"Anyway, he is an idol. He might try to create problems for you. If he did, just tell me. I will let him know what it means to mess with my friend."
Irina declared.
Xin, who is also in the same class as her, had already debuted as an Idol for almost half a year. He might have done more work than Irina. However, if one was to compare the popularity, Xin was nothing in front of Irina.
Alan smiled at Irina's protectiveness.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Rather it is he who should be afraid of me."
Alan said.
"I know you're not," Irina said. "But I'm still worried about you. He's an idol, and he has a lot of influence. He could make things difficult for you."
"I know," Alan said. "But I don't think he would want to ruin his idol image more than he already did."
Despite numerous fans cursing at Alan, there were also people who showed contempt for Xin's actions on the post of them fighting.
They said that idols should not show such behavior or that it was his own fault for getting beaten up by Alan.
Anyway, if the situation blows up, it doesn't look very good for either of them. Although it was worse for Xin. Alan could live with a bad reputation but can an idol do the same?
Irina nodded. "That would be good!" she said. "Still be careful!"
"I will be," Alan promised. "I'll be careful."
Irina smiled. "Good," she said. "Now, let's go get some ice cream. I am tired of all the practice."
Alan laughed. "Sounds good to me."
The three of them walked to the nearest ice cream shop and ordered their favorite flavors. As they sat at the table eating their ice cream, Alan told Irina and Cecilia about what had happened with Xin in detail.
Cecilia was shocked when she heard what Xin had done to Alan without knowing anything. She found Xin, who is her classmate, extremely creepy.
How can a guy who is rejected behave as such? She thought.
"That's terrible!" she exclaimed. "I can't believe he would do something like this."
Irina nodded in agreement. "He's a bully," she said. "He deserves what he got."
Alan shrugged. "It's no big deal," he said. "I'm just glad that's over with."
*******
The next day, the teacher called Alan and Xin. The incident appeared to have reached their ears and they weren't happy about it.
The teacher, Mr. Smith called Alan and Xin into his office.
"I know that as young men there would be some differences between each other," Mr. Smith said. "But that doesn't give you the right to fight. You need to learn to resolve your differences peacefully."
Alan and Xin looked at each other. Neither one of them wanted to apologize.
"I'm not going to apologize to him," Xin said. "It's his fault!"
Xin accused Alan.
Mr. Smith glared at him.
"No matter what the problem, it didn't give you the right to attack him. And you should know your status as an idol. We might ignore things but we can't ignore fights between students."
Mr. Smith said sternly. As idols, there are certain privileges that they enjoy but hitting other students was not one of them.
"Now apologize to each other!"
Alan sighed.
"I'm sorry!" Xin said to Alan. He was glaring at Alan.
"Me too!" Alan replied.
Neither sounded very genuine, but there was nothing Mr. Smith could do. He could only remind the students that there would be consequences if one were to break the rules of the school.
"Good!"
Mr. Smith said.
"Now, go back to class," Mr. Smith said. "And try to be more civil to each other."
Alan and Xin left Mr. Smith's office and went back to class. Xin was fuming with anger. Not only did he get punched by a guy who was hitting on his girl, but he also had to apologize to him.
As they walked down the hallway, Xin turned to Alan.
"I'll make you pay for this!"
Xin said angrily. He gritted his teeth and went to class.
*SIGH!
Alan also went back to class. He didn't want to get involved with him anymore but it seems that the other party is bent on getting his revenge.
******
Days went by but Xin didn't come looking for Alan. Alan also didn't care whether Xin came looking for trouble or not.
He had more important stuff to worry about. One of them was the Rising Star: Melodious Battle contest which was going to start soon.
Irina and Cecilia's singing had also reached the level at which there was little to no difference between the original vocals and theirs.
Finally, it was the day of the contest and Alan along with Irina and Cecilia went to the contest.
There was a car with a driver appointed by the company for Irina and Cecilia. The driver drove smoothly to the Auditorium of the contest.
After Irina, Cecilia, and Alan got out of the car, the driver respectfully said, "I will wait for you in the nearby parking lot. Please call me when you need the car."
Lin Ce nodded and said, "Thank you for your trouble."
The driver quickly said, "No trouble at all. Director Zayden has instructed me to listen to you. Driving is also my responsibility anyway."
With that, the driver got into the car and drove away.
Alan turned to look at the building in front of him. As expected of the prestigious contest that all the Sunshine City watches, the Auditorium was huge and many people were also near the place.
"Alan, come quick!"
Irina dragged Alan excitedly. She had watched the contest many times on TV and dreamed about performing there one day. She didn't expect to get the chance so quickly.
Cecilia looked equally pumped and quickly went inside the Auditorium. Both of them looked sideways and their eyes glittered with excitement.
Alan also followed them slowly. Just when he was about to catch up with them, a voice behind him called his name.
"Alan?"
The voice was familiar but Alan couldn't figure out who it was.
Alan turned around and saw a girl dressed up beautifully and she was even someone he talked to recently.
"Ah! It's really you!"
Mia said. She was not certain it was really Alan until he turned around.
Alan smiled. "Mia! What are you doing here?"
As he could remember, Mia didn't even debut as an idol. So it was impossible that she would be invited as a participant.
"Ah, That… "
Mia looked reluctant but pointed in a certain direction. It was Xin who seemed to be talking to some people.
"Oh! You came to accompany him?"
"Not really! My company wanted to take this chance of giving me an experience of the contest in which I would eventually compete. This time, it is Xin who will be competing on behalf of our company."
Mia said not very enthusiastically.
"So why did you come? Don't tell me you are competing?"
Mia said jokingly. She knew that Alan wouldn't compete as he was not even an idol trainee much less an idol.
He also pointed towards Irina and Cecilia who had forgotten about Alan's existence because of their excitement.
"Oh! So Senior Irina and Senior Cecilia are also competing. You must have come to cheer Senior Irina and Senior Cecilia."
Alan just nodded at her words. Though in reality, he came here as their manager.
"YOU!"
Xin, who had finished talking with his acquaintances, noticed Alan and quickly came over to his side. With him was a lady who appeared to be his manager.
"What are you doing here?"
Xin asked angrily. He couldn't contain his anger as Alan was once again talking to his girl.
"None of your business!"
Alan replied.
Xin was fuming with anger but didn't do anything. He still remembers the humiliation that he received at the hand of Alan.
"Who is he?"
Xin's manager interrupted. While she had indeed heard about Xin fighting with some students in the school, she didn't really care as it was not a big deal. So, she couldn't recognize Alan by his appearance.
"Manager Ciel! This is my junior, Alan!"
Mia introduced Alan to the manager of Xin.
Alan looked over and saw a pretty face but with a particularly cold expression. Manager Ciel glanced at Alan, nodded, and then looked away.
She didn't think much about Alan. However, she did realize the mood behind Xin. She knew that Xin had a fight with a boy named Alan and she knew it was the boy before her.
Though she still didn't care much about it.
Manager Ciel then turned to Xin, who was still looking unhappy.
"Xin!" She said in a gentle voice, "Some people are born for greatness while others will be struck at the bottom forever. You don't need to pay attention to those people."
Manager Ciel said. She was obviously hinting at Alan who she considered to be beneath Xin who is an idol.
Alan didn't seem bothered by her statement, rather he was more amused. From her perspective, he might be that bottom person but from his perspective, it was she and Xin who were at the bottom.
"You need to behave yourself later. Don't let anything affect your mood." Manager Ciel continued.
"The contest will be broadcast live online. Even if you don't win first place, it will still bring you more fame. This is a very important event for you. It's a very good opportunity to get more popular."
Xin's mood improved greatly after hearing her mood. She was indeed his manager as she knew exactly what to tell Xin to recover his mood.
"Don't worry," he said. "I won't let some people who are ignorant affect my mood and state. I will get first place!"