Chương 18: Chapter 18: The Prayer

The next morning was the 2nd day of the ACISC and Su Ning was awoken very early by Mother Qin to get ready. Mother Qin put some light makeup on Su Ning's face and curled her hair in loose waves before decorating her hair with a flower crown. Small pink flowers appeared scattered about her jet black hair. Su Ning wore a long blush halter dress with a ruffled tulle bottom. Overall, she looked angelic that Mother Qin and Lin Youqing couldn't help but snap several photos to post on social media. Since she will be performing in a few hours, Su Ning only had a light breakfast while the rest had their normal faire. She didn't forget to grab some candy before finally going to the concert hall to meet Chu Han.

Contestant no. 1 Ke Xizhi and Tang WeiWei of S High to sing "Now"

....

Contestant no. 5 Su Ning and Chu Han of Chang Yue to sing "The Prayer"

When it was finally their turn, Su Ning began to feel inexplicably nervous. As if sensing her discomfort, Chu Han held her hand as they went up the stage periodically making eye contact. After a few seconds, Su Ning's eyes were replaced with a calm and sne nodded at him and gave a small smile. At this moment, Chu Han felt that this little girl was absolutely breathtaking as if she were an angel descended from heaven. The soft instrumental music started to play and Su Ning began to sing.

"I pray you'll be our eyes

And watch us where we go

And help us to be wise

In times when we don't know

Let this be our prayer when we lose our way"

Her voice sounded pure and ethereal mesmerizing the audience. Chu Han's smooth calming voice matched with Su Ning's angelic voice. Theirs was a beautiful harmony all through the end.

...

Contestant no. 25 Bei Nana of M Academy to sing "Memory"

.....

After her performance, they made their way back to their seats and Ning immediately popped a mint candy in her mouth and offered one to Chu Han. "Chu Han Senior was amazing as always." Su Ning sweetly complimented. Chu Han who was used to the girl's playful personality, patted her head. He automatically began to help fix her dress so she could sit comfortably in the chair. 'Aiii, it is so good to have an older brother.' "Thank you, senior." "Mmm, be good." Su Ning leaned back on the seat and in the corner of her eye she saw Lin JinYan seated on the row behind them. The seats around him were empty and he had a gloomy look on his face.

Finally, it was time to announce the winners of the ACISC; there was a hush in the auditorium. In first place was Lin JinYan with 99 points, 2nd place was Xie Shi with 95 points, and 3rd place was Chu Han with 93 points. In 4th place was Bei Nana with 92 points and 5th place was Su Ning and Chu Han with 91 points. The ranking was posted by the ACISC organizers on their official website accompanied by videos of each performance. These were forwarded by hawkeyed citizens in Veibo.

Su Ning who had been gripping Chu Han's fingers let out a shriek as she congratulated him. 'I am so glad Chu Han can sign with XIIN entertainment.' She hugged the teary Chu Han and she prodded him to accept his award on the stage. After taking several photos and exchanging congratulations with the rest of the contestants, Su Ning left Chu Han and his mother to celebrate his win. Su Ning belatedly realized that she didn't get the chance to congratulate the first place winner Lin JinYan before she had left the concert hall. Looking at her phone she noticed that she also hadn't responded to his initial text as well. Oops.

[NingNing_Star]: Lin JinYan, congratulations on winning first place. (◍•ᴗ•◍)

[Rose_JinYan]: Thank you, Su Ning. Let's meet up again when we are back in A City, okay?

Su Ning hesitated for a few minutes before remembering Lin JinYan's gloomy face. Even after it was announced that he had won first prize, he just wore the same gentle smile but his eyes were calm. He stood alone on stage with the bouquet of flowers handed by his assistant while the other winners were taking photographs with friends and family. Somehow, this pricked Su Ning's heart a little bit. In her past life, she had lost contact with her high school friends and wasn't able to make many friends in university. Lin JinYan, he looks lonely. 'Lin JinYan is only 13 this year but he doesn't even look happy after getting first place. Aiii, meeting up once in a while should be fine.' Su Ning eventually decided.

[NingNing_Star]: Sure.

[Rose_JinYan]: Okay. ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ

That weekend Mother Qin, Su Ning, Li Youqing, and Lin Miao spent a wonderful time exploring and trying out different delicacies of S City.