Volume Two: Shadows of the Past Chapter Five: Ah Jing, Don’t!

At the venue of the International Street Dance Competition, the entire audience was chanting in unison.

Chen Shuo listened to the roaring voices, his mouth agape, unable to utter a word.

When he finally snapped out of his daze, he turned to Chen Jing, incredulously asking, “Are they… are they calling out your name?”

Chen Jing shrugged, “I suppose?”

“Why are they shouting for you?” Chen Shuo was baffled. Just two days ago, when they arrived at the venue, no one even knew who they were. Yet now, after a single day’s absence, everyone seemed to recognize Chen Jing. And it wasn’t just casual recognition; judging by the excitement of the crowd, it was as if Chen Jing were their idol.

“Maybe! It’s because of yesterday’s competition,” Chen Jing replied, uncertain.

Chen Shuo looked at him in surprise, “Yesterday’s competition?”

Chen Jing nodded, “Yes.” It must have been because of his performance yesterday, he thought.

Now it was Chen Shuo’s turn to be confused. What had happened during yesterday’s competition? The day before, when he and Chen Jing came to compete, things were normal and no one called out for Chen Jing. How could the atmosphere change so drastically in just one day?

As the crowd’s chanting gradually faded, Chen Jing and Chen Shuo walked toward the contestants’ area. Whenever someone passed by Chen Jing, they would greet him with a smile.

“Jing, why does everyone seem to know you? What exactly happened during your match yesterday?” Unable to contain his curiosity, Chen Shuo pressed him for answers.

“It was nothing major. The match was pretty intense yesterday, so the audience got excited, that’s all,” Chen Jing replied offhandedly.

Chen Shuo was bewildered, “Really nothing else happened? Then why would the audience cheer for you?”

Chen Jing continued, “Oh, it’s probably because I performed well yesterday.”

“Performed well?” That alone shouldn’t be enough for the entire audience to remember you.

“Yes, yes.” Chen Jing nodded with absolute certainty.

Seeing Chen Jing’s confident expression, Chen Shuo was at a loss. “What were the rules for yesterday’s semifinals?” Since he couldn’t figure it out, he decided to keep asking.

“Thirty-two contestants, two rounds of duels. Winners from the first round formed one group for the second round, and losers formed another. The eight contestants who won both rounds advanced. The sixteen who won only one round entered additional matches—the losers’ resurrection round. Through continuous duels, the final two winners joined the eight all-victors to advance to the finals,” Chen Jing explained in detail.

“So did you advance as an all-victor or from the losers’ group?” Chen Shuo asked in confusion.

“From the losers’ group,” Chen Jing responded directly.

“The losers’ group? That doesn’t make sense.” Chen Jing’s answer astonished Chen Shuo.

By his understanding, since the audience was so excited for Chen Jing, his performance must have been dazzling. Logically, Chen Jing should have advanced as an undefeated winner. How could someone with a defeat earn such recognition from the crowd?

Chen Jing shrugged, offering no further explanation. Indeed, he had advanced from the losers’ group last night.

For personal reasons, Chen Jing had arrived late yesterday. By the time he got to the venue, the first round had already begun. Not participating meant he was considered to have forfeited, and thus was ruled as having lost the first round. After winning the second round, he entered the losers’ group and fought through the resurrection matches for the final two qualifying spots.

The outcome was clear: Chen Jing triumphed through each stage, secured his place, and advanced to the finals. The audience had been captivated by his performance.

Chen Shuo, unable to make sense of it, simply shook his head and let it go. Now wasn’t the time to dwell on such matters—the competition was about to start, and he needed to focus on researching the other nine contestants for Chen Jing.

However, to Chen Shuo’s dismay, with only himself and Chen Jing attending the event, and his own lingering illness, he had managed to gather very limited information on the other contestants. There was little he could analyze.

But Chen Jing was unconcerned. In his view, no matter what others did, he only needed to showcase his own dance skills and display his full strength, just as he had yesterday.

There were ten contestants who had advanced to the finals. The rules for the final were simple:

A single stage, ten contestants. Each contestant could ascend the stage to defend, accepting challenges from the remaining nine. Losers would step off, while winners remained to await the next challenger.

Each contestant had two chances to challenge but could not challenge the same person twice. In the end, if a contestant remained on stage and no one challenged them, that contestant would be crowned champion. There was a faster way: if a contestant, upon taking the stage, defeated each of the other nine once, he would be declared champion directly, since no contestant could challenge another twice. Though this method seemed simple, it was the hardest, amounting to a one-against-nine challenge.

Once the champion was determined, the remaining nine contestants would not be ranked further; instead, they would share the honor of being among the top ten of the World Street Dance Competition. Thus, there was no second or third place—only one champion, with the others all recognized as top ten. This was the core spirit of the competition: the winner is king!

Only the sole victor deserves to be remembered.

When all the contestants were ready, the host announced the start of the competition.

Because of the format, everyone knew the first contestant to ascend the stage was at a great disadvantage—essentially, it was a waste of their only chance to lose. So, once the competition began, the contestants looked at each other, none willing to be the first to take the stage.

Chen Shuo naturally noticed this. He assumed Chen Jing understood it as well, so he didn’t mention it, convinced Chen Jing wouldn’t be the first to defend the stage.

But when he looked up to discuss the other contestants with Chen Jing, he saw Chen Jing already preparing to step onto the stage.

Chen Shuo, suddenly panic-stricken, shouted, “Jing! What are you doing?”