After Being Hopeless at Singing and Dancing, I Exploded in Popularity Due to My Appetite - Chapter 33

Previously, to slack off, Huang Li had simply fallen, but she exaggerated by putting on a cast and insisting her leg was broken. Her agent, considering her hard work that year and her upcoming new album, reluctantly let her decline the mentor invitation for the Idol 101 show, allowing her to stay at home.

Now, hearing that she was going to Idol 101 to be a guest performer for a contestant, her eyes practically rolled to the heavens.

The production team shared the same sentiment.

Huang Li had claimed her leg was broken and refused to be a mentor, but now she was coming to be a guest performer for a contestant—this was… lowering her status.

When Huang Li’s agent and the production team confirmed the recording schedule, the atmosphere became quite awkward.

However, the fact that a previously scheduled mentor was now coming as a guest performer was visibly a hot topic, so the production team naturally welcomed it and quickly settled everything.

On the third day, Huang Li was heading to the building where Idol 101 was being recorded.

If both were victims facing their aggressor again, Huang Li and Lin Qianman were still different.

Lin Qianman was told from birth that she was the last Qilin, forced to mature early, becoming precociously old, and possessing the inherent gentleness and kindness of the Qilin lineage. Furthermore, she was also a divine beast and had lived on Qingnan Mountain for a period. Under Feng Jun’s care, although Tao Nian later often gnawed and ground her teeth, she didn’t cause any substantial harm to Lin Qianman. Lin Qianman’s fear of Tao Nian was more like facing a childish, unpredictable, and sometimes exasperating child.

Although sometimes Lin Qianman would still flinch when Tao Nian tried to bite her, it was still within a controllable range.

If she were truly afraid, Lin Qianman would not have actively accepted the request to mentor Tao Nian, and might not have even come to this show in the first place. Indeed, the compassionate Qilin believed that Tao Nian would change and become very good.

It was just that a few days ago, even without teeth, Tao Nian still tried to gnaw and grind, which disheartened her a little. However, she still believed that the path to transforming the Taotie had a bright future.

But Huang Li was different!

Huang Li, at first, was just a carefree little bird below Qingnan Mountain. Later, she unknowingly flew to Qingnan Mountain, and as soon as she found a tree to perch on, Tao Nian swallowed her whole in one bite.

Although she was rescued by Feng Jun, she had personally seen Tao Nian eat several non-spiritual birds in one bite each.

The Taotie’s true form was not pretty, truly not pretty. It was strange, which was one thing; Huang Li had seen many strange-looking divine beasts. But the Taotie’s true form was genuinely bizarre and ferocious. Its mouth was so big, one bite per bird, killing them, then stuffing them to that mountain god of Qingnan Mountain, making the mountain god light a fire to roast them before eating.

Its teeth were even bigger than a bird’s.

This incident was literally the most unforgettable day in Huang Li’s bird life and her biggest trauma.

She went down the mountain that very night and never returned to Qingnan Mountain. If it weren’t for suddenly receiving a letter from Feng Jun this time, she probably would never have had contact with Qingnan Mountain and this Taotie again.

Thinking of this, Huang Li wiped a bitter tear, only hoping that Lin Qianman had already properly disciplined that extremely vicious Taotie.

Had Lin Qianman disciplined her?

No, Lin Qianman hadn’t.

Last night, after a tiring day, she and the other three mentors decided to go out for a late-night snack. As they headed to the parking lot, they saw Tao Nian sitting on the steps by the back door of the cafeteria, giving herself an extra meal.

Lin Qianman accidentally stepped on a row of Jianbing Guozi (fried pancake rolls) neatly laid out behind Tao Nian.

Mainly, Tao Nian really bought a lot. Usually, when people buy so many, they put them in a large foam box next to them. But Tao Nian didn’t.

Tao Nian, for some unknown reason, was always very particular about these unnecessary details. She meticulously lined up the Jianbing Guozi on the step behind her, two in a row, making sure the paper bags with “Secret Recipe Grain Jianbing” written on them faced upwards. Then she sat at the brightest spot on the far right, ate the two behind her, and then shifted to the left to continue eating.

Lin Qianman saw her and remembered that Huang Li was coming tomorrow.

Perhaps it was late and very dark at the time. Tao Nian sat on the steps eating Jianbing, hooking her little finger to pull out the spicy strips rolled inside the Jianbing and chewing with puffed cheeks. Her dark head reflected the light, and small mosquitoes hovered above her, looking quite cute. Lin Qianman scoffed at herself for being angry with a child and walked over to tell her about Huang Li. But because the lighting there was a bit dim, she didn’t see the items on the steps. She took two steps up and stepped on something soft.

Honestly, Lin Qianman froze. She even suspected she had stepped on a pile of dog poop from the stray dog outside the building.

Then, under the faint moonlight, almost entirely relying on her 5.0 vision, Lin Qianman saw two neat rows of Jianbing.

…

Oh no, last time it was in this very spot that Tao Nian lent her stir-fried rice noodles to me as a prop, and I accidentally spilled them. I promised to compensate Tao Nian with a hundred boxes.

Now, the stir-fried rice noodles haven’t even been given to Tao Nian yet, and I’ve crushed another one of her Jianbing Guozi.

As Lin Qianman expected, Tao Nian was very angry and furiously opened her mouth, intending to snap at Lin Qianman. But then, she remembered that she had previously “softened her mouth from eating someone’s food” (meaning she was indebted)… so she turned back aggrievedly and bit fiercely into a Jianbing Guozi.

She didn’t shout or blame her, and Lin Qianman felt a little embarrassed. She wanted to explain to Tao Nian, but then remembered she had to go for a late-night snack with the other mentors and didn’t have much time. Tao Nian was currently in a fit of anger, and if she started talking, it would take a long time. She could only hastily apologize and then left.

Left?

So she deliberately came over just to step on my Jianbing Guozi?!

This is three times the anger!

And the most infuriating thing was! Before Tao Nian could even decide whether to eat the stepped-on Jianbing, a stray cat actually ran over and snatched it away!

Never before had any creature been able to snatch anything from a Taotie’s mouth! This was the first time!

The next day, Huang Li was woken up early by her assistant and had full makeup applied.

Learning from her previous experience, Huang Li didn’t wear her favorite high heels with very tall heels this time. Instead, she wore mid-heeled shoes; her presence might not have been as imposing as with stilettos, but it was safer.

The accompanying cameraman followed Huang Li closely from the moment she left.

Although very nervous, Huang Li maintained her sweet girl image, with light makeup and an impeccable smile. There would be a short interview in the car on the way to the recording venue. She very gracefully expressed her optimism for the show, her regret at not being able to be a mentor at the time, and platitudes about how this season’s contestants had impressed her. Then, as usual, she praised Tao Nian, saying how good her relationship with Tao Nian was, how much she thought of Tao Nian, and what an excellent idol Tao Nian was.

—Even though she had practiced these lines countless times in front of the mirror at home, Huang Li’s heart was still filled with bitterness as she spoke them now.

Help, I feel scared just mentioning this person!

Just as Huang Li was speaking untruths with a conflicted heart, her minivan arrived.

Huang Li got out of the car and followed the signs to the recording room.

Tao Nian would be waiting for her there.

Coincidentally, it was the same room where Tao Nian first met Lin Qianman.

Huang Li had also watched the show, and of course, she had seen the part where Tao Nian lunged to bite Lin Qianman. At the time, she was even under a pseudonym, furiously dissing Tao Nian as rude and disrespectful.

Now, looking at the familiar room, her eyes went black as if Tao Nian was about to push open the door, poke her head out, and then rush over to bite her.

Help me.

Huang Li’s legs felt a little weak. She turned and went back to the corner of the hallway, leaning against the wall, taking deep breaths, and then more deep breaths.

Facing the camera, she forced an embarrassed smile: “A little nervous.”

In reality, she was so nervous she was about to kneel down.

Meanwhile, in the room, Lin Qianman looked at Tao Nian, who was even angrier than yesterday and wouldn’t even look at her. She knew this was because of the Jianbing from yesterday.

She found it a little amusing, but also knew that she was indeed at fault; she hadn’t seen Tao Nian’s Jianbing and stepped on her food.

This was really serious for the extremely food-protective Tao Nian.

Moreover, every time Tao Nian ate Jianbing Guozi from that particular vendor, she would always add an extra egg for an additional dollar on top of the standard Jianbing Guozi. This meant that one Jianbing Guozi cost about eight yuan.

For the frugal Tao Nian, eight yuan was four dishes! The kind that could fill an entire tray!

—The Taotie’s nature was greed for wealth and food, but Tao Nian grew up on Qingnan Mountain and had never seen currency, having no concept of money. After coming down the mountain, everything was mobile payment; phones and meal cards were everything. Tao Nian had no concept of money. All things related to money were broken down into two-yuan dishes in the cafeteria for her.

It was…

Quite pitiful.

Lin Qianman had never seen other Taotie, but she truly couldn’t imagine a Taotie being so aggrieved over a single Jianbing Guozi.

While finding Tao Nian cute, she reflected on herself and felt that she was bullying a child.

So she took the initiative to speak to Tao Nian and promised her: “I will definitely compensate you.”

Who would have thought the little Taotie would turn her head defiantly: “Hmph, I don’t want it anymore.”

All the incidents of these past few days were mixed together, and Lin Qianman didn’t know where to start. She could only suppress a smile and say to Tao Nian: “And those stir-fried rice noodles, should I give them to you? Keep eating the walnuts too; you eat them, they’re not expensive, I still have money.”

Tao Nian held one hand flat, and with the back of her other hand, she slapped the palm of that hand. Her tone was very earnest and heartfelt: “Is it because of money?! No! You don’t trust me! I told you I wouldn’t bite you anymore! You don’t believe me!”

She shouldn’t have said that. As soon as she did, Lin Qianman couldn’t help herself: “Do you know how sharp your teeth are when you bite people… No, even if you don’t bite and just grind, do you know how much it hurts?!”

As she spoke, she watched Tao Nian clap her hands, secretly pondering whether she could let Tao Nian act in the future. The little Taotie’s intelligence and emotional quotient might not understand scripts, but her learning ability was truly too strong. As long as she saw a scene, she could immediately learn it and apply it flexibly.

Look at this “disappointed but caring” demeanor now, how much it resembles an old mother lamenting her unmotivated child.

Tao Nian truly didn’t know how much it hurt.

She had always been the one doing the biting; who would dare bite her? Even having her tooth knocked out by Wu Xuan was the worst Waterloo in her Taotie career.

Lin Qianman, mimicking Tao Nian’s earlier gesture, held her right hand flat and used the back of her left hand to slap the palm of her right hand, speaking earnestly and with exasperation: “Do you know ‘do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you’? Do you know how to put yourself in someone else’s shoes? Do you know that what you don’t want others to do to you, you’d best not do to others?!”

Tao Nian said righteously: “I don’t know!”

Lin Qianman patiently tried to explain: “It’s precisely because you don’t know that you need to learn! Your guest performer will be here soon. You must be polite and not treat them this way.”

Tao Nian still didn’t know who her guest performer was, but she wasn’t in the mood to care about her guest performer right now. She was still fixated on Lin Qianman’s misunderstanding, her own “soft mouth from eating someone’s food,” and the Jianbing Guozi that Lin Qianman had stepped on and the stray cat had stolen.

Unhappy.

Lin Qianman, being a mentor, also had other contestants to look after and didn’t have much time to keep coaxing Tao Nian. She could only remind her again: “Anyway, if you don’t want something done to you, don’t do it to others. Just remember that, and don’t be rude to the guest performer.”

Seeing Lin Qianman about to push the door and leave, Tao Nian angrily stretched out her arm: “Then you bite me! I’ll let you bite me, so let me try too!”

Lin Qianman had no such hobby. She rolled her eyes, pushed Tao Nian’s arm away, and then pushed the door: “I won’t bite. You go.”

Huang Li, who had taken countless deep breaths in the corner and finally calmed herself down a little, walked shakily to the room door and slowly pushed it open.

The door gradually opened, and the sounds from inside finally emerged.

The Taotie was grumbling, seemingly angry yet aggrieved: “I just want to taste it, I won’t use force, just let me have a bite…”

With a “thud.”

Huang Li’s legs went weak, and she collided with the door frame.

This sound finally caught Tao Nian’s attention. She looked at the person, finding them somewhat familiar. After much thought, she dug this person out of her memory.

On that day, when she went to the company for the open audition with the recommendation letter Liu Xiaobai gave her, this person also fell.

Tao Nian had been arguing with Lin Qianman, her face sullen and unhappy. Now, deep in thought, her eyes remained fixed on Huang Li.

Huang Li gathered her courage to glance, and saw Tao Nian looking at her with a grim expression.

Her legs grew even weaker. Her arm trembled as she reached out to grab Lin Qianman’s clothes. Her voice was low and hoarse: “Um… Sister Lin, I…”

With a camera still filming behind her, Huang Li dared not say too much. She practically squeezed the words out from between her teeth: “I think I’m sick, my throat feels uncomfortable.”

I’m really afraid that if I chatter in front of her, she’ll come and take a bite to taste!