiently for a few more minutes. The judges were nervously choosing the first, second, third, and most popular awards. Next, Senior Lai Yonghua and a female teaching assistant were invited to perform on stage. The senior's and the other's performance movements were incisive, and their coordination was very tacit. It was also very exaggerated and very entertaining. The audience below the stage once again burst into warm applause and cheers.
When the music ended, Lai Yonghua and his dance partner left the stage with the host's thanks. The tense moment had arrived. After thanking the organizers and the participants, the host went straight to the topic of " announcing the final results of the competition."
Xiao Lin held his breath and pricked up his ears to listen carefully to every word the host said. "Let's first reveal tonight's anticipated Best Popularity Award. Who will win it?”The emcee paused for a moment and looked at the paper." It's our team's number three, Xiao Lin, Bai Bingying, and team two's number five…" When Xiao Lin heard his name, he was stunned. He didn't even know how he went on stage to receive the award. He only remembered that after receiving the award, he and Bai Bingying walked off the stage. He found an excuse to escape.
Xiao Lin returned to the dormitory alone in a daze and lay on the bed sullenly. Zhou Xiaobo, Yang Yu, and Li Feng did not ask anything to avoid awkwardness. Xiao Lin thought to himself. Actually, he didn't care about winning the award at all. He was just afraid of letting Bai Bingying down.
The two of them had put in so much time and energy, and he felt that his performance on stage was quite good. In the end, he only received the so-called " Best Popularity Award." Xiao Lin thought that it was just a consolation for the loser. The honor it brought was completely incomparable to what Xiao Lin had hoped for. He remembered his promise with Bai Bingying. If the two of them won an award for their dance, Xiao Lin could take her to the bell tower, the sacred place in Xiao Lin's heart.
But could the "Best Popularity Award" be considered an award? He wanted to tear it up in front of all the judges and throw it in front of them. Xiao Lin always felt guilty towards Bai Bingying. If it was someone else who was paired with her, they would definitely be stronger than him. At the very least, they wouldn't have only won the " Best Popularity Award ".
A little later, Bai Bingying sent a text message to Xiao Lin, consoling him by saying that she didn't care much about the glory and that she enjoyed the process of practicing dance with Xiao Lin and getting to know him. Moreover, he knew that the two of them had tried their best. It did not matter if they did not get a better ranking. Moreover, it was better than not getting any honor at all.
Xiao Lin didn't know how to reply to her. He was afraid that his sadness would be exposed, so he simply sent her a "thank you". Xiao Lin didn't sleep well the whole night and had many strange dreams.
Three days after the ball, Xiao Lin didn't have the courage to call Bai Bingying. He felt a little muddleheaded, as if something was missing in the past few days. However, he missed Bai Bingying even more, and because of the guilt in his heart, he never went to look for her. Just as Xiao Lin was feeling extremely disappointed, Bai Bingying's phone call "saved" him.
That night, Xiao Lin felt very bored, so he asked Xie Wenhao and Zhao Ruixu to go to Wind-Rain Stadium to shoot. When Xiao Lin came back to take a shower, he was listening to music on his phone. When he was washing his hair, he heard his phone ring. He was about to reach out to pick it up, but the ringtone stopped after two seconds. Xiao Lin thought that someone he didn't know had dialed the wrong number, so he didn't pay much attention to it and continued to take a shower.
After taking a shower and changing his clothes, he took out his phone and turned off the music. He saw that it was Bai Bingying's number. Xiao Lin was ecstatic. Bai Bingying had never called Xiao Lin before. Most of the time, she would not receive a call from Xiao Lin.
Xiao Lin walked out of the bathroom and walked to the balcony. He wondered if Bai Bingying had dialed the wrong number. If not, why did it die after only a few seconds? Should he call her back? Could it be that she was also used to his existence like him and would think of him even if she did not contact him for a few days?
Xiao Lin didn't really understand what girls were thinking, so he decided to call Bai Bingying back no matter what. Xiao Lin walked into the dormitory and put the bath products into the cabinet. Then, he walked out of the dormitory and closed the door.
Xiao Lin pressed the familiar number. He liked to call Bai Bingying like this. Every time he pressed the number, Bai Bingying's name would appear. Xiao Lin's face would always be filled with a happy smile. Xiao Lin pressed his ear tightly against the phone, afraid that he would miss the moment Bai Bingying picked up the call. His heart beat rhythmically with the beeping sound coming from the phone. Every second he waited, he could feel the suffocating silence around him.
"Bingying." When she finally picked up the phone, Xiao Lin couldn't wait to call her name.
"What's wrong? Xiao Lin." Bai Bingying's tone was calm and emotionless.
"It's nothing. I saw your missed call on my phone, so I called back. I'm sorry, I was in the shower just now and didn't hear my phone ringing.”Xiao Lin said with some concealment.
"Is there? I might have accidentally touched it." Bai Bingying was very calm.
Hearing Bai Bingying's words, Xiao Lin felt extremely disappointed. He sighed deeply in his heart and blamed himself for being too sentimental.
"Alright, I was just about to do the laundry.”Xiao Lin wanted to find an excuse to avoid too much awkwardness. In fact, he never had the habit of washing clothes at night. Unless there were special circumstances, he usually soaked them.
"Wait, don't hang up. I have something to tell you.”Bai Bingying stammered," You, I, I remember you promised to take me to the bell tower?”
When Xiao Lin heard this, his mood completely changed." Yes, yes, I promised you. If you have time, we'll go tomorrow afternoon."”
"Okay, I'll contact you tomorrow." Bai Bingying hurriedly hung up the phone.
Xiao Lin had been suppressing his longing for Bai Bingying for the past few days, and he was finally able to see her again tomorrow. Xiao Lin recalled that he was the one who had invited Bai Bingying to the bell tower after the two of them had won the award. However, he realized that things had changed.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]