Chapter 23
An Rong opened the tablet and took a look. She remembered this song. It was three keys higher than the previous one. The company’s music instructor would teach them how to train their voices, and in An Rong’s previous life, this had also been when she formally started learning.
Although high notes couldn’t measure a singer’s overall ability, they would always be a core part of singing. The next evaluation would test their lower register. First, the company would establish everyone’s vocal range, then they would move on to transitions between high and low notes, vocal techniques, breath control, throat vibrato, and other aspects—learning and being tested at the same time.
TS Entertainment was using a new method this time to launch a girl group as quickly as possible, and both the pressure and the challenge were enormous. The selection and training processes overlapped, with little time and heavy workloads. It was a bold and risky experiment. If it succeeded, they could replicate the model and accelerate profits. If it failed, the company’s reputation would suffer and the rest of the industry would laugh at them.
So they absolutely had to produce a high-quality idol girl group, and naturally, the corresponding selection standards and level of difficulty would increase as well.
An Rong had never thought about any of this in her previous life. But after living through it once, she could now look at the situation from other angles, just like Xu Xiaoye did.
Then… in what universe did Wang Yunshui count as a high-quality idol?
“How is it?” Xiao Yu stood behind An Rong, looking over her shoulder at the tablet in her hands. Curious, she asked, “How difficult is it compared with last time?”
An Rong frowned slightly and pressed her lips together. “Hard. There’s a high-note section in the chorus. At the highest point, you have to hold C3 for five seconds.”
Even for an average woman, reaching C3 in the upper register was difficult. Holding it steadily required highly professional training. But they only had ten days to prepare this time, and they also had to learn an entire dance. It really was much harder than last week.
An Rong was a little worried about Xu Xiaoye. Song Ran wasn’t good at dancing herself, so everyone she had chosen for her team specialized in dance. The only person in that group who could currently carry the vocals was Xu Xiaoye, but Xu Xiaoye had always been weak in the upper register. That was something she had been born with, and even with training, she currently couldn’t sustain a note like that for five seconds.
An Rong handed the tablet to Xiao Yu so she could look for herself.
The other three members who had voluntarily joined them gathered around as well, only to be stunned when Xiao Yu played the high-note section.
It was that difficult?!
There were people among them who were good singers too. One of them tried it herself, but before she could even properly reach the note, her voice cracked.
Xiao Yu’s expression became somewhat serious too. Frowning, she said, “I can barely reach it, but I can’t keep it stable.”
An Rong didn’t look particularly nervous. She even calmly reassured them, “The teacher will definitely teach us.”
It was just that expecting everyone to suddenly raise their range by several octaves in such a short time and improve by leaps and bounds was a little unrealistic.
Holding the tablet, An Rong asked, “Does anyone want to take it back and look through it?”
Xiao Yu took it. “I’ll look at it tonight. I’ll try to get the choreography straightened out as quickly as possible first.”
No one objected. It was already late, so everyone dispersed for the night. Whatever plans they had could wait until tomorrow.
From the corner of her eye, An Rong glanced toward Xu Xiaoye. It seemed she had finished talking with her team as well. Xu Xiaoye happened to turn her head toward An Rong, and their eyes met. They smiled at each other.
Xu Xiaoye asked, “Going to sleep?”
An Rong said, “Yeah.”
Xiao Yu had already walked away, but when she heard them, she slyly turned back and tempted An Rong. “Want to switch beds? Come stay with me. It’ll be more convenient to discuss training.”
An Rong pretended to hesitate, thoughtfully pressing her lips together.
The moment Xu Xiaoye heard that, she focused completely on An Rong’s reaction. She felt quite confident. With such a great roommate like her, there was no way An Rong would agree. Come on, reject her on the spot!
After waiting for what felt like forever, Xu Xiaoye started to panic.
What was the meaning of this?
What was there to hesitate over with such an unreasonable request?
But An Rong still didn’t answer, and Xu Xiaoye couldn’t wait any longer.
What if this little fool actually agreed?!
The more Xu Xiaoye thought about it, the more alarmed she became. Like a mother hen protecting her chick, she charged over, grabbed An Rong’s hand, frowned at Xiao Yu, and said, “No!”
An Rong’s heart blossomed with joy. Outwardly, she still looked perfectly obedient and well-behaved, but her eyes couldn’t completely hide the secret happiness inside them—or that tiny trace of pain buried too deeply for anyone to see.
Xu Xiaoye’s kindness toward her wasn’t love.
An Rong was merely twisting it that way because of her own one-sided feelings.
Xiao Yu caught that little flash of happiness in An Rong’s eyes and teasingly said to Xu Xiaoye, “I was asking An Rong. What does it have to do with you?”
An Rong turned her head slightly and looked up at Xu Xiaoye, some hidden expectation concealed within her dark, bright eyes.
Xu Xiaoye looked aggressive as she draped one arm over An Rong’s shoulders and declared righteously, “Someone’s trying to abduct my underage roommate. Of course I can’t just stand by and watch.”
“What abduction?” Xiao Yu smiled faintly. “You’re being way too dramatic. I’m thinking about training. Stop acting so childish.”
There was no way Xu Xiaoye would let herself be defeated by something like that. She immediately said, “You’re trying to take my roommate. If she leaves, won’t someone else have to move in? No. I don’t agree.”
With her arm still around An Rong’s shoulders, she turned her around and started steering her away while saying, “We’re going back to sleep. Don’t play with strange aunties like this.”
Like a meek little wife, An Rong silently let herself be led away, though she still turned her head and gave Xiao Yu an apologetic wave.
The hand Xu Xiaoye had draped over her shoulder immediately lifted and pressed against An Rong’s face, turning her head back around.
“What are you looking at?”
An Rong smiled and whispered, “Sister Xiao was joking.”
Half of Xu Xiaoye’s body was leaning against her. She gave a huff. “And you know that how?”
An Rong pressed her lips together.
Xu Xiaoye let go, collapsed onto the bed, and said irritably, “Fine. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have decided for you. If you want to move, then move.”
There really were people moving their things around outside. The noise was loud and lively enough to carry all the way over here.
The moment Xu Xiaoye imagined An Rong moving away and someone else coming to live with her instead, she felt both gloomy and irritated.
And this little fool hadn’t even shown the slightest intention of refusing.
Did she find Xu Xiaoye annoying too and want to leave?
Hmph!
Ungrateful!
Heartless!
Lost her mind!
“If you want to go, then go. Just don’t expect me to help you move your stuff.” As Xu Xiaoye spoke, she secretly glanced at An Rong.
An Rong was practically bubbling with happiness inside, so sweet she felt like she might melt. How could she possibly actually leave?
“No.” An Rong immediately denied it, looking seriously at Xu Xiaoye. “I never said I wanted to move. Sister Xiao was joking. She lives perfectly well with Xiaohua. Why would she suddenly want to switch roommates?”
That made some sense.
Xu Xiaoye’s mind turned, and realization dawned on her.
So Xiao Yu had deliberately been trying to sow discord?
Who would’ve thought that beneath that refined, aloof, artistic exterior was actually such a beast in human clothing!
Once Xu Xiaoye finally worked that out, she also realized that her reaction just now had been… perhaps just a tiny bit stupid.
“Um…” Xu Xiaoye sat up and licked her lips. Slightly unnatural, she racked her brain for an explanation. “Well, what I mainly meant was that changing dorms right now is inappropriate. And why is that?”
An Rong remained completely silent.
She even pulled over a chair, sat down, and waited to hear what excuse Xu Xiaoye could invent.
Xu Xiaoye slapped her hands together and raised her voice. “Because the teachers never said we were allowed to switch dorms! Understand? Don’t be fooled by how happily everyone’s moving right now. Tomorrow morning, they’ll all have to move everything back. I was just saving you from wasting your effort.”
Perfectly sensible!
Perfectly reasonable!
An Rong innocently said, “But the teachers never said we weren’t allowed to move either.”
Xu Xiaoye: …
Counterattack successful.
Xu Xiaoye was momentarily speechless. Her brows climbed high as she stared at An Rong for a long time before snapping in embarrassment, “Why do you know so much, huh? Why are you so clever, huh? I just don’t want to change roommates. Do I need to submit a short thesis analyzing my reasons to you, huh? You talk too much. I don’t want to deal with you anymore. I’m going to sleep.”
Three consecutive “huhs.”
A triple interrogation of the soul.
Xu Xiaoye turned over and lay facing the wall, leaving An Rong with a back that radiated anger and rejection.
An Rong hid her smile and innocently squeezed out a soft, childish voice.
“You haven’t showered yet.”
Xu Xiaoye: …
An Rong looked at her gently with a smile, deliberately pinching her voice and slowly continuing in that babyish tone, “…And you haven’t removed your makeup either.”
Xu Xiaoye shot upright and glared at An Rong with an angry frown.
An Rong innocently pressed her lips together, her soft pink catlike mouth curving into a thin line.
Xu Xiaoye: …
Why did she suddenly feel like getting angry and laughing at the same time?
But no!
She had to be serious!
She had to maintain dignity!
She couldn’t let this rotten brat get away with undermining her authority just by acting cute. If this went on, where would the authority of the head of the household be?!
Xu Xiaoye put on a stern face, stood up without saying a word, grabbed her toiletries, and walked away.
Left behind, An Rong slowly broke into a radiant smile. Her eyes narrowed into crescents as she gently shook her head, looking exactly like a cat that had successfully stolen a treat and was completely satisfied.
Not bad.
To Xu Xiaoye, she probably wasn’t someone insignificant anymore, right?
At the very least, she should be a little closer to her than everyone else was, right?
Standing in the shower room, Xu Xiaoye frowned in confusion and irritation.
She shouldn’t have reacted like that.
She had been too impulsive.
It was only a change of roommates. What was the big deal?
Wouldn’t it be fine if Xia Chunhua moved in instead?
What exactly had she been so nervous about?
Ridiculous.
It was just switching roommates. Didn’t people do that all the time?
Mm…
It was all Xiao Yu’s fault for making those suggestive comments.
And that little fool too. She had actually teamed up with Xiao Yu to tease her. Give her a little affection and she already wanted to rebel!
Xu Xiaoye felt she had found the reason.
So she quickly came up with a countermeasure.
Now that the teams had been reorganized anyway, she would use the opportunity to ignore An Rong for two days and teach her what the authority of the head-of-household captain truly meant.
An Rong knew nothing about Xu Xiaoye’s plan.
She sat alone in the dorm reading sheet music.
When she heard movement at the entrance, she hadn’t even put the book down yet. Turning her head, she asked, “You’re back?”
Xu Xiaoye instinctively gave an “Mm,” then remembered the decision she had just made.
Her expression immediately cooled, and she put on a stern face without saying anything else.
An Rong was completely confused.
Xu Xiaoye bent down to put her washbasin beneath the table, deliberately standing directly across from An Rong to show that she was still angry and didn’t want to speak to her.
An Rong looked up.
Her gaze happened to fall on Xu Xiaoye’s neckline.
Xu Xiaoye’s pajama collar was slightly loose, and when she bent over, it shifted enough to reveal the jade pendant resting against her skin. The vivid green stone hung against her chest, drawing the eye from her delicate collarbones downward before the fabric fell back into place.
An Rong’s blood rushed to her head. Not daring to look any longer, she immediately reached out with a smack and covered the camera.
Xu Xiaoye straightened and frowned at An Rong. “What are you doing?”
An Rong’s gaze wandered before lightly settling on Xu Xiaoye again. Her hair was still slightly damp. Even without makeup, her cheeks were pink from the shower, and when she was angry, the light in her eyes seemed to shimmer…
An Rong suddenly felt that after being reborn, she had somehow become a hooligan.
A hooligan who had to restrain herself every single day.
An Rong kept her left hand over the camera and used her right hand to cover the sheet music she had been holding. Since they were being filmed, she couldn’t explain too explicitly. She merely pressed her lips together and said with complete seriousness, “Your necklace is really pretty. Very big, very full, very round. I really like it.”
Xu Xiaoye froze.
Her hand flew to her chest, and her face instantly turned red.
An Rong’s expression didn’t change at all.
It sounded suggestive, and yet technically, she hadn’t said anything suggestive at all.
Xu Xiaoye’s face was flushed as she smiled and scolded her, “You’re so young, yet you’re already such a little hooligan!”
Her slightly upturned eyes had reddened a little from An Rong’s insinuation. With the desk lamp reflecting in them, they looked like clear lake water rippling beneath light, enough to make An Rong’s heart sway.
An Rong knew Xu Xiaoye didn’t actually have those kinds of feelings for her.
She was only half genuinely startled and half shy from the joke.
An Rong suppressed the faint discomfort in her heart, blinked, and deliberately looked confused. Her gaze swept briefly past Xu Xiaoye before she asked with a half-smile, “Sister, what are you thinking about? How am I suddenly a hooligan? Oh—”
An Rong raised her brows, her tone winding dramatically as she exaggerated, “Oh my! Too big, too big! I’m not looking anymore, I’m not looking!”
Xu Xiaoye was so angry she almost laughed.
What kind of unlicensed little driver was this brat?!
Author’s Note:
Xu Xiaoye: I’m angry! Why are you learning bad habits at such a young age?
An Rong: Stop talking. If I really learned bad habits, do you think you’d still be standing there perfectly fine?
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