After Rebirth, I Ended Up with My Idol [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 10

Have you ever sweated for your dreams? It is much harder than one might imagine.

An Rong had done it once before. She never expected that, after returning mysteriously to the starting point, she would have to do it all over again. It was a dual trial of physical and mental exhaustion. But as they say, “Great steel is forged through a hundred temperings.” Perhaps, having already lived through those four years, she would find a different world this time.

When she returned to the dormitory from the gym, the lights had already been turned off. The first night of twenty girls living in a shared dorm without phones began in an utterly ordinary fashion.

In the innermost cubicle, a small desk lamp was still lit. The light wasn’t bright—not enough to pierce through the layers of partitions to reach the door—but that tiny patch of light at the cubicle’s entrance remained there for her, quiet and serene.

An Rong was exhausted to the bone, but for a moment, a sense of happiness flooded her heart.

She stepped into the cubicle lightly. Thinking Xu Xiaoye was asleep, she squatted by the bed and picked up her washbasin and toiletries with extreme care, trying not to make a single sound.

“Hey!”

An Rong was startled, her heart jolted. But recognizing it was Xu Xiaoye, she stabilized. She looked up at Xu Xiaoye, who had made the strange noise to scare her, and frowned. “Why aren’t you asleep yet?”

Xu Xiaoye was lying on the bed in a wildly disorganized sleeping posture. Her left leg was propped up on the headboard, while her right leg was half-bent under the quilt and half-exposed. The quilt itself had been bullied into a wrinkled mess and was clutched in her arms.

“Can’t sleep.” Xu Xiaoye asked, “What time is it?”

An Rong checked the small clock on the desk. “Just past midnight.”

Xu Xiaoye gave an “Oh” and asked, “Hungry?”

An Rong: “…”

It’s not hunger; it’s the feeling of my body being hollowed out.

Xu Xiaoye pointed at the desk. “Xia Chunhua brought a handful of chocolates; they’re all on the desk. You’re burning so much energy right now, eating one won’t make you fat.”

An Rong turned to look. That wasn’t a “handful” on the desk; it was a small mountain, piled higher than Xu Xiaoye’s mug.

An Rong reached back, took one, and unwrapped it. The rich, delicate flavor instantly awakened her taste buds, and the energy replenished her post-exercise body. An Rong was almost moved to tears, but she didn’t cry.

She pressed the chocolate against the roof of her mouth with her tongue, waiting for it to melt completely without daring to chew. She tried to slow down its melting as much as possible. Eventually, it all slipped into her stomach. She felt a spark of satisfaction and wanted another one.

An Rong whispered, “Delicious.”

Seeing her silly expression, Xu Xiaoye wanted to laugh. Of course it’s delicious, it’s expensive. But she didn’t tell An Rong that. She only said, “Hurry up and wash up so you can sleep. We have to get up early tomorrow.”

An Rong hummed an acknowledgment, took her pajamas, and turned to leave.

The door directly across from their cubicle was the bathroom, which was why this room had been left empty. Although the air quality wasn’t the best, it was convenient and wouldn’t disturb others late at night.

The next morning, An Rong opened her eyes to a world of soreness. It felt as if she had been run over by a heavy truck; her bones and muscles were tangled in a knot. Despite her stretching, she couldn’t control the extreme muscle aches.

Xu Xiaoye was already dressed and sitting at the desk drinking coffee.

An Rong sat dazed on the bed. Having slept, her subconscious still held the faint hope that she would wake up four years in the future. Finding that the “escape” had failed, her mood was momentarily complicated.

Hearing movement, Xu Xiaoye looked up and saw An Rong sitting on the bed like an idiot, motionless.

“Hey, did you sleep yourself stupid?”

An Rong snapped back to reality. She turned to look at Xu Xiaoye with a bewildered face, then raised her aching arms to rub her eyes. “What time is it?” she asked with a frown.

Xu Xiaoye said, “Six o’clock. It’s early. Don’t you want to sleep a bit longer?”

An Rong shook her head, grabbed the clothes at the head of the bed, and turned around stiffly.

Xu Xiaoye smiled and said, “That part is covered. Just change here.”

An Rong still felt a bit awkward. She got up, grabbed her clothes, and climbed down the bunk. Carrying her toothbrush cup and her clothes, she headed to the bathroom. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to seize the chance to “accidentally” entice her crush; it was simply that her current body lacked any “capital” for seduction and was more likely to be a turn-off. Plus, she really didn’t like the feeling of being stared at.

Xu Xiaoye turned and removed the pillowcase she had used to cover the camera. After sitting down, she emptied a face mask box from her suitcase and neatly organized all the chocolates from the desk into it.

By the time An Rong returned, she was dressed. Despite being exhausted the day before, her youthful energy meant she looked decent after a night’s rest.

Xu Xiaoye nodded inwardly and asked, “Let’s go eat first? The makeup artists probably haven’t arrived yet.”

Since this was a variety show, they had to be on camera. Cameras “eat” makeup; what looks normal in person looks gray and lifeless on screen.

An Rong had gone all day yesterday without touching up her makeup. By evening, her sweat had practically washed it all away. That footage would almost certainly be edited out.

An Rong also knew the requirements of a show. Since this selection was public, it had become a performance in itself—a way to build popularity in advance. Wearing makeup wasn’t just about looking better; it was a sign of respect for the program, so she didn’t reject the idea.

Xu Xiaoye had woken up early and brought her own full set of cosmetics, so she didn’t need a makeup artist; she had finished her own face.

An Rong’s suitcase only contained a bottle of cheap job’s tears water. Since it was hot, she hadn’t even brought lotion, let alone masks or cosmetics. At seventeen, she had only been out of her school uniform for less than two weeks. She hadn’t used those things at all.

Xu Xiaoye was dumbfounded when she saw An Rong splash some toner on her face and prepare to leave. “That’s it?”

An Rong looked down at her oversized bottle of toner and hummed. “Yeah.”

Xu Xiaoye was truly impressed. She hadn’t seen someone this “wholesome” to the point of being blunt in years. If there were no cameras, she could do whatever she wanted, but this was likely to be broadcast. Being called ugly was one thing, but if she debuted and wore heavy makeup every day, people might attack her for getting plastic surgery.

Xu Xiaoye pulled out her “Tone-Up” cream and placed it in front of An Rong. “Put this on.”

An Rong didn’t move. She looked at the cream, then at Xu Xiaoye, and stammered, “This…”

Xu Xiaoye picked up the bottle, squeezed some onto her hand, and reached toward An Rong.

An Rong reflexively leaned back.

Xu Xiaoye frowned. “Don’t move.”

An Rong stood straight again, letting Xu Xiaoye dot the cream onto her face.

They were quite close. An Rong looked up at Xu Xiaoye’s lips. They were a bit full, coated in a grapefruit-colored lipstick that was light yet vibrant—it didn’t make her lips look too heavy, but very beautiful.

Xu Xiaoye stepped back. “Rub it in evenly.”

An Rong started rubbing while looking in the mirror, thanking Xu Xiaoye.

Xu Xiaoye found it quite interesting—it was like taking care of a little sister, albeit a slightly silly one who needed guidance on everything. Fortunately, this “little dummy” was obedient and learned quickly.

She was a bit cute.

Once An Rong finished, she turned and tilted her head left and right for Xu Xiaoye. “Is it even?”

Xu Xiaoye looked closely and felt a slight pang of jealousy. It’s so good to be young! Her skin was so supple it looked like it could hold water; it was fine and poreless, white and tender. With her naturally red lips and white teeth, no wonder she had the confidence not to wear makeup.

She was “sour” with envy.

After looking, Xu Xiaoye added, “Okay. Now, let’s do the eyebrows.”

She picked up an eyebrow pencil. Realizing An Rong definitely wouldn’t know how to do it, she simply reached out and tilted An Rong’s chin up so she was facing her directly.

“Don’t move.”

Xu Xiaoye didn’t need to say it. The moment her fingers touched An Rong’s chin, An Rong lost all power of movement. Aside from her thumping heart, she was even a bit afraid the sound was so loud Xu Xiaoye might hear it. Wouldn’t that be incredibly embarrassing?

Xu Xiaoye’s right pinky finger rested lightly on her face.

An Rong blinked.

Xu Xiaoye pulled her hand back and whispered, “Don’t blink. Your eyelashes are brushing against my hand. It tickles.”

An Rong immediately widened her eyes and held her breath, afraid to disturb Xu Xiaoye. She let out a tiny breath and whispered, “Oh.”

Then, from beneath Xu Xiaoye’s ear, she saw Song Ran standing at the door.

Song Ran was also wearing the newly issued clothes and was clutching the tablet. Standing at the door, she didn’t know whether to enter or retreat, feeling she had arrived at a bad time…

An Rong pursed her lips.

Xu Xiaoye sensed her distraction, turned around, and seeing it was Song Ran, smiled. “Morning.”

Song Ran said a bit stiffly, “Morning. Um, I’m here to return the tablet.”

With the eyebrow pencil still in hand, Xu Xiaoye waved. “Hey, this belongs to all of us. No need to return it, just keep it with you.”

Song Ran walked in, placed the tablet on the desk, and smiled. “You guys learn faster than me and use it more.”

After saying that, she felt it was inappropriate to stay, so she said, “I’ll be going then.”

Xu Xiaoye gave a hum, turned back, and continued holding An Rong’s chin to draw the other eyebrow.

Fortunately, having been interrupted, An Rong swallowed and nervously blinked twice in succession.

Once finished, Xu Xiaoye leaned back and turned An Rong’s chin left and right, as if turning a doll. An Rong cooperated fully.

After inspecting her work, Xu Xiaoye praised, “Not bad.”

An Rong smiled sillily.

Xu Xiaoye teased, “What are you so happy about? I meant my drawing is not bad.”

An Rong nodded earnestly. “Yes, that’s what I meant too.”

Xu Xiaoye realized this “little dummy” was quite the sweet-talker. No matter what she said, the girl agreed—she hadn’t even looked in the mirror yet! The key was that her sweet-talking felt sincere, as if it came from the bottom of her heart.

So, Xu Xiaoye was secretly pleased.

But she didn’t show it. She gave An Rong a light push and said with a smile and a touch of mock disdain, “Go look in the mirror yourself.”

An Rong turned to glance at the mirror, then turned back and nodded. “So beautiful.”

Xu Xiaoye didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Although the makeup was a bit light for the camera, it was much better than just washing her face with water. Getting photographed after leaving the room this early meant it might be edited into the show.

People were gradually waking up outside. After eating, Xu Xiaoye led An Rong to the makeup room. There weren’t many people there yet; more than half of the girls in the selection could do their own makeup for the camera. Since An Rong arrived early, she didn’t have to wait in line.

The makeup artist added contour and highlight, applied lip balm, and set the makeup with powder.

Xu Xiaoye sat nearby and waited.

When finished, the makeup artist told An Rong, “Come back once more at noon.”

An Rong nodded and said okay.

Wang Yunshui, sitting nearby, glanced at her and rolled her eyes.

An Rong saw it just as she was turning to leave.

Xu Xiaoye, thinking An Rong might be provoked, quickly grabbed An Rong’s hand and gave it a firm squeeze.

An Rong looked back at her. Seeing Xu Xiaoye’s frown and slight shake of the head, she had a sudden flash of insight and understood her meaning. She wasn’t stupid enough to clash with Wang Yunshui now.

Xu Xiaoye spoke up loudly with a smile: “See? You look so much prettier with a little makeup.”

Wang Yunshui put down her lipstick, let out a sneer, and said in a snide, eccentric tone: “We are meant to be idols and stars. Not just any ‘wild chicken’ from nowhere can dream of flying onto a branch and becoming a phoenix.”

Xu Xiaoye’s expression shifted instantly.

Author’s Note:

Song Ran: Is there something going on between those two?