After Being Hopeless at Singing and Dancing, I Exploded in Popularity Due to My Appetite - Chapter 14

The second episode of Idol 101 quickly aired.

After all, there were many contestants, and even though the production team found Tao Nian’s popularity and her interactions with Lin Qianman interesting, they couldn’t blatantly give Tao Nian too much screen time.

So, they released the segment where Lin Qianman gave Tao Nian candy as a bonus clip.

In the bonus clip, Lin Qianman painstakingly taught Tao Nian to learn to share, like an anxious old mother. The ignorant Tao Nian still argued, “Master never said that.”

Then, in the main episode, she returned to the dorm and piled the candies into a small mountain on the table. She also took an extra rice ball, put it on her plate, and held it in her palm all the way to the practice room.

When she gave Lin Qianman the rice ball, it was in a corner, and the other mentors were instructing and correcting the contestants’ dance moves, so indeed, no one noticed.

However, the camera was constantly following Lin Qianman, so it clearly captured Lin Qianman’s panic at the time, as well as the item Tao Nian forcefully gave her.

Due to the dorm scenes in the first two minutes, everyone also knew that the rice ball was made by Zhang Jingyue.

Now the comments section was filled with “hahaha.”

“She was just arguing with Sister Lin, but now she’s sharing everywhere? Isn’t she capable of it?”

“The important thing is actively sharing. I’m dying of laughter. The candies for her roommates were given by Sister Lin, and the rice ball for Sister Lin was made by her roommate. Good heavens, she’s even learned to use others’ generosity to benefit herself.”

“Why only give the rice ball to Sister Lin? To curry favor with the mentor! Or because the other mentors aren’t famous enough to bother with? I really hate this kind of behavior.”

“It’s not… Didn’t they say she has a good relationship with Sister Lin?”

“Even if their relationship is good, shouldn’t she still not do that?!”

“Wait, when she just shoved the rice ball, was it wrapped?!”

“?!?!?!”

In the footage, Lin Qianman, with a rice ball cupped in her hand, was consistently huddled in a corner, hands behind her back, not daring to let others discover she was holding something.

But the malicious post-production team zoomed in on her hand and even added an arrow.

Everyone waited eagerly.

Finally, Lin Qianman was alone. She hid in a corner, turned her hand over, and looked.

It was a gray, crumpled, super ugly rice ball.

Because Tao Nian hadn’t wrapped it in a bag, sticky rice grains clung to her hand.

Another wave of “hahaha.”

“What to do, I’m so worried about this rice ball, can it still be eaten?”

“Probably not, that gray stuff should be Sister Lin’s eyebrow…”

“Be confident, remove ‘should be.'”

“Ah… wasting food.”

So, people who already disliked Tao Nian now attacked again.

They believed Tao Nian was wasting food and that her behavior, for the sake of maintaining a “dumb beauty” persona, was excessive. Being such a grown-up and still acting like that, like an idiot.

However, in the show, she was indeed better than in the first episode. She could even remember dance moves now. Although still not proficient, she could at least dance on her own.

So someone countered: “She’s not dumb. I even think she’s going for a ‘dumb beauty’ growth arc. Starting dumb, then gradually becoming smarter, this contrast is easy to attract fans.”

“She was dumb at first, and then gradually not dumb, is that it? (dying of laughter).”

“But, maybe she really is just a simpleton? Don’t scold me, I think there are so many dumb beauties now, at least Tao Nian is genuinely beautiful, and she’s not very unlikable. She hasn’t hurt anyone either.”

“Upstairs! Did you forget Sister Lin’s hand full of rice?! And that half eyebrow! Did you forget Sister Lin’s expression when she washed her hands?! (crying-laughing emoji).”

“But I also think, although her persona is a bit intellectually challenged, it’s fine. She just looks simple-minded and a bit vacant.”

The comments under Liu Xiaobai’s video changed several times, and today, people were leaving messages again.

Under the sentence where she explained for Tao Nian, everyone replied: “High emotional intelligence: simple. Low emotional intelligence: simple-minded and vacant.”

As for her flattering Lin Qianman, because Lin Qianman didn’t vote for her later during the voting, not many people commented on it. Everyone just sarcastically mocked her behavior as being exactly like those annoying colleagues around them.

And in a forgotten corner, a super topic called “Qiannian” (literally “thousand years,” possibly a portmanteau of their names) was quietly established, and a group of people gathered there, secretly discussing.

“It is known that Sister Lin giving Tao Nian candy happened after the livestream. During the livestream, Tao Nian didn’t even let others eat beef jerky, and then as soon as Sister Lin said she should learn to share, she started sharing!”

“Eeek, yes, that’s right! Tao Nian is really obedient, that’s a detail, right?!”

“I’m shipping them, I’m shipping them.”

The individuals involved were completely unaware of the online commotion and arguments.

Because the next competition was a group performance, Tao Nian didn’t want to drag others down, so she diligently practiced in the practice room every day.

She had only recently taken human form and still couldn’t control her body to perform overly complex movements, making practice exceptionally challenging. Her movements were also somewhat comical.

Su Yanxiao, a teammate, had debuted previously but without much success, so she was participating again this year. Although she knew the show wasn’t popular, she deeply cherished this opportunity. Her singing and dancing skills were outstanding. Seeing Tao Nian’s struggles, she patiently taught her repeatedly.

There was no time for dinner during practice. The production team delivered boxed meals.

One boxed meal was definitely not enough for Tao Nian, who had been jumping and dancing all day, so Fang Wen came by and brought them some sandwiches.

Besides Tao Nian, the boxed meals with three dishes and a soup were enough for everyone else. So, everyone knew perfectly well who the sandwiches were primarily for.

Thus, while Tao Nian was eating a sandwich, Su Yanxiao sat down beside her.

Tao Nian glanced at her, then continued eating her sandwich.

“Practicing like this over and over, aren’t you tired?” Su Yanxiao handed Tao Nian a bottle of milk and asked her.

She hadn’t twisted open the cap, and Tao Nian was currently eating, unable to free her hands. So she took it but didn’t drink, instead placing it on her lap, intending to drink it later.

Tao Nian swallowed all the sandwich in her mouth, and answered plaintively: “Tired.”

“Then…” Su Yanxiao looked left and right, blocked the camera, covered the mic, and whispered to her: “Aren’t you on good terms with Lin Qianman? Talk to her, ask her to vote for us. As long as her fans vote for us, we can definitely win.”

“Lin Qianman?”

Tao Nian, eating the sandwich that Lin Qianman had instructed her assistant to bring, blinked: “Who is Lin Qianman? Do I know her?”

Su Yanxiao looked at Tao Nian in disbelief, repeating: “Lin Qianman!”

Tao Nian also repeated: “Lin Qianman, who is that? Do I know her?”

She genuinely didn’t know, tilting her head with a puzzled look, but compared to reality, it looked like she was acting.

Su Yanxiao felt a little embarrassed.

Her age was no longer an advantage. Although she jokingly called herself “reheated meat” on stage over and over again, she was indeed anxious inside. Now, seeing Tao Nian unable to keep up, she was worried that their team would be eliminated due to Tao Nian’s low votes, which was why she couldn’t help but ask Tao Nian to talk to Lin Qianman. But she didn’t expect Tao Nian to feign ignorance like this.

So hypocritical.

She’s already currying favor with Lin Qianman so much, and yet she won’t let Lin Qianman help them get votes? What if your team’s votes are low because of you?!

Tao Nian looked at her teammate’s retreating back, utterly confused.

It wasn’t until she returned to the dorm at night that she very puzzledly asked Zhang Jingyue: “Who is Lin Qianman? Do I know her?”

Zhang Jingyue was also practicing their team’s dance. Hearing this, she glanced at Tao Nian, thinking she was humblebragging. So she didn’t answer, turning away to continue practicing.

Tao Nian followed her turn, asking her: “Who is Lin Qianman?! Should I know her?”

Zhang Jingyue was annoyed: “You know her! You have the best relationship with Lin Qianman, alright?!”

“The one I have the best relationship with is my Master!”

Tao Nian blinked: “Yueyue is the best, tell me, who is Lin Qianman?”

Zhang Jingyue impatiently: “You pounced on her and bit her the moment you saw her, and now you’re saying you don’t know who she is? Do you have amnesia?”

She angrily looked at Tao Nian, only to see Tao Nian’s face full of resentment: “Didn’t you say she was ‘Sister Lin’?!”

Zhang Jingyue: “…”

She was incredulous: “You always thought her name was ‘Sister Lin’?”

Tao Nian nodded: “Yeah! You said it, she’s called ‘Sister Lin’ or ‘Goddess Lin.’ Everyone calls her that.”

Zhang Jingyue looked at Tao Nian, dazed: “You… you really didn’t know Sister Lin before?”

How could she not even know her name?

Tao Nian nodded: “I already told you before.”

If you didn’t know her, why were you so familiar with her the moment you saw her on the show? Why did she know you so well? Why did she give you so much food every day? Why…

Zhang Jingyue had too many “whys.”

But Tao Nian saw her expression and decided not to ask her anymore.

She scurried out, completely disregarding the notion that it was late and she shouldn’t disturb others.

Lin Qianman had just opened her door when she heard: “So your name is Lin Qianman now!”

Lin Qianman: “…”

When did my name stop being Lin Qianman?