After Backstabbing The Villain, The System Allowed Me To Enter The Book Again - Chapter 18

The performance of Romeo and Juliet was a tremendous success. The classmates cheered and applauded, the sound rolling like thunder. Backstage, Fang Xiao Zheng and the others grew even more restless after seeing the opponent’s impressive performance, constantly glancing out the window, wondering when Shen Huaixin would return to steady their nerves.

“What are you nervous about? Huaixin won’t leave us hanging,” the twin-tailed girl paced back and forth, her headpiece jingling loudly.

The baby-faced girl patted her shoulder, forcing her to sit: “Sit down first, there’s still more than twenty minutes.”

Fang Xiao Zheng came to her senses, letting out a small laugh: “We’re just backup singers, really—worrying about nothing.”

“Yeah, yeah.” The two nodded quickly, like pecking chicks.

After Qi Yi and the others finished their performance and returned to their seats, many classmates were still immersed in excitement, whispering about the previous performance. Su Zihan sat beside Qi Yi, half-relaxed, half-disappointed, letting out a sigh.

“Thank you for staying with me to finish the performance.”

“…I didn’t perform well,” Qi Yi admitted honestly.

“I know,” Su Zihan looked at him. “Your expressions weren’t as serious as during rehearsal.”

“I’m sorry.”

Su Zihan lowered her eyes in silence for a moment, then looked up and smiled: “If you’re worried about Shen Huaixin, you can go. After all, it’s a class performance—if something really happens, it’s understandable to worry about her during your act.”

Qi Yi had originally planned to get up, but hearing her words made him feel guilty:

“No need to go. She’ll come back herself once everything’s fine.”

Minutes later, Qi Yi stood up, unable to stay seated any longer. “What’s she doing? It’s almost her turn.”

Both knew exactly who “she” referred to. Su Zihan realized that his attention had barely left Shen Huaixin the entire time. In the past, Qi Yi would never have spared her even a glance.

However, as long as she won the campus beauty title, it would make him realize that the girl by his side was the better one—some people simply weren’t worth his attention.

Qi Yi left the audience seats, called a few classmates and teachers, explained the situation, and headed toward the library. His brows were tightly furrowed, his pace swift, his mind racing chaotically. Compared to his absent-mindedness on stage, he now resembled Romeo searching for a lover in danger.

When he arrived at the deserted scene and saw obvious bloodstains and traces of a struggle on the ground, he was completely drained. Regret slowly festered; he suddenly couldn’t forgive himself for ignoring Shen Huaixin a few minutes ago, even just telling the security to check.

He took out his phone and called Shen Huaixin.

She answered promptly: “Qi Yi? You don’t need to come. Thanks for worrying.”

“….” Qi Yi took a deep breath. “You’re not hurt, right? Where are you?”

“I’m fine. I’m with Shen Chumo, just… we probably won’t make it back in time for the performance.”

Backstage, Fang Xiao Zheng grabbed her hair, accidentally pulling out a few strands. “Huaixin said she can’t make it! What do we do?! Aaahhh…”

“Damn it,” the twin-tailed girl’s face went pale. “We’re going to become a laughing stock.”

“I’ll tell the host to cancel our act. At worst, we just don’t perform,” the baby-faced girl comforted them, though she still felt disappointed inside.

One minute on stage is ten years of effort offstage. No one knew how many hours they had spent after class preparing for this performance, how long they had rehearsed, or how many throat lozenges they had swallowed. Now that Shen Huaixin wasn’t coming, a slight sense of grievance lingered.

“The missing part is the lead, not backup singers like us who can be replaced anytime,” Fang Xiao Zheng said firmly, lowering her eyes. “We… have to cancel.”

As expected.

Without Shen Huaixin as the backbone, no one could hold the stage.

When the backstage staff came to urge them, the baby-faced girl pressed her lips together, lowering her head silently. The twin-tailed girl clenched her fists, turning away. Finally, the staff’s gaze fell on Fang Xiao Zheng’s reddened eyes, waiting for her reply.

“I… we…”

Fang Xiao Zheng hesitated. Peeking through the backstage door gap, she saw her mother sitting in the audience with eyes full of expectation. She heard the singer on stage, young and inexperienced but earnest, and her heart was struck violently, a mix of sourness and pain.

…She wanted her mother to see the shining version of herself. She had never been her mother’s pride, only presenting food when Shen Huaixin asked her to, which wasn’t even meant for her mother in the first place.

“Sing. We’ll sing.”

She heard herself speak.

“…?!” The baby-faced girl looked up, eyes wide.

“Huh?” The twin-tailed girl turned her head and bluntly asked, “Where’s the lead singer?”

“I am,” Fang Xiao Zheng paused, pointing to the other two. “And you. We’re all lead singers.”

Amid the chaotic sound system, the three looked at each other, hearing each other’s quick breaths and hearts pounding.

The baby-faced girl hesitated: “Can… we do it? We haven’t even rehearsed together…”

Fang Xiao Zheng remained silent. The atmosphere calmed, and even the twin-tailed girl slumped.

Fang Xiao Zheng stretched out her right hand, thumb and pinky extended, the other three fingers curled. Her left hand went to her waist, striking a pose: “Don’t forget—we are—”

The other two instinctively posed as well, activating their combination move.

“The XinXin Girls, forever united!”

On stage, the song reached its climax. Lights and music merged, as if youth itself was shining. Backstage, the XinXin Girls raised their fists, their team spirit burning, vowing to dominate the stage.

“We haven’t rehearsed together? Then we’ll just shout with all our strength! Key up! Even if our vocal cords break, we won’t stop! No lead singer? Then we’ll be the brightest lead singers!”

The twin-tailed girl grinned. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

“The next act is highly anticipated, and a worthy competitor to Romeo and Juliet,” the host smiled knowingly. “These brave performers requested to raise the key, pushing their vocal limits!”

Many in the audience had already heard rumors of the campus beauty rivalry, waiting eagerly. The hall buzzed with excitement. The host waited for the audience to quiet down, then slowly built anticipation:

“Please welcome Fang Xiao Zheng, He Tianyu, and Xiong Chentao, passionately performing Chasing Dreams!”

The host stepped down. Whispers ran through the audience:

“The host didn’t say Shen Huaixin is in this? But she’s listed as the lead on the program.”

“Scam! The protagonist of the campus beauty rivalry withdrew? Thought she was so bold, but she doesn’t even dare go on stage? And has her juniors sing instead?”

“Refund!”

“Shen Huaixin? Don’t chicken out! Come on!”

The murmurs of disappointment escalated, barely quieting when the trio went on stage. They faced the microphones without fear. After ten seconds of the intro, Xiong Chentao opened her mouth. Milliseconds later, the other two voices joined in:

“Where in the world is a place full of flowers? If it exists, I’ll find it.”

Slightly off-pitch, slightly rough, slightly unstable… Every flaw was magnified by the microphones. Once the audience settled, what they heard was the raw reality of a crash scene.

Fang Xiao Zheng relaxed, stepping to the rhythm, moving her head with Tianyu. They exchanged glances, smiling, syncing their vocal tracks just like during rehearsal.

“I want to stand atop the highest peak, regardless of cliffs and dangers.”

The lyrics were interesting, the melody dynamic and appealing. Paired with their singing, the audience couldn’t find the words to describe it, only feeling a rush of excitement. Strange, uncertain, but exhilarating.

“Maybe I’m clumsy, but I’ll keep exploring, giving all my youth with no regrets.”

Xiong Chentao raised her fist, suspended mid-air, not looking at anyone. She knew with companions beside her, her effort wouldn’t be in vain.

Soon, fists met, she clenched the microphone and smiled down, her voice growing even stronger.

Su Zihan observed coldly, thinking the singing was nothing special—just relying on a catchy melody. In a school setting, it wasn’t impressive, and without a lead singer, backup singers couldn’t achieve much.

She shook her head dismissively, relaxing, sipping her milk tea.

“Run forward—!”

Milk sprayed onto the floor.

Su Zihan scrambled to clean it up, ears still ringing from the last word of the lyrics. The off-pitch notes were evident, but… she looked up, incredulous, at the three on stage. They sang with all their might, faces flushed red, neck veins bulging.

Their posture was messy, yet incredibly moving.

“Facing cold stares and mockery, how can one feel the vastness of life without hardships!”

The audience seemed to flash through scenes of youth—running, falling, rising, and running again. Their destinations differed, but they shared a common name: the horizon.

The audience erupted, completely ignited.

What a perfect combination! Off-key notes reflected the struggle of youths crashing into walls yet continuing to search; the hoarse, raw screams embodied fearless courage. It was unpolished, even chaotic, yet so what?

This was youth itself!

On stage, the three, dizzy from oxygen loss, exchanged glances, seeing six big words in each other’s eyes: “Damn, we raised it too high.”

But what could they do?

“Keep running—!”

As long as they weren’t dead, they’d sing with all they had.

Their all-out singing perfectly embodied the song’s spirit—full of emotion, devoid of technique. The raw, unrelenting off-pitch sincerity moved everyone.

“Dwelling in failure is cowardice; as long as there’s life, clench your fists tight.”

“Before the dawn, we must be braver, awaiting the brightest moment at sunrise.”

The next phrase was poised to erupt, making every listener’s bl00d boil, waiting for the three girls to shout the climactic words as if a volcano was about to erupt.

Some in the audience stood up, hands cupped around their mouths, shouting along with the music: “Run forward!”

More joined in, standing and singing: “Keep running!”

“We run!”