After Being Hopeless at Singing and Dancing, I Exploded in Popularity Due to My Appetite - Chapter 26

The next day, Zhang Jingyue, the runaway princess, gave Tao Nian something wrapped in a handkerchief.

Tao Nian, with her swollen face, was listless and didn’t want to take it.

Zhang Jingyue held it closer to her and explained, “Your jade pendant from yesterday, it broke. These are the pieces.”

Only then did Tao Nian remember that she had worn the jade pendant her Master gave her a few days ago. She touched her chest.

Only a red string remained.

Zhang Jingyue spread open the handkerchief, placed the jade pendant fragments on the table, picked up a piece, examined it carefully, and said, “It has good translucency and looks great. I’ll recommend a goldsmith to you. You can get it repaired; a gold-inlaid jade would also look beautiful.”

Tao Nian looked at the pile of fragments, picked up one, thought for a moment, borrowed some glue from someone, haphazardly glued the jade back together, strung it onto the string, and told Zhang Jingyue, “Done, it’s whole again.”

Zhang Jingyue looked as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she only reminded her, “You can only wear it after the glue dries.”

Tao Nian nodded obediently.

The second public performance officially began, and this time, the stage recording had an audience present.

Although the vast majority of the audience came for Lin Qianman, a small number were very interested in Tao Nian. After jumping around the “gossip fields” all day yesterday, they remembered another contestant’s name.

Not someone who projected the image of a “wealthy young lady, a blooming flower of human prosperity,” but a genuine “blooming flower of human prosperity”—Zhang Jingyue.

Seeing that the two were still in the same group this time, everyone was even more excited for the performance.

The song performed by Tao Nian’s group this time was a very classic love song. After being rearranged, it became a somewhat enchanting love song, and the accompanying dance was also of that style, very sensual.

The originally decided makeup also matched the stage.

However, today, Tao Nian’s face was still swollen. It already looked swollen in real life; it was hard to imagine how it would look on camera. There was no choice but to have her wear a small fox mask. The lower edge of the mask perfectly covered Tao Nian’s “bun face,” and with a more seductive lipstick color, she looked like a little fox who had strayed into the mortal world.

Even if her teammates initially doubted that Tao Nian would lower their votes, they now had to admit that Tao Nian, in this state, was incredibly beautiful.

When the entire team was made up and seen together.

The nine girls were all different, with varying makeup focus points and costumes. The fox masks also had their own unique patterns and details. But they were all equally beautiful!

The stage effect was indeed good. In the flickering lights, nine girls wearing fox masks sang with a slightly husky voice, sweet and seductive, yet with a hint of cynicism.

The audience below covered their noses, wondering if they had entered the Pure Land, understanding why monarchs wouldn’t attend early court, each silently thinking, Sister, I can.

Then, this group’s performance ended, and everyone stood at the front of the stage to solicit votes.

The nine people simultaneously took off their masks.

Eight beautiful older sisters, one swollen bun…

Especially since Tao Nian’s popularity was high, and a few days ago, “haters” had attacked her, irritating her fans. The fans then rose up for a while and voted Tao Nian into the C-position.

Tao Nian stood in the middle with a swollen, expressionless face, flanked by four beautiful older sisters with bright smiles and slender cheeks on either side.

Audience: “…”

Help, help. Although they knew yesterday that Tao Nian chipped a tooth, they never imagined she could swell up like this!

All the previous ambiguous atmosphere vanished. The audience looked at that bun-like face, laughing so hard they bent over, slapping their thighs, and mentally planning how to screenshot and make memes after the show aired.

Lin Qianman listened to the laughter from the audience below, looked up at the large screen behind the stage.

Tao Nian had a “bun face” with an expressionless look, her eyes filled with numbness. This contrasted with her swollen, cute “bun face,” making her look as if life had lost all meaning.

Even if the little Taotie didn’t understand, she could sense from everyone’s attitude over the past two days that all those people below were laughing at her.

…So irritating.

Lin Qianman looked at her numb expression and couldn’t help but turn her head, bending her index finger to her nose, concealing the smile on her lips.

Originally, Tao Nian’s swelling was just from the anesthetic, and it would have subsided in a couple of days after the anti-inflammatory medication finished.

But wherever she went, people would stare at her.

Stare if you must, but then they would turn around and laugh. Some even stopped to take pictures.

Tao Nian wasn’t sensitive to human emotions, but even with all this, she couldn’t help but feel a little unhappy: “Why are you looking at me!”

Lin Qianman comforted her: “It’s okay, everyone is just looking because you lost a tooth. There’s nothing wrong with looking.”

Tao Nian would usually pout and puff out her cheeks when she was angry, but now her face was swollen, so she looked pouting even without actually pouting. So she looked unhappy, and hearing Lin Qianman’s words made her even more unhappy. Unable to pout, she learned to frown like others when they’re angry, and said: “What’s wrong with losing a tooth? Don’t look at me! Don’t I have any dignity?”

Lin Qianman looked as if she wanted to say something, but finally couldn’t help but laugh. While laughing, she quietly retorted: “Your tooth is gone, what dignity do you have left?”

Tao Nian was so angry at that moment that her hair almost stood on end. Lin Qianman tried to coax her for a while but couldn’t cheer her up.

Instead, Tao Nian grew more and more furious the more she thought about it, opening her mouth wide, still wanting to bite Lin Qianman.

Because of the positioning with Wu Xuan, the tooth she used the most force on was her left canine, and it was also her left canine that got chipped. Yesterday’s anesthetic hadn’t worn off, so she couldn’t use force on that tooth at all, and touching her left canine still hurt. She could only grimace and tilt her head, trying to bite Lin Qianman with her right teeth.

Lin Qianman originally thought that after Tao Nian chipped her tooth from biting someone, she would learn her lesson, break the habit of biting, and Lin Qianman herself would be safe.

She never expected that Tao Nian, having chipped a tooth from biting, would become even more audacious. In the ten hours since she returned this morning, she had already bitten Lin Qianman twice.

Although she had stopped her by pinching her swollen face last time, this wasn’t a good habit!

Lin Qianman’s thoughts wandered, and her action of pinching Tao Nian’s face slowed down a bit, allowing Tao Nian to bite her arm with her canine.

Because her left tooth hurt, and she couldn’t use much force with her right teeth either, Tao Nian didn’t bite hard enough to cause pain. Her teeth just scraped back and forth on Lin Qianman’s arm, which was a little itchy.

Lin Qianman got goosebumps all over her arm and used her other hand to pinch Tao Nian’s face.

This time, she used too much force. She directly made Tao Nian’s face red.

—Perhaps her swelling today was from Lin Qianman pinching her yesterday.

The more Lin Qianman thought about it, the funnier it became, and her facial expressions completely broke down.

On stage, her teammates were still canvassing for votes, shouting slogans with passion and vigor. Tao Nian had a toothache and a swollen face, and even speaking hurt. While enduring the pain to shout slogans, she looked around.

And then she saw Lin Qianman below the stage, shaking with laughter like a blooming branch.

Tao Nian: “…”

She glared fiercely at Lin Qianman for a while, then, with humiliation, turned her head away, deciding she never wanted to play with her again!