Chapter 61 – Exchanging Top Students
After hearing Shu Bailian’s words, Qiao Huihui indeed had no way to deal with such a person.
After all, the other party had always openly expressed admiration and affection for her, so Qiao Huihui had no overt reason to dislike them.
Moreover, if Shu Bailian hadn’t brought it up today, she wouldn’t even have known this person existed, which showed how minimal their influence was. None of the other contestants seemed to hold any grudges against her because of Lu Shiwan’s words either. Since they weren’t even in the same group and rarely crossed paths, Qiao Huihui decided to ignore it for now.
If the other party escalated, it wouldn’t be too late to respond then.
Today was a rare rainy day. H Province had been suffering from drought for a while. Although everyone had air conditioning now, making the indoors bearable, the air had become unbearably dry, leaving many struggling to breathe.
The heavy rain didn’t just bring a hint of coolness—it also infused the air with much-needed moisture.
Xia Niao stood on the balcony, taking a deep breath, and sighed in contentment. “The air is so fresh!”
The others nodded in agreement.
Qiao Huihui popped a grape into her mouth, savoring the burst of sweet juice, and smiled with satisfaction. “It’s so cool now. My skin doesn’t feel as dry anymore.”
Shu Bailian was carefully inspecting her succulents, gently stroking the prettier ones with her fingers.
Meanwhile, Shen Nanqing sat quietly beside Qiao Huihui, a book resting on her lap as she read.
It was a rare moment of tranquility.
Suddenly, Xia Niao stood up and reached for the fruit platter in front of Qiao Huihui—only to freeze mid-motion.
Qiao Huihui looked up in confusion. “What’s wrong?”
Instead of answering immediately, Xia Niao closed her eyes and sniffed the air, as if trying to catch a particular scent.
“Huh? Huihui, you smell so familiar!” Xia Niao exclaimed, opening her eyes.
“Ah? What smell?” Qiao Huihui instinctively asked.
Hearing Qiao Huihui mentioned, Shen Nanqing, who had been reading, immediately lifted her head and looked at Xia Niao.
Xia Niao frowned in deep thought, trying to recall where she had encountered this scent before. But the moment her eyes landed on Shen Nanqing, her expression cleared. “Ah! I remember now—isn’t this the perfume Qingqing always wears?”
Her words left both Qiao Huihui and Shen Nanqing stunned.
Xia Niao continued excitedly, “I knew it! It’s so familiar. Qingqing’s been wearing this perfume for ages—I’ve gotten so used to it. But now that the rain’s cleared the air, the scent stands out so much.”
Then she turned to Qiao Huihui. “Huihui, did you borrow Qingqing’s perfume today?”
Qiao Huihui blinked in bewilderment. “Uh… no?”
Shen Nanqing also shook her head in denial.
Seeing the two involved parties deny it, Xia Niao grew impatient. She immediately called over Shu Bailian, who was nearby. “I swear I’m not wrong—you both smell the same! Hey, Shu, come take a sniff too!”
Shu Bailian didn’t even turn around. She scoffed. “You don’t need to get close to smell it. I noticed ages ago.”
Xia Niao’s face lit up with vindication as she looked back at the two. “See? I wasn’t wrong!”
“This…” Qiao Huihui was a bit puzzled. “But I really haven’t used her perfume. I don’t even have the habit of wearing perfume.”
However, a sudden look of realization flashed in Shen Nanqing’s eyes as she said, “Maybe it’s because you’ve been living in the same room for a long time, and the scent rubbed off on you.”
This explanation seemed quite reasonable, but Xia Niao raised another question.
“Then why don’t I or that Shu girl have the scent? We share the same dorm with you too!”
Faced with her bright, inquisitive eyes, Shen Nanqing was momentarily at a loss for words, unable to continue explaining.
Meanwhile, Qiao Huihui gradually began to understand. A faint blush rose to her cheeks as she took over the task of explaining to Xia Niao.
“Maybe it’s because our beds are next to each other, and we train together during the day. It’s like we’re in constant contact 24/7, so the scent transferred.”
Hearing this explanation, Xia Niao suddenly understood.
“Oh, I see!”
Only Qiao Huihui and Shen Nanqing, who knew the truth, exchanged a guilty glance before quickly looking away.
…
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and Qiao Huihui had more or less adjusted to her teammates. Aside from Yu Xiaoman, whom she already knew, she had gotten to know quite a few others now.
Speaking of Yu Xiaoman, Qiao Huihui was rather puzzled. The girl had clearly been quite friendly before, often dropping by her place for no particular reason. But now, she seemed to be keeping her distance.
Qiao Huihui secretly wondered if she had done something wrong to upset the girl.
But no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t figure it out, which left her rather troubled.
She genuinely liked this girl—well-behaved, shy, ambitious, hardworking, and quite talented. Though she might not make the final debut lineup, she was definitely among the top ten.
Qiao Huihui wanted to recruit such a promising talent for her own company.
But if the girl was avoiding her for some reason, she couldn’t force it, which left her feeling a bit melancholy.
Suddenly, Shen Nanqing cupped Qiao Huihui’s face with both hands and turned it toward her.
Qiao Huihui: “Huh?”
Shen Nanqing pressed her lips together, her expression displeased. “You’ve looked at her eight times today.”
At first, Qiao Huihui didn’t understand, but seeing Shen Nanqing’s stern, unhappy face, it suddenly dawned on her—
Was Teacher Shen… jealous?
Amused, she quickly explained to her little vinegar bottle, “I was indeed thinking about her, but not in a romantic way—it’s work-related.”
Then, she shared everything she had been pondering earlier.
After listening, Shen Nanqing: “…”
She guiltily averted her gaze.
Qiao Huihui keenly noticed something was off and fixed her with a piercing stare.
Stare.jpg
One second, two seconds…
Realizing she couldn’t dodge the question, Shen Nanqing turned back and cleared her throat. “Perhaps I know why her attitude changed.”
Qiao Huihui: Continued stare.jpg
“Well… she seemed to have a crush on you before. Then she found out about us, and so…”
So she chose to step back?
Qiao Huihui finally understood, though she hadn’t expected the truth to be like this. She couldn’t help but glance at Yu Xiaoman practicing in the distance, feeling it was somewhat surreal.
She had a crush on me?
I had no idea!
However, she fully understood the other person’s actions. If she were secretly in love with someone and found out they had a partner, she would certainly feel terrible—but she would also absolutely keep her distance.
Yu Xiaoman was avoiding any impropriety.
And cutting off her own hopes in the process.
Meanwhile, after revealing this matter, Shen Nanqing had been closely watching Qiao Huihui’s expression, trying to gauge her reaction.
Seeing that Qiao Huihui only showed a brief moment of surprise before remaining silent, she couldn’t help but ask, “Don’t you have any thoughts about this?”
Qiao Huihui was puzzled. “What thoughts?”
Shen Nanqing muttered, “Do… do you like her too?”
Qiao Huihui stared at her in shock. “How could you think that?”
Noticing the unease on Shen Nanqing’s face, Qiao Huihui suddenly realized—her Teacher Shen seemed to have always been insecure?
Ignoring the fact that they were in the practice room, she reached out and grasped Shen Nanqing’s hand, declaring firmly, “Teacher Shen, you need to be more confident. I like you—and only you. You’re the only one who’s ever made my heart race.”
Like me…
Only me…
The directness of this confession left Shen Nanqing dizzy, as if floating on clouds.
The evidence of her emotions was clear—her ears flushed bright red, and her eyes suddenly overflowed with unrestrained affection.
“I—”
“Shh…” Qiao Huihui stopped her before she could continue, spotting Fan Wei approaching them. She quickly whispered, “Teacher Shen, we can save the sweet talk for later in private.”
Boom— Now, not just her ears, but Shen Nanqing’s entire face burned crimson.
When Fan Wei reached them, he gave the dazed Shen Nanqing a strange look. “What’s wrong with her?”
Qiao Huihui lied without hesitation. “She got overheated from dancing earlier and is a bit exhausted.”
Fan Wei glanced at Shen Nanqing’s flushed face and nodded—it did look like she was overheated. Concerned, he suggested, “Maybe you should go back to the dorm and rest?”
By then, Shen Nanqing had regained her composure. She shook her head immediately. “No, it’s fine. I’ll just sit here for a bit.”
“Alright.” Fan Wei didn’t press further.
He turned to Qiao Huihui and explained his reason for coming. “Zhang Han from the vocal group next door and I are organizing a crossover activity—we’re swapping one top student for tutoring.”
“Swapping tutoring?” Qiao Huihui caught the key point.
Fan Wei nodded. “Yeah, each side sends one person to teach the other group their strongest skill.”
“I’ve chosen you, and they’ve chosen Shu Bailian.”
“It’s just for a day. Honestly, it’s not just about learning from each other—it’s also about showcasing our strengths.”
Qiao Huihui understood. Essentially, she would go to the vocal group to teach dance, while Shu Bailian would come to the dance group to teach vocals. It was both a teaching session and a chance to display their abilities—while also letting their teammates see the competition’s level.
A little friendly competition.
Qiao Huihui had no objections and was happy to follow the arrangement. Satisfied, Fan Wei nodded. “Good. Get ready—you’ll head over tomorrow.”
That night, back in the dorm, Shu Bailian had clearly already heard the news.
She smirked at Qiao Huihui, gloating. “Oh, tomorrow’s going to be quite the show—the fake meeting the real deal.”
At her words, Qiao Huihui realized she was about to meet that Lu Shiwan soon.
Shu Bailian reminded her again, “Although Xia Niao and I have cleared your name, her persistent insinuations have left quite a few people in the vocal group with a poor impression of you.”
Qiao Huihui rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on.
She just wanted to practice diligently and shine on stage—why did these strange troubles keep finding her?
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