Chapter 11
In her previous life, An Rong had never had any direct conflict with Wang Yunshui. But after being reborn, for some inexplicable reason, Wang Yunshui seemed to have developed a grudge against her out of nowhere. Yesterday, she had rolled her eyes at An Rong in the dance studio; today, she had come to the makeup room and started making pointed insults.
Was there something wrong with this woman?
No matter how good-tempered An Rong was, she still felt deeply uncomfortable—especially since this person was Wang Yunshui.
Had something gone wrong somewhere?
An Rong frowned deeply and glanced sideways at Wang Yunshui. Just as she was about to speak, Xu Xiaoye squeezed her hand and said coldly, “A hero’s origins don’t matter. If I remember correctly, TS’s recruitment standards don’t say anything about someone’s background, do they? In today’s society, you really ought to be careful about what you say.”
Wang Yunshui’s expression changed. She glared viciously at Xu Xiaoye, looking extremely hostile, but for some reason, she didn’t curse back. Instead, her gaze drifted toward An Rong. She snorted and said, “An ugly duckling won’t turn into a swan just because it mixes in with a flock of them. If you’re supposed to be in school, go to school. If you’re supposed to be working some ordinary job, go work. Stop dreaming about things that aren’t meant for you.”
This woman was simply inexplicable.
In her previous life, Wang Yunshui had only been difficult and dramatic. Why was she already biting at people the moment they met this time?
An Rong didn’t understand.
Had she overlooked something?
If someone had said something like this to An Rong in her previous life, she might genuinely have broken down and begun doubting herself. At a time when both her body and mind were being pushed to their limits, when she couldn’t keep up with everyone else’s progress, being struck with words like these might very well have made her unable to continue.
So was Wang Yunshui deliberately saying this to provoke her into leaving?
But to the current An Rong, words like these were child’s play, nothing more than a drizzle. She couldn’t care less about this kindergarten-level argument.
So An Rong calmly shifted her gaze away from Wang Yunshui. With a neutral expression, she said to Xu Xiaoye, “Let’s go.”
She looked as though she hadn’t taken any of it to heart at all.
Xu Xiaoye’s expression remained cold and stern as she led An Rong out of the makeup room by the hand.
After they left, Xu Xiaoye’s expression stayed unpleasant.
An Rong cautiously tried to gauge what she was thinking, then immediately cleared herself of suspicion by volunteering, “I’ve never offended her.”
That was true.
Even after they debuted together in her previous life, although she and Wang Yunshui couldn’t stand each other, An Rong had never said one unnecessary word to her.
Nothing had happened yet in this life.
So why had Wang Yunshui already taken a dislike to her?
Xu Xiaoye released her hand and gave a quiet “Mm.”
Her brows were still slightly furrowed, and she looked distracted, as though she were thinking about something.
Outside was a long, brightly lit corridor. Their reflections were cast onto the frosted glass wall beside them.
An Rong glanced over, looked briefly at Xu Xiaoye’s profile reflected in the glass, then withdrew her gaze and focused straight ahead.
Xu Xiaoye suddenly said, “Try not to get into conflicts with her in the future. Wang Yunshui just has a nasty way of talking. Ignore her and you’ll be fine.”
An Rong frowned slightly.
Xu Xiaoye had said the same thing in her previous life, with exactly the same meaning.
Even when Wang Yunshui did no proper work, she still received a share of the money Xu Xiaoye earned from variety shows, endorsements, and advertisements. After all, the members’ financial interests were tied together within the group.
Yet Wang Yunshui had devoted all her energy to finding herself a rich husband.
And even then, Xu Xiaoye had never said anything.
Also…
How did Xu Xiaoye already remember Wang Yunshui’s name?
They weren’t teammates yet.
They hadn’t debuted together yet.
Why was Xu Xiaoye already giving way to her now?
Seeing An Rong’s confusion, Xu Xiaoye merely smiled and didn’t explain directly. She only patted An Rong on the shoulder.
“What you did just now was good. No matter what she says, don’t pay attention to her. And don’t listen to any of that nonsense.”
An Rong gave a quiet “Mm.”
She was starting to suspect Wang Yunshui might have some kind of connection behind the scenes.
Seeing that An Rong didn’t ask anything and merely obediently listened, Xu Xiaoye felt relieved.
At least her almost possessed-looking impulse to defend An Rong just now hadn’t been wasted.
The two stopped by the dorm on the way to pick up the tablet, then headed to the dance studio.
Quite a few people were already there.
Xia Chunhua waved frantically at the two of them.
Xu Xiaoye responded by waving back just as wildly and dramatically. There were barely two meters between them, yet they acted as if two enormous mountains separated them.
Both of them were equally ridiculous.
An Rong stood quietly to the side, smiling without a word, then watched as the two drama queens finally met and exaggeratedly grabbed each other’s hands, shaking them furiously.
An Rong walked over.
After they finally stopped laughing and separated, she said to Xia Chunhua, “The chocolate was really good. It saved my sorry life last night. Thank you.”
Xia Chunhua looked like a delicate little doll when she smiled.
She shook her head. “No need, no need. When I packed, I threw away all the boxes so I could fit more into my suitcase. I figured you’d definitely be hungry when you got back last night.”
She secretly leaned closer and whispered, “Actually, I brought a lot. Once those are gone, I’ll give you more.”
After all, An Rong was younger than her.
She had to look after her a little.
Xia Chunhua thought for a moment, then asked, “Do you like stuffed toys? I brought a lot of them too. I’ll give you a few when we go back later.”
After saying that, she even patted An Rong on the head.
Then she practically bubbled with happiness and threw her head back laughing.
Seriously.
Being the older sister felt amazing!!!
An Rong was both touched and amused.
Xia Chunhua was the youngest child in her family. Her aunts, uncles, and every cousin in the family were older than her. She was the textbook example of a little princess showered with love from everyone around her.
What was rare was that despite all that pampering, she hadn’t been spoiled at all.
That was why her entire family had been more or less opposed to her joining some girl group and becoming a celebrity.
After all, everyone had heard that this industry was incredibly messy!
This happened, that happened, all kinds of things happened.
If their silly little girl entered a place like that, wouldn’t she get eaten alive?
But none of them could win against Xia Chunhua. After arguing with her for several days, they had no choice but to reluctantly agree.
Xia Chunhua simply liked An Rong.
It wasn’t only because An Rong was younger than her.
She also thought An Rong was interesting and genuinely nice.
Before long, everyone had arrived.
Qin Yun took on the role of host and introduced the music instructor.
The music team was different from the dance team. There was only one dedicated instructor, though technically the three evaluators were teachers as well. It was simply that not many people dared to approach them for guidance.
After all, they were all idol-level figures.
These inexperienced young girls naturally felt a little nervous around them.
“Each group’s captain will arrange your study and training schedule. If you encounter any problems during that time, you can ask our instructors for help, including the three of us. Every evening at eight, you’ll have one hour of basic music lessons. The rest of your time is yours to arrange freely.”
An Rong applauded along with everyone else.
This music instructor was also part of TS’s internal music department.
TS wasn’t merely a talent agency. It was a resource-based entertainment company with very mature systems for dance, music, and other areas.
An Rong was still thinking when Qin Yun suddenly asked, “Who was playing an instrument in the dorm last night?”
Qin Yun looked rather serious.
During yesterday’s evaluation, she had spent nearly the entire time frowning, so everyone was a little afraid of her.
And now, the way she asked made it sound as though she intended to hold someone accountable.
The room instantly fell silent.
Everyone exchanged glances, too afraid to speak.
Zhou Rui and Shen Ri’an stood beside her and played along, both wearing stern expressions as though this were an extremely serious matter.
An Rong raised her hand, stepped forward, and said, “Teacher, it was me.”
Qin Yun turned to look at her.
Then her expression suddenly changed, and she smiled.
“What instrument were you playing? Was it an erhu?”
An Rong knew that playing an instrument in the dorm wasn’t against the rules, so she wasn’t nervous at all.
Hearing Qin Yun’s question, she shook her head.
“It was a Shaoqin. The Shaoqin is an improved instrument based on the erhu. It’s somewhat similar to the erhu, but there are also some differences.”
She didn’t look nervous in the slightest.
Her answer was calm and composed.
Although, in practical terms, she had almost said nothing at all.
Only then did everyone realize Qin Yun wasn’t trying to hold them accountable for playing music in the dorm, and they all breathed a sigh of relief.
Qin Yun smiled and asked, “Could you play something for us? Teacher Shen and Teacher Zhou didn’t hear you last night.”
She herself had only happened to pass by.
Downstairs, she’d heard a little of the music, and the melody seemed to be from the song they had only just been given for this evaluation.
It had been less than a day, and someone could already play it?
And judging from the sound, it seemed to be an erhu?
Qin Yun had mentioned it like a piece of news in the private group chat the three evaluators shared.
But Zhou Rui and Shen Ri’an hadn’t believed her.
Both had insisted that Qin Yun must have heard wrong.
That was why Qin Yun was asking now.
An Rong nodded.
“Sure.”
After saying that, she hesitated for a moment and added, “I haven’t memorized the score yet. I’ll need to look at it while I play.”
Beside her, Shen Ri’an wore an especially warm and friendly smile.
He said gently, “If you could already play it flawlessly from memory right now, that’s when we’d really be surprised. Go get your instrument and bring it here so we can take a look.”
An Rong answered, then immediately ran out.
Zhou Rui turned his head, the corners of his mouth lifting as well.
There had never been any shortage of talented people in this world.
But people who were talented while also responsible, honest, and humble were much rarer.
Kids these days really were something else.
Author’s Note:
An Rong: Not nervous at all.
Comments 0
You must be logged in to comment.
No comments yet. Be the first!