Seeing Juliette's desperate look, I mimicked her previous behavior and deliberately rested my head on Joel's shoulder. Juliette's face darkened immediately.
The next moment, Juliette grabbed the microphone and adjusted her expression. "I heard Erica also prepared a dance. Would you like to see Erica perform for us?"
Juliette looked at me with a vengeful glare, clearly hoping to see me fail. The audience erupted with excitement, calling my name and urging me to go on stage. My name had frequently appeared in the campus news and forums, making me one of the most talked-about figures of the year.
Some acquaintances knew that I came from a scavenging background and had never received any dance training, so they tried to help me out.
Unlike last time, Joel didn't join the cheerers either but tried to pull me away, "Let's go. There's no need to emba—"
He didn't finish his sentence, but I could tell he meant I would make a fool of myself. To him, having someone from a background of picking up trash dance was like asking Anna Pavlova to feed pigs.
I smiled, shrugged off Joel's hand, and took the stage alone. "Guess I'll make a fool of myself then!"
I had the sound technician play some classical music and performed a little ballet dance. During the summer, I hired a one-on-one instructor to learn this dance just for this moment.
Wearing a flowing white dress, I danced gracefully, creating an ethereal presence. After being bombarded by high-energy dance routines, the sudden shift to a classical dance captivated the audience.
The room fell silent, the lights dimmed, and I spun in the center of the stage, my white dress fluttering.
When the dance ended, the audience was silent for a few seconds before erupting into thunderous applause. I heard cheers and saw the excitement on everyone's faces.
I even noticed Joel's eyes widening with joy and disbelief. I knew this moment would become a new legend about me at the university.
Backstage, Joel rushed in, ignoring the other people present, and hugged me tightly. "Erica, you've totally blown me away! Anything else I should know about you?"
When Joel entered, Juliette's face lit up, but her hope was soon crushed, replaced by a look of rage. I didn't push Joel away and deliberately said, "Joel, you asked me to be your girlfriend. The answer is yes."