After Being Hopeless at Singing and Dancing, I Exploded in Popularity Due to My Appetite - Chapter 52

How to put it?

Actually, that movie was one of Lin Qianman’s most favorite and satisfying films.

Previously, after every movie, she would reflect and seek out shortcomings in her performance.

But for Hidden Blaze, Lin Qianman personally felt it was one of her best performances. The character of Ruyue was well-developed, and the story, against the backdrop of a chaotic world, had an added inevitability of tragic destiny. Xu Ruixi, who played Qi Zheng, had collaborated before, and her performance in Hidden Blaze was also flawless, coupled with the director, post-production, soundtrack, and so on. The finished film was genuinely excellent.

This was Lin Qianman’s own professional assessment.

As a highly dedicated actress, Lin Qianman viewed the movie from all angles and felt that it was a film that told a generational tragedy through two women, which, while not necessarily thought-provoking, was certainly evocative.

But thinking about Tao Nian’s actions just now, Lin Qianman immediately knew where Tao Nian’s focus lay.

This issue had been discussed countless times when the movie was first released. It was also this movie that attracted many “face fans” (fans who admire looks) and “girlfriend fans” to Lin Qianman, who would chase her online calling her “husband” every day. However, that was all online, and Lin Qianman didn’t pay much attention to those things.

Now, it was brought right to her by Tao Nian.

Lin Qianman suddenly became alarmed. Was that qipao slit too high? Were some shots too provocative?

Would it corrupt the children?!

Tao Nian on the other end of the phone, still utterly innocent, discussed the movie with Lin Qianman: “Yueyue, Ruyue just wanted to be with Qi Zheng to get a good ending. Qi Zheng was attracted to Ruyue’s looks. Just like me and you, and you to me, too.”

Lin Qianman really liked this movie. She had watched it a few times herself and remembered the script. Although she felt a bit awkward when she first heard Tao Nian describe the plot, she decided to treat Tao Nian as a mature and sensible person. If Tao Nian wanted to know, she would patiently explain the movie to her.

But Tao Nian’s words were endlessly shocking.

Lin Qianman: “…”

She blinked. This gesture on Tao Nian was pure innocence, but on Lin Qianman, it was purely due to being startled by Tao Nian’s words: “What do you mean ‘you to me’? What do you mean ‘like me to you’?”

Tao Nian had just swallowed a large mouthful of steamed bun and was a bit choked. She picked up her bowl and gulped down several mouthfuls of soy milk before saying: “I get a good ending by being with you, and you’re attracted to my looks.”

After saying that, she immediately remembered Zhang Jingyue’s words and added: “We’re mutually attracted to each other’s looks.”

Lin Qianman, who had just doubted her own attraction two nights ago but immediately brought herself back, was speechless. Various emotions tangled and intertwined in her heart, and finally, she blinked again: “No need, no need. I’m raising you as my daughter.”

??

Tao Nian had watched the movie, and now hearing this, she immediately perked up, recalling the scene that kept her awake, she put down her bowl and vividly reenacted a line: “Good girl, don’t you like it? You like it, right?”

…How to put it, if it weren’t for her overly innocent eyes and the wrong setting, it would be a performance good enough to be filmed and cut directly into a movie.

This time, not only Lin Qianman was stunned, but even Xiao Nan, who was steeped in melancholy, was also stunned. He quietly looked at the phone, trying to see Lin Qianman on the other end through the screen.

Lin Qianman evidently also thought of Xiao Nan being in Tao Nian’s room. She felt a little embarrassed, believing she was being wrongly accused and only a sudden snowfall could clear her name. She also wondered if Zhang Jingyue, being so inscrutable, had installed a camera on her to detect her attraction.

…

No, she wasn’t attracted anymore; there was no need to convince herself otherwise!

Lin Qianman cleared her throat and said with great difficulty: “No need, that was Ruyue speaking to Qi Zheng, it has nothing to do with me.”

Tao Nian stated emphatically: “It was you!”

Lin Qianman: “…”

She had only heard of villains being cursed for being too realistic, not of people being forced into attraction because a stepmother played her role inappropriately.

Lin Qianman insisted: “That wasn’t me, that was Ruyue and Qi Zheng.”

Tao Nian still wanted to say something, but Lin Qianman quickly cut her off: “You finish your food, then go to sleep. You’re not allowed to watch movies anymore.”

Tao Nian reluctantly agreed.

Xiao Nan went to take the phone, seemingly about to end the call.

Lin Qianman then said: “I am not attracted to you, and you are not with me for a good ending. Your future is in your own hands. Only by working hard can you live well.”

Tao Nian: “…”

She suddenly looked intently: “I have work today, an interview. Yueyue said I’ll have a lot of work this year.”

Lin Qianman nodded: “Yes, there’s a lot of work at the beginning. We’ve already spoken with Orange Entertainment; we won’t drain you dry, but it will definitely be tiring. If you can’t stand it, tell me, and I’ll go negotiate again.”

Tao Nian waved her hand: “A little tired is fine. I just want to know.”

The little Taotie looked very pitiful: “Will my future salary still be five thousand a month?”

Lin Qianman: “…More than five thousand.”

She had originally wanted to tell Tao Nian that the money from her last advertisement had already been transferred and would be in her account next week. After her debut, there would also be bonuses from the show, and the process was already underway. But Tao Nian had already sighed in relief and reached out to end the video call.

Lin Qianman felt complex emotions, looked at the phone screen, and sighed.

Meanwhile, on this side, Xiao Nan watched Tao Nian eat.

Just now, she would drift off after a couple of bites, but after the video call with Lin Qianman, she was eating in big, fragrant mouthfuls.

Xiao Nan felt even more that he didn’t understand Tao Nian, and at the same time, a little confused: “Monthly salary of five thousand?”

Tao Nian ate while explaining to Xiao Nan: “It’s a very, very good older sister who introduced me to this job. She originally said it was four thousand a month, but it actually turned out to be over five thousand!”

Xiao Nan, whose contract stated nine thousand eight a month plus an annual bonus: “…”

He couldn’t help but show a sympathetic look.

Lin Qianman was young and had only heard that Taoties were greedy for wealth and food. The only Taotie she had actually met was Tao Nian, and Tao Nian was someone who had never seen money. So, she didn’t know much about a Taotie’s greed for wealth.

But Xiao Nan, as a mountain god, knew other Taoties. A thousand years ago, that great Taotie stood on a mountain filled with gold, silver, jewels, and decaying copper coins. Even after descending to the mortal world, he was a fierce, brutal mountain bandit who disregarded human lives, mostly engaging in murder and robbery.

—Later, that Taotie was struck by lightning and died.

And a thousand years later, Tao Nian, with a monthly salary of five thousand, was already so happy she wanted to shake her legs while eating.

Tao Nian was very obedient to Lin Qianman’s words and went to sleep after eating.

She slept until noon, awakened by Xiao Nan for makeup.

Staying up all night actually only made her feel tired, not sleepy. Sleeping for four hours and then being woken up meant half the fatigue, and also sleepiness.

Tao Nian yawned while eating and getting her makeup done. When the magazine for the interview arrived to set up the venue and lighting, she almost fell asleep.

During the interview, she remembered it was work and barely managed to stay awake without yawning. She also conscientiously answered the questions according to the agreed-upon answers.

The next few days were truly packed with work.

Anyway, after the interview ended that day, the nine members were packed onto a plane, preparing to record a variety show the next day.

The variety show was a long-running one, with four hosts. At the beginning, the group made their appearance, performing the theme song of the Idol 101 show.

As the first show for the AD Girls’ Group after their debut, fans were very excited. Although variety shows took a long time to record and might have awkward silences, making them less entertaining than watching the actual broadcast, the audience seats were still full.

As soon as they appeared, there were waves of screams from the audience.

Thanks to the selfless sharing and guidance of Huang Li’s fans last time, the “Sweet Peaches” (Tao Nian’s fans) now held more professional light sticks and light boards, pink and tender, not very conspicuous among the large expanse of orange, blue, and yellow.

Breaking the jar, so to speak, they simply didn’t feel like screaming as hard as other members’ fans.

The Sweet Peaches thought quite indifferently.

Whether you make it big or not is up to you, kid.

The long-running variety show had its own casual audience base. Of course, it started with the hosts introducing the AD Girls’ Group, then briefly introducing the members, standing together and sharing some interesting stories from the competition.

Although fans already knew these things from watching the show, they still laughed cooperatively when they heard them again.

Tao Nian had slept four hours during the day yesterday. After the interview in the afternoon, she rushed to catch a plane. Due to her poor physical condition and the turbulence on the plane, she felt dizzy and nauseous after landing. She went to bed without eating dinner that night and still felt a bit uncomfortable when she woke up today. She also realized she had missed Lin Qianman’s call because she slept too early yesterday. There wasn’t enough time for her to call back. Plus, the stage lights were simply too bright, making her feel a bit unwell.

So, her reactions were slow and she seemed a bit dazed, constantly missing cues.

The Sweet Peaches looked at the rather indifferent Tao Nian: “Indifferent.”

After the simple introductions, it was the usual game segment.

Similar to a truth or dare game.

A deck of poker cards was used. The person who drew the highest card could pick a slip for the person who drew the lowest card. The person who drew the slip had to answer the question within ten seconds.

The slips were mixed in a wooden bucket, containing various strange questions.

For example, favorite food, favorite color, favorite animal, least favorite thing to do…

As mentioned before, Taoties are fragile and unlucky.

So Tao Nian, feeling muddled today, drew a card.

An Ace.

What do you do when you’re home alone?

“Eat!”

Draw another card.

An Ace.

What kind of music do you like?

“Anything!”

The hosts chattered: “What kind of answer is ‘anything’? You have to give a specific answer!”

Tao Nian couldn’t distinguish between music genres and couldn’t even name any, so she could only plead: “I don’t know much about it.”

“Don’t you usually listen to music at home?”

Tao Nian truthfully said: “The last time I listened was Lin Qianman’s song.”

That was the night after watching the movie when she tried to find videos like Zhang Jingyue, and then slowly stumbled upon Lin Qianman’s homepage, where she found the songs Lin Qianman released when she was a singer. In the music video, Lin Qianman’s styling was very fitting for that era, very non-mainstream. If it weren’t for her beautiful looks, she wouldn’t have been able to pull off that messy, multi-colored hair.

The fans below began to stir.

Sweet Peaches: “Here we go, here we go.”

Other fans: “You’re not playing fair! If you don’t have your own bit, you call in reinforcements!”

“Why did you listen to Mentor Lin’s song?”

The host laughed uncontrollably: “Okay, that counts as a pass for you.”

Draw another card.

An Ace.

Tao Nian drew three Aces in a row. The hosts started to disbelieve, claiming the prop team must have Tao Nian’s fans helping her cheat, demanding that Tao Nian draw another card.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the host took out that Ace, shuffled the other cards, and had Tao Nian draw.

A 2.

The entire audience started laughing. Tao Nian looked utterly miserable.

Favorite animal?

“Qilin!”

Host: “No, Nian Nian, what’s wrong with you?”

Several hosts sang in unison: “Is a Qilin even an animal? Have you seen one?”

“What do you like about the Qilin? Can’t see it, can’t touch it?”

Tao Nian was teased and bantered, wanting to explain.

How good Qilin is. Qilin smells good, has little balls on its horns, and is exceptionally kind, giving her food and teaching her social etiquette, and so gentle.

But when she went down the mountain, Master said not to expose her Taotie true form, and Lin Qianman probably couldn’t be discovered as a Qilin, right?

So Tao Nian pursed her lips, didn’t explain, and let the hosts tease her.

Draw another card.

An Ace.

Everyone completely bent over laughing: “What’s going on, Nian Nian? Did you put a mark on the Aces or something, you always pick one?”

This time the question was, “Which teammate do you think is the prettiest?”

“Lin Qianman!”