169: Accompaniment

"Huihui, Carter has been learning dance since elementary school; she is excellent at it."

Roy spoke before Carter could. Carter was exceptionally good at dancing, but because of her personality, she did not like to perform in front of others.

"Lu, can you dance?"

Lu Qingyu: "I can't."

Roy: "Then can you play an instrument, sing, or something?"

Lu Qingyu: "That, I can do."

Roy's eyes lit up: "Do you know how to sing 'All the Time'? Carter loves dancing to this song the most."

Lu Qingyu: "I don't."

Roy: "How about 'You Are My Baby'?"

Lu Qingyu: "Never heard of it."

The two songs Roy mentioned were classics and well-known; they had even played on the school broadcast. He had not expected Lu Qingyu to not know them.

This was tricky. If Lu Qingyu did not know such popular music, what else could he possibly know?

Carter and Roy thought the same thing.

Carter cautiously asked about an even more popular song, one that everyone had to be able to hum a few bars of: " 'Fall in Love'?"

Lu Qingyu's eyes were clear; one look and it was obvious he did not know it at all.

Carter: "Not this one either?"

Roy: "Lu, do you really know how to sing?"

Lu Qingyu: "I suppose so."

Roy was starting to lose confidence in Lu Qingyu.

Carter thought for a moment and said: "It doesn't necessarily have to be a song I've danced to before. Lu, do you have any more lyrical pieces?"

Lu Qingyu: "I have those."

People who study dance are trained in improvisation, so as long as the piece isn't too tricky, it's usually fine.

Carter: "Then that will work. Lu, thank you for the trouble."

Lu Qingyu nodded. The banquet was almost at the scheduled time, so the student council members walked onto the stage to turn off the music, then said to everyone:

"Next, we are going to select this year's most popular male and female students. Is everyone looking forward to it?"

The students below cheered and jeered; this was their favorite part.

"The competition begins now. There are a total of 7 groups registered this year. After they finish their performances, don't forget to go to the campus website to vote for them."

"For the first group, let's welcome Lilith and Justin."

A handsome man and a beautiful woman took the stage, performing a fiery Latin dance.

Latin dance focuses on fast rhythms and the dancer's power. When they reached the exciting parts, the surrounding students could not help but cheer for them.

The three-minute performance of the first group ended.

The two students in the second group sang a love song, and the audience's reaction was also quite good.

Anna was in the fourth group. Originally, her scheduled partner was supposed to play the piano for her, but because Anna met Bruce, it was temporarily changed to Bruce.

Bruce was pulled on stage last minute. He had not originally intended to be Anna's performance partner, but since Anna had announced in public that he would be her partner tonight, as a gentleman, he would not let a lady lose face.

As the hottest contender for this year's campus queen, Anna drew cheers and calls from the students the moment she stepped on stage.

Coupled with Bruce's handsome appearance, the other students could not help but call them a beautiful pair.

Anna chose to dance jazz, and Bruce played a relatively cheerful piece for her.

On stage, Anna was radiant, her confidence evident in every gesture.

It was clear she had put a lot of effort into her dance, and Bruce's piano playing was also excellent. Although it was their first collaboration, their performance made the other students feel the power of it.

When Anna's performance ended, the whole audience applauded and cheered for her. Her gaze swept towards Carter, filled with disdain.

Other students followed her gaze to Carter and could not help but worry.

"Anna is so strong, does Carter even need to compete with her?"

"What kind of talent does Carter have? And Lu Qingyu, is he going to perform martial arts?"

"Carter is so pretty today, maybe she should just perform a runway walk."

"Anna was the second place in the popularity ranking last year, which means this year's first place is definitely hers."

Everyone chatted for a while, then continued to watch the fifth group's competition.

Roy stood next to Anna, his face turning red with anger as he heard the others' comments.

Because Roy knew that Carter danced much better than Anna.

Lu Qingyu had not seen Carter dance before, but looking at Carter's demeanor, he felt that this young girl should not be underestimated.

Carter's group was the seventh, with two more performances in between. Carter stood silently off-stage.

In the crowd, her face betrayed no joy or sorrow, and no one could guess what she was thinking, which actually made her appear somewhat profound.

Only Carter knew how fast her heart was beating, because she had never performed in front of so many people before.

The two groups' performances ended quickly, and she heard someone on stage call her and Lu Qingyu's names.

Lu Qingyu and Carter exchanged a glance, then slowly walked onto the stage.

Everyone was curious about what the two of them would perform.

They saw Carter standing in the center of the stage, while Lu Qingyu sat at the piano on the side of the stage.

The Host on stage said: "Next, let us enjoy Carter's solo dance, with accompaniment by Mr. Lu Qingyu."

The audience was in an uproar.

"Carter actually chose to do a solo dance just like Anna? Is she crazy? Does she even know how to dance?"

"Lu Qingyu knows how to play the piano?"

"Are these two intentionally choosing the same performance category as Anna and Bruce?"

"If that's the case, won't the contrast be very obvious? I think they made a wrong decision."

Anna had not expected Carter to be so brave, and she sneered, waiting to watch a good show.

However, the next scene left everyone shocked.

On stage, Carter gently performed a ballet starting pose. Carter closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, it was as if she had become a different person.

Seeing this, Lu Qingyu's hands gently began to play on the piano.

Adele's "Make You Feel My Love" flowed from his fingertips.

Carter emptied all her thoughts. The moment the music started, she stood on her tiptoes, her body moving lightly with the music.

Although she had never heard this music before, Carter's dance steps were exceptionally in sync with it.

Ballet is different from other dance styles. If someone is just cramming at the last minute, they usually choose jazz because it's easier to pick up.

But ballet is different; it's a dance style that requires extreme basic training. Even if a ballet dancer doesn't practice for three days, it will affect their stage performance.

Yet, every move Carter made was natural and elegant, and every tiptoe motion appeared exceptionally light.

Students in the audience who had studied ballet were stunned when they saw Carter like this, because they knew how difficult it was to achieve such a level.

Carter had learned modern ballet. Unlike classical ballet, it downplays the storytelling aspect of the dance and, while inheriting the foundation of classical ballet, fits many modern types of music.

When Carter stood on her tiptoes and spun around in place three times lightly, a gasp came from the audience.

And what surprised everyone even more was that Lu Qingyu started to sing.

"When the rain is blowing in your face"

"and the whole world is on your case"

"I could offer you a warm embrace"

"to make you feel my love."

The low, whisper-like voice echoed through the grand auditorium, and the content of the lyrics instantly made all the girls fall deep into it.