Oops! I Became a Fan of My Rival Idol! - Chapter 55

The days flew by in a flash, and soon it was time for the third team formation session.

Following the same procedure as before, the girls obediently placed their phones into baskets, then stood with hands behind their backs, looking up at Chu Junling at the front of the large classroom.

“Good morning, my darlings!”

“Good morning, mentor!”

After exchanging greetings, Chu Junling got straight to the point.

She smiled at everyone and said, “This time, the team formation method is very special—you’ll be collaborating with mentors to complete the stage performance.”

The girls erupted in murmurs. Xia Niao immediately raised her hand and asked, “Will the mentors be choosing us?”

Chu Junling wagged a finger and replied cheerfully, “Nope—you’ll be choosing the mentors.”

They would choose the mentors?

The girls looked at each other in confusion, unable to comprehend this at first.

Without further ado, Chu Junling continued, “We’ll still divide into four teams, each led by a mentor. You can freely choose which team you want to join.”

“Let me first explain what each mentor will be responsible for.” She took half a step back, revealing the mentors standing behind her, and pointed them out one by one: “Mentor Zhang Han will lead the vocal group, Mentor Fan Wei the dance group, Mentor Qiu Wen the rap group, and as for me… I’ll be leading the original composition group.”

“So the hosting duties for this period will be handled by Mentor Wan Jing!”

With that, she handed the microphone to Wan Jing and retreated triumphantly into the lineup of mentors.

Wan Jing nodded and stepped forward, bringing the microphone to her mouth. “Everyone knows I’m not much of a talker normally, and this is my first time hosting. When the production team told me about the format, I was so nervous I couldn’t sleep all night. But since I don’t have any special talents, I had to take on the hosting role.” She spread her hands, wearing an expression of helplessness.

“So if I make any mistakes while hosting, please bear with me!”

Before the contestants could even process their surprise at the new format, they burst into laughter at her words.

“Go, mentor! You’re already amazing!”

“Who says you don’t have talents? Your talents just don’t fit here.”

“Even our goddess gets so nervous before going on stage that she can’t sleep—hahaha, by that logic, I’m a goddess too!”

After the laughter died down, Wan Jing cleared her throat and continued, “For this team formation, each of you will receive a little red flower with your name on it. Then you’ll enter a secret room set up by the production team and place your flower into the box of the team you want to join.”

“But there’s one thing to note: since selection order is based on rankings, those ranked lower might not get their first choice. So be prepared!”

As soon as she finished speaking, staff members came forward to distribute the little red flowers. Since entry was based on rankings, Qiao Huihui was the first to go.

Clutching her flower, she was blindfolded and led by a staff member to a small room.

Qiao Huihui puffed out her cheeks in excitement. “How mysterious!”

After being guided for a while, the person beside her let go, and the director’s voice came through a speaker: “You can remove your blindfold now.”

Qiao Huihui pulled off the blindfold.

She looked around the “secret room” and found it completely empty except for four large boxes, each labeled with a team name.

Alright, she had overestimated the production team.

They really didn’t spend a single extra penny where they shouldn’t.

After venting about the production team, she started thinking about which group she should join. Both vocal and dance were pretty good options, but rap was a new challenge, and she was a little interested in that too.

Holding the little red flower, she fell into deep thought, her eyes lingering on the “Original Creation Group.” Would Shen Nanqing choose this one?

She recalled the scene from the initial stage performance—Shen had performed an original dance.

Qiao Huihui felt a little itch in her heart, but she also knew her own limits. After circling around, she finally dropped her little red flower into the dance group.

Better to stick with what she was good at and not drag Teacher Shen down.

Sigh. It seemed they were destined to be opponents.

The camera on the wall followed her movements, capturing every expression—thoughtful, conflicted, regretful—on her face.

Once she made her choice, she was blindfolded again and led out of the room.

The selection process for sixty participants was long and tedious. As the first one to enter, Qiao Huihui had nothing else to do afterward, so she found a corner, leaned against the wall, and sat on the floor, waiting idly.

…

“Alright, let’s announce the results!”

Two hours later, the staff handed the tallied votes to Wan Jing, who read out the final groupings.

“Vocal Group: Shu Bailian, Xia Niao, Xiao Ninglu, Lu Shiwan, Li Huixin…”

“Dance Group: Qiao Huihui, Shen Nanqing, Yu Xiaoman, Leng Yun’er…”

“Rap Group: Le Xingshan, Jian Luobai, Zhou Meng, Shao Qiu…”

“Original Creation Group: Wen Wei, Wang Qingmeng, Ge Shan, Zhuang Songning, Weng Ling…”

The moment she heard Shen Nanqing’s name, Qiao Huihui thought she was hallucinating. She whipped her head around to look at Shen, disbelief written all over her face.

Though she didn’t say a word, the shock in her eyes was practically overflowing, making Shen Nanqing think of a certain meme at an inappropriate moment—

A hamster dropping its sunflower seed, staring blankly at the camera, pupils shaking.jpg

Shen couldn’t help but laugh out loud, causing everyone who saw her to widen their eyes in disbelief. Was this really the same aloof ice queen they knew?

All of this was faithfully recorded by the cameras, leaving the audience stunned.

??? Why is she in the same group as our Huihui? Is she deliberately trying to annoy people?

I’m crying, I want to ask too—why would she choose her weakest area?!

What else could she do? The Original Creation Group is full of weaklings. Anyone with eyes can see it’s not a good choice unless you want deadweight dragging you down.

As expected, the Dance and Vocal Groups are the most popular. Almost all the top ten are in them.

I don’t get why Le and Jian went to the Rap Group. Did they even have any talent in that before?

Yes, yes, yes! A longtime fan of Le Xingshan here—my girl has said before that she loves rap and wanted to try it if she ever got the chance!

Jian’s whole vibe is so cool and edgy. I think she’d totally kill it in rap!

Yang Qingqing ate her lunch while intently watching the fourth episode of The Dazzling You.

Unlike the calm of the previous episode, this one immediately focused on Qiao Huihui and Shen Nanqing. The moment she felt a bad premonition, the comments section exploded into chaos.

Hmm… The point of contention is—”Qiao Huihui chose the dance group to avoid Shen Nanqing, while Shen Nanqing deliberately picked the dance group to provoke her.”

Both sides have ample reasons to argue in the comments.

Pumpkin fans (Shen Nanqing’s fans) pointed to the segment where Qiao Huihui hesitated in the escape room, confidently asserting that she wanted to avoid Shen Nanqing because she knew she wasn’t her match. After all, last time she only lost by one vote, and rankings don’t mean much—she was afraid of being overshadowed this time!

Canvas fans (Qiao Huihui’s fans) had an even more elaborate interpretation. They first mocked Shen Nanqing’s poor dancing skills, claiming choosing dance was a dead end. Then they highlighted the moment Shen Nanqing smiled at Qiao Huihui, vehemently accusing it of being outright provocation! A sneer! This woman is so wicked, always trying to bully our Huihui!

Though both sides sounded utterly convinced… Yang Qingqing, watching the screen, felt something was off.

Is that really how a sneer looks?

Then why did Huihui smile back later?

Shouldn’t she be angry if she was being provoked?

Meanwhile, Qiao Huihui and Shen Nanqing remained oblivious to the war raging over them. On the first day after the group assignments, they received a call.

From Li Bin.

A moderately famous magazine had invited both of them for a cover shoot. Yes, you heard right—both of them.

Qiao Huihui voiced her soulful doubt: “This… they’re doing it on purpose, right?”

Knowing full well they were rumored to be at odds, yet inviting them together—wasn’t this blatant stirring the pot?

Li Bin rubbed his nose and said, “Apparently, they were drawn to your looks and aura, but I suspect a big part of it is your popularity and the buzz a collaboration would generate.”

He was quite candid about it: “That’s just how the entertainment industry is—full of drama and hype. As long as it generates buzz, collaborators don’t care if you’re friend or foe. You two are actually better off—at least you’re not genuinely at odds, so there won’t be any on-set brawls.”

At this, he chuckled, as if recalling something amusing. “Don’t worry, I’ve had artists who actually got into fights with others. They still ended up thriving in infamy—one plot twist later, and they were completely whitewashed.”

Qiao Huihui was speechless. She asked, “So, are we doing it?”

“Yes. It’s a reputable fashion magazine, after all. The ad you shot last time drew too much criticism—this could help salvage your image. As for Qingqing, it’s just a side gig. I’m currently vetting scripts for her. Acting will remain her main focus.”

At the mention of “scripts,” Shen Nanqing, who was listening in on the call with Qiao Huihui, brightened, a flicker of joy betraying her calm.

She still loved acting.

“Alright, then we’ll ask the show for leave. Two days enough?”

“Plenty.”

After hanging up, Qiao Huihui slumped back against Shen Nanqing out of habit, grumbling, “Are we stuck like this forever? It feels like this ‘feud’ reputation will never go away.”

Shen Nanqing gently stroked her soft hair and murmured, “Don’t worry. There’s always a way.”

“Sigh… I hope so…”

After securing leave from the show, they got into Li Bin’s car.

Ever the charmer, Qiao Huihui piped up as soon as she got in: “Brother Li, you’ve gotten even handsomer since we last met.”

Li Bin curled his lips and started the car. “Thank you, Huihui. You’ve become even more beautiful.”

Qiao Huihui quickly seized the opportunity to press her advantage. “Such a handsome Brother Li must have a kind heart. You’ll definitely find Teacher Shen a great script!”

Li Bin was momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter. “You little fox! So all this circling around was just to trap me here.”