The first competition between art colleges and art academies this year, had started on Saturday morning. A total of 8 art colleges and art academies drew into the competition. The television broadcast the competition live and also on the internet you could see the live streams through different platforms.

On Saturday morning, the first groups determined by the art colleges and art academies performed and competed against each other. After two groups, two duets followed and so they kept alternating. The solo performances were scheduled for Sunday afternoon. The award ceremonies were scheduled for Sunday evening.

Throughout the day, the various art schools and academies competed against each other, and the audience could then cast their votes live. This way it could be decided who would pass to the next round until they reached the semi-finals in the evening and only 4 groups were left, which then competed against each other on Sunday and where the audience could again decide which two groups would make it to the finals.

Since Yibo was not allowed to participate in all competitions for health reasons, but only his two solos dancing, he used the free time to rest and to train. Besides, he followed the competition via the live stream of the Keno Academy. He was proud to see that the students of the Keno Academy were so outstanding and won "almost" every single competition they competed in.

They lost one competition. In the Classical Ballet category. Alessia Milan and one other student from her year, had a joint performance. Unfortunately, her partner had not been as well prepared as she was, because he kept stumbling and during a lifting figure he was unfocused and dropped Alessia. She sprained her ankle in the process and thus the competition was over and lost for both of them. Yibo almost felt a little sorry for her. But only almost!

What Yibo found great was that so many families came to cheer on their sons and daughters, brothers and sisters in the competition. Yibo himself wasn't sure if anyone from his family would come. His mom is still in the hospital, his dad said he might come and his big brother said he would try but couldn't promise anything. His other 10 siblings from his mom's sister wives, were too young to come themselves. And his other mothers, he didn't want to have there.

Although Yibo always told himself that he did not like or need his other 10 siblings, he realized at the moment of this important first competition how much he missed his smaller siblings. Although he paid little attention to his smaller siblings, except for his youngest brother who was almost 2 years old, they always adored him and his talents. They were proud of him and always told him so. And suddenly he wished that at least one or two of his other siblings could be there to cheer him on.

When Yibo finally stood backstage on Sunday afternoon and warmed up, his eyes kept wandering to the audience rows. He hoped to see familiar faces there, like his dad or big brother. But the seats reserved for them had remained empty. Instead, he saw the families of his two friends Youn and Cheng.

Next to Cheng's parents, Cheng's big sister Yanli and his brother Zhan were sitting. Yibo had wondered why Zhan was not participating in the competition, since the Paradise Academy was also participating. Cheng had explained to him that Zhan had caught a cold and was too hoarse to sing. Of course, Yibo found this very unfortunate, because he wanted to finally see and hear Zhan sing live. But that was only a thing that kept him busy on the sidelines.

When the two presenters finally announced the start of the solo performances and Yibo had to go on stage first for his first solo performance, he sighed when he saw that the reserved seats were still empty. He entered the stage with a pounding heart, trying to concentrate fully on the here and now, when suddenly he heard a cute voice calling his name.

"BoBo, my big brother." Shouted his little almost two year old brother as he came running to the stage. Yibo waved to his cute little brother who stopped in front of the stage and called his name over and over in his little starfish suit. His dad, big brother and one of his small sisters had also come.

When his little brother spotted the stairs leading up to the stage, he scrambled up the high steps on all fours before his dad could reach and stop him. Excited and with both arms stretched upward, little Jay ran toward Yibo. "My brother. My brother." Yibo wrapped his little brother in his arms and gave him a kiss on the cheek. The little one giggled happily.

The audience in the rows gave a unified "Awww how cute." as they watched the scene. Yibo's little sister, little Judy, also came on stage and gave Yibo a red rose. "I love you big brother. Good luck." She said as Yibo hugged and kissed her too. And then Judy took her little brother by the hand and left the stage with him.

Yibo waited until his family was seated. Little Jay waved from his father's lap to Yibo and Yibo started his first solo dance. And as Yibo gave himself completely to the music and danced, he smiled. His family had come after all, bringing with them his youngest brother, who had become especially dear to him since Yibo had helped with the little one's birth. And suddenly he knew what his Plan B could be if his career in show business didn't work out. He could become an obstetrician and help other moms-to-be give birth to their children.

When Yibo finished his performance, the female host went up to his family and asked them, "What did you think of the performance?"

And Yibo's little brother took the microphone and tearfully said, "BoBo was so great." This brought renewed "Awww" from the audience and Jay was allowed to join Yibo backstage, where he let Yibo cuddle him properly first.

An hour later during Yibo's second solo performance for the graduating year, little Jay was on stage with him trying to dance along with his big brother in his starfish suit. Afterwards, the host said, "Wang Yibo was outstanding, as expected. And also his little brother didn't he? Maybe in a few years we will see him on stage here in a competition too. And because the little man did so great, we decided that he is also a winner today." He held a gold medal in his hand and tied it around Jay. "Congratulations little man. Today you are the big winner." Said the presenter and all the audience clapped.

Jay looked at the medal with big shining eyes and showed it to Yibo. Then he looked at the host, held out his little hand and asked, "And BoBo? My big brother too yes?"

"Mhhh, your big brother will get a medal with the others after he wins. Is that okay with you?" Asked the host.

"Alright." Agreed Jay. Yibo smirked at his little brother the whole time and was happy for him when he proudly showed his daddy the medal. Yibo also joined his dad and siblings to watch the grand finale together. The competition between the Keno Academy group and the Paradise Academy.

After the finals, there was an hour break for the audience to cast their votes. Yibo spent the time showing his dad and siblings his dorm room and having a snack and drink with them in the cafeteria. While doing so, Jay never left his side for a second, always walking by Yibo's hand or sitting on his lap.

As they sat in the cafeteria, Cheng and his family also came to the cafeteria. They sat at the table next to them and Yibo had trouble not looking at Xiao Zhan all the time. Just like his big brother had trouble not looking at Cheng all the time. Still, his dad noticed and asked, "Is there anything I should know?"

"Of course not Dad." Said Yibo hastily, suddenly acting as if his little brother's medal was suddenly much more important than anything else.

"Well that's okay then. I mean okay, the young lady does look very pretty. But she's a little too old for you Yibo." Replied his father.

Yibo frowned and looked at his dad and at the table of Cheng and his family and realized that his dad assumed Yibo was looking at Cheng's sister Yanli. "Oh God Dad, what do you think of me?" He immediately asked in shock.

"It's okay. I thought you might have a crush on this young woman."

"No dad."

"Then it's fine. I think someone your age would be better."

"I know dad."

"And is there someone you like?"

Yibo's gaze automatically moved to Xiao Zhan, who looked to him at the same moment, causing their eyes to meet. Yibo immediately blushed, forcing himself to look at his dad and shook his head. "Of course not dad. You know I only have my career in mind." This was not the time to confess to his father that he had fallen in love with a man.

"All right. Other topic. How are you doing today? You must have been sad because you couldn't participate in the other competitions or?"

"Mhhh, well I'm fine. Better than the last few days. And I wasn't sad, actually. The solo performances are very important in the competition and besides, it's a special honor to have the solo performances. And it's easier to stand out when you're not in a group, but alone on stage."

"I guess that's true. So what about the video shoot?"

"The video shoot is in three weeks."

"Are you excited yet?"

"Not yet. But I'm sure that will come."

"Mn. I'm sure it will. Um, I think we need to get back slowly, don't you? You don't want to be late back for the awards ceremony."

"Right dad. Let's clear up and head back." Said Yibo. They cleared the table and went back. Yibo had to go back to the stage where the other students were already standing.

Yibo's eyes wandered to Alessia, whose ankle had been bandaged and who was now standing on the stage on two walkers, tears still in her eyes. The other students tried to comfort her, but she remained heartbroken until Xiao Zhan, of all people, came on stage and handed her a handkerchief. The two hugged each other and Yibo's initial sympathy for Alessia's injury, sank to the bottomless pit. Instantly, he hated her again from the bottom of his heart.

Cheng, who also could not participate in the competition because of his broken arm, walked up to Zhan and growled at him. "Can you at least wait to flirt until after the competition?" He asked Zhan.

"What do you mean by flirting? I just gave her a tissue and hugged her to comfort her." Replied Zhan, annoyed.

"Okay, then you're done now and you can leave the stage again. Come on!" Said Cheng, dragging Zhan behind him and off the stage.

When the hosts came back on stage, they announced the winners of the competition. Yibo was nervous and a little annoyed because the winners of the solo performances were going to be announced as the last ones and it felt like an eternity to him.

Finally though, the time had come and the host announced, "First year solo winner is, Wang Yibo from Keno Academy." Yibo smiled and appeared calm on the outside. Inside, however, he was cheering.

Ten minutes later, the winner in the graduating year solo was announced and the host said, "I knew it. After watching him dance, I knew he would be the big winner of the night. Wang Yibo, congratulations. You won gold for your Keno Academy's graduating seniors." The audience clapped and cheered, and Yibo struggled not to show his joy too much.

After the medals were distributed, Yibo went to his family and he gave his little sister one of his two gold medals so that she would have one too. She was so happy that she hugged him tightly and thanked him several times. Then Yibo watched happily as Judy and Jay compared their two gold medals and proudly showed them to everyone.

And then something happened that Yibo had not expected. Xiao Zhan came up to him, shook his hand and said, "Congratulations. You were really impressive. I hope I'll see more of this soon when you're healthy again."

Yibo immediately got red cheeks again and had to swallow hard before replying. "Thank you. I hope you'll be healthy again soon and can show off your skills as well."

"Don't worry. I'm here for three weeks now and I'm sure we'll find enough opportunities for you to hear me sing. But in return, I want to hear you sing as well. Cheng said you can not only dance, but also sing and act."

"Mn. We'll see what the next three weeks bring. Maybe we'll compete against each other in a battle."

"Or maybe you and I will form a duo and do a duet together."

"Maybe. If Alessia doesn't object. After all, I have no desire to turn her against me, and since you're her boyfriend, I'm sure she'll want to form a duet with you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to take my family to the car and say goodbye."

"Um...so...yeah fine. We'll talk later." Said Xiao Zhan, looking at Yibo a little perplexed.

Yibo didn't understand the look on Xiao Zhan's face. Had Yibo said something wrong? He turned to face him again, now looking at him in turn, confused, and then accompanied his dad and siblings back to their car. Yibo's big brother had already gone ahead. Yibo knew that he and Cheng were meeting secretly. Luckily, his big brother came in his own car and didn't have to go with his dad.

"Why were you so rude to that young man?" Yibo's dad asked when they arrived at his car and he had put the two little ones in their child seats.

"Rude? I don't understand what you mean." Yibo replied.

"Yes, you were rude. The young man was kind to you and you answered him so harshly."

"I wasn't dad. It just seemed that way to you."

"No Yibo, I know you and I know when you are being nice and when you are not. Are you mad at him in some way?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because I don't know you like that."

"But I..."

"Yibo. If you're angry with him about anything, you should seek out conversation with him and work it out with him. Don't take your anger out on him."

"Dad you're misunderstanding something."

"Like what?"

"I can't explain that to you right now. Not yet."

"You like him, don't you?"

"What?" Yibo took a step back and immediately blushed again.

"Well, at first I thought you were looking at the young woman. But then I noticed how you looked at him. Be honest Yibo. Do you like him?"

"No."

"Why are you lying? You know it's a sin to lie."

"Don't come to me with sins now okay dad? Because then it's also a sin for men to like men."

"If God minded, he wouldn't have made you and your brother like that."

"Well how do you come up with my brother and me now?"

"Do you think I'm blind? Yibo, I may be old, but I'm not nearly so old that I can't see how in love your big brother looked to one of your friends. Or how in love you looked at this young man."

"Sorry."

"For what? It's not your fault. You didn't choose who you fell in love with, did you?"

"No."

"Then don't apologize for it. You don't have to lie to me about it, and you don't have to lie to your mom about it. We may have our beliefs, but we're still open minded. And believe me, your mom will say the same thing I did."

"Thanks Dad."

"For what?"

"For saying that and not judging me."

"Yibo. You are my son and I love you. It doesn't matter if you're straight, bi or gay. It doesn't change the fact that you are my son and I love you. Now listen to me. If you like this young man, try to work out your problems with him."

"It's no use dad. He's with Alessia Milan. He's not into me."

"I'm not going to say anything about that right now. I'm just giving you advice, don't give up right away. Things aren't always what they seem at first. So now I'm going to drive your little siblings home." Said his dad. Yibo nodded and wanted to say goodbye to Judy and Jay, but they had both fallen asleep.

He hugged his dad and said goodbye. He watched his dad leave until the car was out of sight, then he went back to the dorm and to his room. He wondered what his dad had meant and at the same time was glad that his dad wasn't mad at him for being gay.