After Rebirth, I Ended Up with My Idol [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 14

Xu Xiaoye ground her teeth for a long while, her arms propped on the back of the chair. After smacking her lips for a bit, she said dejectedly, “My mouth has absolutely no flavor left.”

To appear on a show, one had to maintain a good image; figure, skin—everything had to be in peak condition. It had been a long time since Xu Xiaoye had eaten anything with a strong flavor, and she had cut out sweets entirely. Now, her mind was filled with fried chicken and barbecue; her sanity was teetering on the edge of collapse.

An Rong suddenly remembered that she had two jars of pickles in her suitcase: one jar of pickled cucumbers and one jar of small chili peppers—sour, spicy, and refreshing.

Xu Xiaoye was listless and devoid of vitality, her eyes practically squinted shut. Suddenly, two clinks sounded on the desk. Two glass jars were placed in front of her. Even through the airtight seals, she could almost smell the aroma.

An Rong patted the palm-sized lids. “I lugged these here with so much effort, but I’ve been so busy I forgot them. My mom made these pickles herself. They’re a bit spicy, though—can you handle it?”

Xu Xiaoye’s mouth nearly watered. She stretched out her arms and pulled both jars into her embrace, looking up piteously at An Rong. “Are you letting me eat them?”

The corners of An Rong’s mouth curled up. Using a soft, “milky” voice, she nodded and said, “Sure!”

Xu Xiaoye’s eyes lit up, and she let out a giggling laugh. Oh, how cute—that milky voice.

An Rong twisted the lid open for her, and the scent of pickles instantly wafted out. Xu Xiaoye rubbed her hands together eagerly. Pinching her chopsticks, she fished out a small chili pepper. She took a cautious little bite first—it was crisp, refreshing, and mildly spicy—so she couldn’t wait to eat the whole thing.

“Wait—!”

Xu Xiaoye’s cheeks were moving like a hamster’s as she chewed frantically, then swallowed. She asked in confusion, “What’s wrong?”

An Rong’s expression was conflicted. “It’s a bit spicy.”

Just three words. As they left her mouth, a trace of spiciness gradually surfaced in Xu Xiaoye’s mouth, and then slowly, it felt as if a fire had been lit. Xu Xiaoye’s lips turned visibly red, and a mist began to form in her eyes.

An Rong hurried to pour water. Xu Xiaoye opened her mouth wide, exhaling non-stop to relieve the heat. She downed a full glass of water in one breath, but her face remained flushed.

An Rong was incredibly nervous, quickly pouring another glass and turning back to place it in Xu Xiaoye’s hand.

Xu Xiaoye slapped the table with one hand—smack—and exhaled toward the ceiling. “Refreshing!”

An Rong picked up a piece of pickled cucumber and brought it to her lips. “This helps neutralize the spice.”

Xu Xiaoye didn’t move an inch; she just opened her mouth like a little bird waiting to be fed.

An Rong placed the cucumber into her mouth.

The corners of Xu Xiaoye’s eyes still held teardrops; the tip of her nose was slightly red from the spice, and the corners of her eyes were damp, making her look as if she had just been bullied.

An Rong shifted her gaze away, her throat moving slightly.

Xu Xiaoye ate while gasping for air, tilting her head slightly to look at An Rong with a grin. “That’s got quite a kick.”

An Rong’s expression was natural, though her eyes were a bit unfocused for a few seconds before she immediately snapped back. “Actually, it’s meant to be eaten with rice. If you take small bites, it’s not that spicy.”

Xu Xiaoye leaned her neck against the back of the chair, looking at An Rong, who was leaning over slightly waiting for her to speak. She grinned. “It’s actually really tasty.”

An Rong smiled with pursed lips.

“What’s tasty?” Xia Chunhua came trotting in, looking at the two jars on the desk with curiosity. “What are these?”

The moment An Rong opened her mouth to speak, Xu Xiaoye quietly grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze—not too hard, not too soft.

Xu Xiaoye picked up a small chili pepper; it was pickled to a pale green-yellow and looked particularly appetizing.

Xia Chunhua swallowed her saliva.

Xu Xiaoye asked, “Can you handle spicy food?”

An Rong already guessed what she was planning.

The innocent Xia Chunhua showed a longing expression, nodding several times in a row. “I can!”

Xu Xiaoye put on a mischievous look, raising the chopsticks to Xia Chunhua’s lips. “Say ah—”

Xia Chunhua cooperated by opening her mouth, then nodded in admiration while chewing. After finishing, she started sucking in air repeatedly, pointing at the jar excitedly. “Delicious, delicious! Give me another one!”

Xu Xiaoye arched an eyebrow. Seeing that she really could handle the spice, she fed her another one.

Xia Chunhua couldn’t stop herself; she ate while gasping for breath, nodding as she said, “I ate these when I was a kid, but I never had them again. The ones you buy in stores never taste like this.”

She ate quite a few while chasing them with cold water, finally rushing out with a runny nose and tears in her eyes.

Xu Xiaoye collapsed onto the desk laughing.

Just as An Rong was about to chase after her to check, Xu Xiaoye reached out and rested her hand on An Rong’s wrist. “She’s fine. She’s just overwhelmed by the spice. She’ll drink some cold water and find something to eat; it’ll pass in three to five minutes.”

Xia Chunhua was cute and generous; in just two days, she had become familiar with everyone. Finding something to eat was easy for her. An Rong, on the other hand, spent all day training in silence. Xu Xiaoye thought that letting things continue this way wouldn’t be good. She wondered if she should take An Rong with her wherever she went in the future to help her make some friends.

The fingers resting on An Rong’s wrist were long and soft, the skin delicate. It was just a light touch without any force, but Xu Xiaoye’s thumb was unconsciously rubbing against An Rong’s wrist bone.

An Rong felt a bit… stimulated.

Her back was to Xu Xiaoye, there was no camera in front of her, and no one was at the door. So, An Rong slowly and quietly let out a breath, her teeth grazing her lip.

Xu Xiaoye noticed nothing. She casually let go and asked, “Can you sing the song yet?”

An Rong nodded, her left hand moving slightly to her front to clench into a fist, the blue veins on the back of her hand bulging slightly. “Yes.”

Learning a song was much easier than learning a dance. But Xu Xiaoye sighed, leaning on the desk in frustration. “I can’t remember the lyrics; I always mix them up.”

Dancing was muscle memory; you became proficient with more practice, and once proficient, you added details to make it rich. Singing didn’t work like that for her; she could remember the beat, rhythm, and melody, but she just couldn’t remember the lyrics. It was innate; there was no way around it.

An Rong knew she had a mild form of dyslexia. When memorizing lyrics, she either added or missed words, or sang them in the wrong order. Therefore, it was much harder for her to memorize lyrics than a normal person—but she didn’t want others to know about this flaw.

An Rong pulled out paper and a pen from her suitcase. She had originally prepared them for university, but she hadn’t expected to use them early.

Xu Xiaoye frowned, watching her set the items on the desk. “What are you doing?”

An Rong transcribed the lyrics from memory, circling certain parts and adding annotations. She wrote a detailed page and pushed it toward Xu Xiaoye.

When Xu Xiaoye looked at it, her eyebrows shot up in annoyance. “What’s this? Am I a primary school student? What’s the point of all these annotations?”

An Rong pretended to be oblivious, smiling foolishly. “It’s a habit. This is how I usually memorize lyrics. I just wrote it the way I’m used to.”

Xu Xiaoye pursed her lips, her gaze drifting to the paper. Looking at the long lines drawn out for annotations, her hand touched the pen on the desk. Her peripheral vision caught An Rong’s hand; she paused for a moment and said, “So this is how top students do it. I misunderstood you.”

“It’s fine,” An Rong said. “I studied liberal arts; there were lots of things to memorize, so I got used to writing like this. You could give it a try—read it while looking at it and writing it down. It helps you remember faster.”

The ballpoint pen twirled twice between Xu Xiaoye’s fingers. She curled her lips into a smile and said, “Okay, thanks.”

An Rong didn’t disturb her, climbing up to her bunk to rest. She listened to Xu Xiaoye whispering the lyrics very softly below. An Rong had known about her mild dyslexia in her previous life. Usually, she just had a bad memory, but when it came to memorizing lyrics, she was slow; her eyes would skip lines while reading, and she would mix up words while reciting.

Annotations would help improve her focus to some extent—it was somewhat useful. However, since they were currently filming a variety show and it was a competition selection, An Rong didn’t want others to find out. By writing it on paper and pushing it over, the cameras couldn’t see it, and others wouldn’t know.

Author’s Note:

Xu Xiaoye: There’s no need for a child to know about the “black curtain” capital operations.

An Rong: I’m just showing a tiny bit of care; it’s best if no one notices.