Oops! I Became a Fan of My Rival Idol! - Chapter 8

Yang Qingqing sighed silently in her heart as she turned on the bullet comments again, unsurprised to see many sharing her exact thoughts.

 

The most eye-catching one among them was—With looks like this, it’s such a waste not to enter the entertainment industry!

 

Regardless, she was sure many had already memorized the name “Qiao Huihui.”

 

She continued watching, only to find that Qiao Huihui’s screen time ended there, replaced by the first appearances of other contestants.

 

Well, that made sense—the show had over two hundred participants. There was no way the cameras would focus on just one person.

 

The other girls were all quite pretty too. While Yang Qingqing marveled at the high quality of this talent show, she couldn’t help feeling a tinge of regret. If only Qiao Huihui had gotten a little more screen time.

 

Soon, her wish came true. When she saw Qiao Huihui successfully befriend someone and sit next to Le Xingshan, the bullet comments exploded once more.

 

Huihui’s expression when she first walked in—LMAO, was she embarrassed? Her face turned so red!

 

Ughhh, she’s so gorgeous! The three prettiest girls in the show are sitting right here!

 

OMG~ Three beauties with completely different styles together—this is perfection!!!

 

AHHHHH I see my girl! Sexy queen Le Xingshan, go go go!!!

 

Our little summer bird made friends so fast, what a social butterfly~

 

The video was only halfway through, but Yang Qingqing already felt herself becoming a fan of this adorable girl named Qiao Huihui. She couldn’t wait to see her stage performance, hoping her new idol would be as talented as she was beautiful.

 

With so many contestants, not everyone got screen time unless they stood out—and Qiao Huihui was undoubtedly one of them.

 

During the performance segment, her piano piece was broadcast in full. As the girl sat before the piano, her fingers dancing gracefully across the keys, the bullet comments paused for a rare, breathless moment before erupting even more passionately.

 

HOLY SHT HOLY SHT, what an elegant little princess!!!

 

Mom, I’ve seen an angel!!!

 

Qiao Huihui—I’m so in love!!!

 

Now I finally understand how music can purify the soul.

 

At that moment, countless eyes were glued to their screens, not daring to blink, breaths held as they watched the girl in the video. It was as if all the most beautiful words in the world had been heaped upon her—she was that pure, that radiant.

 

Yang Qingqing didn’t know what others were thinking, but she was already a devoted fan of Qiao Huihui—hopelessly, irrevocably hooked.

 

So when The Dazzling You’s first season ended and the screen displayed a reminder for fans to vote, she immediately found the link and cast her vote for Qiao Huihui.

 

Not only that, she also messaged all her friends, raving about Qiao Huihui before urging them to vote too, as if she couldn’t wait to propel her to first place right that instant.

 

After all that, she rushed to Weibo to find Qiao Huihui’s account, eager to secure her spot as an early fan—only to freeze in confusion.

 

Because she couldn’t find it! At! All!

 

What was going on? Did her idol not have a Weibo account???

 

Many new fans of Qiao Huihui were also stunned because, since she wasn’t signed under any entertainment company, apart from “The Dazzling You” program team, they couldn’t find any way to contact her.

 

As a result, the official Weibo account of “The Dazzling You” was flooded with comments, almost all asking for Qiao Huihui’s Weibo handle.

 

That night, the Weibo hot search topics looked like this—

 

#QiaoHuihuiWeibo#

 

#TheDazzlingYou#

 

#PeachCouple#

 

#ChattyXiaNiao#

 

#SoAngelsDoExist#

 

…

 

The entire hot search was dominated by “The Dazzling You”!

 

Late at night, the production team huddled in front of their computers, waiting for the data. When they saw the view counts and engagement rates, they all cheered.

 

Director Liu lit the cigarette he had been holding and took a long drag, while Li Shan excitedly exclaimed beside him, “We’ve got this, we’ve got this.”

 

Director Liu rubbed his smooth, bald head, a smile lingering on his lips. “Who are the most popular contestants right now?”

 

Li Shan checked the data and read out, “Mostly those who already had a fanbase—Le Xingshan, Xia Niao, Shu Bailian… Huh? And Qiao Huihui.”

 

The high popularity of the first few was expected—after all, they had existing fans and solid skills. But Qiao Huihui was a dark horse. She had been a complete unknown before, with zero fans, yet she managed to rise to fame after just one episode. It was surprising.

 

Director Liu sighed, “That’s just fate!”

 

Having worked in the entertainment industry for so many years, he had seen all kinds of people. Some had good looks and worked hard but remained obscure for over a decade, stuck in minor roles. Others, through sheer luck, skyrocketed to fame with just one song or drama—what people called “audience appeal.”

 

Qiao Huihui was one of the lucky ones.

 

But this was just the beginning. If she got lost in the momentary fame and didn’t put in the effort or produce more work, she would still fall from grace.

 

He hoped this girl was smart enough to keep her eyes on the long game.

 

 

Practice Room.

 

Although there were twenty contestants in each group, Qiao Huihui hadn’t paid attention to anyone else during the initial selection, so the only person she recognized in her group was Shen Nanqing.

 

But Shen Nanqing was the quiet type, so when their group arrived at their assigned practice room, neither of them spoke first.

 

The others, however, were quite interested in them. Both were A-class trainees, and their visuals were undeniably striking. Soon, one girl tentatively approached them.

 

“Want some candy?” A chubby hand stretched out, holding a strawberry candy.

 

“Mm… thanks.” Qiao Huihui took it and smiled at the girl.

 

Encouraged, the girl grinned brightly and introduced herself, “Hi everyone, I’m Li Huixin.”

 

She pulled out a handful of strawberry candies from her pocket and distributed them one by one. The others, after accepting the candy, briefly introduced themselves too. It was safe to say Li Huixin had broken the ice in their group.

 

Just as Qiao Huihui unwrapped the candy and popped it into her mouth, she felt another person’s warmth on her hand—Shen Nanqing had handed her the candy she’d just received.

 

“???” Qiao Huihui looked up in confusion.

 

Shen Nanqing seemed to understand her meaning and explained with a cold expression, “I don’t like eating candy.”

 

So Qiao Huihui realized—she didn’t like it herself but didn’t want to waste it, so she handed it off to someone who looked like they might enjoy sweets.

 

Tilting her head to observe Shen Nanqing’s aloof profile, Qiao Huihui marveled at her height while also thinking that someone with such a temperament really didn’t seem like the type to enjoy candy.

 

Shen Nanqing felt the gaze from beside her but resisted turning to meet it, her fingers unconsciously twitching at her side.

 

Just as the atmosphere was warm and harmonious, a rather grating voice cut through.

 

“Tch, I wouldn’t eat such cheap candy.”

 

The girl took a disdainful step back, lifting her chin haughtily as she introduced herself, “I’m Xiao Ninglu.”

 

Li Huixin froze mid-motion, the candy extended awkwardly in her hand, neither advancing nor retreating.

 

Qiao Huihui withdrew her gaze and turned to observe the two now in conflict across from her.

 

When she saw Xiao Ninglu’s face, she paused—wasn’t this the girl in black who had argued with Shu Bailian in the cafeteria yesterday?

 

Even from their brief exchange yesterday, she’d given off an overbearing vibe. Now, up close, she was indeed proving difficult to get along with.

 

The others maintained an air of detached indifference, no one stepping in to mediate. Not wanting the group to start off on the wrong foot, and given her favorable first impression of Li Huixin, Qiao Huihui took a step forward.

 

“I’ll have it,” Qiao Huihui said with a smile, taking the strawberry candy from Li Huixin’s hand. “I quite like this flavor.”

 

Li Huixin shot her a grateful look.

 

Her intervention was essentially a slap to Xiao Ninglu’s face. The latter glanced at her, snorted, and rolled her eyes outright.

 

“Tch, what a do-gooder.”

 

The remark was unnecessarily harsh. Shen Nanqing frowned slightly, eyeing the girl who radiated arrogance from head to toe.

 

“Time to start practice,” she said coolly.

 

The others snapped back to attention at her words. After all, they were here for the competition—practice was the priority. Moreover, their every move would now be captured on camera, and no one wanted to be disliked by the audience for team discord.

 

They picked up the sheet music, attempting to drown out the awkwardness with discussion.

 

“Should we assign parts first? Distribute lyrics and choreography based on skill,” someone suggested.

 

“Does that mean we should vote for a center first?”

 

“Let’s practice first and decide the center based on performance!”

 

Within moments, they’d outlined their practice plan. Just then, the vocal coach walked in, sheet music in hand. “Ready to begin?” he asked.

 

“We’re ready, teacher.”

 

“Good.”

 

The group obediently lined up by height. Qiao Huihui, being the shortest, stood first, with Li Huixin behind her, while Shen Nanqing ended up at the very end.

 

The vocal coach nodded approvingly. “Now, follow me in order. I need to assess your levels.”

 

“On this sunny morning~ Another warm day…”

 

Qiao Huihui sang along.

 

The vocal coach nodded after listening. “Good voice, but the emotion isn’t quite there yet.”

 

…

 

After everyone had finished singing, the vocal teacher finally gave his critique: “Among all of you, Xiao Ninglu has the most stable pitch, while Shen Nanqing conveys the emotions most accurately.”

 

Xiao Ninglu raised her chin proudly, while Shen Nanqing remained as composed as ever, making the former appear somewhat petty in comparison.

 

The vocal teacher frowned slightly but said nothing. He then turned to Qiao Huihui and asked, “Have you never sung before?”

 

Qiao Huihui shook her head. “Teacher, I’m an amateur. I’ve never learned singing before.”

 

A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes. Addressing the others, he said, “You all practice now. Focus on understanding the emotions better. If you’re unsure, you can ask Shen Nanqing for guidance.”