After seeing Gu Fugui, Gu Tang remained in a soft, mushy state.
That feeling lasted throughout the entire show.
“As expected, Group B didn’t perform as well as we did,” Xu Piaopiao said, praising her own group through rose-tinted glasses. “Look at that Lin Yueyue, she’s about to fall again.”
“Lin Yueyue falling is normal,” Gu Tang waved a hand. “She’ll definitely hold back this time, right? After all, this is a team performance. If she falls, she’ll drag the whole group down.”
The moment Gu Tang finished speaking, Lin Yueyue, who had already been moving around in the formation in a strange, wobbly manner, suddenly stumbled and fell onto the stage!
Gu Tang silently covered her mouth, cursing her own jinx.
At a time like this, the other members could not go over and help her up. The best way to handle it was to pretend nothing had happened and let the person who had fallen get up on her own.
But Lin Yueyue seemed to have fallen hard and did not get back up immediately.
Xu Piaopiao’s expression became somewhat complicated. “I can’t even tell if she really can’t get up or if she’s doing it on purpose. It’s too hard to tell.”
Gu Tang’s expression was equally complicated. “It does look like it really hurts.”
Naturally, the audience below the stage noticed as well.
Someone suddenly shouted in a high-pitched voice, “Yueyue, come on, get up!”
The people around her joined in.
“Yueyue, get up! Come on!”
Gu Tang: …
What was with this forced attempt to make the moment touching? Was this what it meant to have the treatment of a female protagonist?
Normally, the camera should have cut away during an accident like this instead of filming Lin Yueyue. But for some reason, the camera actually moved closer and gave her, looking pitiful and delicate, a close-up.
Even people who were not Lin Yueyue’s fans were cheering and encouraging her.
“Yueyue, get up! Yueyue!”
Amid the growing words of encouragement and the applause that had started at some point, Lin Yueyue, on the screen, revealed a strong smile.
Gu Tang: …
Xu Piaopiao, standing beside her, twitched at the corner of her mouth. “Is she some kind of virus? Why do I feel like everyone becomes inexplicably tolerant, and slightly stupid, whenever they’re around her?”
Gu Tang had never expected Xu Piaopiao’s choice of words to be so precise.
Amid everyone’s cheers of encouragement, Lin Yueyue got to her feet just as the song came to an end.
To the sound of everyone’s applause, the members of her group bowed to the audience.
“The other members of her group are really unlucky,” Xu Piaopiao quietly commented. “Their already limited screen time can probably be considered nonexistent now, right?”
“But look at them,” Gu Tang raised her chin. “They’re genuinely happy for her. They even let her take center position.”
Xu Piaopiao stared intently at the smiling girls on the screen and slowly raised a hand to her forehead. “Are the relationships between our trainees really this harmonious?”
Of course not.
Although most of them did not openly show it, there were always minor frictions between them. Yet whenever Lin Yueyue was involved, the scene always became one of a harmonious, loving big family.
Gu Tang’s feelings were complicated. She did not dislike Lin Yueyue so much as she was more… shocked.
Lin Yueyue was like a bug in the world itself. Gu Tang even wanted to see just how much stranger she could make this world become.
That day, the trainees of Dream Girl Group met their fans for the first time.
That day, Group A defeated Group B, yet Lin Yueyue became the king of the online popularity vote and claimed first place.
Some people beamed with radiant smiles, spreading their arms as they gave tearful acceptance speeches.
Others were eliminated, removed the badges from their chests, and silently returned them to the crystal box in the corner of the stage.
The preparation time before the final round of competition was short. On the night of the second round, the trainees received a text message informing them that it was time to choose their groups.
There were fifteen people left, divided into three groups with three songs. All of them were new songs written by Liu Weiwei, and their titles gave a faint hint of their respective styles.
Gu Tang and Xu Piaopiao chose decisively, selecting the only song that did not sound like a love song, Superpowered Girl.
Gu Tang played the music as she stretched, while Xu Piaopiao curled up on the sofa by herself and scrolled through her phone.
“Lin Yueyue is trending,” Xu Piaopiao said casually.
“Isn’t that to be expected?” Gu Tang worked hard at stretching her hamstrings. “It’s probably rare for an entire audience to chant for someone to get up after she falls on stage.”
Xu Piaopiao tapped her phone and turned up the volume. The sound from the video was exceptionally clear.
“Yueyue, get up! Yueyue!”
“It’s been reposted more than twenty thousand times,” Xu Piaopiao said in amazement. “She’s gained quite a few more fans from this video.”
“That’s fate for you,” Gu Tang said as she continued stretching, sweat trickling down her forehead.
The popularity rankings were now public. The top three were Lin Yueyue, Xu Piaopiao, and Gu Tang.
Lu Yijing, who had the strongest overall ability, was ranked fifth.
At first, Xu Piaopiao had been surprised by how high she ranked. Then she saw that a video of her shouting back and forth with a fan-site photographer had been reposted by all kinds of major accounts, and she realized that she had become a source of entertainment.
The comments were also incredibly enthusiastic:
【I just love how carefree and unrestrained Brother Piao is!】
【Tell me, what other girl group member wears smoky eye makeup as everyday makeup? Brother Piao is so punk!】
【Her shouting back and forth with the fan-site photographer is way too funny! Why did someone secretly film my mom and me going about our daily lives?】
Gu Tang lay on her yoga mat to rest for two minutes, then picked up her phone.
Lin Yueyue was indeed on the trending list, but Gu Tang noticed something she cared about more…
The number one trending topic was actually Yin Fan, above Lin Yueyue.
She tapped into it and discovered that Yin Fan was trending because of two photos.
They were photos taken on a film set. In the pictures, he was dressed in a military uniform, holding his glasses with one hand as he read the script. Yin Fan had always had an excellent figure, and the uniform, with its tall boots and cinched waist, made his narrow waist and long legs stand out even more.
The second photo was probably taken just seconds after the first. Yin Fan had raised his head toward the camera, his eyes as black as a raven’s, carrying a casual chill. Reserved and elegant, yet full of danger.
Gu Tang curled her lips, vaguely able to guess what the comments below would be like.
Sure enough:
【I can!!! Brother Yin Fan, I can!!!】
【AWSL! Today, I’m once again jumping into a 360-degree waltz of love on the spot for Brother Yin Fan’s peerless beauty!】
There were even people who had already written an entire script:
【In a turbulent era, the cold and ruthless warlord Yin Fan noticed me, shivering in the rain, and took me home. Moved by my innocence and purity, his closed-off heart finally began to stir. It was only when he saw me talking to another man that he realized he had already fallen deeply in love with me! From then on, he thought every day about how to make the breathtakingly beautiful me his!】
【I’m just an ordinary female student studying at school. Warlord Yin Fan accidentally caught sight of me and was stunned by my beauty. He had never imagined that a woman like me could be so damned sweet, and he swore to do whatever it took to have me…】
As well as some well-meaning reminders:
【Sweetie, I suggest saving your dreams for bedtime.】
【Wake up, sis. Time to get back to work.】
Gu Tang burst out laughing.
“What is it?” Xu Piaopiao asked.
“Tap on that Yin Fan trending topic,” Gu Tang said with a soft laugh. “The little essays are written so well.”
Gu Tang continued scrolling down and came across images posted by Yin Fan’s fans to promote their idol.
“I saw those,” Xu Piaopiao chimed in. “He plays the villain in Hidden Gun. At first, I thought he was too gentle-looking for the role, but now that I see him like this, his aura is actually pretty good.”
Gu Tang blinked, realizing that Xu Piaopiao knew more than she did. “Hidden Gun?”
“Yeah.” Xu Piaopiao nodded. “It’s adapted from a novel with the same title, and the novel is pretty popular. Yin Fan plays the major villain who appears later in the story. He doesn’t have much screen time, but he’s very important, and the character is quite popular. His company treats him pretty well, huh.”
“Who knows?” Gu Tang searched for Hidden Gun again and saw that the latest official post had released stills of Yin Fan.
The comments under that post were far less harmonious.
Most of them were angry criticisms from fans of the original novel. As Xu Piaopiao had said, many people did not trust Yin Fan and believed he could not portray the character’s ruthless and fierce nature.
Others defended Yin Fan, saying that people should wait until the television drama actually began filming before judging his performance.
Gu Tang lowered her head and thought for a while before sending Yin Fan a message:
【We’re competing today. I came in third!】
Yin Fan did not reply, probably because he was busy.
Xu Piaopiao climbed back into bed and looked at Gu Tang. “Remember to turn off the light later.”
“Sure,” Gu Tang replied. She went to wash up, then switched off the light when she came out of the bathroom.
Xu Piaopiao used her phone to light the room for her.
After Gu Tang climbed into bed, Xu Piaopiao suddenly spoke.
“We might actually end up becoming girl group members.”
“Hm?” Gu Tang responded.
“But what about acting?” Xu Piaopiao was still conflicted. “Weren’t we studying acting?”
“You’re only thinking about that now?” Gu Tang yawned. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
Xu Piaopiao did not know, but Gu Tang did. This girl group was only a stepping stone for Lin Yueyue. Not long after the group debuted, everyone would go their separate ways and pursue solo careers.
They would debut only to disband.
The more Xu Piaopiao talked, the more awake she became. “Do you know who the male lead of Hidden Gun is?”
“Who?” Gu Tang asked cooperatively.
“Song Mo.”
That was all Xu Piaopiao needed to say. Song Mo was someone who needed no introduction.
He had won Best Actor for his very first role at the age of eighteen, and by twenty-two, he had become a Grand Slam Best Actor. His career seemed to have progressed without a single setback. Even at twenty-six, he was still surrounded by countless accolades, with almost no scandals. He had both popularity and ability.
But to Gu Tang, Song Mo had another special identity.
He was the male protagonist of the original novel.
In the third round of the competition, each group would be joined by a male partner to perform with them on stage, and Song Mo would be the male partner assigned to Lin Yueyue’s group.
Lin Yueyue would also become the first person to have a dating rumor with Song Mo.
On the first day after the competition ended, most people were not particularly motivated.
Gu Tang woke up early and called Xu Piaopiao out of bed. Xu Piaopiao pulled the blanket over her head.
“Can you buy me a bottle of yogurt? I’m going to sleep for another twenty minutes.”
Gu Tang agreed and headed to the cafeteria.
Through the cafeteria windows, she could see the fine rain falling outside. The sky was dark and gloomy. No wonder there were so few people around. Everyone was probably still asleep.
There was no yogurt in the vending machine, so Gu Tang thought about it and opened an umbrella before heading out to the convenience store.
The moment she pushed open the door, the earthy smell of wet soil hit her. Her low-heeled shoes clicked against the stone path, and Gu Tang regretted not changing into another pair of shoes.
The weather was not the only bad thing that day. The fan-site photographers who usually waited outside the railings were nowhere to be seen, as though they had all been driven away.
It was getting late, so she walked a little faster. Rainwater had pooled on the road, making it difficult to walk.
She kept her eyes on the ground. Even though she was being careful, her foot slipped, and she lost her balance.
A man walking toward her caught her by the arm and easily helped her steady herself.
Gu Tang looked up and smiled a little shyly. “Sorry, thank you so much…”
The rest of her words caught in her throat.
The man holding the black umbrella had sharp brows and bright eyes, with handsome, striking features and an expression of faint aloofness.
Gu Tang had always complained when novels described the male protagonist as having a face “carved with a knife.” What kind of description was that supposed to be, was he shaped like a knife-cut noodle? She had never expected that seeing such a face in person would be so breathtaking.
After helping her steady herself, Song Mo gave a slight nod and left, leaving Gu Tang standing there in a daze.
Her heart pounded violently. Gu Tang could feel her cheeks growing hot, and even the arm he had touched seemed to carry a faint burning sensation.
Unable to control her expression, the corners of Gu Tang’s lips kept rising. She lifted her head again and looked ahead.
She had not expected there to be another person standing there.
Yin Fan was also holding a black umbrella, his eyes dark. After Gu Tang noticed him, he strode toward her.
He was not wearing glasses today. Looking down at her, he was different from the dangerous image in his promotional stills. He had returned to his usual pure and elegant demeanor.
Standing so close to her, Yin Fan lowered his eyes. His long eyelashes cast shadows over the corners of his eyes. He reached out and tucked the strands of hair stuck to the side of Gu Tang’s face behind her ear. His body temperature was on the lower side, and as his fingertips brushed across her cheek, it was as though they drew away the heat from her face.
“Yin Fan?” Gu Tang called softly, confused by his silence.
“Mm.” Yin Fan answered. A trace of a smile appeared on his expressionless face, and he once again became gentle and approachable. “Your shoes aren’t suitable for walking. What are you trying to do? I’ll help you.”
Gu Tang immediately became wary and avoided his fingertips.
“Are you using my face to warm your hands?”
She really was a clever little thing who refused to let herself suffer any loss.
Yin Fan’s smile did not change as he pressed the entire back of his hand against her face.
Author’s Note:
A little scene:
Who doesn’t want to write a little essay?
Tonight, Gu Tang’s private Weibo account has already gone into action:
【Piaoyao [historical period drama], I am merely an ordinary, pitiful, and gorgeous songstress. Warlord Yin Fan fell hopelessly in love with me the first time he heard me sing and demanded that I become his woman. Although the gunman Song Mo never said it aloud, he had already taken me to heart. When I was captured, he risked his life to make sure no one hurt me. I really am such a sinful woman…】
Xu Piaopiao also had a private account:
【Sis, a sinful woman like you wouldn’t survive past the third episode in a television drama.】