Jian Xingsui felt as if someone was watching him, but when he turned around, he saw Fu Yingdi chatting with Shen Xingchen. They seemed engrossed in their conversation, paying him no mind.

It must have been a figment of my imagination...

He shook his head, unable to resist sneaking a few more glances. He wondered if the celebrated actor Fu had consumed the throat lozenge. His throat was bothering him, and that candy might provide some relief.

Tuya noticed his gaze and whispered, "Suisui, do you want to go over and greet Teacher Fu?"

Jian Xingsui quickly diverted his eyes and responded in a fluster, "No, no, I was just looking."

Tuya was somewhat startled by his intense reaction.

Soon after, the blonde-haired female mentor smiled gently and said, "Relax, I mean no harm. I just wanted to tell you that Brother Fu isn't as intimidating as he seems. He might be strict during practice, but he genuinely cares about all of you. If you admire him, don't hesitate to strike up a conversation. There's no need to be afraid."

Just as Jian Xingsui was about to respond, An Ran interrupted, "I think Brother Fu is amazing. It's only right for him to be strict with us. But in reality, he's not severe at all. I feel that Brother Fu is quite gentle."

Unlike Jian Xingsui, who often spoke in hushed tones, An Ran's voice, though soft, carried well, almost as if he intended for it to be overheard.

"Suisui, you really shouldn't think of Brother Fu that way," An Ran remarked, glancing at Jian Xingsui with concern and not giving him a chance to clarify, "He's genuinely a good person."

"..."

I haven't even said anything yet.

Jian Xingsui took a quick look in that direction, relieved to see that Fu Jinxiao seemed not to be paying attention and hadn't looked their way. As for whether he heard their conversation, Jian Xingsui couldn't be sure. While he could usually overlook An Ran's antics, his temper flared when it came to his idol, especially when he felt his words were being twisted.

Jian Xingsui shot An Ran a cold, icy look.

As the recording session was about to resume, Tuya was called away. The other mentors left too, leaving just the students.

Startled by Jian Xingsui's cold gaze, An Ran hesitated before asking in a meek voice, "Did I say something wrong? I'm sorry, I was just trying to help..."

"There's no need," Jian Xingsui cut him off, "I don't need your assistance."

A wounded expression crossed An Ran's face.

Unmoved, Jian Xingsui continued, "Your elder brother approached me, asking me to keep my distance from you. Were you aware of this?"

An Ran hesitated. He was indeed aware, but admitting it would be awkward. So he remained silent, unsure of how to respond.

"Now, I'm returning the favor," Jian Xingsui said coldly, leaning in to whisper, "Stay out of my way."

Taken aback, An Ran looked up to meet Jian Xingsui's dark eyes and heard him say, "What's yours will always be yours. I have no intention of competing with you. But your impatience might make you look ungraceful."

Although the words seemed unrelated, An Ran understood their underlying message perfectly.

For the first time, An Ran's demeanor wasn't soft in front of Jian Xingsui. His gaze became more contemplative. Eventually, he said nothing and turned to leave.

...

Onstage, all the teams had finished their performances. It was now the much-anticipated moment to vote for the "Popularity King" of each group.

The production team had already tallied the votes. All participants gathered on stage as Teacher Li announced, "The results for the Audience's Favorite and Best Performance will soon be displayed. On my count of three, two, one, please turn around!"

The numbers on the large screen blinked in a countdown, and all the students turned around to observe their individual data and support values.

This was of paramount importance to everyone. During their debut performance, these metrics were revealing in many ways, segregating the top-ranking students from the lower-tiered ones.

When the data for the “Youth of China” group displayed, the screen paused to unveil the rankings:

Highest Support Value: Shen Xingchen with 132 audience votes.

Best Performer as rated by the instructors: Jian Anran.

The moment these significant words appeared on the screen, Anran broke into a smile, but Shen Xingchen looked over at his teammate. The always self-centric boy, now the top audience favorite, turned instinctively to Jian Xingsui. Even the rest of the team, instead of celebrating the top achievers, directed their gaze towards Xingsui.

There wasn't any other reason.

Everyone knew who had worked the hardest during this period. The one who constantly stayed up late until the wee hours, tirelessly arranging songs, being the last to leave and the first to arrive. Everyone felt that if their group received any honor, Xingsui deserved a share of it.

Only Xingsui smiled and walked over, embracing Shen Xingchen: "Congratulations. I knew you could do it."

Suppressing his emotions, Shen Xingchen scoffed, "Of course! Don't you know who I am?"

The online audience had mixed feelings:

"Even though Anran and Xingchen ranked well, something feels off."

"That look in Xingsui's eyes when he saw the rankings was heart-wrenching."

"Jian Xingsui has always been a poor dancer."

"His fundamentals are weak. Some movements lack power. He didn't deserve a high rank."

Once all the rankings were announced, the recording was essentially over.

Backstage, participants orderly exited. Some contestants mingled with the fans and family who came to support. Xingsui's group followed their leader, Shen Xingchen.

Nearby, the instructors gathered. Anran rushed to share his joy with his elder brother, Jian Zhi.

Shen Xingchen approached to chat with his mother, Xu Enzhen, who was conveniently standing beside Fu Jinxiao. Upon spotting her son, she couldn't resist pulling him into a conversation.

This left Xingsui awkwardly standing, debating if he should leave first.

As he hesitated, he noticed the movie star Fu, freshly off the stage, resting and sipping water. Contemplating a greeting, he was about to take a step forward when someone behind him preemptively called out, "Brother Fu!"

An exuberant Anran approached, his face beaming with joy and enthusiasm.

Xingsui chose to remain silent.

Fu Jinxiao, who had been observing Xingsui's internal struggle and betting whether the boy would dare approach, was suddenly interrupted. Although annoyed, he concealed his displeasure, casting a nonchalant glance at the interrupter. "What is it?"

"I wanted to thank you," said Anran, somewhat shyly. "I understand the Best Performer is based on instructor votes. I wanted to express my gratitude for your recognition."

Fu Jinxiao responded with a noncommittal, "Is that so?"

An Ran gently nodded, standing there with his rosy lips and pearly teeth making him look incredibly handsome. He appeared both shy and deeply touched, as if truly overwhelmed with emotion: "Thank you, Brother Fu. I truly appreciate the recognition from all the mentors. I... I've been practicing dancing and training hard just for this moment, to be noticed. Now, I feel like my efforts haven't gone to waste. Thank you..."

Fu JinXiao listened without much emotion.

In truth, he admired hardworking youngsters. By all rights, An Ran was actually quite impressive in many respects. However, for some reason, whenever he looked at An Ran, another face popped into his mind.

Even though that boy worked just as hard, lacking a foundation in dance but still sacrificing his own practice time for the team, the audience would never acknowledge these efforts. They would just feel he wasn't dedicated enough and that his dancing wasn't up to par. Regardless of success or failure, that boy never complained, silently enduring in the background.

An Ran moved a bit closer.

Just then, a cameraman approached, seemingly ready to capture a shot of their conversation, but Fu JinXiao swiftly sidestepped, avoiding the camera's focus.

Left hanging, An Ran felt somewhat awkward.

Having been in the entertainment industry for years, Fu JinXiao understood all the underlying currents. He could choose to acknowledge them or not. He bore no ill will towards a young man striving for success, but for some inexplicable reason, he felt irritated. He didn't even want to engage in polite small talk.

"You don't need to thank me," Fu JinXiao responded coldly, his typically feigned smile appearing rather frosty now. "If you are insistent on expressing gratitude, you're thanking the wrong person."

An Ran paused, taken aback.

Lifting an eyelid, Fu JinXiao remarked, "The Best Performance vote was cast by all five mentors. You might have missed it in the list, but you only received one vote, as did Jian XingSui."

An inkling of realization appeared in An Ran's widening eyes.

"Yes, that's right," Fu JinXiao said with a smirk. "I was the one who voted."

...

the next day

Once the broadcast concluded, all the trainees were granted a brief respite.

An announcement from the production team revealed that due to scheduling concerns, they decided to invite some trainees' family members for a visit, aiming to film a special interaction segment.

Prior to filming, each trainee was handed a questionnaire.

Upon receiving his form, Jian XingSui exclaimed, "They want to know our parents' blood types?"

Shen XingChen remarked, "The production team sure is thorough. Why didn't they ask for our zodiac signs as well?"

The rest of the dormitory burst into laughter.

While Jian XingSui knew he had type A blood, he embarrassingly realized he didn't know the blood types of the Zhang family, his supposed biological parents. The realization of the baby mix-up had been discovered by the Zhang family. They contacted the Jian family, and a DNA test was done with An Ran and the family patriarch, Jian Gu, which confirmed the mix-up.

Subsequent events led to major upheaval.

As the shocking revelation came to light, both families were in turmoil. With numerous issues coming up one after the other, Jian XingSui never got a DNA test done with the Zhang family. In fact, he didn’t even know their blood types. This oversight persisted because Jian XingSui was initially in denial about not being the biological son of the Jian family. He was reluctant to have any ties with the Zhang family. Moreover, the assertive arrival of An Ran to the scene caused many things to be put on hold.

Blood type?

He truly hadn't paid attention.

Shen XingChen leaned in, saying, "You're type A too? So am I! What a coincidence!"

Jian Xingsui snapped back to reality and smiled, "Indeed, what a coincidence."

"You all continue. I'll step out for a moment." Jian Xingsui paced out, thinking it might be simpler to ask An Ran about it. After all, An Ran would surely know. Fortunately, their dormitories were close.

Reaching the destination, he knocked: "Excuse the interruption."

The heads in An Ran's dormitory all turned his way.

Considering it a private matter, Jian Xingsui said, "An Ran, could you step out for a moment?"

Zhou Xun looked at him suspiciously, but An Ran held Zhou Xun back, approached Jian Xingsui, and they both left for a empty corridor. Once outside, An Ran asked, "What's the matter?"

"It's nothing." Jian Xingsui handed him the form, "What blood type are Mr. and Mrs. Zhang? Could you help me fill this out? I'm not sure."

An Ran sighed in relief upon realizing the simple request, saying while taking the form, "Oh, that's it? You should've said so earlier. They both are type B..."

Jian Xingsui didn't catch that, "What?"

An Ran froze as he noticed Jian Xingsui's blood type.

A. Jian Xingsui was type A.

But both Mr. and Mrs. Zhang were type B. How could two B-type parents give birth to an A-type child?

An Ran suddenly remembered a conversation between the Zhangs and the doctor from the past, their expressions had seemed odd, even evasive. It hadn't seemed significant then, but now it raised so many questions!

Could it be...

Not only was he not their biological child, but Jian Xingsui wasn't either?

And if so, who were Jian Xingsui's real parents?

An Ran's grip on the paper tightened. Recalling jokes from teammates about Shen Xingchen and Jian Xingsui looking alike, could they possibly be related?

Jian Xingsui, after waiting for a while, looked puzzled, "What's wrong?"

Snapping back, An Ran stammered, "I-It's nothing."

What should he do?

Should he tell him?