Chapter 60: One After Another

“Junior’s shadow? Sorry, Teacher Shen, you suddenly brought this up, so I don’t understand what you mean.”

Yu Qing chose to continue playing dumb.

Shen Tang’s words could very well be another kind of test indicated by Fu Yi.

Without enough reason, it wasn’t worth trusting, so he replied with a confused look.

“That’s not important.”

Shen Tang shook her head, then began searching through the tablet in her hand.

She continued.

“I just saw traces of Fu Yi’s past self in you.”

“Back then, she too changed from a carefree child to an ambitious businesswoman.”

“You both share an obsession and unyielding pursuit for a certain goal, and that pursuit has a tendency to become unhealthy.”

“And your target is probably related to Fu Yi, right?”

“I’m saying this just as a reminder, not to stop you from anything. After all, I don’t want to see a promising dance prodigy go astray in front of me.”

As she spoke, she held the tablet in front of Yu Qing.

It showed the analysis of Yu Qing’s recent practice results.

In the summary at the end, Shen Tang had given a rating of excellent.

“Your talent is extraordinary, a rarity in my life.”

“From my observation, your gift for Female Step far exceeds Male Step.”

“So in the future, I’ll focus on teaching you Female Step. As for Male Step, you can just practice it casually.”

“For the School Anniversary, that’s enough.”

“I failed to grasp the last person with such talent, and I’ve regretted it for years. So, I’ve placed great expectations on you.”

“So, Yu Qing.”

Shen Tang’s tone turned serious.

She looked at Yu Qing, a sharp glint in her eyes.

Yu Qing had only seen that kind of gaze when Zhang Haoxuan drew gold from a single pull.

“I won’t ask you to stop what you’re doing now, but I hope you’ll think carefully about it.”

“Ah…”

Yu Qing walked out of the practice room alone.

Behind him, Shen Tang’s gaze was fixed on him, but he ignored it.

He slung his backpack over his shoulder, ready to leave.

“Teacher Shen Tang is a dance prodigy with Province-level Honor. If not for that incident, she might have stepped onto a stage at the level of the Nation. Isn’t it a pity to reject her so easily?”

Outside the door, a casually dressed man leaned against the wall, looking at Yu Qing with a warm smile.

Even though he wore a simple tracksuit, his hair was still styled with mousse, giving him a slightly odd look.

“And you are?”

Yu Qing’s tone tightened, a trace of wariness in his eyes.

This strange man had eavesdropped on his conversation with Shen Tang and even knew her identity—definitely not an ordinary person.

“Ah, sorry, I rushed over and only changed my clothes. Didn’t have time to fix my hair. Please don’t mind it.”

The strange man seemed to notice Yu Qing’s scrutiny and explained his appearance naturally, still smiling gently.

“As for who I am, that’s not important.”

“What’s important is that we have a common enemy.”

***

Now, let’s turn to another side of the story.

“Will you be gone for a long time this time?”

Inside the apartment, Zhou Min sat sideways on the sofa’s armrest, looking down at Fu Yi beside her.

Fu Yi was playing on her phone—an old-school game of Tetris.

Colorful blocks piled high on the screen, with only a long straight piece missing.

“This time, it’s a critical matter. Not a single mistake is allowed.”

Fu Yi replied without even lifting her head.

The blocks in her hand were nearly impossible to stack further.

Without a long piece soon, this game would end in failure.

“Not telling Lin Wei?”

Zhou Min asked without thinking.

“I’m still not sure if she can be trusted.”

Fu Yi shook her head, her icy expression unchanging.

“I thought your relationship with her was pretty good.”

Zhou Min was a little surprised.

“Just acting. Like how I pretend to be outgoing at school, I can also act friendly in front of her.”

“Keeping her close just makes it easier to watch her. If she’s a spy sent by someone, that’s still better than lurking in the shadows.”

“So that’s why you never let Lin Wei enter the kitchen or eat the food she brings?”

Zhou Min seemed to realize something, and her thoughts continued.

“What about me?”

“What’s with you today? Why are you asking such pointless questions?”

Fu Yi paused at Zhou Min’s words, then turned her head and gave her a strange look before answering calmly.

“I brought you up myself, and I’ve seen your abilities. If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t have kept you by my side.”

“Just asking.”

Zhou Min was disappointed by the lack of a satisfying answer but forced herself to act indifferent.

“And Yu Qing’s side? Is it settled?”

“Yes, I’ve spoken with him. But even if I hadn’t, it wouldn’t matter.”

“That little rat probably can’t wait for me to get as far away from him as possible right now.”

Mentioning Yu Qing, a trace of interest finally flickered in Fu Yi’s calm eyes, her lips curving slightly.

“There’s already too much coincidence between the little rat and that impostor.”

“But I don’t have time to deal with them yet. I just gave him a light warning so he won’t try anything while I’m gone.”

Fu Yi never expected that the little hamster she found in the crowd could actually be a sewer rat in disguise.

At first, she thought she’d just tease him and toss some compensation his way.

If Yu Qing wanted money, she’d give him tens of thousands.

If he wanted fame, she could turn him into a debuting star and make him popular.

But what he never should have done was climb the vine and set his sights on her.

Thinking of the clues her investigators had dug up, her brows furrowed slightly.

That there could be a woman so similar to her in this world…

Fu Yi had looked into this as well.

There are no two identical leaves in the world, but there can be two almost identical ones.

She wasn’t surprised that someone looked like her, but it was truly unexpected for such a person to appear in her own life.

This couldn’t be a coincidence.

Someone was definitely laying a trap for her.

If she didn’t have to go to South America for an important negotiation, she wouldn’t have left such a potential threat roaming before her eyes.

“But I have to say, I didn’t expect you not to notice and even hide your mistake so I wouldn’t find out.”

Fu Yi glanced at Zhou Min with a meaningful look.

At this moment, Zhou Min was playing on her phone, her emotions unreadable.

“Well, you’re just too rational. It’s still too hard for you to judge emotional differences.”

She chuckled, her tone half teasing, half chilly.

“Next time, be more careful. Don’t repeat the same mistake.”

“Playing best friends with you every day, I hope you don’t forget your place. I won’t forgive you a second time.”

Fu Yi shifted her gaze back to the phone screen.

The game had already ended.

Even to the very last, she never got another long piece.

The blocks she stacked to challenge her limits became the main cause of her failure.

“Strange. The first block was a long piece, but for the rest of the game, there wasn’t another one.”

Fu Yi muttered, but didn’t dwell on it.

She slipped her phone into her pocket and stood up, heading to her room.

Behind her, where she couldn’t see, Zhou Min’s eyes shimmered with deep loneliness.