Chapter 1

An Rong and Xu Xiaoye had been an officially promoted CP for several years. Although they each had their own personas in front of the camera, whether on camera or in private, the two of them genuinely got along extremely well—the kind of well that could easily be mistaken for the real thing.

So well that An Rong often fantasized that maybe it really was true, that they really were the perfect match the media and netizens claimed they were, a couple made in heaven. Aside from those melodramatic BE fanfics, their CP fans could feel free to write more. Who knew? Maybe one of them would actually come true someday.

Companionship was the longest confession of love. She could stay by Xu Xiaoye’s side and keep walking with her forever.

And then, out of nowhere, Xu Xiaoye’s relationship was exposed—and An Rong found out through a fan’s private message on Weibo.

Xiao-Rong Can Be Reversed, Never Split: Bro Rong, don’t be sad.

An Rong was completely baffled. What was this about? What did she have to be sad about?

Xiao-Rong Can Be Reversed, Never Split: Even though Xiaoxiao has a boyfriend now, you two are still best friends and great teammates. Hang in there, sob sob sob. I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore. It feels like I’m the one who got dumped. I’m crying…

An Rong instantly froze.

Xu Xiaoye had a boyfriend?

How did she not know about it?

She and Xu Xiaoye ate and lived together. That very morning, Xu Xiaoye had even said she was going to get her hair done and would bring back cold skin noodles for her afterward. How had she suddenly acquired a boyfriend in the span of a few hours?

She was still sitting there stunned when Xiao Yu called her, hesitantly asking whether she was okay and, if she had nothing else going on, whether she wanted to go out for a meal.

An Rong hung up with a deep frown, opened Weibo, and was immediately flooded by an overwhelming tide of posts. Number three on the trending searches was Xu Xiaoye’s Relationship Exposed. An Rong’s hand was practically trembling as she tapped on it, still thinking it had to be fake. When would Xu Xiaoye even have had time to date? The company had explicitly forbidden them from being in relationships.

But the moment she opened it, the first thing she saw was a high-definition photo of Xu Xiaoye with a head full of curling rods, eating food someone else was feeding her. She was smiling, affection shining in her eyes, and the two of them were behaving extremely intimately. There were photos from several different angles. In them, Xu Xiaoye was fair-skinned and beautiful, her lips vividly red, little hearts practically sparkling in her eyes. The man was affectionate, the woman enamored—they looked hopelessly wrapped up in each other.

If that alone could still be explained away as the two of them merely being close and people misunderstanding, then the later photos of them with their fingers intertwined, Xu Xiaoye leaning against the man’s arm, were impossible to explain. Seen from behind, they looked like the perfect golden couple, complete with the cutest height difference and the most explosive size contrast.

From what An Rong knew of bailiantales.comXu Xiaoye, she normally didn’t like being this physically intimate with other people in private.

Once that thought took root, all sorts of information An Rong had never paid attention to before suddenly seemed to surface and solve the mystery on its own.

Xu Xiaoye seemed to have mentioned recently that she’d made a new friend. He was also signed with their company, a newcomer, very warm and pretty handsome.

And while An Rong had been busy practicing her dancing, Xu Xiaoye had apparently suggested that the three of them go out to eat together. An Rong simply hadn’t had the time and had turned her down.

Thinking about it now, the signs seemed to have been there all along.

It wasn’t long before An Rong herself was trending too, right below it at number four.

#Xu Xiaoye’s Relationship Exposed#

#An Rong, You Lost Your Wife#

That was how inseparable the two of them were. Even when they trended, their names had to be stuck right beside each other. Only now, the contrast was painfully stark: one side was surrounded by flowers and celebration, while the other looked bleak, tragic, and utterly alone.

The love An Rong had never been able to speak aloud had shattered without warning.

Even so, she couldn’t bear to cause Xu Xiaoye any trouble.

So she temporarily exited Weibo and sent Xu Xiaoye a message: Wish you happiness.

Then she called Xiao Yu.

“I want to drink.”

Xiao Yu was also a member of GG. She was extremely perceptive and had long since noticed all the hidden twists and turns in An Rong’s heart, so when her friend suffered heartbreak, she was the first to offer comfort—and baijiu.

Over sixty percent alcohol.

After three glasses, An Rong started crying.

After five, she passed out.

She slept in a hazy stupor and vaguely heard Xu Xiaoye’s voice.

Xu Xiaoye had a slightly smoky voice. It wasn’t especially obvious when she spoke normally, but there was naturally a husky, sexy low register to it that often left An Rong completely dazed and bewitched.

“Hey, wake up.”

Hearing her voice through the fog, An Rong was instantly overwhelmed with grievance.

Four years.

She had secretly loved her for four whole years, and in the end, she’d had to learn about her relationship from a fan sending her a message.

Her chest aching, An Rong pouted [unauthorized copy]and, emboldened by the alcohol, muttered, “I’m not waking up. You don’t even like me.”

The moment the words left her mouth, An Rong felt like something was a little off.

She could still tell the difference between being drunk and being asleep. More importantly, she sluggishly sniffed the air and realized there didn’t seem to be any smell of alcohol at all.

Had Xu Xiaoye taken her back and washed her up?

But why did everything sound so noisy?

Xu Xiaoye stared at her in confusion. The hand resting on An Rong’s shoulder shot back immediately. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced around. Fortunately, although there was a fixed camera filming this area, it probably wasn’t recording their voices.

“Um… there are less than two hours left before the evaluation. Five people are going to be eliminated this time. Do you want to get up and practice a little more?”

An Rong’s mind went completely blank.

What???

Evaluation?

Scoring?

Elimination?

Two hours?!

She had debuted four years ago. They’d been holding concerts for three years already. Why was the company suddenly doing this again?

How had she received absolutely no notice?

While An Rong was still confused, a loudspeaker suddenly blared:

“Two hours remaining until the evaluation. All trainees, please prepare yourselves.”

A chorus of wails immediately erupted around the room.

An Rong jolted in fright and snapped her head up. Her eyes had apparently been pressed against her arm for too long, because when she opened them, everything was blurry. Through the haze, she could make out several distorted figures, a spacious dance practice room, and white walls all around.

The setting looked strangely familiar.

It seemed to be one of their company’s practice rooms.

There was even a huge logo on the wall that read TS Entertainment.

An Rong blinked hard several times, her brows tightly knitted and her expression grave.

Had getting drunk made her start dreaming?

The blurry, distorted scene, her vague memories, the noisy surroundings…

Was this a dream?

Xu Xiaoye breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing that the cameraman was already coming over, she hurriedly lowered her voice.

“Stop talking in your sleep and hurry up and practice. Otherwise, you’re going to be in trouble when time runs out.”

An Rong had absolutely no idea what was going on.

Once her vision cleared, she even looked around. After all these years, this was the first time she had ever dreamed about when she’d first joined the company, and the dream was incredibly vivid.

Every person’s face was so clear.

Especially Xu Xiaoye beside her.

Even though she was wearing loose athletic clothes that didn’t show off her figure, she still stood out from everyone else.

But the way she was looking at An Rong seemed a little…

Unfamiliar?

Come on, this was too much.

This was a dream!

What kind of dream followed the rules this properly?

Shouldn’t she be grabbing Xu Xiaoye immediately, stripping her clothes off in the blink of an eye, and wildly fooling around with absolutely no logic or restraint whatsoever?

She had behaved herself for four years in reality. Couldn’t she go crazy for once in her dreams?

Especially now that Xu Xiaoye actually had a boyfriend.

How could An Rong tolerate that?

Reality could be endured, but dreams absolutely could not!

It was her dream, so she made the rules.

Courage born of fury, An Rong abruptly tipped sideways and wrapped both arms around Xu Xiaoye’s leg, radiating the bitter resentment of a hopeless simp.

“Tell me. Why don’t you like me?”

Xu Xiaoye looked as though she’d just been struck by lightning.

Seeing that the camera following them was already approaching, her mind turned completely to mush from this sudden attack. Then inspiration suddenly struck. She bent down, grabbed An Rong’s hand, and said, “Sleepwalking! Why are you sleepwalking?!”

She squeezed hard, trying to warn An Rong that someone was coming and get her to snap out of it.

But An Rong, still dazed and firmly convinced this was a dream, only felt aggrieved—and a little angry.

Who was sleepwalking?

Sleepwalking inside a dream?

Was she insane?

What kind of ridiculous dream was this?

An Rong shot to her feet, wrapped her arms around Xu Xiaoye’s waist, and planted a loud kiss on her lips.

Just as she’d imagined, they were soft and warm, like little pieces of jelly, and even a little sweet.

Under Xu Xiaoye’s utterly shocked stare, An [stolen content]Rong actually smacked her lips, savoring the taste, then said, “You even use this lipstick in my dreams?”

Xu Xiaoye: “…What are you doing?!!!!”

Xu Xiaoye shoved An Rong straight to the floor, covered her mouth, turned around, and fled.

Practically everyone in the dance studio was staring over at them, each wearing the same thunderstruck expression.

They had even forgotten about the countdown.

An Rong sat on the floor in confusion.

She had the feeling this dream was developing in a very wrong direction.

She patted her cheeks, shook her head, and tried pinching herself so she could hurry up and wake up.

It didn’t work at all.

Not only did it not work, it hurt.

A lot.

A very real kind of pain.

Even her eyes felt a little sore.

An Rong inexplicably began to feel guilty, but she had one advantage—her looks.

She had a naturally composed face. As long as she kept a blank expression, she appeared exceptionally calm.

The problem was that right now, with that expressionless face, she looked like a seasoned pervert who had done this countless times before.

The kind of shameless pervert who’d been caught red-handed and didn’t give a damn.

Even if this was a dream, An Rong was starting to panic.

Under everyone’s staring eyes, she turned around to face the wall, closed her eyes, and began chanting silently:

“This is a dream. I’m going to wake up, I’m going to wake up, I’m going to wake up.”

She opened her eyes.

Still the same white wall.

An Rong became just a tiny bit nervous.

After thinking for a moment, she banged her head against the wall twice.

“An Rong, come with me.”

That voice was also just a tiny bit familiar.

It belonged to her former teacher, who had also been one of the evaluators—Qin Yun.

But that had been four years ago!

She hadn’t seen Qin Yun in four years.

Surely she wouldn’t be dreaming about her too?

Could a dream really be this realistic?

An Rong stiffly turned around and stared blankly at Qin Yun.

Qin Yun had just heard someone say that An Rong had harassed Xu Xiaoye, but judging from the look in Xu Xiaoye’s eyes just ​Read on BaiLianTales​now, something about the situation seemed off.

The two of them left the dance studio together.

Qin Yun frowned and asked, “What were you doing just now?”

An Rong answered with complete seriousness, “Dreaming.”

Qin Yun: ??

What was going on?

Her physical examination report had been perfectly normal, and there had been no problems with her psychological evaluation either.

How had she suddenly gone insane?

Qin Yun cautiously probed, “More specifically?”

An Rong lowered her head shyly.

Even if it was only a dream, that had still been her first kiss. Of course she would be embarrassed.

Besides, the dream had been so incredibly realistic.

Far too realistic.

Once she woke up, she could secretly write it down. Maybe it would turn out to be some sort of neurological miracle.

Qin Yun was a little speechless.

She had thought highly of this girl.

She hadn’t expected there to be something wrong with her mentally.

The two walked forward in silence.

A girl coming toward them from the opposite direction greeted them, her tone naturally carrying an ingratiating sweetness.

“Hello, Teacher Qin. Are you busy? I’m almost done preparing, but there are still a few parts I don’t really understand. Could I ask you to give me some guidance?”

An Rong frowned and stared hard at the person opposite her.

Her name was Wang Yunshui.

Back then, she had somehow mysteriously passed the evaluation and debuted in the same group as them.

Only later did An Rong discover that even if she gathered every curse word from every language in the world together, they still wouldn’t be enough to describe this enormous! Fucking! Bitch!

If possible, An Rong never wanted to see her again for the rest of her life.

Disgusting!

Vomit-inducing!

Ptui!

Which raised a very important question.

Why did she have to dream about this piece of trash too?

An Rong’s brows knitted tightly as she struggled to understand it.

This dream was too outrageous. Too unreasonable.

The person she wanted had run away, while the person she didn’t want was coming right up to her.

Qin Yun shook her head.

“I still have something to take care of. You can find Teacher Shen or Teacher Zhou. I think they’re both free right now.”

Teacher Shen was Shen Ri’an, who had a baby face that made his age impossible to guess. He was witty and humorous, and all the girls liked him.

Teacher Zhou was Zhou Rui. Although he had the image of a tough guy, he was extremely gentlemanly toward girls and always left himself room when speaking. What he feared most was making a girl cry.

Wang Yunshui happily agreed.

After she walked away, An Rong cautiously asked Qin Yun, “Teacher Qin, what’s today’s date?”

Qin Yun frowned.

“The fifth. You all passed the selection on the [bailiantales.com]second, didn’t you? Yesterday was when you officially came here for the closed training. You don’t even remember that?”

An Rong suddenly felt her mouth go dry.

Something wasn’t right.

This wasn’t right at all.

What kind of dream worked like this?

She herself had already forgotten the exact date she first entered the company. How could her dream possibly remember it so clearly?

An Rong began to feel uneasy.

After thinking for a moment, she asked, “Teacher, when are we forming the group?”

Qin Yun looked at her as though she were insane, and her tone unconsciously became much sterner.

“You only just got here. Forming the group is still a long way off. At the very least, we’ll have to wait three months and see how the eliminations go, or see what arrangements the company makes. It’s far too early for you to be thinking about that now.”

It was over.

Dizzy and overwhelmed, An Rong finally realized that this…

probably wasn’t a dream.

No dream could be this logical or make this much sense.

Everything around her was so clear that even the veins on the leaves of the money tree could be seen individually. The setting hadn’t changed at all after all this time. The building followed architectural logic far too well. Her consciousness was completely clear.

And no matter what she did, she couldn’t wake up.

If this wasn’t a dream, then what she had just done…

Oh no!

Qin Yun glanced around and, seeing that no one was nearby, frowned and asked, “An Rong, do you know what you just did?”

An Rong was still questioning her entire existence.

For a brief instant, she even wondered which side was actually the dream.

And more importantly…

How was she supposed to explain the absurd thing she had just done?

She wasn’t going to get kicked out over this, was she?!

Author’s Note:

An Rong’s first day after being reborn: defeated before she even got started.