After Being Hopeless at Singing and Dancing, I Exploded in Popularity Due to My Appetite - Chapter 46

Previously, Lin Qianman thought that even if Tao Nian debuted, she probably wouldn’t be a qualified idol. Her singing and dancing skills weren’t particularly good, and she lacked understanding of social etiquette, making it very possible that she would do something excessive and disappoint her fans.

Fang Wen had also told Lin Qianman before that Tao Nian didn’t understand the meaning of fans. She was insensitive to emotions and feelings, and being a fierce beast, unlike Lin Qianman who had auspicious aura blessings and could easily gain favor, Lin Qianman thought she wouldn’t be the kind of idol who would shine on stage and be adored and pursued by everyone.

Tao Nian might like this job, the feeling of being pursued and loved, so Lin Qianman had thought about having Tao Nian act with her in the future.

But today, Lin Qianman realized she was wrong.

Tao Nian was insensitive, lacked the blessings that would easily earn her trust and love, and furthermore, she lacked talent and understanding of social etiquette, making her seem very weak.

She wouldn’t be an idol who shone on stage, but rather a funny and interesting comedian. Without that halo, she was just herself.

Her fans wouldn’t pursue her; they would only think she was clumsy and silly, and accompany her as she grew.

Lin Qianman smiled in relief and sent the Q-version Taotie character she had just saved to Fang Wen: “Find this blogger and buy the copyright. This can be made into a plushie later.”

Fang Wen picked up her phone and glanced at it, momentarily attracted by the cute but strange-looking Q-version line art character. She quickly frowned: “What is this?”

“Tao Nian’s Q-version, probably.”

“No, I can tell it’s Tao Nian, but what animal is this supposed to be? Why is it so weird? Is it a sheep or a tiger? Why is it so strange?”

While saying it was strange, Fang Wen couldn’t help but look, trying to discern the facial features from this strange and Tao Nian-like Q-version character.

In the end, she couldn’t figure anything out. She looked at Lin Qianman suspiciously: “Did you figure it out?”

The blogger who drew this character probably hadn’t seen the original form of the Taotie—it would be absurd if they had—this Taotie character was likely drawn based on ancient architectural sculptures and was somewhat different from a real Taotie. Lin Qianman herself had only vaguely guessed that the small round triangles around the mouth were teeth.

Now, hearing Fang Wen’s question, she put on a profound smile: “No.”

“How strange.”

Fang Wen frowned and looked again, as if she was disgusted, yet she was also captivated and couldn’t help but look several more times. After a few more glances, she began to doubt her own aesthetic sense, found some pictures she had saved before, and sent a few to Lin Qianman: “Actually, I’ve seen some similar anthropomorphic drawings before. Most fans draw Tao Nian as a little peach.”

A plump little peach, with pink cheeks and a fluffy texture, topped with a few tender green leaves, with round, peach pit-shaped hands, holding a jianbing guozi.

…Also very cute.

That night, in Lin Qianman’s dream, a small Taotie plushie appeared, soft and fluffy with a small tail, and equally soft teeth, perfect for hugging and kneading.

Lin Qianman would pull its fluffy white tail for a bit, then poke its teeth and pink-white little tongue, unable to put it down.

Just as she was about to hug this little Taotie plushie to sleep, a peach-shaped plushie bounced over. The small, emerald green leaves on its head bobbed up and down with its bouncing, looking super cute. This little peach bounced to Lin Qianman’s side, extended its peach pit-like hand, and pushed a jianbing guozi into Lin Qianman’s hand.

Lin Qianman bent down, wanting to pick up the peach as well.

But the Taotie plushie in her arms seemed to realize Lin Qianman’s intention and, feeling very threatened, stomped hard on the peach plushie, preventing Lin Qianman from looking at this rival plushie.

Then, a little peach and a little Taotie started fighting. You bite me, I’ll throw peach pits at you.

In her dream, she was like a femme fatale, cuddling the Taotie while also being intimate with the peach.

Although it was a headache, the dream was still very soft and cute. Anyway, this time Lin Qianman didn’t wake up in the middle of the night. She just took a while to recover when she woke up the next day, coughed several times during breakfast, and whispered to Fang Wen: “Today, ask the blogger if they can grant authorization. I want to make plushies. For personal use.”

Fang Wen wanted to ask Lin Qianman which blogger she was referring to.

Then Lin Qianman touched her nose: “You can ask about other good-looking ones too. You can also tell the studio to organize a competition with generous rewards to encourage everyone to create.”

Only children make choices, adults want them all.

Fang Wen: “…”

O-kay.

T-h-i-s, i-s, l-o-v-e!

Soon, the day of the finals arrived. The finals were live, and the votes were tallied in real-time.

Perhaps it was because her perspective had changed, but Lin Qianman felt that Tao Nian on stage was different from before.

Or perhaps she truly was different.

In the previous four public performances, one time Tao Nian knew nothing, blending into the team and coasting, only able to dance by watching her teammates’ moves.

Another time, her dancing was a bit smoother, and her singing was passable, but overall, it was just barely above average, not amazing. At this point, she had just attracted some rebellious fans, but most people were cursing her. This barely-passing performance was naturally also mocked.

The third time, her comedian persona had already taken shape. She also happened to lose a tooth. Although the performance itself was stunning, the contrast of her chubby face after taking off her mask was too great. Compared to that, the stunning dance actually had fewer memorable points. Even if people cheered while watching the performance, when they saw the chubby face at the end, they mainly discussed the chubby face and the lost tooth.

As for the fourth time, Tao Nian had already been bitten, and there was also Huang Li in the team. In contrast to Huang Li, Tao Nian was indeed not doing well.

But today in the finals, Tao Nian was on her own.

She chose a very cute song. The original song was a girl group song, with sweet lyrics and melody. She bounced around in a pink dress, and her singing had a slightly childish, but very sweet, tone!

This song was energetic and sweet, without complex emotions, so Tao Nian sang it effortlessly. Her voice was cutesy and slightly childish, with an overflowing sweetness. Her dance moves were also smooth, hitting every beat without mistakes. At the end of her performance, Tao Nian made a heart shape with her hands and gave a wink.

This wink was captured and magnified onto the screen behind her, visible to both the audience in the hall and those watching the live stream.

Lin Qianman, as a mentor, was closest to the stage and naturally watched the most carefully.

This wink, Tao Nian had actually been trying to learn it since she first joined the show.

But eye muscles are incredibly difficult to control. Lin Qianman had seen Tao Nian’s strained and contorted face many times while she practiced, and the first time she saw it, she thought Tao Nian wanted to eat someone. Later, she realized Tao Nian was practicing a wink. She had thought Tao Nian had no talent for it and might never learn it.

She never expected that Tao Nian would learn it at some point, and now she performed it skillfully.

And it was sweet.

To match the song, Tao Nian wore a pink dress and pink and white princess shoes. Her makeup was also pink, emphasizing a fluffy look. She looked like a pure little peach, the kind that would ooze peach juice if squeezed.

Lin Qianman couldn’t help but think of the peach plushie from her dream.

Actually, making it into a doll would work too… this dress and makeup are both beautiful!

Not only was Lin Qianman lost in thought, but the “Sweet Peaches” in the audience were also slightly stunned.

Although they knew Tao Nian was good-looking, wasn’t she just a clumsy comedian who couldn’t sing or dance, only boasting a pretty face and a large appetite?

How come there were no mishaps today, no accidents, and the performance was perfect? Although her singing lacked technique, her voice was truly sweet, and her dancing was also great.

Most importantly, how was she so beautiful today?!!!

She’s too beautiful!

She’s the true Sweet Peach!

Tao Nian already had high traffic, and her final performance was truly good. Although the studio and fans said there was no need to spend money on votes, the news of Tao Nian signing with Lin Qianman’s studio attracted a lot of attention, and Tao Nian’s popularity surged.

The finals didn’t have the same clear leader as before, but she still debuted steadily.

Although Idol 101 was a niche show, the finals day still generated some buzz. After the live broadcast began, online discussions never stopped, ranging from each fan’s votes to the contestants’ stages and outfits. It was a heated discussion.

However, in the “Wild Sweet Peaches Are Big and Sweet” group chat, there was a rather cold atmosphere.

This group consisted of the administrators of various fan groups. Previously, after watching the show, everyone would share jokes and funny little details about Tao Nian here.

Today, after the live broadcast ended, not many people were talking.

It wasn’t until the group administrator spoke: “I just went to lurk in other contestants’ fan clubs and group chats.”

When someone spoke, others chimed in: “Did you discover their fans’ tactics? Like hoarding votes to abuse the fans, then dumping a lot of votes at the last minute to create a dark horse image? We don’t do those flashy things.”

Along with this message came the admin’s reply: “I found that other idols are quite good-looking.”

“…”

“Admin, wake up! This is the Tao Nian fan group!”

“Tao Nian is also very good-looking! Tao Nian was practically a peach fairy today! Beautiful and sweet!”

“Right! How is Tao Nian so beautiful today?! Why did I only just realize it?!”

“I really am! So beautiful I’m speechless, uwuwuwu.”

Next came many screenshots from today’s live broadcast, showing a sweet, pink Tao Nian in a pink dress, making a heart shape like a little princess.

“No, no, no, what I mean is,”

The group admin was very serious: “When I went to other groups today to lurk, I went with the mindset of seeing what rival fans were up to. But once I got there, I realized that other contestants are all going for the ‘talented beauty’ persona. The only one not going for that persona is Zhang Jingyue, but Yueyue is relying on her strength to maintain her ‘rich, beautiful, and fair-skinned’ persona. Only Tao Nian is going for the ‘comedian’ persona.”

The group admin then posted some beautiful photos they found in other fan groups and asked, “What kind of photos of Tao Nian do you all have saved on your phones?”

Everyone started posting photos.

Tao Nian stuffing a pancake as big as her face into her mouth, with the caption: “Hungry.”

Tao Nian chugging an entire bottle of milk in one go: “Drink some milk to calm down.”

Tao Nian stuffing a rice ball into Lin Qianman’s hand: “Sneaky.”

Tao Nian’s mouth covered, tears streaming down her face: “What do you think?”

They were all emojis. Although Tao Nian herself was naturally attractive, even in these repeatedly compressed and re-shared emoji images, her facial features were still distinct, her face lines smooth, her features delicate, and the slight plumpness on her cheeks gave her a fresh, youthful appearance.

However, because everyone had watched the show and knew the story behind the emojis, most people would just laugh when they saw them.

Everyone clearly thought of something and fell silent.

The group admin became even more serious: “They’re both idol talent shows, but others are praising looks, so why isn’t Tao Nian?! Although Tao Nian’s previous sexy makeup wasn’t very suitable, she still looked beautiful even with inappropriate makeup! Tao Nian is clearly very good-looking! And Tao Nian herself didn’t market a comedian persona; these were all imposed on her by us! This clearly limits Tao Nian’s development and is not conducive to her moving forward!”

Liu Xiaobai had also been in the group chat and was now in a moment of silence. She hadn’t expected the group admin, after going undercover, to think of such far-reaching implications. She felt both admiration and guilt, feeling like she wasn’t a qualified fan and was practically unworthy of the signed poster the studio gave her!

Thinking of the signed poster, Liu Xiaobai cheered up again. She slowly placed her hand on the keyboard: “It’s okay, Nian Nian has only just started, everything is still salvageable, as long as we later…”

Before she could finish typing, she saw the group admin send another photo—the one that Lin Qianman’s studio had released when promoting the live broadcast. Tao Nian’s profile, with half her face visible, was exquisitely beautiful: “You’ve said all this, why haven’t you bombarded me with Tao Nian’s beautiful photos yet?! How can you bear to only crop emojis from such a beautiful face?!”

Liu Xiaobai: “…”

So she just wanted to get beautiful photos for free.

Absurd.

Meanwhile, Tao Nian received the phone that the production team had collected earlier. The production team informed her that the show was over, and she could go home and rest for two days. She would then join the team for promotional activities in about a week.

Tao Nian, in a daze, looked at Zhang Jingyue, who had also debuted and was currently packing her belongings in the dorm: “What’s wrong? No more work?”

Zhang Jingyue casually stuffed her clothes into her suitcase and said, “Work, yes, just a change of job.”

After this, idols would not only need to sing and dance but also have endorsement deals, group reality shows, magazine covers, and various interviews.

Although this group was not very popular, they still had some resources. She would probably be busy for a while.

“…”

Tao Nian was confused for a moment, then seemed to understand something. Finally, she timidly asked, “Is the salary still five thousand?”

Zhang Jingyue’s action of stuffing clothes paused. She seemed not to have expected Tao Nian’s thought process to be so peculiar and was a little bewildered herself.

Zhang Jingyue didn’t know much about the entertainment industry, and she thought that since they had debuted, the salary should be more than five thousand. But she wasn’t very familiar with it, so she didn’t know the exact amount.

In Zhang Jingyue’s eyes, five thousand and one hundred thousand were pretty much the same; neither could buy much.

But in Tao Nian’s eyes, where a piece of clothing cost 29.9 yuan with free shipping, the difference must be huge, right?

Zhang Jingyue remained silent, and Tao Nian became even more flustered: “And, is food and lodging still included?”

Although she hadn’t been outside, she knew that rent was very expensive outside, and you couldn’t buy two-yuan stir-fries or one-yuan bowls of rice porridge there!

Author’s Note:

Others: Debuting as a group and reaching the pinnacle of life!

Tao Nian: Suddenly unemployed, broke, and about to starve to death!

Talking to my master about the romance subplot. Me: “I think my romance subplot is fine, just a kiss at the end would be good. I really don’t know how to write smut. I personally think it’s fine.”

Master coldly: “Oh really? But the one I wrote starts with doi (implied sexual act).”

Me: “…Is this the disparity of the world?”

Well, at this point, they’re definitely staying over and living together! The romance subplot is really being written, it’s really being written!